From my discussions with friends and peers regarding affirmative action, the general opinion of these people, as well as my own, is that we have a negative position regarding affirmative action. I believe that part of the reason why white people dislike affirmative action is because they do not truly know how much they benefit from all of the elements that technically are considered affirmative action.
When regarding affirmative action, most people probably think of college admissions and job placement; they think that people of a minority race have better chances and are more likely to receive admission or a job with equal or even lesser credentials. This is why they resent this process, because they feel, justifiably in my opinion, that college admissions, job placement, etc. should be based solely on the credentials of the candidate rather than their race. These competitions should focus on the academics, athletic, extracurricular, and other components of the person that truly show how qualified they would be to assume the position that they are applying for. In class, however, I feel like the general consensus of what is affected by affirmative action was expanded. Professor Richards stated that all of the benefits from knowing somebody in some position was also considered affirmative action. This may be slightly confusing to those of us that mainly considered affirmative action beneficial to underrepresented individuals, also noting that this does not apply to just minorities of race. This may be confusing because any person of any race and sex can have a connection or know somebody that can help them win an award, receive a job, or win a contest.
The reason why white people benefit the most from affirmative action, including the definitions stated by Professor Richards, is because there are a disproportionate number of white people in higher positions able to subject other friends, who are also most likely white and in a position of power, to positive effects of affirmative action. However, I, and many other of my peers and the general population, do not consider this form of favoritism as affirmative action, but as having connections and a result of the powerful wanting to remain powerful.
I must admit that I, myself, disregarded affirmative action as some socially-warranted requirement of establishments to avoid the occurrence, or at least possible labeling, of racism. However, I also thought that this meant that those that worked hard to gain higher grades and were more involved would suffer as a result. After hearing Dr. Richards’ lecture, however, my opinions have changed somewhat. It seems that there is a less direct consequence on the candidates’ chances of acceptance, for jobs or college or anything, from affirmative action, but there also must be some effects still. In general, however, my new viewpoint rests on the basis that there is a system in place by people in power who want to remain in power, or want like-citizens to remain in power. Whether these people are asian, black, white, or Hispanic, this trend occurs internationally, and there must be a shift in power in order to disrupt this disproportionate flow of power and wealth.

Living in Happy Valley, it is easy to forget how unstable life can be. Living in a town and community where we are all united by a single identity that is Penn State, we sometimes forget that there are bigger things than grades and football. As we learned in the aftermath of the crisis that occurred at Penn State, small actions, or inaction, can have large implications on the lives of many, not only the people of the community, but especially the victims of the crimes committed.
Although some of the lessons that I’ve taken from this situation are a few that I’ve heard before multiple times in my life, there has never been a time in which these lessons have seemed so important.
One of the most important lessons from this situation is that although you may not be lying, taking proactive steps to right a wrong is more important than lying. By avoiding the truth, you are pretending that wrong-doing is not occurring. You are practically allowing the crime to occur. Previously in my life, I did not think too much of an issue when someone would do something wrong and the wrong doing was reported. Thinking to follow up and see that the wrong doing was actually punished or accounted for was seemingly unnecessary; however, for certain events, for certain occasions, there must be some accountability for those who do the crime as well as those who witnessed it.
From this lesson, I will be able to better handle myself in situations in which I find myself at work. Especially working for large corporations, there may be large implications for actions both taken and not taken. I will have to evaluate any situation I find myself in. Taking the first steps to find out how to rectify the situation is largely important in being able to do the right thing morally and in terms of the law.
Knowing that someone could get hurt or worse in a situation where I could have stopped this damage, I would have to push myself to do the right thing. Even though it may be easier to do the simplest thing, to merely file a report or ignore the situation, it is only right to make sure the event has been made right.
I also have learned that in times of difficulties, standing by what you believe and with those that are in your community will help you to stay strong in times of adversity. By reinforcing the beliefs you have, you can stand strong and realize that your actions and morals are not affected by the actions of a single person or group. You can stand strong and proud of who you are.

