Invisible Children

My first impressions of this organization are that the people who started this are doing a tremendous job. To start a program about something that most of the world has no clue about and have that program evolve into what it is today is truly amazing. The website is very easy to navigate around and it is really easy to find information. I think this organization is slowly but surely getting their story around the United States. I noticed that they have new stories and updates from what is happening in central Africa about every few days. They are clearly very dedicated to getting their story around and are very focused in their actions. Some specific details that are standing out to me are that there have been over 1800 abductions since 2009. First of all, that is more than every kid in our school getting abducted which is scary to think about.  Second, that is just from 2009! The documentary we watched in class took place in 2003 and the war has been going on for 23 years! Through all that time, many uncharted abductions and murders have taken place that are not even accounted for. That really stands out in my mind.

I think the crises tracker is a good way to show people on the website some statistics about the war. I really don’t see any other purpose for it but I thought it was a neat way to show some numbers. I do however think the protection plan is well thought out and is a good way at ending this war. The second step in the protection plan talks about the FM radio towers that signal out to the LRA to come back home and this step is obviously a very important step in the plan. At first when I was told that the money raised from school chest was going to be put into buying a new tower, I was kind of skeptical about that because I didn’t know how much of an effect it would have. I didn’t see much importance in it. After reading the protection plan, I now see that these towers are one of the building blocks of the protection plan and can really help out. Overall, I really am interested in this organization and I think they are doing a great job of spreading the word and are really focused on stopping this war.

Abortion

After looking at both sides websites, I truly think that the pro-life website is more organized and extensive. One thing that really made it easy for me on the pro-life side was the medical facts page. I just keep clicking next page after I was done reading and it kept getting more and more facts. The pro-choice website was very scattered while the pro-life website was very organized and on the home page, I could figure out where I wanted to go from there. The pro-life website was also very convincing. Going through the page about how the abortion was actually done disgusted me. Pro-life seems to be winning the debate right now. Their arguments seem to be more focused and direct. One topic that the pro-life really was centered on was “is abortion really safe?” There are many claims and facts that show how abortion is not the safest procedure for women to undergo. After looking at these websites, even though I am pro-choice, the pro-life website did not alter my opinion. I think the pro-life website was stronger and so much simpler but it didn’t change my viewpoint on abortion.

Parents should 100% have to know about their daughters pregnancy and abortion. Yesterday in the article I read, I found out that there are multiple girls who had abortions without telling their parents and they had complications and died the next day. If their parents would have known, that would not have happened. Also, if you can’t tell your parents about how you want an abortion, you probably aren’t mature enough to have sex. Getting an abortion is a medical procedure. Any other medical procedure requires parents’ consent to the procedure. What makes abortion different? It is a medical procedure and can be very dangerous if complications occur.

Yes, the father should also have to be notified of the woman’s abortion. I don’t really think that he can say no to the abortion because he is not the one actually having the baby. However, he is the father of the baby and without him, there would be no baby. Because of that, the father should have as much power in the decision as the mother.

After looking at Illinois abortion law, I agree with most of what is said. I really agree with the young women statement where girls under 18 need consent from their parents. Also, I agree with the spousal consent where the husband needs have consent for the abortion. One thing that I don’t agree with is the insurance issue for some women getting an abortion. The insurance doesn’t cover all women which I think is wrong. Illinois is very against abortion and they are trying to do whatever it takes to get rid of it. Another thing that I like is the Low-Income Women’s access to abortion. I think that is great for women who can’t afford one but might still want an abortion.

Last Abortion Clinic

                The movie that we watched in class titled “The Last Abortion Clinic” taught me a lot about the abortion process, especially in the state of Mississippi. It was very informative and really told the laws about abortion for Mississippi. The topic was brought up in class about if the story was bias towards pro-life or not. I had no idea about how Mississippi was so much for pro-life and was taking over the pro-choice party. I didn’t realize how it was down there and I think that the director and producers did a great job at telling the story how it was. The story was supposed to be focused on how the pro-life party was taking over pro-choice. Yeah, most of the stories and facts were about pro-life and all the information that was told was about the pro-life party, but that was the point of the story. We got to see many interviews of people who were pro-life in Mississippi and I really don’t think the story favored them in any way. The story was told how it was. I actually think that this story was not even close to being bias. I think that by telling the story about the pro-life supporters, it revealed how the pro-choice people must have felt. For example, all the rules and laws that were set in Mississippi seemed to favor pro-life supporters. The law about waiting 24 hours after the first appointment at the abortion clinic to actually get an abortion makes it hard for people to actually get to the clinic. We learned transportation was a big factor because there was only one remaining abortion clinic left in Mississippi. We even saw a women hang up on the abortion clinic because they didn’t have the time in the schedule to accommodate her when she wanted to come in. Another example is the required ultrasound. This gives the pregnant women a chance to actually see the fetus move around in her whom.  As we saw in the video, this causes the women to feel for the baby and sometimes make them keep the baby. These laws favor the pro-life side and the way the producer portrayed this things in the story, makes me almost feel bad for the pro-choice side as well as the pregnant women. We did not hear much from the pro-choice side in the video, but I did see some things that caught my attention. There was a scene where there were pro-life supporters protesting outside of an abortion clinic and they nurses were actually getting harassed by the protesters. It showed that this is a very controversial topic and a tough situation of lots of people. Again, the director and producers were just telling the story how it was. I don’t think in any way they were on the pro-life side because this scene really showed me the situation that was going on in Mississippi. There is no doubt that this story was centered around the side of pro-life, but there was definitely a purpose for that. The director wanted to tell the story about how pro-life is dominating in Mississippi right now and how pro-choice people are suffering, as well as women who need or want abortions.

