en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/2401636 Comments by cchristine25 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/12/is-nepotism-a-good-or-bad-thing-in-the-long-run-119-blog/#IDComment142539564 Well, this question entirely depends on who you are referring to – you could either be the benefactor or the wishful job seeker looking to get hired who has all the correct qualifications and yet gets beaten out of the job solely because the other person knew someone in the company and got a good deal. On one hand, if you are the benefactor who luckily gets the job simply by knowing the right people, then nepotism rocks for you and in the long run is a good thing in your life because the job you landed by knowing someone close to you and who gave you the hookup could potentially be one of those great stepping stone jobs that enables you to become employed later on in life by other bigger and better companies that pay you a higher salary and allow you to live a comfortable life and allow you to provide for your family. However, if you were the hopeful, qualified job seeker who loses the job to the guy with connections then of course nepotism would quite honestly suck for you. Here the employer has the option of giving the job to someone who holds all the right credentials and has adequate knowledge of the business or job presented to them or the employer can give the job to a friendly acquaintance in order to help them out and get the ball rolling for them. Now, from a perspective of an employer, though it may not seem like it should be, this decision to be made can actually be a difficult one. It is clear that the more appropriate and fair option would be to hire the qualified job seeker, however, via conflict of interest and a longing to not hurt the feelings of a friend or family member nepotism could seem like the right way to go. In my opinion, nepotism overall is a bad thing in the long run because by hiring people who are truly not the best or most suitable for the job at hand, the company who chose not to hire them could potentially suffer, or in the least, not reach their highest potential. Furthermore, if you happen to be the lucky benefactor who received the job favor from an acquaintance but do not have the suitable skills to accurately perform in the field of interest then poor performance on your behalf due to your lack of appropriate knowledge of the subject can ultimately come back to bite you in the ass because it is not unlikely that you end up making a complete fool out of yourself and thus gain a less than desired reputation and thus later on down the line cannot acquire a job that could increase your overall standard of living. Wed, 13 Apr 2011 17:28:16 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/12/is-nepotism-a-good-or-bad-thing-in-the-long-run-119-blog/#IDComment142539564 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/which-video-in-class-today-had-the-biggest-impact-on-you-and-why-119-blog/#IDComment141079599 Well, as everyone else has been saying, we watched a ton of videos in class on Tuesday but one (it may actually be two, I cannot differentiate between the multiple videos of the Jihad that we watched) showed all the different locations around the world that the Jihad has committed hate crimes at. It is truly a frightening thought that there are people out there that actually sits down and plans out various attacks on people with different religious views with the intention of critically injuring and/ or killing as many civilians as people as possible. It is truly incredible to see that some people are so stubborn and close-minded about their religion and so unwilling to give other people and other beliefs a chance. Of course everyone living in America knows the traumatic story of the Twin Towers attack and how many innocent people lost their lives that day, but this film really put everything in perspective for me and was truly opened my eyes to how bad things really are. I was only in the fourth grade when the planes crashed into the Twin Towers, so I think it is safe to say that I did not fully grasp the significance of what was going on when it happened. I could obviously tell people were rattled by it and nervous about more possible attacks that the Jihad could commit. I remember going home and seeing both of my parents staring at the television footage of the incident on the evening news and the sense of horror that lit up their faces and my dad kept repeating that he wished he were there, in New York City, so that he could go and help pull people out of the debris and save their lives after such a catastrophic event. During the video we watched in class there were multiple photographs of people jumping out of the windows of the World Trade Center out of desperation to get out of the collapsing building, knowing that they would never get to the bottom in time. Just seeing these images in class shook me to the core and I even began to tear up a bit because all that was running through my mind was how these innocent people must have felt as they were plunging to their death, knowing that they would never see their families and friends again. The 9/11 attacks showed us that the Jihad are in fact not afraid of killing thousands of people and they will follow through, even if that means death for themselves all because they believe that our ideals about life and religion are inferior. I of course know that not everyone