In my opinion, the riots definitely would not have been as far spread and large in size if we were not in the midst of a major change in the format of social media and communication. That said, I think the volatility that was shown at the riots would not have changed even though I think that there would have been less people.
Through Twitter and Facebook, news that there was going to be a riot, where the riot was taking place, and what was happening during the riot were all available instantly. Without these news sources uniting the student body against a certain cause, there most certainly would not have been as many people that were aware or willing to take part of the riots that occurred both Tuesday and Wednesday night. By spreading the news of facebook and twitter, friends saw that their friends were going out and protesting the happenings on this campus, and they were given confidence that if they went out to do this as well, that they would be met with other students united in that cause. Like Dr. Richards stated in class, the group-think phenomenon is very powerful and widespread. The fact that not only other students here, but that the majority of students here were going to protest the events that occurred definitely persuaded others that were on the fence to riot or not to riot those two nights.
In regards to the volatility of the riots themselves, I do not think that this factor would have changed if Twitter and Facebook were not broadcasting the events of the riots in real time. The reason why I think that this is true is because those that were truly angry or upset would have rioted and would have gone to those extreme measures no matter what. Also, those that got drunk very irresponsibly, in my opinion, would have gotten drunk no matter what happened. Those that decided to vandalize downtown State College were going to be filled with frustration no matter if the news were broadcasted through facebook and twitter, or through television and radio, or if the news were delivered to them by person. Of course, this would probably change if the number of people rioting decreased by magnitudes of order, but I do not think the quantity of rioters would change that drastically.
All in all, I think that facebook and twitter were a positive force during these riots. This is not because they united students in these efforts; our student body would be united simply because we are proud to be Penn State students. This is also not because it increased the number of students to the riots; this may have actually contributed to the destruction that eventually occurred. No, facebook and twitter were a positive force because they allowed students and alumni all over the world to share in the pain, tragedy, and anger that was felt during these recent times. These platforms of social media allowed us to grieve with each other and console each other during one of the hardest, if not the hardest, moments in Penn State history. And together, with the help of these platforms of social media, we will stay united in the effort to show the world that we are still Penn State.

When other groups of people speak another language around me it doesn’t really bother me. At Penn State, a place where there are large amounts of diverse groups from countries around the world, there are many times when I’ve passed by people talking in another language, and times where groups were speaking different languages around me. I don’t really notice when this occurs, and this may be because I, myself, speak another language. So, I may be used to various languages being spoken around me.
I think one of the things that bothers people the most when they hear others speaking a different language is the possibility that they might be talking about them. It’s definitely a possibility, but in my opinion, there is no reason to worry about that situation, especially for such a transient moment.
Another thing that may bother people when other people speak different languages is that they feel that American English should be spoken in America, but personally, I think that viewpoint is ignorant and close-minded. As we discussed in class, if we were to imagine ourselves in another country, we would initially speak English just because that is the language that we have spoken our entire lives. Of course, to make our lives easier, we would try to learn the language of the country; however, we would probably keep speaking English to each other since it is the language we are the most comfortable with. By putting ourselves into the shoes of the immigrants we are talking about, we can begin to try to understand the situation that they are in by coming to a new country.
Also, if we were to go to another country and continue to speak English, the hosts of the country would almost certainly react with the same feelings that we would react with given the same situation. So, maybe this reaction is something that is natural to feel in this situation; however, that does not make it the right reaction to have. Although it should be expected that people attempt to assimilate into the country, there should be some understanding that those people want to hold onto their culture since that is who they are and that is where their family originated from. Expecting people to give up their customs, cultures, and lifestyles could be considered as naïve as entering a country without realizing that you have to assimilate to that country to a certain degree.

Our world would obviously be radically different if we lived in a world centered on the black race. Today, our world and society are both white-centered and it is actually pretty surprising to me when I see other countries in different continents with societies similar to our white-centered society. For example, I see countries in the Asian continent whose trends in society resemble those made in our white-centered world. In our class, we discussed one of these trends in the skin-whitening make up that is so popular in parts of the Asian continent.
In a black-centered world, I would think that the countries of the world would strive to resemble the trends of the black-centered societies. The darker the skin, the more attractive on would be. Also, black celebrities would be praised much more and be much more popular. Also, the foods and cultural patterns of black cultures would be replicated around the world.
An interesting thought that I have is how the structure of social class would be affected and how this restructuring would affect our society and culture. If black people made up the majority of executives and had the highest average family income, would white people necessarily take the place that those black people previously held? Would they take certain roles of these people? Would the genre of rap and hip-hop be composed of mostly white people or would it still be comprised of mostly black artists. Would country music still be dominated by white singers and songwriters or would this genre become populated by black singers and songwriters?
In my opinion, I think that we would see an almost complete role reversal in race and society. Big businesses would be headed by mostly black executives; the induction of the first white president of the United States would be an historic event. Food with roots from the continent of Africa would be common. Although food invented in the United States would still be the most popular types of food, those foods would also be influenced by African culture. Black celebrities would be much more popular. Although, there doesn’t seem to be a large disparity between the popularity of black and white celebrities in a lot of fields of entertainment. However, there would definitely be some discernible differences with the change in culture from a white-centered to a black-centered society.
It would definitely be interesting to live in a world that is centered on black people and cultures. I would think that the world would be almost an opposite view of the world today, and it would be shocking to enter it from the world we live in currently; however, it would also be a great learning experience to see how much society is affected by race.