Governor Ryan and The Death Penalty

After reading Governor Ryan’s speech, I truly believe that his decision to abolish the death penalty in Illinois was just.  Throughout his speech, it was clear that he was torn between both sides and really had a hard time making a decision. He also states that he received more advice on this topic than any other one in his 35 years in office. There is no doubt that he made the right decision and I totally agree with him.  Ryan’s states his first reason to abolish the death penalty as, “The death penalty has been abolished in 12 states. In none of these states has the homicide rate increased.” The main reason to have a death penalty is to punish people for their actions and prevent future murders because of the severity of the death penalty. Ryan’s factual evidence that the removal of the death penalty doesn’t increases homicide rates is a factor that really shows me the death penalty doesn’t decrease homicide rates.

 A big argument that Ryan makes, and I totally agree with, is his statement on the fairness and quality of the death penalty. Should a jury really decide if somebody lives or dies? Ryan states, “In Illinois last year we had about 1,000 murders; only 2 percent of that 1,000 were sentenced to death. Where is the fairness and equality in that? The death penalty in Illinois is not imposed fairly or uniformly because of the absence of standards for the 102 Illinois state's attorneys, who must decide whether to request the death sentence.” There are so many factors in a case. Every case is different, the victim is different, the defendant is different, and the prosecutor is different in every case. Ryan is arguing that the capital punishment system is arbitrary with differences in every trial. Who really has the right to sentence one to death?

After Governor Ryan stated that argument, he goes into a geographical reasoning and states, “Should geography be a factor in determining who gets the death sentence? I don't think so but in Illinois it makes a difference. You are five times more likely to get a death sentence for first-degree murder in the rural area of Illinois than you are in Cook County. Where is the justice and fairness in that - where is the proportionality?” Ryan shows that there is a geographical disparity with capital punishment in Illinois and the system is flawed. Ryan is arguing deterrence here. This relates to that Juan Raul Garza case who was from Texas and one of the arguments was about how more people from the south are executed than any other region. Actually, the south accounts for over 80 % of executions according to the Death Penalty Information Center. This is the same idea as Governor Ryan is arguing about how it is more likely to get the death sentence in the rural area of Illinois than in Cook County.

Many people think that capital punishment is the worst possible punishment a person can receive. People think that by killing somebody, you are punishing them with death. I always questioned that reasoning and thought that by keeping somebody in prison for life without parole, the prisoner would be punished more with having to face the conditions of prison as well as the mental repercussions that come with murdering people. Also, this gives the inmate many years to become a better person and time to think about their crime. This passage from Governor Ryan’s speech really had an impact on my decision about the abolishment of the death penalty being just or not. Ryan states, “Some inmates on death row don't want a sentence of life without parole. Danny Edwards wrote me and told me not to do him any favors because he didn't want to face a prospect of a life in prison without parole. They will be confined in a cell that is about 5-feet-by-12 feet, usually double-bunked. Our prisons have no air conditioning, except at our supermax facility where inmates are kept in their cell 23 hours a day. In summer months, temperatures in these prisons exceed one hundred degrees. It is a stark and dreary existence. They can think about their crimes. Life without parole has even, at times, been described by prosecutors as a fate worse than death.” This is shown the Clifford Boggess case. Over time in jail, Clifford became a better person. This is shown through his faith in religion and is new talent in art. He has come to accept the responsibility for his murders and feels grief to the families. That is shown by his letters that he wrote to the victim’s families. Yet, Clifford shows that he hates prison and can’t stand his cell. He also states that he is “excited to die.” Giving Clifford the death penalty here is wrong. He showed good signs of improvement through his time in jail and killing him is just reliving him of his punishment. The Boggess case as well as the passage from Ryan’s speech really convince me that the death penalty in is wrong in general as well as in Illinois.

