Abortion

1.     1. At first glance, I noticed that the pro-choice website seemed to look much better than the pro-life website. As with anything, first impressions are very important and I think presentation is a factor that convinces readers. I thought it was very interesting how the websites disagreed with each other directly on the website instead of just promoting their own beliefs. I think that this is affective in order to convince people, but should not be done on their main website because it does not advertise what the website is about. Since I believe in the right to chose, I think that the arguments on the pro-choice website are better and are presented in a stronger way.

2.     2. I personally believe that a parent should have the right to know if their child is having an abortion but should not be the one to decide the outcome. As a seventeen or eighteen year old you are viewed as an adult and with this title you are capable of making decisions on your own that are in your best interest. Since a parent is still responsible for their children I think they should be notified about the decision and should be consulted with.

3.     3. A father should absolutely be notified if their child is going to be aborted. Since it takes two people to create a baby, it is both of their decision. I don’t think the father would even have to be notified because in most cases the father would already know what is going on with their significant other.

4.     4. Since the facts are very biased towards pro-choice, I found it difficult to get a complete view on the laws in Illinois concerning abortion. One new piece of information that I previously did not know was that Governor Pat Quinn is pro-choice. One law that I found interesting was that Illinois law restricts young women's access to abortion services by mandating parental notice. I disagree with the fact that it restricts their access because many parents understand that having a baby is a ton of work and a responsibility. When a baby is wanted and two people are ready, it is a blessing. When it is not, it creates a burden on young adults, and most parents realize that a baby as a teenager is too much of a responsibility. When a teenager has to take care of themselves, and a baby, it creates a lifestyle and environment that is very difficult. I disagree with the websites stance on this law because I think parents should be notified if their child is pregnant and wants to have an abortion. 

Death Penalty #3

The stages in a capital case are very in depth and provide areas where the accused have the ability to provide a case for themselves. Also, this process protects the rights of the accused by allowing a clemency process, which guarantees that the person is in fact guilty. I think that the system displayed on the website is sufficient to make sure the guilty are convicted but not all systems are perfect. The possibility that an innocent person gets convicted or a guilty person is found innocent is probable.

If a person is to be sentenced to death, I believe that the most humane way to execute somebody is by lethal injection. This way harms the person the least and automatically kills them. I think that many of the options listed are very inhumane such as hanging because this causes the person to struggle and feel a significant amount of pain before he or she dies. I also think that a firing squad is a very inhumane way of executing a person.

This website is a very useful tool in order to see how the death penalty is used throughout the country. Some trends that I noticed were that mostly men are being executed and very few women were executed. I also noticed that more white people were executed than black people. I found this very interesting because I thought that this was the opposite. I found it interesting that the states that do not have the death penalty are more grouped together.

This data confirmed my previous observations and the issue of race is very important when looking at the death penalty. More white people are executed than blacks and the victims in the cases are predominately white. The issue of discrimination is prevalent in cases and many people use this as an argument during clemency. I think that this article is more biased towards not having the death penalty because it provides numerous examples of how the death penalty is flawed or wrong. For example, it provides a poll of how many people believe the death penalty deters more murders and the majority of people believe it does not. If the author of the article were in favor of the death penalty than they would not include this information.

Music: J. Cole

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J. Cole is an American rapper and producer. He is best known for being the first artist to be signed to Roc Nation. Cole started rapping at the age of 12 when his cousin showed him the basics of rhyming. Inspired by Canibus, Nas, Tupac Shakur and Eminem, J. Cole developed a love for telling stories in his lyrics.

Boggess

I think that Clifford Boggess should not have been executed because it seemed that it was something that he desired. Boggess seemed content with the fact that he was going to be killed. The execution did not act as a punishment but as a way for Boggess to move past what he did and gain forgiveness. While on death row, Boggess transformed himself into somebody completely different in order to feel accepted when he dies. I feel that knowing you are going to die allows a person to think about what they have done and apologize.  A better punishment would have been life in prison because he would have to contemplate his decisions for the rest of his life. The death penalty allowed him to contemplate his decisions for a shortened period and then it provided an escape for Boggess to move on and reach heaven. Whether or not his after life is pleasant, the death penalty allowed for Boggess to escape from his problems and believe that there was something better waiting for him after he died. The crimes that Boggess committed were awful and as a person I do not believe he changed from a murderer to a peaceful man while in prison. Even if he did not change, I do not believe he should be executed because nothing is gained by the execution. By sitting in prison, Boggess would not have been harming society and instead would have been providing artwork along with knowledge to other members of death row who could use some direction. The idea of an eye for an eye does not seem to be successful. Instead of allowing Boggess to develop in prison and provide artwork and religion to the community, he is eliminated and the lessons, ideals, and values that he has learned from his experiences are lost.  Overall, I think that nobody should be killed intentionally or by the death penalty because as bad as a person is they are still capable of providing knowledge and other things to other individuals.