In my opinion, spending your time and hanging out with people of different races does not make you a poser. It simply means that you have friends that are of another race. There are several reasons why you began to and continued to hang out with these certain people, but I feel like it is not the race that brings the group together, it is other factors that happen to bring people of any combination of races together as friends.
For example, people on a sports team in high school will most likely make friendships and hang out with each other outside of the sport because they spend so much time together during practice and games. The team may be composed primarily of black people, or white people, or any combination of races. So, a player on this team who is of the minority would not be considered a poser in many people’s opinion for simply being friends with the people he plays sports with and has common ties with.
Another example of how easily a person can begin to hang out with people outside his/her race is if he/she grew up in an environment where the majority of kids were not his/her race. If someone that is black, Asian, or Hispanic grew up in a community with mostly white children, he wouldn’t abstain from playing with those kids just because of race. I think the opposite would actually occur; the kids would play together disregarding race completely, because it has such little precedence in your mind at that age. Then, growing up, this person will most likely continue to build his friendship with these people of a different race and think nothing of it until it was pointed out to him/her that he/she was of a different race. So, the intention of the child of the minority race, would not be to act like the majority race or try to blend in; the intention of the child would be to hang out with his/her true friends that he/she has had since growing up as a young child.
In my experience, I grew up in a community with mostly white kids, and I, being of a different race, did not even realize that was apparent until middle school. I didn’t realize this fact because it had such little relevance to our group; race didn’t matter as much as if we had fun together or if we could rally up good games of basketball or football. Then, growing up and getting to high school and college, I was not going to leave my friends that I had hung out with my entire life, so my core group of friends remained white and I remained the minority. So in my opinion, being a minority in a group of friends does not automatically make you a poser.

If my roommate told me on the first day of living together that he was gay, I would be shocked, only because my roommate has been my friend since we were in kindergarten. If I roomed with someone random, however, I think that I would first not know what to think. Of course I would not have a problem with his sexuality, but of course there would be some things that would make me uncomfortable. I have a few friends that are openly homosexual, but I do not have any close friends that are gay. So being placed into an environment in which I would be living with someone that is homosexual would make me initially nervous and anxious about the situation.
I would wonder what behavior would change and how my life could be affected by these changes. After thinking about these things though, I think that I would realize that other than our sexual preference, we would not be too different. After getting to know the people that I do know that are homosexual I seem to never remember their sexual orientation until the subject comes up. Hopefully, if I learned that my roommate were gay, I would eventually just want to get to know him just as I would want to get to know any other new roommate.
If my roommate had told me through the middle of the year, I would have much more initial shock, but it would be much easier for me to realize how little differences there would be since I were living with him for the first half of the year.
If my current roommate had told me he were gay, however, I would be very shocked. Having known him for basically my entire life, it would take much longer for me to get used to the idea he were gay. It would also be a very large sign to me that there are such little differences in those that have different sexual preferences that I do. However, I have to be careful in making sure that I do not make generalizations that all people that are homosexual act a certain way.
I think that in the end, I have to actually get to know people that are homosexual in order to gain a perspective into their lives. With this realization in mind, I can more answer the question of the video more confidently. I would have to say that I would definitely be shocked if my roommate told me he was gay, but I would be excited to have the opportunity to get to know someone who has such a different perspective on life. This would be a great way for me to widen my own perspectives and gain insight on life.

I would like to think that I would still abstain from using illicit drugs if I were a different race; however, I know that may not be the case. From the traditional psychological viewpoint, there are very large influences on one’s life by both the environment, that are nurtured, and the genes you inherit, that are from nature. I think that in this case, the choice of using illicit drugs is mainly influenced by the environment in which the person is raised rather than your race.
I was raised in the suburbs, and I went to a very large, nice school. The opportunities for me to even try drugs were very small in number. I was never offered any type of drug other than alcohol and marijuana, and after refusing marijuana, I was never offered the drug again, until college. So the environment in which I was raised definitely affected the likelihood of my taking illicit drugs. My race, on the other hand, did not affect me. However, I can understand why one may think that race does affect statistics regarding drug use. Hispanics and black people who live in poorer, urban areas may be more likely to do drugs statistically, but I do not think that is a result of their race. Instead, it is because of their environment. The nature of these urban areas tends towards higher drug usage and crime no matter what race would compose these areas. So, it is not because people are black or Hispanic or any specific race that they are more likely to use drugs, but it is because they are exposed to these drugs more and has more opportunities to use them.
Likewise, white people who live in rural areas may be more likely to use drugs as well due to their environment. Although I am unsure of the actual data, I would think that apart from marijuana, white people who live in suburban areas are much less likely to use illicit drugs compared to white people who live in rural or urban areas. If race were truly a factor in determining drug use, then all of these people would have much more similar amounts of drug usage. Also, as we discussed in class, black people are actually much less likely to use drugs than white people, but that may be a result of many factors other than race. Things such as the culture in which the person was raised, the values instilled in that person, the area in which they live, the friends they have, the attention they receive from older figures. There are many more environmental factors that must be compared before we can correlate drug usage and race.
Now, to answer the question of whether I think my decision to use drugs would change if my race changed, I would have to answer no as long as I were raised in the same environment and especially the same culture and core beliefs.

