First, let me start off by saying I do not think the American dream fully exists. I feel that in todays society the American dream cannot be completely true because of the amount of competition and the economy being the way it is. In my mind when I hear the term “American dream” I think that it means once you make it to America you are given many opportunities that will always lead to success. Obviously in America today, that cannot be accomplished because it takes a lot of time and effort to make a successful career. Even though I think that the American dream cannot be accomplished all the time, I do, however, believe that affirmative action can increase the chances of the American dream becoming full filled. With affirmative action in place it allows people of all races and ethnicities to have an equal chance at becoming successful. Under affirmative action immigrants are given the opportunity to get into a career. Also, with affirmative action immigrants can start businesses because it shows equal opportunity throughout the country. The fact is that affirmative action promotes societal equality, which it does, but that does not mean the completion of the American dream. With affirmative action it does not guarantee that immigrants will get that million dollar opportunity that will full fill the American dream; all it does s state that immigrants will not be discriminated against when trying to get that opportunity. This helps in getting to the goal of the American dream, but it will not come easy. Overall, I believe that when people talk about the American dream they think it just comes to them, but it does not. Affirmative action could help improve the chances of immigrants completing the American dream but it will not make a huge difference. Actually, after writing this paper I have come to realize the American dream comes down to one having that chance to create a life that some only dream about. That chance though can only become a reality through one devoting their life to studying, to take in as much as possible through the experiences you face in life. Affirmative action allows for everyone to create that chance. It allows for ‘minorities’ to live in a society, comfortably, to be able to take in all the obstacles possible with the fairest opportunity. All of that being said, the American dream does still exist in this world. I have experienced, first hand, the life outside of the United States. Some people out there are born into this world already having their life planned out for them and if that life included, living day by day, in a house of mud and leaves, and the worst part is that they will never be able to come out of it. They are not given that opportunity.

Throughout this whole scandal I have learned a lot about both myself and the Penn State community. For one, I think we should be proud of the way we responded in wake to the scandal. Never before in the history of modern education has a school and community gone through so much in one week. We literally saw the face of our university completely change, and most of us struggled with that in some way. But by the end of the week we realized our core values were cheated by people we thought were immortal (Joe Paterno) or we may have already thought were sleezy to begin with (Graham Spanier.) I think we all learned a really hard lesson. That is, sometimes the people we look up to, the people we may consider heroes, have their flaws too. I’m not completely throwing Paterno under the bus. The national media did a horrible job in respect to Paterno. They completely tore him apart and used him as a scapegoat. They failed to acknowledge the fact that he has done so much good for this university. I know I can speak for a lot of Penn Staters when I say that Joe Paterno was a big reason I came to the school. No matter how bad things got in NCAA sports I was proud to say we succeeded with honor. We may not be the best team in the country but I thought we did everything in the right way. Then the grand jury report changed everything. I still don’t know exactly what I think of Paterno at this point aside from believing he should have done more. A lot more. I think through all this I’ve learned that we as a university are bigger than Paterno. We’re bigger than Spanier, Shultz, and everyone else in the failed administration. And we are certainly bigger than that fucker Sandusky. I heard an interview the other day with him and it flat out made me sick. He tried denying everything, in a disturbing interview with NBC. I was pissed off after I heard him speak. NOT once did he apologize to the kids lives he’s ruined. Nor did he apologize to the thousands of players he coached while also leading a disgusting and horrible life outside of football. And he didn’t apologize to us, the students, whose entire university was thrown under a dark cloud that may take years to get out of. I hope Jerry Sandusky gets what he deserves: life in prison where he can sit and rot until he dies followed by an eternity of time spent burning in hell. I trust that justice will be served. I just hope that as a university we can prove to the world that we are bigger than this.

The negative emotions that have occurred in the past week have caused the population to view us, the students, as unreasonable, ignorant, and outrageous. The worst part about this whole situation is that the students of Pennsylvania State University have forgotten what actually happened, who the real victims are. Young children had their innocence taken from them, they have been scarred for life, and they had their lives ruined because of a very sick and disgusting person. We as a community cannot be blind to that fact. We need to respect those innocent children. We should not cause destruction to our community, our home, our school. We should e patient and hope that our Board of Education makes the right decision and make those who have anything to do with the abuse of those children pay the consequences that they deserve. I completely understand how the firing of Joe Pa can cause the students to be angry and feel like they need to act on the events that are occurring, but the bottom line is that, from the information given at the time, Joe Pa did not do everything he could to protect those kids. His actions created more opportunities for that bastard Sandusky to continue the horrid things he was doing. Joe Pa is our idol, he is the heart and soul of this entire community, but he should have done more. Not only is Joe Pa somewhat responsible for the events that happened, but would Joe PA even want us to react like that? Would Joe Pa want us going down our town, our streets, knocking over lamps, flipping cars, throwing items at our cities protectors, insulting them, lighting things on fire, even getting into brawls with our police force. I highly doubt he would ever want that from us. He himself said that he is going to dedicate the rest of his life to improving Pennsylvania State University as much as possible. That being said, why are we destroying it? Do we honestly think that riots will make things better? All it has done is made our country see us as chaotic, disrespectful, uncaring people. We are screaming and causing destruction to our community because our coach got fired, but completely ignoring the fact that little; innocent kids have had their lives torn to pieces. Our actions are causing this country to look down on us. We are a much respected university, let’s not lose that. Let’s not lose the pleasure one gets from having a degree from Penn State. We should pout our anger aside and focus on gaining our respect and the integrity this school has always had. We as Penn Staters should not lose our heads, let’s do this right. Go Penn State!

