When I go to parties I never know who is going to be there. Most of the time I either get an invite from a friend saying “Hey there is a party at Beaver Hill or UT” or something like that. A majority of the time the majority of the people are white. If I was told that there was going to be a party and the majority of the people is going to be black or brown, it would not bother me at all. Out of all the people I have hung out with that was black or brown if it was either at a party, a bar, or even just chilling I never had a problem with the person. Just the other weekend I went to a party where the only person that was white was my self. I got back from work and my friend, who has an Arab background, told me that he was on his way to a party and that I could go if I wanted to. Not knowing what to expect I walked into a party where the majority of the people were Asian, either grew up in America or is a foreign exchange student from China. And I am happy to say that I had more fun at this Asian party rather than most parties I have been to where the majority of people were white. I had a better time drinking and playing video games with the Chinese exchange students rather than having to deal with drunken white people and drunken white person drama. If I was offered to go to another party where the majority of the people were brown, I would most likely accept the invitation.
What bothers me is when people talk about going to parties, that mainly had people who were brown, and say how it was really awkward and then start making racial comments and jokes for the people who were there. The only reason why it is awkward for them is because they make it seem awkward. Just drink, talk, and play drinking games with the people of another race and I guarantee it would be the same as if you were at a party that had mainly white people at. It is not like they are going to tell you to go away because you are white. You may not know it, but it can turn out that the brown people you meet at a party can be some of the coolest people you meet.

To start off, I feel that communication about what goes on in the bedroom is extremely important no matter if it is with your girlfriend or boyfriend, a one night stand, or even someone you are having a fling with. This is because for both sides to be fully pleased and to get the most out of their sexual encounter, each person that is participating needs to know what each person likes when it comes to sex. Saying this, I feel that the main reason why some of us men do not want to ask if we fully pleased or gave the girl we had sex with an orgasm is because it has to do with the our ego and self-esteem. By saying that it has to do with our ego and self-esteem is because if a man finds out that he did not fully please the girl it could really bring him down mentally and make him feel that he did not fulfill his role during sex.
To go along with the ego and self-esteem, probably the most popular topic for guys to talk about is when they had sex with a girl. Guys will exchange stories about how they both rocked her world and was able to give her an orgasm. If a guy in the group knows that he was not able to do the same with the girl he had sex with he is definitely going to feel inferior to his friends and possibly less of a man. To make up for this, most guys will make up stories of how they were able to give the girl they had sex with an orgasm just so they can build up some self-confidence and more equal to his friends.
I for one can relate to this topic. At first when I started having sex, I would be nervous to ask the girl if I pleased her and gave her an orgasm. This is because of what I mentioned before how I did not want to lose my self-confidence about my performance in the bedroom. After a while when I became more confident about the topic I began to ask the girl I was having sex with if I was able to give her an orgasm and fully please her. If she said she was not fully pleased I would ask her what I would be able to do to help her have the best time possible. When I started doing this my experiences with sex with a girlfriend, a fling, or even a one night stand has gotten a whole lot better. By saying this I encourage everyone to ask the person they are having sex with to discuss what each person can do to make their sexual experience the best it can be.

When we were shown the interactive map of countries and their top searches for porn, I was shocked that in countries where homosexuality is oppressed were most likely to have gay porn be in their top ten searches. I feel that there are a couple of reasons why this gay porn is in their top searches. One reason is because since homosexuality is not allowed in some countries, people really do not know what it is or what happens. So when people who live in these cultures are curious about what homosexuality is or looks like the only way they can see it is through porn. Another reason why I think this is so is because if someone who is in a gay oppressed culture knows he or she is gay, but can not express it openly because they are afraid of being scrutinized, the only way they can feel comfortable with their homosexuality and express it is through gay porn. What I find interesting is the information about homosexuality arousal that Sam brought up in a previous lecture. What was said was how when men were hooked up to a machine to measure arousal it was found that men who are against homosexuality were more aroused by gay porn than homosexuals. When I remembered this information during the lecture with the map, I thought with this information about how gay porn is in the top searches of these countries, what if this test was conducted in these cultures that oppress homosexuality. I feel that the viewpoints of these cultures would change. I would think that instead of thinking that the people just bash homosexuality, the viewpoint would change to how there is a whole lot more people that are in the closet than in other countries. I find this interesting because some of these countries claim that there are no homosexuals in their countries and every single person is 100% straight, no questions asked. With all of this information being present, I wonder how the culture leaders react when they see that their people is mainly looking at gay porn instead of straight porn.
Also another thing I thought about on this topic was if homosexuality is bashed in these stricter cultures, why does the government not ban and censor these kinds of sites. If they truly do not approve of the homosexual lifestyle and claim that there are no homosexuals in their countries, I feel that they would do something to prevent people from watching gay porn. But yet again why would they do that if there are no homosexuals in their country.

