Well first of all, Soc 119 was hands down the best class I’ve ever taken. Not only was it always entertaining and fun, it was very informative. I have learned so much about others and even myself through Sam’s class. When looking at situations in every day life, I have never looked at the big picture. I never thought about events and occurrences in life being due to free will or determinism. Sam stated how all sociologists agree that determinism is more dominant of the two. This class in particular really stuck out to me because I’m beginning to notice it more and more in my every day life, the way everything plays out.
One of the biggest things I’ve taken from the class is how everyone is so different from one another, yet exactly the same. We may look different, pray to different gods or no gods, eat different foods and wear different clothes, but we’re all people and we all strive to be equal. Sam also mentioned how white people are more conscious and aware of race compared to other races. I guess I never really thought about it, but I can actually see it now. When there’s a room full of all white people and one black person, the white people feel as if there is a giant elephant in the room, or that the black person is super uncomfortable. When in reality, they probably don’t even notice it. Coming from a white girl, I sometimes find myself guilty of this. From this class I learned to not over analyze race and relations. We’re all just people, we just live our lives differently.
One of my favorite classes that I will always remember is when Sam and Laurie discussed the needy penis. It was not only hilarious, it was very interesting and I learned a lot. I never really realized just how much of a guys’ world we live in. Guys call the shots and girls just go along. Guys have created this world where girls are constantly trying to impress and grab ahold of their attention.
I feel like with a lot of Sam’s classes, the issues aren’t really all that difficult to understand, its just things we never really pay attention to or are blinded by. He clarifies and picks into certain topics to make them visible for the students. I liked how you could pass all the exams without having taken a single note for the class. Sam just has a way of making sense and everything clicking. The smaller soc groups were also something I really enjoyed and looked forward to going to each week. I am so grateful to have been given the opportunity to take Soc 119 with Sam Richards. Best class ever.

Well first of all, Soc 119 was hands down the best class I’ve ever taken. Not only was it always entertaining and fun, it was very informative. I have learned so much about others and even myself through Sam’s class. When looking at situations in every day life, I have never looked at the big picture. I never thought about events and occurrences in life being due to free will or determinism. Sam stated how all sociologists agree that determinism is more dominant of the two. This class in particular really stuck out to me because I’m beginning to notice it more and more in my every day life, the way everything plays out.
One of the biggest things I’ve taken from the class is how everyone is so different from one another, yet exactly the same. We may look different, pray to different gods or no gods, eat different foods and wear different clothes, but we’re all people and we all strive to be equal. Sam also mentioned how white people are more conscious and aware of race compared to other races. I guess I never really thought about it, but I can actually see it now. When there’s a room full of all white people and one black person, the white people feel as if there is a giant elephant in the room, or that the black person is super uncomfortable. When in reality, they probably don’t even notice it. Coming from a white girl, I sometimes find myself guilty of this. From this class I learned to not over analyze race and relations. We’re all just people, we just live our lives differently.
One of my favorite classes that I will always remember is when Sam and Laurie discussed the needy penis. It was not only hilarious, it was very interesting and I learned a lot. I never really realized just how much of a guys’ world we live in. From the way girls get dressed up to go out and even down to sex. Guys call the shots and girls just go along.
I feel like with a lot of Sam’s classes, the issues aren’t really all that difficult to understand, its just things we never really pay attention to or are blinded by. He clarifies and picks into certain topics to make them visible for the students. I liked how you could pass all the exams without having taken a single note for the class. Sam just has a way of making sense and everything clicking. The smaller soc groups were also something I really enjoyed and looked forward to going to each week. I am so grateful to have been given the opportunity to take Soc 119 with Sam Richards. Best class ever.

Not only does body language play a big role in attracting someone of the opposite sex, but apparel has a way of doing so as well. I wouldn’t necessarily say I dress only to impress, but I think whether it’s subconscious or not, everyone is always trying to impress someone. As Sam mentioned in class, straight girls do dress for the male attention. As much as we try to deny it, it is true.

On Friday and Saturday nights, girls walk College Avenue in short little dresses and heels too high. I can’t really criticize because I do the same thing, but why do we do this? As much as we try to convince ourselves that it’s for ourselves or maybe even to make other girls jealous of what we have and how we look, in the end, it comes down to that “male gaze” as Sam and Laurie called it. By going out on a Friday or Saturday night in nothing other than a small piece of fabric draped across our bodies in the freezing cold, we are attracting the heterosexual male population. This is what we want, right?