in the Middle East are extremists like the Jihad, but we need to be and stay aware of the damage that they are capable of committing and make sure we can adequately protect ourselves against such a threat. Fri, 8 Apr 2011 20:17:42 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/05/which-video-in-class-today-had-the-biggest-impact-on-you-and-why-119-blog/#IDComment141079599 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/31/women-what-are-your-thoughts-on-dressing-up-while-men-dress-down-and-did-they-change-after-this-lecture-119-blog/#IDComment138985201 Now we all know about Penn State’s infamous “sorostitutes” and the ridiculously short and skimpy outfits they wear out every weekend, no matter if its 80 degrees or 5 degrees. Now, though I would not go so far as to say I dress like such women, I do admit to going out in 4 inch heels in the snow and wearing a jacket that was absolutely not conducive to the current weather conditions. So why do we put ourselves through this while the guys just kick it in jeans and a T-shirt, unshaved and scruffy? Competition baby. You never want to be that chick that shows up to a party in anything short of borderline slutty, with dramatic makeup, and teased hair because of the fear of rejection. Guys do not look at you the same way that they would a girl who looks as though she is DTF. Even if you are not looking to have sex or hook up, maybe you are even in a relationship, you still want that initial push that brings the boys (and girls) to you, because this way you can be that social butterfly and ultimately have a good time. You never want to be ignored, so why not put in a little effort to look good, it couldn’t hurt. But that brings us to the question of why guys can’t put in the same amount of effort that we do when going out. I mean, hell, girls like when a guy comes out looking nice (really, how difficult is it to put on an unwrinkled polo shirt, a nice pair of jeans, some cologne, and brush your hair?) that is one of the initial attractions I had to my current boyfriend. It shows us that you actually give two shits about your appearance and that you want to impress people and can take care of yourself. I don’t know, maybe it is the fact that a lot of girls like that untidy scruffy frat boy look and so they try to put on that “I don’t care” act. Now, of course it is a little annoying that we spend so much time getting ready and being worried about how others perceive us while so often guys just sit back and throw on whatever they can find at the bottom of their hamper that doesn’t smell too bad and can pass as a clean shirt with a little spritz of cologne, but I guess it just is what it is. But I hate to say that because that pushes us right back into what we were discussing today in the lecture in that we are living in a man’s world and by men’s standards which undoubtedly pisses me, as well as tons of other women, off. Fri, 1 Apr 2011 01:44:50 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/31/women-what-are-your-thoughts-on-dressing-up-while-men-dress-down-and-did-they-change-after-this-lecture-119-blog/#IDComment138985201 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/31/women-what-are-your-thoughts-on-dressing-up-while-men-dress-down-and-did-they-change-after-this-lecture-119-blog/#IDComment138984895 Now we all know about Penn State’s infamous “sorostitutes” and the ridiculously short and skimpy outfits they wear out every weekend, no matter if its 80 degrees or 5 degrees. Now, though I would not go so far as to say I dress like such women, I do admit to going out in 4 inch heels in the snow and wearing a jacket that was absolutely not conducive to the current weather conditions. So why do we put ourselves through this while the guys just kick it in jeans and a T-shirt, unshaved and scruffy? Competition baby. You never want to be that chick that shows up to a party in anything short of borderline slutty, with dramatic makeup, and teased hair because of the fear of rejection. Guys do not look at you the same way that they would a girl who looks as though she is DTF. Even if you are not looking to have sex or hook up, maybe you are even in a relationship, you still want that initial push that brings the boys (and girls) to you, because this way you can be that social butterfly and ultimately have a good time. You never want to be ignored, so why not put in a little effort to look good, it couldn’t hurt. But that brings us to the question of why guys can’t put in the same amount of effort that we do when going out. I mean, hell, girls like when a guy comes out looking nice (really, how difficult is it to put on an unwrinkled polo shirt, a nice pair of jeans, some cologne, and brush your hair?) that is one of the initial attractions I had to my current boyfriend. It shows us that you actually give two shits about your appearance and that you want to impress people and can take care of yourself. I don’t know, maybe it is the fact that a lot of girls like that untidy scruffy frat boy look and so they try to put on that “I don’t care” act. Now, of course it is a little annoying that we spend so much time getting ready and being worried about how others perceive us while so often guys just sit back and throw on whatever they can find at the bottom of their hamper that doesn’t smell too bad and can pass as a clean shirt with a little spritz of cologne, but I guess it just is what it is. But I hate to say that because