After taking Soc 119, my views of other races and ethnicities have changed drastically. Before taking this class, I never thought about other races and religions like I do now. Half the stuff we talk about now never crossed my mind. But this class really opened my eyes up to the surrounding and it really makes me think about others. Before this class, I often found myself using racist labels and my first impressions of people were completely wrong. Now, I think before I say something that I would regret. I made assumptions on people before I even knew them, but now I will take the time to actually meet them before I make any assumptions. I love the Soc 119’s discussion groups because they are filled with people of all different ethnicities and backgrounds. We can hear each other’s stories and how each other view certain topics. With everyone being different races and ethnicities, it makes the conversations so much better and it really does make everyone think before they say something. The discussion groups are a really big eye opener and I think that is what made this Soc 110 class the best class I have ever taken. My viewpoint on race has definitely altered, but I do not think racism will ever be terminated. Unfortunately I believe it is something we have to deal with for the rest of our lives. Yes, we have completely in eliminating segregation, but racism still occurs in every day life. If every school had this Soc 119 class, I believe the world would change, People would start looking at things differently and it would just be a huge eye opener for everyone to see what this world is actual about. From this class, I have leaned to not judge others before I actually got a chance to meet them. I find myself treating every single person, no matter what their race or ethnicity is, the same. That is the goal I believe Sam has put fourth for us and he has managed to complete it. I also believe I am more comfortable talking about races and religions and other ethnicities to people around me. Before it thought it was a bad idea to openly talk about things in than nature, but now I think it is a necessary thing to do. It helps each and every one of us in the future and it broadens our experiences. Coming to Pen State has made me more comfortable around other races because it has me interacting with many students of different backgrounds. Sam educated me in subjects that I never thought I would be taught and no matter what was on his mind, he told us the truth as to what his opinions are. Overall, this class has definitely changed my view on other races.

If people are speaking a different language around you does that make you feel uncomfortable? Why or why not? When I first heard of this question, my immediate reaction was: oh course not, every body should be able to do and speak however they would like. However, as I thought about this question more, I started to remember experiences I had been in before where this was happening and I was the victim. I remember this situation so vividly. I was in the New York City subway station with a few of my girl friends and we were surrounded by a group of Hispanic guys. In the corner of my ear, I heard them previously speaking English. But, as they saw us, all of them started starring at us and speaking Spanish to each other really loudly. I felt so uncomfortable and awkward. If only I knew what they were saying I would feel better, but the fact that I had no idea what they were talking about while they were pointing and starring at us, I felt weird. Of course they have the right to speak however they would like to, but I find it extremely uncomfortable if they purposely speak a different language so the people surrounding them cannot understand.
On the other hand, I have been on the other side of the story. A couple years ago, my sister and I went to Barcelona, Spain. I took some Spanish classes in school by then, but I definitely was not fluent in it. So while we were at the grocery store, I was speaking all English to my sister and some of the Spanish people started starring and giving nasty looks. So in that case, I guess it works both ways. It is not like I could have helped not speaking English because I was not prepared to speak Spanish. I understand if it made them feel uncomfortable, just as I felt uncomfortable in that New York City subway. The first thing that comes to my mind when I hear people speaking a different language around me is that I feel as though they are talking directly about me. It makes me frustrated knowing I cannot understand. It also depends on the environment in which I am in. If I am solely by myself and there is a group of people speaking a different language around me, I would feel so much more uncomfortable than if I was with a group a friends. It would not be fair or right at all to make a law against speaking a different language in front of non-speakers. So, I believe this “problem” will continue to happen for the rest of time. If, in fact, a law were placed, this world would just deteriorate. Different cultures, races, and languages make this world what it is today. And if we were to segregate everyone, life as we know it would not be the same.