Going out on Beaver or College Ave on a Friday night in sweatpants and sweatshirt would more than likely not attract any male attention. A guy sees a girl in comfortable, pajama clothing and gets the vibe that she probably does not want to be bothered, as oppose to a girl who is dressed like she wants to party. Similar to a girl wearing a hijab, that girl is most likely trying to attract men who have the same customs and beliefs as she does. By wearing the traditional hijab, men of the same religion might feel more comfortable approaching her rather than a Catholic boy who does not know the meaning behind the headpiece.

Personally, as much as I deny it, I am probably always trying to attract male attention, but I do like to make myself look presentable for myself as well. I feel like looking good has a way of making you feel good about yourself. When I go out on the weekends, I usually wear a skirt or dress, and if I don’t, I still will wear heels. I feel like even on days when I’m “bumming it,” I am still wearing yoga pants or leggings, which refers back to male attention as well. As the kid in class said, “Yoga pants make a girls butt look better.” There is a lot more intentions and motives behind putting an outfit on in the morning than just picking something at random. Although it may be subconscious, there is always just a little bit of a desire to grab hold of someone’s attention.

Thursday’s class was very powerful for multiple reasons, the way the Middle East views Americans, and the way Americans view the Middle East. I’m sad Sam couldn’t be there in person to teach it because I feel like a lot of what was said would have been even stronger and meaningful through his actual presence and mannerisms while discussing the topic. A lot was put into perspective for both citizens of the United States and Middle East. What is happening in the Middle East is truly upsetting and many of us seem oblivious and naïve to it.

It is almost ignorant for American’s who are of no Middle Eastern decent or Muslim to view Iraqi’s as destructive. We write them off as "terrorists" and harsh people because of all the videos we see and the events that have occurred, like the attack on the World Trade Center. When in reality, majority of the people from Iraq do not have anything to do with the violence occuring.

And then there’s the other side of the spectrum where they see videos of us and make their own assumptions. The video shown in class of the children in the Christian youth group was definitely scary. Christian children are being brainwashed into their religion and beliefs to an extremist point. When videos similar to this one get leaked into the Middle East, they begin to form their own opinions of Americans as a whole. Although the children in the video are such a small percentage of what American’s are actually like, they don’t know that because they only see certain things. It is hypocritical of us to get upset for being reflected in a negative light when we do the same thing toward them. The media plays a big role in this, which is the sad part. We believe what we are told without further investigation.

Although I was aware that the events happening in the East are not pleasant, I never really pictured how terrible it really was. So many innocent and harmless lives are being killed because of us and thinking about it makes me sick to my stomach. Sam mentioned how we are not just over there to help them, but also to get oil for our own country. It is so disheartening to think about all of the lives that are lost because of our country. And although we have our reasons, it still does not seem right. And to those from Iraq and other parts of the Middle East, that is all they see of us: destruction. Many of them will never know the sympathy and remorse that we feel just as we don’t see their innocence.

I really enjoyed this class because not one racial group was left out and everyone could somehow relate in one way or another. As Sam said, we all know someone who is gay, whether we know it yet or not. I believe that being gay is by no means whatsoever a choice. Not only is it present in every race, it is also present within the animal kingdom, which should be enough proof right there that an animal would not choose to mate with another animal of the same gender. Why would a person want to choose a life of being bullied, ridiculed and tortured?
As Sam was stating in class, most everyone has encountered a child under the age of 5 where you can just tell the kid is not heterosexual. Although the child may not realize it until they are older and start hitting puberty, they are still naturally born that way. My best friend is gay and he says he has known since 6th grade. Similar to the other kid’s stories in class, my best friend realized it when he was looking through a magazine with a friend and noticed that his eyes were drawn to the males. He had no interest in the females.
I think that some would say it is a choice because they are uncomfortable with it in the first place or they don’t like the idea that some people are born different than them. Maybe they are scared that they, too, could be gay and they are facing a struggle within themselves. Some homophobic people are actually gay and hiding their own secret so they make fun and poke at other gay individuals to draw the attention away from themself. No body wants to know that they are born different, almost as if it is a defect. Once the realization and acceptance sinks in, life goes on as if they were straight. But by no means, is it every easy.
My best friend, for example, has never had to really deal with being rejected because of his sexual orientation. Although he did not come out until after high school graduation just to be safe, he was still accepted by all his friends and family. It is not that easy for most. Many who face problems with friends, family, strangers or themselves sometimes resort to suicide. If being gay were a choice, why would a person choose to like another person of the same gender, face rejection and ridicule from others to the point of taking their own life away? No body wants that kind of life. They are born into that life, and although times are sometimes hard, they have learned to accept the ignorance of others.

