Research in the Community, vol. 6

Volume 6

Research in the Community

The Bay School of San Francisco

Contents T1 Issue: Fall 2013 How Pesticides Should Be: The Effects of Pesticides on Honey Bee Colony Collapse “Bulk” Advertising Fiery Prevention The Effects of Bullying in School Internet Encryption The Psychological Effects of iPhone Gaming Pushing a Horse to Its Limits: Should Horse Racing Be Allowed?

Yosemite Valley: Rock Climbing’s Mecca Can Music Positively Affect Youth in the Bay Area?

Which Do You Choose: The Intersection of Automotive Design and Power A Nation Changed Forever How do people’s views on death impact how they live?

A journey into mortality.

Chloe Bohannon

2

Connor Dietz

8

Ally Diwik

14

Grace Dodgen

19

Finley Hebert-Perkins

24

Zach Jagoda

30

Natasha Kaplan

36

Ross Nagelson

47

Oliver Ruston

54

Tucker Treat

61

Morgan Welles

66

Anna Zehner

71

Alexandra Bryan

78

Arun Desai

82

Wally Dryden

88

Zack Herzer

96

T2 Issue: Winter 2014 Single-Sex Education for Girls in San Francisco The Effects of Hip-Hop on Our Society Today To Pay or Not to Pay? Should You Really Buy an “Environmentally Friendly” Car? The Importance of Adopting from an Animal Shelter GMOs Student Governments: Learning from Congress

Isabella Hunscher 102 Robbie London 106 Max Migdail 110

Modern Day Slavery?

Margaux Paradis 117

Genetically Modified Foods

Spencer Paulsen 122

Umad? A Study of Violent Video Games

Henry Pond 126

Music: Our Universal Language

Emily Purvis 131

The Effectiveness of Documentaries to Portray and Publicize an Issue

Millie Robson 136

RITC Paper

Daniel Shore 141

Single-Sex Education for Girls Internet Security

Kendall Sui 150 Cole Yarbrough 156

Rights and Equality Issue: Winter 2014 Wicked Church of the West: The Effects of the Westboro Baptist Church Forever at the Bottom: Racial Disparity in the World of Mass Incarceration Internet Privacy and the ECPA Weeding the Bars or Barring the Weed?

An Analysis of the Legalization of Marijuana and Mass Incarceration in California

Lauren Anderson 161 Hannah Cohen-Sidley 167 Trevor Dines 180

Mark Gross 185

The Queers are Here: Effects of Gays in the Media

Shaw Lenox 191

The Skinny Ideal, Eating Disorders, and the Pro-Ana Movement

Grace Reed 197

The New Resume HIPAA Patient Privacy Act: A Personal Story of Unintended Consequences

Kate Swisher 209 Mayland Treat 215

T3 Issue: Spring 2014 Research Paper Rough DraftAnti-Vaccination: A Moral Hazard or a Real One? Is the Bus Really Worth It’s Weight in Gold?

Who’s Watching You? The Changing Face of Privacy

Edward Burke 221 Liam Campbell 227 Joseph DeRose 230

The Lives of Socialy Networked Teens and How it Affects Future Generations

Shiva Inalsingh 239

One Course At A Time: Will it Improve High School Education?

Sammy Kroner 247

The Challenges of Airport Security Behavioral Medications for Pets Alternative Medicine and Pharmaceutical Distrust Myth and Monsters Doping in Professional Cycling Does Representation Really Matter?: People of Color in Animated Films Brain Development in Juvenile Detention Centers The Real Cost of Living in San Francisco War: What Is It Good For? The Special Needs Education System Corporate Chain Stores vs Independent Stores Weighing the Benefits vs. Costs to the Community Man’s Best Friend: The Sad Truth about Animal Euthanasia

Annika Lal-Randhawa 251 Tess Lewis 255 Alex Mai 259 Gabriel Perko-Engel 265 Emmet Pfau 273 Izzy Rees 278 Julia Roehl 283 Jae Scott 290 Ian Simons 298 Reynolds Sullivan 303 Alex Testa 308 Zoe Thompson-Brooks 315

Holocaust in the Holy Land Stereotype Threat

Zach Brenner 319 Tiffany Poon 325

Food and Health Issue: Spring 2014 Losing a Loved One The Lockdown Lowdown The Toll on Immigrants Beauty Kills The Current and Future Designs of the Modern Short Board

Lizzy Albinson and Hannah Gammon 331 Oceana Baranchuck 339 Audrey Connell 349 Yasmin Eltawil and Mellany Alvarez 356 Tiger Feng 368

Life in the Fat Lane

Andrew Heard 374

The Disease of Addiction

Dane Johnson 382

Criminal Minds in Court Steroids and Supplements How does the industry of processed & package foods influence our consumption?

Puer Athleta Athletes Going Pro Genetically Modified Foods: Helpful or Harmful?

Head Injuries in Football Healthy Food Would You Speed Your Way to an A? Competitive Youth Sports: Helpful or Harmful?

Sophie Ghiasi and Yoshi Kohlwes 387 Patrick Mayrisch 401 Amara Norman 408 Matthew Penny and Cole Schneider 414 Nick Quazzo and Oskar Lind 421 Clare Roediger and Bailey Coleman 431 Stan Roediger 440 Reed Sandbach 447 Isabella Sturdevant 452 Kendall You Mak and Nathan Wang 460

Fall 2013

T1

Research in the Community The Bay School of San Francisco

Chloe Bohannon

How Pesticides Should Bee: ! ! !

The Effects of Pesticides on Honey Bee Colony Collapse It’s a beautiful Sunday for a picnic. You throw your blanket down on Crissy Field, near a patch of small daisies. From your chosen seat, you can see the Golden Gate Bridge, Marin, the water, and the rest of beautiful San Francisco. You begin to unpack your carefully thought out lunch: premade sandwiches, fruit, cookies; you have everything imaginable in your picnic basket. Without thinking, you lay everything out, before beginning your feast. Right when everything seems perfect, along comes your least favorite, and very un-

welcome guest: bees. Honey Bees are the classic picnic invader.

They somehow always know how to make a pleasant day at park turn into a stinging nightmare. You begin to shoo away the insects away from your food. But, little do you know that that food is actually not yours, but rather the bees. Bees are responsible for about one third of your picnic. Without Bees, what would we do? Yes, not get stung, but we would also have a shortage of food, without vegetables, fruit, and grains.

Packed in your perfect picnic are prefect apples. These apples are just the right sweetness, crisp, and have absolutely no spots or bugs on them. Again without the honey bees, there would be no apple. But, without modern day pesticides used by the farmers who grew that apple, it would not be spotless. And those pesticides that make that apple perfect, are actually killing the bees, who make the apple in the first place. It is a tangled web that can easily spiral out of control. If we do not take action, not only will our lovely picnics disappear, but almost half of our entire food source is in jeopardy. Essentially, we depend on our food, and therefore depend on bees to pollinate the produce we eat, making Colony Collapse a popular topic amongst researchers.

Studies on pesticides and their effect on honey bees have come up with a type of potent pesticide that is primarily blamed for honey bee deaths: Neonicotinoids. These chemicals first started being used in the 1990s (Brown). Bayer CropScience, the company that makes this specific type of pesticide, first introduced Neonicotinoids as a non-agricultural insecticide. However, over the years, the strength 2

and power of these chemicals has been desired and used by the agricultural business (Cardinale).

Now, these supposedly, “non-agricultural” pesticides are used on the majority of our food today. Most cash crops and mono-crops survive by using these pesticides. The use of Neonicotinoids in agriculture is to fend off different insets the kill and eat the crops. Primarily, these pesticides target beetles and aphids, two of the most invasive and harmful insects to the agricultural business (Brown). What makes these pesticides so effective and helpful to the agricultural business is their strength. One crenel coated in a Neonicotinoid pesticides can kill a bird, let alone insects. Neonicotinoids are especially powerful because unlike most pesticides they do not get washed off by rain. Instead, they are poured onto the roots, absorbed into the plant, and therefore go into to entire plant’s system, infecting an insect with one lethal bite. It is believed that there are about 2-4 specific types of Neonicotinoids that are of harm to bees (Cardinale). As stated by the Environmental Protection Agency, Imidacloprid and Clothianidin are two types of Neonicotinoids (KimbleEvans). Some of these chemicals can be found in house hold cleaners, for example, bed bug spray (Ethan). Although pesticides, or “chemical cocktails”, are doing their job of keeping off bad insects like beatles and aphids, they killing the good ones, the pollinators, the honey bees (Kimble-Evans).

Bees ingest Neonictinoids in two ways. As stated above, Neonicotinoids are absorbed by plants, and flow through the entire plant, poisoning every part, including the pollen. When bees scavenge nectar and pollen for their honey, the Neonicotinoids are on their menu. Be-

cause pollinating and gathering pollen is vital for the survival of a hive, there is no avoiding these toxic plants (Brown). Like any other animal, honey bees need water to live. However, it is very unfortunate for the honey bees when their water source is completely poisonous and fatal. As found by researcher Maryann Frazier from Pennsylvania State University, when bees drink from dew on a leave of a Neonicotinoid treated plant, they ingest the pesticide that have roughly 1000 times more toxins than pollen or nectar (KimbleEvans). As a Result, honey bees suffer and die from these Neonicotinoids.

Scientists have found a number of symptoms caused by Neonicotinoids, which lead to a malfunctioning hive, and therefore a loss of that hive. A honey bee’s sense of direction is arguably their most important ability. Honey bees go in a three mile radius of their hive for flowers, and, obviously, cannot click their heels to get home. When a worker bee is scavenging, and ingests pollen from a Neonicotinoid treated plant, the pesticide destroys its sense of direction, or mental GPS. When bees get lost, and do not return to their hive, it is basically the same as them dying. The worker bees are not only losing their pollen, but can no longer hold up their hive, and ironically enough, the hive begins to collapse, hence the name, Colony Collapse (Kimble-Evans).

Like any animal, honey bees are susceptible diseases within their species. However, according to Dr. Stephen Caraballo of the Universidad Federal De Larvras in Brazil and the National Institute of Agricultural Research in France, Neonicotinoids are directly weakening Bees immune systems, making them more susceptible to parasites 3

and diseases (Ethan). One parasite that is mostly present in honey bee hive is the Veroa Mite. This leech like insect grabs on to the honey bee, as well as eats the wax of the hive which gives the hive its structure. When beekeepers check their hives, they often do a mite count. This is simple done by placing a foam core pad at the bottom of the hive, and removing it after a few days. As a result, the beekeeper can count the concentration of mites in the hive per square inch or so. If the mites count is high, the beekeeper as an important decision to make. If a human were to get sick, and go to the doctor, the doctor usually prescribes a medication. In this situation, the beekeeper becomes the doctor. They have the choice to treat the hive with a pesticide that will kill off the mites, freeing the bees from their unwelcome guests. Research has proven that these mite killing chemicals are actually not too great for the Honey Bees themselves as one might imagine. Therefore, Neonicotinoids are actually resulting in the use of even more chemicals. If there were never these pesticides, the problem of mites would not be killing as many hives as it does now (“Pesticides Killing”). Over time, as bees either lose their sense of direction, and get lost from the hive, or are invaded by mites in the hive, the species of Honey Bees is essentially dying a slow death, and unable to pollinate plants, our food.

American beekeepers really began to notice a severe rise in colony deaths in 2006. When beekeepers started to see roughly 90% of the bees in their hive had disappeared or died, they began to notice a drastic problem that needed to be address (Brown). Since then, roughly 10 million bee hives have been killed due to Colony Collapse Disorder in the last six years. Just in the past year, since the

winter of 2o12, a decrease of about 45% in their hives (Cardinale).

Although pesticides are not the sole cause of honey bee colony collapse, they play a major role in the matter. According to “Diane CoxFoster, professor of entomology at Penn State and co-director of the CCD Working Team, wrote that the outcome of a test (studying the amount of pesticides within a honey bee hive), was ‘startling’”. CoxFostor and the CCD Working team were shocked to find more than 17o different chemicals were found in pollen within a bee hive (Kimble-Evans). A Similar research report done by Penn State, tested the amount of pesticides on an actual bee. Again, researchers were stunned by their findings. Even though pesticides are causing millions of honey bee’s deaths, why should we as a community find this important? Why does the life of a small, stinging insect matter to us?

We as humans are highly dependent on our agricultural system.

Everyone in the present day United States is dependent on grocery stores for providing them with the food they need to life and thrive.

Because we are dependent on commercial farmers, we are therefore dependent on Bees. You can thank honey bees for about one third of the food on your plate (“USDA”). Bees are primarily pollinate our fruits and vegetables, spreading pollen from plant to plant. In the California Central Valley, where many of our produce is grown, bees pollinate around 90% of crops. Crops such avocados, almonds, and corn would not exist if it wasn’t for bees. Pollination is actually such a vital and important aspect of farming, that large mono-crop corporations rent thousands of bee hives every season to pollinate their crops. Every year, companies in the agricultural 4

business collectively spend around 250 million dollars per year on pollination services (Brown). Along with being dependent on food produced by honey bees, the American agricultural business is completely economically dependent on bees. Bees are responsible for about 15 billion dollars of our agricultural business (Brown).Humans are not the only animals that would be affected by the loss of honey bees. Honey bees, in a way, hold up most of our ecosystems. Because honey bees pollinate many of the wild flowers, trees, and grasses, many other insects, animals would die, “everything from grizzle bears to songbirds rely on food that rely on pollination� (Cardinale). However, with all of these problems, especially concerning the American people and their prosperity, what are we doing to raise awareness, and find solutions?

On a positive note, there have been some efforts by the US government to address Colony Collapse Disorder and come up with a solution to this wide spread problem. Why politians are beginning to get concerned, and should be concerned is because death in bees is directly linked to our food supply which may completely collapse.

The United States Department of Agriculture has created the Colony Collapse Disorder Working Team to attend to this current challenge among our pollinators. Their job is to study the current challenge, and essentially to come up with possible solutions (KimbleEvans). However, as much as this is a step in the right direction, Colony Collapse is far too big of a problem for a group of professors to solve. In many ways we should look to Europe as an example of what we should do. Many European countries have been affected

by Colony Collapse Disorder, and have noticed deaths amongst

their hives. Countries such as Slovenia and Italy have recently banned Neonicotinoids because of their effect on pollinators. Because these two countries, especially Italy, value their agriculture and are somewhat dependent on their agriculture industry, they have banned toxic pesticides to protect bees (Kimble-Evans). The United States should aspire to do the same. Although Neonicotinoids do a wonderful job of protecting crops from pests, they are causing much bigger problems. The first step is to educate the public. Most people have a hard time relating to bees. An analogy that better helps us understand this current challenge is to imagine what our reaction would be if a third of our cows were dying? (KimbleEvans). By informing people about the current challenge with our pollinators and the potential consequences, there is much higher of a chance of something being done. Another important point to be made is about the toxicity of Neonicotinoids. If these lethal pesticides are killing honey bee hives by the thousands, what are they doing to us? It comes down to your choice: what would you prefer, a perfect spotless apple laced with toxic chemicals that are killing thousands of organisms, or a slightly spotted apple, clean and fresh?

After reading this paper, you might feel somewhat depressed, and hopeless about the future of our bees and the human race. But, fortunately, there are many ways that people can make a huge difference in their backyards, and kitchens. First, plant native wildflowers to the area you live. By planting these flowers, you provide native pollen for native bees, which they have adapted to life and thrive on.

Secondly, do not treat your plants with any pesticide. As said by re5

spected beekeeper Bonnie Bollinger, one of the worst things about pesticides is that they are all readily available to a regular household buyer. If everyone provides clean, pesticide pollen for honey bees, it would make a very big impact. And finally, by buying local honey, you are supporting local beekeepers, rather than commercial beekeepers who are harsher and mistreat their bees. In some way shape or form, something has to be done about honey bee colony collapse and the effect of pesticides. Because, as said by Albert Einstein, “if the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live”.

Work Cited

I would like to acknowledge the following people for editing and critiquing my paper:

Ethan A. "More Proof: Pesticides Are Killing Honeybees." Natural News. N.p., 29 Aug. 2013. Web. 22 Sep. 2013.

Ally Diwik, Malcolm Roediger, Morgan Welles, and Craig Butz. Thank you for your help!

Kimble-Evans, Amanda. "Colony Collapse Disorder: Are Potent Pesticides Killing Honeybees?" Mother Earth News. Mother Earth News, Oct.-Nov. 2009. Web. 22 Sep. 2013.

Brown, Eryn. "Bees' Die-Off may be Linked Indirectly to Pesticides." Los Angeles Times, Mar 30 2012. ProQuest. Web. 22 Sep. 2013.

Cardinale, Matthew C. "Food Security: Bill Seeks To Halt Bee-killing Pesticides in U.S.” Global Information Network, Jul 29 2013. ProQuest. Web. 22 Sep. 2013 .

"Honeybee Colony Collapse Disorder, Pesticides, US EPA." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, 15 May 2012. Web. 22 Sep. 2013.

"Pesticide Buildup Could Lead to Poor Honey Bee Health". US Fed News Service, Including US State NewsAug 18 2008. ProQuest. Web. 22 Sep. 2013.

"Pesticides Killing Bees?" Natural Life Sep 2007: 41. ProQuest. Web. 22 Sep. 2013.

USDA and EPA Release New Report on Honey Bee Health. Lanham: Federal Information & News Dispatch, Inc, 2013.

ProQuest. Web. 22 Sep. 2013.

6

"Washington State University Honey Bee Researcher Explores Possible Link Between Pesticides and Colony Collapse”. US Fed News Service, Including US State News, Jun 28 2007. ProQuest. Web. 22 Sep. 2013 .

Walia, Arjun. "Collective-Evolution." Collective Evolution RSS. Collective Evolution, 3 Aug. 2013. Web. 22 Sept. 2013.

Bollinger, Bonnie. Personal Interview. 11 Oct. 2013.

7

Connor Dietz

“Bulk” Advertising With children so young and so susceptible, they can be easily influenced by the media. There are many types of media; these include television, the internet, video games and social networks. Childhood obesity is a pressing problem that is being fueled by the media, which uses techniques like taking advantage of a child’s love for a character and using it to advertise foods; this can cause many health problems when they are young, and can be carried into adulthood. There is however a bright side of television, through informative programs and educational media, children who sit down all day can take in some valuable information, possibly helping the problem.

Obesity and being overweight is defined to be the effect of eating to many calories and not having enough physical activity (Dehghan).

Currently, obesity is a major health problem in the United States.

Obesity affects both children and adults, which is why the obesity numbers are so high (“How Does”). Currently, two thirds of adults and one third of children are obese, making United States obesity rates the highest in the world (Cheng). Investigation and research has further shown now that obesity is more of an energy usage and

physical activity problem, as opposed to an energy consumption and food problem. In 2004, the average child burns around 600 kcal per day; this is in great contrast to our primal ancestors, who burnt around 3500 kcal per day (Ashton). This is very important because children today eat around 2000 kcal per day, making their energy consumption far greater than that of their energy burn.

Body Mass Index (BMI), is a measurement of how heavy you are compared to your height. Mahshid Dehghan, Noori Akhtar-Danesh and Anwar T Merchant are all authors of this highly accessed source on Childhood obesity and prevention. Dehghan works at the Population Health Research Institute. Akhtar-Danesh is part of the School of Nursing and Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Merchant is part of the Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and Population Health Research Institute. All three of these institutes and facilities are part of McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada. One way the authors explain this is that children are obese if 25-30% of their body weight is fat (Dehghan).

In 2005, 40% of five year olds were above the APP’s weight recommendation (“How Does”). There are ways to measure a person’s obesity levels, “techniques include underwater weighing (densitometry), multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI),” (Dehghan). These are all ways to determine if a person is overweight.

There are many contributors to obesity, ranging from the internet to television and advertisements. The television is a major culprit when looking at the causes of obesity, specifically: childhood obesity. It 8

has been identified that television, and the companies that advertise on it, impacts children’s health. Some of the most major concerns are fast food and children’s television programming (Bernhardt).

There are indirect and direct causes that come from television and advertising. There are some theories that state television and advertising as a whole as an indirect cause, and some that state it as a direct cause.

Advertising is a way for companies to promote their products’, and is often targeted at children (Batada; Bernhardt). In the past year, it is estimated that advertising companies have spent almost $161 million on advertising to children around eleven years of age. In a company’s advertisement, they sometimes may seek to make the product and the children or characters associated with it happy and playful. This can make children want to buy the product, mainly because they want to be happy like they see on television. The main companies that target children are McDonalds, Burger King, and Wendy’s.

All of these are fast food companies that advertise unhealthy foods (Bernhardt).

One of the most popular children’s channels, Nickelodeon, has also been argued as a major problem (Batada). Nickelodeon is a popular television network that is a favorite among children, but what is it doing to the children we know and love? Nickelodeon contains many characters that children today know, cherish, and look up to.

They see them everywhere: television, grocery stores, advertisements and many other places (Batada). Kids are constantly seeing the characters that they know and love, so what is it doing to their diet?

Television and advertisements specifically, impact a child’s eating choice. A 2005 study was done on Nickelodeon characters and their relationship to food. Of the 168 different food ads shown in one year, 88% of them are for unhealthy foods. These ads were recorded as unique ads, and it was not specified how many times they replayed, but it was estimated to be around 10 to 150 times a week, per advertisement (Batada). It was estimated that in 2006, the average child viewed more than 3,000 advertisements on television daily. Research has shown that the younger children are, the more likely they are to fall for the advertisement companies’ trap. In 1970, the Federal Trade Commision (FTC) stated that it is unfair to advertise to children (“Children”). Because of the vast number of viewers, more children are seeing these advertisements daily, giving Nickelodeon great advertising power. Nickelodeon also produces “toys, magazines and books,” (Batada). It was also later stated that Nickelodeon characters are made into collectible toys at fast food restaurants, giving kids an incentive to purchase a meal there (Batada).

Dr. Christopher Ferguson, a researcher and professor at Texas A&M International specializing in behavioral, applied and criminal sciences, conducted a study on television and found that if unhealthy foods are advertised on television, children will be more likely to desire the unhealthy choice. This study was performed to find out how much parental influence there was on children, and what types of foods children are most likely to want to eat. In this study, they took 75 children, aged three to five years old. The research team then broke them into two further groups. Both groups 9

were told to watch a movie, and in between sections of the movie, there was an ad. For one half of the children, they watched an advertisements on a healthy apple snack, while the other half watched advertisements on French Fries. After the movie, all of the children were given a coupon from the research team and told they could pick out the snack of their choice. The second part to this study was that half of each group had the kids parents encourage them to go for the healthier snack. The results were shocking. In the group with passive parents that watched French fry ads, 71% decided to go for the unhealthy French Fries. In the group that watched the French fry ads with encouraging parents, 55% went for the French fries. In the group that watched the healthy apple advertisements with passive parents, 46% reached for the French fries. In the group that watched the healthy apple advertisements and had parental encouragement, 33% still went for the French fries. This shows that children are very susceptible to advertisements, and that parental influence on children is not as great as we would like it to be. (“Ads Influence”).

On the contrary, other researchers such as Professor Gerard Hastings, a professor of Social Marketing at the Open University Business school, and his colleagues believe that food advertising does not have an effect on a child’s eating habits. Professor Hastings and his colleagues conducted a study on children, and found that the advertisements they watch are not as influential as some people may lead you to believe (Aston).

Another theory is that it is not so much the food advertisements children watch that causes obesity, it is the food they eat while sitting

down. These unhealthy habits can then carry on to adulthood, creating more problems later in life (“How Does”). While this is possible, there is still more evidence that food advertising affects children’s health.

There is also a good side to television and advertising. Dr. Ferguson stated that children will benefit from watching these ads, but only if they contain information on good nutrition. (“Ads Influence”). The popular television channel Nickelodeon is also sponsoring healthy eating programs, as well as some of the bad things they show. One program they sponsor is called the Let’s Just Play (LJP) campaign.

In the LJP campaign, popular characters are seen eating and enjoying healthy foods, and kids are encouraged to be active outside.

This is campaign involves live action events that are shown on television (Batada).

Surprisingly, another contributor to the growing problem of childhood obesity are schools. More than 200 school districts have signed contracts with soft drink companies guaranteeing their product will be available in vending machines throughout the school.

These contracts are usually exclusive, giving a single soft drink company real estate over these children. There are also 4,500 Pizza Hut chains in schools across the country, encouraging kids to eat there instead of bringing healthy lunches. On top of that, there are 3,000 Taco Bell chains in schools across the country (“Children”).

Some schools, however, are doing things to help prevent this ongoing problem of childhood obesity. One thing that schools are doing is trying to make healthy foods available to children, and promoting 10

good and healthy eating (“Declining”). Schools also can, and have the potential to, educate their students on what is healthy to eat, and what is not (“Children”). Some schools are already doing this, but it would be more productive if more schools educated their students on this matter.

All of this advertising to children, and their eating of fatty foods can take a toll on their health. Some of the problems that come with being overweight or obese are hypertension abnormal glucose tolerance, Infertility later in life, depression and the increased risk of cardiovascular disease (Dehghan). These are all things that are a direct or indirect cause of watching unhealthy television advertisements, sitting down on the couch or eating too much unhealthy food.

There are many things that have been attempted to combat the growing problem of childhood obesity, but in most cases, they have been disregarded. In 1970, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) stated that it is unfair to advertise to children.

Even though television has a negative influence on children, there are some things that are being done to stop the influence it has on childhood obesity and children’s eating habits. As mentioned above, schools are already making some effort to control this problem of childhood obesity, but that is not the only thing that is being done.

The Lancet posted an editorial “attacking sports celebrities and food manufacturers for their cynical promotion of junk food and demanding legislation to force the junk-food industry to ‘clean up its act’,” (Ashton). In an indirect response to this post, Coca-Cola, a soft

drink manufacturer, and Heinz, a condiment manufacturer, stated that they would stop advertising to children (Ashton).

One organization that is helping children learn about the media is Common Sense Media. In an interview with Rebeca Randal, the Vice President of Education Programs at Common Sense Media, she stated what Common Sense Media does to help children. One thing that she stressed was that they want to help children understand how the media is affecting children. She also stated that their mission was not to censor media, but rather to help children understand what is being presented to them in the vast world of media.

One thing she noted was that there are many different types of media, and each type of media can have a varying effect on children depending on their age. If you are a teenager, social media is a more powerful advertising tool, but if you are a child under say, 9, television will be more powerful in persuasion. One other thing Rebeca did not hesitate to note is that food advertising on television is not the direct cause to childhood obesity. She stated that it was the food that children eat while sitting down, combined with the lack of activity, not necessarily the advertising.

Looking back at the popular television channel Nickelodeon, they have also said some things that have lead people to believe that they are doing good things. Representatives and spokespeople for Nickelodeon have come out and said that they support healthy eating. They have also said that they have created company-wide principles that, they say, guides them and how they choose what content goes onto their television channel. This, they also say, guides 11

their food and beverage decisions around the office, showing their support for healthy eating (Batada).

Other countries other than the United States have taken big leaps in preventing childhood obesity, something that our country should view as an example. Countries that have completely banned advertising to children are Sweden and Norway. They view unhealthy advertising as the cause for obesity. Countries such as Greece have severely restricted it; any food advertisements must be shown past 10 pm (“Children”; “Declining”). This is may be because the younger the children are, the more susceptible they are to advertising. (“Children”). All of these prevention effort that other countries are making is something the United States should consider looking into.

Some things that could be done to prevent childhood obesity are not being executed as flawlessly as they could be. Currently, healthy eating programs are doing well, but they do not appeal to children, and often leave children sitting at the television, not caring.

The organizations and programs that are trying these television motivations should include more of an incentive for children to want to join. By creating an incentive, children will be more likely to want to get active. Another thing to take into consideration is a child’s love for a character. If you use that in the same way that it is used for unhealthy things but instead for active and healthy promotions, you could generate the same affect that comes out of television and advertising to children.

the aforementioned techniques, companies are targeting children and making them want to buy their products. When utilizing a love children have for characters, combined with their young-age vulnerability, children are a perfect target for ad campaigns. There are many things that companies are doing to target children. Childhood obesity also comes with many problems, and although there are efforts being made to decrease rates, it is still a problem among children today. With all of the bad things that come with obesity, there should be something done to stop it.

