Before I took this class, I was unsure about my views of other races and ethnicities. Of course I had heard other’s viewpoints about them and the common stereotypes that come along with them. Unfortunately I have used these stereotypes to classify people and after taking this class I am very disappointed that I ever did that. I have learned that people use these stereotypes because they are ignorant and do not understand people other than themselves.
I come from a very small high school with only about 250 students total. So as you can imagine, there was not a whole lot of diversity for me to become accustomed to. That is one of the reasons why I chose to come to Penn State. I was very open to meeting new people especially of other cultures in order to broaden my understanding of other people. I feel that taking Soc 119 has helped me to do just that. I can now understand different perceptions of people and am able to see different sides of all people, no matter their race. Everyone has their own story. We all look different, act different, speak different languages, take different paths in life, and do different things. We are all people with the right to do whatever we want, whenever we want and in whatever fashion we choose to do it. Accepting that is the key to understanding other people. Being open and honest with yourself is the best way to learn to accept others.
During this class my eyes and heart have been opened to people on so many different levels. I think very carefully about what I say and whom I say it to now. The thing that surprised me the most from this class is how other people see race. When Sam asked people their opinions in class I was always so interested in what they were going to say. It made me think about my childhood and why I am the way I am. But then again, it made me think about how other people were raised and why they think they way they do. I appreciated that I couldn’t judge others for how they think because they may have had a different encounter with another race or have some reason for thinking the way they do.
Overall, Soc 119 taught me a lot and made me realize that I actually think a lot differently than I thought I did. My opinions on race have changed drastically and I will always see race differently now. I now feel that we are all different and we should not let these differences divide us, instead we should allow them to bring us close together.

When I saw the question, “would there be a difference if Jerry Sandusky were Black or Latino,” I started to think about stereotypes and how people see others in society. It got me a little angry to think that even in a case where innocent children are being hurt, we must always relate crime back to a question of race. Personally I find this very disappointing. Piled on top of all the other things that we are dealing with in relation to this scandal, people always try to complicate things more by asking about race. I find this to be disrespectful to those who are actually affected by this travesty as they try to detract from the true nature of the situation and focus it on prejudice. I do not believe that anything would be different if Jerry Sandusky was Black, Latino, Chinese, or any race. A crime against children is a crime against children no matter what. Unfortunately, I may be of the minority in this thought process. As we are so quick to judge people racially, I think that if he was Black or Latino or another race that would typically be suspected of crime, there would not have been such a shock factor in this scandal.
This question makes me think about the video we watched in class with stealing the bike. People could blatantly see the white man steal the bike, yet they stood by and did nothing. However, once the black man was seen stealing the bike, people immediately yelled at him to stop, threatened to call the authorities, or actually did call the police As terrible as it is, people will always suspect black people of committing a crime. The majority of criminal arrests happen to be Black or Latino and come from inner city areas. This is because police focus primarily on those neighborhoods and have more success catching criminals in those areas.
Another video that comes to mind is the video of the toddlers picking which doll they wanted to play with. They were asked questions like “which doll is nicer?” and “which one do you want?” in almost every situation, the toddlers chose the white doll. It is in our basic nature to choose light over dark and unfortunately enough this manifests in how we view others. I personally think that this is a prime example to show society that we can’t be too quick to judge people because none of the people involved in this heinous act were people of another nationality other than Caucasian. I just hope that people learn from this whole ordeal that when it comes to crimes between adults and children, race plays not part in it.

