I first hand also know that Osama Bin Laden does not represent the Muslim faith. A few of my very close friends are Muslim, and are among the nicest people that I have ever met. Many people in the United States just do not understand the Muslim faith, and they perceive Muslim's to be terrorists and people similar to Osama Bin Laden. This is far from the truth, and I am so glad that Sam talked to the class about this. The views that people have of Muslim's are just dumb stereotypes since so many of us here in the United States are ignorant of Muslim beliefs. I also think that she made a very good point when she said Allah and God, whatever you want to say, it's the same thing. Allah is just the meaning for God in Arabic.

I found this extremely intriguing! I really enjoyed reading his letter and hearing about how compassionate him and other lifers are! When I was a senior in high school, I visited the county prison where I live, and we walked by convicts who were there for life, and most of them made nasty remarks at us as we walked by. I never realized how much compassion a person could have who has taken the life of someone else. To be honest, when I hear someone say a convicted murderer, the first thing that comes to my mind is this terrible person who is heartless and is a major threat to society. I never realized how much compassion for other people they could actually have. I was surprised after reading his letter that he never graduated from high school. His vocabulary is so much better than mine, and I even have some college education! I guess after years of having every hour of every day to do nothing but reflect on your life decisions, a person could really become changed. I also thought it was amazing how they not only are kind to one another when a person is grieving, but also to others who have suffered major devastation. I think it is absolutely amazing that these people would want to donate blood to help save lives of those in need of blood and to try to find ways to help others that have been impacted by tragic events. I think many of these people who have changed in such a way most of us will never become, may actually be more caring and compassionate of those affected by major tragic events than most of us, who are not stuck in a jail cell for the rest of our lives, will ever be. I guess that once you come to terms with what you did, and how you will never see the outside of the prison campus, so to speak, ever again, it is not that hard to want to change yourself and become a better person while you can. Many of these people who are lifers are probably much more intelligent and compassionate people then most of us ever will be. If I had 24 hours every single day to do nothing, I think I would make the best of it by reading and learning as much as I could and just try to help others out to the best of my ability. After reading his letter, I truly feel sorry for him, and I wish he could be released from prison. A man like him could be a benefit to society with his new amazing outlook on life. I also think it is amazing how two people, like the men he mentions, could hate each other so much, yet still be there for one another when one is in need. I know many people who despise each other, and they would never be so compassionate towards one another no matter what the circumstance.

I too agree that being a woman is much more than just appearance. Unfortunately, Hollywood and the media do not give most women that impression. I feel as though most women are not comfortable with themselves because they believe that they must have this perfect skinny body, flawless skin complexion, and white straight teeth. Hollywood to me does not portray all women at all. Most of the women in Hollywood are super skinny and portray this thought of "beauty" that so much of us have. However, in actuality, women do come in all different shapes, sizes, and colors, and we all should embrace who we are, and accept the fact that no one is perfect and that every single once of us is beautiful in our own way. After all, what actually defines us as women is not what's on the outside at all. It's what's on the inside and the ability it gives us, the ability to bear a child.

Personally, I think learning a second language is great. I am currently working on a Spanish minor, and last semester I was going to take Chinese 1, but eventually decided not to. I wish that I could have had the opportunity to learn Chinese when I was in elementary/high school. I think that most people from the United States feel as though everyone else in the world should learn English if they want to be able to communicate with the majority of us here, but I feel as though we too should take a part in learning another language to make their lives a little easier too. Chinese and Spanish to me are the two most important languages to learn as a citizen of the United States. However, I think it is sad that so many other foreign languages are being taken out of school curriculum across the United States. Learning another language apart from English, Spanish, and Chinese is also important because we need to be able to communicate with all of the countries across the globe.

This is a very interesting question that throughout the semester, I myself have wondered about. To me, I think the end goal is a multitude of things. First of all, I think part of the goal is to get each of us to take off our own glasses, and to put on someone else's glasses to view what life is like in their eyes. It is trying to get us all to be a little bit more open-minded. Also, I think the class is trying to get us to remove the blinders that so many of us have, and to actually see the whole world and what is going on, then to just see our own little world. Sam wants us to see different perspectives of life that we do not see or possibly never would have seen if it were not for this class. Also, what I believe to be one of the main goals of this class is to realize we are all people and that we all should be treated the same. It does not matter where we come from, income level, sexual orientation, color of our skin, education level, we all deserve a fair shot. Unfortunately, we are not all given a fair shot because we all do not start out evenly on the racetrack of life, but this is also something we should recognize and take into consideration. I think Sam wants us to realize that just because we do not see it, does not mean it does not exist. I know I personally was blind to how prevalent slavery still was in the world, and how terribly these slaves can be treated. If it were not for the class, I might have lived for the rest of my life blind to this. Also, I think one of the points is for all of us to spread the knowledge that we have gained from this class to help make a difference in the world. For instance, if we all took action to stop using items that took part in supporting slavery and told our family and friends about the horrible things that happen to these slaves, they too in turn might stop using these products, and we can help to make a huge impact on the slavery issue. Without a class like this to educate people, no one would ever know about some of the horrible things that go on in this world or how other people, other than ourselves, feel about the things we say and the things that we do. Classes like this are a way to educate people to help make this world a friendlier place. So for me, I think this class has ton of different goals. However, I think it really just depends on each individual. Others may perceive Sam's messages in a different way than I have, or another person just might not be open minded to taking another view other than their own.