During the lectures with Jasiri X and Sam Richards, there was a difference between each lecture that I noticed when they were speaking about what they were teaching. The difference I noticed was how they addressed who to blame for the inequality between races, whether it was African American or Native American. When Jasiri X was addressing the problem he referred to the people responsible as you. When Sam talked about the problem, he referred to the people who were responsible as we. I find this to be a huge difference because I feel that Jasiri X was focusing the blame on a specific group of people rather than everyone. Like one of the other students in our class I believe that Jasiri X was subtlety white bashing. Yes our white answers are to blame for slavery and create hate towards darker skinned people, but I feel that you cannot put the blame on the white people today. This is because what our ancestors did was wrong, white people today did not do anything wrong back then. The only problems that white people can be blamed for is the inequality problems that exist.
When Sam addressed the people to blame as we, I do not know why, but I find it more appropriate than using you. One reason is because when Sam used “we” I feel that he was addressing everyone, no matter what the ethnicity was, to be the reason why some Native Americans are in the situation they are in. This is because we all are living on the land that we took from them and only a few amount of people want to help them. This problem can be fixed if anyone of any race is willing to help them. When it was pointed out that there is inequality in the work place, whether it is who is more likely to get hired or promoted I agree that the inequality that exists is messed up. If there is a group of people, of different ethnicities, and they all have the same credentials I truly believe that they should all have the same chance of getting hired or receiving a promotion.
By saying that white people are the reason why people of other ethnicities is in situations that are not as good as theirs is not right. Yes what happened in the past could have led to these situations, but people can not to keep referring to the past for today. I believe that you cannot refer to the past as much because what happened is in the past. So instead of saying we are here because of the past, people should be saying that they want to use the past a motivation to strive for a better future.

One of the things that America does to help with international relations is by giving aid to other countries. Some of this aid includes money, Red Cross charity, or helping rebuild a country after it has gone through some tragedy. I honestly believe that America should not completely stop giving aid to other countries, but stop giving as much aid as it does now. This is for a couple of reasons. One of the reasons is how we need to start looking out for the Americans who need aid just as much as other. I feel that we should take priority helping our own citizens before other countries. Our country would be in a way better condition than we are now. We could be putting aid towards rebuilding homes, creating jobs, and fixing the economy.
Another reason in my opinion is because we have made this mistake before. As history shows, countries that we have provided financial and military aid to before has used the aid in the wrong ways. For example we have been attacked and threatened by countries that we have helped. If we consistently help other countries that turn out to just threaten their own people and even us, I do not see why we would ever consider aiding them when we know this is a possibility. I feel that we should only aid the countries that we know is going to help us out and benefit us in the future.
One way we can still help other countries through aid that will be more beneficial for us because it will be cheaper throughout the long run, is by providing them with the resources to help themselves. For example, instead of supplying countries with water bottles we could drill them a well that can provide clean water for the country. I feel that instead of spending so much money on just providing them with stuff, I feel that if they truly want help they should be willing to help themselves. We should teach them what they can do to help themselves and we could save a lot of resources and money that we could use for ourselves. Another thing I believe we should do is not provide military aid to a country unless we know that they are a strong ally and would most likely not threaten our country in any way shape or form.
After putting a lot of thought into this question I feel that we should not supply as much aid as we do now to countries that may be pointless to help. But I feel that if we were to teach and provide the resources needed for the people to help themselves I feel that would be a way better form of aid than anything we have done before.

I think this is a great question. From my point of view; I am not religious nor atheist because I try not to think about it. So by saying this I would like to talk about what it would be like from both perspectives. From an atheist’s point of view I believe I would not change my way of life or the way I think that much. This is because I feel that atheists are more accepting to news like that since atheism is based off of just scientific theories. And with theories being proven wrong most of the time, I feel that this would not shock them.
If I were to find out that there is a universal being, like God, does exist I would not know what to do. This is because I have never gone to church, I do not pray, and I have never performed any commonly practiced rituals, besides being baptized Catholic as an infant. By saying this I would not know what to do or how to do anything that is practiced. One thing I want to add on to this question is if there was a God, what if he or she told us (every religion) that what we practiced and the ideals we learned from religion was wrong. I feel that would drive people crazy.
I feel society would fall apart for a while if we were to find out that God does not exist. This is because there is no way the world would just accept something that they followed and based their whole life around was false. People would probably riot and come up with false theories and stories to explain how there is a God.
Personally I feel that if it was proven that there was no God and religion was false society would be better. The first reason is because America was founded on the idea of separation of church and state. Today America is so far from this idea, I believe it is clouding the judgment of our government. Our government says that religion has no part in the decision process of laws being passed, but there is no way that is true. For example during the presidential inauguration the president, takes the presidential oath on a Bible or a document, most likely a religious one. Also laws and beliefs that has to deal with stuff like abortion is mainly based on viewpoints around religion. Whether they believe something is right nor not is based of what they are taught within their religion.

