Alright, personally I think us guys do conform to society to an extent but definitely not as much as girls do. Like me, I know I don't really watch TV that much besides sports and ESPN so I guess us guys if we do conform to society, it really isn't what Hollywood is portraying to us but more of what the society is that we live in and the friends we hang around. I would say that maybe sometimes us guys would go over to a friend's place to watch a football game just to fit in and have a good time but that's not really the case all the time. I know my roommate doesn't like sports that much, or rather, he likes them but doesn't really care about them or care to even keep up with them. But when it comes to guys just all getting together to just sit down and watch a game, its more of the feeling of camaraderie and just all doing the same thing together as a group and just having a good time that way. That can be said the same way with sports too. But guys don't really conform to society in the sports that they do or just the activities they choose to participate in. Most times I don't really place intramural sports or sports just messing around with my friends. I personally have no problem with it and if it is offered then I'll do it but what I mostly do is either play video games or just go out and dance (and yes I'm white too so I'm definitely not conforming to the image that society has of me). But what it comes down to I think is that guys are just more independent than women. I could be wrong about that but I know more often than not that if a guy is hungry, he won't wait for his friends if they are going to eat in an hour or 2, hes gonna get some food, as compared to girls where most times in the commons or anywhere they are always with at least 1 other friend. Even the bathroom too, I never understood why girls always needed to use the bathroom together... ever. As a guy, man if you need to go - then go! I know I don't so I'll just wait outside here.

So as I said, it seems to me that the reason why girls conform to society is that they aren't as independent as guys. Either that or that they care more about what their piers say or think about them. I'm not saying guys don't do that too, just not to the same extent. I think that the media has some effect on what men conform to but mostly the society. If your friends all are going to the football game, then clearly you should probably go to, or you at least would want to go because all your friends are going. The same could be said if our campus was close to a beach. If our friends all went to the beach frequently, then more often than not, we also would want to go to the beach because thats just what our friends do. Who sets these trends in our friends? No body really, its more of a communal agreement on something so I guess we all conform to our ownselves in our own groups of friends.... if that makes sense.

I was actually going to comment on another blog thing until this caught my eye and I checked it out... and honestly.... THIS IS F***ED UP!! Alright, I will be honest and tell you that I've been playing video games since I was like 4 years old on the original nintendo with good ol Mario. To this day I still play video games (and when it comes to Sam's question of the "shoot-em-up" games, in reference to a popular game out there today like modern warfare 2, honestly its just fun to be put into a war setting, especially if its against terrorists, and even a lot of the time you are just playing against other people online. I wouldnt say that it promotes violence and makes people wanna kill others more, I just think its a good way for competition online with other people. It may be just me but I would NEVER kill a person in real life, even if I was at war I know that taking a life is a serious matter and the game doesnt affect me thinking that at all.)... Alright now back to this video game. As you can see I play video games and I've played many kinds: horror, action, shooter, role-playing, but never have I played or even HEARD of something like this sick game. The person who made this game is seriously sick and should be put on some kind of rape watch list if he made this game. This only tells me that this man would like to rape a girl but knows he can't because its against the law and so instead makes this game.

Now I know video games are supposed to be an "escape from reality" but no, this bullshit just crosses the line. I never would even think of defending something as sick as this. I can't really talk bad about the Japanese culture as a whole because of this because only one sick twisted person in that culture made this, and theres sick people in every culture so that doesn't count. And I can't hold it against the Japanese if they are the only ones who bought it because it wasn't available for any other country in any other language, because I'm sure with all the freaks in the world, the freaks from every country would want to get their hands on this. Now I'm a guy and I don't know if girls view this differently from me because I was shocked when that British chick found nothing wrong with this... I mean come on... YOUR ONLY RAPING A GIRL ON SCREEN!!! But of course no theres nothing wrong with that at all.... I'm sorry but if there's anything that makes this video game appropriate or alright for the public then clearly I'm missing something. All I know is that this game was made for freaks by freaks and if anything, it would probably promote these freaks to actually rape in real life by promoting their urge to rape a girl. What these people don't know is that rape is a serious matter and a serious offense. Girls don't recover from that kind of stuff and I know that these sick guys don't realize or even care about that. Japan needs to seriously get a hold of their games that their people are making because this is some messed up stuff. You will never see a game developer make that in the U.S. I just want to end this by saying, whoever gets enjoyment out of this, I hope they rot in hell.