I have a very liberal viewpoint when it comes to abortions. If a woman is forced into sex without her consent, I believe it is 100% her decision as to whether or not she wants to have the baby. And that goes for all women worldwide. The physical and mental pain that comes with rape is too much to bear for any woman. Having a baby would just be a reminder of that painful memory and trauma. The child would also be born into a harsh life, never knowing his/her father and being conceived under terrible conditions. I believe a woman has complete control over her body. The government does not have the right to tell a woman what she can do with her body.
This is a very important topic I believe because it is happening all over the world and within every racial group. It doesn’t matter what color your skin is, any woman who has been raped and becomes pregnant should be able to decide if she wants her baby or not. It is her body, and her choice. A simple law written on a piece of paper has the power to change an entire woman’s life. And if a woman is not prepared for that life, she is now putting her unborn baby’s life in jeopardy.
I really liked the way Sam presented the topic to the class. Because it is a really sensitive subject, I feel like he handled it really well and used powerful words to enforce its importance. I also really liked how he made the topic more personable. He asked us what we would do if our mom, sister or daughter were raped. He told us to take it into perspective. We wouldn’t want that hard life for any of our loved ones. It’s easy to be pro life when you don’t know anyone who has actually experienced it, but when you ask yourself what you would do if you were in that situation or a loved one, then the tables turn.
Abortion is a very personal decision and the government, doctors and whoever else doesn’t agree has no right to intervene. By telling a woman who has been raped and impregnated that she has to have that baby is unjust. It is a punishment that a woman does not deserve and shouldn’t have to deal with if she decides so. Although I don’t know what I would do in the situation, I can only imagine how disheartening it is for a rape victim who has been impregnated. She knows what she can handle, and if she knows she cannot bring a baby into this world, she shouldn’t be forced to. In the end, I believe it is a woman’s life, woman’s body and ultimately woman’s choice.

If I were to approach this TA about 5 years ago, I would probably be a little intimidated. By no means whatsoever would I consider myself a racist person, I just come from a different racial background, which can always be a little frightening when meeting someone from a race different than your own if you are not used to it. As I am getting older, I have been exposed to many more races and there is no longer that cultural barrier. Race, gender, or sexual orientation has no effect on me at all. I feel as though I am a pretty accepting person considering I have a gay best friend and an Asian best friend. But at the same time, I do understand where some are coming from who may intimidated by a black man with dreads.
In class, we talked about black people having a certain demeanor to them that may come off as scary or suspicious to others. In one of Sam’s stories, a group of black kids and a white kid went to a store to steal. The black kids walked around in a group with an empty backpack, attracting the attention of the store workers, while the single white kid, who was given no attention, was the one stealing. The store workers kind of just expected there to be no unusual behavior from the white kid. Although I can’t really justify the store workers, I do not believe they were being racist. In my opinion, someone who is another color than you can sometimes be that intimidating factor. Also, we are given a negative image of black people because of the media.
In today’s society, we are shown through music videos, commercials and television that black people are portrayed as criminals, or bad people. When we actually come in contact with a black person, we stereotype them into the category: bad. We hear rappers, like Lil Wayne who rap about girls inappropriately, the use of illicit drugs and “getting money”. We associate these negative traits with all black people simply because we hear it from the ones who we admire and like to listen to. With the darker skin tone in black people, we associate dark and evil images.
People in general seem to always like to look toward the negative, never the positive. If one black person does something wrong, we write off all the other ones as well. Five years ago, I would have never approached a black man in dreads in a million years. I would have been too scared or intimidated. As I grow older, I realize there is no difference between me and a person from another racial background. It is all genetics, and it is something that we must all learn to look past.

This class in particular was very impacting not only because of the data Sam presented to the class about poverty within Native Americans, but more so because of the video we watched about Pine Ridge and listening to the guest speaker from Leech Lake. The “who’s entitled to the land..” activity that we did in class also made me realize a lot. Although Sam’s been talking about this genocide since day 1, actually breaking it down through ancestors made it extremely eye opening.
At first, when Sam asked if every member in a generation should have the right to a piece of land, I thought to myself, “Yes, of course.” But, after thinking about the question a little more, I came to a conclusion. If we go by this rule where everyone owns what their past relatives have owned, then everyone would be able to trace down their ancestry to hundreds of years back. In the end, we would all own the same land. There has to be some sort of line. Because who’s to say that one guy who’s willing to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars on property should give it to the guy who just inherits it from his great, great grandfather who once owned the land. I believe that a piece of land belongs to a person if they, themselves, worked for it or their parents did and passed it down to them.
Although I do believe that American’s have all the right to the land in which they own today because they worked for it, my sympathy does go out to all of the Native American’s who lost their land in the genocide. Watching the very moving video about Pine Ridge was one thing, but actually listening to a Native speaker from Leech Lake felt so much more real. We could feel his emotion, sorrow and passion towards his home through each word, sentence and hesitation. Not only are Native Americans struggling to survive each day because of the poverty rate, they are also taking their own lives away because of the harsh conditions. When the guest speaker was telling the story of his little cousin who took her life away because of the storm that killed some of her loved ones, he was almost brought to tears.
Native Americans owned this land first, and because they were not technologically equivalent to that of the Europeans, they lost their country. Because there are no real rules in life, the American’s did rightfully conquer the land, even if it wasn’t fair at all. To try and make up for it, I think the government should step up and give more money and funding to these Indian reservations who live life day after day in a struggle. While some may be unaware of it, Natives still exist in America and they are not doing well. This class has opened my eyes up to it and has encouraged me to want to make a difference as well.

