I think it's hard to say whether the views of religious people have changed or not after this discussion. I think that once people get set in their ways or think a certain way, it is hard for them to change their perspective and look at it from another person's view. We have learned this all year in terms of race and I think that in terms of religion or homosexuality, it is no different. I know that religious people view homosexuality as a sin because of the inability to procreate. However, I wonder what other things were going through people's mind during the discussion. I think it was really interesting how people tend to question whether people are born gay or if they choose to be gay. In my discussion group today, someone had questioned "Why does it really matter?" This is something that I had never thought about before until today. I mean really, why does it matter? If someone is gay, then be gay. If someone isn't, then they're not. I'm really not the kind of person to have such a strong view or hatred towards these types of things. Be who you want to be. Be who you are. Mind your own business. I mean, that's just my personal view on it but I feel as if people with religious views think differently. I wonder if after this discussion, their views really did change or if they remained the same. It's interesting that people can have such strong views on things that don't even affect them or relate to them. Two of my really good guy friends are gay and had come out at different times. They said it was hands down the hardest experience they ever had to go through in their entire life. I think it was interesting someone else said in our discussion today said that their friend was also gay and that they would have never chose to be gay and face all the discrimination, etc and that's just the way they are. I bet that if I asked my friends this same concept, they would agree that they would have never chosen it for themselves. My one friend was completely shunned from his family and had never gone through something so hard in his life. He grew up in a Catholic school and extremely religious family and his family was completely devastated when he had came out to them. I felt so helpless as a friend because there was nothing I could do to ease the pain. I think if there's anything that religious people got out of this discussion is to be careful who they are pushing their views on because you have no idea who's feelings you could be hurting. I think that people have some extremely hurtful things to say and sometimes they don't mean for them to come out so hurtful. I think that if you have an opinion on a subject as touchy as homosexuality, you should just keep it to yourself. People don't realize how hurtful they can be. I consider myself a religious person however I don't agree with every single teaching of the church and I find that to be ok. I consider myself an accepting person and feel that people should just mind their own business. Hopefully people with religious views can be more accepting after this discussion as well.

I've watched the show "What Would You Do?" a bunch of times and it's always interesting what the responses are from different people. For example I once watched an episode where there was a white man crying on the lawn with no shoes and no phone or anything near a sidewalk and people were asked to deliver a package by taking that route. They then tried the experiment with a black man crying on the lawn. The men and women who were asked to deliver the package were of all different races. It was interesting that the only person who stopped to see whether either man was ok or needed help was the white man. He asked if they needed a phone to call someone or food if they were hungry. He said he would even wait with them until someone came to get them. When later interviewed, the others were asked why they didn't stop for either man and they responded because they didn't have time. They said they felt pressured the deliver the package on time and therefore walked past both men without even realizing they needed help. I can't believe that people can be so wrapped up and in a rush like this. It's interesting because I'm sure a lot of us have been in this situation. We are just so wrapped up and busy with our daily lives that we don't even notice when someone else is in need. Something else that I found interesting about the show was the white woman said she felt uncomfortable stopping to see if the black man was ok. She said she was afraid and feared for her own safety. Even though it was in a public park and there were people far in the distance, she still felt uncomfortable like he would kidnap her. I think that fear has become a dominant factor in deciding you will help someone or not. It's unfortunate at the same time that this has become such a huge issue. I have to say, personally I do fear for my safety when it comes to helping other people because you just never know people's motives sometimes. For example, we were talking in my discussion group today about how kids "pickpocket" people on the boardwalk. When they ask someone to exchange money, they immediately snatch their purses or wallets and run. I think it's terrible that there are such good people out there who are just willing to help others and then there are people who have completely different motives like those pickpocketing kids. It's sad that we have to stop and think before we help people because of putting ourselves in danger. I think the environment plays a factor of whether you will help someone or not as well. Personally, if someone were crying helpless in a dark alley, I would be reluctant to help them as well because I would be afraid that the helpless person was just bait and I would get kidnapped. It's sad that we are forced to think this way because the person may really be hurt or need our help. I think it's extremely unfortunate that our society has come to think this way but I hope there are still good people out there who are willing to help no matter what.