Another reason I said getting rid of the death penalty was just, was because of the many innocent people that were put on death row. The capital punishment system is so arbitrary and the justice system isn’t always providing a death sentence to the right person. This piece is from the newspaper article. The author states, “The 1995 execution of Girvies Davis for a downstate murder was long controversial and relied heavily on a disputed confession, one the police got when they took him out of jail in the middle of the night and, according to Davis, threatened him. In fact, Davis confessed to numerous crimes that night and, authorities later acknowledged, many of the confessions were false, with other people later convicted of those crimes. On the other hand, Davis admitted to taking part in other crimes that led to the deaths of innocent people, though he insisted he never killed anybody himself.” How can a person who is threatened to make confessions be sentenced to death? He never admitted to killing anybody but he was put to death because his he admitted to taking part in “other crimes.” This shows the death penalty is way to controversial to decide somebody’s life over. Charts from the Death Penalty Information Center show that Illinois is second behind Florida to the amount of innocent people released from death row. Illinois has released 20 people over time and Florida has released 23. How can the capital punishment system be working if 20 people were proven innocent after wasting years of their life on death row? The arbitrariness in the system in Illinois shows that the death penalty should not be active and Governor Ryan made the correct decision to abolish it.  

Deerfield Cell Phone Law

A current issue that has been brought up in Deerfield the past month is the addition of a new law that prohibits people from using their cell phone in the car without a hands free device. Many people talk on the phone when they drive and I think this law coming to Deerfield is a pretty big deal. The hands free device law has been gaining popularity around the state. In the city, people are required to use a Bluetooth headset or any other device that prevents them from putting the phone to their ear when they talk on the phone. Not just the city but suburbs such as Highland Park introduced this law over the summer on June 1^st. Starting November 1^st, this law will go into effect in Deerfield. They police department stated that for the first few weeks, they will be giving out warnings to people but after that the fins are between 120-500 dollars. That is one big ticket for just talking on the phone. People will now need to spend their money on Bluetooth headsets or other devices to prevent getting tickets in Deerfield.

Personally I think it is great that they are making laws to protect the roads, but I think this law is very unnecessary. Holding the phone up to your ear verse having an ear set in and still talking on the phone isn’t much different. I believe that the problem is you brain is focusing on the conversation rather than the road. It really has nothing to do with if you hand is on your ear or you or not using your hands at all.  Yeah, one can argue that having that extra hand free will help you out. But honestly, who drives with two hands on the wheel these days. That extra hand won’t have much on an effect and with a Bluetooth on; you are still engaged in the conversation and distracted from the road. Personally I try to limit when I drive and talk on the phone because I do feel the distraction when I am on the phone. I just don’t think taking your hand down will resolve the problem. And the fine that will go along with this offense just makes this law more pointless.

The Deadline

More than 80% of the people who have been executed, have been executed for the murder of white victims. How do you account for this? What effect might this have on perceptions of the justice system among people of color?

I really don’t think that you can bring numbers and stats into the justice system like this.  Every single person goes through the same process when it comes to the death penalty. Every single murder case is different because there is a different prosecutor, defendant, and victim. They don’t just give the death penalty out because somebody committed a first degree murder. There is a reason behind every penalty the justice system gives I think it just turned out that way that 80% of the people who have been executed murdered white people. I think this statistic makes the justice system think twice before giving the death sentence for somebody who killed a white person. They probably want to stay away from being prejudice, but still need to enforce the law.

There are currently over 3,000 men and women sentenced to death in the United States. Approximately 65 percent of American voters approve of the death penalty in states where capital punishment is legal. Why do you think the death penalty is so widely supported in this country? What forces do you think shape public opinion on the death penalty?

People support the death penalty because they think of an “eye for an eye” as being the best solution. Most people probably don’t understand everything the death penalty and  the process behind it. These 65 percent of the population think’s that revenge is the best option for a murderer and some of these people probably feel safer if a murderer is killed. I think the media influences the public’s opinion because all they talk about the crime the murderer committed, and how they did it. It makes the public feel bad for the victim and want revenge on the murderer.

What is your reaction to Stephen Bright’s quote about the exonerated prisoners?

“This was the third person released by the journalism students at Northwestern, and of course it doesn’t say much for our legal system when people spend sixteen years on death row for a crime they… didn’t commit. And that ultimately comes to light not because of the police or the prosecution, or the defense lawyers or the judicial system, but because a journalism class at Northwestern took it on as a class project to see whether or not these people were guilty or not. You know, if those students had taken chemistry that semester, these folks would have been executed.”

