I do not know if I would say that my view on the war has “changed” but Tuesday’s class definitely opened my eyes to a new perspective on it. First of all, I think a lot of people, myself included, forget what the war is about. We see all these headlines about “the war on terror” and the word “terrorist” is repetitive in the press so that is automatically the first thing I think of when I think about the war. I do not really put much thought into it beyond that, but when Sam started talking about resources and how we are in this war for selfish reasons it honestly made me wonder to myself, “what’s the point?” If this were all really about terrorism wouldn’t the troops be home by now since Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein are gone now? I know that the media definitely influences the way people view the war so by them emphasizing the terrorism aspect of it I think a lot of people tend to forget that we are really fighting over resources.
The other aspect of this war that I honestly did not think about until Sam mentioned it was what it must be like for the people of those countries. I know that I personally take for granted the fact that I do not have to live in a country where I have to be worried about being caught in the cross fire or bombs going off. When Sam was showing pictures of the average Iraqis it became apparent that they really are just like us. They go out with friends, celebrate weddings, and enjoy spending time with their families. The only difference between us and them is that they have to worry about the safety of their families on a daily basis where as we typically assume, unless a family member is in the military, that they will return home safe from wherever they are. I can only imagine the pain they must go through when they hear about a bomb going or landmine going off in their city. I know how nerve wracking it was when I found out my dad was in New York City during 9/11 and again when he was in the Mumbai area when it was bombed this past summer. I cannot even begin to imagine how different life would be if I lived in Iraq and constantly had to head about things like that and just hope that no one I know was there. I think this is the biggest thing that has given me a new perspective on this war because when you think about the everyday people that have to live through it and not just the soldiers fighting it makes you wonder if the war is really worth it.

I think Eve Ensler’s article about being “over rape” is really interesting because she says a lot of things people are not willing to admit they think as well. I know that I would never say out loud that I am “over rape” but I agree with Ensler’s article and feelings about the matter. Rape is an issue in America that is often over looked and people do not take it seriously. I remember walking through East commons as a freshman and seeing clothes lines of colorfully decorated paper and being intrigued. When I actually read the papers I was slightly offended. It turns out that they were notes about rape. They were from various people, but people who wanted to support women who had been raped and very few from actual victims. I instantly came to the conclusion that most of these people must not know the victims of rape because if they did then they would have never put those notes up. My best friend from home was raped when she was thirteen years old and has to live with that every day. I know that the last thing she would want to see is a bunch of signs up reminding her about it every day for an entire week. I understand that the people wanted to support the victims but such a public display was not the way to do it.
Ensler also says she is over the passiveness of good men and I agree with her on that to. When my friend finally told a few of her close guy friends at school their response was “oh I’m sorry that happened to you.” I understand that they did not exactly know how to react but they also did not care to know how much of a problem this has actually caused for her and how much it has affected her life.
The part of the article about rape happening in broad daylight also struck a chord with me. My friend who I already mentioned was raped in a public place and I find it hard to believe that no one walked by the ordeal as it was happening. If they did and did not stop it, as frequently happens because people do not know how to react, then there is something seriously wrong with our society.
I think it is sad that victims of rape have to feel ashamed and as if they have to hide what happened to them. It is not their fault and it will never be their fault. Once America starts embracing that then maybe they will feel more free to share their experiences and help other women never go through what they did.

I do think that Penn State students are going through the five stages of grief and I have even heard people say that this entire week has been like we are all attending a funeral. I think the extreme grief actually set in when Joe Paterno announced his retirement. Students cried, professors cried, alumni cried, and members of the State college community cried. It was the day that we hoped would never come and everyone was devastated. The denial stage began when the Board of Trustees announced that Paterno would no longer be the head coach of the football team. People did not want to believe it. I had to watch the clip from the press conference repeatedly before it really set in. I am still not sure if I completely fathom a football team without Joe Paterno. Saturday with really be when reality sits in as we look to the sidelines and see a visible absence.
The anger that comes after denial all culminated in the riots that occurred downtown on Wednesday night. People were upset and did not have a proper outlet to channel their anger. I in no way shape or form think that tipping a van or taking down street lights were the right ways to go about showing our anger but at the time people were just overcome with rage at the Board of Trustees. From the chants that rang out through the street it became obvious that people were not even sure what specifically they were mad about. There were chants about the media and our clear desire to want them out of our town. There signs about how McQueary and Curley are still employed by the school yet Joe Paterno had to go. There were people who were upset by the lack of respect the Board of Trustees had in firing Joe Pa by phone. More than anything though, the entire Penn State community was angry that the Board would not give Paterno one more game to say his good bye to the fans who love him in the stadium that he has mode us all love.
I think we are currently between the bargaining stage and the depression stage. Everyone is calling for McQueary to meet the same fate as Paterno because that only seems fair. The same is true for Curley who is still technically employed and was allowed to take leave while the legal process unfolds. The depression stage was evident on the faces of all the students on Thursday. I have never seen campus so sober. The place that we know as Happy Valley was far from happy. People were in tears in some classes that allowed students to talk about what they were feeling. The game on Saturday should start the acceptance process but it will take a long time for people to fully adjust to a life without Joe Paterno on the sidelines.