that pushes us right back into what we were discussing today in “The Needy Penis” lecture in that we are living in a man’s world and by men’s standards which undoubtedly pisses me, as well as tons of other women, off. Fuck men. Fri, 1 Apr 2011 01:42:28 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/31/women-what-are-your-thoughts-on-dressing-up-while-men-dress-down-and-did-they-change-after-this-lecture-119-blog/#IDComment138984895 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/for-the-white-females-would-you-ever-date-a-black-guy-119-blog/#IDComment137043030 No. I can honestly say I would never date a black guy. Now this does not mean I do not like black guys in general, a couple of my best friends are black dudes. Hey, I am from Baltimore, quite frankly there is just no escaping them (not that I would ever want to). I think on the surface the main reason I never have and never will date a black man is because my parents made it very clear when I started dating that they would not accept my dating a black man and that they would disown me and kick me out because they do not want that “influence” on me and god-forbid I have had a mixed child (sarcasm on my part). I know that this just sounds awful and I am by no stretch of the imagination saying that what they are saying is right, I completely disagree with everything they say on this issue, but it’s the way they were raised. All white families, with no room for blacks. The last thing I need or want in my life is contention with my family, so I complied. And going along with this, I always told my family that if they had a problem with someone I was dating, then I would end it. If my family does not approve then I see no point. Family is something I deeply cherish and if I were to become serious with someone they absolutely did not like and say even got married, I would never be at my highest potential of happiness because I would know we were truly not a family, and I want to know that as I grow older I can at least know that I will be happy. But besides this notion that my family would never accept a black guy, I would like to stand up with the simple fact that I am just not interested in black guys on a sexual level, just like there are some white guys or guys of different races that I am not interested in. There is just not that physical attraction there. I can’t help who I am or am not attracted to, it’s just the way it is. Now for me to be that bitch, there seem to be different types of white girls that do tend to date black guys. Lots of times when you do find this type of relationship it is usually an overweight or unattractive white woman involved in the relationship, quite frankly because she’s not wanted by her “own kind.” So it seems they are driven out of desperation. Then there are the white girls that want to be “ghetto” and so they date the black man in an effort to create that illusion. Then there are the high school and college white girls that just want to piss Daddy off and be a little rebel, so they date them. But then in those occasional instances, there are those relationships that come out of nowhere, where the couple actually does fall in love. Wed, 23 Mar 2011 17:27:15 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/for-the-white-females-would-you-ever-date-a-black-guy-119-blog/#IDComment137043030 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/18/what-do-you-think-of-the-diversity-at-penn-state-119-blog/#IDComment136341981 The diversity at Penn State is definitely lacking. We are a university that is 75-77% white, call me crazy but that is a lot of white people. I am originally from Baltimore, Maryland, which is undeniably a diverse area. My high school was about 50/50 on the black and white scale with a mix of Asians, Indians, Native Americans, mixed, etc. You were definitely able to a little taste of everyone’s culture. Take me for instance, my best friends include two Indians, a Jew, a black girl, and a white girl. I have always made it a point to put myself out there and mingle with other cultures and people of different backgrounds because quite frankly I find it boring to be subject to only one race. It is just in my blood to go out there and learn about other people. It is a totally different feel here at Penn State. I recently went to a World in Conversation group on race relations and one of the things I distinctly remember saying is “I miss my black people!” Not to sound like an idiotic white girl, but quite frankly it is true. More times than not black and white people have different mannerisms and ways of presenting themselves. White people tend to be a little more reserved while in my experience black people just have that “flava” that white people often lack. Growing up I was always around different races and so making the switch from very diverse to not so much has been interesting, however I do not think it is practical on behalf of Penn State University because once we get out into the real world and start working we are going to be faced with people of all different backgrounds, beliefs, religions, etc. and it is up to us to be able to handle dealing with one another. Sure Penn State is great with a lot of things (i.e. recruiting, networking, academics, sports) but when it comes to making sure its students are experienced with dealing with new types of people, it falls short. Coming to Penn State I have found myself angry on multiple occasions because I hear