This quote really caught my ear when I first heard it. It is amazing that students in a journalism class who didn’t know much about the topic were assigned to reenact the case. It is unbelievable that they were the ones to actually prove a prisoner who was on death row for sixteen years. This really shows a loophole in the process of the death penalty. How can somebody who is innocent for that long not be taken off death row sooner? This quote really shows that there might be a problem with our legal system when it comes to capital punishment.

Death Penalty

Overall, I think that the stages in a capital punishment case are pretty fair and protect the rights of the suspect. Between the preliminary hearing and the grand jury stages, there is lots of time and people working to find evidence and decide if the suspect is guilty of his or her crime or not. The defendant will go through the preliminary hearing and it will be decided if there is enough evidence to prosecute a person. If there seems to be evidence, then the trial will move into the  grand jury where 23 people decide if indictments should be issued. Throughout this process, I find it hard to have a loophole in evidence. I think it would be real hard to prosecute an innocent person through those two sets. If the person is being charged with a crime, it moves into the guilt phase trial. Here the defendant goes through a fair trial with all the steps. Once a person is found guilty, they have so many chances and possibilities to appeal. A person then may appeal to all different levels of court, file for proportionality review, and petition to the Supreme Court. Throughout all these steps and phases, I think the criminals are treated with every right they deserve and the process is extremely long which helps the court make sure they have the right person.

The only method of execution that I found somewhat humane was lethal injection. That is why most states have that option today because it provides the least chance for pain and is quick and easy. The only way for the victim to feel anything is if the doctor misses a vain, which could cause pain. The victim is put to sleep and in his sleep he dies. I think that is the most peaceful way to execute somebody. I think the gas chamber, electric chair, and firing squad all should be ruled cruel and unusual by the 8^th Amendment. The electric chair fries a person’s body and it is said to have results where, “the prisoner's eyeballs sometimes pop out and rest on [his] cheeks. The prisoner often defecates, urinates, and vomits blood and drool. The body turns bright red as its temperature rises, and the prisoner's flesh swells and his skin stretches to the point of breaking. Sometimes the prisoner catches fire....Witnesses hear a loud and sustained sound like bacon frying, and the sickly sweet smell of burning flesh permeates the chamber.” I think that is absolutely disgusting and very inhuman. It is tearing apart their body and flesh which is not right. The gas chamber is inhumane because I learned that the gas makes the victim feel like they are having a heart attack and their eyes pop. This process seems to be very long as well and not an easy way to die for a person. The firing squad, even though it can be done quick and easy, is not right because putting a black bag over somebodies head and shooting them seems like they are murdering somebody straight of a movie.

After looking at the map and looking for trends, I found that all of the western states as well as the southern states all have death penalty laws. Sorting through the amount of black people vs white people on death row, the numbers seem to be pretty proportional. This proves that there is not much arbitrariness and racial discrimination involved. There are very few women on death row and I don’t think that has anything to do with arbitrariness.

Personally, I think the death penalty shouldn’t allowed in any state but if when the death penalty was legal in Illinois, the rules and regulations regarding capital punishment were fair. Everything on the statement clearly shows that a person who intends to murder another person, with exceptions like a juvenile, will be sent to death.  I think that all the crimes listed are good for capital punishment. For example, “The defendant has been convicted of killing two or more individuals” or “the murder was intentional and inflicted torture.” These statements without a doubt should lead to execution if the state was in favor of the death penalty. The stats from the Illinois death penalty history show that 20 people have been released from death row. I am not sure why Illinois got rid of the death penalty, but I am guessing they thought that too many people are put onto death row that are innocent.

The death penalty information center information is very convicting and the statistics really show that racial discriminations really don’t exist in the death penalty issue. The stats show that more white people are executed than blacks by 21% and there is just about as many black inmates on death row as white inmates. The amount of money to execute an inmate is in the millions and costs 3 million in Maryland. “In Texas, a death penalty case costs an average of $2.3 million, about three times the cost of imprisoning someone in a single cell atthe highest security level for 40 years”. The amount of money that it takes to kill somebody is ridiculous. The stats about the public’s opinion on the death penalty are pretty close. 39% of people said they would like to see no death penalty while 33% of people said they wanted the death penalty. The issue over the death penalty will be debated and debated for a very long time.