I've watched the show "What Would You Do?" a bunch of times and it's always interesting what the responses are from different people. For example, I watched an episode where a white man with no shoes on was crying on the grass near a sidewalk. The people on the show were asked to deliver an important package and take the route on the sidewalk. There were many different people including a white, black and muslim woman, and a white, black and muslim man. They then tried the experiment with a black man crying on the grass. The only person who stopped to see if either man (white or black) that was crying was ok, was the white man. He asked if the guy needed help or a phone to use or if he was hungry. When the people were later interviewed, they were asked why they hadn't stopped and most of them said because of the time pressure. They were asked to deliver the package and had a deadline. Because they were afraid they were going to be late, they didn't stop to ask either man if they needed help and just kept on their way. For the white who had stopped, he said race hadn't mattered to him at all. However, the white woman said she felt uncomfortable or threatened by the black man crying on the lawn because she wasn't sure if he would hurt her or not. I think this goes along with the factor of fear that has been such a dominant issue lately. I feel like fear sometimes plays a factor in whether you will help someone or not. It can also depend on the atmosphere. If someone is crying in a dark alley with no one around, I personally would be scared to help them only for my own safety. There is so many things that could wrong or I feel like it would be a trap and the crying person would just be the bait to get you. On the contrary, someone could desperately really need help and you could be the only one around to help them. It's unfortunate that we have to take these things into account but personally, I would feel threatened for my own safety. I feel like it depends on what kind of person you are and how willing you are to help someone or how far you are willing to go. What's sad to me is that there are such good people out there who really do want to help others and end up getting hurt in the end instead. For example, we were taking in our discussion group today about kids "pickpocketing" people on the boardwalk by asking for change and snatching their wallets as soon as they get it out. It's absolutely terrible that there are such nice people willing to exchange change for someone else as a nice gesture and end up losing in the end. I think we all have this idea of being a good Samaritan in the back of our minds but it's unfortunate that fear has to play a factor of how willing we are to help someone else.

I think respect is a topic that is more taboo than spoken about. However, I think it should be spoken about more often. As much as I love my good guy friends, they always have alterior motives when talking to girls--even their good girl friends. I just don't get it? For example, my guy friend was introducing my girl friend to another guy and when she walked away he said, "Yo dude, she's for you." My roommate said back to him, "Well, that's a way to introduce your friend?" My guy friend got all "What'd I do..!?" It was absolutely ridiculous. I really just don't understand the male species and it bothers me to no end. Whatever.. I just don't don't understand why guys have these preconceived notions about girls. I mean my friends and I go out with the idea in our minds to just go out and have a good time with the girls but we don't disrespect guys in the process. Personally, I think having respect for yourself is essential. I don't think it matters if you're a girl or a guy, I think everyone should have respect for themselves but what's different is the LEVEL of respect that people have. For example, my good girl friend once told me that she'll never be the "girlfriend" type. That she'll always be the girl that guys JUST hook up with and that's it. She was once cheated on by her ex-boyfriend and feels that she'll never be taken seriously by a guy. I feel like that is just the saddest thing in the world to hear. The fact that she has no respect for herself is completely disheartening. On the other hand, my roommate feels very strongly that you don't need anyone in your life but yourself. Whenever any of my girl friends and I, she always give us this "be independent" speech. Personally, I'm all about the girl power and I am also one to be independent. I agree that you should never rely on a man financially or provide for you. I want to earn my living and my career and as a woman I can do just that. One of my life goals is to be on the cover of Forbes magazine for being one of the top women in the business world. I want to show the world and any other women out there that we can provide for ourselves and do well for ourselves. Of course I want to find a man someday who can live with my girl power but I want this spouse not just to be my husband. I want him to be my tag team partner. My partner in crime. My life partner. I hope that they'll have all the same hopes, dreams, and goals that I do and do everything in their power to make them happen someday. Until that day comes, I will continue to rely only on myself. I will always be independent and have self respect for myself. I hope to one day teach my children about having self respect for yourself because I feel that it is a huge component of self esteem. I think that people should feel confident about who they are. I think there are ways to show your self respect without having to dress in a certain way. As long as you know deep down in your heart that you have self respect for yourself, then that is all that matters. And hopefully someday my husband will be able to deal with my girl power...