Yes you are right, it definitely puts less qualified people into the field, and if we are talking about a field such as the medical one, I would DEFINITELY prefer a person becoming a doctor because he actually knows what he is doing as compared to someone who got to be where they are because of affirmative action or because of their relative knowing higher ups that can help him out (nepotism). When things like this happen, its really ashame to see that many people could possibly be turned down or away from something that they are equally or maybe even more qualified for than another person purely based on something that they cant even control like their race or just the people his or her parents or relatives know. I guess this can also be thrown towards "networking" as well. When a person networks, they are pretty much trying to make his or her own connections themselves in order to get close with an employer and find a possible job that way. When that happens, and lets say that a person may have amazing social skills but is only an average kid when it comes to grades, it really seems unfair that he would get the position over a guy that would maybe have poor social skills but excels greatly at his work and his grades. The things like that just don't make sense in this society but thats just pretty much the way of life and whether we like it or not, its not going to change. Yeah sure, affirmative action can seem good at times (if you are the one benefitting from it) but in all honesty, I dont really think that its a good idea. In a class where we want everyone to be equal, I personally want to see affirmative action in this world abolished completely and have everyone on the same playing field. Then and only then can we say we are becoming more equal with one another. Just as affirmative action is set in stone in this country, nepotism also is. Actually, nepotism has been engrained in this world of ours since the beginning of time. Whenever you look back in the history books, you always see "family lines" or "family dynasties", funny how they just always keep it in THEIR family? That I have to admit is one nice thing about our government, people get a more fair chance in order to hold a position of leadership, but even then in order to accomplish that, one must have amazing networking skills of their own or maybe even have nepotism work for them with a family member already in a seat of power. Regardless of whether its nepotism or affirmative action, both should not be in existence in order to make things equal for everyone, but if that happened, God forbid someone might actually get into a position because of pure skill and hard work as opposed to a CEO's son not getting it.

I think just by appearances that it is not that easy to choose an Asian apart from an Asian American. I haven't really been around as many Asians as I have when it comes to Penn State and at times you can tell that certain Asians really actually do come from the continent of Asia, usually originating from China, Japan, or Korea (even some Vietnamese I've met as well). Like my high school had probably somewhere around 20-30 Asians in it, but you could tell that they were all American or at least Americanized. A lot of them didn't really have an Asian accent and I guess that is another thing that gives away a foreigner too. You can tell (especially here at Penn State) if an Asian has actually traveled abroad to come here by their accent (if its really heavy, also if they can't really speak English at all, thats usually a clear giveaway too) and also by who they hang out with. Asians who come over here tend to stay in packs and chill with only just Asians. Asian Americans on the other hand have a nice variety of friends being Asian, white, or black. I have never really seen one Asian that came from Asia and who didn't really hang out with anyone but Asians. But I mean that does kinda make sense. If I went over to Japan I would sure as hell try to hang around White people cause I'm new over there and we all have something in common. But I think the one thing that people in a new country cling to is language. If I went to Japan, I would hang around more with English speaking people because I have not even one clue about the Japanese language.