I would like to acknowledge the following people for helping me write my research paper. Oliver Ruston and Zack Jagoda for helping edit my paper. I would also like to acknowledge my parents for helping me choose a topic, and reminding me to spread out the work so I am not cramming for time.

Childhood obesity is a very pressing problem, advertisements and television are not playing a very good role in it either. Using all of 12

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Cheng, Jennifer, Joanne Cox, and Elsie Taveras. Childhood Obesity, April 2013, Web. Sep. 2013.

“Children, Adolescents, and Advertising.” Pediatrics. Pediatrics, Dec. 2006. Web. Sep. 2013.

“Declining Childhood Obesity Rates: Where Are We Seeing Signs of Progress?” Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Health Policy Snapshot Series, July 2013. Web Sep 2013.

Dehghan, Mahshid, Noori Akhtar-Denesh, and Anwar Merchant.

"Childhood Obesity,

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Ally Diwik

Fiery Prevention Thousands evacuated, billions of dollars are spent, and hundreds of homes and structures stand chard or burned to the ground in California each year. Fire suppression laws have caused a buildup of dead brush, which has been accumulating for over 50 years, and these dangerous fuels pose a major fire threat in California. More fuel means fires are burning hotter, brighter, and faster. These fires are also more likely to spread to treetops, which is called crown fire (“Hazardous Fuel Reduction”). Battling these fires costs an excessive amount of money. The cost of fighting fires is now equivalent to 85% of overall fire related costs. The Forest Service had to take $600 million from their budget to fights fires during the summer 2013 alone (Pyne). The federal government also spends more than $2.5 billion yearly on fighting fires (Weeks). Overall, the cost amounts to $3.1 billion in donations and tax payer money. Most of the cost goes towards emergency services and protecting communities from imminent fire danger (“From Yosemite to Colorado”). If California focused on preventing fires instead of fighting them we could save millions by cutting out the expense of emergency services and could potentially save hundreds of homes and lives from devastating wild and forest fires.

The main cause of these massive fires is that for about 60 years, 1900-1960, the primary policies in place to address the issue of wild and forest fires promoted suppressing fires instead of preventing it.

These policies have had a detrimental effect on the environment and have led to some of the worst fires our nation has ever seen.

Around 1910, the public’s opinion swung from fire suppression to fire prevention, because they began to see the hazardous buildup of fuels (Pyne). The idea of using fire to prevent out of control fires and using it for forest restoration became widely popular. Unfortunately, politicians couldn’t agree on reforms until 1968, and by then we were already behind in the game (“From Yosemite to Colorado”). Regardless, there are four main forms of wild and forest fire prevention that are applicable to California, and could serve as solutions to the problem of fuel build up.

In recent years, it has become very popular to participate in outdoor activities, the elevated human presence near the dangerous fuels leads to more fires caused by mankind. More human presence leads to more outdoor fires and off road activity both of which leads to accidental fires. Public awareness may be the best method to prevent these types of fires from continuing to happen (Readdie).

Smokey the Bear, which has been a public campaign since 1944, is an example of one of the Park Service’s most successful public awareness campaigns.

This method of prevention would be useful because people do not understand the risks they take when they set illegal or unsafe fires, but does not solve the issue of fuel build up. Just one spark can 14

start a full on fire that can cost and endanger millions. Firefighter Gail Readdie states, “many people do not understand just how dangerous their behavior can be” (Readdie). More public awareness could have helped prevent fires like the Rim fire in Yosemite, which was started by an illegally set camp fire that got out of control and greatly affected our community (Readdie). However, there is too much fuel still in our forests for this to be the singular method of wild and forest fire prevention.

In August 2002, then President, George W. Bush proposed allowing more logging in National Forests as a form wild and forest fire prevention. He proposed using this method on 10 million acres of federal lands, including state parks (Cooper). The logging that would be done is called salvage logging: using dead trees for lumber and selling them for profit. The major pro of using this method would be that it would bring in more money to small-town economies and the state government (Weeks).

This plan, while endorsed by the logging industry, is very controversial and did not receive a lot of support from the public. It was not supported by the sierra club or most democrats eventually leading to the failure of Bush’s proposed solution. Currently, logging would still not be a viable option for fire prevention throughout the state of California. Because Southern California’s chaparral shrub forest and oak woodlands do not support profitable trees. No profit means that no logging companies would be interested in clearing fuels in Southern Californian forests (Nagourney). This means there is a need for alternate solutions that would work for the entirety of California.

A third proposed method of prevention is mechanical clearing, which means human removal of dangerous fuels. Ways of doing manual fuel reduction include fuel breaks, thinning, landscaping, and pruning. Manually reducing fuel is most effective when done in urban areas because it gets rid of low amounts of fuel that would otherwise help out of control wild and forest fires spread throughout communities. The WUI, Wildland Urban Interface, coordinates with land owners to work on manual fuel reduction on high fire risk properties (“Hazardous Fuel Reduction”).

But mechanical clearing, like the other two fire prevention methods, has its faults. For one thing, it involves a great deal of manual labor which is not cheap. It also would not be a practical solution to be enforced in California because spending money on clearing urban areas means not having enough funds to clear the wildlands, where fire prevention is most needed (Boxall). It would also be too difficult to carry out in many of California’s dense forests, in which about one third still needs to be cleared. So while this method is environmentally friendly and also does help with the removal of dangerous fuels it is not the best method (Readdie).

Using prescribed burns is the fourth proposed method of wild and forest fire prevention. Prescribed burning means purposefully setting small fires, in a scientific manner, to prevent bigger and more dangerous fires. Prescribed fire is one of the most important and widely used tools used to manage fires in California today (Weeks).

These fires are set by firefighters working alongside fire managers, ecologists, and landowners to make sure they are safely achieve their goal of fuel reduction. This method has been extremely suc15

cessful in the South East, in particular Florida. However, some issues have arisen while using it in California (Pyne).

One of the downsides to doing prescribed burning is that the preparation of prescribed burns takes a great deal of time. The massive infernos of wild and forest fires can wipe out ten times as much land as can be cleared over ten years in a single fire season. The process of setting prescribed burns takes such a long time because of the lengthy approval process. Parks must get approval from fire managers before burning begins, and there is a set list of criteria that must be met. The conditions considered are public safety, staff safety, weather, and probability of success (“Prescribed Fire”).

Public safety is one of the biggest issues that the public has with controlled burning. Fire managers must ensure that the set fires will not be breaking environmental laws or leaving the state run agencies with liabilities or insurance issues. A few more factors in the issue of public safety is the lack of safety and fire personnel, a narrow burn window due to weather, and the difficulty of controlling fires in urban areas (Quinn-Davidson). In urban areas it is also difficult to fit the necessary equipment on town streets or on the sides of highways (Readdie).

However, this method works wonders in rural areas, including all forest types throughout California. Furthermore, the majority of people do agree with the use of prescribed burns in rural areas and see a need to do more burning. Lenya Quinn-Davidson, Director of Northern California Prescribed Fire Council, did a survey of land owners and fire managers that work in wild and forest fire prone areas. Ac-

cording to her research, most fire managers and fire management agencies want to do more prescribed burning. The satisfaction rate of the amount of prescribed burns done is 15%, meaning that only 85% of land owners and fire managers believe they did a satisfactory amount of prescribed burns. Out of those same people, 95% of them said they would like to do more prescribed burning (QuinnDavidson). The need for more prescribed burns is evident through our history with massive out of control fires and by the data collected by researchers like Mrs. Quinn-Davidson. Firefighter Gail Readdie also believes that controlled burns would be incredibly helpful when preventing wild and forest fires. Controlled burning not only gets rid of dangerous fuels, it also creates a defensible space when fighting fires and would also be helpful in urban areas where fuels can quickly build up, ignite, and then spread to homes (Readdie).

Prescribed burns are also incredibly good for the ecosystems where they are used. Scott Stephens, a professor at CAL, says that “the best way to make forests more resilient are to allow prescribed burns” (Stephens). Prescribed burns are incredibly helpful for making the forests resilient and also for restoring the natural balance of the forests (Quinn-Davidson, Interview). Having fire present in the forests helps create diverse habitat, plants, animals, prevent fires, and cultivate endangered plant species. Overall, the presence of fires in forests helps allow the forest to clean itself (“Prescribed Fire”). Scientists can also now look at charcoal levels in the soil and burn patterns to determine how frequently fires should be set in certain areas. For example, Yosemite National Park used to have full

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scale forest fires every seven to fifteen years and now fires are rarely allowed to burn in the area at all (Weeks).

An excellent local example of a forest that has used prescribe burning to benefit them, is Redwood National Park. Redwood National Park uses prescribed burning to maintain their oak woodlands.

These oak woodlands are one of California’s most bio diverse ecosystems. They support a great deal of wildlife including large game.

However, with fire suppression, the conifers have taken over much the oak woodlands. This is because conifers thrive when they are undisturbed by fire, and they have been able to shade out the great oaks. Fires used to burn in this forest every five to ten years. Now with the reintroduction of fire the oak woodlands are once again able to thrive, and there is no way this could have happened without using prescribed burns (Quinn-Davidson Interview).

Overall out of these four proposed methods of wild and forest fire prevention, only three could be implemented in California. The one solution that does not have a place in California would be allowing loggers more access to federal lands. This because it is unhealthy for the forest regrowth and also could not be used throughout the state. Public awareness is a relatively cheap method of preventing these fires, and would be successful in California when combined with other methods such as mechanical clearing and prescribed burning. All three of these solutions may have their downsides but the risks must be weighed with the ability to successfully reduce fuels, help our ecosystems, and also keep our homes and communities safe from devastating wild and forest fires.

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Bibliography Boxall, Bettina. "Isolated Forests Get most Fire Aid; Funding: The Bulk of U.S. Money Distributed in California Goes North. the Angeles National Forest, Near Millions of People, Lags Far Behind." Los Angeles Times. ProQuest, 19 Aug. 2002. Web. 22 Sep. 2013.

Cooper, Mary H. "Bush and the Environment." CQ Researcher. CQ Press, 25 Oct. 2002. Web. 17 Sep. 2013.

---. "Understanding Impediments to Prescribed Fire in Northern Califonia." Humboldt County California. n.d. PDF. 22 Sep. 2013.

Readdie, Gail. Personal interview. 26 Sep. 2013.

United States. Congressional Research Service. Library of Congress. United States Government, 5 July 2011. PDF. 30 Sep. 2013.

Weeks, Jennifer. "Managing Wildfires." CQ Researcher. CQ Press, 2 Nov. 2012. Web. 17 Sep. 2013.

"From Yosemite to Colorado, our Approach to Wildfires is all Wrong (Posted 2013-09-14 02:33:50)." The Washington Post. ProQuest, Sep. 14 2013. Web. 20 Sep. 2013.

"Hazardous Fuel Reduction." Fire and Aviation Management. National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior, n.d. Web. 22 Sep. 2013.

Nagourney, Adam. "Bush Defends Logging Initiative as a Better Means of Management Against Forest Fires." The New York Times.

The New York Times, 23 Agu. 2002. Web.18 Sep. 2013.

"Prescribed Fire." Fire and Aviation Management. National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior, n.d. Web. 22 Sep. 2013.

Pyne, Stephen. "Why it's so Hard to Control Forest Fires." The Washington Post. ProQuest, Sep. 15 2013. Web. 20 Sep. 2013.

Quinn-Davidson, Lenya. Personal interview. 10 oct. 2013.

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Grace Dodgen

The Effects of Bullying in School Our schools are plagued by bullying. Bullying is when a student is subjected to verbal or physical abuse by their peers. (“The effect of bullying in elementary school”). It has profound effects, both in the short and the long term. Both of these are equally important. 30 percent of teens have been involved in bullying, whether they were involved as bullies, victims, or bystanders (“the impact of bullying on students and schools”; “teenage bullying”). Although bullying happens outside of school as well, bullying in school is particularly damaging because it takes away the safe environment needed for learning and therefore threatens to take away the victim’s ability to get an education. Because of this, teachers need to find ways to teach students not to bully and to help kids who have been bullied or witnessed Bullying.

There are many kinds of bullying. There are three main kinds of bullying that takes place inside of schools: verbal bullying, physical bullying, and emotional bullying, which is also known as social bullying.

Each of these types of bullying affects kids in different ways, all of them bad (“Bullying definition”; “differences between teen and child bullying”).

Verbal bullying, as indicated by the name, is spoken. Verbal bullying is using insults, name calling, and teasing intended to make the victim feel bad about themselves. Comments like “you’re stupid” or “you’re fat” are common examples of verbal bullying (“teenage Bullying”). Verbal bullying can also involve making sexual comments, and threats. Sexual comments tend to be more common among teenagers than in younger kids because teenagers are often dealing with the problems of adolescent sexual awareness. (“Bullying definition”; “differences between teen and child bullying”).

Physical bullying is the kind that most people think as bullying. It consists of physical abuse like kicking and punching. Tripping someone, spitting them, or affecting them physically. Beating someone up is a common form of physical bullying (“teenage Bullying”; “bullying definition”).

The final kind Is Emotional bullying, or social bullying. This kind of bullying aims to make the victim feel isolated and lonely. It involves leaving a person out of activities on purpose, telling someone not to be friends with another person, spreading hurtful rumors or purposely embarrassing someone in public (“teenage Bullying”; “Bullying Definition”).

Though all students are affected by bullying, the effects on the victims are the most noticeable and leave the deepest impact. Victims of bullying suffer both mentally and physically. Mental effects can last much longer and lead to the worst outcomes. Many victims of bullying still feel the impact of their experiences many years later.

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Bullying affects a child’s brain development, with negative consequences that can impair their ability to learn. (“Bullying in school”: “the traumatic effects of bullying on children”).

Bullying affects children’s self-esteem (“What happens overtime to those who are bullied and those who are victimized”). This is because when a bully says things, the victim may begin to believe them, triggering self-loathing and hate. Bullying can also trigger social withdrawal, which can also cause self-hate (“Bullies Beat down self-esteem”). Children who suffer bullying in school often develop mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression. (“What happens over time to those who are bullied and those who are victimized”). " Children who have been bullied can develop physical problems as well as mental problems. In addition to the actual physical injuries they will likely suffer as a result of physical bullying, the trauma of physical abuse can lead to children feeling physically ill in ways not directly related to the physical punishment they suffer. For example, the physical effects include headaches, stomach pains, and sleeping problems (“the impact of bullying in students and schools”). Students who are bullied are also more likely to have colds, sore throats or symptoms that resemble the flu or a cold (“can bullying and name calling really make our youth sick?”).

The combined physical and emotional impacts of bullying may cause children to lose interest in school, do drugs and drink alcohol.

Their social life can begin to deteriorate. They may even be driven to suicide as an escape (“What happens overtime to those who are bullied and those who are victimized”; “teenage bullying”). Among

students who have been bullied, it is the teenagers who are more likely to use drugs and alcohol and to commit suicide (“differences between teen and child bullying”). Another coping mechanism used by victims of bullying is to become bullies themselves, defending themselves by directing attention onto another student (“bullying in school: the traumatic effects of bullying on children”). Their health also tends to be lower, they often have job problems or debt. These effects last their whole lives (“The Long-Term Effects of Bullying”) Students who merely witness bullying can still be strongly affected by the experience. Bullying directed at others still makes bystanders feel unsafe and self-conscious, fearing that they might be bullied themselves. It can affect their trust, cause anxiety, and physical stress. As is the case with bullying victims, children who have witnessed bullying can continue to suffer from the trauma many years later. (“Studies show that bullying affects both bystanders and target”). The bystanders also often feel guilt. They feel like they should have tried do to something, like saying something or stopping the bully, and this guilt can trouble them for many years (“The impact of bullying on students and schools”).

Bullying not only has an impact on the victims and on bystanders, it also has negative effects on the bully. Bullies are more likely to get into trouble for bad behavior, including getting into fights, stealing, consuming alcohol, and vandalizing property. The bully may also get bad grades. (“The impact of bullying on students and schools”).

Bullies tend to be aggressive and angry, and even their friendships tend to involve a high degree of conflict. As is often the case with their victims, bullies tend to lose interest in school. (“What happens 20

over time to those who bully and those who bully”; “the effects of bullying in elementary school”). These behaviors do not stop when the bully leaves school. Adults who were bullies when they were in school are often involved in criminal behavior. According to one source, sixty percent end up with some sort of criminal record by the time they reach the age of 24 (“what happens over time to those who bully and those who are victimized”).

In spite of these negative consequences, it is clear that bullies think they are gaining something from their bullying. One thing they gain is power. (“Bullying in school: the traumatic effects of bullying on children”). Bullies want to be seen by their peers as more confident (“what happens overtime to those who bully and those who are bullied”). Often kids who bully are in bad family situations. Lacking recognition or support at home, they use bullying to try and build the self-esteem that they crave. Also, in many bad homes, doing well in school is not rewarded, so the bully sees no reason to try that approach (“why do people bully?”).

Many factors need to be taken into account in order to fix the problem of bullying. Bullying often goes unchecked because those in positions of authority don’t step in to stop it. (“Why do people bully?”).

In the case of bullying in schools, teachers and administrators often fail to step in because they don’t understand the seriousness of the problem and its impact on victims. (“Bullying in school”: “the traumatic effects of bullying on children”). In on elementary school in California, two girls were bullied to the point where one of them was considering suicide. But when they went to the school for help, their complaints were completely ignored (“Vallejo school district accused

of ignoring bullying reports, pushing girl to the brink of suicide”).

Schools are not only the site of a lot of bullying, but they are also crucial to the successful development of children, so the focus of anti-bullying effort has to be in the schools.

One of the key ways teachers can help is by giving the kids an alternative to the information they get from their peers or their family.

“When kids bully, they are being influenced by somebody else, it doesn’t just grow inside of them,” according to Principal Rebecca Lofton of Crossroads continuation school in Petaluma. “Bullies don’t just come up with the idea of bullying on their own. Often times they have seen or heard someone make a comment or do something.

Often times it’s their parents. They need to be taught that their parents aren’t always right. However, you can’t just say to a kid “your parents are wrong, ignore what they’ve done.” Kids look up to their parents and saying their wrong could cause the kid to not want to listen to you anymore. Instead teachers need to be role models.

Not all bullying is intentional. Sometimes kids engage in speech that hurts their classmates’ feelings, but they don’t realize they’ve said anything hurtful. Principal Lofton suggests that in addition to enforcing a strict policy against bullying, children need to be taught that what they say can be hurtful, and they need to be told that that kind of behavior is unacceptable. When children say things not realizing that it is something bad, they need to be told that it’s bad.

Another important strategy for reducing bullying is to educate kids about diversity. Many instances of bullying begin with a student being picked on because they are somehow different. The difference 21

can be cultural, racial, or involved in identity issues such as gender.

Principal Lofton suggested that by teaching kids that different is okay, the tendency to bully those who are not like you will be weakened. She says she uses small group discussions and field trips to try and encourage her students to look at diversity as a good thing.

In short, Teachers need to teach students not to bully by educating them about kind speech and encouraging acceptance. They can be taught by modeling better behavior for the students and showing how the effects of their bullying affects who they bully. Hopefully this can stop the bully from bullying.

Works cited Ehiorobo, Terry. "Bullying in School: The Traumatic Effects of Bullying on Children." cpi. Journal of Safe Management of Disruptive and Assaultive Behavior, March 2012. Web. Sep 23, 2013.

Eriksen, Tine, et al. “The Effects of Bullying in Elementary School.

DISCUSSION PAPER SERIES, July 2012. Pdf. McDougall, Patricia, at al. "What Happens Over Time To Those Who Bully And Those Who Are Victimized?" education.com. education.com, Feb 11, 2009. Web. Sep 23, 2013.

Nishina, Adrienne. "Can Bullying and Name Calling Really Make our Youth Sick?" Education.com. education.com, Apr 19, 2011. Web. Sep 23, 2013.

Teenage Bullying." Bullying statistics. Bullying statistics, 2009. Web. Sep 23, 2013.

"The Impact of Bullying on Students and Schools." mespa.net. mespa. Web. Sep 21, 2013 "The Long-Term Effects of Bullying." Common sense media. Common sense media, October 20, 2013. Web. October 28, 2013 "Vallejo School District Accused Of Ignoring Bullying Reports, Pushing Girl To Brink Of Suicide." Huffington post. Huffington Post, July 12, 2012. Web. Sep 21, 2013 22

"Bullies Beat Down Self Esteem." Healthy children.org. Healthy Children Magazine, 2008. Web. October 11, 2013.

"Study shows bullying affects both bystanders and target." Penn state. Penn state, October 2011. Web. October 11, 2013.

Welton, Rose "Differences between Child and Teenage Bullying." Global post. Demand Media. Web. October 11, 2013.

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Finley Hebert-Perkins

Internet Encryption We use the Internet for basically everything. Work, entertainment, email and everything else in our modern lives seems to somehow involve the Internet. Giving away our personal information has almost become second nature to most people, I mean, what could go wrong? No one can see this information other than the service I’m sending it to, right? Encryption is key in protecting your confidential information, from finances to home address from people who shouldn’t be allowed to see that information. How does encryption keep people from getting my information, you ask? Encryption makes your message unreadable, but not impossible to read, for the process that produced the unreadable message can be reversed (“How Internet”). The whole point is to make it more difficult for an outsider to read your message, but still allow the intended recipient to read the message. Encryption only makes your messages difficult to read, not impossible.The only reason we have encryption is because of the assumption that your sensitive, secret information is already in the hands of someone who you don’t want it to be in, and encryption is only delaying them from reading your precious information. The real question is, how long until someone is able to find out your information? Well assuming they are using low end

hardware, that you might find in you typical laptop or desk top, and you are using “military standard” encryption (advertised as 256 bit) then have eight months for every possible key combination. This could end up taking hundreds of years for the person to get your information, a lot longer that they will be alive, and long after you information ceases to be relevant. Also, to make your informations safer as it travels, most web services use two sets of encryption with two key pairs. (“How Internet”) That is, your private information is kept safe by two sets of encryption, even after one is broken, the other layer is still protecting your information; so we are safe, so we think.

But encryption is often flawed. Even so, if anyone were to break encryption, nothing would happen. To understand why, you first have to understand how.

Before someone can even attempt to decrypt information, they have to get their hands on it , and there are only so many places that somebody can get their hands on these packages of encrypted information, and this is one of the reasons why you are fairly safe. As cool as it would be, not all Internet traffic is going through your router in the same way that not all cars on the freeway pass by your street. The challenge for the would-be thief is the same as that of the police looking for a car. The police don’t know where they are going, have lost the car and don’t know what it looks like, they only know that it is on the freeway. To get their hands on the car, the police would have to a) be able to search every single car on the freeway, or b) get the car when it either enters or exits the freeway. Now imagine that the towns along the freeway are your network and that the freeway is the cable that is the Internet. For someone to steal 24

your packets (catch the car), they would have to be able to sift through all the information over the main cable, which is owned by a variety of companies, none too keen on giving someone access to their multi-billion dollar systems. The other, easier, option is to camp out on your computer with a virus or even a web page running malicious JavaScript (“Hackers”), similar to a speed trap where the police simply stake out the onramp. Now imagine that the car was wearing a costume; this is the advantage that encryption brings to the table. You’re not the only one who can be targeted like that. If someone manages to get the right script into the right datacenter routers, all the web services hosted there could hypothetically be subjected to that same attack(OWASP).

Both the receiver and the sender need to know what the car looks like to be able to make sure that the packet is from a verified source. To do this both the current Internet encryption standard Transport Security Layer (TSL) and its predecessor Secure Socket Layer (SSL) both use what is called a handshake or an exchange of keys that authenticate that the data exchange will occur between the correct two computers and not an imposter (“How Internet” ) .

Keys have come up a lot so far, what are they? A key is the rule that defines how the document is encrypted, character by character, line by line, and paragraph by paragraph. But what makes these numbers special? They are primes (“Applied Cryptography”). A prime number is one that is not divisible by anything but itself and one, and they have some interesting properties which make them very useful for encryption. First of all, they only have two factors, which as it turns out, is very helpful. Second, they are very hard to find,

the longer they get, the more calculations it takes to test if a suspected prime is actually a prime. And finally, we don't know what every prime number is. This final property is one of the cornerstones of modern encryption, also known as prime secrecy. If someone knew all of the primes up to an unbelievably high number, then breaking encryption would be easy, and in fact, it has already been done in some small instances. There are attacks that utilize this flaw, they are called Rainbow Table attacks (“Improving”). The idea is that a program can read through a file with all the possible prime numbers faster than they can calculate those same numbers. For example, if you were locked out of the house and didn’t know which key was correct, you’d try all of them until one worked to unlock the door versus making every single possible key there is and trying each one as you make them. Luckily, house keys are finite unlike primes.

For encryption to work, you need a key pair. These consist of a private key that is only known to you and can be “unlocked” with your public key, and the public key which is given out to everyone and can be “unlocked” with your private key. For someone to send you an encrypted message, they encrypt it with their private key and your public key (“How Internet”). When you get the message, you or rather the program on your computer, decrypts it by using your private key and their public key. All of this is happening and the user has no idea. The user can be ignorant of what is going on because the first time you connect to a web server, the computer gets all of the information it needs automatically.

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Thereafter, the computer is able to continue to send encrypted information between the client and server without much work.

If a criminal was able to get through all the security, the criminal could get billions dollars worth of information, if they played their cards right and keep the shortcut unpatched for a couple of months before someone notices(Faieta). Once there is a breach of security, there is a race to find better systems of encryption. As happened with the release of the BEAST attack (“Hackers”) within a few days, the first of the so called beta (meaning unfinished) web browsers and server software builds will be released, and within a week, the system will be back to how it was(“Hackers”).

Internet commerce isn't the only place that is susceptible, there is a whole other realm of the online world that very few people are ever able to see, and is a much higher value target for hackers. Commerce itself accounts for a fraction of the value that is transmitted over the Internet every day. The large amount of the value is in the intellectual property of large software businesses. If someone got ahold of the source code for Adobe Flash, and put just a little malicious code into the source, it would affect millions of people and businesses, giving the criminal a chance to take over computers and possibly profit even more than from skimming funds off of internet transactions (Faieta). For those of you who don't know, Flash is a way of providing interactive content via the web. It is used in many web games, so called Flash games, as well as YouTube to serve content. As you can imagine, flash is very widely used. The people who write Adobe Flash are often spread out over several locations and need to share the newest version of Flash with each other. To

do this, they have to transmit this over the Internet with the same encryption algorithm as you use when you connect to Facebook’s website. Facebook’s encryption is static whereas Adobe’s changes daily, making Adobe's internal systems more secure than logging into Facebook.com or your bank’s web portal. Adobe employees are paid to make browsing the web just a little bit safer for you and your computer. If Flash were corrupted, the easiest thing for the criminal to use Flash for is a way of deploying a botnet software. A distributed network of slaves serving one master, increasing exponentially the amount of processing power that they have under their belt, making decrypting packets even easier and faster in an attack called the brute force, could conceivably cause massive problems for the continued use of any encryption (“Cyber Crime”) .

Surprisingly, Adobe uses the same encryption as the rest of the internet. What is making their systems safer than yours is the fact that they use more steps and use more secure public keys, but when it all boils down to it, it’s the same thing. Remember how I was talking about the amount of time that it takes to decrypt a packet? Well, most secure systems use a method where the keys changes after a set amount of time. In this case, Adobe's system is no different. Keys are generated per user on one server and when an employee wants to connect, the server echanges its public key for the users public key, which is generated by a remote server. This insures that subsequent secure data transfers can be made. This is to make sure that by the time that someone cracks their encryption for one day, the next day’s data is still safe. This makes the US nuclear command circa 1960 look like a doll house when compared to 26

Adobe’s current system. For the extent of the Cold War, Strategic Air Command's launch-codes consisted of 8 zeros for ease of use reasons. (“Keeping Presidents”)For a modern brute force attack that would have taken milliseconds to crack, depending on whether the brute force did 00000000 first or last. Meanwhile, Adobe uses keys that are hundreds of characters long (Faieta “Security Patterns”).

This should go to show how important Adobe deems its intellectual property. The information about what the standard key length for the rest of the tech industry is has not really been documented well, but you can assume that it is something similar to Adobes key length.

Adobe's schemes are designed so that even if someone finds the key for one day, they cannot do anything on the next day.