I definitely believe that free will brought me to Penn State. Growing up on the west coast, coming to a university on the east coast was completely out of the question for many of the kids I grew up with. I had always known that I wanted to come east, I just didn’t know where I wanted to go. It was in my own free will that I researched schools with a good journalism program, good academics, and although pricey, completely worth the real college experience. It was in my own free will that I applied to Penn State and made the big move.
When I was 13 I decided I wanted to work for a magazine in New York City. When I was 16 I joined my high school’s newspaper staff. When I was 17 and began looking into colleges I looked at east coast schools and good communications programs. Penn State has the best college newspaper in America so I knew I had to come here and get on the staff. After a semester of going to school here, I joined the staff.
I took a big chance with applying to Penn State. I had only applied to two schools and without ever visiting, I accepted. My father was unemployed at the time and I would definitely say we didn’t have the money, but with financial aid it was possible to come. I think my decision was completely worth it in the end. I wouldn’t want to be at any other school.
I don’t think I would have just ended up here if it weren’t for the time I put into research. I believe that little events through out my life slowly built up to it. Although I believe it was free will that brought me to Penn State, I do believe it was a little bit of fate as well. Everything has worked out so perfectly. Overall, it wasn’t really something I had seen coming and had expected though. I feel like that is how it is for other students as well. Unless a person grew up with a big Penn State family or Penn State alumni, I think it is just a sequence of events that leads a student here. And that goes for any other school as well.
Each event that occurred that led me to Happy Valley seemed miniscule at the time, but looking back at it, those events slowly grew together and formed my acceptance to Penn State. I couldn’t be happier here and am so grateful for these events. I believe that I worked hard for this and that was what got me here. Speaking for myself, it was my choice and I did not have any factors really for or against it.

The guessing game exercise we did in class turned out completely different than what I had figured. Thanks to Sam, I should have already expected the unexpected when it comes to activities in this class. To many Americans, when we hear the term Asian or see a person who falls under this race, we automatically assume Chinese or Japanese. Seeing all the students standing in the front of the room, I figured majority of them fell under one of these. As the boy went down the line of students, the entire lecture room found that very few of them were actually Chinese or Japanese. Some were from Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines, Saudi-Arabia, and more. The cliché saying, ‘don’t judge a book by its cover,’ is a perfect way to describe this exercise.
A few of these students shared stories about how they have been judged and automatically written off in the past because of the way they look. The Saudi-American girl, who appears to look white, shared her feelings on the topic. She said that some people would talk about other ethnicities in a harsh way assuming she’s full American. She finds it funny because the people who do this do not realize that she, herself, it not full American. Because it happens so frequently, she does not even correct them anymore. While they are forming their opinions on other ethnicities without getting to know the individual, she gets to see that person’s true colors based on their ignorance.
I am so happy Sam did this exercise. It was eye opening and hopefully got the message around to each student. We should not be those individuals who make harsh comments and racial slurs like those who have to the Saudi-American girl. We should be the individuals who reach how to all different ethnicities and be open to learn about their society, culture and ethnic group. There is so much to learn in the world that goes far deeper than what we are used to. So, instead of writing someone off because they don’t look the same way as you or because they eat their food a different way than you, learn where they come from, why they have the traits they do, why they eat and behave the way they do.
The guessing game exercise said a lot to me. I am really glad we did it because I feel more aware and more willing to learn about other ethnic groups. There is so much more to the term “Asian” than I was ever aware. I even learned the history to the ‘Asian eye,’ which was extremely interesting. I really enjoyed this class because I not only learned about other eastern countries, I learned how easily we as Americans tend to judge a person without getting to know them. We don’t know who a person is and where they are from just by looking at them, it takes conversation to learn this.