I do believe that immigrants should have to speak English. I know it is not the politically correct thing to say but I have long been a believer in if you want to permanently live in America then you need to be willing to learn English. Language is something is something that unites us as a country. I was in support of George Bush when he tried to make English the official language of America. I understand where people were upset by that proposal, however, if you are going to live in this country and be a part of all of the benefits it has to offer, then at least be able to speak our language.
I feel as though we as a country tend to cater to immigrants. Spanish speaking immigrants have a particularly easy time moving here because we do not force them to adapt to our language. There are signs in stores that have information in English and its Spanish translation. Any time you call a phone number that gives you pre-recorded responses, there is always the option to listen to these option in Spanish. I understand that there are many Spanish speaking immigrants in America but when they move to America they should be willing to learn and adapt to our culture and part of that culture is our language.
When my grandparents moved her with my aunt from Italy they made a point of learning English. They knew that part of coming to America and starting a new life meant being able to communicate with the American people. They did not abandon their culture or language at all. They continued to speak Italian in their home and my mom’s first language was actually Italian. However, by the time my mom reached elementary school she was able to speak English as well because they raised her bilingual. One of my closest friends from home is the daughter of Portuguese immigrants. She is also bilingual and learned English prior to beginning public school. I think that immigrants should be able to keep their own language and I have no issue with them speaking it to other people who are familiar with the language, as my grandparents and friend did, but they should also speak English.
On the flip side, as an American I could never imagine myself moving out of the country and not learning the new language. I am studying abroad in Rome next semester and I can speak some conversational Italian. I feel a need to learn more of the language before I go because I do not expect people to be able to speak English everywhere I go. That is part of going to a new culture, you have to be willing to adapt and learning the language just might be the most important part of that adaptation.

I am very much in favor of immigration. Three of my four grandparents immigrated to America when they were adults. All three of my grandparents embraced American culture. My grandfather on my mom’s side of the family actually came to America to chase after the American Dream. He came through Ellis Island and immediately got a job, but I do not remember what field he went into. He made enough money to buy a house in a small town in Connecticut and establish himself. Eight years later he had made enough money to bring my grandmother and my aunt, who he had never met before, over from Italy. My grandmother began working part time and my aunt entered public school as soon as they arrived. A few years later my grandfather brought his brother over from Italy. He was unmarried with no children so after a year of learning accounting in Connecticut he drove to California and started a multimillion dollar business.
These stories tend to be what I think of when I hear the word “immigration.” Prior to my grandfather all of my mom’s family lived in Southern Italy. When they came here there was a stigma attached with being Italian but they chose to ignore what people thought of them, worked hard, and assimilated to American culture and language because they knew they had to.
This is where I have a problem with illegal immigrants. I see no issue with immigrants moving to America but when they come to America and do not want to adapt to our culture then I have an issue with it. I am not saying that this is the only culture that has illegal immigrant in America but I tend to think of people crossing the border from Mexico or coming up from Cuba when I think of illegal immigrants. I understand that they want a better life for themselves and their families but I do not agree with the way they go about it sometimes. I do not like seeing signs that are in both English and Spanish because I feel like this is helping them not have to assimilate to our culture. Part of our culture is our language and I just feel like something is not right if they are not willing to learn it. I am not saying they have to lose their language completely, my grandparents spoke Italian in their home on a regular basis, but they should make the effort to be able to communicate with the people in America. I understand why people immigrate here illegally but if they are willing to take the risk of getting caught and everything that goes along with coming here illegally then at least learn the language before you arrive or shortly thereafter. Again I know that this is a generalization and not necessarily what all illegal immigrants do.