Even after all that a veritable fortress like Adobe can be compromised. Apparently, after the incursion that was detected in July 2013, Adobe has begun the process of going through every version of the source code that anyone has submitted by developers for a year before and after the incident (Faieta). Of course, this incursion was on a server that hosted user login data, and Adobes sensitive data may not have been threatened but, they just wanted to make sure. A lot of the insecurity on the web comes from the fact that to make things as safe as possible, it takes a lot of frustrating work (Faieta), and many users already get fed up with security features as it is. If to get on to every website we went to, we had to manually get a security key, type it in to a VPN client and after all that we could only view one web page, would the Internet be used as much?

Probably not. If we had to get a security key to download every piece of software we use, would we download as much? No, and

CD manufacturers would be raking in cash because it would be easier to buy CD’s with software loaded onto it.

To be able to use the encrypted information that you are sending, the hacker needs to get your information which is very hard, as it is sent through wires that cannot be hacked easily or at all. There are three places where your information is vulnerable: 1) when it is being sent from your computer to a specified destination, best exemplified with the BEAST attack; 2) when it is being sent over the air via wireless technology; and 3) when it is physically being transmitted over the wires (“cyber crime”). An example of which is when in 2003 an unknown floor was discovered in the AT&T building in San Francisco. The computers on this floor copied all of the data going through fiber optic cables that carried all internet traffic from the U.S to Asia. Everything on this cable was copied by the NSA who used it for who knows what.

The BEAST attack is a particularly nasty piece of software that could be inserted into a webpage that allows the person who deployed it to view everything that is happening on your network. This program may be a part of malicious websites or a website that has simply been subverted from its normal benign operation to host this malicious script (“Hackers”). Once the user opens the web page and keeps it open, their personal information that has been sent over the Internet becomes visible to whomever inserted the program. As with the Cold War example, with the growth of the Internet, encryption has evolved and will continue to. Encryption is necessary because without it, you would be opening yourself up to all 27

kinds of crime. If there was no encryption, the email you sent to your family could be read by anyone or even worse, your bank account information could be easily stolen when you login to your bank’s website. Well so far, everything you have heard has probably made you pretty paranoid, but you really shouldn’t be too afraid.

Businesses are compelled to keep your data safe, as their success depends on it. Currently, the only people who are known to have the ability to break encryption are intelligence organizations like the NSA (National Security Agency) (“NSA Subverts”). The fact that they use the same encryption means that they are confident that no one but them is able to decrypt it (“Crucial”). Unless you’re doing something illegal, you should have very little to worry about. Also, most of the time, the good guys, the people who are not going to defraud you, find the problems before the bad guys do. For example, the BEAST attack was developed by network security researchers and was never used other than to prove that it worked (“Hackers”).

These good guys seek out and attempt to remedy problems before they really have a chance to become damaging to the average person.

I would like to acknowledge Maggie Perkins, Daniell Hebert, Craig Butz, Zach Jagoda and Connor Dietz for editing my paper.

Works Cited Arthur, Charles. "How Internet Encryption Works." The Guardian.

The Guardian, 5 Sep. 2013. Web. 23 Sep. 2013.

Auerbac, Dan, Opsal, Kirt. "Crucial Unanswered Questions about the NSA's BULLRUN Program, Electronic Frontier Foundation."

Electronic Frontier Foundation. Electronic Frontier Foundation, 9 Sep. 2013. Web. 23 Sep. 2013.

Blair, Bruce G. “Keeping Presidents in Nuclear Dark” CDI. Wayback Machine, 11 Feb. 2004. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.

Ferenstein, Gregory. "NSA Subverts Most Encryption." TechCrunch RSS. AOL Inc., 5 Sept. 2013. Web. 27 Sept. 2013.

Flamini, Roland. "Improving Cybersecurity." CQ Researcher 15 Feb. 2013: 157-80. Web. 16 Sep. 2013.

Goodin, Dan. "Hackers Break SSL Encryption Used by Millions of Sites." The Register. The Register, 19 Sep. 2011. Web. 23 Sep. 2013.

Hansen, Brian. "Cyber-Crime." CQ Researcher 12 Apr. 2002: 30528. Web. 16 Sep. 2013.

Pearlroth, Nicole, Jeff Larson, and Scott Shane. "N.S.A. Able to Foil Basic Safeguards of Privacy on Web." New York Times 5 Sep. 28

2013. New York Times. New York Times, 5 Sept. 2013. Web. 21 Sep. 2013.

Rosado, David G., et al. "Security Patterns and Requirements for Internet-Based Applications." Internet Research 16.5 (2006): 51936. ProQuest. Web. 15 Sep. 2013.

Schneier, Bruce. Applied Cryptography: Protocols, Algorithms and Source Code in C. John Wiley & Sons, 1996. Print.

“Session hijacking attack.” OWASP. OWASP, 6 Dec. 2011. Web. 26 Sep. 20.

29

Zach Jagoda

The Psychological Effects of iPhone Gaming

and allowing friendly competition with people from around the world but what its slowly takes away the players money and ability to socially interact with others in the real world.

With big name companies and complex games, you would think that these super realistic, high performance, or basic yet complex gaming apps would cost money, but most of these types of games don’t cost a dime. Some games are at low prices of $.99, while most of them are free. But there is a little catch, which is that these apps usually allow in-app purchases. Allowing in-app purchases gives the player the ability to buy bonuses or unobtainable items to get ahead or boost themselves past a hard level. In all, this practically means that the user can and will most likely spend money on the once “free” app, which is also known as the freemium approach. The great thing about these apps is their social connections though networking, yet at the same time causes the player to become addicted in the pursuit of topping the leaderboards and excel past their friends. iPhone gaming is addicting due to this freemium approach

Apple has created a new version of their phone yearly, and every time Apple has created a new version of their phone, it has become better, faster and ultimately more popular. As the iPhone became better, it soon became considered the “fastest-growing video game platform” (Tedeschi). Its market was expanding rapidly as more people were getting iPhones, passing up used-to-be popular hand-held game devices like the Nintendo DS and the PlayStation Portable (PSP), because the iPhone simply had more to offer.

Apple, one of the world’s biggest tech companies, produces a variety of products from iPods to Macs. What Apple is best known for today though is their iPhone, which is its most popular item. The iPhone was the first of its type of “touch” phones, giving the user a touchscreen to work with, multiple apps for everyday tasks such as email, texting and the typical phone call. Over time, the phone started to evolve with its app store, in which users or developers could contribute their own work for others to enjoy with apps ranging from categories like productivity, gaming, lifestyle and work.

With the hardware changing in the phone, the games on the app store changed with it, becoming better, more realistic, which included better graphics, more capabilities and once again, more popularity. The categories for gaming expanded, bringing in subsections like simulation, racing, shooters and multiplayer, along with big 30

game developers for consoles like Sega, EA, Gameloft and Ngmoco. These companies joined the App Store for they believed that people would want to buy something similar to games they could play on their consoles. But people started to flock towards simplistic games, ones that did not require much in design but still got the point across as to what the game was all about. These types of games would progressively get harder as the user played them and advanced through the levels. The objective was to hook the user with this type of game, to make sure that they would play the game more often.

IPhone gaming also opened up another section, which was connecting to social networking. At this time we already had Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, but games started to use these networks to their advantage; like Angry Birds and Cut the Rope, which started doing this as early as 2009. Many games would implement sharing functions, allowing you to put your scores, replays, and stats up on your social network of choice so your fiends could see. By integrating connection to social networking, it brings a new level of challenges for friends to work with.

The point in connecting to social networks was to try and have the player create a healthy challenge with their friends, and then Apple stepped in on the game of networking with the introduction of Game Center. The purpose of Game Center was like any other social network, but with gaming kept in mind; it lets you chat with friends, challenge them, and compare your scores, but it also implemented achievement functions. By doing this, it gave the player another sense of gratification outside of their game, to let them show off that

they had “accomplished” something to their friends, and to put a bigger emphasis on connecting and challenging each other. Game Center also gave lists out of what Game Center compatible games you played, and by doing this, you could personally challenge your friends to races to see who could get a better score. According to Steve Salzman, when “Game Center started, it had a rough start, and didn’t do too well in doing what it was supposed to do, but as Apple developed it, it became better and was actually able to do what it was meant to do” (Salzman). There is also multiplayer gaming, which allows people to actually play with others in real time.

These game types include multiplayer simulation and racing games.

The largest multiplayer connection network is Ngmoco Plus +, allowing people to connect globally with others (Tedeschi); along with connections over Wi-Fi networks and Bluetooth to play games together.

Most of the apps of the App Store are free apps, and this is usually seen as a good thing; you don’t need to pay money to get that new hip game everyone is talking about. What you might not know though is that the app offers in-app purchases. When you open the game, “the first 15 minutes are key – the player needs instant gratification to hook them, otherwise they might stop playing” (Takahashi).

Overtime, you have played the game so much you have arrived at a point where it is impossible to proceed without fishing out some real world money to get a benefit, like speeding up the current level you’re on; you think, “why not, the game was free to begin with.” So you end up paying $4.99 to get these gems that you use to ultimately speed up the process of how things are done for a period of time. Suddenly you are prompted with a new message, saying you 31

can buy decorations for your characters world for the easy price of 1000 gems, or roughly $3.99; and once again, you don’t think it through and end up buying more gems to get a statue for your world. At this point, you have paid around $8 on a game that was completely free to begin with, which represents the model of the freemium approach. Most apps use this approach to attract users; this is because most people won’t buy a game unless they are really interested, but if it’s free the person just needs to hit the install button; and based upon evaluations on companies with free apps, “people are more likely to spend money if it is secondary in game currency” (Raymer). This is the difference when it comes to paid apps versus free apps; paid apps used to dominate the app store and bring in all the money, but when the freemium approach was introduced, most of all gaming apps converted over to this process, leaving apps like productivity and education in the paid category.

A few great examples of apps that have used the freemium approach to their advantage would be games like Transformers Legends (card based game) and Candy Crush Saga (puzzle game).

These two games are both very simplistic, which is key in hooking the user to keep them playing more. Each game is also straight forward, complete the tasks in front of you, and upon accomplishment, join the race to be number one along with all the other users. Transformers Legends takes the widely popular Transformers series and brings it back in the forms of cards, assigning certain attributes to each and every card. You as the user get to pick which side you fight for, Autobot or Decepticon, and you then try and raise the power level of your team. The freemium approach used in this

game is what they call episode. These occur once a week, where they start battles between the two groups for the fight for Earth, and the user competes with every other user to try and rank the best.

The higher you rank at the end of the event, the more rewards you get, but the catch is you can buy advantages. They set up a “Space Bridge” where you can pay money and try to get lucky and get a special card that works for the five day duration of the episode. By doing this, everyone starts to buy these advantages because they want to get a super rare card, making the game successful in its attempt to use the freemium approach. With Candy Crush Saga, the “challenge is to match three identical candies in a row” (Wortham).

Candy Crush is almost identical to the game widely popular and successful game, Bejeweled, but with a few modern twists; instead of gems, it uses candy, and many more different things like user inputted levels. Wortham describes Candy Crush as a game that is “designed to evolve” as the player keeps advancing through the “maddeningly complex and advanced levels” (Wortham). The game allows you to make in-app purchases to obtain items that allow the player to advance through levels more quickly, and even skip levels at that. Eventually, Candy Crush became very popular on the App Store, and ended up becoming the producing company, King’s, best app in revenue, even though it was a free app.

Although free apps tend to better than paid apps there are still some great examples of paid apps that use aspects of the freemium approach. A game does not necessarily need to be free to follow the freemium approach, even though it would make more sense; the game would need to follow a few simple things like simplicity and 32

real time effects. The game that followed this best was Angry Birds.

Originally marketed at $.99, the app became an instant sensation, as well the “best free and paid for app” (Svetlik). Angry Birds is described as a game with a “unique mix of humor and aggression” (Svetlik); humor for its cartoonish characters and aggression for the real time effects that the player causes. People all over the world started to fall in love with and become addicted to the widely popular and successful game. According to Dr. Tomas ChamorroPremuzic on the reason people were addicted to the game, he said it “gives people a release for their aggressive impulses” (Svetlik).

The reason people were playing is because of the cartoonish characters and the actions that followed, the humor of the game changed a person’s outlook on the destruction they were causing, and this is because of how the game was handled. At the time there were plenty of violent games out on the App Store, like GTA and COD mini first-person-shooters, yet Angry Birds was more popular.

Because the anger is masked in Angry Birds, a person does not necessarily realize their actions, while in a shooter game, the objective is to kill. When it comes to simplicity for this game, it’s all there; the only thing you do in Angry Birds is aim, fire, and if you miss, try again. One explanation Svetlik uses to explain the addictiveness is with the following example: “Imagine if you’re on a packed train, and you have had a long day, and it’s hot, and your stressed, it’s far better to pull out your iPhone and play a game than start pushing people and starting a fight” (Svetlik); by this, he means that using an aggression reliving game, like Angry Birds, is better than to relieve that aggression in the real world, which is his explanation as to why more people play the game.

The main problem with iPhone gaming is addiction. The problem being that players become addicted to these free games and start to spend all their money and time playing the game. They become so addicted with some games that the game becomes more important than other things, like sleep. Some reasons to attribute to addiction in iPhone gaming can be leaderboards. These cause people to try and be number one, better than everyone else, and to spend more time playing. It is an impossible task to be number one without wasting tons of money and time, but it’s even more challenging because multiple people are trying to do the same thing, pushing others to spend more. “What draws people to games is the sense of achievement and freedom” (CBC) that the game allows the player to have.

The sense of achievement though is a false sense, because in reality, they have done nothing to benefit themselves.

“People enjoy video games because they are satisfying at a fundamental psychological level” (CBC), like enjoyment, and that’s why they keep returning. With games like Candy Crush that have a “seductive, cartoonish appeal of the jewel hued candies” (Wortham) people will always return. According to Candy Crush developers and confirmed by Wortham, Candy Crush has “45 million monthly active users” (Wortham) and has been played more than “600 million times on mobile devices” (Wortham), primarily on the iPhone.

This large scale amount of gaming effects people’s social skills – for good and bad. It is detrimental to people because they do not get out into the real world to meet real people, thus losing the ability to interact correctly. They are more interested in playing a video game than having a conversation with a person who is not playing the 33

game as well. The only connections they will make is with others playing the game, but it would be very minimal because of the limitation of the iPhone in chatting across games. The benefits from gaming only apply to “certain games like scrabble and draw something, which prompt the user to actually use their minds to create and identify objects/words” (Sander). The games require both users to use their minds, which promotes the user to actual think through their actions, making games like this educational and beneficial.

Overall, the effects of iPhone gaming psychologically, are that they give you a false sense of achievement, causing you to feel accomplished while in fact you have not done anything productive. They cause you to spend hard earned money on something that will never benefit you in the real world, while taking away time you can be using for more productive things. The benefits are very minimal, and only pertain to certain categories of games that cause you to be productive and use your mind; that also don’t offer in-app purchases. Because of the freemium approach, iPhone gaming is addicting and friendly competition with people from around the world is promoted, yet it’s slowly taking away the players hard earned money and is causing an overall detrimental to the person themselves.

I would like to acknowledge Craig Butz, Grace Dodgen and Oliver Ruston for peer reviewing/critiquing and editing my paper.

Works Cited Anderson, Sam. "JUST ONE MORE GAME…" New York Times Magazine. Apr 08 2012: 28,33,55. ProQuest. Web. 15 Sep. 2013.

CBC, comp. "Video Games Fill Psychological Need: Study - Technology & Science - CBC News." CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, 27 Dec. 2006. Web. 22 Sept. 2013.

Rauh, Sherry. "Video Game Addiction No Fun." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2013.

Raymer, Miles. "The Devious Psychology behind "free to Play" Video Games | Bleader. “Chicago Reader. Chicago Reader, 5 July 2013. Web. 22 Sept. 2013.

Salzman, Steve. Personal Interview. 10 Oct. 2013.

Sander, Nikolai. Personal Interview. 16 Oct. 2013.

Shiels, Maggie. "Game Developers Conference to Focus on Social Games." BBC News. BBC, 9 Mar. 2010. Web. 19 Sept. 2013.

Svetlik, Joe. "Angry Birds: The Psychology of Its Success." Electricpig. Electricpig, 9 Mar. 2011. Web. 22 Sept. 2013.

Takahashi, Dean. "Game Guru Sid Meier Explains Gamer Psychology." VentureBeat. Taboola, 12 Mar. 2010. Web. 22 Sept.

2013.

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Tedeschi, Bob. "For Gamers, the IPhone Is a Player." Personal Tech. The New York Times, 27 Jan. 2010. Web. 19 Sept. 2013.

Wingfield, Nick. "Why we can't Stop Playing --- Mixing Psychology with Physics, Cute Characters, and Lots of Cheering." Wall Street Journal. Nov 30 2010. ProQuest. Web. 15 Sep. 2013.

Wortham, Jenna. "Yet another Vogue for the iPhone: Video Games." New York Times. Jun 29 2009. ProQuest. Web. 15 Sep. 2013.

Wortham, Jenna. "Candy Crush Saga Is This Summer’s Sweet Treat." Bits. The New York Times, 2 July 2013. Web. 19 Sept. 2013.

35

Natasha Kaplan

Pushing a Horse to Its Limits: Should Horse Racing Be Allowed?

The horse racing industry provides thousands of jobs worldwide and nationally. However, each year, eight hundred race horses breakdown and die on the racetrack, according to William Rhoden of the PETA organization. The horse racing industry is hard on both the jockeys and the horses involved in the sport. Hardships and future problems are caused due to how demanding the sport of horse racing is on its athletes. Due to the fate of the industry’s horses, horse racing needs to be banned and major reforms are necessary for the life to improve the fate of these horses that humans have depended on for their wellbeing and sport.

The horse racing industry needs reforms because the horses are raced too young. Horses are only valued for their short time racing

of about five to six years instead of a horse’s typical life span of thirty years. Since horses are valued for only a fraction of their lives, many horses end up in slaughter houses when they can no longer be used. Other horses, who end their racing careers but do not go to slaughter, are hard to retrain for life when they are not racing, meaning off the track. The breeding aspect of the horse racing industry has led for the horses to be fragile and prone to break downs. Meaning that, all in all, horse racing has no benefits for the horses involved in it.

Two main factors make horse racing different from other sports.

First, horse racing lacks consistent standards throughout the entire United States which is something that ends up hurting the horse. In the horse racing industry, states set their own policies for horse racing. There are no national standards like the NFL and the NBA. According to Mr. Rhoden of the PETA association, racing “lacks uniform standards across racing jurisdictions regarding drugs and training related deaths and injuries” (Rhoden). This lack of uniform standards allows horses to get injured because they can be given medication is some states that can be considered harmful in others.

The second factor that makes the sport of horse racing unique is the horses do not have the choice if they are pushed to their limits.

Horse racing, like other sports, is an industry centered on the sole purpose of making money and not on the welfare of the athletes.

However, in other sports, when an athlete in fatally injured, they are not put down in front of the people like the horse is in horse racing.

For instance, in 2002, Ferdinand, the winner of the Kentucky Derby 36

in 1986, ended up in slaughter after, according to the PETA organization, he could no longer be bred (“The Horseracing”). Horses being killed when they can no longer earn their keep is a reason why horse racing needs to be banned or reformed.

Despite, the fact that the industry is centered on money, on the track life for the horses seems luxurious. They always have food always in front of them while resting. Every physical problem the horse has is analyzed by a veterinarian while on the track. But the horses have no freedom. They are in a small, twelve by fourteen foot box stall 23 hours a day. They are always restrained outside of their stall. They are not given a chance to socialize with other horses except for racing purposes. They can also develop bad habits such as biting, kicking, and not respecting the handler since the horse is always restrained when outside their stall.

Horses start training for the track at an age too young for their developing bodies. This leads to serious issues with the horse’s bone structures. Some of these issues are arthritis, lameness, and back problems, at an early age. Racing too young has short term benefits, such as the horses running faster, at the expense of long term well-being. Thoroughbreds are usually taught to carry a rider at the age of one and a half years old. They are then raced at two, and sometimes three, years of age which is long before they are physically mature. At this age, a horse’s bones are not yet fused together so they cannot bear the strain of carrying a rider, let alone running at 35 miles an hour on a daily basis. Horses do not actually mature until at least six years of age which is typically the end of most horses’ careers on the track. The age of maturity is determined by

the size of the horse and, as a result, some thoroughbreds don’t mature completely until they are eight. The bone growth begins with the hooves and spreads to upward to the spine of the horse. Bone growth begins at the coffin bone in the horse’s hoof and goes up to the bones in the knee and the knee which usually takes between 2 to two and a half years to develop. Meaning that at the age of two, when a horse first starts racing, its knees may not be fully developed, let alone the rest of the horse’s body. For example, the spinal column takes the longest time to develop in a horse (6 years at the minim) because the spine has 32 vertebrae. Pushing a horse to its limits through racing puts strain on the spine which is bad for the horse, according to Dr. Jane Allin, an expert in horse racing. Since two year old horses are not developed, they should not be racing which is one major reform needed in the horse racing industry in the United States.

Since they are raced so young, horses can suffer from problems after racing especially to the muscoskelital system and to the lungs.

This is because, on the track, horse routinely gallop on at speeds over 35 mph on a daily basis which elevates the horse’s blood pressure and the amount of blood flowing through their capillaries which causes the horse’s lungs to bleed regularly. When the lungs bleed, it allows a viral or bacterial infection to get into the horse. Inhaling large particles from the track contributes to lung infection. These factors can cause chronic and repeated stress on the lungs can result in future diseases which are hard on the horse and expensive for the future owner according to Dr. Kuhlmann, a veterinarian who specializes in treating off the track thoroughbreds. All these problems 37

directly correspond to the horses being on the track and being pushed to their limits in terms of speed. This is because the racing industry care more about the money and less about the welfare of the horses. Horses are pushed to run even faster with the aid of drugs.

Drug problems in both humans and horses plague the horse racing industry. Since the beginning of horse racing in the United States, trainers have sought an advantage to make their horses run faster.

Examples include giving a horse illegal injections, such as the venom from a cone snail, to numb the joints of the horse so it won’t feel pain as it races. Drugging horses in the US, according to Mr. Rhoden from PETA, is tolerated and even promoted. In 2002, a uniform drug policy was the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium was made in the US. This policy updated testing for both therapeutic and performance enhancing drugs used in racing. This policy also banned steroids but, according to Los Angeles Times reporter Jamie Goldberg, rules on medications that are seen as “therapeutic” still vary from state to state (Goldberg). Even though medication does reduce pain for the horses temporally, it can hurt them later on in life. Medication can do this by having an unsound horse appear sound which, once again, puts short term benefits at the expense of long term well-being.

Some drugs are therapeutic. For instance, Phenylbutazone, also known as Bute, is a drug like aspirin and can be used as a pain killer as well as an anti-inflammatory. However, Bute and other pain medications can also be used to mask pain so a flashy, light, thoroughbred will race when it should not be. According to a report by

UC Davis, “The use of pain medication to mask injuries can lead to the breakdown of horses. Ninety percent of fatal injuries in horses result from preexisting injuries” (Goldberg). Many trainers also illegally dope their horses. Pain medication and other drugs can benefit the horses in the moment, in the short run, but hurt them in the long run.

The use of illegal drugs to enhance racing performances can also hurt the horses. The use of drugs has become so common that “Finding an American racehorse trained on the traditional hay, oats, and water probably would be impossible,” said a reporter in a report

by Mr. Rhoden of the PETA organization (Rhoden). According to New York Times reporter, Joe Drape, most trainers and industry officials say it is hard to know when a horse has won a race cleanly, without drugs (Drape, “At”) because racing authorities have a hard time policing the industry. According to the vet of the Kentucky Derby winner in 2008, “without steroids, some horses could not keep up the pace and race every three weeks” (“Fact”). People make horses take drugs because a great deal of money can be made if the horse wins. Even when trainers are caught using illegal drugs, the penalties are not severe so there is no incentive to not use drugs. Due to the amount of drug use in the industry, there is a need for strict national regulations to stop people giving drugs to race horses.

The sport of horse racing is not only hard on the horses but on the jockeys as well because jockeys experience many problems over the course of their careers because their job is so demanding. They lose weight so they can push themselves and the horses to the lim38

its. Losing weight and keeping their weight down causes health problems for the jockey later in life. For instance, former jockey, Randy Romero, needed 20 operations over his 25 year career. This is because he took extreme measures to insure his weight never went above 117 pounds by taking Lasix, a horse drug meant to decrease high blood pressure, and vomiting after meals. Also, being a jockey, according to researchers, is one of the most dangerous professions in the world (Drape, “On”). The jockey is standing up in their stirrups with their hand up on the horse’s neck which is such a precarious position on the horse that any slight change in the horse’s position can send the jockey flying off the horse. Due to this, one out of every five injuries a jockey obtain injuries to the head and neck. According to Anna Waller, a member of a team of researchers who did a study on jockey injuries, about 60% of jockeys get injuries that require medical treatment (Drape, “On”). All of these are reasons why horse racing is hard on all participants involved in the horse racing industry. However, while the jockeys may get hurt, they are the ones choosing race unlike the horses who have no choice.

Horses are raced so young due to how demanding the American horse racing industry is because the United States horse racing demands more of young horses than other countries’ horse racing.

The jurisdictions in the United States, according to Dr. Jane Allin, an expert in the horse racing industry, require that a horse win a race by the time they are four years old, which means that all thoroughbreds are racing long before they are mature (Allin, “The Verdict”).

“Breakdowns”, where the horse gets hurt while racing and sometimes has to be put down, usually occur between the ages of two

and four years old. When any horse runs at speeds at or over 35 miles an hour, a lot of strain of twice the horse’s body weight is imposed on the horse’s bone structure. This is one of the things that causes a horse to break down. It used to be, according to Dr. Allin that horses were not raced until three years of age in the United States. Then, there were a lot less breakdowns and injuries (Allin, “The Verdict”).

Another factor that contributes to horses’ injuries is the surface of the track. The usual dirt surface of the track is hard on the hooves, legs, and joints of the horses. According to the American Horse Defense Fund, the surface of the track causes horses to experience a deep bruising on their legs. The racing industry has implemented a softer, easier, type of track but has not required tracks to implement this requirement. Changing the surface of the track would costs tracks a lot of money so they are not inclined to change the surface of the track even if it would benefit the horses.

When a thoroughbred retires from the track, it is either because it wasn’t fast enough or had an injury. According to off the track thoroughbred trainer, Pricilla Clark, the “economics of racing dictate that an injured horse be removed from the training bill as quickly as possible”. First, when the horse comes off the track it usually needs between 45 to 60 days to rest before they begin their retraining to allow the horse time to transition. Horses that have a career ending injury are often in peak condition and have a lot of energy so they can be frustrated by the lack of exercise while they are “relaxing”.

Euthanasia 39

When a horse first come up for auction before it races, it usually sells for hundreds of thousands of dollars in auctions. When the horse retires from the track, it is usually worth only a few hundred dollars. Each year, over three thousand thoroughbreds come off the track and are retired from racing. This large number of over three thousand is due to overbreeding in the horse racing industry. There are a few possible options of what could happen to a thoroughbred when it comes off the track. The best option for a horse is receiving a second career and being adopted by a thoroughbred rescue organization. Unfortunately, only one third of off the track thoroughbreds are this lucky. The other two thirds, according to Mr. Drape, are either used for breeding, euthanized, abandoned, or sent to slaughter (Drape, “Around�). Between the options of Euthanasia and slaughter, the kindest, for the horse, is Euthanasia since the horse will not go through additional pain. However, Euthanasia costs approximately $300 and then the body must be dealt with.

Slaughter, on the other hand, is cheaper than Euthanasia. One thing that appeals to the owner of the horse is they are given money for the horse instead of paying for Euthanasia. Unfortunately, a horse put on the path to slaughter, has a dark road ahead of them.

The process of slaughter is cruel, painful, and often drawn out. First, horses are sold by the pound at livestock auctions. Livestock auctions do not keep track of the horses after the auction so there is no way of knowing the exact fate of the horses. Many of them are brought by meat buyers. However, according to Mr. Rhoden of the PETA organization, it is estimated over 10,000 horses a year end up in slaughterhouses for meat and numerous from the track (Rhoden).

Since so many horses go to slaughter, race horses are lucky to live to be seven instead of the expected life span of thirty years.

