I see where Sam's coming from in the sense that State Patty's will bring unwanted- and more importantly unneeded- attention to our school, but the odds of the faux holiday being given up seem to be highly unlikely. But if I had to be optimistic, I see the students sacrificing State Patty's as a solid tribute. However, although this is going to sound selfish and self-centered, the students don't owe anything to these victims. The school doesn't even owe anything! The blame falls solely on Sandusky and the conspirators. The students and the institution had been put through hell these past weeks and have dealt with criticism from uninformed civilians worldwide! Why should we have to make a sacrifice when we're already taking a risk even being associated with this institution? We love Penn State and we run a philanthropy for Pediatric cancer! Everyone drinks, who cares if Penn State does it too? People have looked down upon us this past month, but that's only because they've looked up to us for so long. Any tribute to the victims will have to involve the Second Mile, or the abolishing of it.

The American Dream was never directly set in stone. The American Dream is similar to a sports dynasty, Its a level a greatness that is recognized in its latter state or after the fact, and their are no standard guidelines or algorithms to follow in order to achieve this accomplishment. With that said, I don't think the American Dream can ever die, because it can always be modified in order to justify categorizing certain slum dog success stories as such.
The one criteria for the American Dream that's most agreed upon is the transition one takes from nothing into something, bottom to top, worst to first. There will always be those that are lucky, and those that work hard. Lets recognize the hard workers and allow them the satisfaction of stating that they had realized the American Dream. And I say realize because you never really know when you get there until you feel it. It isn't certain when that feeling comes, but you know when its there. That feeling that everything is going to be better than just fine.
Just because someone becomes successful in a similar manner that someone prior to them had achieved, does not take away the credibility of their accomplishment. Those that are handed everything in life are the spoiled, uninspired ones. But those that work to overcome the dog-eat-dog phenomena that is life, those are the ones that are humble for it, if not even greedier. These American Dreamers are the nicest and meanest people you'll find.

I agree with Sam in the sense that as difficult as it is to admit to being a victim of rape, its THAT much harder for a young male than it is for a female. Raping young boys is the bottom of the barrel, it get's no worse than that. Not to say girls aren't as important, but there is something so imbalanced with the idea of raping a boy that it is difficult for me to even break down. But nonetheless, raping kids is wrong, period. When your an adult, you can be straight, gay, bi, or whatever your heart desires and it won't- or at least shouldn't- bother anyone. But when your an adult tampering with a kids life, well it simply doesn't get any worse than that. You scar them for life, and there is no coming back from it. This is exactly why people are upset at those who protested in Paterno's name. They see victims from 10 years ago still not unavenged, and they only wonder when someone is going to take a bat to Sandusky's head. So I think it would've been slightly less of a story if it were girls because a guy and a girl having sex is considered natural. A guy and a young girl is a different story, and obviously one that comes with multiple issues, but when the scandal involves boys rather than girls, then those issues are just become a part of the entire problem. You take the issues you would've had with girls, and pile it on top of the fact that a grown man was sick enough to corrupt a growing boy. Disgusting.

If Sandusky was black, WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I am so glad somebody finally asked this because I have been itching to speak on it for sometime. Yall think Penn State is in turmoil now?? If Sandusky was a black dude that riot would look like a recital compared to what it would look like if he was black. We go to a school thats 90% white and still considered to be diverse. HA!!!! If Sandusky was black, that 90% would jump to 99% within the next two years. Sandusky wouldn't be on bail and pending his court date, he would be 6 feet under, dead and buried, from a brutal murder. White people don't understand this shit, but that day that Sam was saying black people are judged no matter what they do, TRUE STORY! If Sandusky was black and he molested kids, whom by the way were majority black and nobody told me this until I left state college (which doesn't surprise me) then ALL black people would be seen as pedophiles, just like all Penn Staters are being labeled today. We live in a world where Blacks are only given ONE shot. You fuck up once and you are O-U-T OUT!!! If Joe Paterno was black I'm not sure how many white college kids would've been out there, because I didn't see any black kids wilin out. But hey this is all hypothetical and we can never really know, ya know? America, after all, is a young country and we are making progress, slowly but surely. All I know is, if Sandusky was black, those who can't imagine a situation worse than this would be living it.

Whether you ate it or not, those pieces of chocolate were already worked for. People are still eating candy and chocolate from halloween not knowing or caring where it came from. So you can't be mad at their ignorance.
I have eaten chocolate only on one occasion since that class. It will be tough to entirely cut off chocolate, but if everyone at least significantly cutback to boycott the industry, maybe they will feel the pressure to make a change. But then again, in this corrupt world there are so many problems and so much commotion that people would rather carry on living their lives as they know it and not caring about other peoples issues. So although it was nice to make the SOC119 class aware of the situation, it ultimately won't do anything if further steps of action (excluding refusal of the second piece) aren't taken to regulate the situation. Will You be the difference?

I just felt that having not ate the first one because I didn't trust the lesson behind it, I would spare the second piece as well and ultimately save both as a reminder that there is still an ongoing struggle. Much like I was silenced in the last group discussion, these people and their pain are being muted out by the flourishing industrial pursuit of riches.