I do not think that people who hang out in mixed crowds are posers. I actually think they are the opposite. The people who hang out in mixed crowds are actually the people who tend to not care about race and do not see the differences and just view everyone as people.
My hometown in predominantly white but we have our fair share of blacks, Asians, and Hispanics. I know that when I grew up there was very little emphasis placed on race. As a result all races mixed together by the time we all got to high school. Of course on occasion there were groups of all the black kids hanging out in one hall way or all of the Hispanic kids out in the courtyard, but I feel that would happen no matter what. I frequently witnessed white kids go over to the “black group” during free periods and an Asian kid going over to the “white group” during lunch. No one at my high school even though twice about it because no one cared enough about race to judge people for who they hung out with.
People who would be seen as “posers” within mixed groups are the kids who were not just friends with the people in that group but instead tried to imitate and be just like the people in that group. Only one kid at my high school ever got called a poser. He was a white kid who everyone knew wanted to be black. His two best friends were black and that did not bother anyone. It was not until he started dressing like them and talking like them that people took a step back and tried to figure out what was going on. By the time he tried to start his “rap career” people officially began to call him a poser. He is the only person I can think of in my four years of high school that I ever witnessed get called a poser.
It was not until about half way through high school, mainly after I got my driver’s license and was able to go around town by myself or with friends, that I even knew there were different racial “sections” in my town. I would have never even guessed it if someone had not told me jokingly told me about it. I was so used to seeing everyone hang out with all different races that I never even thought twice about race or people acting as “posers.” I do not think I even see many people at Penn State that I would deem “posers” and even if they are around I probably do not notice them because I do not think twice about mixed crowds.

After reading the article about why people today have the wrong idea of happiness I felt that the author was dead on with their thoughts. The reason I connected with most was number three, the idea that money does not buy happiness. I can tell you from first-hand experience that this is an incredibly true statement. I come from an upper-middle class family in a suburb of New York City. I will be the first to admit that I have never known what it is like to struggle to make ends meet or have a parent that works two jobs because they have to.
When I was in elementary school my dad decided to leave his job at a New York bank because he was not happy there anymore. He did not have another job lined up because he wanted to take some time off in general. When he did this we only had my mom’s income coming into the house, she owns her own jewelry business and does decently well for herself, so we had to be a bit more careful about our spending. At the time it was a bit of an adjustment but it was definitely manageable and my brother and I didn’t mind not getting new clothes or toys or things of that nature. While my dad wasn’t working, he and I hung out all the time. We would go bike riding, go to Wendy’s because he couldn’t cook and watch television together. Those things may seem insignificant but I loved spending time with my dad. By the time I got to fifth grade my dad had decided to go back to work, but his work would now be in London. He started out by going there for two weeks and then coming back to the U.S. for two weeks. Eventually it turned into we would see him one week out of each month. Five years later he started going to India and now that I am at college I see him only on major holidays. My dad attempts to make up for his absence by sending gifts to my brother and me on various occasions or bringing things home for us when we see him. For example, he sent me flowers for my eighth grade graduation, sent my brother the money to buy the used car he wanted when he passed his driver’s test, and sends me candy and a stuffed animal in the mail every Valentine’s day. To him, buying material things for us should make us happy and ok that he travels so much. While all of these things are nice and I am very grateful for them, I would not even think twice about giving up everything he has ever gotten me in return for him just being around because that would be what would bring my family and I actual happiness.

I am assuming that this question refers to why women dress a certain way when they go out at night on the weekends. I think that the biggest influence on why women dress a certain way is the culture around them. State College for example sets a certain standard that women are not usually familiar with when they first enter college. When my roommates and I look back at pictures of ourselves from freshman year it is often followed by “what were we thinking?” or “who let us out looking like that?” What is odd about this is that we were wearing jeans and cute shirts or sundresses. Almost everywhere else in America that would be ok to go out in. However, State College culture subconsciously causes almost all of the female students to change the way they dress.
The best example of this I can think of comes from when I visited Penn State over this past summer. I came up for a weekend and the summer session freshman had just started. When my friend and I were getting ready to go out that night she told me to watch how many freshman were out and that I would be able to tell that they were freshman by the way they dressed. I didn’t believe her when she said it, but she was right. It was apparent who the freshmen girls were because they were in jean shorts and tank tops. Unless it was for a daylong, I do not remember the last time I wore shorts out at Penn State. The freshman girls look at my friend and me like we were crazy, we were wearing tight dresses and heels, but we looked at them knowing that by the time September rolled around they would be dressing as we were. That’s the power of the Penn State culture, the overwhelming presence of girls in “sexy” outfits will make those freshman girls I saw feel the need to dress the same way so that they can fit in.
Personally, I would be much more comfortable going out in jeans and a v-neck but that would be socially unacceptable here. I think the woman here conform to what the culture tells them to wear because girls are incredibly competitive with each other. It is a competition for who looks the best or for who can get the guy at a party. There are probably a few girls who go out in the tight clothes and heels because they genuinely like it, but I would think that they would be the minority. I think woman go out dressed this way because they expect to be given attention if they do. I don’t necessarily believe that any of this is a positive thing, but I will admit that I feed into some of these ideas.