In terms of immigration, I think that there are a few reasons why people look at, and weigh the costs more heavily than the benefits. The first and most influential of these reasons is the media. The way media portrays illegal immigrants impacts the minds of US citizens ten fold than any other reason. By bashing some the immigrants and how they have come to this country, and by only putting light on the negatives of allowing illegal immigrants to work in this country makes people think negatively about immigration as a whole! Another reason why many look down immigration upon is due to discrimination. Even when our country first opened its doors to immigrants at Ellis Island and most immigration was documented, those new Americans dealt with much discrimination. They were feared and therefore hated because of the differences between them and the Americans that were already here. But I asked, why did those citizens feel it was ok to discriminate against newcomers when hundreds of years ago, they were in the same position when we invaded the Native American’s land?
Another reason that immigration is so negatively portrayed is due to our legal system. It may not seem like it with all of the different rallies and movements against government but people still tend to care about the laws that are put in place to some degree and I think people look at the word illegal and think of the negatives and consequences of being an illegal immigrant or maybe even helping out illegal immigrants. Our country was built on a system of laws and ordinances that have done pretty well thus far and I think that the United States population respects it because of that. So, the idea of destroying or going against something that has done so much good for us, seems wrong to some people. Secondly, the way media portrays illegal immigrants impacts the minds of US citizens ten fold than any other reason. By bashing some the immigrants and how they have come to this country, and by only putting light on the negatives of allowing illegal immigrants to work in this country makes people think negatively about immigration as a whole!
The current economy in our country is another reason why people feel so negatively towards immigrants. There is a common feeling that immigrants, whether they are legal or illegal, are taking jobs that “belong” to American citizens. But, to be honest, if immigrants were not here, we would have no one to do the jobs that we see fit for “illegals.” Those are the jobs that make our country run the way it does. If we did not have that, our economy would be even worse. I would also like to point out that this is the same mentality that started the Holocaust. Hitler felt that the Jews were detracting from the German economy because they were hard working individuals who made money.
I believe that for most people in this country, the costs do outweigh the benefits, but for me I believe that is wrong! Most illegal immigrants come for work and most do hard and cheap labor that most U.S. citizens would rather not do. Yes, it is not always so ethical in the way that they do it, but we have seen much worse ethical compromises in our country’s history.

Are you uncomfortable when people around you are speaking another language? Even though saying “no, of course not,” would clear my conscious and make me feel better about myself, I had to take a step back and think about this one. After some consideration I think that I understand why this would be uncomfortable for many people. Languages, while they are all different, are what bond people together. No matter where you are, if you recognize a language, you have something in common with the people around you. For example, when going to another country, you always seem to bond with the people in your hotel or the people at the museum or that person in the café that speaks your language. Personally, I am going abroad in the spring to study in Seville, Spain; an area of Spain that is known for its culture and lack of English speakers. I am well aware that in order to communicate with the people, I am going to have to pick up on my Spanish. However, that does not mean that I am not thrilled about it. I think that going abroad will be a great opportunity for me to learn about another language and culture. It will be nice to be immersed in a culture that is so different than mine. There is something very cool about hearing people have a conversation and having the entire exchange be a mystery.
I might enjoy listening to others to see if I can pick up on words in another language that may be similar to words of my own language. I believe that people who speak in other languages to be very interesting and I understand when I feel both comfortable and uncomfortable when placed in these type of situations.
Another reason people get uncomfortable around those who are speaking a different language from them is because they may think that those people are talking about them. I know that if I am in a group and a couple of the members start speaking another language with each other, I would feel that I am being left out of the conversation.
I have travelled a lot with my family; we have been to countries that speak English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Hebrew, Turkish, and Greek. In all of these places I have been with my family and was able to fall back on English when need be, but I also enjoyed picking up on some terms to get around and it made me feel a lot more comfortable in my situation. I think that language is a beautiful thing and is the basis for our existence. We should take pride in our own language or languages and in turn, should respect those that speak another.

I admit that I am guilty of using racial labels to describe people. I am not aware when I am doing it and I do not mean it in a racist way in the slightest. Sometimes, when telling a story, it just provides description and adds to the imagery of the story. If I were to tell you a story about how people were being loud in the study room while I was trying to study for an exam, I most likely would say “this group of black/asian/Hispanic/etc. people were being so loud in the study room earlier.” Now you know where I was and that there were other people that were distracting me. It paints a picture for you. Which raises an interesting question. If I had omitted that information, what race would you think that they were?
At Penn State, as we are all trying to indulge in all the things that college has to offer, we engage in clubs or organizations, fraternities or sororities, etc. For the most part, these extra-curricular activities attract people of similar races. So, being a member and interacting with people who are all of a similar race, using racial labels to describe those who are not part of your “group” might be necessary. Not to discriminate against them, but for clarification that you may not know them.
I use labels often, I never intend for them to harmful because personally I think people should embrace their race. There are many things we can choose to do in life, but what race we are is something we cannot so there is no point in being ashamed or hurt by it. Love your race and love yourself and what anyone else thinks won’t bother you. In class we talk about what a perfect world would be like. In a perfect world, no one would be racist, no one would use racial labels, and no one would even talk about race. But because that is not the case, and because of how awful our history has been in terms of how races treat each other. So now, we are automatically shown to treat others as different from ourselves. I believe that this is okay as long as we are just using the labels to describe what they look like. Because in fact, that is what they look like! However, if those labels are used to describe a stereotype, that is completely wrong. All people are different, and like I said, just because they are a certain race, does not mean that they are the same as other people of that race. People should embrace their race and only use racial labels when they are describing a person that is not the same race as themselves, simply for clarification, nothing else.