I have read all three books of The Hunger Games which I absolutely loved each and every book. Each has their own plot and dramatic events without straying from the main focus of the series. I think Suzanne Collins is an extremely talented author and the movies will do nothing but compliment her work. I saw The Hunger Games in theatres this past weekend and it completely lived up to my expectations from the book. Each character fit the description exactly as Suzanne Collins portrayed them to be. Katniss was described as an olive skin and dark haired girl which Jennifer Lawrence did portray in the movie despite her blue eyes. I maybe pictured her to have a bit more Native American flair but all in all, I think she was portrayed extremely well. That being said, I think she did an amazing job playing Katniss and I look forward to seeing her in the next 2 movies. I pictured Peeta as blonde hair and blue eyes in the books but his dark eyes didn't make a huge difference. (I still love him!) To comment on the tweets about Rue and Thresh, what is everyone so hyped up about? Rue and Thresh were described as having dark skin in the books because their District was the agricultural district where they worked in the sun all day. If those people who wrote the tweets actually paid attention to the books, maybe they would understand......Instead they find it necessary to tweet about the race of the characters rather than who the characters were and what they were all about. It's upsetting that people can be so ignorant. Maybe they didn't mean to come off so racist but maybe they're just people still in Stage 1 or something and don't care? I'm sure that Suzanne Collins had a say in picking the cast for the movies to portray the characters that she created obviously. Rue's character was much more than a dark skinned young girl. She represented all the starving youth living in the districts at that time. She reminded Katniss of her little sister, Prim, which made the bond between Katniss and Rue that much more special. Rue symbolized the underdog in the competition. When Thresh revenged Rue's death by saving Katniss, it represented the fact that even though they are in a death match, love still exists. To the people tweeting: Black, White, blue, green, dark skinned, olive skinned, pink polka dotted, there was much more to their characters than their skin color and stop being so ignorant. I'm confused as to why everyone is so focused on the race of the characters rather than who they were. The books were beyond amazing. The movie was portrayed extremely well. The actors and actresses did a phenomenal job. I think people need to really take a step back and realize that what they were tweeting about was completely false. I hope they expected all of this controversy because what they said was extremely rude.

This statement definitely opened my eyes to the racial issue of the double standard. In this situation, a white man killed a black child and wasn't prosecuted. This man is still out there as we speak. If the tables were turned a black man killed a white child, I think it's true that based on society, this man would immediately be prosecuted and put into jail. it's actually absurd that this is the way society functions and extremely unfortunate that we are not willing to take our blinders off. It's unbelievable how so many things are shaped by society's views and double standards. For example, discrimination against gender is another issue. There are so many double standards that are associated with males and females. I feel like are things both men and women can get away with just because of their gender. For example, if a guy is hooking up with a bunch of different girls at the same time, he's looked at as "the man." While, if a girl was hooking up with multiple guys at the same time, she would be considered a slut. It's extremely unfair and unjust. Unfortunately this is just the way society works. It saddens me that people are so unwilling to take their blinders off and just completely disregard all of these viewpoints that are shaped by society. If we all could just take a second and realize that there is so much more than just skin color and race and gender, there wouldn't be all of these viewpoints invented by people. it's hard for me to accept the fact that yes, if this gunman was black and shot a white child, it absolutely would not have gone unnoticed that this man was black. However, that's hope society would view it. I think it's heart breaking to put such an emphasis on who is killing who and what race you identify with rather than focusing on the poor life of the child that was just lost. It's such a hard concept to grasp and I feel completely helpless that that is just the way society works. People don't take off their blinders. They see what they want to see. They believe what they want to believe. They hear what they want to hear. These kind of statements definitely open my own eyes to the prejudices that we don't realize we associate with everyday. I hope that just by realizing and accepting that there will be perspectives shaped by society, does not mean that I have to side with them. It takes a lot to disagree and be the outcast, but I think it's important to take a stand on a different viewpoint and stick with it. I completely disagree that the black man should go to jail over the white man just because of their race, but I feel like that is just the way society will make it out to be. I am learning to be slower to judge such important issues because I feel like people just jump to their own conclusions and stick with them. I hope that I can do my best to spread this attitude and make people realize that a lot of our thoughts and beliefs are shaped by society just like this statement about the black gunman or white gunman. I think no matter what, it doesn't matter the color of your skin; if you shot someone, anyone of any race, you should absolutely be put in jail or prosecuted regardless of any circumstance.