ignorant white people just shouting out “nigger” to black people casually walking down the street, not harming anyone, just minding their own business, or “fucking Asians, go back to where you came from,” not even giving them a chance, when all they are trying to do is make a better life for themselves, and “faggot” to the gays that have the balls to come out and say fuck you to a world full of stupid haters who are so close-minded that they can’t get over two people of the same sex liking one another, I mean come on, there are more important things in the world we could worry about. I just think Penn State students need a crash course in race relations and I think the World In Conversation program is a great way to get started. Mon, 21 Mar 2011 02:26:56 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/18/what-do-you-think-of-the-diversity-at-penn-state-119-blog/#IDComment136341981 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/02/is-it-possible-for-affirmative-action-to-take-things-too-far-119-blog/#IDComment132691683 This question has definitely come up in my mind as well, especially when I was applying to college. I definitely believe that affirmative action is taking things too far. It allows minority groups to get ahead or others from the majority group, even if they do not deserve it. For example, when I was applying to the University of Maryland I had a great GPA, I was involved in a ton of things in high school, took all the right classes for the major that I wanted to go into, and held plenty of leadership positions. In short, my resume was looking really good. Now, one of my best friends applied to the same school, same college, and for the same major. Everything was the same, but her resume was not as good as mine and she was black. She had a significantly lower GPA and was not nearly as involved as I was. Nevertheless, however, she got accepted to the University of Maryland for the fall, while was not accepted to enroll until the spring. This was complete bullshit. Because of affirmative action, even though I worked my ass off in high school, did everything right, and was successful in my endeavors, due to the fact that I was white and she was black I got the short end of the stick. The same thing happened with my other best friend. We had about the same marks in everything, (GPA, SAT scores, leadership positions), and though we were applying to different colleges within the university, she also got in for fall and she is Indian. So affirmative action is pushing things way too far. If I am taking the effort and going out of my way to be successful in my schooling, then I expect to be recognized for it and not have my application thrown onto a pile of rejections just because I am a white girl even if I am a better student. The University of Maryland just wants to get a quota for getting a lot of minorities in their school so that it seems more diverse and more appealing, but if you want to uphold a reputable university, I say that you give everyone a fair chance do not make a decision based on race. This also goes along with scholarships and television. I’m sure many of the white students at Penn State can back me up and say that it is so much harder for white people to get scholarships these days than minorities because we are singled out and do not get the opportunities to apply for so many of these “all black” or “minority only” scholarships. Um, HELLO! Just because I’m white doesn’t mean I don’t need funding for college too! Shit, the black girl that got my spot at University of Maryland has more money than I do! And television! What the hell? Oh yeah, it’s cool to have Black Entertainment Television, but as soon as you try to put in a White Entertainment Television, all hell would break loose. It’s dumb and it’s taking things too far. It needs to stop. Sat, 5 Mar 2011 21:53:47 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/02/is-it-possible-for-affirmative-action-to-take-things-too-far-119-blog/#IDComment132691683 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/is-it-selfish-for-people-in-poverty-to-have-more-kids-because-of-their-lower-income-119-blog/#IDComment130487277 I don't know if selfish is the right word in my head for the way I feel about lower class people having so many children, but I would most definitely say that above anything it is irresponsible. I don't understand what these people are thinking when they decide it's okay to have, say for instance twenty two children such as Tammy's family, when they clearly would not have the funding. What child honestly wants or rather deserves to have to grow up in a trailer and be ridiculed by society because of their lower class means of living? I personally do not know of anyone. Perhaps if they were not so consumed with having so many kids and settled for maybe one or two, four maximum, like most families, they would be better off financially and be able to give their kids a better life in the long run. I think that is what any parent who truly wants the best for their kids should do. If you take Tammy's family situation, for example, sure she "only" had four kids but she came from a family with twenty one other brothers and sisters and so she clearly was left with nothing - no house, no money, nothing. So I think if was irresponsible for her to first of all have children, let alone four, when she could not afford to do so or know that she could not give them a good life, and also the fact