I think that there are a lot of reasons why Mexicans and other immigrants do certain jobs that Americans don’t. For one, in places like Mexico, a U.S. dollar goes a lot further than it would here. In other words, making $5 or $6 dollars an hour doing hard labor here is not that appealing for Americans who need more to survive. Being paid under minimum wage to do hard labor does not appeal to many, if any, American citizens. However, Mexicans who come here in an attempt to provide for family back home can send what would be considered meager pay checks in the States back to Mexico where that money can be used in a much weaker economy.
One issue is that a lot of these low paid, high labor jobs are occurring on farms across the country. As Sam has discussed in class, farmers are producing too many crops to make an honest living so the government already subsidizes money for these farmers to begin with. So, since they’re already struggling to make a profit, why would they hire American workers who would demand anywhere from $10 to $20 an hour to perform difficult labor? Mexican workers on the other hand are more affordable, therefore these farmers can hire more of them, grow more plants, and hopefully make more of a profit.
Americans also have this vision that with hard work, they can become rich and powerful. While this labor qualifies as hard work, it definitely does not entail a path to riches. Americans feel entitled to desk jobs, fancy cars, and nice houses. Working on painting a house, or working on a farm is something that the majority of Americans would never consider doing.
I don’t understand when I hear people complaining about illegal immigrants coming and taking jobs from Americans. The fact of the matter is that the jobs these people are filling are hard labor activities that no American would be doing to begin with. Most Americans, quite frankly are spoiled into thinking that anything is possible and that these hard labor jobs aren’t worth their time or energy because the pay is so low. In other words, most Americans are lazy and don’t want to spend their days working hard physically. I believe part of the reason our country has a struggling economy right now is because our working class is disappearing. These jobs are quickly fading into the hands of Mexicans and other immigrants who are willing to work for a lot less. It’s time for Americans as a whole to take a look in the mirror and remember what this country was founded on: hard work. If we get back to the basics we might just find some of these jobs returning to American citizens.

I like the fact that immigrants live in the United States. It opens our eyes to a whole different world. The different cultures, languages, views on the world, food, clothes, style, religion and so much more not only shows us how different the world is outside of the United States, but it teaches us so much. In today’s world, we have improved our health, our environments, our roads, cars, computers, medicine, increased the time people live, and so much more through our sharing of knowledge with different countries. People need to understand that the great life an American experiences, does not just come from American ideas or creations, but from everywhere. Most of the things we have are foreign. A lot of the greatest minds in our country are not from people who were born here in the United States. The multiracial environment we live in has only improved our country. All of that being said should make people want to respect others and wants to get to learn the lives of other people. I met a lot of people from India and they are so different from me, but not in a bad way at all. It has made me view this world in a completely different way. They are way of life has interested me so much that now I am taking a class in Islam and am also in a group that informs people how our interactions with people from other countries have improved our way of life. Not only have I joined various groups to inform people of the positives of having immigrants around us, but they are also my best friends. Speaking of best friends, I have a crap load of people in my fraternity that are not American. My pledge brothers, the people that will be at my wedding, the people that will meet my children, the people I will grow old with are not American but immigrants. They bring so much to this world, so much of it being good. If it wasn’t for those kids, I would not be the person I am today. The one thing I have learned from all of my friends who are immigrants, is that they are significantly more trustworthy and loyal than most other people I know. They’re culture teaches them to show everyone the upmost respect, to treat everyone the way they would like to be treated. My friend Jorge is from Ecuador and he might be the most reliable person I have ever met. My friend Anish is from India and he mist be the most loyal person I have ever met. Immigrants have helped this country as a whole in so many ways. I’m glad they’re here and if his country was purely white, it would be dull.