Homecoming Friday

            This blog post goes back a couple weeks to the Friday of homecoming, which is the day of pep rally.  This issue regards my freedom of speech at school and its relation with the school dress code. On homecoming Friday, my friend and I wore rootsuits, which are full body spandex suits that have a mask part on the top so it can cover your face as well. You can easily take the mask part on and off. That Friday was class color day and as seniors, my friend and I wanted to go all out and show support for our class. We went out and bought these suits and walked into school that day together. Here is a link to see what these suits look like: http://www.rootsuit.com

            As my buddy and I went into school, we were immediately stopped by one of the deans and principle. We were told to take off the suits or get a detention. We talked about it and then the decision was made we needed to put shorts on over the suit and if the deans got any reports of us putting the mask part on during the day, we would have to take them off.  Even though this was pretty disappointing, I thought this was fair. I agree that you shouldn’t be allowed to wear something with a mask to school because it is distracting to school and potentially cause danger to others and myself.  On a day like this, many pictures are being taken throughout the school day, during and after class.  Would I really be that big of a deal to take some pictures with our suits fully zipped up? It really wasn’t that big of a deal because during class, I wouldn’t have the mask on because it would be hard to concentrate. After class, some teachers loved what I wore and actually asked and let me put up the mask to see what it looked like when I had it on. I was just upset that I had to worry about putting it up after class when people wanted to take pictures.            

            My friend and I followed the dean’s rules for the whole day, and the deans never got any reports about us breaking the rules or being disruptive. I actually talked to a different dean about wearing it to the pep rally and the football game later that night. He said, “ We just need to know who it is under the suit.”  It was time to go the pep rally and all of the seniors gathered together in one of the gyms so we could run in together.  Everybody was getting pumped up and making noise and the senior class was really getting excited. My friend and I decided we should put up our masks and because the day was over, it wouldn’t be a big deal if we ran into the gym and had our masks on for 5 seconds. As we ran as a class into the main gym, one of the deans was waiting for my friend and I and grabbed both of us. He made us take of the mask part and walk into the gym last. That really made me mad and I thought it was ridiculous because the school day was over and the dean who said he just needs to know who is under the suit saw my friend and I when the whole senior class was waiting to walk in together. After the pep rally, we talked to the deans and they wouldn’t let us wear them to the football game even though they knew who was under the suit and it was not during the school day so it was not distracting school. We learned that is a big factor from the Tinker v Des Moines case. There was nothing in the school handbook that talks about what I can’t wear after school hours to a school-sponsored event. There is no reason I shouldn’t have been able to wear my suit to the football game. All the administration talks about is getting people to the games and to cheer, but we try to have a little fun with that and they interfere with it.

Drug Testing In Schools

In both the Acton and Earls case, the court shows that the school does have the right to drug test anybody who participates in an extra-curricular activity.  The Acton case really focused on the idea of how drug testing doesn’t violate any privacy issues which the opposing side would argue. The case states that, “athletes require suiting up before each practice and event in the locker room, and changing afterwards.” Also, in Veronia’s public schools, students must submit to a “preseason physical exam that consists of a urine sample”. A lot of other detail in the case shows how male students produce a urine sample along a wall and are fully clothed. Female students produce samples in an enclosed stall, with a female monitor standing outside. The case argues that these conditions are just normal, standard conditions that take place in everyday life and there is no invasion of privacy at all. Another argument that came up in both cases was the idea that the “district must demonstrate a compelling need for the program.” Both cases showed that need because both towns had a high drug problem. The Acton case states, “Deterring drug use by our nation’s schoolchildren is at least as important as enhancing efficient enforcement of the nation’s laws against the importation of drugs.”  Moving to the Fourth Amendment, which comes up in both cases, the cases state that the, “Fourteenth Amendment extends the constitutional guarantee to search and seizures by state officers, including public school officials. We have held that state compelled collection of testing of urine such as that required by the student athlete drug policy, constitutes a search subject to the demands of the Fourth Amendment.” The court is saying that the law states that search and seizures by public school officials is okay and the testing of urine falls into this category. I totally agree with the court’s rulings her. They do have the right under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to test for drugs. Personally, I think the drug problem in kids today is out of control and there needs to be something done. The best way for a school to punish a kid is to take away what they love, which would be the activity or sport they are in. That would cause a real wakeup call and could definitely prevent some kids from doing drugs. If there is no invasion of privacy, there is no reason why drug testing shouldn’t be allowed.

In the article about the strip search, I agree with the court that it went over the line. A good quote from the article states "Neither the Constitution nor common sense permits school officials to treat a strip search the same as a locker or backpack search.” I totally believe in this quote and the fact that the school striped searched a girl with no bad record over Ibuprofen is ridiculous. If dogs come into school for no reason, I believe that is violating our rights as students. First, because there is no reasonable cause, there should be nothing to do with searching for drugs.  If the administration has a reason to search, then dogs could be an option but without any reasonable cause, there should be no dogs. Second, dogs could cause a distraction to school and disrupt the education process. I know for me that seeing dogs walking around the hallways would distract me. Also, it could put fear into other kids and scare them, which will cause distraction.