that she decided to have sex and children with clearly someone who was not good enough to stay in the relationship and stay to help raise the children - so she had a bad judge of character. So, to summarize, a woman from a family of twenty two kids, has nothing, has sex with an untrustworthy, incapable partner, has four children, has no funding to let them live a better life, cannot afford a car, or at least enough to fix it, so she has to walk ten and a half miles to go to work, having the fulfilling job of cleaning lady at Burger King. Now okay, some people may say "Hey she can't help it because that is the way she grew up, that is how she was raised." Well I would have to respond "That's bullshit." She had a choice. Sure, her family probably pressured her into a certain way of life, but that does not mean that she did not have the capability of applying herself at school and at least trying to give herself a better life. It pissed me off so much to see that she was mad at her own son when he was trying to better himself. Good for him for doing well in school and wanting to go to college. I hope he does so he can make something out of himself. I don't know, maybe she had so many kids because she needed companionship and someone to take care of her when she is older, in that case, yes it is selfish. Fri, 25 Feb 2011 03:48:17 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/is-it-selfish-for-people-in-poverty-to-have-more-kids-because-of-their-lower-income-119-blog/#IDComment130487277 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-do-you-feel-about-the-way-people-live-in-america-compared-to-other-places-around-the-world-119-blog/#IDComment128865229 There’s no denying that around the world several people have made clear that they do not always agree with the peoples of America ways of life. We are often hit with attacks of overeating and hence becoming an obese nation, as well as arguments that we as a nation are wasteful and do not show enough care to the environment and that the American way of life is all based around money. It is true that Americans are far better off than a majority of the globe, but is this something to feel bad about? I do not think so. I do not think we should be criticized for the way that we have built our nation – to make sure that all people, no matter what race, gender, religion, etc. have fair and equal rights to a happy and comfortable living style. And to refute the other offences thrown toward us, at least we have recognized our flaws and are taking strides to change them – and starting by targeting children at an early age. Take for instance the television; if you sit down and turn on the Disney Channel (yes I am guilty of watching the occasional Wizards of Waverly Place or Hannah Montana) there are several commercials informing the kids to be active and try to get at least an hour of exercise a day and to eat healthy, yet tasty foods and to not be afraid to try new things. Disney also has a huge campaign called Friends for Change in which they focus on different ways in which kids can get out in their communities and help out the environment, whether it be picking up trash, planting new trees, or making sure to use less water when getting ready in the morning. We are educating our people in order to live more fulfilling lives, and if that means we make a few mistakes along the way, then so be it. We’ll learn. We are still a relatively new country. But just because we realize what we need to do in this world to earn money, whether you work hard (may I say in the right areas) or have certain contacts, we recognize how to promote ourselves and get to where we need to be. Just today in English I was reading about the previous existing caste system in India that still largely exists in the spirit of the elderly people within the nation. Though we had slavery in the United States at a time, I wouldn’t go as far to say that we had something remotely similar to the caste system. Such a way of life hardly allows for people to grow and break from their pre-set financial statuses and so they cannot possibly come into the wealth that such Americans do. I think the way we live is largely based off of the decisions that the country itself and its government chooses. Thus, I feel no guilt in the way that Americans live versus the rest of the world. Fri, 18 Feb 2011 17:55:24 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-do-you-feel-about-the-way-people-live-in-america-compared-to-other-places-around-the-world-119-blog/#IDComment128865229 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/08/interpret-the-lupe-fiasco-lyrics-119-blog/#IDComment127380132 This is the first time I’ve ever listened to Lupe Fiasco’s “Words I Never Said,” and I really enjoyed it. Too often are songs today about stupid stuff like sex and drugs or just clever songs that really have no meaning behind them at all, so it is rather refreshing to hear a song with lyrics that have meaning behind them. I am glad to see an artist rapping about everyday issues that we face that nobody really wants to talk about. But even if people are oblivious and do not know about these issues, then all the better because Fiasco has found a way through music to let the world know. In a way he is educating his listeners. With his words “I think that all the silence is worse than all the violence” are really powerful words which tell people that sure, being silent may be seen as a sign of