After the livestock auction, horses are shipped then to Canada or Mexico, shipping long distances. During this trip, horses usually spend days in cramped trailers without food or water. Horses are often transported in cattle trailers even though they are illegal to use to transport horses. This is because a meat buyer can fit twice as many horses in a cattle trailer since, it is double decker, and even if the meat buyer does get caught, a fine might be a lot less than the money the meat buyer would be spending by transporting of horses.

Once horses arrive at the slaughterhouse they are herded, into a group, where the horses thrash around. Then, one by one, they are taken into a slaughterhouse where a metal bolt is used to render the horse luscious. This bolt often misses the horse or does not work.

Then, the horse is hung by its hind legs as its throat is cut and the horse is bled out. Some horses are even alive when this process is happening. Many good thoroughbreds end up on the path to slaughter before they even have a chance at a second career due to overbreeding and must endure these horrible conditions until they are killed.

The lucky horses who are not slaughtered may have a second chance at life through a second career. These programs for having a second career are partially funded by the racing industry but mostly done by the many non-profit organizations around the globe and in the United States who rescue thoroughbreds off the track.

These non-profit organizations work with these horses, rehabilitate 40

them, and then try to find new and permanent owners for these horses. However, these programs are not well funded. These programs also do not support horses that are not natural athletes because not all thoroughbreds who are bred for racing end up making it to the track.

for the average rider to work with, according to Ms. Clark. People think they will develop definite problems later in life since they were on the track. These problems include the retired racehorse being too much work for what the horse is currently worth which gives thoroughbreds a bad reputation.

Non-profit organizations work with these off the track thoroughbreds so they can have a good life when the horses are not fit for racing. These non-profits, rehabilitate the horses, and then try to find new and permanent owners for these horses. One thing these non-profits do is find the best option for a second career for the off the track thoroughbred. Second careers include various equestrian disciplines with the most common discipline being Eventing. Some horses that have come off the track and had a second career ended up being in the Olympics for Eventing. Even though off the track thoroughbreds have the potential to become amazing horses, they have a hard road coming off the track because they need to be retrained.

Horses who come off the track are either in shape and had to be taken off for some injury or are thin, and run to the point of exhaustion. These horses can experience drug withdrawal and digestive problems. According to Pricilla Clark, it can take months or longer for the horses to go through this withdrawal. Thin horses cannot be given too much food for risk of digestive problems and colic. These horses are hard to keep so less people want them due to people trying to make money off the horses while they were on the track.

Horses end up with many issues when they come off the track.

Some of these are due to the training they had previously received.

The training the horses receive on the track is very minimal and simple; run. Horses are trained at a young age to simply run to the left and are not taught about the normal ways of communicating to the horse through the rider’s hands, legs, and seat. Since the horse is hard to retrain later in life, less people want to buy the horse.

When people who usually work with ponies and show horses, hear of off the track thoroughbreds, they usually think they are too hard

Retired racehorses are not accustomed to a regular feeding schedule or being out in pasture. When a horse is on the track, it is always eating while resting. When it comes off the track, it needs to be transitioned to schedule where they are fed two to three times a day. According to Ms. Clark, “almost all horses on the track develop ulcers, or chronic poor digestion due to stress, soreness, and medication�. As a result, many horses leave the track with ulcers which the new owners of the thoroughbred have to deal with. The horse usually needs between 45 to 60 days to rest before they begin their retraining. All these factors make it difficult and involve patience to work with an off the track thoroughbred. However, if there were reforms in the racing industry then, perhaps, retraining an off the track thoroughbred would be easier.

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Horses who come off the track need to get used to being handled in different ways than on the track. One new experience off the track thoroughbreds have is being tied outside, in an open environment, instead of the back of their stall, a closed environment. Outside, there are far more distractions, the new trainer/owner must teach the horse to deal with these distractions which can be difficult to do for a novice person, according to Pricilla Clark.

Another issue on the ground for the trainer is teaching the horse to lead properly. On the track, horses are restrained when being lead.

As a result, the horse never learned to respect the handler. Retired racehorses are no longer restrained when being led so they tend to rush out the stall door, lean on the person leading them, and try to drag the handler off in a direction or to food. This is another issue that prevents a novice from horse person can handling the horse.

Which is another thing that goes against thoroughbreds because of the horse’s racetrack experience.

One essential part of retraining is lunging. On the track, horses usually have not been lunged since they learned to carry a rider. Lunging, is when a horse goes in circles around a person holding a long lead line. When being ridden, race horses are not used to going to the right since they are trained to run only to the left. In retraining, going to the right can be difficult since the horse has never had to use the muscles on its right side before. This is because the racing industry does not care for the future of its horses.

Another possible option for off the track horses is being used for breeding which happens to horses with good track records and

bloodlines. Breeding is a large part of the horse racing industry but it has led to problems of inbreeding and over population. Breeding is thought to mostly be a life of luxury where the horses are in pasture all the time. But, the breeding process is also cruel. It is rare that stallions, male horses, are used for breeding. According to Dr. Allin, only 2% of stallions are valued for their time on the track enough to be used for breeding (Allin, In the Shed). Usually, these horses are bred before they mature. Due to the fact that they are overbred, stallions end up dying early or going to slaughter houses when they can no longer be bred. Horses are over bred because, according to Dr. Allin, “during a breeding season, stallions are required to cover three mares a day” (Allin, “In the Shed”). This causes the stallions to be bred too frequently as well as the mares, the female horses. About 52% of mares foaled become broodmares, mare used for breeding. These mares are also repeatedly bred to maximize profits. Mares are often impregnated again seven to ten days after they give birth to a foal. Horses are overbred to maximize profits which causes hardship for the horses used in the breeding part of the large, money wanting, horse racing industry.

Not just the individual horses used for breeding in the horse racing industry are hurt due to overbreeding. The entirety of the thoroughbred breed is hurt from this issue because thoroughbreds have become much inbred due to what people want in a horse. The habits of people buying horses has led the thoroughbreds to be bred too frequently and too fragile. Now, thoroughbreds are bred for speed and not endurance so they are not meant to last. Dr. Larry Bramlage, the veterinarian of Eight Belles who came in second in the 42

Kentucky Derby in 2008 said “The soundness of the horses has gone completely down the window because we don’t reward it anymore. Pretty soon we will have animals that can’t go in more than one race” (Jenkins). For the horses are only bred for the first five to six years of their lives so, for racing, they don’t need to last. This is yet another problem in the horse racing industry which is a reason who horse racing needs to be reformed to get rid of this motivation of breeding thoroughbreds in the first five years of their lives.

One other factor that contributes to thoroughbred being weak is inbreeding which plagues the industry. According to Dr. Allin, “in the last four decades, the gene pool has been manipulated which has led to much inbreeding which has led to flaws and the opportunity of unsoundness in the conformation of the horses” (Allin, “Breeding”) all due to people’s demand for a faster horse. Many horses today have the gene from the bloodline of the horse Native Dancer appear at least once in their pedigree. Native Dancer was a horse who was fast and won many races because of it. Yet, in his final race, he broke down and was led, limping, from the track. He was then used as a stud which is the reason why so many horses have him in their bloodlines. Native Dancer’s genes have tainted the thoroughbred breed, so the thoroughbred has become fragile and built for speed rather than endurance. For instance, according to Dr. Allin, every single horse in the Kentucky Derby’s in the past six years had a least one gene from Native Dancer’s gene pool. Since Native Dancer’s genes are all everywhere in the thoroughbred breed, it has led the thoroughbred to become fragile and built for speed rather than endurance. For instance, in 2008 a horse called Eight Belles entered

the Kentucky Derby and was one of the few fillies to ever do so.

She came in second and almost best the heavy favored horse, Big Brown. Tragically, she had to be euthanized on the track just a few minutes after she finished second in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. She had broken her cannon and sesamoid bones which led her ankles to collapse on the track. Eight Belles had several genes from the gene pool of Native Dancer. Two years previously, in 2006, the Kentucky Derby winner, Barbero, suffered from the same injuries Eight Belles had obtained. Barbero later had to be put down due to this injury. He too also had genes from the gene pool of Native Dancer. This inbreeding and weakness in thoroughbreds has led to injuries and breakdowns due to the sport’s demand for a faster horse.

Due to many horses being weak from inbreeding, there has been a lot of overbreeding. Overbreeding is one of the largest problems in the horse racing industry. This is, by far, the reason many horses end up in slaughter houses. According to Dr. Allin, the United States produces 30% of the world’s foal population each year which is about 30,000 horse (Allin, “The Statistics”). Only about 60% to 65% of the horses produced each year will ever end up seeing the track.

Only about 5% of these foals will go on to win big races and only 0.2% will ever end up winning Grand 1 stakes races such as the Kentucky Derby, according to Dr. Allin (Allin, “The Statistics”). Being overbred has hurt many horses which is because the horse racing industry wants more fast horses.

Horse racing has many benefits as well are cons. Horse racing has a large international interest and is one of the few sports in which 43

man and women can compete equally as both jockeys and trainers.

Racing provides an outlet for horses to go something that many enjoy and love, running. Racing is the only equestrian discipline where the rider is meant to be passenger meant only to encourage the horse. The industry also tries to improve the sport by, when an issue is presented to make racing safer, the industry tries to implement changes. For instance, the industry has implemented a softer track to use that is better on the horse’s hooves but they have not required it to save tracks money.

Horse racing has a large economic impact. It makes millions of dollars a year and, according to the American Horse Council, produces a total of 26.1 billion dollars in services every year. The racing industry directly employs 384, 000 people in the United States including trainers, jockeys, hot walkers, and grooms (“National”). The racing industry also indirectly employs hundreds of thousands of people including track workers, farmers to get horse’s food, rail lines so people can get to the races, and many more according to Time Magazine writer, Ben Cosgrove. Racing also employs 845,000 of the 9.2 million horses in the United States. Another benefit of racing is many states get millions of dollars in tax revenue from the horse racing industry. Racing also generates money from gambling.

But the most compelling reason about horse racing is its artistic aspect and emotional connection which people call poetry. The poetry of racing is about, according to Time Magazine writer Ben Cosgrove, “the aesthetic intensity one experiences in the presence of the inexplicable.” As in life, this rarely happens in racing but it is in these moments that the sport of horse racing presents itself and all

the tragic moments of the sport vanish and a person is left with almost a wild joy or heart stopping disbelief because of what they saw (Cosgrove). It can be believed that nothing is more natural than a horse and rider being completely synchronized. Moments like these can make a spectator feel like it is a privilege to witness. Every year, people crowd into the stadiums to watch major races such as the Breeders Cup and the Triple Crown races for an exciting two minutes of glory in the hope of seeing something amazing. One of these moments happened when the horse who no one had believed in, Secretariat, won the Triple Crown in 1973 by a record of 37 lengths. In these moments, Ben Cosgrove says that all the deaths and tragedies can be forgotten for there is nothing better than a horse and rider, free as the wind, and one together (Cosgrove).

Although horse racing has many benefits, it is currently full of problems and needs to be either be reformed or banned. If horse racing were to be banned then many people would lose a lot of money and many more horses might end up in slaughter houses. Many people would also lose their jobs since horse racing employs so many people. A whole, part of the American culture would be lost if horse racing were to be banned. So banning horse racing would cause more harm than good.

However, if there were to be reforms in the horse racing industry that prioritized the welfare of the horses over the money, and made it less demanding on the jockeys, then everyone would benefit.

There needs to be a uniform policy in the United States about the rules, regulations, and medications allowed in horse racing. Horses should not be given any medication to mask an injury within several 44

days of a race. The horse should be immediately removed from racing until it is no longer lame or in pain. There also needs to be stricter reforms about testing a horse for drugs before a race.

Horses should also be started at a later age. They can be started before they fully mature but they should be started at around the age of four rather than the age of two. Also, a horse’s training should include more than simply being taught to run to the left. The horse should be taught to do go the left and the right. Trainers and jockeys should work on some small suppleing exercises so the horse is not stiff but balanced to both directions. Horses should also be taught how to behave off the track around other horses and people so the horse has better manners. The racing industry should require all tracks to change their track to a surface that is better on the horses’ hooves even if it is expensive. Also, other types of horses, such as Arabian, Akhal Teke, and Warmblood horses should be brought into the breeding program to expand the gene pool so thoroughbreds do not end up so inbred. Horses in the racing industry should be banned from going to slaughter and there should not be as many horses bred in the first place so that no horse goes to waste. The horse racing industry should “care for its own” by providing a retirement fund for horses that come off the track. Currently, the industry has a plan such as this but it is very poorly funded in such a way that it virtually makes no difference. There needs to be a retirement plan for off the track thoroughbreds to take away their option for going to slaughter. All of these measures should be taken to insure that the horses have good lives and have happy future careers after they are done racing.

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Works Cited Allin, Jane. “Horse Racing” Horse Fund. Horse Fund. Web. Sep. 23 2013.

“Breeding” Horse Fund. Horse Fund. Web. Sep. 29 2013.

“Fact Sheet” Horse Fund. Horse Fund. Web. Sep. 29 2013.

Goldberg, Jamie. "Drugs Called a Threat to Horse Racing; Experts Urge a Senate Panel to Get Tough on Abuse that Includes using Painkillers to Race Unsound Horses." Los Angeles Times July 13 2012. ProQuest. Web. 16 Sep. 2013.

Jenkins, Sally. "A Chance to Revolutionize Horse Racing, Instead of Going Around in Circles." The Washington Post May 07 2008. ProQuest. Web. 16 Sep. 2013

“In the Shed” Horse Fund. Horse Fund. Web. Sep. 29 2013.

“The Statics” Horse Fund. Horse Fund. Web. Sep. 29 2013.

“The Verdict: Training Regimens - Too Much, Too Soon?” Horse Fund. Horse Fund. Web. Sep. 29 2013.

Clark, Priscilla. Retraining a Former Racehorse. Tranquility Farm.

PDF file.

Cosgrove, Ben. “In Defense of Horse Racing.” Time Magazine.

Time Magazine, 3 May 2013. Web. 23 Sept. 2013.

Drape, Joe. “Around the Final Turn, and Heading for a Home” New York Times, New York Times. 23 Aug. 2009. Web. 20 Sept. 2013.

---. “Many Derby Owners Silent on Drug Issue” New York Times, New York Times. 29 Aug. 2009. Web. 20 Sept. 2013.

Kuhlmann, Kim. Bronchodilators. Owners’ Circle Magazine: Thoroughbred Owners of California, 2007. PDF file.

Mullane, Laura. “Beasts of Burden: What happens to thoroughbred racehorses after retirement” The Washington Post. The Washington Post. 30 May 2010. Sep. 29 3013.

“National Economic Impact of the U.S. Horse Industry” American Horse Council. Web. 23 Sep. 2013 Rhoden, William. “Racing Should Care for Its Own” New York Times, New York Times. 20 May 2011. Web. 22 Sep. 2013.

“The Horseracing Industry: Drugs, Deception and Death” People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, 2011. Web. 23 Sep. 2013.

----. “On Horse Racing; Recent Spills Underline Dangers of the Sport” New York Times, New York Times. 2 Feb. 2002. Web. 27 Sep. 2013.

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Ross Nagelson

Yosemite Valley: Rock Climbing’s Mecca

Imagine yourself in Yosemite Valley, California. You are standing in one America's largest national parks. You are surrounded by pine trees and fresh air. You look up to see giant granite monoliths; El Capitan stands with its stoic beauty while Half Dome seems to look over the valley with its own haunting gaze. If you were to look even closer at these mystical rock faces, you would see men and women from all over the world climbing in the seas of the perfect granite of Yosemite Valley. Putting their lives on the line for such fabled ascents like the Nose of El Capitan or the infamous south face of Mount. Watkins as well as climbing the perfect splitters on moderate climbs like After Six on the Manure Pile Buttress or Sons of Yesterday, they are climbing in the birthplace of modern rock climbing.

From the years of John Salathe and David Brower to today's Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold, Yosemite has shaped the progression of rock climbing and its many proprietors. From bold big wall aid climbers to strong and tough free climbers to even the most tenacious of boulderers, it has provided a venue for climbers of all abilities and backgrounds to test themselves on its perfect granite cracks and edges.

Yosemite has given climbers a place where they can converse and interact with others from the world's massive climbing community.

Along with stellar climbing, Yosemite Valley also contains much of rock climbing's history and has served as a grounds for conservation, ethics, and preservation for generations. To the thousands that visit the park every year, “Yosemite inspires both climbers and nonclimbers with its overwhelming beauty� (Yosemite Valley Free Climbs 11) and has become one of the most expansive climbing areas on earth and has also created one of the most dedicated and widespread climbing scenes. It has pushed the sport into new realms of difficulty, style, and ideology. Climbers like Yvon Chouinard and Ray Jardine have even been able to allow advances in gear by putting their and others gear to the test on the walls of the Valley and refining their designs after having epics on Yosemite's many long traditional routes. In a grand scheme of things, Yosemite could be defined as a quintessential climbing area due to the large amount of accessible rock and for its many impacts and influences on rock climbing's long and storied past.

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“Whereas in Europe the Golden Age of alpine climbing had reached its peak back in 1865 with the first ascent of the Matterhorn, nearly a hundred years later Yosemite's Golden Age was starting to unfold.” (Yosemite: Half a Century of Dynamic Rock Climbing 43). Yosemite's seemingly late start to its Golden Age did not put a hold on the ascents and impacts that it would produce. Beginning with the first ascent of Half Dome's Regular Northwest Face in 1957 by Royal Robbins, Mike Sherrick, and Jerry Gallwas, Yosemite’s Golden Age opened new doors to climbers and ushered in a new generation of stronger, bolder climbers.

During the 1950's and 60's in Yosemite Valley, “the most respected figure [among climbers] in the Golden Age was Royal Robbins. He was the acknowledged leader of the Valley climbing scene over a span of nearly twenty years and encouraged adventure with his ethical and sporting view on how to climb big walls.” (Yosemite: Half a Century of Dynamic Rock Climbing 41). Royal Robbins was the father of high commitment, low impact climbing and has been known as one of climbing's greatest heroes.

In the beginning of the Valley's Golden Age, many climbs were being done mostly on aid which means hammering pitons into cracks and constrictions in the rock and clipping into them to gain movement up a face instead of using the holds on the rock (free climbing). Aid, the most popular style of climbing during the Golden Age, left scars in the rock and damaged the cliffs. Along with climbing in mostly aid style, most climbers during this period were climbing big walls using siege like tactics that utilized fixed ropes, large quantities of rations for many days spent on the wall, and most importantly

of all, bolts. When faced with large sections of blank rock with no visible crack systems, instead of trying to free climb around them, climbers just bolted up them until cracks system could be reached.

Royal Robbins saw things differently. Doing first ascents in a low commitment, high adventure style, Robbins forever changed how climbers went about the style of their own big wall ascents. One of Robbins' most notable Yosemite first ascents, the North America Wall on El Capitan, was done in this exact style. Teaming up with the “great-free climber, Chuck Pratt” (El Capitan 45L “early aid climbing wizard, [Tom] Frost” (El Capitan 45). and the innovative and big wall virgin, Yvon Chouinard, Robbins set out on one of the most adventurous big wall first ascents in Yosemite history. Climbing without the safety of fixed ropes, Robbins and his team wandered through “elusive slabs, through a pendulum swing to a relentless and unprotectable offwidth that still puts strong climbers into fits of apoplectic fear, and then up to the ghastly ‘Ear’ offwidth, a massive chunk of rock that hangs off the wall like gargantuan earlobe.” (El Capitan 48). Due to the routes “over- hanging and wandering nature” (El Capitan 48), retreat or rescue was nearly unreachable. According to Chouinard, “[The] only other climber in the United States capable of rescuing them-Layton Kor, who was then in Colorado.” (El Capitan 48), meaning that their route was do or die. To make the odds of success even more difficult, Royal had only scoped the first third of the route, meaning that what lay ahead was a total unknown to the first ascent team. On the seventh day of the climb, while they bivouacked in what they called the black cave, the team was alerted, via Robbins's wife on the radio, that a large storm was heading straight 48

for the Valley. “Pratt got right to work hammering his way out of this cave, on lead that Robbins declared the most spectacular in American climbing...” (El Capitan 49), and was able to make it to a two hundred foot high cavern aptly named the “Cyclops Eye” just as the rain began to fall. As they neared the summit, Robbins would place the teams thirtyeight and final bolt, by far the least amount of bolts used in any big wall FA (First Ascent) in Yosemite Valley so far. The next day, Robbins and his team topped out on El Capitan's rocky summit after spending nine days climbing through wandering, blank, and overhung terrain. On October 3Pt, 1964, Robbins, Pratt, Frost, and Chouinard stood on the summit of the Valley's most technical and committing line.

Just like any great athlete, Robbins had some competition. His name was Warren Harding. Harding was eleven years older than Robbins and had started his climbing career much later. Harding started off his climbing career by coming to the Valley in hopes of nabbing the first ascent of Half Dome, but when he had seen that Royal Robbins had already grabbed the first ascent, Warren Harding turned to Yosemite's grand prize; the Nose of El Capitan.

Standing at a three thousand feet at its apex, El Capitan stares over the valley like a silent granite giant. “On July 4th, 1957, just six days after the first ascent of Half Dome, Harding and his team began their historic journey.” (Yosemite Big Walls 76) and would begin work on climbing's most prized procession. After making quick progress to Sickle ledge and wandering across large pendulum swings and wide cracks, they made it within one hundred feet before deciding to retreat.

Ascending their fixed lines to Dolt Tower, Harding and his team had now reached the Boot Flake, a massive boot shaped flake in the middle of El Cap, with no visible means of attachment to the wall behind it. After climbing to the top of “the Boot, seeking the next crack system, Harding unleashed the wildest pendulum ever done, now renowned as the King Swing.” (Yosemite Big Walls 76), the team was soon able to make it to Camp IV. In order to relieve traffic in the Valley, the Rangers told to Harding and his team that they needed to finish their ascent by the end of fall. Responding to the Rangers hastiness, Harding and team began their summit campaign. Soon making it to ledge just one hundred and eighty feet below the summit, Harding began one of the most impressive sections aid in history. For fourteen straight hours, Harding hand drilled twenty eight bolts by headlamp. Finally, at 6 AM on November 11th, 1958.

Harding and his team, consisting of George Whitmore, Wayne Merry, and Steve Roper, were greeted with a frenzy of friends, family, random people, and the Media. Harding's Nose route “had required 45 days [the Nose has now been climbed in under 3 hours but the standard amount of time for a strong party is now three to five days] of climbing over 18 months and had consumed 125 bolts.” (Yosemite Big Walls 76) and was now regarded as one of the largest feats of the time. His ascent would have a lasting effect on the world's climbing scene for generations to come. This was by far one of the biggest and longest climb done at the time and possibly in the world. The race was now on to climb in Yosemite Valley.

Harding and Robbins were two very different people with two very different philosophies. Harding's was using siege tactics that re49

quired many days spent on the wall using any means possible to get to the summit, while Robbins utilized very the light and fast motto of modern alpinism and encouraged and leave no trace ethic.

Even though opposing ideas, Warren Harding and Royal Robbins would lead the way for a new generation of stronger, tougher Yosemite climbers.

Moving into the 1970's, Jim Bridwell was the new leader of the Valley's climbing scene. Now, instead of looking for crack systems and easier ways up the rock, the new generation of Valley climbers were looking for harder, scarier climbs. Using both aid and free climbing tactics, they pioneered a revolution whose influence would last for generations. These climbers were called the Stone masters.

Heading this group of young and rowdy climbers, Jim Bridwell was the “de facto lord of Camp 4 and everyone in it.” (Yosemite Big Walls 182), Jim Bridwell. Known as the “Bird", he was the ringleader for all things vertical in the Valley during the 1970's. In addition to the Bird, there was a slew of new, young climbers looking to test themselves on the pristine granite of the Valley. Tackling some of the hardest aid and free lines in the world and excelling rope or not, these climbers were some of the strongest in the world. Here was the sub humanly strong John Bachar free soloing the valleys hardest lines without even showing a wink of fear, then you had the mystical Ron Kauk putting the famous boulder problem Midnight Lightning (V8) and climbing hard free routes such as Separate Reality (5.12b), as well as the confident John Long laying down one of the Valley's longest free routes, Astroman (5.11c) with John Bachar and Ron Kauk. Out of all of the free routes put up in the 1970's, Astro-

man best exemplifies what the Free Climbing Revolution was all about.

Up until the 1970's, most of the climbing in Yosemite Valley had put an emphasis on aid climbing. Now, the new generation turned to free climbing Yosemites greatest walls. Lying on the East Face of Washington Column, the original aid route that makes up most of Astroman, was first climbed by Warren Harding and Chuck Pratt in 1959, was just another fixed line effort. “In addition, the trio had used aid on virtually every pitch-probably 225 aid placements altogether.” (Yosemite Valley Free Climbs 141) according to Steve Roper, who made the aid lines third ascent in 1967, along with Chuck Pratt and Eric Beck. The line is gently overhung and leans to the right for much of the duration of the route. In 1975, John Bachar and Ron Kauk were able to look at this line with the potential of creating a new long, hard free route. Soon after scoping the line from both the ground and on route, John Long caught wind of their efforts and persuaded them to come back and climb the route with him.

Making great work of the routes lower 5.11 sections, the trio ran into a slower party of aid climbers and decided to “descend to a bivy ledge, leaving a few ropes fixed. The next morning saw tackling the horrendous difficulties above the Harding Slot, including a harrowing mantelshelf of 11a, and higher, a short section of 11b. A few hundred feet of ‘moderate’ crack climbing followed, then Long led the summit pitch, a loose and unprotected 10d face.” (Yosemite Valley Free Climbs 142). Astromans influences have not just been about its difficulty, but also about the style it was done in. This was one first times that an old aid line had been reestablished as new free 50

route, let alone a difficult one, and would wind up becoming a very famous and prized route none the less. Free climbs like Astroman and Climbers like John Bachar, John Long, and Ron Kauk would pave the way again for the next couple generations of new free climbers in the Valley and around the world who would push themselves to climber harder and purer lines.

Now, into the present day, it seems as if Yosemite's has left some lasting effects on today's climbing scene. It has introduced many people into the realms of climbing and has ultimately caused much progression in the sport. New advances in gear have been made as well as advances in the sport of climbing itself. Climbs have become more difficult committing, and pure. Boundaries have been pushed and limits have been reached. Although it seems as if Yosemite's Golden Age is over, but in reality, Yosemite Valley will could in fact be a catalyst for change in the world of climbing.

Works Cited A Gift from Wyoming. Black Diamond Equipment Ltd. www. vimeo.com. 2013. Web. 9/20/13.

Barnes, Greg, and McNamara,Chris, and Roper, Steve, and Snyder, Todd. Yosemite Valley Free Climbs. 2 Bradford Way, Mill Valley, California. SuperTopo, 2003. Print.

Hill, Lynn. “El Capitan's Nose Climbed Free” www.stanford.edu.

Web. Taken from American Alpine Journal, 1994. 9/23/13.

Jackson, Jeff. “Tom Frost and Yosemite's Lost Climbing Photos”. www.rockandice.com. Rock and Ice Magazine. No article date given. Web. 9/20/13.

Long, John ET. AI. The Stone Masters: California Rock Climbers in the Seventies". Location publication unknown. Stone Masters Press.

McNamara, Chris, and Sloan, Eric. Yosemite Big Walls: the Definite Guide to Yosemite Big Wall Climbing. 2 Bradford Way, Mill Valley, California: SuperTopo, 2005. Print. 9/18/13.

Robbins, Royal. The First Ascent of the North America Wall. Ascent.

Ed. Jeff Jackson. Carbondale, Colorado. Big Stone Publishing LTD, 2013. Pages 15-22. Print.

Roper, Steve. “Route Less Traveled”. Rockandlce.

Rockandice.com. 2010. Web. 9/23/13.

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Samet, Matt. “Ten Things You Didn't Know About Sport Climbing's Early Days”. www.Ciimbing.com. Climbing Magazine. Web. 9/18/13.

Stevenson, David. “A Cultural History of the Ice Axe in Eight Fascicles”. Ascent. Ed. Jeff Jackson. Carbondale, Colorado. Big Stone Publishing LTD, 2013. Pages 46-47. Print.