What do you think about the fact that women go around wearing short skirts and high heels and sacrifice their comfort? I see this around Penn State quite a lot actually and the majority of girls that I know all dress like this when they go out at night. I have never really questioned this before but being asked makes me think about how girls dress. I think that a lot of the reason why girls dress like this has to do with the media. Girls in college read magazines that show them how celebrities dress and what is trendy. Because of this they are inclined to dress that way and the best time they are able to show that is when they are going out at night. Another reason why girls dress like this is because of sex. College is a very sexual time for many people, they want to go out and wear the things that their parents wouldn’t approve of and do the things that wouldn’t normally be socially acceptable. This relates to Sam’s lecture about the needy penis. We live in a very man-driven world, and girls know that men find certain features of a woman to be attractive. Therefore, they dress in order to attract men to those areas; mainly the breasts, legs, and butt. Women dress in a way that will accentuate those areas and therefore lead to more attention from males. As sad as that may be, it is a natural part of life and it is the way men are programmed to think.
As far as the way men dress, they usually dress in a way that will attract women. Women are not attracted to men who dress in tight clothes, men do not have features like women do that can be easily shown off through clothes. Men dress in a way that shows off their masculinity because that is what we believe women are attracted to. Another reason why guys don’t seem to care about how they dress is because a lot of the time, we actually don’t care how we dress. We like to be comfortable and for the most part, girls don’t seem to question that. If society deemed it necessary for us to dress in a provocative manner, then chances are we probably would. However, because it doesn’t we dress the way we want.
As long as our society remains the same as it is, we are going to see women as objectified and they are going to dress the way that they see is fit to attract men. If women decide that they can be sexy without the make up, dresses, and high heels, then they can make the switch and most likely, men will become accustomed to it.

In our society, there is a general understanding that women are more sensitive than men. This is due to an abundance of reasons, but most rational is the placement of hormones in our bodies. The hormone called corticotropinreleasing factor (CRF) helps to control the body's reaction to stress. A study done by The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia showed that in times of stress, this hormone bound more tightly to the brains of females, making them more sensitive to the feeling of stress. Males however, were able to decrease the levels of the hormone and overcome the feelings of stress rather than succumb to it. Another hormone that relates to the amount of sensitivity we experience is testosterone. Men have more testosterone than women, which makes them aggressive and less sensitive. The minimal amount of testosterone in females makes them significantly more sensitive than males. The third reason as to why they may be seen as more sensitive is because women give birth. This makes them compassionate and therefore more sensitive. In many instances in our society, women are allowed to get away with many things. Perhaps it is a cycle of innocence. We assume women to be innocent so when they are tried for something grotesque, we assume that they could not have committed the act. Then because we declare them not guilty, their innocence is re-enforced.
As far as racial groups go, in the video we watched in class about the people stealing the bike, it was blatantly obvious that the different races were treated differently. We often see black or Hispanic people pointed to for crimes or societal issues. This is not always true, but it is a problem our society has developed. In the video, even though both the black kid and the white kid committed the same act, the black kid was immediately thought of as a criminal. It wasn’t until the white kid had walked passed the people multiple times that someone thought he might have stolen the bike. The black kid barely had picked the lock before people were hounding him and calling the cops. Stereotypes in our society have definitely had an effect on the way we think about races. How could they not? You never heard racist jokes about the white kid who was doing something illegal; the joke is always about someone of color. In a way, this may have something to do with the innocence of different races. Since these stereotypes have become so ingrained in our minds, we see white people as more innocent than other races. While this thought process is clearly wrong, it is sadly accepted in our society and is the reason why there is racism.

After searching through the many videos on the Haiti Group Project page, I have found a great respect for the entrepreneurs and families affected by the earthquake. I also think that it is a great idea for Sam to have the class write about this topic and in turn come up with our own ways that we can help. I have personally been involved in a couple relief endeavors. One of which I started on my own when I began executing micro finance loans in Guatemala. I think that this is a very beneficial way to help business owners improve their sales and lifestyles without just handing out money. It allows them to use the loans to buy products or space to improve their businesses.
One of the entrepreneurs who I was most impressed with and who I think could benefit the most from these micro finance loans is Clorene. I think she already has a great concept for a business by selling her bags and shirts. She seems like she is very devoted to her industry but she doesn’t have the necessary utilities to be as efficient as possible. Due to the fact that she has to pay her employees as well as pay rent for the shop and also pays a significant amount of fabric that can be very expensive as it is going through many hands to get to her. I have a couple of good ideas in terms of improving her business plan. One is for her to receive micro finance loans so that she can buy a new sewing machine and thread, which would increase her efficiency and therefore sales. As she becomes more and more profitable she will be able to pay the loan back and qualify for another to buy more things that she needs. Another idea is for her to stop buying her fabric from a distributor in the Dominican Republic who gets their fabric from China. A better plan would be for her to buy her fabric directly from the company in China and save the cost of having it shipped to the DR and then to her.
I also agree with what Sam was saying about adding features to her products in order to make it more appealing to other markets. If she were to add a pocket to the bag for someone to put spare change or a cell phone, it would open her up to a market of people who are constantly on the move and need places to store things quickly.
Overall, I think that the Haiti Group Project is great and I am very excited to start working as a class on ways we can help them. We can provide the resources that these people are so obviously lacking and help them in ways they wouldn’t get otherwise.