Homecoming Dance

Throughout my four years at Deerfield High school, I have not been to the actual homecoming dance for longer than an hour. This year, I didn’t go at all. Unlike most schools around here, Deerfield’s homecoming dance has a presence where it was never fun to go to and only underclassman attend the dance. Personally, I think this is wrong and even though we made an attempt to improve the dance this year, there are still more steps to get all students to the dance.

What makes a Stevenson dance so much fun? Or a New Trier dance? I have friends that go to different schools around the North Shore and when we talk about homecoming plans, I tell them that our group and most of the senior class doesn’t attend the dance. They would shake their head in disbelief and ask me why this happens. All I would say is that our dance is boring and nobody ever goes. Instead I would tell them that we would go downtown for dinner and come back to somebody’s house. I mean yeah, that’s fun but we can do that some other night. What makes homecoming the night to do that? My friends that go to the different schools talk about how much fun the dance is at their school. How crazy it is and EVERYBODY from the school goes. They have good music and always look forward to this event. After the dance, then they would go to somebody’s house for the night and the after party would be there.

The issue here is how does Deerfield High School makes their dance “fun”. I know they want all their students to attend the dance so they would most likely do whatever it takes get students there. This year they did make a change and hired a well-known DJ, catered from Stoches, and the lights were actually off this year. I did not attend the dance, but this is what I heard from others. I also heard that the dance was just “okay” but not great. We need to get students to the dance, not just because we want to fit in with other schools, but we need to do what is right. Deerfield has been itching to increase the attendance at the homecoming dance and the administration has to figure out a way to get all the students there. A possible way to do that is communicate with other schools and how they run their homecoming dance. The biggest problem we have though is the dance’s reputation. I think this year the dance gained a little reputation but there still needs to be a large improvement in the future.

FIRE speech code

After reading the article and seeing those horrifying pictures, there is no doubt in my mind that what happened that night should be banned on campus.  Obviously the people at the party thought it was a funny idea at the time and didn’t realize what they were actually doing. I would be embarrassed to see myself in one of those pictures. I think these actions should be outlawed because it is going overboard on one’s first amendment. These actions could potentially cause violence and could have consequences.  University policy forbids "any form of discrimination or harassment related to a student's race." The policy defines harassment broadly, including "slurs, jokes or other graphic or physical conduct related to a student's race." This situation that happened at the Halloween party violated the speech code and should be outlawed.

I chose Miami of Ohio. Their harassment policy pretty much states that any harassment that can lead to harm or health of another person is banned. Any intentional or reckless acts that cause or could cause physical or mental harm are prohibited. The student life section describes how the university strongly opposes and will not tolerate harassment of discrimination on the basis of age, color, disability, race, etc. As a prospective student, this makes me feel pretty comfortable at this school. I know that if anybody harassed me about my religion or race, I have the school to back me up. It makes the school seem like a pretty safe environment. When researching this school, I never really thought about this aspect until now. After reading the speech codes, it makes my interest in the school a lot stronger. I think their speech codes are definitely legal. The codes talk about harassment and how it could cause harm or health issues. That should definitely be protected by the first amendment. Hate crimes at school should be protected because of the school environment.  Your freedom of speech is limited while on school grounds and I believe it should stay that way.

I totally agree with FIRE. They are trying to protect students as much as possible they give good information about what speech codes are and how they work. The database with all the colleges is a really cool aspect because it allows students who are potentially going to that school; understand what the speech codes are there. That can be a deciding factor for some students and can be an aspect to think about before applying to a school. The restrictions and codes that they point out are all for the students best interest. They are doing whatever they can to protect students and they put a lot of pride and work to making this country’s colleges safe for students.

As a senior in high school, I am really happy to find this website. I will use it to my best advantage when applying to schools.  I now know what FIRE thinks about the speech codes and how they are differ from school to school.

NHL 12 review

For my next blog post, I decided to review the new EA sports NHL 2012 hockey game.

I have always been a loyal fan to the EA sports NHL series and always been very judgmental and critical about every new game. To start off, I would give NHL 12 a 8.5/10. The NHL series has always been my favorite (possibly biased because I play hockey) and every year I have seen a significant improvement in games. This year was different.

EA sports has improved the gameplay tremendously from 09-11 and the step from 11’ to 12’ was somewhat low. This really disappointed me because the gameplay tends to be my main focus.  Most of the time I am playing Xbox live against other people or just playing my friends. NHL 12 tended to improve the out of gameplay modes a lot more. For example, they fixed up the Be a Pro mode and added Be a Legend. A new feature in Be a pro allows you to simulate to your next shift instead of watching the computer play. I really liked this improvement because watching the CPU play got boring.  Be a Legend is pretty cool but something that I probably won’t play. This mode brings back old hockey legends back into the game such as Wayne Gretzky and Bobby Orr. There are many more legends in the game that if you keep paying Be a Pro, you can unlock. Another cool feature added was “Winter Classic Mode” which was created really well but it could easily get old over time. This feature allows users to play with any team in last year’s Winter Classic at Heinz field in Pittsburgh. The graphics and presentation of this mode are absolutely unbelievable and this mode ads a little different touch to the game.