The Sharp End. Peter Mortimer. 2009. Sender Films. Web. 9/19/13 Duane, Daniel. El Capitan: Historic Feats and Radical Routes. 85 Second Street, San Francisco, California. Chronicle Books LLC, 2000. Print.

Huber, Alexander. Zak, Heinz. Yosemite: Half a Century of Dynamic Rock Climbing. P.O. Box 480, Guildord, Connecticut. Menasha Ridge Press. 2002. Print.

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Section 9

Can Music Positively Affect Youth in the Bay Area?

Today, kids are at risk and feel disconnected from the world around them when they are under stress. They turn to drugs and are distracted from education when they feel disconnected. Music festivals in San Francisco and the East Bay counteract these dynamics. The festivals help kids feel comfortable and safe because they are with other people who also enjoy the music and share their interests.

These festivals are important for helping young people stay connected. The festivals have a positive influence because they reduce stress levels, which keeps kids focused on education and general wellness. This positive influence helps people in many different ways, but mostly it involves the brain and emotions. Kids in the Bay Area are fortunate to be near the East Bay, because it provides the opportunity for such a wide range of musical experiences, and because the East Bay has a supportive community that thrives on giv-

ing new artists a chance to get exposed to the public and become more noticed. In the East Bay, there are artists focusing on nearly all types of music. They have talent but are often not noticed. There are programs which aim to get them exposed, such as the Oakland Music Festival (Phaneuf). There are also many programs which provide youth with outlets for releasing their stress through music.

These programs allow kids to express themselves through Hip Hop, relieving much of the tension they have built up inside of them.

These and many other programs and opportunities fulfill a critical role in helping youth feel confident and develop their potential ("Truly CA film series� Beats Rhymes and Life Inc. RSS). Hip Hop and instrumental music make a positive difference in the Bay area, particularly among youth, in giving them an opportunity to relieve stress, build confidence and better handle academic pressures.

The Bay Area is home to a wide range of musical opportunities.

There are many music stores which sell musical instruments and teach lessons. Anyone can go pick up an instrument in these stores and start learning and playing it. The availability of musical opportunities is important when it comes to helping youth who would otherwise be disconnected.

One of the better known organizations that tries hard to make itself available to youth is Beats Rhymes and Life, also known as BRL. This organization works on helping young kids get past their problems through music, mainly Hip Hop. It is an example of how music in the Bay Area has a positive influence on the mindset of people, especially youth when it comes to stress relief and confidence 53

which can help with General wellness and the education of these youth. Beats Rhymes and Life defines itself as “using hip hop as a catalyst for change” ("Truly CA film series" Beats Rhymes and Life Inc. RSS) and applies itself to changing the mindset of local youth.

Music therapy has been a big part of this program as a way to make kids use self-expression while sometimes not knowing it. Beats Rhymes and Life employs the idea of rap therapy. The attendants of this program, who at the time of the start, were meant to be mostly young men, showed significant improvements in their moods and their confidence. BRL has been able to relieve a lot of stress through letting kids rap and let their feelings out through music. At the same time, BRL boosts kid’s confidence by giving them a community with which to share their feelings, and relieves stress by doing so. Music is an essential part of this because many people are not good at expressing their deep or difficult feelings using words.

Music gives these people a positive outlet for sharing their experiences and building supportive bonds with other people ("Truly CA film series " Beats Rhymes and Life Inc. RSS).

The positive impact of music in the Bay Area is also being applied in a new event called the Oakland Music Festival. The idea for this originated with Jacobo Juarez and Alfonso Dominguez many years ago, and they recently held their first festival. The festival started as a way for beginning artists to get more public exposure since it is difficult for new artists to be heard. The result is that local talent in the East Bay has become more visible and people now realize how much talent is there. The creators of the festival also wanted to celebrate the many cultural assets of the East Bay, such as food

(Phaneuf). Music is not just big in the East Bay; San Francisco also has a lot of music festivals such as Outside Lands and Hardly Strictly. One important aspect that these music festivals have in common is that they all encourage active audience participation in the performances. But each one differs by focusing on different types of music and performance opportunities. San Francisco’s strength is its many performance sites, including music venues, festivals and concerts. Going back to Whitney Phaneuf’s article on the Oakland Music Festival, the East Bay is different because it has fewer big performance venues, but it is the home to many artists who are rising up in the world of music. These artists perform a variety of music styles; everything from electronic music to ethnic drumming. There is a lot of talent in the East Bay, but it just does not get as much attention. That is why the Oakland Music Festival is so important because it helps musicians who might not be heard as much, become heard (Phaneuf).

One of the positive psychological effects of music on youth is its ability to help relieve stress. Hip hop is particularly effective in this area.

It has been shown to help relieve stress by creating an atmosphere where friendships and respect are important ("Truly CA film series " Beats Rhymes and Life Inc. RSS). This does not mean that all Hip Hop can positively affect the brains of teens. Some songs have lyrics which can promote things like drugs and violence which are not necessarily the best for kids to be exposed to. While there are some bad impacts of Hip Hop, the overall purpose started out as good (Walker).

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Drumming is another way for people to relieve stress and boost confidence. One of the most positive impacts of drums is that it helps people boost their confidence. This has been true for both younger and older people. Drumming allows a person to express his or her feelings, which is very similar to hip hop in the way of expressing one’s emotions. This helps people build their confidence in expressing themselves (Szabo). They both fall under the same concept of music therapy, with drums therapy being similar to rap therapy in ways of expression and certain stress relief methods (Drake). Drumming can produce alpha brainwaves which boost people’s mindsets and relieve stress (Friedman). Both the book The Healing Power of The Drum and drums teacher Laszlo Szabo, explained that drumming also has unique and positive effects on people who have different disorders and diseases. There have been many recordings of times when basic drum beats have helped patients who had Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s. It has also had significant effects on Down’s syndrome kids. The focus required by drums helps to clarify their motivation and makes them feel more relaxed. It also improves these patients with coordination and allows them to express themselves despite the problems related to their diseases.

The high-level impacts of music include helping people’s minds stay positive and contributing to the health of people who have certain diseases. This usually happens through self-expression (Friedman).

In the book Musicophilia, the author, Oliver Sacks, study’s extensively the therapeutic effects of music on the brain and writes about the effects of music on patients who have a variety of diseases. The book also describes the effects of music on the brain in ways that

impact the imagination. With musical imagery, there are two types of people, the type who can bring back certain melodies clearly and the type who are lost when doing this. Those people who can call back certain pieces of music can also make changes and improvise with music when they play it back in their brain. This brings up the point that there is “not only external music, music we hear with our ears, but internal music, music that plays in our heads” (Sacks 32).

The music going on in our heads gives us room to be creative, which helps because imagining music in our minds is just as good as listening to it in real life. It also brings up the point of music helping people who have diseases. In some ways it has the ability to keep patients with Alzheimer’s or dementia grounded in the real world (Musicophilia, Sacks). Music can also help people by being a form of self-expression. People can either express themselves through the words in music, or by using instruments. Expression is important when it comes to kids who have either gone through a rough childhood, or have a disorder such as Down’s syndrome.

With Down’s syndrome, music, specifically drumming, has the ability to help keep them focused on the task that is in front of them. Music is also a good way for these kids to express themselves in ways that they might not have tried before (Szabo). For instance, according to Documented Medical Benefits of Drumming, if a kid with Down’s syndrome is trying to say something but he just is not able to, then he can go to a drum set and play a beat which shows how he feels. Music also has the ability to help kids who have had a rough past. As mentioned before, there are programs such as BRL which give kids opportunities to express how they feel. They get to talk about what has happened in their lives and put their stories into 55

music ("Truly CA film series " Beats Rhymes and Life Inc. RSS).

These are all different ways that music in general positively impacts people, but this paper is on the effects of Hip Hop and drumming.

Hip Hop is popular in the Bay Area. It is special in that it started with a focus on meaningful words as a way of expression, similar to traditional poetry. The music and beat are important but they don’t overshadow the words (Walker). It allows people to think and be creative with their words and rhyming. According to a teacher at The University High School, Demond Walker, Hip Hop helps people understand and enjoy words, all of which have a positive impact on education. It gives youths a way to connect to some of the more difficult areas of education, such as science, and that helps them feel more confident and relaxed about what they are learning. Hip Hop has also given a big chance to youth for expressing their feelings through music and other ways such as graffiti. Hip Hop was originally a form of self-expression through meaningful words, started in the South Bronx in the 70’s, but since then it has changed and some of the parts have faded away. The four main parts of Hip Hop, rap, DJing, Breaking, and graffiti, are still present in the Bay Area today with the exception of DJing which has been sort of merged into rap. They all give youth a good outlet for self-expression. It is also a good way to teach through meaningful lyrics. Thizzler on the Roof, an organization in downtown Oakland started by Matt Werner, has been trying to get Hip Hop music artists a better chance at sharing their music with the public. It is aimed at the “underground people who don’t get exposure” (Reeves). Beats Rhymes and Life is also another program which has been more aimed at youth and rap

therapy. Beats Rhymes and Life believes in “health equity through music” ("Truly CA film series" Beats Rhymes and Life Inc. RSS). For kids who have had hard times in the past or are going through hard times, BRL tries to provide an outlet for them to rap what they are feeling and share with others who have similar problems. BRL hopes to “make youth better leaders in their own communities” ("Truly CA film series" Beats Rhymes and Life Inc. RSS) by letting them spread the ways that they relieve the stress from their minds with others.

Drumming has a long record of helping young people who might not otherwise get into music adopt an instrument and learn how to play it. For many youths who are not drawn to instruments such as the piano or violin, it is the equalizing instrument giving people a more comfortable opportunity self-expression (Szabo). In the book The Healing Power of The Drum, Robert Friedman says, “when people drum they are generally having fun” (Friedman). Drumming is a fundamental foundation of music, since it is playable using almost anything, even sticks on the ground, and it is as old as humanity. In This is Your Brain on Music, Daniel Levitin, talks about foot tapping and how rhythm is the base for every musical instrument. Foot tapping is another version of informal drumming which shows why drumming is so important in so many different styles of music.

Drumming also has a positive impact on health, meaning that “playing drums can be therapeutic” (Johnson). This may be because of its fundamental nature and the connection between stress and feeling disconnected. According to Robert Friedman, “stress can be defined as being disconnected from the earth” (Friedman). Drums con56

nects one to the earth and by doing that it relieves stress in some people. Another way that drums relieves stress is through the release of alpha brainwaves. Alpha brainwaves are brainwaves which boost our moods. Many people do not start out with Alpha brainwaves in life, but they are good to produce since they take away stress (Friedman). Stress can be caused by an inability to express oneself, and drums, like Hip Hop, is a help in that process.

Drums and Hip Hop are similar because they both support raw expression of one’s feelings. Hip Hop is expression of ones feelings through more of the words and visual arts side, while drums is more of the instrumental side. Although Hip Hop does have DJing, DJing has gone down in popularity in the Bay Area. Drumming can be used as both a way of expression and a supporting instrument. It relates to Hip Hop in the way that it keeps time in pretty much every type of music including Hip Hop which means that it is an instrument which allows people to express themselves in Hip Hop. Daniel Levitan’s book, This is Your Brain on Music, says that dancing is based on the rhythm of a song which is set by the drum and bass.

Demond Walker, a teacher at University High School, said that “the bass line and the drum is the most important because that’s the part that establishes the beat and rhythm that really determines how fast or slow whatever the rapper is going to rap” (Walker). In Hip Hop, breaking is a form of dancing which can be based on the rhythm and also sometimes not be based on it. When you go off of the rhythm, that is what makes music sound so good, like when you improvise in jazz. Drumming and Hip Hop also are great ways to boost confidence. When someone is performing drums, rapping or DJing

on stage, or just in from of some people, they are sharing their feelings with the public. Doing so takes a lot of courage which usually involves experience. Performing on stage builds up a lot of confidence which can also be used as a skill in other parts of life. Drumming and Hip Hop are both able to help people in some similar and some different ways, but overall they give better advice on life.

Demond Walker is a teacher at the San Francisco University High School. He became interested in Hip Hop around 1996, moved to San Francisco from Chicago five years ago, and has experience writing his own Hip Hop rhymes. Demond says one aspect that makes Hip Hop unique is that in early state, it did not require the use of any instruments. He said how that was only in the early stages of Hip Hop but later on it became more instrumental. The reason that there were not really any instruments in early Hip Hop was because it used to be just DJs who would use certain parts of records and repeat them and try to make more accommodating to dance. This was also because Hip Hop was not confined to a narrow area of music. He said that there were many elements, but the four main ones were rap, DJing, breaking, and graffiti. Half of those did not even involve making music, although dancing involves listening to the music and graffiti may be inspired by some music. One thing that links the different parts of this paper is that drumming and bass are what really set the speed of the rapper when rapping. Connecting the two, Demond said he had gotten involved in hip hop around 1996 when he was 15. Demond went to a summer program and he heard other kids listen to Hip Hop, but it was a different style than he had heard before. This was because he had two older broth57

ers who listened to gangsta rap so all he heard was gangsta rap, which did not really appeal to him. This brought him to the topic of the different types of rap. He mainly liked the type which talked about positive things. But he also spoke about types of rap that are very negative. Some people also rapped about the bad things in life such as drugs and violence, which had the potential to negatively affect others. His last point was about how Hip Hop could help youth. He said that Hip Hop was mainly invented as an outlet for youth who were growing up in the south Bronx during hard times.

Hip Hop was said to have a base of drums and bass. For the drums part, information was gathered from Laszlo Szabo, a drums teacher from Hungary who now lives in San Francisco. He has been teaching drums in San Francisco for over a decade, and has extensive knowledge about the music scene in San Francisco. He has been teaching others about drums since he was very young. He has played in many bands, some in Hungary and some in San Francisco. He has also taken in a couple of kids with autism and one person who is in the stages of Parkinson’s disease.

Laszlo explained why he views drums as a confidence builder because learning drums, or any other instrument, usually involves performing at some time on stage. He said that makes them better at drumming, and also more confident because it is similar to speaking on stage. He said that learning and playing drums can affect people’s grades in school because it uses the left side of a person’s brain. Laszlo hopes his teaching will possibly put someone into a band that may become big, or become very dedicated at least and pursue drumming as a career. He also gives out advice, hoping

that, along with drumming, he can make his students become better people.

Along with playing the drums, there are many ways to relieve stress while listening to music. Another example of music in the community in the East Bay is the street festival called Life is Living. Life is Living is an event which is about Hip Hop. Life is Living was in Oakland at Defremery park. The festival included many different elements of Hip Hop, including some that are not yet well known. At the festival, music, food, skateboarding, and graffiti were the main interests. People from many neighborhoods gathered to socialize and bond, listening to many forms of Hip Hop and allowing music to create the environment in which they interacted.

On one side of Defremery Park there was a sort of drum circle, but the people were drumming on all sorts of things, not just traditional drums. Nearby there was a stage where there was a rap contest for anyone to participate in. This added more clarity to the idea of how Hip Hop can bring people together and give them confidence to go up on stage and express themselves through music. Around the middle of the park there were large walls standing up in triangles or squares. These walls were also covered in graffiti. This graffiti included different messages that all were important to the maker of it and to the viewers. It also overlapped with the space for the drum circle and the rapping contest. This added to the atmosphere of the music. The graffiti seemed more like it originally was supposed to be when Hip Hop began. In a way the graffiti flowed with not only the music in front of it, but also the other music going on in the other side of the park. On the other side of the park there was a big stage 58

and a lot of little stalls where people were selling food and t-shirts.

On the stage, there were many different performers. They had more than just Hip Hop artists. One of the biggest groups who played on the stage, were Dead Prez. They have rapped about all sorts of things, a lot of them being issues that should help our communities.

Along with them, Raka Dun from Los Rakas was there. He did not perform, but just watched. He did not have to go but went because of its importance as a community strength builder. Along with the music and graffiti, there was a skatepark and a makeshift BMX course. There were competitions in both of those activities. These brought out a lot of youth who were passionate about those activities, showing that events such as Life is Living and The Oakland Music Festival can bring kids together in order to take away some of their stress.

who suffer so much from stress and don’t always have all the communications tools they need, but almost always relate to music.

Drumming and Hip hop have proven to help change people in a constructive way throughout the Bay Area. Hip Hop is able to have a positive or a negative effect on youth depending on the style that the listeners and participants are exposed to. There are programs which help promote the useful style of music for youth, which has been one way for Hip Hop to bring a constructive impact to youth in the Bay Area. Within Hip Hop, drumming carries its own importance, helping to keep the beat in Hip Hop, and most importantly bringing focus, discipline, increased confidence and stress-relief to people who play and listen to it. Being focused on the drums is a way for people to let out stress, or at least forget about it for a while. Research shows that music may hold the key to helping teenagers,

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Works Cited "Documented Medical Benefits of Drumming." Documented Health Benefits of Drumming. Health Beat, n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.

Drake, Michael. "Drum Therapy." About.com Holistic Healing.

About.com, n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2013.

"The Latest Bay Area Rap and Hip-hop Music - Thizzler On The Roof." Thizzler On The Roof. Thizzler, 25 July 2013. Web. 25 Sept.

2013.

"Truly CA film series " Beats Rhymes and Life Inc RSS. N.p., n.d.

Web. 18 Sept. 2013.

Friedman, Robert L. "The Healing Power of the Drum - Part I." Remo. White Cliffs Media, Inc., Oct. 2000. Web. 24 Sept. 2013.

Johnson, Thaddeus. "Play the Drum Kit For Relieving Stress."

Ezine Articles. N.p., July-Aug. 2008. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.

Levitin, Daniel J. This Is Your Brain On Music. USA: Plume, 2007.

Print.

Phaneuf, Whitney. "An Oakland-Grown Music Festival ." East Bay Express. N.p., 18 Sept. 2013. Web. 23 Sept. 2013.

Reeves, Mosi. "Hip-Hop's Graduating Class ." East Bay Express.

N.p., 11 Sept. 2013. Web. 23 Sept. 2013.

Rosato, Joe. "Remembering Man Who Brought Music to Tenderloin." NBC Bay Area. NBC, n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2013.

Sacks, Oliver W. Musicophilia Tales of Music and the Brain. New York: Vintage, 2008. Print.

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Tucker Treat!

Which Do You Choose: The Intersection of Automotive Design and Power Picture yourself at an automotive dealership. You walk around the showroom floor looking at different models, and you know that many of the cars around you can meet your needs. So out of these cars you narrow it down to 2: the car on the left -- a high performance, elegant, powerful speed machine, powered by good oldfashioned gasoline engine; the car on the right -- an upright city car powered by clean diesel, with high fuel economy, good handling and the ability to park anywhere. You continue pondering which one to choose, and then you add two more cars to the equation.

The first of the two is a new, innovative looking hybrid that has both flare and poise. The second option is an electric car, clean, quiet, and modern and possibly what all cars will be like in the future.

Now imagine that the price is irrelevant, so the question is…which one do you choose? And, dear readers, that is what I am going to answer.

Before we get to that answer, let’s first take a look at what has happened to car design. Today design innovation is moving at a more rapid pace than ever thought possible. Since the early 1900’s car design have been changing rapidly and dramatically. These major changes in design started booming during the beginning of the 20th century, driven by new tools and technology. This was when automotive manufacturers started using the wind tunnel to design a car that would more easily cut through the air, or make the vehicle have better traction on the road. And that is when the shape of the car’s exterior changed.

Although the wind tunnel helped prove how aerodynamic a car was, designers were still attempting to use long exaggerated design lines years before they had an Idea of how aerodynamics actually worked. Another leap came, was when automotive manufacturers started using clay models both as reference, and as scale and accurate models that they could use in wind tunnels. But problems with this approach arose because sometimes air intakes could cause inaccurate readings, due to the fact that clay models could not have engines (BMW Design).

But, with the recent invention of three-dimensional rendering of cars on computers, but do to the fact that it’s easier to simulate clay models, so they have once again become popular. These models can 61

either be made before or after the usual clay models. The clay models can be made afterwards, by using a 3-D scanner. Using the scanner allows the image to be directly scanned into a computer program. The scanner picks up the shape of the car, using white stickers placed on the clay model, as reference for the X, Y, and Zaxis. Another commonly used practice, is making the clay model second. The way that designers take the design from the computer to a clay model is by using a machine with a drill bit that cuts out the shape of the car into a solid block of clay. All of these innovations have helped pave the way not just for innovations in basic design, but also for the creation of new ways to look at cars (The Art of Performance Engineering: 2010 ROUSH Mustang).

Options in car design continue to change the way we look at cars altogether. The first major changes appeared not with just technological and performance innovations, but with creation of all new breeds and classes of cars. The first cars available for mass purchase, were family sedan. In the early years of the automobile there were few differences. However, as cars began to evolve more and more, they started being broken into sub categories. An example of this can be seen in the average 4-door sedan, which these days is not so simple, for you have to add in the different factors of size, power, etc. Eventually, the 4-door sedan now looks more like a coupe. And now it isn’t just a question of power, but what type of power train you have driving the car. There are the choices of a conventional gas engine, a diesel engine, a gas-electric hybrid, or just pure electric. Since each one has its pros and cons, what makes each one better? Which one do you choose?

To make an informed choice, a consumer has to know first about the internal combustion engine, the power train car manufacturers have been using since before Ford, is the gasoline powered internal combustion engine. This is the most common type of power train found in an automobile. Why? The way that this type of power train works is by having gasoline flow into a cylinder. At the top of the cylinder there is a spark plug; on the bottom is a piston. When the gasoline flows in, the valve where it entered seals and the spark plug ignites the gas. The explosion pushes down the piston, rotating a rod that drives the wheels, and pushes the car forward. This is the power train that almost every car is built off of, the internal combustion engine, used from the nineteenth century, has shaped automotive design. The car is built, and that is what has shaped automotive design. The way that the car has been shaped is also driven by this technology, and has to do with the additional air intake required for a gas engine to run. One of the most iconic parts of a vehicles front is the radiator grill. The radiator grill provides cooling to the engine. Without the radiator a car’s engine would overheat, causing the engine’s pistons to weld to the side of the cylinder. So that is the importance of having a radiator grill.

In fact, this is such an important element of the internal combustion engine design that some car manufactures (such as BMW) have made the shape of their radiator grill an iconic symbol for the brand.

Another noticeable design features of front engine cars is a longer front portion of the car (BMW Design). This is because in a well performing front engine car the goal is to have more weight on the front wheel, so the car has more traction and control while steering. A 62

characteristic also found in front engine cars is that a larger portion of the engine is in front of the front axle. The Axle is what the wheels connect to, as well as sometimes providing the drive. The feature of a sweeping hood is most often found in both grand touring cars and roadsters. These are the features that really make a gas powered car stand out, as well as define in our minds of what a car should look like (Hooydonk).

Moving forward, auto manufacturers are looking for solutions for solutions that provide fuel efficiency and an environmentally advantageous approach to fighting global warming. The answer: Diesel.

Yes, that incredibly dirty and medieval form of powering trucks. At least that is probably the image that would come up when you and most people think of it. This view of diesel, comes from the origins of freight shipping. Diesel was the preferred method of drive-train and fuel for truck drivers’ big semi-trucks, because though it was dirtier then gas, it was cheaper and capable of better overall range.

But, that has changed as well. Diesel has now become both more fuel-efficient and less polluting. And has (with major technical innovations) the ability to release almost no carbon dioxide into the air.

This is achieved with new clean diesel engines. The new diesel engines are not only more fuel efficient, without sacrificing power, but the emissions are reduced by 90% from old diesel engines (BMW).

The diesel engines also have the ability to be dropped into any vehicle that uses an internal combustion engine; this allows large auto manufacturers to put more of these vehicles into production (which they already are, all throughout Europe).

As well as this being able to use diesel in most cars, some manufacturers (such as Volkswagen) have also started designing special high efficiency cars, without any hybrid or electric assistance. Cars such as the VW Polo blue motion, uses advanced aerodynamics and weight saving to achieve over 90 miles per gallon on the highway (Top Gear). The VW Polo has nothing very different about it besides smaller mirrors on the doors and a radiator grill designed to cause less drag. The car has no magic powers, just a small and efficient diesel engine. Although it does not give off the whole “green” theme, it is a discreet and good looking way to save you money while at the same time saving the planet’s resources and atmosphere.

The longer-term solution for reducing the use of fossil fuels is going to take more time and resources. With the innovations I mentioned earlier, it was only a matter of time until I mentioned integrating electric power trains into the equation. Let’s start with the gas-electric hybrid. This was a power train that was originally developed during the time were, in the state of California, car manufacturers where given an ultimatum. Car manufacturers, to be able to sell their vehicles in the state, had to greatly lower their emissions. Though some companies thought of all electric cars, others thought that the range would be an issue, so why not create a car which can use both gasoline and electricity for better range and lower emissions (EPA).

American automotive makers started drawing up plans for these cars, while at the same time they sent their best lobbyist to try and remove the ultimatum. Although the legislation was later abolished, many companies had already figured out how to make these cars 63

work. These plans were left out in the open. The reason that the American companies did not utilize these plans was because they would have to build new factories. The sad fact was that if they kept making their super gas guzzlers, they did not have to pay for the new 100 million dollar factories as well as paying for extra workers.

There was one company that was willing to make a leap though, and that company was Toyota. Toyota started designing their new car, the Prius. Although the car was made and designed in Japan, all of the ideas behind the gasoline and electric hybrid system were the brainchild of GM and Ford (Mayberry). When designing the Prius, Toyota wanted something that would be different, iconic, and extremely efficient. The car’s hatchback shape enhances its ability to cut through the air. The car’s aerodynamics come from the top half of the car’s shape, the hatchback, which allows the air to create both less disruption while passing over the car as well as causing less disruption of air behind the car.

After the success of the Prius, other companies began making hybrids, though none of them really have made a major leap of design from their all-gasoline brothers and sisters. Though the Prius is the first hybrid to really catch on, there were others before it, such as the Honda Hybrid. Why didn't the Honda hybrid catch on? Honda had tried to develop an all-electric car, but realized that batteries were not yet efficient enough, so they combined electric power and gasoline engine to form a hybrid. Though this is the same system that a Toyota Prius uses, it was less practical then the Prius, because it took up lots of space with batteries, and was a coupe. The

Toyota in comparison is more practical, because it has lots of space, as well as having two more doors. Of these other hybrids, like the diesel, just have minor changes such as a more aerodynamic grill, changes with door mirrors, etc. This a great solution to lower emissions, but is it the best we can do? Certainly not.

Although hybrids do have some lower emissions then gasoline, they still have competition from the all-fossil-fuel-powered diesel car. The solution: why not make the car all electric? This is a question, which General Motors asked during the period of low emissions in California. It was during that time that GM started developing designs for their electric car, in the mid 1990’s.

The designers at GM had started thinking about how to make an iconic car. What they ended up with was the Saturn EV1. The car had a slick hatchback design which produced the same effects of efficiency that the Prius later had. Although the EV1 was a revolutionary car, it was only temporary, for GM only allowed its customers to lease the car (Who Killed the E.C?). It took a number of years until we would see the electric car again.

The company that decided to make another push, was Tesla. After the recession in 2008, the small car manufacturer purchased a Prius plant, which Toyota was using to manufacture Priuses. Tesla started using the factory to produce a small and sporty electric car which the company had roughly designed off of the Lotus Elise. The car was a modern success, which pushed the company to announce an everyday family car, the Tesla Model S. This new car is designed to be dynamic, spacious, and allowed its drivers to reach 64

a range of over 250 miles in a single charge. Designer around the world have waited for this innovation and view electric cars as the wave of the future (Kranefuss). Tesla was the company that pushed the electric car, while at the same time creating an all-around goodlooking car (Mayberry). Because of the way that Tesla pushed innovation, any company worth its salt is offering an electric car.

"GM Working On 200-Mile Electric Car, Exec Says". NPR, Sep. 16 2013. NPR. Web. Sep. 17 2013.

Green-Smith, Trevor. Personal interview. Oct. 20 2013.

Kranefuss, Michael. Personal interview. Oct. 27 2013.

Mayberry, Al. Personal interview. Oct. 11 2013.

But is that where it ends? Other innovation is possible and around the corner. Racecars are innovating. “Generators powered by flywheels to store power” are out there (Green-Smith). The future is before us and the options are just now opening up. As consumers we have a voice. So now, which would you choose?"

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The Art of Performance Engineering: 2010 ROUSH® Mustang.