Bullying

In class, we have discussed many situations where the reuslt of bullying has been tragic. Many individuals take their lives in order to escape the bullying. Personally, Ibelieve there are many other options that could have been taken besides suicide because i believe that nothing in life can be that bad where you need to end it. Everyone goes through different situations and the ones that can survive them are truly strong. One case that stuck out to me was the movie we watched where the kid was bullied for being a homosexual. He endured numerous beatings and was made fun of a lot during school. He was so scared that he was afraid to walk in the halls or even walk home after school. He felt that his life was in danger and instead of escaping the problems by ending his life he survived through them and found other ways to cope with the abuse. In regards to DHS, Ibelieve that bullying does exist but it is nothing compared to the stories that we heard in class. Occasionally, there are some individuals who attract bullying to them by acting a certain way and because people do no tlike them. I have never heard of anything physically being done to a student but there is some minor verbal abuse that takes place. Deerfield is a very welcoming environment and people are taught to be accepting and caring of others at a young age. When an idea is puched opon kids they tend to believe it and believe in it. If schools, parents, or any other figure that has power over the minds of children should teach them to be kind to others and to never bully anyone because nobody deserves to be bullied.

Hold up: Break Time: Music

LaMontagne has won a number of awards for his music and has performed at several charity events. Ray LaMontagne was born in Nashua, New Hampshire, in 1973 to a constantly traveling mother and a violent musician father who abandoned the family during Ray's childhood. LaMontagne is particularly known for his raspy voice, which he says he learned by singing through his gut and not his nose. I suggest everyone checks him out.

Drug Testing in Schools

I think that the idea to implement drug testing in our school would not only ruin any further support for the school from students but would create an atmosphere where students feel unsafe. Everyday at school, students would feel as if the school is trying to hurt them rather than watch them succeed. I do not think it is the schools responsibility to interfere with personal decisions when its obligation is to educate students on these issues rather than enforce them. I feel if schools started drug-testing people that it would create more problems for the school and ultimately ruin extra curricular activities for students when they are supposed to be encouraged. I agree that the issue the school is trying to prevent is wrong and is something that should be prevented but the way in which the school would be preventing it is wrong. By drug testing students the school is no longer a place where a student can feel they have the opportunity to make their own decisions and feel comfortable. The school would be adding another rule that allows the school to know too much about their students. It is a parental guardian's responsibility to educate and prevent their children from participating in drugs and the police's job to find people who are breaking the law and using these drugs. Overall, I believe that the school should not implement drug testing for students who participate in extra curricular activities. The article I read deals with a student whose phone was searched and nude photos were found. The student argued that "search of the device,” she continues, “is akin to browsing through someone’s address and appointment book, opening and reading letters sent by U.S. mail, and rummaging through a family photo album or viewing home videos." I agree with this argument because I feel that a school should not be allowed to go through personal documents and look for bad things. If students had the opportunity to look through teachers personal information and drug test them I believe that many bad things would be found. I think that this search should not be legal because it completely disregards a student’s privacy. 

Freedom of Religion

In the article I chose it discussed whether or not prayer should be allowed at graduation ceremonies. I believe that at all public school ceremonies should not have prayer as part of the process because not all students at public schools share the same religious beliefs.  One idea discussed in the article was to have prayers from different religious leaders so that all religions would be represented. I believe that this is not a very good idea and is still unfair because people would have to participate in prayers for other religions that they do not practice. However, if the school is private and is known for a certain religion attending, for example Loyola, which is a catholic school, then I believe prayer, should be allowed in the ceremony. The article provided examples for both sides which helped me make my own opinion. 

9/11 Film

I truly enjoyed watching this film because I feel that it truly gave a great representation of the emotion and the thought process of people who had a firsthand experience to the attacks.  One part that stood out to me was the filming of the thick cloud of smoke barreling down streets. I thought it was very interesting how after this happened the smoke turned the city from day into night and was thick enough to block the sun. This is one of the best films I have seen that has dealt with this topic and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in the topic. 

Speech Codes. What the Hell are Those?

Speech codes restrict language that most people know not to use already. The First Amendment grants you the right to freedom of speech but not all speech is acceptable and appropriate in certain situations. It is inappropriate to call somebody names or display hate towards one another in a public place because people need to feel safe and comfortable in certain environments. I believe that speech codes are unnecessary because people should know how to act properly and be respectful of others. Most speech codes restrict hate speech and these rules seem redundant because people know that it is wrong to direct hate towards somebody and make them feel uncomfortable. Overall, I think that the principles behind speech codes are necessary but these principles should be taught throughout the course of learning and childhood.