I really disagree with the statement that if your friends are mostly of a race other than your own that that makes you a poser. Just because the people you may associate with don’t look like you, doesn’t mean that you’re trying to be them or act like you are from their racial background. This view of social groups is completely narrow-minded. In some cases, I do acknowledge that if you are from a mostly white area and your high school has less African-American students, that one may be a poser by trying overly hard to associate with these black students. These people may want to feel “cultured” and try to make themselves feel better about their own race relations and possible white guilt. But for the most part, just because you’re friends don’t look like you shouldn’t make you a poser. Growing up in DC, my freshman year was spent at St. John’s, an ethnically diverse Catholic school with kids from all different backgrounds. While there, some of my best friends were black, Hispanic, and white as well. The cafeteria was a mixing bowl, and groups formed based on personality traits, not racial traits. Having said that, some groups were less likely to become friendly with students from other backgrounds. Why is a white kid who hangs out with mostly black kids a “poser”? Most likely he’s friends with them because he enjoys the same music, sports, and general hobbies as his friends. Not because he “wants” to be black, or because he’s a “poser” but because in general African-American’s are who he mostly enjoys hanging out with. Being in a fraternity here at Penn State, the majority of my brothers are white. However, we have several brothers who are African-Americans. Why would they be labeled as posers? They enjoy the company and social life of Greek life, and don’t care that they may stand out because they are better than racial boundaries.
I think at this point I am comfortable with all races, and really don’t let it affect a friendship one way or another. If you’re a cool person, you’re a cool person and skin tone doesn’t affect that opinion what-so-ever. At a big school like Penn State, there is such a diverse community with kids from all over the world. If you are picking and choosing friends based on race, you’re completely eliminating interesting and fun people from backgrounds that could teach you a thing or two. Being close minded and conservative about race only inhibits your awareness of everything going on around the world. Hopefully in the future more people will come to understand that being aware of other races and what their cultures are like make the world a better educated and more diverse place.

I think racial labels are just a part of our society that many people use without even realizing what they’re doing. I know we all have found ourselves telling a story about someone of a different race. “Yeah, I don’t know he was some short Asian kid.” Or, “well yeah, he was a speedy Mexican.” I don’t even think its done in a racist way all the time. People are very visual naturally. We notice every physical detail of people within a few seconds of looking at them. So if you’re trying to describe someone and you don’t know their name, generally a racial label will help paint a better picture, which can sometimes be helpful and other times come off as racist.
I think a lot of times some racial labels are used in a racial, stereo-typing fashion. For instance, I think a lot of times people tell stories and use unnecessary, and flat out wrong racial labels to describe a race other than their own. I was watching baseball the other week, and one of the kids watching with me described the “lazy” fielding attitude “all Dominicans seem to display.” This is one example of how unfair and unflattering racial labels can be. You can’t just look at a whole group of people, Dominican natives in this instance, and assume they all conform to the same styles of baseball. The fact of the matter is that per population, the Dominican island sends more people to the major leagues than any other country in the entire world. So clearly, labeling them all as “lazy” is extremely unfair and clearly not even slightly true.
Racially labeling certain groups of people is hurting our society. Why can’t we just evolve as people and stop labeling giant groups of people as this, and other groups of people as that. The fact of the matter is, while our race and background may have shaped us in some way, it should by no means define who we are as people. When we use racial labels, we all become less open minded about other cultures we probably know very little about. For instance, Sam used an example in class of a story about a driver who cut him off, and it was pointed out that this driver was an “Asian women.” This inevitably brings up the stereotype that all Asians are bad drivers. Similar stereotypes are made about all races, and in most cases they’re unfair and unjust. As a society, we need to look past race when describing a person and focus more on individual traits rather than how certain races react to certain situations.

I think it’s essentially just the nature of our society that women wear skimpy clothes out whereas guys are always relatively covered up. There’s an obvious reason for this. Women have much more visually appealing bodies, guys are generally hairy creatures and don’t have boobs or large asses. Or at least no one wants to see boobs if you are a guy and happen to have boobs. At Penn State it seems like there’s an on going competition to see who can pull the most ass. I see it all the time in Greek life. The other week we had a pregame with a group of sorority girls. Several of these fine young ladies decided to wear shirts that basically revealed their boobs to everyone. My friends and I were joking that we literally couldn’t look these girls in the face; it was impossible when you don’t wear a bra and barely even have a shirt on, eyes are just automatically drawn to that if you’re a guy.
I think girls really enjoy the attention they get by dressing this way. Obviously if you can rock clothing that skimpy, you’re pretty self confident and enjoy showing off for guys. If girls really had an issue with dressing this way in the cold State College winters, they wouldn’t dress that way. But when I go to the bus stop at 11 PM to go out and its 23 degrees and snowing, sure enough all the “sorostitutes” are barely clothed, relying on alcohol to keep them warm.
Guys on the other hand have to put in very little effort. The most dressed up most of us get is jeans and a button-down, but usually just jeans and a shirt will suffice. This is obviously because no girl or guy wants to see some dude walking around in tight jeans and a tight shirt. You would look like a complete fool and probably get made fun of by everyone you encounter. It is funny however, that day longs attract guys to wear things like basketball and football jerseys. That’s the closest comparison I can think of to guys acting like girls in terms of conforming to the social norm.
Overall, I feel as though women sacrifice their comfort because they back down as a group. If every other girl wore jeans and a t-shirt, others would follow. The fact of the matter is that they don’t care to cover themselves up, they are totally interested in attention from guys. On the other hand, men realize that they can dress however they want, without scrutiny from women. Whether or not it’s “fair”, it’s the way this society operates. All I have to say is I am damn glad I don’t have to dress like I work on the corner to impress the other sex.