I have a distinct response to the question: how do you define racism and have you ever experienced or witnessed it? To start, I personally define racism as any action or attitude that displays hatred over a particular skin color or race. If someone were to look at another person and immediately dislike them because they were black for instance, that would be racist. It does not have to be solely on skin color either. If an individual says they hate Jews, for example, that is a pure definitional example of a racist person. According to an article titled Race, Racism and American Law, Derrick Bell argues that there is another part of racism called institutional racism. He then defines institutional racism as a system or procedures/patterns in all walks of life (examples are education, housing, business, employment, professional associations, religion, media, etc.) whose effect is to perpetuate and maintain the power, influence and well being of one group over another. It receives far les public condemnation than individual racism does, but it is still destructive to humanity. There are many different forms of racism like racial discrimination as well, which means to treat a person or group of people differently just based on their racial origin. I believe, well no, I know for a fact, that if racism completely terminated, this world would be such a better place. There are numerous acts of hate that happen just because of one’s race or skin color. I remember an example in the Shadow Boxing with Race book by Sam Richards, he described a particular article that had to deal with this issue. The article talked about post-911 effects on Muslims. Ali Raza was a young Pakistan who got busted in his own house and was sentenced to jail for six months just because they had suspicion over his ethnicity as an Arab. Those kinds of mishaps makes this world such a horrible place to be in. I personally do not think I have ever truly experienced a racist act towards me, but I definitely witnessed one. A couple years back, I was at the store with my dad, who is black. Like I have said in my previous blogs, I live in a predominately white town, so we are considered the “minorities”. So we were in the store waiting on the check out line and this white man behind us was in some kind of a rush. He then pushed my dad, who is currently 80 years of age, and muttered, “Move you nigger…” And he cut the line and went right in front my dad. I was so saddened by the whole experience I felt like crying. Here, my dad is the most innocent man and would never hurt a fly and to see him experience an act of hate like that was terrible. All in all, racism is a terrible thing and I hope it becomes abolished for good, even though I doubt that will ever happen.

I hold a very strong opinion about the question: When a person hangs out with people whose race is not primarily their own, does that make them a poser… why or why not? First of all, I do not believe race should have anything to do with choosing who someone hangs out with. I do not think one should be knowingly criticized or questioned if they want to hang out with someone else who has a different race – but I know this criticism happens. For example, I went to a predominately white high school. I was probably one of five black people throughout my whole 1500 member school. Even though I am only half black, I still consider myself black compared to the rest of the people. So, I had no choice but to hang out with whites. Quite frankly, all of my best friends from back home are white. I guess this question does not fully apply to me since I am half white and half black, but I still have the credibility to answer it with personal facts. I am not a poser nor do I pretend to be someone I am not. I enjoy hanging out with whomever I want, no matter what their race is. According to dictionary.com, a poser is someone who pretends to belong to a group only by affecting the attributes of the group. They pretend to be somebody who they aren’t. In my opinion, I know I am not considered a poser. I did not pretend to be white or act white. On the other hand, the people I would consider posers are people who purposely and knowingly try to act like they are someone of a different race. So, here is the other thing. As soon as I came to college, I quickly associated myself with the “black group”. Does that mean I am a poser to whites then? According to the First Amendment of he United States, every person owns the freedom of speech. They have a right to freedom a religion and freedom to express themselves however they want. It is completely unfair to judge people with who they hang out with. I think it is a great quality of people who hang out with people outside their own race. If more and more people start to open up and be comfortable with people who are not in their own race, I think the world would be such a better place. I know for a fact there are still racist people in the United States today. If every one of us acknowledge and become comfortable with everyone else of different races, we would have much more understanding for each other. Therefore, no I do not believe a person who hangs out with someone of a different race is a poser. One can only be considered a poser if they knowingly pretend to act like a different group just to fit in.