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Baker, David R. "Novel financing for electric-car charging stations." SFgate.com. SFGate, Sep 23 2013. Web. Sep. 23 2013.

“BMW i” BMW. BMW, updated regularly. Web. Sep 20 2013.

"BMW’s electric car cut from a different cloth". Tracy Samilton. NPR, Jul. 30 2013. Radio. NPR. Web. Sep. 19 2013.

“Design Process” BMW. BMW, Updated daily. Web. Sep. 20 2013.

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Morgan Welles

A Nation Changed Forever On September 11, 2001, the streets of Lower Manhattan in New York City looked like a warzone. Four coordinated terrorist attacks were launched upon the United States by an Islamic terrorist group called al-Qaeda. Nineteen al-Qaeda terrorist hijacked four commercial airplanes and flew them into the South Tower of the World Trade Center, North Tower of the TWC, the pentagon, and the last plane, intended for the White House crashed outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Almost 3,000 Americans lost their lives that day.

There was much less airport security in 2001 and there wasn’t a government agency for airport security yet. It was all ran by private security firms. This is why the TSA was formed. The TSA was created on November 19th, 2001, when the U.S. Congress signed the Aviation and Transportation Security Act that was proposed by George Bush. The TSA was formulated as a response to the September 11, 2001, attacks. Its main goal was to help ensure the safety of air travelers. The TSA has made air travel safer than ever before and have given the people of America that same feeling of safety we were all accustomed to before the attacks. The TSA and the Department of Homeland Security have essentially made air travel safe again, but some think that their methods of ensuring

safety at the airports are uncalled for. The media, the people, and even some TSA agents have heavily criticized the TSA. Thousands of air travelers have been annoyed and upset by the overly cautious rules and mandates; not allowing tweezers or water bottles. The lines at airport security checkpoints can get very long.

Before all of the airport security changes, travelers could arrive 30 minutes before their flight and make it on time. Now days you have to arrive at least an 1 hour and a half to 2 and a half hours to be guaranteed of getting on your flight. David Brown, a very experienced, said, “Before 9/11, when I went on business trips, I could leave my meeting, go get some dinner with my buddies till 8 o’clock, and get to the airport at 8:30 to make a 9 o’clock flight.” Times have changed because of a terrible event that showed what was wrong with airport security. Airport security needed a major overhaul after 9/11, and it got one. But did the TSA go too far with all of the mandates and rules? The chance of another terrorist attack are very slim right now and have many people fed up with TSA procedures.

Before 9/11 there weren’t any ID checks. After, people over 18 years of age must show their ID and their ID must match the name on the ticket. The name on your passport must also match the name on the ticket. Also, people who check a bag must also board the aircraft with the bag. You can’t just send your bag on a plane. " Countless people have raised questions about TSA screening procedures. Sadly, people have felt violated from some airport procedures. When people turn down going through metal detectors, the have to go through an advanced pat down in another room.

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There have been numerous accounts of enhanced pat downs turning into strip searches when people aren’t corporative. Many people have felt sexually abused and embarrassed when getting enhanced pat downs. It sometimes depends on the TSA agent who is conducting the search or the TSA protocol at each airport. The problems with enhanced pat downs is something that should be brought up more when talking about airport security problems.

Many people don’t like metal detectors because of the radiation that you get while going through them. These metal detectors, or backscatters, have been around since 2003 and are known to give off small amounts of radiation. The majority of the people who don’t mind the radiation that the metal detectors are giving off seem to be older. People who don’t like the backscatter detectors tend to be around the age of 25-40 and some haven’t had kids. The TSA have also tried to silence a few critics with a plan that will replace all screening units with TSA’s new screening technology, AIT. (“Airport Security Change/Flight Global”) AIT stands for advanced imaging technology that improve the checkpoint effectiveness. Supposedly these machines cut down the radiation coming into our bodies.

These machines haven’t pleased many people yet, possibly even made them angrier. They are very invasive to our privacy because they are full body scanners that can see underneath our clothing and then send an image to someone who is checking in another room. But they are also very effective. They can catch almost anything, even the aluminum part of a gum wrapper. They are very effective, but can be very invasive to our privacy. The TSA must come up with more favorable ways to protect airports while also

making the people feel safe and comfortable. They aren’t improving their security when they randomly pull you out of line to check your bag or take you to another room to question you.

You can’t expect people to be compliant when they miss their flight because of a random bag check. With all of the technology in this world, can’t we figure out a way to see through jackets? How about shoes? Even though someone tried to hide a bomb that was in their shoes, is it really necessary to take them off? Surely those machines can see through our shoes. Think of all the germs that we spread by taking off our shoes. We pick up many types of germs on our shoes, then we take them off and step in those germs. We can also pick up germs from other people. It can be potentially be dangerous to our health. They should only be able to pull people out of lines if the TSA has substantial evidence that someone might be a threat to National security. But how many times do they really have substantial evidence on someone where they need to pull that person out of line to detain them and take them into questioning.

Maybe all they saw were nervous mannerisms. But, if a metal detector picks up anything on someone, that person should be definitely be checked. The TSA can’t keep the same mandates and tactics in place. They aren’t right, especially in this day and age where everyone has equal rights and freedom. There needs to be rules that everyone can cooperate with and that we understand.

Random pat downs don’t work for us. We need a better reason for random pat downs, than “reason to believe”.

One of the most heavily criticized topics in all of Homeland Security is racial profiling. William Press, a professor of computer science 67

and integrative biology at the University of Texas, Austin, said, “Racial Profiling simply doesn’t work, never mind how you feel about it.

The math doesn’t add up.” (“Racial Profiling: Studies”) He says it is no less effective than choosing random people out of a line than choosing a middle easterner. Even some airports have admitted to training agents to look for suspicious behavior and anomalies. Logan Airport at Boston started the movement of training agents to look for odd characteristics. TSA agents at Logan Airport were trained to “engage in conversations with passengers to verify or dispel suspicious behavioral and anomalies. (“Racial Profiling at Boston”) People may think that TSA agents looking for people with Saudi passports, beards or headscarves maybe would give us a better chance to catch terrorists. Think again, there is no proof that it works. It goes against everything America stands for. According to the ACLU, or the American Civil Rights union, they said, “The racial profiling of the OFL was show when a statistic said that an astounding seventy-nine percent of the targets investigated were immigrants from Muslim majority countries. Moreover, foreign nationals from Muslim-majority countries were 1,280 times more likely to be targeted than similarly situated individuals from other countries. Incredibly, not even one terrorism-related conviction resulted from the interviews conducted under this program. What did result, however, was an intense chilling effect on the free speech and association rights of the Muslim, Arab and South Asian communities targeted in advance of an already contentious presidential election” (“Civil Rights Committee”) Not all terrorists are Muslim, by racial profiling Muslims, we may miss the real threats. People have been heavily profiling Islamic people since September 11th, 2001. U.S. law en-

forcement have been targeting Muslims ever since. They have been subjected to many as terrorists and have been singled out in many national security attempts to stop future attacks. It has been an uphill battle for not just Muslims, but all people of a minority race.

Racial profiling isn’t a big issue like it used to be right after 9/11.

But random security checks don’t help stop racial profiling. Even though there have been more accounts of white Americans being checked, usually male in their 40-60s, we may be missing big threats.

After 9/11, people were heavily questioning airport security. Everyone wanted to know how 19 hijackers got past airport security checkpoints with concealed weapons. There have been major changes to the planes after the September 11 attacks. Every single commercial airliner plane was equipped with bulletproof and locked cockpit doors. (“Repercussions of 9/11”) Now many flights have U.S. air marshals on board who can try to stop planes from being hijacked. U.S Air Marshalls are a number of trained officers who are spread out along many flights throughout the day. They are heavily trained in hand to hand combat, firearm proficiency, and investigative tactics. Their job is to blend in with the plane passengers and keep the planes safe. Each air Marshall have been issued a service weapon so they can take matters into their own hands if needed. The U.S Air Marshalls were first used in the 1960s and were mostly put on flights coming out of big cities. They try to deploy a lot Federal Air Marshalls at high risk locations like; the super bowl, winter Olympics, and cities visited by the president. Before 9/ 11, there were only 33 Federal Air Marshalls. (“Federal Air Mar68

shall”) Since, George Bush added thousands to the force. It is a very good feeling when you that someone on your plane might be a trained federal agent. It is also something that some people believe is very important to ensure the safety of air travel. Others think that it is merely a waste of money. The FAM program costs nearly $1 Billion a year. The FAM only leads to 4.2 arrests a year, an average of $220 million per arrest. I believe that this shows a win on the fight on terror and that the dangers aren’t as real as they were before. I think we need to think about cutting back on the amount of money we are putting into U.S. security programs.

In an effort to speed up the security lines, the TSA has now introduced a program called PreCheck. This program will allow frequent fliers to fly through security. PreCheck lets you go into a preferred line, where you can leave your shoes on, jackets, and belt on. You can also leave your laptop in your bag and you can bring your liquids in your carry-on bag. Passengers can apply for PreCheck through an online enrollment site. Interested fliers must submit their identification papers and fingerprints in person. The TSA does a background check on people applying and you must pay $85 to join.

The program will be both federally and privately run. (Hicks, Josh) Surprisingly to me, this program has also faced some harsh criticism. People believe that is un-American. Some people think that this program is for the “Rich.” Some also say that in the interest of safety, each passenger should be given the same amount of screening as the rest. I support this program because people need to be paid to do background checks i.e. $85. One major thing about PreCheck that people are upset with is the compromise of people’s se-

curity information. To apply you need to tell them everything about you, even your social security number. I believe that this program is a step in the right direction. The TSA needed a program that made airport security quicker to get through for experienced fliers. People can now be rewarded for not having any run-ins with the law.

With the TSA reducing its security measures, the government should also think about cutting back on airport security funding.

Now that the chances of another terrorist attack on U.S. soil is receding, TSA’s usefulness is dwindling. “Since 2000, the chance that a resident of the U.S. would die in a terrorist attack was one in 3.5 million, according to John Mueller and Mark Stewart of Ohio State and the University of Newcastle, respectively.” The TSA still gets $8 billion worth of funding. “The TSA didn’t spot a single terrorist trying to board an airline in the U.S.” (Kenny, Charles) With no one to stop, TSA agents have nothing to do. That is why you see so many agents standing around at security checkpoints. Airport Security is becoming an inappreciable program.

The safety of travelers at airports is the ultimate priority of TSA. It is something that is essential at airports because of the tragedies of 9/ 11. The events 9/11 exposed us to the problems with national security. The TSA was created to resolve these problems with airport security. I believe that have succeed in achieving their goal. Now that have reached their goal of ultimate safety at airports, I believe it is time to cut back. Cut back the screening procedures and make them more people friendly. The metal detectors need to be less invasive. The policies for the enhanced pat-downs must be changed.

The TSA sets themselves up for racial profiling claims by implement69

ing behavioral agents. The TSA must answer our calls for change.

Modern day airport security is not an effective way to ensure safety.

Works Cited "Airport Security: Racial Profiling Should Stop, Study Shows." Pacific Standard - Politics, Health, Economy, Environment, Culture, Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2013. <http://www.psmag.com/culture/hey-tsa-racial-profiling-doesnt-work -25725/>.

"Airport security repercussions due to the September 11 attacks Wikipedia, the freeencyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept.

2013.<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airport_security_repercussions_d ue_to_the_September_11_attacks>.

Brown, David. Personal Interview. 20 October. 2013. "Federal Air Marshal Service." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Oct. 2013.

Web. 22 Oct. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Air_Marshal_Service>.

"How airport security has changed since 9/11." Aviation News | Aviation Industry & Airline Statistics | flightglobal.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2013. <http://www.flightglobal.com/features/9-11/airport-security/>.

Kenny, Charles. "Airport Security Is Killing Us." Bloomberg Business. N.p., 18 Nov. 2012. Web. 25 Oct. 2013. <http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-11-18/how-airport-sec urity-is-killing-us>.

"Racial Profiling at Boston Airport, Officials Say - NYTimes.com."

The New York Times â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Breaking News, World News & Multimedia.

N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/12/us/racial-profiling-at-boston-ai rport-officials-say.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&>.

"The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights." The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2013. <http://www.civilrights.org/publications/reports/racial-profiling2011/th e-reality-of-racial.html>.

Hicks, Josh. "TSA opens pre-screening to general public." Washington Post. N.p., 22 July 2013. Web. 16 Oct. 2013. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2013/07/22/t sa-" opens-pre-screening-to-general-public/>.

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Section 12

How do people’s views on death impact how they live? A journey into mortality As we venture through our lives we realize that our only guarantee is our own demise, our own death. The only part of death that we can fully control is our perspective on it. This perspective impacts not only how we view death, but how we live. An individual’s perspective on mortality has direct effect on the way we act, and therefore our lives. This view is based on an individual’s way of life, their philosophy. The purpose of this essay is to show the different ways our view on death impact us. (Not all faiths, philosophies, and cultures are represented in this work) Thanks to Laura E.R. Blackie, a doctoral student at the University of Essex, the idea that a person’s actions coincide with their view of death is no longer an abstract idea. In 2011 she decided to put the

theory to the test. She took three different groups of people and put them through experiments, to see whether different views on death impact the way a person acts. One group was put through a scenario of going to the dentist. Another was asked questions to make them think about death. Questions regarding how they felt towards death, and what they thought happened to them when they die (Divya Menon). The third group was vividly walked through a scenario of their own death in a fire. The three groups were then split in half, making six different groups. Each half of a group received a fake news article said to be from the BBC. One of the articles proclaimed the record high of blood in hospitals, and that the need was low. Another declared the opposite, saying that the need was at a high, and that the amount of blood was at a record low. All groups were then offered pamphlets about donating blood. They were told to only take a pamphlet if they intended on donating, because the examiners were low on pamphlets. Blood donation was chosen because according to Blackie, “Blood donation is an important expression of prosocial behavior in modern society”. Prosocial behavior can also be seen as empathy, Kendra Cherry, when speaking on the definition of prosocial behaviors “Prosocial behaviors are those intended to help other people.” They noticed that that the group who thought abstractly about death through questions took pamphlets the most when the need was high, and not as many when the need was low. The group who were told the vivid scenario took pamphlets no matter what. Though the examiners were unable to tell whether the examinees donated blood, the will to donate blood was shown, and that was the only needed proof. Blackie concluded that, “death 71

is a very powerful motivation…People seem aware that their life is limited. That can be one of the best gifts that we have in life, motivating us to embrace life and embrace goals that are important to us.” (“Psychological Science”) When a person fully comes to terms with their death they are able to see clearly the necessary steps they must take in their lives in order to reach their full potential. When a person comes to terms with their own death, by experiencing what it’s like to die, they see their life, and goals more vividly. They also want to help others in any way that they can.

When thinking of death it’s common to feel a sense of dread, it’s only natural. You shouldn’t want to die. However, death shouldn’t be seen as a bad thing. In the bible, Death, along with Pestilence, War and Famine are seen as the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

Death is seen as this awful figure, which represents the end of the world, when in reality death is the outcome of the equation of life.

Many people try and avoid death by not thinking of it. Putting it in the farthest corner of their minds as if it will never happen (Mark Tyrrell). Some even spend their entire life’s looking for the “cure” to mortality (Fight Aging). Being so lost in denial that when their own death does occur, their loved ones and estate are both put into a state of unrest.

Some people, who have not come to terms with their own death, do the opposite; they can’t stop thinking about it. It keeps them awake at night, tossing and turning over the thought that one day they may cease to exist. An anonymous blogger on the website MetaFilter stated

I simply cannot come to terms with the fact that the one thing I have absolutely no control over … is the thing that will inevitably strike me down forever and I will never be again and I will simply rot away into the ground … [,] forever forgotten.... (MetaFilter) The remarkable aspect is according to an article on LiveStrong.com, the anonymous blogger has already completed half of the five recommended steps (based off of the stages of grief originating from Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross from her book On Death and Dying) to coming to terms with mortality! The first step is understanding your fear, finding something to believe in (phrased as find religion, but the same concept), talking about it, accepting death, and finally living your life. This person understands that he or she has this fear, shown by the post in the first place. He or she is currently talking about it, and though not accepting the idea for him or herself, this person accepts the overall fact of death. The only steps leftover are to find a philosophy (since in this post the person did state he or she is an atheist) or a set of values, to fully accept that you will die, and most importantly to live your life. Overall, a person must find a meaning of life, to give meaning to their life.

When one has a negative perspective and views of death they are more confused, filled with dread and denial. Every waking moment is filled with trying to understand their own mortality, instead of doing what they love, and what they need to do, in order to have value. " In order to live a fulfilled life, death must be looked at in a more positive perspective. This ideal positive perspective consists 72

of looking at death like a fact that like the production of air must occur, death must happen in order for the future lives of our planet, it is a necessity that must happen in order for the future to have room for growth. By accepting death you allow yourself to live your life, without death restlessly gnawing on your shoulder at every waking hour.

People who have come to terms with death find themselves living happy lives, without their death clouding their every move. In the aforementioned Blackie experiment, when people have come to terms with their own death, they find themselves more willing to help others. It has also been shown that in old age coming to terms with your own death helps you prepare for it. In a New York Times article titled Facing your Own Mortality, Jane E. Brody, an author called “the High Priestess of Health” by Times Magazine, writes about her experiences with the elderly. At one point she spoke of an 80-year-old woman named Anna Engquist who lived alone. Anna was very influential in her community, and especially her church. A week after her 80th birthday, she learned that she had Ovarian Cancer, and needed surgery. Because of her blood problems she was told that the surgery would be risky, and that she had a high chance of not surviving. She instinctively knew that she must prepare for her own death. Since she had come to terms with her death through her religion, she was able to make the necessary arrangements without the fear of her death haunting her. She had long conversations with her friends and loved ones, and made sure her will was in order. Before heading to the hospital she left a note on the counter detailing what needed fixing around the house, what bills needed to

be paid and where her important documents were. Fortunately Anna survived and was able to live even longer. (Jane E. Brody) The important point to make is that because she had come to terms with her own death she was able to prepare for death without denial.

With a positive perspective no matter how you come to terms with death, one is found to be able to prepare for their death with far more ease. They’re also more comfortable with talking about their own death, as shown in various elderly homes. Lastly, one is able to live their life without the nagging fear of their mortality. Able to live without always thinking about what will happen after death, what will cause death, and how loved ones will cope.

People raised with a formal religion tend to find themselves interested in religion throughout their life. Bob Zehner, a Lutheran preacher’s son (Lutheranism is a part of the protestant form of Christianity), was raised in the church. Proceeding his law degree this influenced his decision to obtain a masters in theology. After years of study, he realized that he didn’t believe in God. While containing his new belief he still raised his family in the church. His reason behind his decision being, “because I like my tradition and habit of the community coming together, singing songs, and I also like the way that I was raised in the community of the church.” He stated as a reason for continuing to go to church “I don’t believe in god but I sure miss her.”

Research done by the Swiss, published in Touchstone magazine concludes that more often than not children raised in religion find

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themselves not being as religious throughout their lives. Touchstone magazines states, If both father and mother attend [church] regularly, 33 percent of their children will end up as regular churchgoers, and 41 percent will end up attending irregularly. Only a quarter of their children will end up not practicing at all. If the father is irregular and mother regular, only 3 percent of the children will subsequently become regulars themselves, while a further 59 percent will become irregulars.

As a child raised in a strictly religious household, one often has bad memories in regards to church, and finds themselves not wanting to push those feeling onto their children. Therefore the majority, though Christian, are not regular churchgoers. Bob Zehner’s wife, after being raised in a Roman Catholic household decided to turn from her strict childhood believes, towards Buddhism.

The Buddhist philosophy towards death is very interesting. Part of their philosophy involves reincarnation. They believe that the soul itself is immortal, and can be reincarnated as animals, plants and humans. The human life is a magnificent reward. They believe that one’s life should be used to benefit the world. The 14th Dalai Lama famously stated The True Meaning of Life:

We are visitors on this planet we are here for ninety or one hundred years at the very most.

During that period,

We must try to do something good, something useful, with our lives.

If we contribute to other people’s happiness, you will find the true goal the true meaning of life.

This approach towards the meaning of life comes from the value of being born as a human. How it is a gift, compared to being born as an animal or plant, which we must take full advantage of.

Another philosophy is the stoic philosophy. One can say that the stoic philosophy revolves around death. This is true, however the philosophy focuses more on not fearing death, then death itself.

The stoic philosophy concentrates on thinking about death, in order to give more value to life. To stoics by living every day like it is their last, are able to fully take advantage and value that day and the rest of the days that will hopefully follow (William B.A. Irvine) Furthermore, when stoics contemplate their own death, it is not because they long for death but because they want to make the most out of life. As we have seen, someone who thinks he will live forever is far more likely to waste his days then someone who fully understands that his days are numbered, and one way to gain this understanding is periodically to contemplate his own death. (William B.A. Irvine) 74

By embracing the Stoic way of life it is easy to see how valuable living truly is. Stoicism nowadays is hard to come by. Not many people still obtain this belief through practice, and instead study it. " There are many different ways of obtaining beliefs, sometimes we choose what we believe, sometimes we are thrown into our beliefs, and sometimes have them forcibly thrusted upon us by lifeterm diseases. In these circumstances one is forced to come to terms with the fact that they will die sooner than expected. There are two different paths to dealing with this life-changing fate. The first is giving up, thinking that because your death is now so close, your life becomes useless and meaningless. An example that Dr. John Wynn gave in a TEDMED (Think, Exchange, and Debate Medical) talk is of Suzanne. Suzanne was a cancer survivor. The strength of her battle made her a hero for many people still bravely fighting cancer. This conquered battle with death made Suzanne feel that her life had meaning. However, cancer returned for Suzanne, and her death this time was definite. She asked Dr. Wynn, her therapist at the time, “Why should you consider to see me; when you have other patients to help, patients who are going to live?” From this Dr. Wynn derived she thought that “The fact that she was going to die meant she didn’t need help anymore.” She thought that the surviving patients were the winners, and the dead ones were the losers (Wynn, John), making her a loser. She found that her life now had lost its meaning, she felt that she had undoubtedly failed in her mission to be a beacon of hope to others. " There is however another way to battle a predetermined death. Christian Wiman a poet who also has cancer has come to

terms with is eminent death through his work, using it as inspiration.

Through it he has also “found” religion. Though he has had faith all his life, he found that religion now has a new meaning. “People mock the idea of an illness causing great change in a person but it seems to me perfectly natural that it takes these jolts to make us see our lives. …I don't mean to minimize the despair but it did jolt me into ways of dealing with despair.” He said in an interview for To The Best Of Our Knowledge. By coming to terms with his own death he is able to take advantage of what remains of his life.

While large amounts of people find that though they have come to terms with their own death, the death of others is much harder to grasp. They realize that coming to terms with their own deaths is a necessity, which must happen in order for future generations to prosper. Yet they haven’t come to terms with the death of others. It’s hard for these people to grasp how life, that at one moment seems so strong, can end abruptly in a blink of the eye. Though I personally am still working on grasping this, I learned of a new perspective from a sermon I sat in on at the Unitarian Universalist church by The Reverend Dr. David Sammons. The idea is that after the loss of a loved one life doesn’t stop. The world keeps turning. That though we should value the life of the person lived, we should never allow their death to follow us for the rest of our lives. There is always a solution to the problems they left behind, and remembering them while continuing to persevere through life is the only way to truly honor them.

In conclusion, no matter what you believe towards death, your belief affects the way you go about life. There is no handbook for coming 75

to terms with your own death, it is an experience that you must complete yourself, only then will you truly be able to live your life.

Ireland, Kay. “Ways to overcome fear of death.” Livestrong.com. Demand Media Inc., 14 May 2010. Web. 12 Oct 2013.

Irvine, William B. A Guide to the Good Life the Ancient Art of Stoic Joy. Oxford New York: Oxford University press, 2009. Print.

Work Cited Blackie, Laura E.R. and Philip, Cozzolino. “Of Blood and Death: A Test of Dual-Existential Systems in the Context of Prosocial Intentions." Psychological Science. 22.8 (Aug 2011): 998-1000. Sage Journals. Web. 25 Sep. 2013.

Brody, Jane E. "Facing your Own Mortality." New York Times. The New York Times Company, 9 Oct. 1988. Web. 12 Oct 2013.

Cherry, Kendra. “What is Prosocial Behavior?” About Psychology. About.com. Web. 25, Oct. 2013.

“Coming to terms with one’s own mortality for dummies.” Ask MetaFilter. MetaFilter Network Inc., 2 Nov. 2005. Web. 12 Oct 2013.

Lowe, Robbie. "The Truth About Men & Church." Touchstone. The Fellowship of St. James, June 2003. Web. 21, June 2013.

Menon, Divya. “How You Think About Death May Affect How You Act Association for Psychological Science. Association for Psychological Science, 19 May 2011. Web. 12 Oct. 2013.

"Minding Mortality." To The Best of Our Knowledge. TTBOOK. Wisconsin Public Radio, 24 Mar. 2013. Radio. Public Radio International. Web. 12 Sep., 2013.

Tyrrell, Mark. “Dealing with a fear of death.” Uncommon Help. Uncommon Knowledge, 2013. Web. 15, Oct. 2013.

Freitas Jr., Robert A. “Death is an outrage.” Fight Aging! Fight Aging, 08, Dec. 2002. Web. 15 Oct, 2013.

How Does Mortality Affect Our Daily Lives? TEDMED, 2013. Youtube. Web. 23 Sept.2013.

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Winter 2014

T2

Research in the Community The Bay School of San Francisco

Alexandra Bryan

Single-Sex Education for girls in San Francisco

Eleanor Roosevelt once said that “A woman is like a tea bag: you cannot tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water”. Just like changing the tea bag’s environment to let it thrive a single-sex environment benefits a young girl in elementary and middle school so she can also thrive and reach her potential. Studies showcase positive attributes to single-sex education including less distractions, more involvement in extracurricular activities, an open environment, and more attention to specific student needs. On the other hand, opponents are opposed to it because they think it encourages discrimination and increases gender stereotyping, the benefits of single sex education outweigh the negatives making single-sex education for girls during middle and elementary school a positive choice.

Single-sex education was prevalent in the United States before the 19th century. Some people were educated in single-sex education due to their religious beliefs or a personal or parental preference.

Single-sex education brings many positive aspects to the table including an open environment for students to discover and be themselves, more extracurricular activities, and a community among students. Negatives qualities include promoting gender stereotypes, under socialization, and categorizing students as all the same based on their gender. Single-sex education is gradually becoming more popular, specifically in San Francisco. Schools such as Hamlin, Burke’s and Convent are girls schools located in different parts of the city with increasing applicant rates. Single-sex education is gradually becoming more popular due to studies and questions being proposed in the Bay area.

Studies about single-sex education have resulted in many positive thought-provoking questions and comments. As mentioned earlier, an open environment and less distractions and pressure seem to be the biggest features regarding single-sex education. An open environment is one where she can feel free to express herself, be open to trying new things: both in and out of the classroom, and not worry what others think. Having only one sex in a classroom enables this kind of environment while allowing there to be less distractions, pressure, and overall challenges. Having an open environment, according to a UCLA research study done in 2009 done with girls says “Female graduates of single-sex high school demonstrate stronger academic orientations than their coeducational counterparts across a number of different categories, including higher levels of academic 78

engagement, SAT scores, and confidence in mathematical ability and computer skills” (UCLA 2009).

In addition to making a comfortable and relatable environment, a single-sex classroom can reduce behavioral issues, promote community among students, and increase self-esteem. Increasing selfesteem in students is a gateway for many more benefits of singlesex education. For example, when I went to visit and observe a second grade classroom at Burke’s, an all-girls school in San Francisco, I was astonished to see how well the girls worked together and were so focused. Although I also attended an all-girls school and was in their shoes just a few short years ago, it was a totally different experience to observe them from the outside and look for different things like focus, temperament, and interactions between students and teachers. While I was in the classroom I specifically noticed that certain resources were utilized more than others like iPads and headphones. Small group work in different sections of the room, personal books and desks, and helping each other. Something that was specifically interesting to me was how they encouraged self-organization and gave students an opportunity for them to be independent by giving them the freedom of choosing their activity during class and deciding how and when they needed to clean their desk drawer. The teacher, Ms. Mosheim, told us that this probably wouldn’t have worked in a coed classroom where students were less likely to focus and talk to each other. It would be more likely that one gender would be teasing or distracting the other. Now, this could also have happened in the second grade class room I was in but it seemed less present because of the respect one student had

for another (Mosheim). This is similar to a study done by Katherine Saunders Neville Bruce that showed increased confidence and success in computer and math related subjects (Bruce).