When Sam sent out an email a few days ago saying that yesterday's class was going to "rock," I wasn't sure what to expect. I thought maybe it would be about something to do with religion or race or ethnic relations or something of that matter (like every class). I was not expecting yesterday's class at all. Instead, we dealt with all of those topics combined along with the main and extremely controversial topic of war. When Sam called war veterans to the front of the class, I was shocked. I wondered what was going through their minds as three war veterans all around my age were called to the front 100 Thomas, the biggest lecture hall on campus, in front of 700 strangers, to tell their story about their experience in Afghanistan or Iraq. The one veteran that stuck out to me the most said he suffered a brain injury while in service and suffers from PTSD and a speech impairment. It broke my heart to hear him apologize for stuttering. He described his experience where he saw extremely malnourished Iraqi men charge at him from a hut in the distance and gave them some of his own food. He described the children blowing him and the soldiers kisses along the streets. He described how his best friend died in his arms and the tattoo he has above his heart in his memory. He said how much the war has changed him and how he suffered mentally when he returned home. I had never heard such a heartfelt story from someone who had experienced the war first hand. It was unbelievable and it took a lot to hold myself together. I have been thinking a lot about what he said yesterday in class. I have thought about my personal aspect on the war and how I really didn't have one before. I thought about the citizens living oversees and how much I can't imagine what they are going through. Whenever I think to complain: my alarm clock is going off and I don't want to wake up, there's no milk left in the fridge, the brita water filter is empty, there are no tables available to sit for lunch, my phone's dead and I need to call someone -- something completely selfish-- I now think of people that can only wish to have a problem as simple as those. Instead, they are facing weapons on their way to school, unclean air and water, hunger-- real hunger, watching loved ones die before them, etc. It really has changed my perception of war because, as Sam would say, I empathize with those people and think of how blessed and lucky I am to live here in America and everything that we take for granted. I think that it's just so sad how much we as Americans take for granted. Even just simple things like having clean air and big of a deal they really are. Even just the fact that we go to Penn State, one of the best schools in the nation and get to learn and grow here every day. I wouldn't trade any of it for the world. I hope that somehow, we can make a difference in the world by helping those in need such as those we are at war with. The war is such a controversial subject but I wish people would take more time to really put yourselves in others shoes and think about how they are feeling. Although it is a life changing experience, you don't have to go oversees to open your eyes to the war. It really is a powerful tool and I think a lot of people could benefit from simply empathizing with others. Step by step, a little at a time, I think we could all make a difference.

When Sam did this experiment in class, I was extremely surprised because this is not something that you think about on a daily basis. Being a White female, I never really thought about the advantage that I have in the work force because I don't face the same discrimination as other races do. (Not saying that White is superior, but just the fact that other face racism that I don't is unfair to them.) I don't have an "American White female" name which to me are examples like Amanda, Caitlin, Heather, Courtney, Alyssa, Melissa, or Lauren. My name is Remy. It is not an ordinary name, but it is something that makes me unique and sets me apart. I was named after a Brandy Cognac Liquor known as Remy Martin because it is my dad's favorite drink. It is also a boy's name and I'm pretty sure it's French which I am ethnically not. I have also only ever met another boy named Remy because it is just more common for some reason. Anyway, I wonder what employers are thinking when they see my name on a resume compared to others. I wonder if they compare me to other "common American female" names and ponder what ethnicity that I am or what I look like or what language I speak at home. Since my last name is Italian, I wonder if they take this into consideration as well. If you look at my resume, you'll find that a lot of my activities and studies have to do with Italian also. I wonder if they consider my passion for my Italian culture. There are so many things that come to mind when looking at a person's resume. I have heard that it takes an employer an average of 7 seconds to look over a resume and they can immediately decide what pile to put it in. I'm sure this comes with expertise but 7 SECONDS?! You have 7 seconds to jump off the page to a person who will judge whether you are qualified for a job position or not and the most bolded and biggest font on the page is your name: something that your parents picked for you. Your name is something that was chosen for you by your parents and something that you basically have no control over besides living with it for the rest of your life. I wonder if there is such thing as discrimination against your name?? It obviously does exist if employers do take into consideration a black person's name over a white person's name when deciding who to hire. It's just sad that we don't take the time to consider these things until they are a problem. I am proud of my name because it is unique and I feel that people should be proud of their names too. Our names are something that set us apart and make us different than others. I think it's crazy that one day, we will have to decide a name for our children which will set them apart. When they are older, they will have employers look at their names and think the same questions "What do they look like?" "Are they Black? White? Hispanic?" "Where are their ancestors from?" "Are they qualified for this job?" And a whole other plethora of questions that go along with just someone's name. I hope that when I am an employer someday, because of this experiment, I will look beyond someone's name and really look whether they are qualified for the job and the criteria on the resume. After all, its just a name.