I love this class because it makes me think of questions I normally would have never thought about. For example this question: Why do I use racial labels when they are unnecessary? Just to provide a great answer to this question, I went around campus the past couple days and tried to recognize and eavesdrop on people to see how much this mishap occurs. My results were astonishing. It is funny because it just seems so natural to me and I never even paid attention to how many racial slurs are being used. I watched today as a white kid called over his friend that is black. He went, “Yo nigga, get ova here!”. I just quietly laughed to myself because the black kid smiled and walked to his friend as if he called him by his own name. The word “nigger” has become so popular in today’s time. Before in the olden days, the slur offended so many more people of color, but now it is an everyday word that is being used so often. However, there are some exceptions. If someone random called someone else a nigger or a spic or a cracker or any of those kinds of words, people take it offensively. But if your own friends and acquaintances use them, it just doesn’t phase people. I am not saying my opinions are completely accurate, I am just writing off my own experiences. I also think people use specific racial slurs just to be funny in front of their friends. When describing a story, people do not need to use race as identifying people, but many people do it just because it adds a whole other dimension. I find myself doing that same thing as well. I don’t do it to be racist. In some situations, adding the race of a person when telling a story is needed.
Many people also use racial labels purely for a visual description. If I mention a white man, a black man, an Asian man, an Indian man, or a Latino man for example, when you identify their race, a stereotypical image or view of that kind of person comes into your head. Not even solely physical, but emotional and mental as well. If I hear a story about an Asian man, I am going to automatically think he is smart. The same thing would happen if you started telling me about a black man from the ghetto. I will automatically think he is poor and not so intelligent. These kinds of stereotypes fill each and every one of our minds so unconsciously that it is kind of crazy. I do not necessarily see racial signifiers as something that needs to be omitted from our everyday society. Yeah, they are not all positive, but I believe every single person has used a racial label in their life. I honestly do not think people will stop using them. To me, it is not that big of a deal as long as the signifiers don’t get out of control.

What do I think about the fact that women go around wearing short skirts and high heels and they sacrifice their comfort and guys can go around wearing whatever they want and not worry about looking good? Well, to start, I think there are many justifiable answers to this question. On the other hand, I do not fully agree to what this question is implying. To basically stereotype and generalize that ALL women go around wearing short skirts and high heels is wrong. There are, in fact, many girls and women I know that have not worn a skirt in their lives. I also have other friends that do not wear heels. But, if I am just answering this question based on my own experiences and some of my friends that do apply to this situation, I have a direct answer for that. Women love to feel people’s eyes on them. They love to know someone is looking at them when they are aware they look good and are all dressed up. Some men do care about having all the up-to-date latest new fashions too, but some men just don’t care. I think it is really your personal opinion if you want to go out of your way and try to dress nice or not.
Some women do not care if they walk around public looking like a mess once I a while. I know I am an example of that; I could care less walking around looking crazy. I go to eat at Pollock Commons with baggy sweatpants and a huge t-shirt. No body ever stares or cares about what I am wearing because it feels good when I have comfortable clothes on and the majority of girls do that too. But it is completely opposite for guys. If for some reason, a guy walks into Pollock Commons with a tight skirt and heels on, EVERYBODY will stare at him, look at him like he is crazy, and make hurtful remarks. How fair is that?
To be completely honest, I don’t necessarily agree that women dress up solely just to impress guys. Yes, that’s a good factor, but I believe many women dress up to impress their girl friends. It is sort of a competition to see who looks better. Now, I don’t fully put myself into this category, but I have seen and heard of this happening. Guys too, don’t have it that easy either. It is not like a guy can go to a party with sweatpants and sandals with their hair all messed up. Believe it or not, clothes is extremely revealing about a person. Girls who fully respect their body would not go in public wearing skirts that barely show their ass. You can also tell guys intentions just by how they act and what they think. If a guy wants a girl solely for her body, he will just look at the material things and how ‘slutty’ she dresses.