peace, but really we are making matters worse because we are not addressing issues that need to be acknowledged and talked about, otherwise we will not grow as a country; we will not grow as a human race. If we’re in an unhappy or depressed place, silence will only encourage us to stay in such a state of depression and we’ll never escape it. This cannot be good – if everyone in our communities, our states, or out country is under such a negative spell, then we’ll never be able to perpetuate enough positive spirit in order to make a change in the world and move forward as a whole. Silence can and will reinforce self-doubt. Our minds are constantly asking us “what if?” and if none of us ever breaks the silence to answer these questions or find solutions, then we are going to find ourselves constantly living in fear, constantly having our guard up. This then goes along with the words that Lupe Fiasco continues with in which he states that we are “scared of almost everything, afraid to tell the truth” because the truth is brutal and disappointing. By being silent we are just inflicting fear and avoiding the truth, avoiding what is really going on around our world. Listening to Lupe Fiasco’s lyrics also reminds me of Staind’s song “For You” in which they say “The silence get's us no where, get's us no where way too fast, the silence is what kills me.” So they are saying that not only does the silence impede upon our abilities to grow, if anything it expedites the speed at which we face more and more problems and with comes so much unnecessary and unwanted pain which is where the lyrics “the silence is what kills me” comes in. We need to realize that we can’t just be bystanders all the time. If we see a problem, we need to man up and do something about it. Being silent gets us nowhere. Fri, 11 Feb 2011 18:36:05 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/08/interpret-the-lupe-fiasco-lyrics-119-blog/#IDComment127380132 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/01/what-is-the-difference-between-a-colored-and-white-comedian-119-blog/#IDComment126151390 Political correctness. It all comes down to that. No matter where you go white people are always the ones who get super awkward in situations where race or ethnicity comes up. I think because white people are seen often as the “superior” race, when they look down on people by making fun of them during comedy skits, people of color tend to get offended. It is just not a normal thing to hear a white person make fun of minorities just for the hell of it. However, minority comedians all make fun of each other because they most of all make fun of themselves. They can state the obvious about races issues, and since it is regarding them, there is a sense of “oh, he is black so it is okay for him to talk about black people like that.” I think a huge idea in the head of these minority comedians is that they are the victims and so they are the ones that can talk such racist things. But at this point I think it is time for colored people to stop playing racist card. I mean, so often minorities preach discrimination and racism, but turn on minority TV shows or radio stations – they are constantly saying racial slurs, not only to other minority groups but to white people. What the hell makes that okay??? They have BET now – Black Entertainment Television- they have Hispanic channels, they have Asian channels. I can tell you straight up, if they ever came out with a “White Entertainment Channel” all hell would break loose. I mean, for crying out loud, now we even have a colored president – stop saying all this crap about how minorities are being discriminated against. They bring it upon themselves. They have these preconceived notions that all white people think they are better than everyone else so if we say something even slightly offensive (which we just as easily could have said to a white person) they get in your face about it and blame it on their skin color! That is such bullshit. I do not care what you look like, I plan to treat every person the same regardless of their skin color – even if that means I need to yell or be rude to you for some stupid mistake that they made. I am not racist. I am from Baltimore where I grew up in the most diverse schools you’ve ever seen. My best friends are Indian and black. And I’ve had this discussion with them before and they agree. So many of these minorities just don’t want to listen. They are stuck in the old ways of thinking and just want a free ride out of everything because of the color of their skin. Sat, 5 Feb 2011 16:30:18 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/01/what-is-the-difference-between-a-colored-and-white-comedian-119-blog/#IDComment126151390 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/26/why-do-we-associate-with-people-of-the-same-race-and-ethnicity-as-ourselves-119-blog/#IDComment124417826 I think we associate with people of the same race because it is a natural response. As a child it is an automatic pre-conceived notion to automatically categorize things, so it would make sense to say that from an early age we naturally separate people into different categories based off the color of their skin. Children and adults alike are more likely to hang out with people like themselves, in addition, because it gives you a certain level of comfort knowing there are people like yourself around. You feel as though you have a connection with these people and