The game play improvement is not as good as I would have liked, but there are many little things that show some cool improvement. My favorite new feature would have to be the new physics engine added to the game. This physics engine creates realistic like bounces and hits like we have never seen before in the NHL series. You can now break the glass with a hit, knock a player into the bench, or knock off his helmet. Another thing they changed is that now every player plays like they would in real life. For example, Patrick Kane, who is a very small guy, will not be able to throw bone-crushing hits on bigger guys such as Chris Pronger. Also, everything is live. The goalies can get taken down, the nets can be knocked off, and the glass can be broken. It makes the game more realistic and shows a nice touch. Also, players can now battle in front of the net to get good position weather you are on offense or defense. If you’re on offense, this is a good feature to screen the goalie and get shots from the point. If you’re on defense, you can clear guys out of the front and let your goalie see the puck. Another fun feature is that they now added goalie fights. The goalies can skate up to center ice, and fight with the other one, just how it can happen in real life.

Overall, NHL 12 improved all aspects of the game. Personally, I like when they focus on the game play improvements and there was not as much as I would have liked for this year. The game is still significantly improved when it comes to game play and I would highly recommend it to anybody who enjoys playing the NHL series.

9/11

Just like every other person in America, I will never forget 9/11. As young as I was, I still have vivid memories of the news reports, that day at school, and my parent’s reactions to the greatest tragedy that ever happened to America. The video that we watched in class was extremely mind-boggling. There were points in the film that sent shivers down my spine, and brought back memories of that day. The reason why I really enjoyed that film was because its detail was astonishing. I have seen lots of footage of 9/11 and seeing this documented, footage inside the building was crazy. The stress and panic everybody was under was crazy and to see it in a firefighters prospective was very neat.  Having seen this film from what the fire fighters had to go through really shows how our country is made of many heroes. These people were willing to put their lives on the line to save other peoples’ lives. The amount of work these firefighters did on that day is unheard of. What really caught my attention was when all of the firefighters came back to the station and were talking about what they had gone through. The captain came and told everybody that they need volunteers to go help rescue anybody that could have been trapped after the towers fell. Every firefighter wanted to go back to work and save as many people as possible. These men could have gone home to their families but they felt their job was not over yet. This shows the dedication if these men and the sacrifices they made to this country.

The article I chose to read about is called, “In Manhattan, Children Still Battle 9/11- Related Illnesses.” This article caught my eye because it proves that 9/11 doesn’t just affect us mentally but physically as well. I had no idea that people still suffer from problems from the amount of dust that day around the World Trade Center. This article talks about a Mariama James’ three kids who suffered illness from the attacks. Two years after the attack, her daughter suffered from chronic sinus infections caused by the access amount of dust on 9/11. Shortly after that all three of James’ children had a host of health conditions including asthma, chronic bronchitis, and acid reflux. It got to be very bad and all three kids were missing a lot of school and at one point, each kid was on at least seven different medications.  A quote from the article states, “ A study based on the Dept of Health and Mental Hygeine's WTC Health Registry cites that 25,000 children were either living or attending school in Lower Manhattan the day of the attacks, and projects that tens of thousands more "were in the path of the plume of building debris and smoke, close enough to inhale particulates and toxic substances.” This many kids possibly having respiratory problems is insane. This article was quite shocking to me because I never even knew about these effects on children. I had no idea that kids were suffering from respiratory problems due to the attacks. After reading this article, I realized that 9/11 is still with us today both physically and mentally. 

If somebody asked me what I took away from 9/11, I would respond by saying, “ live your life to the fullest day every day and don’t take anything for granted.” Over 3,000 people lost their lives due to the terrorist attacks. These people had no idea that they were going to die that day. They figured it was just another day at work, or another day dealing with this or that. Imagine what these people would of done if they knew they were going to die a month earlier. I’m pretty sure they would have tried to enjoy every second they had remaining on this earth. They would have spent as much time with their loved ones as possible. The point I am trying to make is that life can be taken from you at any point unexpectedly. That is just the way it is. By living life to the fullest, you wont have any regrets. Live and enjoy life to the best of your ability because one day it will be over.

This is just something that I have realized during my time in high school. Looking back on 9/11 today, I really connected this idea. Another thing I picked up on from 9/11 is the amount of patriotism our country showed during this time of crises. It didn’t matter what color your skin was, what religion you practiced, or what your beliefs were. We as a country came together as one and that was a key element to getting through this horrible tragedy. We all supported one another and provide hope for the country.

