Making the Grade

After reading this artice, I was kind of split in half with my thoughts towards it. I don't think it's right for a student to go to the professor last minute and ask for a grade change. I do however think it is okay if a student has tried their hardest and had a tutor, attended all of the classes, and went to visit during some of the professors office hours. I am speaking from experience because I had a class once where I was not stong in that particular subject at all, but did all of the above that I mentioned. My overall grade based on my exams and quizzes were not up to par, but I felt that my effort to do well in the class needed to be acknowledged. So, I talked to the professor and they agreed, and my grade was then a little higher than what it was originally going to be. In these types of situations, I don't think there is a problem going to the professor and speaking about a possible grade change. On the other hand, if it's obvious a student didn't put much effort into the class and the classwork, then I don't think it's right.

History "Resist Hitler and Survive"

In response to “Resist Hitler and Survive” by Susan Neiman, I feel that it is time to teach and educate our future generations of the past. This is very important because the Holocaust was a very important part of our history, and we must educate everyone on what happened so it doesn’t happen again. Hitler portrayed himself as God, and did many negative acts. The Christians helped the Jews fight that battle because they felt that was the right thing to do; love others as you love yourself. Hitler failed and his plan was defeated. History is very important. If we didn’t get educated on what happened in the past, we would still be in some really bad situations and would be repeating many things that could have been avoided.

"Why we Fight"...Is it Right??

This article makes one question the war. I am one that is anti-war and does not fully agree with why we are in this war with Iraq. I am all about peace, and this war has been going on for way too long. The Iraqi people were promised peace, and have yet to get it. I think a lot of other terrorist groups are scared to attack the USA now, due to the war. That's a good thing. I don't think it's okay to go and kill someone and be honored for it. I do support our troops though and hope for their safety return back. I do believe that the war we are in is immorral and we need to end it sooner than later.

Game and War

So, after reading the article about this army game, I'm kind of confused as to how I feel about it. I don't like the fact that the army has this game that is trying to pursuade young people to join the army because of the negative things that happen through the game. Then I look at it as a marketing tool and think that it's awesome because if you catch kids at the age of 13, who are ignorant and don't know much better, they will feed into whatever messages the game is giving and sign up to fight.
I don't blame the parents, but if the parents don't like the game and the kid is very young then they can take it away from them and call it that. I never personally played the game, so I'm only repsonding on behalf of the reading. I don't encourage vilence, but if the child comes from a family with morals and respect for others, then no game should be able to drastically change their mind and view about anything.

Global Warming response

After reading the article on global warming, I found it to be pretty interesting. Al Gore strongly believes that humans are the sole reason why global warming is getting as bad as it is today. Although I believe if we cut down on certain usuages, etc, then we can help out the issue a little, I do not believe we can completely stop it.
After the scientists responded on Gore's "Inconvienient Truth", it made a bit more sense to me. The scientist made valid arguments, but I do believe we as a society can help out the situation a little. There are many weather changes, more hurricanes, etc, which partly is due to the global warming issues we face daily. I do see a lot more "Go Green" campaigns and such which I think is great, so I think many of us are trying to make a difference.
On the other side, I personally think God is purposely making these "natural disasters" more frequestly for a reason. A reason in which I am unsure of, but for a reason. Overall, I believe everyone should take Al Gore's words and campaigns into consideration and think about our future as well as our childrens. No, we cannot stop global warming all together, but if buying a specific light bulb might help just a little bit then I suggest we do it.

DNA Gives Students Ethnic Shocks

After reading Samuel Richards article, I found it to be very interesting. The students in the class were very interested in learning more about the topic and their own individual backgrounds. This reminded me of a class I took last semester here at WCU, where one of my professors was offering a DNA test to a limited amount of students. As soon as she passed around the sign-up sheet it was full of names of those who were interested in participating in the study.
I was one of the students who were tested. Although the results have yet to come back, I am very interested to know exactly what is in "my blood." I think now more than ever people are more willing to take these tests to find out "who they are." I believe due to the large amount of racism years ago most people wouldn't want to voluntarily consider taking the test because they would be scared to know if there were associated with some "African, White, Asian, Indian, Spanish, etc." I do believe that those who are tested now and find out that they have other ethnicities that they did not know of before, it makes them become more culturally open and aware.

"Your Gamete, Myself"...What would YOU do?

After reading "Your Gamete, Myself" by Peggy Orenstein, it made me question "What would I do?" The author wrote about egg donors and adoption. This is a very controversial topic all around because many people feel differently for diversed reasons about it. Although egg donation is a very expensive process, if I personally could not make a child and if I had the money I would consider conceiving a child that way.
I believe adoption is a great way to bring in a beautiful child into your home and family. I would definitely adopt if I needed to because I do honestly believe that there are many children around the world who unfortunately do not have a loving family and needs one. Either way, I don't believe either option is negative, so I am pro both sides. I would want to have a child that has my genes and facial features, so I will consider the egg donation. On the other side, I would not mind having a child that had no form of similarity to my family and I. So, either way is fine with me.
I think this type of decision is really determined by the couple's financial situation and/or whether or not the couple will accept and love a child that isn't "their blood." The main objective is to have a child to love and care for no matter what.

Yes...Facebook & I have a Love/Hate Relationship as well

After reading the article on "Facebook: Why I Hate It..." I realized I do a lot of what the author was saying. I have a love/hate relationship when it comes to facebook. The author spoke about all of the hours many people spend on facebook when they could be doing more productive things with their lives, such as studying. I am a victim, I must admit. I am not that bad but I have spent many hours on facebook and have went on numerous people's pages to see what they have been up to in their lives, rather than just picking up my phone and calling them.
The author mentioned the "status updates" feature that facebook now has. In the beginning I did not ever update my status because I felt it was pointless and "stalkerish" for people to know what you were doing at all times. Then once when I got out of a romantic relationship I wanted to get someone jealous so I began posting updates. This is exactly what the author is talking about. We are using the internet and web pages such as facebook more and more to "communicate" with others. I believe this is causing a huge decrease in our social interaction with people, which may hurt us in the long run when we graduate and begin our careers.
The author mentioned that some people check facebook before brushing their teeth. Now, this is not the case for me, but I do know others who fall into this category. I have a love/hate relationship with facebook because I do think it's a great way to connect with family and friends and view pictures. The downfall in all this is the lack of personal interaction and communication this causes. In the case of me posting things so people can see what I've been up to is great, but I hate that job employers can possibly have access to our facebook pages and judge us solely on what the profile portrays. Although facebook is not 100% safe, I do believe I will continue to use this communication medium.