I thought the video of the suspected bike thieves was a funny way to demonstrate an unfortunate reality about Americans today. Everyone tries to act like they see things without color, but clearly when the two kids stole the bike people reacted differently. And people reacted especially differently to the pretty girl who happened to be stealing the bike. Overall, the video was hilarious. Both the men who were stealing the bike reacted like complete and utter goons when approached by people and were some-how able to keep a straight face through it all.

Personally, I can’t really predict how I would react in such a situation. One thing is for damn sure though, I would most certainly have helped that Blonde chick steal the bike. I mean it’s not every day you walk by a girl with a complete toolset ready to jack a bike looking for a guy’s help. Who cares if the bike was hers, that seems like a solid way to get a phone number by helping her out. I probably never would have even considered the fact that she was stealing the bike. I highly doubt I would have even asked to be honest.

I think if I saw either the white or black male with a toolset like that, I would have called both of them out. I doubt I would have called the police in any of the cases, just because I don’t think it makes a difference for a cop to show up ten minutes after the thief is long gone. I would have approached and probably asked what was going on. I would like to think I would just try to take their toolkit, but it’s hard to predict a person’s reaction in such a situation.

It was interesting that so many people passed right by the white kid, even though he was pretending to saw off the chain with such an aggression. I think it was clear that the bike didn’t belong to him, yet almost everyone who passed by failed to even give him a second glance. Even those who stopped for the most part asked if he needed any help unchaining “his” bike.

When the African-American tried to perform the same feat, he was met with a lot more skepticism. People glanced at him, many questioned him, and some called the police. It was viewed as more of a threat to the people at the park when the black kid tried steeling the bike. I believe this just proves, whether conscious of it or not, everyone is a little racist in some ways. Even the group of African-American women walked by and were very concerned about him stealing the bike. In the end, we all expect certain behaviors and characterstics from certain races, and when those expectations are tested, we react differently based on some ones race. This doesn’t come from hate or blatant racism or anything like that, I believe its spurred by cultural norms that America has created over the years.

After watching these videos, it became apparent to me that starting a successful business in Haiti is almost an impossible feat. Reading the article “Better to Buy Local” only reinforced just how much of a struggle it is to survive in Haiti. I know people want to get involved here in the United States because we have witnessed the destruction the earthquake in Port-au-Prince caused to an already impoverished country. But when we send thousands of jars of peanut butter and left-over shoes we are only hurting their struggling economic structure even more. People who make shoes and produce peanut butter struggle to put food on the table for their family when they can’t sell their product. Obviously, those who have been donating goods to Haiti have the right idea. I would just hope in the future people look deeper into supporting struggling Haitians rather than just blindly sending goods to feel like they’re really helping.

The videos made it clear to me that these entrepreneurs are doing everything in their power to be successful. Much of the equipment and space they are forced to work in are disadvantages to their business. It’s sad to see people with such talent in what they do are forced to work in those conditions with equipment that’s been outdated for decades. One video that really stood out in my mind was on Euclid, who makes beautiful designer clothing and bags. From what I saw, many of her products would sell like crazy here in the States. I don’t exactly know yet what this project entails. But I would hope we could at least brainstorm some ideas of how to help get these Haitians business’ going. One idea would be to set up someone like Euclid with a retail outlet in North America where her products could potentially sell for much more than they do in Haiti.

After class today I came to the conclusion that the best thing for Haiti is if we take a laissez fare approach. We need to take a hands off approach and help them promote their businesses and products in the United States and allow their economy to prosper without always trying to give them subsidized U.S. food. When we do that we are only hurting them in the long run. If we can connect their products to wealthy Americans who would buy them for a much greater price than what they sell for in Haiti we can hopefully improve their economy and their countries living conditions.

One thing we could do here at Penn State is set up an on-campus store where students could buy products at a relatively low price from some of the Hatian businesses. From there, hopefully the businesses could expand to other college campuses, cities, etc. I look forward to learning more about this project in the weeks to come.