When it comes to my thoughts on Asian Americans goes, I personally think that they worked their asses off to get where they are today. They were (and still are) a minority that came into the United States started off extremely poor like all the other minorities but quickly rose to the top, even surpassing white people in the highest per capita income. I have respect for Asians because they are hard workers. Whenever I see Asians around Penn State, I always wonder too if they are majoring in some kinda science and what their GPA is because they are smart. Granted, I don't think Asians are naturally smarter than white people or black people, I just think that they work harder and because of them working hard they succeed in school and in jobs. To me, it just seems like Asians are just a chill race. Yeah, like every race, we didn't like them very much when they started coming over to America, but I don't see them as bad. Hell, I think they are helping out America as a matter of fact, but thats just my opinion

This is a really good question, we actually went over this topic a bit in my discussion group yesterday (as I'm sure many of you guys did as well in your own little discussion groups) but personally I don't understand too well how we can't just all be equal about this. Either black and whites make fun of each other and we are all cool about it or we both hate each other for one group saying another thing... Personally I just see these things as a joke. Me being white sees these white stereotypes and just laugh. Like I know theres a bit of truth behind these things that were said (which adds a degree of humor) but mostly its false. Like white people not being able to dance, I'm sorry to disappoint and go against my race's stereotype but I'm not a bad dancer at all. I'm a part of RAM squad which is a hip-hop/freestyle/breakdancing crew here at Penn State and we're pretty damn good. There's people from every race in RAM squad (and yes believe it or not actually white people too) and we just dance because that's something we love to do. I also saw a comment about white people being benchwarmers and i laughed at that too because to a degree you see black people dominating football and definitely basketball but there are loads of good talented white players as well. Its these kinds of things that just make me laugh at things that people say, be it black or white people who say it because it has a bit of truth behind it but for the most part isnt completely true. Thats what makes these things funny, but no when whitey says something on the same exact level of what a black person just said about a white person - of course, its racist... might as well call Jesse Jackson at that point. I personally don't know why black people take something said about them so seriously when its a white person saying it but if its a black person, maybe even latino, its not even half as bad. Why should color care? It should be the words that matter. But an interesting comparison was brought up in my discussion group by one of the TAs and the analogy was to a midget and a giant. It goes "when the midget tries to pull one over on the giant, the giant just laughs, but if the giant decides to mess with the midget, its wrong."... it went something along those lines. Either way, I guess I can't really ever understand why black people are so sensitive because I don't see things through their eyes and I'm the giant in this case so I guess I can't really care about what a minority thinks.... But its funny because I would never use that comparison to why i dont take it seriously, maybe it would work for most people who are white, but as for me, I just can't take it seriously because it's not entirely true.

Alright... I have to admit, it is kind of hard to take this question seriously because really... I don't think I've ever gone to a party in my entire life (whether themed or non-themed) where white people held it and it was racist against black people. Although I am white so I could be wrong when I say this because maybe I don't see these things but really, all of the themed parties that are out there like CEOs and corporate hoes, golf pros and tennis hoes, gym bros and yoga hoes, thanksgiving themed, state patties themed (or just irish themed), when that craze of Jersey shore happened there was also jersey shore themed parties (which could maybe seem a little racist towards Italians because I know that the show is already viewed very negatively by the Italian community). But never at any of them have they been geared or aimed at black people. I've even been to a redneck party and I guess maybe that could count as being a little racist towards black people if you wanna view it that was taking that most rednecks are in the south and that the south is stereotyped as being racist, but even that is wrong because there was even a black person there dressed up AS a redneck. I would say that would never happen taking that I could never see a black person being redneck but as one girl in class mentioned before from Texas that there really are black people out there that recognize themselves as being rednecks so even THAT theme can't be considered racist. Honestly, every party or theme that you can have for something can't be racist, at least not in the name and not in the parties that happen at Penn State. The closest theme that MIGHT be racist would probably be "ghetto" but I've never been to a "ghetto" themed party so I don't even know if they exist. But sure, if that kind of party even happened, I know a lot of white people from back in Philly that dress "ghetto" and completely refer to themselves as white and not even wiggers or trying to be black. If that is the only theme that whites can hold that could even possibly make fun of blacks, you are definitely mistaken because if anything labels ghetto clothing to be racist, it would have to be the media showing black people wearing those kinds of clothing mostly, and as i said, I've seen many white people dress like that too and I don't think anything of it. Because most rappers wear ghetto clothing, that could lead to people wearing it as well, and I know that those white people that wear ghetto clothing also like rap music so maybe they are just trying to mimic their artist who just happens to be black. The bottom line though is that themed parties are meant to just dress up differently and have fun. I don't know where you got the idea that they are racist, especially towards black people, but clearly (and at least the majority of) parties prove you wrong.