Some say that single-sex education increases gender stereotyping.

In a classroom, students are surrounded solely by peers of their same gender and often teachers make assumptions about the gender as a whole. Since subjects like theater and music are considered ‘girls’ subjects and history and math are considered ‘boys’ subjects, teachers might assume that girls are less enthusiastic or likely to succeed in history or math. Gender stereotyping also can be misinterpreted by students. They can classify the opposite gender as successful or unsuccessful in different subjects or activities based on the minimal, if any interactions they have had in a classroom with the other gender. The National Association of Single Sex Public Education also supported this point by saying that “Both sexes seek tasks they know. They select behavior they know and consider appropriate for their sex. In mixed [i.e. coed] schools, each sex monopolizes its sex-stereotypes and behavior so the sex really need to practice new things or never get the opportunity. Thus, mixed-sex schools support and increase the old traditional role” (The National Association of Single Sex Public Education).

The media plays a significant role in single-sex education in many ways. An idealistic high-school experience portrayed by the media is when a feminine young girl, and a masculine boy focused mainly on their relationship and putting school second. In other words, the media shows students putting their social life in front of their academic one. When speaking with Bianca, a student at The Bay 79

School who attended a coed middle and elementary school we discussed this topic. Her opinion was that media set a standard for what girls and boys had to be like in middle school. Boys are supposed to be sporty, masculine, aggressive, and smart. Girls are held to more of a double standard where they are supposed to be feminine, dress provocatively but not too much, be smart but not too smart, and be sporty but not too sporty (Galarza). Fitting these portrayals from the media means putting students’ social life in front of their academic one. If the media were to create an image with a student whose morals were more in line with the ones in our community today, it would probably have a positive impact on students. Being realistic, that won’t ever happen, or at least not for a long time.

Facing the media now and in this sense is easier to do in a singlesex environment rather than a coed one. On another note, “several authors cited by the American Institutes for Research argue that single-sex schools can intensify gender stereotyping. Perhaps this is because single-sex bonding at all-boy and all-girl schools somehow generates disdain for the opposite sex” (Seattle Education).

Here, the media’s portrayal of a gender and gender stereotyping is a negative characteristic in single-sex education.

In a different interview that was conducted with an expert in the field, Rebekah Wolman: head of upper school at Katherine Delmar Burke School, also shared her opinion on gender stereotyping in an all-girls school. Ms. Wolman sees trends and fashions move around and through the school but she doesn’t see students trying to fit one image. Because of first-hand experience, it’s easier to believe that

gender stereotyping and portrayal are less or handled better in a single-sex environment (Wolman).

Making a difference for this cause is mainly done through education. Most parents aren’t educated enough on the subject of singlesex education when they send their children to elementary or middle school. People can find information on the internet but the reason most people don’t send their children to a single-sex school is because mainly they are all private. Most single-sex classrooms are present in private schools. A very few number of coed schools around the United States offer single-gender classes and there are a minimum of 4 all-girls schools in the Bay Area. Private schools can economically be very hard on many families because financial aid is limited and hard to get even with an exceptional application. " Awareness of single-sex education is very important even if you or members of your family don’t attend it. Even if you go to a coed school, one of your peers, friends, or teachers could have had a single-sex experience somewhere else and it’s important to acknowledge their past learning and social environment. You can make a difference be being open to the opinion and experience of single-sex education and education your friends and family about it.

A lot of people love single-sex school and believe fully in it. I attended Katherine Delmar Burke School from Kindergarten to eighth grade. I really enjoyed the experience I had at an all-girls school and would encourage it for any other elementary or middle school student.

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" Single-sex education offers a place for girls and boys to separately discover themselves and thrive in an environment that is supportive and individual to their needs and wants. Although single-sex classrooms can be great for some students, it isn’t always a good choice for every student. The import thing is to keep this type of education open and an option for students around the world so they can get the best education they possibly can and thrive in it also. I personally do think that single-sex education, specifically for girls, is good for them in elementary and middle school.

Works Cited “Advantages for Girls.” National Association for Single Sex Public Education. NASSPE, 2013. Web. 14 Dec 2013.

Jost, Kenneth. "Single-Sex Education." CQ Researcher. CQ Researcher, 12 July 2002. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.

“Single-Sex Education.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation Inc., 11 Dec 2013. Web. 11 Dec 2011.

“Single-Sex vs. Coed: The Evidence.” National Association for Single Sex Public Education. NASSPE, 2013. Web. 17 Dec 2013.

Bronson M., Lauren. “Single-Gender Education: Does it Work?” Dominican University School of Education. Bisk Education, 2014. Web. 21 Dec 2013.

Novotney, Amy. “Coed versus single-sex ed.” American Psychological Association. American Psychological Association, 2014. Web. 21 Dec 2013 Galarza, Bianca. Personal Interview. 10 Jan 2014.

Wolman, Rebekah. Personal Interview. 13 Jan 2014.

Mosheim, Gale. Observation. 21 Jan 2014 Sneed, Maree and Elam, Donna. Single-Sex Schools and Programs: Equity, Access and Educational Excellence. Washington DC: Hogan Lovells, 2012. PDF File.

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Arun Desai

The Effects of HipHop on Our Society Today

Rap culture has been around for just under forty years, and yet it has influenced society more than any other musical genre. Its effects have been widespread. In the materialistic world it has glamorized luxury cars, fat blunts, and ostentatious clothing and in the intangible realm, it provokes a myriad of emotions, challenges morals, and can powerfully transfer an experience of an artist to the listener.

Thus, many of these influences that touch upon our community today channel both positive and negative outlooks. While the multifaceted realm of rap music accounts for the inspiration, creativity, and emotion in our lives, the connotations embedded in the lyrics have grown to negatively impact our society by glorifying drugs, violence, and misogyny.

The birth of hip-hop began abruptly in the loud streets of New York.

In the early 1940’s, a large population of Jamaicans entered New York, bringing with them rhythmic and musical influences from their native country. More specifically, the Jamaicans brought the rhythmic style of toasting, which featured an emcee speaking poetically over a beat. But hip-hop culture was ignited into being by the rebellious energy that was generated when thousands of New Yorkers started losing jobs. (CQ Researcher). DJ Kool Herc (Clive Campbell), a Jamaican-native disk-jockey is considered to have the pioneered Hip-Hop movement when he debuted at his sister’s apartment in 1973. Then in 1979, The Sugarhill Gang released “Rapper’s Delight”, acknowledged to be the first rap record ever released.

The “Golden Age” of rap music was identified in the mid-1980 to the 1990 period, which was the renaissance period at the time. (Golden Age of Hip-hop). In this period, several artists such as Run-D.M.C., Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, and others elevated the current state of hip-hop with sheer innovation and creativity (Wikipedia). Sway Calloway, an MTV host, says that “The thing that made that era so great is that nothing was contrived. Everything was still being discovered and everything was still innovative and new.” The golden age was an era which defined the East Coast and rap, as the artists of the era “extended the style and the lyrical content of the music” (Post-Gazette.com). Run-D.M.C. released albums like “King of Rock”, which went platinum and were coupled with the first videos on MTV featured the vandalizing of the Rock Hall of Fame. This made a visual statement that rap would be the new rock for the 80’s (Icons of Hip Hop). There was no turning back then as the rap 82

genre came into being as a distinct expression of Hip-Hop culture of which it was one of four aspects: the others being break-dancing, graffiti and DJing.

Meanwhile, a new subgenre of rap music was emerging on the West Coast called Gangsta-Rap, pioneered by Ice-T. This movement was later identified as the “most controversial style of the rap genre”, as it portrays and glorifies misogyny, sexism, violence, and homophobic motifs (Gangsta Rap). With the help of N.W.A. (Niggaz with Attitude), this subgenre grew in size due to its widespread crossover appeal to both white and black audiences (Gangsta Rap).

“The appeal of Gangsta rap seems to rely strongly on the assumption that what is being said in the lyrics is actually occurring, or at least has occurred in that artist’s life. The importance of authenticity in gangsta rap lyrics is unlike any other genre. And “by providing a series of perspectival first-person narratives that illustrate the reality of life as a young black male in a society where they can only be viewed (as Public Enemy’s name reflect) as a threat.” (Icons of Hip Hop). In 1984, Def-Jam Recordings released its first record by Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin, becoming the label that “influenced that generation more than any other label”. Def-Jam Recordings would later capitalize on the rap genre, such that Simmons would boast “without hip hop we wouldn’t have Obama” (The Guardian).

Simmons later elaborates by describing the close bond between the Hip-Hop culture and politics, which is why a political figure like Barack Obama could use the genre politically to communicate to the audience that grew up on Hip-hop music. By the 1990’s, rap music “becomes a force in the entertainment industry, even as rap be-

comes identified with graphic depictions of sex, misogyny, and glorification of violence and drugs; criticism mounts, as do sales” (CQ Researcher 539). By the end of the 1990’s the recording industry was generating more than a billion dollars in rap revenues. More than two decades later, with its continued growth, it is evident that the hip-hop culture is no longer limited to rap music, as today “it represents a multi-billion dollar industry that influences everything from automotive design and fashion to prime time television programming…” (Taylor 251). This milestone is the turning point of the HipHop culture as a whole, as it rapidly grows, affecting a lot of the industry in America.

The exponential growth of the rap genre all over the country led to the creation of different subgenres. These subgroups have been categorized by either the regional location in the country, or a specific style, motif or flow that differentiated it. While a sizable portion of rap music is located in the southern United States, the two capitals for the music continue to be located on the East and West Coasts.

The social impact of rap derives from the morals, terminology, and concepts drawn from Gangsta-Rap and rap whose lyrics centrally focus on misogyny, homophobia, and the glorification of violence and drugs. As a result, these values have entered and embedded themselves into the social fabric of our lives, in ways that are negatively affecting our communities. The misogynistic portrayal of women in rap has serious consequences for society today. From the beginning of Gangsta-Rap in the early 1980’s, offensive descriptions of women began trending throughout all of America. Women 83

were labeled with degrading terms such as “bitches” and “hoes”, and, most damagingly, even they felt they could not object to it. (“Hip-hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes”; “Debating Hip-Hop”).While there are many theories on why misogyny is so common in the rap genre, the major causes for the rappers to use anti-feminist lyrics result in their need to “assert their masculinity or to demonstrate their authenticity as rappers” (“Misogyny in Hip-hop culture”). Treating women with disrespect is becoming more and more commonplace. However, this is but one of the controversial aspects of the rap genre.

Like misogyny, homophobia is a theme that is very evident in rap culture. Many artists inject homophobia into their lyrics to appear more masculine. Many rappers display their buff, naked bodies while sagging their pants to be categorized as masculine some, In contradiction, some would argue that these characteristics could appear homoerotic (“Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes”). These views exposed in rap music have affected our perception as a society and to the point that large segments of society condone homophobic slurs, hate crimes and the targeting of gays. Witness the lyrics of the hugely-popular rapper Eminem’s song, Criminal: “My words are like a dagger with a jagged edge/ that’ll stab you in the head, whether you’re a fag or lez/ Or the homosex, hermpah or trans-a-vest/ Pants or dress, hate fags? The answer’s ‘yes’/ Homophobic? Nah, you’re just heterophobic…” These lyrics, while only represent in a nutshell the widespread homophobia in our society today.

One of the biggest themes of the hip-hop and rap culture, violence, has affected our community as much or even more than the two previous themes. In the rap culture, weaponry and violent actions are mentioned commonly by rappers who were once thugs.

Nas, the illustrious New York rapper explains his intentions of his song: I Gave You Power, a song that personifies the thoughts and beliefs of a gun. He says, “I was around a lot of guns then. Guns were in my sleep, in my car, in my home, guns were on my person, guns were on my friends. That’s how much they were around. There was so much around me that I rapped about it. It’s crazy to think about that today, but it was my reality. It was in my head 24/7” (Complex).This constant association to violence and guns has desensitized the audience to violence. Because of this, there is more association to violence in our daily lives, which is partially due to the hip-hop culture we are immersed in. Some styles of rap music, such as Gangsta-rap and East-Coast music tend to refer to their violent pasts, which makes us experience some of the feelings when being so close to violence. However, this theme in rap music has led us to an obsession with crime and violence in our society.

Drugs and alcohol are one of the staples of the rap culture, as it is commonly referred in the genre. Many subgenres of the rap genre glorify the use of drugs in their daily lives, which speaks to our curiosity to try it. Many artists encourage the use of drugs as it is a necessity in their daily lives. For example, after the release of Dr. Dre’s album The Chronic in 1992, the usage of marijuana, a strain of which is called Chronic, had increased in usage substantially (Pinckney). Specifically, the glorification of drugs in rap music 84

has also impacted the youth in our community. Chris English, the rapper, believes that “Regardless of what people say it is affecting kids. I still love hip-hop, I still believe in artistic freedom. But I see kids who would rather be on the corner, drinking 40’s and smoking blunts” (“Debating Hip-hop”).

In general, the negative influences of rap currently seem to outweigh the positive effects. The reference of misogyny, homophobia, violence, and drugs desensitizes the audience to these themes.

Byron Hurt, the director of “Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes,” which was broadcast on PBS agrees with this view. He believes in the “box” of Hip-hop, where there are many stereotypes that the average rapper must conform to in order to be dominant over other rappers. To go against the rules of the ‘box,’ the rapper would risk his being seen as weak, or soft. This is how many of the stereotypes above are created, when a rapper chooses to escape his true self by entering the box and adopting the identity of a rapper. Hurt refers to this as the two versions of a rapper, where he can find his masculine aggressive alter-ego and his original self, outside of the genre.

While there are many negative influences to the basis of the rap culture, there remain several positive influences that it has on the people. One example of this is that it could be inspiring as it might motivate one to achieve or to perform something with aggression and determination. These effects can be used in social environments, such as in parties or dances, or in workouts or physical activities which demands a certain intensity, which rap music can provide. Another characteristic of rap music that has a positive effect is

by providing a view into the life in the ghettos of America. By using rap music to share beliefs, ideas, and experiences attained in the more violent ghettos, people can be influenced to provide financial and moral support to underserved neighborhoods in our nation. Another notable aspect that the genre conveys is the artistic creativity that some rappers express in their work. While a majority of artists of the rapper community have centered their narratives on the life of the party, the life on the street, or the life of a criminal, others who have choose the inner box have painted lucid images from their daily experiences of life.

As a musical genre, the rap genre remains highly controversial, with many different opinions about what is right and wrong about rap. While many see rap and hip-hop for its positive characteristics, such as its creativity, inspiration and pizazz, the overarching belief is that hip-hop culture has led to the detriment of society. However, in the near future, the genre with its huge influence has the potential to lead society away from negativity. By mining its history, the genre can rekindle its creativity as it did in the mid-1980 period in the Golden Era and can provide artists a way out of the ‘box’ that allows them to stop posturing and giving them reason to act as an over-masculine, homophobic rapper. Kirby Dominant, an Oakland rapper says in his song, Orca, “I need a space to think and breathe so I can create, something so great at the top of the food chain.”

That is, in order for the rap genre to find its creative roots once again, it must have the space and flexibility to reach new heights of creativity.

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I acknowledge my mom for helping me write and structure the majority of my paper. I would also like to acknowledge a few of my peers for suggesting sources for my paper and revising my drafts.

Bibliography Adaso, Henry. "A Guide to Hip-Hop Genres and Styles." About.com Rap / Hip-Hop. About.com, n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2014.

Ahmed, Insanul, and Rob Kenner. ""I Gave You Power"" Complex.com. Complex Media, 25 May 2012. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.

Armstrong, Edward G. "Gangsta Misogyny by Edward G. Armstrong - JCJPC, Volume 8, Issue 2." Gangsta Misogyny. JCJPC, n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.

Dominick, Kirby. Personal Interview. 14 Jan 2014.

Eckholm, Erik. “Rap Fan Asks Hard Questions About the Music He Loves.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 24 Dec. 2006.

Web. 15 Dec. 2013.

Hess, Mickey. "Revolutionary, Not Gangsta." Icons of Hip Hop: An Encyclopedia of the Movement, Music, and Culture. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2007. N. pag. Print.

Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes. PBS, 2006. DVD. Joshua Bennett – Hip Hop. 2012. YouTube. Web. 8 Feb 2014.

Katel, Peter. "Debating Hip-Hop." CQ Researcher 15 June 2007: 529-52. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.

"Misogyny in Hip Hop Culture." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Feb. 2014. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.

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Roach, Ronald. "Decoding Hip-Hop's Cultural Impact." Black Issues in Higher Education 21.5 (2004): 30-2. ProQuest. Web. 15 Dec.2013.

Selke, Lori A. "Does Hip Hop Affect Behavior in Kids?" Everyday Life. GlobalPost, n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2014.

Staff, NPR. "Talib Kweli on Mainstream Hip-Hop and Honoring the Old School." NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2014.

Taylor, Carl S., and Virgil Taylor. "Hip-Hop and Youth Culture: Contemplations of an Emerging Cultural Phenomenon." Reclaiming Children and Youth 12.4 (2004): 251-3. ProQuest. Web. 18 Dec. 2013.

Tribby, Mike. "It's Bigger than Hip Hop: The Rise of the Post Hip Hop Generation." The Booklist 105.1 (2008): 17. ProQuest. Web. 18 Dec. 2013.

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Wally Dryden

To Pay or Not to Pay?

with a personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life circumstances, financial upbringing and options after college. Student athletes with few options outside of playing their sport argue that it only fair that they should share in the success of their sport. Exceptional college athletes creating such exceptional wealth should be permitted to have access to more of this wealth than is permitted by the NCAA and secure amateur status if they are not drafted.

To pay or not to pay? Exceptional college athletes creating exceptional wealth for the Universities they represent should have access to more of it. Did you know that in 2013 the University of Texas, a Division 1 school, after salaries, scholarships, equipment, media costs, and facility upkeep, made a profit of $100 million dollars from their football team? (Bay Area Division 1 Colleges also benefit from sports programs. Stanford earned 100 million dollars on football and UC Berkeley earned 50 million dollars) In Division 1 universities, certain college sports cover all their own costs, the costs of all other college sports, and then contribute money both to the school and to a national organization - the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association). Should the NCAA also amend their current policy and permit student athletes who put their names in for the professional draft and are not drafted to return to student/amateur status?

The answer to both of these questions is yes, based on both interviews and research. All of those interviewed either suggested or agreed that the regulation mandating the loss of amateur status after an unsuccessful professional draft should be changed. There was a difference in opinion concerning changing the regulation limiting compensation. However, this variance has a great deal to do

The NCAA holds a monopoly on the regulation of collegiate athletes. All colleges with athletic teams must become a member of this organization in order to compete against other college teams. It has separated its college members into three divisions. The most athletically competitive is Division 1. Students attending Division 2 and 3 colleges may not be awarded full athletic scholarships and these divisions are considered less competitive and the benefits student athletes can receive are severely limited by the NCAA. Division 2 students can only receive partial stipends for their tuition. Division 3 students are technically not permitted any athletic scholarships, however it is permitted for academic scholarships to include â&#x20AC;&#x153;athletic successâ&#x20AC;? in their evaluations and they are practically providing athletic scholarships (with retention of a minimum grade point averages). Student athletes attending Division 1 schools may receive full scholarships to attend school and may receive their living costs covered through student housing. They may not be compensated outside of receiving scholarships, board, room, travel, tutoring and uniforms. (Remaining Eligible: Amateurism NCAA) They may not promote products and if they chose to enter a professional draft they lose forever their amateur status. (Remaining Eligible: Amateur88

ism NCAA). Meanwhile, the amount of money generated by the college sports, of basketball and football at Division 1 Universities, is stupendous. The only other sport that occasionally breaks even financially is men’s baseball. Few Division 1 colleges break even on any women’s athletic teams. The universities themselves profit from ticket sales to men’s basketball and football games and television contracts. For example, the Texas Longhorns generated $34.5 million from ticket sales alone in 2013. The football program made $30 million dollars in royalties and $26 million dollars in sponsorships (College Football’s Most Valuable Teams 2013). The financial success from these two men’s sports subsidizes all the other sports teams at the university. Secondly, the NCAA receives a revenue stream based on the profits from all three divisions from both football and basketball. They receive a percentage to cover operating costs and conference grants for officiating programs, compliance and enforcement, promotion of diversity, and drug and gambling education. In 2012 the NCAA made $757 million through television and marketing and championship games hosted on NCAA officiated courts as well as football Bowl games (NCAA: Where Does The Money Go?). The NCAA monopoly on monitoring amateurism in college sports is very lucrative and they have no incentive to reduce their enforcement powers.

The NCAA considers amateur competition a bedrock principle of college athletics. They say, “Maintaining amateurism is crucial to preserving an academic environment in which acquiring a quality education is the first priority. In the collegiate model of sports, the young men and women competing on the field or court are students first,

athletes second.” (NCAA Eligibility Requirements). The NCAA argues that it is supporting education by enforcing the regulation prohibiting colleges from compensating student athletes. By prohibiting student athlete compensation and regulating amateurism the NCAA argues it is making academic success more important than athletic success for the college student. The NCAA further states that paying players would make college sports less popular. ... negatively impact the environment and put too much emphasis on individuals.

(Donaldson, James. “Should college athletes be paid?”) The money that the NCAA takes in from its member schools is used to “police” the college sports programs and the athletes and most of the investigation is done on Division 1 athletes (NCAA: Where Does The Money Go?). In general, amateur athletes are not allowed to sign contracts with professional teams, to have a salary for participating in athletics, to take prize money above actual and necessary expenses, to play with professionals, to take part in tryouts, practice or competition with a professional team, to have benefits from an agent or prospective agent, or to agree to be represented by an agent. What can the colleges provide the players? Division 1 member colleges can provide student-athletes with scholarships, tutoring, counseling, books, priority in class registration, living costs (both room and board), travel and uniforms (NCAA Eligibility Requirements). The cost of a cell phone or laundry costs or clothing not related to the team cannot be provided. Travel home to where the student lives cannot be provided. (Associated Press. “Study: ‘Free ride’ still costs athletes”). Despite the ostensible focus by the NCAA on maintaining amateurism in order to promote academics, the seduction of profiting from their sport lures the collegiate athlete 89

away from completing college. If the college athlete could at least return to college and amateur status after an unsuccessful draft or be provided some stipend during their college career based on their status as a player, the graduation rates would increase and the economic disparity between the athletes and the profiting universities could be ameliorated. (There would be minimal effect on the Universities or on the other college athletes in different sports since all that is occurring is a handful of very talented athletes would be permitted to return to school.

Student athletes are split on their opinions concerning amending the NCAA amateur status regulations. Four different former college athletes, participating in four different sports, representing both sexes and different generations have different views concerning the appropriateness of the existing NCAA guidelines prohibiting compensation to college athletes. Theresa Henle, a 23 year old former Division 3, Olympic development team and professional soccer player, Trey Triplett, a 26 year old former college football star from a Division 1 school, Steve Glass, a former college and professional baseball star from the 90’s (Division 2) and Matt Harris, a former college basketball player in Division 2 from the early 80’s feel differently about the NCAA amateur eligibility regulations. The variance is due to the options they had outside of their sport which seem related to both underlying academic success and the need for financial support. After qualifying for the women’s Olympic development teams in soccer for California and Washington, Theresa Henle went on to play soccer for a Division 3 college. She was recruited for a full scholarship by Division 1 schools but chose her college based

not on sports but on academics. She graduated magna cum laude from college and then played soccer professionally for the “Seattle Sounders”. She is now working at a law firm and deciding if she wants to go to law school or graduate school in math in Fall 2014.

She has the option to do either. She does not believe that any of the NCAA amateur policies should be amended because she was not defined exclusively by her sport. She states; “Student athletes are given priority treatment in terms of registration for classes, tutoring and special dining and workout halls. School is extremely expensive for all students, and I believe the compensation currently given to student athletes is more than fair. Money given to student athletes is money taken away from other deserving students, and this should be kept in check. The primary purpose of college should be for the education of students, not the ownership of professional sports teams. If students are paid, they are therefore professional athletes” (Henle).

Alternatively, Trey Triplette, a man of 26 who played football at LSU (Louisiana State University) from 2006-2010, a Division 1 college, believes the policies should be changed in order to allow studentathletes to be appropriately compensated. He is presently working as a bartender and high school athletic intern (assistant). He believes that the student athlete should receive at least a stipend payment on top of the scholarship amounts or even better, share in the profits earned by the schools on their sports programs. He believes that the student athlete is entitled to benefit in the profit and that the “NCAA should not be involved in Division 1 college sports eligibility based on amateurism and subsequently the market should control 90

how much a student athlete is compensated.” In other words he advocates that colleges should be able to pay student athletes as much as they like in order to encourage them to attend and play for them. Consequently, the schools with more money to spend on better athletes will have better teams. There should be “no salary cap” and that the students should be permitted to “promote shoes and products”. In other words there is no need for the NCAA and there would be no difference between attending college and being drafted by a professional team. Recognizing that this scenario is highly unlikely and would put the NCAA out of business, Mr. Triplette also proposed a second more complex method where the NCAA remains involved and regulates payment to student athletes. He suggested that the amount of revenue a single sports program produces for a college is split up among the players who actually played in the games. He suggested that players who do not play should not share in profits. The sources of income are defined as entry fees and television proceeds. All expenses need to be paid off before calculating profit. Expenses include the costs of maintaining and owning gyms and fields, coaching, equipment, uniforms, scholarships and personal involved with the team. Once they are paid off all student athletes who are in the particular program share equally in a percentage of the revenue (profit) based on the amount of games they played in. The profit is paid annually and until this annual payment, there is a small weekly retainer paid out to the student so that the student athlete would have some spending money and be able to afford to remain at school. Mr. Triplette believes that the student athlete should participate in the profit they are generating for the school because “they should earn the money when they

can”. Mr. Triplette completed his undergraduate work with a degree in physical education at LSU. Mr. Triplette had fewer opportunities outside of playing football in college and Ms. Henle, with her greater future options, was happy with the existing NCAA policy. Mr. Triplette also believes that an unsuccessful professional draft attempt should not exclude an athlete from returning to college and playing their sport in college while Ms. Henle supports the existing NCAA policy forever precluding the athlete from returning to amateur status and therefore entitlement to scholarships.

The two older former athletes felt similarly about the existing NCAA policies concerning compensation. Both Steve Glass (Division 1, baseball 90’s and then professional baseball) and Matt Harris (Division 2, basketball 80’s) believe that more than free tuition and a place in a dorm should be provided to the student athletes in baseball, football and basketball, but both do not believe that the “free market” (paying students whatever the university decides to) should prevail. Both are presently employed in the field of athletics with one the director of athletics for The Bay School in San Francisco and the other owning a Northern California AAU basketball team and acting as a professional coach. They both feel that football, basketball and baseball players on Division1 teams should receive (above the free tuition) living expenses and a small retainer while they are on teams. It was implied that this retainer would permit the athlete to “make ends meet” with their other expenses and provide a bit of “incentive” for the athlete to remain in school. Mr. Glass states that the student athlete is “working” by playing their sport, precluding other employment and should be compensated above the scholarship.

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Mr. Glass also believes that a bonus should be paid to those athletes who are ”particularly successful in their sports” which he defines as “baseball, football and basketball.” Both Mr. Glass and Mr. Harris believe that the unsuccessful professional draft attempt should not preclude the athlete from returning to school and amateur status. With the exception of Theresa Henle, all the other athletes argued that some change in the NCAA regulations for amateurism should be implemented.

Sandy Barbour, the Athletic Director at UC Berkeley (Cal) since 2004 states academics is paramount for her and Cal. Not graduating is not “acceptable and not an option” (Barbour has also served as the chair of the Pac-10 Budget and Finance Committee, (the Division 1 conference for UC) been a member of the Pac-10 Executive Committee and the Pac-10 Television Committee, and was vice president of the conference in 2007-08. Prior to moving to Berkeley, Barbour was the deputy director of athletics at Notre Dame.) She further stated that the present NCAA regulations precluding studentathletes who put their name in the professional draft and then are not drafted from returning to school to resume being an amateur student athlete are impeding the ability for these student athletes from (ever) graduating. An unsuccessful draft candidate cannot return to school on a scholarship because their status has changed and consequently cannot get their scholarship back. She supports changing this regulation and permitting the student athlete to return to school and regain their amateur status; therefore entitling them to an athletic scholarship. They would then have a better chance of graduating.