as though you have no reason to believe that they would judge you, make fun of you, or hurt you. I think it also has largely to do with how your parents raise you. If your family is a middle to upper class family living in the suburbs, you will honestly mostly find a bunch of white people with little to no diversity. This then translates into their schools – it is not uncommon to go to the suburbs or the country and find that schools are predominantly white, or go to city schools and find that schools are predominantly black. It also goes back to where you come from. If you are from California or Florida, there is a good chance you are of Hispanic or Latino descent. Now, if you take all of these factors and then put all these students from different backgrounds, living places, or wealth at Penn State where there may be much more diversity than they are used to it is not surprising that they would stick with their own. Simply put – it is fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of change, fear of new people. On the topic of international students it is pretty accurate to say that they have the tendency to stick together. I have two international roommates, one from Taiwan and the other from China. They, of course, immediately had a bond because they were from similar areas and they both speak Mandarin. So many of the international students that come to Penn State have not yet developed proper English and so it is difficult for them to fluently communicate with native speakers. I for one know for a fact that my roommate does not comprehend half of the things I say to her. It must be immensely frustrating going to lectures and not fully understanding what the professor is trying to teach so at the end of the day when they just want to chill out, they gravitate toward their own kind so that they can easily communicate and not stress over if they are saying the right thing or how to say a word they never learned before. We associate and hang out with our own because it gives us a level of comfort and security. Fri, 28 Jan 2011 21:56:28 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/26/why-do-we-associate-with-people-of-the-same-race-and-ethnicity-as-ourselves-119-blog/#IDComment124417826 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/14/why-do-we-still-have-stereotypes-blog-1/#IDComment122446906 Stereotypes do not just come from nowhere – they arose from previous observations of people from a certain race, so no matter what, there are always going to be people in this world that uphold their stereotypes. This is for any race – white people are often seen as educated, political beings who feel they’re superior to other races; black Americans are seen as loud, gangbangers, and demanding of respect; Asians are the so-called “brainiacs”; Native Americans are viewed as spiritual and very in tune with nature and all living things; Hispanics are looked upon as labor (i.e. landscapers, construction workers) and very religious; Jews seem to always be thought of as rich and frugal, or cheap. Some reading this may seem offended, but there is no denying the fact that these stereotypes exist and that there are people in this world, in this country, at this school, who follow such a status quo. Thus, if people are not even going to make an effort to take themselves out of such stereotype by changing their ways or overall just being themselves, we’re never going to get rid of these labels. So much of the time though, especially in younger people, our views of other people and other races or ethnicities are not our own. More often than not, children adopt the views and opinions that their parents have. This is simply because this is how they grew up, this is what they were lead to believe, and when they are thrown out there in the real world to actually deal with people of different backgrounds than themselves, their natural instinct is to revert back to what they recall their families saying about that group of people. It’s definitely hard to break your parents’ views in your own mind, but I think it’s crucial to put yourself in a diverse community where you can spend time with people of different races and ethnicities first hand and make your own assumptions – true assumptions – not based off of what someone else said. Media also has a strong grip over the population and so many times stereotypes are portrayed on screen. I recently watched “Crash” (great movie, everyone should see it) and it goes into different people’s lives, but they’re all of different races – white, black, Hispanic, Asian, Arab, etc. and throughout the movie the characters depict the different stereotypes in their dialogue and you find yourself nodding in agreement to what they’re saying but through watching the movie you see that people can surprise you and do not always uphold what they’re labeled as. You’d be surprised at what people are capable of – especially breaking the mold. You just need to give people a chance to show you who they really are without any predetermined judgments. Thu, 20 Jan 2011 06:16:08 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/14/why-do-we-still-have-stereotypes-blog-1/#IDComment122446906 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9cb%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment121507061 soc 119 Sat, 15 Jan 2011 15:56:36 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9cb%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment121507061