What would I do if I found out my roommate was gay? I am sure many of you, as I too, have thought about this question coming into college. I would be lying if I said I did not question it at all. To be completely honest, I have never really been around any gay people that fully came out. Back in high school, there were the kids who I “assumed” were gay based on their fashion, style of living, gestures, and overall appearance. But, I have never in fact been around any male or female that is openly gay. So, if I were asked this question a couple years back, my answer would probably be different than it is now. As I came into college and met many diverse people of different backgrounds, races, ethnicities, and gender, I came to realize that gays are no different than any other person in this world. I believe people that are gay were born that way. Well, I should say the majority of gays. As I heard of stories in my discussion group of three different peers who have family members, specifically their brother, that are gay. One of them was telling the class how their mother knew her son was gay from a very small age – about 3 or 4. I remember when I was 3 or 4 and I barely even knew the difference between males and females. How could a kid that young of an age know he was gay? In that instance, I believe the kid was born that way. My classmate was also saying how they have many relatives – immediate family and cousins- who are gay. That also proves to me it runs in the family because it seems very unlikely for them all to just choose to be gay. It seems more practical that they were born that way.
This is why I honestly would not care if my roommate were gay. If she brought her lesbian girlfriend in my room and started messing around with her in front of me, of course I would be a little taken back by that, just as I would do towards a heterosexual couple. But I treat gay people just like anyone else- a human being. I was always told the motto “Treat others how you would like to be treated”. I will abide by that rule until the day I die. I do not think it is fair to be mean, harass, and bully people for being gay. It is their lifestyle and I believe we should all just come to accept everybody for who they are. I would also rather her tell me right away, rather than waiting for the last day of school. Think about that awkward moment when she tells you on the last day of school that she was lesbian all along and she just didn’t want me to treat her different? I would tell her I wouldn’t care if she was gay, I would have just rather have known beforehand to avoid certain instances, like changing clothes in front of her. In conclusion, I don’t care if my roommate turns out to be gay or not. I would treat her the same as a do any other person. It is just better knowing beforehand than after the fact, in my opinion.

First of all, I would like to start by saying I believe this is an extraordinary idea and concept that Sam Richards and the World In Conversation created. This whole project not only benefits Haiti, but it also benefits us Americans by making us look at global issues and poverty in Haiti. It makes us, especially myself, realize how good we have it here. I have been to Haiti before and I never thought about what they have to do in order to make money for themselves and their family. Watching those videos on specific people and what they do for a living jut made me really ponder and feel sorry for not trying to help earlier.
I learned about Clorene Blaise, a clothes and item maker. She makes unique handbags out of used jeans and collared shirts that are practically identical to the ones here. In order to make clothing, she has to make a profit of some sort to pay for the materials like cloth, thread, needles, and other employees to help her with her business. Thinking of a way to help Clorene out with her business, we can start a fundraiser to help alleviate her costs. We can either gather or own fabrics, materials, needles and other supplies to send to her, or instead of just throwing out our old clothes that we either grew out of or don’t like anymore, we can give them to her. If we get enough people to contribute to this amazing fundraiser, we can help Clorene out a whole lot. This will make her more money since she would not have to buy as many materials, and this idea will leave her living better off.
I also came across Yvrose Noncent’s video. I was the most impressed with this entrepreneur. She makes sandals, women’s dresses, and eveningwear. I was so very amazed as I watched her employee’s work to carved the soles of the shoes and braid the designs for sandals. Every little thing they did was hand made. Yvrose was explaining how they only have one pair of mannequin feet to work from, which makes their work even harder. Additionally, it was explained that the materials are extremely heavy to transport. It takes a bunch of them to carry the materials to their work area so I was thinking if we could help with that issue that will help them greatly. We can fundraise and collect money to buy a small car or machine to fix this problem. Workers were also saying that they need some place to display their designs and they want their own shop. The more money we are able to make for them, the more opportunities we can give Yvrose. All in all, I believe this Haiti Project is an extremely advantageous project for both Americans and Haitians. I am so excited to work with my group and brainstorm ideas we can do to help!