I did not eat the second piece. In fact, I didn't even eat the first piece. I refused to eat the first piece because I was sketched out to be quite honest, and I didn't want to eat chocolate that wasn't even securely wrapped. Not that I'm a germaphobe (however that is spelt) but I just didn't trust it and was curious to see what the message was.
After seeing the video, of course I'm not gonna eat the second piece if I didn't even eat the first. What kind of person would I be if I passed up the first because of untrust, and ate the second piece without hesitation or guilt? The video didn't exactly make me feel guilty though. We are not the problem, at least not directly. We are fed chocolate and in return we indirectly feed the source, and keep it alive. How can that video be broadcast and nothing be done about it? Eating or not eating that piece of chocolate doesn't say a damn thing about the cause, so I don't see myself as above others or morally enlightened.

White people are less likely to feel like they will do better than theyre parents because they feel like the bar was set too high. They normally arent as pressured to succeed in school, but are rather told to freely educate themselves in any area of interest. Whereas, black parents are working so much to support their family that the stress of the environment and their career isnt always transparent to their children. They dont seem to be as concerned with their kids having fun while learning, but just getting a job to support themselves.
White families with beach houses and boathouses raise privileged kids. Black families living in inner city hoods raise jaded kids. White kids have a life they enjoy, black kids struggle to persevere. Black kids grow up in cities with violence and sirens that constantly remind them they are trapped. White kids grow up in suburbs with big backyards and outdoor pools, constantly distracted from hard work and the rigors of reality.
So when you have a young black boy trying to avoid the life of street crimes and gang violence, meanwhile dealing with either a broken home or an unhappy one, how can you expect most of these kids to truly be convinced that they can make it if they try hard enough? How can they believe in success when everything around them tells them that a better life wasn't in God's plan for these young children? I grew up in a terrible neighborhood, and the fact that people are amazed I graduated and attend Penn State University, just proves this. If I said I went to a community college people would still be proud no matter what, because I got into college period. Heck, even graduating from high school was a big pat on the back.
If I was white, and I grew up on the other side of town (cuz theyre arent many white people where Im from) and went to community college, that wouldnt be enough. I would be looked at as a lazy kid who didnt work hard enough for a better education. Maybe the bar was set to high, but its ok because my parents business is my safety net.

The first thing I thought of when I read this article was a little saying I tweeted pretty recently, "money cant buy happiness but it sure can purchase the middle man!" It was interesting to think about happiness as a created aspect of our lives, and it would certainly verify the American dream and the pursuit of happiness as being similar tasks. Its how economists make their money- evaluating marginal utility to determine quantity demanded of consumers. So If we can't be living happily ever after then I guess we are all bi-polar, but those that are actually bi-polar rotate emotion at a much more frequent pace. We imitate each other and call it culture, and we always want what other people have. The satisfaction of getting these material things allows our minds to temporarily be at ease- known as happiness- not knowing that by desiring all that is material, we strip ourselves of zen. When we need something in order to be happy, we are creating a need to be happy. When you don't desire anything, you are satisfied with the way things are.
Not to say we shouldn't have a design, entrepreneurial, or innovative school of thought, but we shouldn't give material things power in providing us with satisfaction. But perhaps we already have completely given away control over our happiness, the very thing we created. The mind is a powerful thing, maybe we'll cause a power shift to occur.
if youre indecisive like me, you read that "what if" part and thought of some what ifs you had in the past. Whats funny is we do have a lot more choices now and some of us still continue to imitate eachother. We are given free will and we copy eachother, remarkable.
The way I see it happiness is always potentially there, even if its just looking on the bright side. We should keep our short term goals in sight and the long term in the backs of our minds, because if we stress getting somewhere well never feel like we got there. Another day, another dollar. Step by step is the way to be. Spoiled kids are never happy because they take things for granted, and that is the problem caused by material influence.

First I want to say this website is pretty cool and sadly that this is my first time posting. I may say some controversial things but I mean no harm, I am merely trying to get an opinion across. So when I mention not knowing the true intention of this site, I am only saying I don't know if this is truly pro bono, or if it is just another investment. But even if it is an investment, I do agree with the strategy so far given the substantial research.
I honestly don't believe that church wanted to send THAT much peanut butter just because they felt Haitians needed more protein. They most likely had excess peanut butter and needed somewhere to put it. But on a more educated note, Its situations like this that are further jeopardizing the Haitian's ability to thrive independently. It seems as if American attempts to help Haiti hurt them more-so then they assist them. Although the earthquakes left Haiti in despair and giving them goods was a solution in the short term, we only harm them down the line because we hurt their entrepreneurs. So donating doesn't help, and undercutting their prices is even worse. It always has been, and always will be all about the Benjamins.
I don't know enough yet about the World in Conversation project to speak on motive, but I do feel that its sending the right message. If people are better educated in how to aid Haiti, our attempts would be more effective. This is very similar to an article I read on Boston sports teams. They minimize error through the use of advanced statistics information gathering. Masterminds like Bill Belichick know how to improve strengths and hinder weaknesses of his organization. While America tries to aid Haiti, guys like the MCC's advocacy coordinator make sure we are helping in the right manner.
From what I have looked into, it appears as though Haitians are more than capable of independency, and maybe they would have been independent a long time ago if the U.S did not slow them down. It is tough to predict cause and effect, but it would behoove Americans to learn from the information gathered. Especially in the advanced society we live in today, nations are becoming more intact, building stronger ports of communications.
Pro bono, latin phrase meaning for the good, such as doing something as a random act of kindness. I'm not sure if that word exists because, like a class we had earlier this semester about how sometimes we don't know for sure if people are being racist, we don't know if people are actually just being nice. We do things to get things in return. Nothing in life is free. Even free peanut butter ends up costing you in the long run.