Freedom of Speech In Schools

After discussing students’ freedom of speech the last few days, I really started to think about how students are treated at DHS when it comes to freedom of speech. Personally I think Deerfield does a great job at monitoring students when it comes to expressing themselves. Yeah, at some points the administration can be pretty strict, but usually they have the right to be. From symbolic speech, to actually talking, the administration at Deerfield high school cracks down when they need to, but also are very understanding of the student’s first amendment.

In my opinion, speech at school should limited like it is. We are not at home and should not be allowed to express what we want all the time. Like the Des Moines school board argued in the Tinker v. Des Moines case, “Free speech is not an absolute right. The government, at all levels, must balance the rights of individuals to free speech with other values the society holds dear. These other values may include public safety and protecting the rights of other individuals.” I personally agree with this statement, but by no means agree with the school board on this case. Speech should be limited how it is, but not to the extent it went to in this case. Tinker had every right to express what they thought as long as they weren’t disrupting school. That brings us to the question: What must a school prove in order to justify a rule prohibiting its student’s rights to free speech? In the Tinker v. Des Moines case, the court ruled, “ In order for the state in the person of school officials to justify prohibition of a particular expression of opinion, it must be able to show that its action was caused by something more than a mere desire to avoid the discomfort and unpleasantness that always accompany an unpopular viewpoint.” I really agree with this statement when it comes to political views. People should be able to express them at school in a verbal or symbolic matter as long as they don’t disruptive the classroom setting.

At Deerfield, I think speech is regulated in a right manner. Teenagers are going to swear, it is inevitable. Swearing in class is one thing, but in the hallways, courtyard, or lunchroom, it really is not that big of a deal. I can’t count how many times I have heard kids swear and teachers heard them and either did nothing about it or told them to watch their language. I have even heard kids swear in conversations with teachers and it is no big deal. Swearing at Deerfield doesn’t seem to be such a big concern as to the administration cracking down on kids wearing shirts or other articles of clothing that present a drug reference.  I personally think it is inappropriate to wear something to school with a drug reference on it and that is where I go against what the court said in Tinker v. Des Moines. Just because it might not cause a disturbance, it is still has a drug reference in it. That can bring us to the Morse v. Frederick case. Frederick should have had is banner ripped down because he crossed the boundaries of freedom of speech at school. Drug references at school are an absolute no. This is proved by what the court said in the Frederick case, “school officials can prohibit students from displaying messages that promote illegal drug use.” Do you really need to wear a t-shirt to school with a Bud Light logo on it? Just wear it on the weekends. This does go against ones freedom of speech, but it just crosses the line at a school.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes Review

For my first blog post, I decided to write a review about the most recent movie I saw in theaters. This movie happened to be the new Planet of the Apes movie staring James Franco as Will Rodman. To start off, I'm going to give this movie a 6.5/10. As a kid, I loved the 2001 Planet of the Apes with Mark Wahlberg. It fascinated me as and I still remember that I used to get scared at certain points of the movie. I am not going to go into much detail about the plot and summary because that could be found elsewhere on the internet, but the baby ape (Oscar) made the audience fall in love with him with his personality and love of life. James Franco played Oscar's owner in the movie and takes care of him unitl he puts Oscar in a shealter for apes. Will is a scientist and develops a medicine that was tested on Oscar. This medicine is intended for curing Alzheimers, which Will's dad has. Will then tests the medicine on his dad, and it works. Oscar is a really smart ape which is shown to be good, but yet can come back to haunt Will. Because of my love for the old movie, I went into the new one with high expectations. I was hoping this movie would blow me away just like the old one did. That simply did not happen.

Throughout the movie, I kept waiting for a plot change. I felt like I was waiting forever. This movie was extremely slow, but I really did enjoy the plot and how the movie started. The technology in the movie was very cool and along with the graphics and color in the movie, that really impressed me.  Special effects were also great which is definitely a plus. The whole movie I was waiting for a big action scene. At the end there was finally one but that was all the action there was. One thing the movie did a great job of was showing how strong and fierce apes really are. They really emphasized how these apes are incredibly strong creatures and could dominate humans. In the big action scene, the apes fight like apes would and that part was very fun to watch. I was kind of disappointed with the lack of action and excitement that this movie brought compared to the older one. Another interesting point that was present in the movie was the compassion between man and ape. The compassion between Will and Oscar attracted the audience and was a main theme in the plot. Overall, this movie just was too slow and didn't provide the action that I was expecting.

I would recommend this movie to somebody to rent. No need to go out and pay $11.00 to go see this. Don't go in with too high of expectations because this movie will not blow you away by any means.