Why are we attracted to some accents and deterred by others? I think this relates to our instinctual attraction to something different from ourselves. We have all heard the expression “opposites attract” and in almost all cases, people have different accents. An accent comes from the area and the way we are raised. It is representative of where we are from. When we first meet someone with a different accent, we can assume that they are from a different area than we are; that in itself is interesting to us.
Another perspective is to look at the romance languages. When we hear Spanish, French, or Italian, we are instantly attracted to those accents simply because of the way the words are formed. Because of the way these languages use the tongue and consist of many soft-sounding words, they are considered romantic and therefore more attractive. Another thing to think about when talking about these languages is the area in which they are spoken. The idea that people who speak French are most likely from France or Canada entices people, as these are two very romantic destinations. This applies to Italian and Spanish speakers as well as Italian is mostly spoken in Italy, which people often associate with food and romance, and Spanish brings forth the idea of warm areas and intriguing culture.
For me personally, I find all of the romance languages very attractive, but I also find other languages and accents attractive too. While they speak English in Australia, there is something about an Australian accent that is very attractive. Perhaps this relates back to the fact that while we share a language, and Australian accent is different from our own and therefore we are more attracted to it. Another accent that I am attracted to is an Israeli accent. While it is not considered a romance language, Hebrew is a very soft-spoken language and has a lot of letter combinations that are very pleasing to the ear. This, however, might also have something to do with the fact that I am Jewish and it may be natural for me to be attracted to those who speak the language of my religion.
One last thing to think about is that we are often attracted to things that we cannot do. Not being able to speak a certain language could possibly attract us to that language or accent.
All in all, people are going to be attracted to what their personal preference is. As far as the English language goes, I am attracted to accents that imply that the person is educated. Coming from Boston, I am not attracted to the typical thick Boston accent because I find it to sound uneducated. People are entitled to their personal preference but I think that personal preference comes from a combination of attraction to opposites, education, and the way some languages sound to the ear.

Personally, my opinion on whether being Jewish is a “race, religion, or culture,” I believe that it counts for two of the three. The first, of course being that Judaism is definitely a religion. However, I also think that the Jewish people have their own culture that goes hand in hand with their religion. I don’t think that in any circumstance, that Judaism is a race because not all Jewish people have similar features. Being Jewish, when I am asked what religion I am, that is obviously my response, and while I have never been asked what culture I am, I would most likely say the same. However, if someone were to ask me what race I am, I would say that I am Caucasian. Whether that is technically accurate or not, that is what my response is.
While I am not very religious anymore, my experience as a Jew has revolved mostly around the religious aspects of it. Both my brother and I attended Hebrew School until we were the age of 13, and then we were both Bar Mitzvah’d. For these reasons, it is obvious to me that Jewish is a religion. However, in terms of a culture, Jewish people have a very distinct way of living. I think that the Jewish culture plays off of the rules of the religion and are in some cases one in the same. In terms of food, many Jewish meals use specific ingredients simply because they come from stories in the Old Testament and follow the regulations of Kosher cooking. In cases like this, Judaism is both a culture and a religion.
So far, my experience at Penn State has been a mix of Jews and non-Jews. Yet for some reason that is always a topic of conversation when first meeting people. I am not sure when being Jewish became so interesting to the people around me, or why they feel the need to ask whether or not I am Jewish. Do they not like Jews and are trying to determine how they feel about me? Before college I had never felt any difference between myself and my peers, no matter what our religion.
But now that I am at college and away from the comfort of my family and friends, I have recognized how much of a minority Jews actually are. Because of this I have learned that while I do not keep Kosher or go to temple on Shabbat, Judaism is very much a part of my life. Without it, I may not have turned out the way I am or have had many of the experiences I have. It is something very special to me and I will continue to identify myself as not only white, but also Jewish.