Every day there are hundreds if not thousands of people who decide to join the military. Some people decide to join the military because it is the only job they can find, they have a passion for the armed forces, or even because the military has been part of his or her family for generations. On the other hand, there are many people who decide not to join the military. Some of these reasons include that they do not support war, they are afraid of war, and even because they think that the military is not a career path for them. I personally would join the military for a couple of reasons and under a couple of circumstances. Some of these reasons include that I would want to protect the people I love and care about, if there was not another line of work for me, and even if my country needed me to if there was a draft.
For the first reason, to protect the people I care about, I feel that would be the most important. Like a lot of people, family and friends come first. I would hate to be in a situation where I know the people around me are in danger and I chose to not do anything about it. If an event happened that called for me to join the military, like a draft, I would join without a doubt in my mind.
If there was not another line of work for me I would join the military for that reason as well. To go with my reason to protect the people I care about, I would do anything I need to to support them. If I had no other way to provide a paycheck to help feed and support my family, I would probably feel that joining the military would be the best way to obtain a steady paycheck. I am saying this at a viewpoint that still does not fully understand how the military works with paychecks, but I feel this would still be the best possible thing to do. This is because I would be able to fulfill two of my reasons to join the military at the same time.
I also believe that the military does not receive as much recognition and gratitude that they deserve. There are always people bashing the military by saying that what they are doing is not right. I believe if that is the career they choose to live by, let them. They are doing what they believe is right and that should be respected. If they choose to risk their lives on the front lines of war, I believe that should be one of the top things to be honored and respected for.

Everyone has different ways of handling issues that they have to deal with in their life. Some people will find someone to talk to, go to therapy, or just solve their issues. But some people tend to struggle with their issues and handle them by hurting themselves, developing disorders, and sometimes suicide.
If I currently had a friend or family member who was struggling with an issue, I honestly would not know what to say to them. Obviously I would ask them to find an alternative way of handling their issue if they were causing harm to themselves or the people around them. The reason why I would not know what to say to them is because I would not be able to relate to what they were doing. Also I would not know what I would want the people around me to tell me if I was struggling with an issue.
If I were to say something to a friend or family member that is currently struggling I would tell them to keep calm and things will get better. This is because in life there is always going to be someone, something, or an obstacle that is going to get in your way and put you down. To truly be happy in this life one has to recognize these types of issues and either overcomes it or making sure that it does not affect them. Overall things will get better.
About two years ago when I was a student at a satellite campus, I had a friend who was struggling. When something happened to him he started cutting himself. At first my friends and I thought it was only going to happen once. I guess we thought that because we never had a good friend who ever did something like hurting themselves. After we found out he cut himself again, we decided that we had to do something. When we first talked to him we talked about the issue and eventually he told us he would stop and we did not need to worry about it anymore. A week or two later we found out he stopped cutting his wrists and started to cut his legs where we could not see the cuts. At that point my friends and I talked about it and we decided to tell him that if he did not stop cutting, we would have to get his parents, who are overprotective, involved. So after a week we found out that he stopped and there were not any signs of him still harming himself.
Overall with my experience with my friend harming himself, if I ever struggle with an issue I hope I will have people that would help me overcome the issue.

I believe that racism can best be defined as hatred or disrespect to another race or set of beliefs. Even though it is a major problem throughout the world, I do not think it will ever end. This is because I see racism as a set of beliefs that can be taught to people at a really young age. Some people are raised to believe that certain stereotypes about a race or religion are true for the majority of the people who are that race or religion. Also racism has been part of history since the beginning of time. This is shown by different events in time such as religious wars, the Holocaust, and even during the Civil Rights Movement. These events helped shape our history which also helped influence people into different hate filled cultures.
What I believe is the source of even the mildest forms of racism is the depiction of different stereotypes. When people develop or hear about a stereotype about a certain race or religion it tends to always stay at the back of one’s mind. Then eventually when a person actually sees that stereotype actually happen, which is sometimes a really rare occasion, they start to believe that the stereotype is true.
I myself was raised in an environment where racism and religion was not really present. I was raised to know everyone is equal and has a right to believe what they want. All the way up until I graduated high school I never knew someone that was racist. When I was a freshman here at Penn State I found someone that was racist. At first I did not expect that he was because he never said anything that was racist. Later I found out from our other friends that he was and it was because he was raised in a racist environment. Apparently his grandfather was part of a racist culture and he taught my friend what he believed. Also when was growing up one of his coaches, who he looked up to, was racist and my friend picked up his coach’s beliefs. So one day I decided to ask him about why he was racist, he told me that it was how he was raised.
Overall I feel that racism is something that is completely pointless and shows how people are truly arrogant. Also I do not see why religion is such a big factor in racism. Every religion is based off the same thing and it is just depicted differently. There has never been and never will be a superior or the perfect religion. The only way for a religion to be perfect for someone is if the religion they choose makes them feel like they are living a healthy lifestyle.