Why did I choose to attend Penn State? This is a very easy question for me to answer. Ever since the first time I visited this school, I knew deep down it was a perfect place for me. There are many factors that led me to make this conclusion. To start, like I stated in my previous blog, I was born and raised in primarily an all white town my whole life. I basically knew nothing about diversity and what it is like living with all different kinds if people. Since I am 50% black, I felt out of place and like I should not have lived there. However, I understand why my parents chose to move to my town of Wayne, NJ; it is extremely wealthy and the school system is superb. Ever since I was little I always wondered what it would be like if I lived in a more diverse area. Would I act different than I do now? Would I dress different? Coming to Penn State was the perfect choice for me. Even though many people think it is not diverse enough, to me it’s like heaven. One of the main factors I looked for in a good college was diversity.
Secondly, I applied to the Graphic Design program, which is a highly competitive major, and I got accepted. Where else could I have gotten this prefect opportunity to do what I love and be a part of a place that I love? Penn State academics and faculty are those of the best ever. No matter what, when you say you went to Penn State University Park, people think highly of you. I learned that the easy way. When everyone asks where I go to college and I say Penn State they are so shocked and pleased to hear that.
Another reason I chose to attend Penn State was because of their awesome school spirit. As I strolled down the street on my visiting trip, watching all people of different races pass me, I hear someone chant, “WE ARE…” and then random people across the street go, “PENN STATE!” I loved everything about that and I immediately got the chills. All of the school spirit and friendly people around made me feel so comfortable. I always pictured myself going to a big school. I love meeting all different kinds of new people and I love not knowing everybody there. I could never imagine myself going to a small school. It seems like Penn State was actually made for me. Additionally, the Penn State football team made me so excited to think about. Before college, I never went to any football games and I barely had any idea what the rules are. Penn State quickly changed me for the better. With our legendary couch Joe Paterno along with Beaver Stadium being a five-minute walk away, I knew I would have so many great experiences at Penn State. All in all, I am so proud in my decision in choosing Penn State and I look forward to years coming!

I really appreciate this question for many reasons. There are so many different things you can classify yourself as .To start, I never really thought about how I classify myself. First and foremost, I am a human being and female. No one picks what gender they are, it just happens. I love being a female and I would not want to classify myself otherwise. Secondly, I am not completely sure what my full ethnicity is, but I have always wanted to know. My father is black and my mother is white. My father does not really know what part of Africa he is from therefore I could be anything. I feel like I have some Native American in my blood because some of his family members have that appeal to them. As for my mother, she does not fully know what she is either. Her grandmother is from some part of Welch and her grand father is from Lebanon. But they too are not 100% Welsh and Lebanese. So when people ask me what my nationality is, I just say biracial. I do not go into any further details. Of course I would love to know exactly what I am, but I do not think I will ever find out. In my case, I think it is funny because at school I normally just hang around black people. Therefore, people classify me as black, even though I am just as white as I am black. In my opinion, I do feel like who you hang out with changes your classification to the outside world a little bit. Of course I still consider myself white, but since I tend to hang around blacks more, I feel more accepted into the black community. As for my religion, I am a Protestant Christian. I have always grown up in the church since my dad is, in fact, the pastor. I can basically count the times I missed a church service when I was back at home. Yes, you can say I was “forced” to go to church and help with the services, but as a grew up, I started to love church and I would go on my own without anyone forcing me to go. Additionally, I classify myself as a student that goes to Pennsylvania University Park. My major is a subdivision of my school classification. Currently I am a Graphic Design major, but I am now switching to Advertising in the College of Communications. I could not have chosen I better school that I would rather go to. When people ask me what school I go to, I have no shame in saying Penn State. Lastly, I classify myself as a daughter and a sister. I have a mother, a father, and a sister who is one year older than me. I also have three stepsisters. There are so many different ways you can classify yourself that it is just so hard to pick a couple. I think it is fair to classify others based on observations, but in the end, only you can determine what you want to classify yourself as.