Thats a very good point man. I don't think that immigrants should "take the blame" or just accept what we did, because what WE did is coming from Americans who were born and raised here and whose parents were also born and raised here. When you have people in even your own family who have been around the block and experienced all of this about Native Americans then thats when you should just accept what your ancestors have done. Personally, I don't think its a good idea to accept what we did. I mean, i guess if that makes us sleep better at night and make us sound like we're taking the easy way out but really? Whoever has a conscience and some sort of morals would agree with me here that this is just ridiculous. I know myself didn't do anything to Native Americans and I'm not really sure if my ancestors did either but Native Americans shouldn't be the piss poor category of the lot, especially when they were here first. Native American Indian reservations are some of the poorest areas of the country and thats because the government makes it that way. I'm not gonna accept or admit that I'm the one person to do this to Native Americans and I'm not gonna just accept it for what it is. I mean, i can't do anything personally or even noticeable on my part but I see Native Americans on the same level playing field as me. Honestly, I'd probably be honored to meet an actual native american because they are so rare to see now with the government indirectly killing all of them off and making sure that they stay at the bottom of the chain. If anyone is to blame it would have to be the government. They were the ones to drive them off their land in the first place, they we're the ones to make them the poorest race in America, and they were the ones who are still keeping them there today. Hell, even as recent as Hurricane Katrina in 2005 we can see evidence of the government trying to dump HUNDREDS of contaminated trailers on Indian reservations... Like really? What can seriously make a person say that its better to give disease infected trailers to another human being, let alone deceiving them because I'm pretty sure the government didn't tell them that anything was wrong. But I couldn't sleep at night knowing that I was the one to actually help continue the blight of the Native American Indians. I agree with what this guy says, although I am American and my ancestry of Europe like most average America, he shouldnt have to accept what we did, and I'm not personally accepting it either. Even maybe if my ancestors participated in keeping down the Native Americans, I for one would never do that. Everyone is equal, but I guess the government views it differently.

That is a very good question. I can only assume that lesbians are accepted more than gays because that almost seems more like the norm in society these days. Granted, being gay is socially accepted these days as in people recognize them as who they are and we are seeming to get a lot better at actually not judging and writing them off as much, but when it comes to girls, it seems like society - both men and women - find them acceptable and I believe the media has a lot to do with it. If you watch any movie, especially a teenage/college spoof movie, it always has some kind of girl-on-girl action. Hollywood knows that this stuff sells so they do that, and from there guys see it as being more acceptable because they see it a lot more often than any guy on guy action. Even when people are out at parties, a lot of the times girls actually dance with each other and act like they are grinding on each other but we all don't see that as being wrong in any way. In a lot of girls’ pictures there usually is some kind of action that could be considered lesbian but people really don’t view these as anything significant because we always think that most of the time they are joking, and even when they aren’t, they probably would even get more people to check them out because guys love that. And that is another reason why lesbians are more socially accepted because guys actually think that’s hot. I don’t know if I ever heard of any girl saying that guy-on-guy action was hot, and if they did, I must have missed the memo. People can probably think of more reasons why lesbians are accepted more than gays but it’ as I said, the media controls what is acceptable mostly in the United States, and lesbian action is a very popular theme at least in movies and TV shows. It goes deeper than that though when it comes to gays because even if Hollywood makes a big production with male gay actors (like Brokeback Mountain which people said was really good), it still doesn’t help make being gay openly more acceptable in people’s heads. Also, when two girls actually engage in some kind of lesbian action, people don’t really consider them as full blown lesbians but if guys did anything along those lines people would actually look at them differently and think that those guys actually had feelings for each other and were really gay. Whatever the reason, I think it’s mostly because of the media and the media’s impact on society that determines what is usually acceptable and what isn’t.