I think that the Haiti Partners for Christian development is unbelievable organization that will help a multitude of people in the long run. The ability to create jobs for people in Haiti is going to have a huge impact on their ability to rebuild as a country and within their individual communities. I found a lot of these stories to be fascinating and inspiring. I also thought it was really interesting to see what a range of jobs these people were doing. There is everything from clothing to solar appliances to insulated lunch bags.
After watching the video about Manouchka it was even more impressive to read about what these people are doing. This woman is working out of what appears to be her home with very little assistance and still making a profit. I think she also has a unique idea going for her. The concept of making picture frames seems simple but in a place like Haiti where many people lost loved ones having a nice frame to put an old family photo in is actually a big deal. I think it is wonderful that she is providing people with a way to express themselves through hair products, bracelets and accessories.
The Figaro business is incredible because they are able to keep an entire business going when they only have one refrigerator, one over and one box to store supplies. In America no business could ever stay alive with such limited supplies because we are so used to mass production. They also amaze me with their ability to only get their resources once a week because of the public transportation system. I admire Figaro for running a successful business while raising her four kids. It is also impressive that she runs a business on top of taking them thirty minutes to school each way because those times have to be in the morning and middle of the day when I would imagine her business would be at its busiest.
I love Madame Lamour’s flower business because that really is an acquired skill. Not just anybody can create flower arrangements and have the arrangements look good, especially not enough flower arrangements for an entire wedding. I think it is great that the company can now sustain itself in Haiti alone because the more self sufficient companies Haiti can create, the better their economy will do. Madame Lamour’s company is also great because they can employ quite a few people. They might not necessarily hire them full time but they could possibly hire extra help for weddings and the holiday season when they are overwhelmed with work. That also allows them to teach the skill to a wider range of people.

First and for most I am at Penn State because I choose to be. This was the school that I wanted to attend because I feel in love with it, not my parents. My parents were actually very persistent about me going to Boston College because they had both gone there. My mom’s roommate is on the Board of Trustees and Boston College and her and my mom arranged a special visitation weekend for me up in Boston because they thought they would be able to make my decision for me that way. However, all it did was make me want to go to Penn State even more. Penn State was a school that I wanted to go to and could get into because of the hard work I had put in during high school, not because of who I knew or the fact that I was a legacy. I wanted to make my own choices and create my own path rather than follow in the steps of my parents. I had accepted that if I did not get into Penn State then I would attend Boston College because that was the only other school my parents felt was “suitable” for me.
We discussed in class the fact that some people were put on “the college path” and always knew they were going to end up there because there was no other option. I am without a doubt one of those people. I have been hearing about choosing a college since the 8th grade. My teachers told us all the time that 8th grade was the last time you could get mediocre grades because after that colleges could see them and it could ultimately hurt your chances of getting in somewhere. That was nothing compared to the pressure that my high school teachers and counselors put on all 475 students I graduated with. We were told all the time to take honors or AP classes because they “look better on your application.” It was unacceptable in my town to not go on to some form of college but even county college was looked down upon. In my house my brother and I were never given the option of not going to college. In fact my dad just recently because ok with my brother and I possibly not going to grad school. However, I am pretty sure he only said that because he has already instilled in us that this is what we have to do. My parents also signed me up for SAT prep classes as soon as I picked which date I would be taking the exam on. Everything I did in high school related back to helping my chances of getting into school.
Overall, I am happy my parents instilled in me the drive to go to college but I am even happier than I made my own decision in determining Penn State was the school for me.