I think that interracial dating is a very controversial topic in society today. I feel like people don't even want to talk about interracial relationships or dating because there are so many "touchy" topics that come along with it like sexuality and religion. In my discussion group, we did a really cool exercise that involved pairing up with someone in the room and describing to the group what you're parents would say if you brought that person home as your girlfriend or boyfriend. We were assigned randomly and the class was evenly paired. There are many different races and religions in my discussion group. There are a few students from Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic decent and also a bunch of different religious backgrounds. I was paired up with a girl in my group as a lesbian couple. Being straight, it was interesting to put myself in someone else's shoes and think about what my parents would say if I were to bring home a girlfriend. My partner and I discussed similar views of how our parents would at first be confused and initially shocked. They probably would second guess whether this was a joke or not, or maybe just a "sexuality confusion." Nonetheless, we agreed that it would take time for our parents to warm up to and they would love and accept us no matter what. There were also many different responses from interracial couples such as an African American girl and a Caucasian guy. They said that both their parents wouldn't accept the idea of an interracial couple because of their backgrounds and how different their parents views are. Another Caucasian female student described how she went on a date with an African American guy and her parents were already thinking of the children! I thought it was so interesting how parents think about things, even if they're well off into the future. Another hypothetical couple were two gay male students, one Caucasian and one of HIspanic ethnicity where they described their parents reactions as well. The Hispanic student described how his parents would be shocked to the idea and wasn't really sure how they would react while the Caucasian male said his parents would be accepting no matter what. I really enjoyed this exercise because it makes you open your eyes and take a view from the world from someone else's shoes. I think that interracial marriage is something in our society today that not a lot of people talk about and this exercise would teach people how to think from the outside.

i think it's extremely interesting that people automatically stereotype others based on their race or where they are from. To go off what she was saying in the video how people from Dominican Republic don't like to be called "black" or how all Asians are automatically grouped together into one race when really they are from all different countries, I think people just don't want to take the time to learn other people's races and backgrounds. For example, people stereotype Asians and just group them together when they could be from Vietnam, China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, etc. However, people just cluster them into one general category instead of caring about where they are really from. It's the same with Black people where they could be from Haiti, Trinidad, Barbados, Dominican Republic, South Africa, Ghana, etc. I think that it's extremely negligent to just group people together like this. Why do people stereotype? Because it's easy to think a certain way and not change your mind. Because people don't care about getting to know people of other races and ethnicities. I think it's extremely sad that people don't want to take the time to get to know others of different backgrounds. If we were all the same, the world would not be interesting. It would be blah and unbearable. I personally feel like I witness this type of stereotype because I am from New Jersey. People get set in their own views of how they think people are just because of where they're from and it's extremely hurtful where they come up with such ideas. Do I go tanning everyday? No. Do I go down the shore for the summer? Yes. Am I a 'typical guido Italian jersey girl? (whatever that means) Yeah and I'm proud of it. Do I have an "Jersey" accent? Yes. Do you really think I care what you think? Honestly, no. I am proud that I am from Jersey and it's not fair to be stereotyped because of where I'm from. I think people need to open their eyes and see that we're really not all that different.