The determination and work ethic that these entrepreneurs have shown is outstanding. After reading a little about the background of Haiti, and the destitute living conditions the country was is even before the earthquake, the acts of these people who are trying not only to survive but to thrive in these conditions is remarkable.
The story of people like Suze Fleuriza who started their own business and sacrifice so much to keep it going are extremely inspirational. From the background nformation written about Ms. Fleuriza, the fact that she spends an entire day at the market just to gather the material she needs to keep her business going is something that I think most Americans take for granted. We merely order our materials and needs and have them delivered to us. What is even more impressive about the fact that she gathers her materials every three days is that is was also noted that she has no form of transportation other than a form of a taxi. The limited transportation and amount of effort and time she has to put into her business is great, but she does not give up, she just pushes on and tries to expand.
Another exceptionally inspirational entrepreneur that I read about was Clorence Blaise. Ms. Blaise and her team of eight others make various types of clothing from printed shirts to hand bags made from used jeans to baby bonnets and blankets. What I found surprising concerning Ms. Blaise’s situation was that what was hindering her was that she was too successful and that she actually needed money not to give her business a jump start, but to meet demands from customers. She really shows what hard work and determination can produce even in the most difficult times and in an environment void of resources. Being able to teach all eight employees to make a shirt from start to finish was also an impressive feat. Having the ability to teach well especially to people who probably do not have a high level of education is impressive in itself, but teaching these people and creating a cohesive team that can be productive is even more impressive.
The companies that were described are also very impressive. ERNESA, a company that makes solar-powered street lights which also contain outlets for charging cell phones, has a great idea and definitely fits into the demographic of Haiti, where cell phones are extremely prevalent. Ideas like these and the drive that it takes to make a company like this into reality is what will bring Haiti and Haitians back into a state where people can live more comfortably.
I think that with the ideas and drive that these entrepreneurs have, that their success is only limited by one thing, and that thing is money. By having the resources to fill their needs, the possibilities of these groups are only limited by their desires and determinations, and to me, it seems as though their determination and drive are very present.

I agree that there is clearly a correlation between family income and SAT scores; however, I do not agree that this disproves, in any way, that SAT scores are also affected by the race of the test taker. SAT scores are likely to rise as family income rises because of many reasons. Money will afford you the opportunity to take SAT prep courses, it will allow you to attend better school districts with better teachers and courses, and it will allow you to hire tutors or learning materials. It is clear that those who have money have a clear advantage over those who do not. The assertion that race plays only a small role, or none at all, however, is incorrect in my opinion.
The direct relationship that is seen in the statistics regarding family income vs. SAT scores does indicate that as the amount of money you have increases, SAT scores are likely to increase, but we can also look at data that shows that the racial groups who have the highest family income are of certain races, specifically white and asian. If, SAT scores were not influenced by race, the SAT scores of every race would eventually converge, leading these races to attain similar jobs, leading to the convergence of family income as well. Instead, white and asian races clearly do have a slight advantage, somehow, when taking the SAT’s. This leads them to get into better colleges and then attain better jobs, which, as a result, leads to the increase of their average family income, starting the cycle over again with their children. So, although family income is directly related to SAT score, race has a correlation with family income. Obviously, this means that race will have an effect on SAT scores as well.
Of course, there are many other factors that are much more important that the race of the test taker. These factors could include the intrinsic motivation of a student, the determination to do well on the test, the drive to study, the innate ability, and many others. I also want to make it clear that I am not stating that if one white or asian student takes the SAT’s that a black or native american student will always do worse. I am stating, however, that you cannot discount race from being one of the factors of SAT score results. It is clear that there is a relationship between the two. Whether it is the upbringing of the child, the environment he is raised in, or the style of teaching he is subjected to, there is some component of race and/or culture that affects test takers of the SAT’s compared to other races and cultures.