I think affirmative action might have a little bit of an effect on the quality of business such as that of health care. It is true that affirmative action plays a factor for med schools and is not always fair to those who are not considered under affirmative action. However, I think that those who do become accepted because of affirmative action are also qualified for the position, but may not have been the best choice. I think Nepotism is even worse than affirmative action because the person's abilities most likely will not be taken too much into consideration and there is probably a large amount of people who would be more qualified for the position than the person benefiting from Nepotism.

I personally feel as though I had many of the views and opinions that Sam teaches about. I have always considered myself a very open and accepting person, and I think this class has helped me open up a little more, which I did not even know was possible. So far, I have thoroughly enjoyed the topics Sam has taught about, and before, I was blind to some of the things he has taught, such as how prevalent slavery still is. I think his class has made me more conscientious about worldly issues such as slavery, and also has made me become more aware of some of the decision I make on a daily basis. All in all, I think Sam's class has had a positive effect on me, and has strengthened some of the beliefs I already had.

I was utterly shocked when I watched this video. I had no idea that such a video game existed and the fact that someone could actually come up with this concept is appalling to me. There are many games here in the United States that I find upsetting that a person can think of these concepts such as mass murder and what not, but rape takes video games to a whole new level. Rape is a traumatizing event and is definitely not an event that should be encouraged via a video game. I cannot believe that this type of game was actually able to be released. I think the Japanese government needs to have a stronger hold on the video games that are being produced there. A video game where the object of the game is to stalk women and rape them just simply is not an acceptable game to be created, let alone released to the public, and is simply disgusting. Since I am a woman, I find this even more offensive, but if I was a women who had also been raped, I think I would be even more outraged by this. The Japanese government really should have stepped in and not have let it been released and gotten so far. Rape is not an event that should be taken lightly and portrayed in a video game. It is a serious event that deeply scars many women, and men for that matter, emotionally and physically sometimes as well. Sending this kind of message is encouraging to people to rape woman, especially those who have had the disgusting thought already. I do not think that this video game could be looked at as a type of outlet or therapy for these people who have the thought of rape. I think it is something that could edge them on and encourage them to act on their thoughts. I also found it upsetting that no one in the government wanted to talk about it. I mean they probably did not want to because they did not want to have to admit to screwing up, but part of me feels that the lack of saying anything in a way is supporting the video game. Another thing I find disturbing is that retail places would actually sell this game to people. I feel as though they should have put a stop to this as well by not wanting to put the item on their shelves. All together, I think this is an occurrence that should never have happened. Portraying people killing other people is one thing, but portraying rape is really just taking it too far. It is degrading to women and many women have experienced this horrific event and really do not want it to be the goal of a video game. I think it is appalling and really should never have been created.

I agree with many others that the U.S. census is not meant to be offensive. It is supposed to be just a simple survey to help distribute funding to different areas. The country is very big on not being racist and not discriminating against others, so I am positive that they were not trying to offend others by including Negro in the choices of race. They were just trying to appeal to everyone in the country, including the older people who consider themselves Negroes. Also, I know it might have been a little confusing for those who are multiracial, but I know I personally received multiple notices giving a number to call if I had any confusion or needed any help filling out the census, so there was plenty of ways to get help if a person was unsure what to do or which one to mark.

I think you should be whatever you identify with most. If you think you identify most with your mother's side, then you should say that you are Hispanic. Personally, I do not think it really matters what race you say you are. A person is a person and it really should not matter. However, the rest of the world does not think the same way I do, so honestly, I think you should say you are whatever deep down inside you think you are. I know personally, when someone asks me what ethnicity I am, I generally say Italian since I mostly identify with that part of my background even though my ancestors also came from four other countries. So, if I were multiracial, I would say I was whatever I identified with most.