I definitely agree with Sam's point that it is a mixture of things. If you are in the middle about it, things really do turn into a different perspective for everyone to take a step back and figure out. I personally think that people are free to make choices for themselves and that will ultimately shape their future but i also agree that your environment and the choices that people made that affect your life are things that you just need to some how get over. When it comes to people who can glide easily through college, they do have it a lot easier, but me struggling with trying to get a double major in the same 4 years as a regular major and working a job as well makes me realize how much more I will appreciate everything once I actually do graduate and get a job in my field. Everyone has their own obstacles that get in the way of them achieving their goals or maybe even going beyond their goals. I believe that if a person truly pushes themselves and make the best out of every opportunity given to them, they are capable of unimaginable things. What Sam did on Tuesday was make us realize that we do have a choice in everything that we do. Even though society might tell us what is socially appropriate for a certain situation, we are the ones who ultimately are the deciding factor in what happens. He pretty much told us that no matter what obstacle gets in your way, there's always a way to get around it, whether it is walk around it, climb over it, or hell, even dig under it if everything else fails, but just remember that ANYTHING is possible once you put your heart into it. Granted, there are people who really can't help what happens to them, like the people in Haiti. They can't do anything about their current situation because that earthquake was something that was out of their control and now they have to get around this obstacle and rebuild from here. But when it comes to us as students here at Penn State, most of our obstacles are able to be overcome. I want to personally congratulate all the people who made it here to Penn State without their parents' help financially because that is a tremendous feat and you have my utmost respect. I do have my parents helping me out when it comes to paying for rent but that's it. Everything else I'm taking out a loan for and working on my own to provide my ownself the necessities like food and accessories that any person can have.

But when it comes to the student who works as well as takes a massive amount of credits for their majors... I just wanna tell you that something is gotta give when it comes to achieving all of this... and that is sleep. But don't panic, i just wanna let you know that caffeine is your friend :)

Alright, I’m an independent so I’m not Democratic or Republican and I don’t view myself as either Liberal or Conservative. I just try to hover a nice mix in between and give my two cents to whatever policies are made because I know pretty much every politician is corrupt and every politician is an idiot in his or her own way. But on the issue of voters and people in America especially these town halls. I don’t know what kind of people are at these town halls be it Democrats or Republicans or Liberals or Conservatives, all I know is that these people are dumber than a rock. You would expect that if a person explains where they are coming from then they would appeal to the masses a lot easier… No, of course not – because America is full of idiots who like to be told what to do. The Republicans saw this and have been telling the smaller minded individuals of America what to think especially about this health care policy thing that Obama is trying to pass. Let me make this very clear again – I am an independent. I would love to throw jabs at Democrats any day and I have but I have to admit, these people who write off the health care reform bill and listen to these Republicans (especially Sarah Palin) are dumbasses. I personally haven’t read this healthcare bill and many politicians (especially those opposing it) even admitted that they never read it either. Politicians and especially the Republicans made up the most ridiculous statements about what the bill actually did, hell, even Sarah Palin said that they were going to create “death panels” to decide who will live or die… I’m sorry but that’s the biggest bunch of bullshit that I ever heard. After I heard that I wanted to personally drop kick Sarah Palin, and anyone who believed her on that statement, right to the jugular. The truth is people, although our political system is flawed and every politician corrupt, sometimes politicians actually pass something that will help us. This healthcare reform will actually help everyone who doesn’t have insurance, and even help people who are being pressed hard by their current health care companies a second option. This can save everyone billions of dollars but everyone thinks that the government is evil and wants to become socialist with this system. Ok, news flash for you idiots, there are 3 branches in our government to keep the others in check, this is how we stay democratic and not move towards socialist or communist. Even though several socialist countries already have this kind of policy in place already, there are also many democratic countries that incorporate this as well, in fact only America charges literally an arm and a leg for a trip to the hospital. Many times the care is as good if not better in those countries as well so do yourselves and everyone a favor and just think before you write off something that the government issues. I know the government usually sucks but these few rare times it actually is trying to help us and not themselves.