Director Barbour implied that the existing NCAA regulation does not take into account the financial opportunities that exist for many of these college athletes outside of college particularly in the professional sports arenas. She agreed that (particularly in basketball) the graduation rate is poor (not only at Cal but at most Division 1 colleges) – but explained that the reason for the low graduation rate is not that students are flunking out but that they are leaving Cal after two, three or even four years without all their required classes to either “go pro” or do something else, generally in the sports world. Director Barbour does not believe student athletes should share in the wealth of their sport in college and states that “student athletes receive hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in subsidies of tuition, room, board, uniforms, coaching and training and travel. Maybe some things could go further but these student athletes are very well compensated. (Director Barbour did not elaborate, “What could go further” but implied it was not payment to the athlete.) They should not receive payment for their services”. The low(er) graduation rate for the student athletes in basketball and football is endemic among the Division 1 colleges, particularly those such as Cal and Stanford which have highly competitive admissions policies and academic standards. (Associated Press. “U.S. college drop-out rate sparks concern.”) However, the NCAA does not feel that it has any responsibility for the dropout rate and argues that its amateur policies do not have consequences. (Briody, Blaire. “Hidden Costs of College Raise Total to Extreme Levels.” and Austin. “Lawmaker Files Stipend Bill for Athletes.”) (Only 42 of the 68 teams basketball teams who participated in the 2010 “March Madness” tournament (last reviewed year) graduated at least 60 percent of their players, 92

according to the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida. The winning Connecticut Huskies had a 31 percent graduation rate for basketball players. No statistics have been posted for this tournament since 2010. (Rotherham, Andrew J. “Low Graduation Rates: It's Not Just Student-Athletes.” It is believed that this figure has decreased (McGowan, Bruce)) The NCAA is disingenuous when it implies that augmenting academic success is the primary purpose of college sports. Money and making a lot of it is the primary purpose of college sports and the NCAA (McGowan, Bruce. KNBR sports radio announcer, sports historian and teacher; Feldman, Bruce. Meat Market). Despite heavily regulating the individual student athlete there is no regulation by the NCAA on how much college coaches may be paid (many are paid upwards of 5 million dollars a year or more), (“Kiffin Names USC Head Football Coach.” USC News), or the money that is spent by the schools on their sports programs. Money and making a lot of it is a primary purpose of the NCAA. The student athlete is the mercenary in the war between colleges to earn the most amount of money from television and ticket sales and the NCAA is the referee. Hopefully, these mercenaries are also receiving a good education along with athletic training. Those student athletes who manage to look to their futures and recognize that they need other options (and skills) above and beyond playing their sports are those who embrace the existing policies of the NCAA. For most it would level the playing field if they could be awarded some type of stipend which recognized that these athletes simply do not have the time to earn money for the costs that their scholarships are not permitted to cover and

to have the option to regain their amateur status if they enter a professional draft and are either not drafted or chose not to accept the team that has drafted them. Few student athletes graduate magna cum laude, go pro and then have the opportunity to go to graduate school in two completely different fields. Many are struggling in college and when provided the chance to better their life circumstances are short-sited and are lured out of college by the more immediate hope of a professional career in sports. The NCAA policies should be amended to permit: 1) student athletes to return to amateur status (and subsequent entitlement to athletic scholarships) after an unsuccessful professional draft; and 2) be awarded a small stipend which is regulated by the NCAA to serve as a financial benefit for the time they are devoting to their sport. This stipend should be awarded across the board to all student-athletes men and women who are on athletic scholarships at Division 1 colleges. To pay or not to pay – the answer is yes, in order to cover the gap of what the scholarships do not provide for.

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Works Cited Allen Sack, Bill Walton, Ellen Stauowsky, Stephen Danley, Andrew Zimbalist, Murray Sperber, and William Dowling, eds. “March Money Madness.” Room for Debate. The New York Times, 18 March 2009. Web. 12 December 2013. <http//roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/18/march-moneymadness/> Associated Press. “Study: ‘Free ride’ still costs athletes.” ESPN College Sports. ESPN Sports, 26 October 2010. Web. 10 December 2013. <http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=5728653> Associated Press. “U.S. college drop-out rate sparks concern.”

Education of NBC News.com. MSNBC.COM, 15 November 2005.

Web. 10 December 2013. <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10053859/ns/us_news-education/t/ us-college-drop-out-rate-sparks-concern/#.Tqnp4l28qfF> Austin. “Lawmaker Files Stipend Bill for Athletes.” SI.com Sports Illustrated. CNN/Sports Illustrated, 6 February 2003. Web. 12 December 2013. <http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/college/news/2003/02/26/p aying_players_ap/> Briody, Blaire. “Hidden Costs of College Raise Total to Extreme Levels.” Life + Money. The Fiscal Times, 15 June 2011. Web. 12 December 2013.

<http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2011/06/15/Hidden-Costs-of -College-Raise-Total-to-Extreme-Levels.aspx#page1> Chiang, Larry. “Q4 2007 Statistics on College Student Drop Out Rates.” Duck9, n.d. Web. 12 December 2013. <http://www.duck9.com/College-Student-Drop-Out-Rates.htm> Currie, Duncan. “Should College Athletes Get Paid?” The Corner.

National Review Online, 5 May 2011. Web. 12 December 2013. <http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/263933/should-college-athle tes-get-paid-duncan-currie> Donaldson, James. “Should college athletes be paid?” YOUniversityTV, n.d. 12 December 2013. <http://www.youniversitytv.com/news-sports/5354-should-college-at hletes-be-paid> ESPN.com News Services. “Source: Kiffin’s deal exaggerated.”

ESPN.com, 18 May 2010. Web. 13 December 2013. <http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/ncf/news/story?id=5196431 > Georgia Career Information Center. “From High School to Pro – How Many will go?” Georgia State University Press, 2006. Web. 6 January 2014. <http://freedom.mysdhc.org/guidance/information/From%20High%2 0School%20to%20Pro%20Statistics.pdf> Goldman, Lee,. Sports and Antitrust: Should College Students be Paid to Play? 65 Notre Dame L. Rev. 206 (1989-1990) Print.

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Gregory, Sean, “It’s Time To Pay College Athletes.” Time Inc., 16 September 2013. Web. 5 January 2014. <http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2151167,00.h tml#paid-wall>

ber 2011. Web. 12 December 2013. <http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/andy_staples/05/20/p aying-players-attendance-cost/index.html>

“Kiffin Names USC Head Football Coach.” USC News. University of Southern California, 13 January 2010. Web. 12 December 2013. <http://uscnews.usc.edu/university/kiffin_named_usc_head_football _coach.html>

Personal Interviews

Orzechowski, Brett. “First Semester: How life changes for the freshman student-athlete at Yale.” New Haven Register, n.d. Web. 12 December 2013. <http://firstsemester.nhregister.com/full_story.html> Popke, Michael. “College Football Study: Graduation Gap Increases.” CSN Log: Championship Subdivision News. College Sporting News, 1 September 2011. Web. 12 December 2013.

“Remaining Eligible: Amateurism.” NCAA.org. National Collegiate Athletic Association, n.d. Web. 6 January 2014. <http://www.ncaa.org/remaining-eligible-amateurism>

Barbour, Sandy. Personal interview. 24 January. 2014 Glass, Steven. Personal interview. 7 January. 2014, 11 January 2014 Harris, Matthew. Personal interview. 12 January 2014, 14 January 2014 Henle, Theresa. Personal interview. 24 December 2013, 4 January 2014 MacGowan, Bruce. Personal interview. 26 January 2014 Triplette, Trey. Personal interview 6 January 2014

Rotherham, Andrew J. “Low Graduation Rates: It's Not Just Student-Athletes.” Time U.S. Time, Inc., 26 October 2010. Web. 12 December 2013. <http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2063677,00.html> Staples, Andy. “Regardless of motives, addressing scholarship shortfall a good thing.” Inside College Football. SI.com. 23 Novem95

Zack Herzer

Should You Really Buy an “Environmentally Friendly” Car? Have you ever watched the Disney movie “Wall-E”? Remember the mountains and mountains of waste on earth? That could happen if we keep buying new hybrid cars. Because hybrid cars have components that gas cars don’t have, hybrid cars take up to 23% more energy to make (“Does a Prius Consume more Energy than a Hummer?”). This creates more physical waste along with extra air pollution. Buying a hybrid car can reduce pollution, but increase physical waste. There are better alternatives to hybrids.

There are three types of people who buy hybrids. The first type, who want to save money on gas, don’t always do that. Tom Henschel, the sales director at Toyota of San Rafael, says, “There are people who buy the hybrid to save on gas, people who buy it to be green, and people who want both.” (Henschel) Toyota has many dif-

ferent models, including regular and hybrid powered SUVs. A SUV with a hybrid powertrain costs $18,085 more than the gas powered one (Toyota.com). This is a lot of money, and Tom points out that it takes many years of driving, (18.9 on average) depending on the car (forbes.com) to gain back the extra money you spent for the hybrid model. The Toyota Highlander Hybrid gets 3 more MPG than the regular gas powered version. In this case, the gas powered version is much friendlier to the wallet. In terms of the environmental impact of production, the gas powered version is better because it takes less energy, and therefore less greenhouse emissions to make. Studies show that it takes up to 23% more energy to make a hybrid car, because you have to manufacture batteries and an electric motor (“Does a Prius Consume more Energy than a Hummer?”).

Because it takes a lot more energy to make a hybrid, it creates more greenhouse emissions, which are terrible for the environment.

The gas powered Toyota Highlander is also friendlier to the environment.

Because the facts show that the gas powered Toyota Highlander SUV is friendlier to the environment and cheaper to own, it is important to have a good marketing scheme to lure buyers into the more expensive hybrid models. Tom continued talking about the marketing of their hybrid cars, and what the impact of it will be. When buying a vehicle, most people will visit the automaker’s website to gain information about the vehicle they are considering. Therefore designing a website is extremely important for marketing purposes.

When visiting Toyota’s website, there are three noticeable features.

One, is that the hybrid cars are marketed as eco-friendly for their 96

efficient engines and high MPGs. The second is that non-hybrid cars are marketed as having “powerful engines” (toyota.com).

These non-hybrid cars have details present in their brochures about towing capability, acceleration and speed figures, and pictures of the cars off-roading. The last is that most of the hybrids, including the Prius, are shown with a cartoon nature background, emphasizing the “green” image of the car that Toyota wishes to promote.

Toyota also says that the big MPG numbers save money on gas, but also be kinder to the environment. The “Prius offers an EPAestimated 51 mpg city, 48 mpg highway, and 50 mpg combined.

That’s not only a big relief on your pocketbook, but the environment as well. Compared to the average car, Prius could have saved an estimated 1,445,971,501.65 gallons of gas in the U.S. since 2000” (Toyota.com). To help with sales, Toyota is partnering up with BMW in the near future to make more efficient cars, even though they do not say this on their website. By utilizing BMW’s smart innovations to make more money, Toyota can use this future revenue to invent and improve new ideas for a greener production line. Toyota has faced the past controversy surrounding production emissions with new green technologies.

Originally, the Prius was manufactured in a way that really hurt the environment. “Since 2009, the production of the Prius has gotten much more efficient,” Tom Henschel says. Before 2009, the Prius was subjected to multiple criticisms about how the materials were taken from around the world. For example, the nickel in the batteries are mined from Sudbury, Ontario. Sudbury is known for being so inhospitable (acid rain, smog, etc) that NASA tests its Mars Rovers

there (Top Gear). In an alien environment, features such as acid rain, smog, and little visibility are common, so NASA decided to test the Rovers there. When materials are mined from places like this, they get brought into the rest of the world, and their waste becomes more common. Materials from places like this are terrible for the environment, and should be left alone.

However, Toyota made big changes at the introduction of the 3rd generation Prius in 2009, to counteract the statistics about the production emissions. Modifying the production of the Prius can reduce emissions, and will lure in more buyers. Starting in 2009, the Prius was made in the country it is sold in, meaning that a Prius that you purchase here was made in the USA. Sometimes a vehicle sold in San Francisco has different materials than one sold in Los Angeles.

This reduces the costs and emissions from the transportation of materials. Previously, the Prius had materials from all sides of the globe, and each part of the car (i.e. engine, body, interior) was made in a different factory far away from the other ones. Now, the Prius is made in the USA, is that the buyer knows that it is not made in a “sweatshop” by underpaid workers. These recent changes have changed scientists’ views on the subject, as well as gain a more popular image for the car.

Rachael Nealer, an environmentalist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, believes that people should buy hybrid and electric cars, no matter what car it is. This has its positive and negative effects. Rachael told me that an electric car would get more MPGs than a gas powered car, because some of the electricity is made from good sources. I did a calculation based on “State of Charge” statistics, a 97

popular research paper, to see if she was correct. Accounting for the US power grid type of energy percentages (coal, hydro, solar, etc.), the average electric car would get theoretically 149.13 miles per gallon. Considering that the average gas powered car gets 24.6 miles per gallon (according to The Christian Science Monitor), she was correct. We now know that an electric car gets better MPGs than a regular car, but do the production emissions offset these completely? According to Nealer, no. The average car clocks 95,000 miles, and all this driving is the majority of the lifetime emissions (Nealer). In addition, Toyota themselves released a statistic that about 85% of lifetime emissions come from driving the car itself, with 15% including production, recycle, and gas refining emissions (“Hybrids Consume More Energy in Lifetime than Chevrolet’s Tahoe SUV”). Based on this statistic, we can compute the amount of energy (measured in gallons of gas burned) with the average Prius MPG (fuelly.com), to find out that it takes about 765.3 gallons of gas to make a Prius. Based on the 23% more energy to make a hybrid figure (“Does it Take More Energy to Make a Prius than a Hummer?”), we found out that it takes 589.3 gallons of gas to make a normal, gas powered car. A hybrid or electric car will produce less (but the same type: carbon monoxide and dioxide (Union of Concerned Scientists)) emissions while driving, but will produce more toxic battery waste that cannot be rid of.

Hybrid and gas powered cars are not always the solution to our problems, however. There are a number of other types of cars including hydrogen, diesel, electric, and plug in hybrid cars, many of which are being funded by the government for development.

The United States government has given over one billion dollars to research and fund hydrogen powered cars, and make them accessible to the general public by 2020 (wired.com). Like electric cars, hydrogen powered cars are friendly to the environment while driving; they emit only water vapor. Hydrogen cars are physically similar to regular gas powered cars, with an internal combustion engine (an engine that burns fuel and makes explosions in a way that moves mechanical parts), and therefore require less energy to make. Hydrogen cars work by combusting compressed hydrogen with the oxygen in the air, and when they bond, they create water. The only downside to hydrogen cars is that the fuel needs the exact opposite reaction to occur. This reaction needs a large amount of electricity, which could be achieved with solar power. You may ask, “If it takes that much electricity to make the fuel, why not just have electric cars?” Hydrogen is the most abundant material in the universe, but isolating it takes energy.

However, it does not mean that hydrogen powered cars are better.

Because there are so many energy transformations (i.e. water to hydrogen, back to water), it takes energy to make, and even more machines (electrolysis) to make that energy. If all of the machines harnessing the energy and fuel were efficient and reliable, hydrogen would be better, however our machine technology needs to advance before that happens. If we can harness the hydrogen efficiently, we could have essentially unlimited fuel (the water vapor from the tailpipe can be used again, it evaporates), and a clean atmosphere. Hydrogen powered cars leave behind only a little bit of physical waste when recycled, and no air pollution. This is the best 98

combination of production waste and tailpipe emissions, however for today, electric is more popular than hydrogen powered cars because of the lack of cars on sale today, increased price, and few hydrogen gas stations; but in the future it might be the opposite.

Diesel cars are popular because they can easily reach forty miles per gallon. They are immensely popular in Europe because of this.

A diesel car costs no more than the gas powered equivalent. An American can save around $2,000 on fuel by switching to diesel (Cars Direct). However, diesel engines work in a way that burns the engine oil (diesel fuel is like an oil, which helps lubricate the engine in addition to the engine oil), which is bad for the environment (Cars Direct). Some of these extra emissions include carcinogens, soot, and NOx (nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide) (How Stuff Works).

These substances are known to be bad for humans, and are linked to a higher risk of cancer. But recent technology can expel these terrible substances by the use of modern catalytic converters (emission control), refined fuel (can help performance and MPGs, as well as emission control), and direct injection (fuel is injected via a jet into the cylinder, not the intake manifold), among many others.

Many people believe that diesel is kinder to the environment than gas. Because of recent advancements in diesel engine design, diesel is now friendlier to the environment, and are becoming more popular in America. Diesel cars leave behind little physical waste, and only a little bit of air pollution.

Electric cars are all the buzz these days, because of their smooth operation (quiet, vibration free) and kind environmental impact. As mentioned earlier, an average electric car can get around 150

MPGs based on the current US power sources. A person who has solar panels on their house can make money, while charging their cars at the same time due to tax credits. Also, the electric car industry is growing exponentially (The Union of Concerned Scientists).

The Union of Concerned Scientists believes that there will be 30 new, different electric cars in 5 years. However, the technology is still new and not fully efficient. For example, a Tesla Model S Performance Plus can go only 265 miles on a charge, and costs upwards of $100,000 (tesla.com). This can make long trips an inconvenience, because the car will run out of charge. Also, in some places electricity is extremely expensive, and it is cheaper to drive a gas powered car. Additionally, Jared Sagoff of phys.org points out that the US electrical grid cannot handle all the extra power requirements to charge all of the electric cars, meaning that the production of electricity isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t as great as the number of devices that need it.

Sagoff uses this point also for plug in electric carsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; energy misuse.

These types of cars require charging and a trip to the gas station.

The gas engine in these cars never powers the wheels, but charges the battery. This is a marketing trick that can fool a consumer by advertising high MPG numbers. An example of a car like this would be the Chevrolet Volt, which costs $34,000 and returns a claimed 97 miles per gallon (Chevrolet.com). This is true, but you have to charge the car too. Electricity used from plugging in the car to the wall socket also uses energy, and therefore harmful emissions (electricity is made from a variety of sources, see above. (State of Charge)). Plug in electric cars are an inconvenience, and are just a marketing trick. The cars leave behind a lot of physical waste (un99

recyclable batteries), and also pollute the air because of its two different energy sources.

So which type of car is most environmentally friendly? Gas, hybrid, electric, hydrogen, diesel, or plug in hybrid? I would argue hydrogen. Hydrogen cars offer less physical waste than hybrid and electric cars, and are just as friendly to the atmosphere (zero pollution).

Many people agree with me, including most of the United States government, as they invested over a billion dollars into the development of them (wired.com). Gas and diesel powered cars don’t produce much physical waste when recycled, like hydrogen cars, but are harmful to the atmosphere and eventually we will run out of fossil fuels. Hybrid and plug in hybrid cars are pointless because they produce massive amounts of physical waste, and only marginally better fuel economy. Electric cars produce an even bigger amount of physical waste than hybrid cars, but offer zero emissions. This tradeoff is interesting, because if we figured out a way to recycle or decompose the extra batteries (being worked on as we speak (scientificamerican.com)), it would be the most efficient.

Works Cited "Average Fuel Economy of US Cars Reaches an All-time High." The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 06 Apr. 2013. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.

“Cars that Changed the World: Toyota Prius.” Carbuzz. Jacob Joseph. Carbuzz, 01 Nov. 2012. Web. 06 Jan. 2014.

"Cars, Trucks, and Air Pollution." Union of Concerned Scientists.

N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014 "Chevrolet Cars, Trucks, SUVs, Crossovers and Vans." Www.chevrolet.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.

"Diesel Fuel vs. Unleaded Gasoline." CarsDirect. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.

“Does a Prius Consume More Energy Than a Hummer?” Kentlaw. n.p., 02 Dec. 2009. Web. 02 March 2014.

“Does Hybrid Car Production Waste Offset Hybrid Benefits?” How Stuff Works. Dave Roos. HowStuffWorks, 1998-2014. Web. 06 Jan. 2014.

"How Fuel Cells Work." HowStuffWorks. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.

“Hummer Vs Prius.” Pacific Institute. Dr. Peter H. Gleick. Pacific Institute, May 2013. Web. 06 Jan. 2014.

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"Hybrids Consume More Energy in Lifetime Than Chevrolet's Tahoe SUV." -- Re BANDON, Ore., March 31 /PRNewswire/ --. N.p., n.d.

Web. 03 Mar. 2014.

"Is Diesel Fuel Better for the Environment?" HowStuffWorks. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2014.

"Is It Possible That a Hummer's Better for the Environment than a Prius Is?" Slate Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.

"Life After Death: What Happens When Your Prius Battery Dies?" Green Car Reports. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.

"Model S." Tesla Motors. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.

“Toyota Prius.” Wikipedia. n.p., 17 Dec. 2013. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.

"Toyota Prius MPG Reports | Fuelly." Toyota Prius MPG Reports | Fuelly. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.

"When an Electric Car Dies, What Will Happen to the Battery?" Scientific American Global RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.

“Why Top Gear Got it All Wrong in ‘Prius vs BMW M3’.” Tree Hugger. Michael Graham Richard. MNN Holdings, 2014. Web. 06 Jan. 2014.

"Wired 11.04: How Hydrogen Can Save America." Wired.com.

Conde Nast Digital, n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.

“Prius Is Dirtier To Build Than Corolla...But Greener Than A Hummer.” The Car Connection. High Gear Media, 2013. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.

“Prius Outdoes Hummer in Environmental Damage.” Free Republic.

John Robinson, 2000-2008. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.

"Pulling the Plug on Hybrid Myths." Pulling the Plug on Hybrid Myths. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.

“Top 5 Reasons Why Priuses Suck.” Ranker. TheBard. Ranker, 2014. Web. 06 Jan. 2014.

"Toyota Cars, Trucks, SUVs & Hybrids | Toyota Official Site." Toyota Cars, Trucks, SUVs & Hybrids | Toyota Official Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.

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Isabella Hunscher

The Importance of Adopting from an Animal Shelter

Did you know that only one out of every ten dogs born in California will find a home? There are too many abandoned dogs, cats and other animals wandering the streets and because of the overpopulation in the Bay Area, shelters are overcrowded with no room to house animals that need help. The main cause of overpopulation is irresponsible breeding. If animal owners stopped breeding for money or because they fail to have their animals neutered the overpopulation of animals could be contained. Animal shelters benefit the community by caring for abandoned animals and providing a safe place for them to receive care. They also provide a place for potential animal owners to adopt abandoned cats and dogs, who would otherwise be left on their own. Animal shelters are necessary as they help animals find a loving home, save them from their previous conditions/bad health and give them a second chance at life.

Every day, animals are beaten, neglected and left to fend for themselves in unsanitary conditions. Animals are in poor health with injuries, poor nutrition and other factors. In the U.S.A alone, there are more than 45 cats and dogs for every citizen (Dog Breeder Info Center). Some of them spend their lives in loving homes but, unfortunately, too many are abandoned to fend for themselves. Luckily, some animals will find relief from their hard lives and be housed at a shelter with the hope of adoption. However, only one out of twenty animals will be taken to a shelter. The number one reason why animals who are part of a family end up in shelters is because the family is moving, canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t provide for the animal anymore and drop it off at a shelter. Some other reasons as to why non-abandoned animals end up in shelters is because a baby is brought into the household and the dog poses a threat (perceived or real), or the owner has passed away (Dog Breeder Info Center). Sometimes, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not the family that has complications, but the dog or cat. The animal could potentially end up in the shelter because it is too hard to train, barks too much, has high medical bills, or the animal chews up the furniture. In short, the animal cannot be domesticated (Dog Breeder Info Center). However, animals left by themselves, without being spayed/neutered and left to overbreed, is the biggest reason animals end up in a shelter. Because cities have more people, most of the animal overpopulation still inhabits urban environments. Animals that come from the streets are much less acclimated to humans, making them less adoptable. Given the limited number of shelters in urban areas are not able to keep up with the animals.

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Some people assume that there are more dogs and cats than there are homes but in reality, if everyone were to adopt an abandoned animal, there would be plenty of homes for each shelter dog/cat (Dog Breeder Info Center). The problem, and thus the continued overpopulation of shelters, is that people would rather adopt from a breeder than from a shelter. People don’t trust animal shelters and there is a perception that shelter animals are somewhat inferior or “damaged”. This is why there are still millions of needy animals within the shelters, wishing they could have a place to call home.

Many people think that shelter animals aren’t as good as animals from breeders because of many stereotypical associations such as they are unhealthy, shy, and socially unstable. A common misconception about adopting from an animal shelter is that there is something wrong with the animal considering it was put up for adoption (MSPCA). Ironically, after talking with Emily, an adoption counselor at the Milo Foundation in Point Richmond, it was clear that “shelter animals seem to have more of an appreciation and loyalty to their owners once they realize that they have a permanent home and won’t be dumped somewhere again” (Emily Milo Foundation).

Stereotypes have really degraded shelter dogs/cats. In too many cases, the non-adopted animals are most likely to be euthanized.

The definition of euthanasia is the painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable or painful disease (Merriam-Webster). However, many animals are euthanized due to overpopulation. Euthanasia is a major controversy and it is hard to decipher whether it is moral or not. There are many pros and cons to euthanasia. Sadly, many new born puppies are euthanized as there will be no way they

will ever be adopted due to overpopulation in the particular shelter.

It is unfair to bring an animal into the world and kill it within hours of their life. It is especially sad if it is happening to healthy animals that are being euthanize solely because there isn’t enough space (PETA). However, euthanasia give relieve to certain animals if they are in pain and the medical bills are stacking up or if it is having an arduous life. Like with humans, there is a point where the quality of life is so low that death is a better alternative. In the euthanization process, the solution that is injected into the animal is called pentobarbital which causes a very quick, painless death, and could be the most humane to an animal that is struggling (PETA). Many shelters are no-kill shelters, like the Milo Foundation. Instead of killing the many animals that aren’t adopted, they look for humane alternatives. For instance, the Milo Foundation sends all the unwanted animals to roam free on 300 acres of land in Mendocino. The animals that are held at the ranch In Mendocino are completely taken care of and fully adoptable. There are at least 24 non-kill shelters within the Bay Area alone (California Dog Owners).

The main reason why animals end up in shelters is due to irresponsible breeding. People breed for money and aren’t aware of the effects that irresponsible breeding have on the community. It causes an increase in the population and many of the animals that are bred irresponsibly aren’t taken care of and are left on the street (PETA).

Another form of irresponsible breeding has to do with parents and their children. Parents think that by having their child experience a birth it will teach them the ways of life, when really, it just feeds the quickly increasing population. Also, it becomes too easy for kids, 103

once they tire of the animal, to merely “give it up”. People who irresponsibly breed, or give their animals back to shelters, usually don’t know what they are getting themselves into when they agree to take the animal on (MSPCA). It takes a lot of effort and experience to raise and take care of litters that consist of anywhere from 3 to 10 puppies. One of the worst offenders of overpopulation are the socalled “puppy mills”. These are facilities where animals are bred in great numbers with the idea of making a lot of money when they are sold to pet stores around the country.

A puppy mill is a commercial dog breeding facility operated with an emphasis upon profits above animal welfare and is often in substandard conditions. Just the definition alone explains how terrible and inhumane puppy mills are. The dogs and cats in puppy mills are forced to overbreed and the conditions at puppy mills are appalling.

Puppy mills house disease, overcrowding, filth and hunger. Puppies that are purchased from mills suffer illnesses, and behavioral problems due to the tight conditions and torture they experience. The conditions are even worse for the mothers of the puppies because unlike the puppies, the mothers have to breed over and over again until they physically can’t breed anymore.

This problem can be fixed if we regulate the number of animals that the puppy mills produce – perhaps mandating that the mills have a buyer for each animal they produce (American Humane Society). If we reduce the number of animals bred, the chances of the community adopting the animals that end up in shelters will increase saving more lives. Unfortunately, too many animals end up in shelters, or worse, abandoned on the streets.

There are too many abandoned animals in communities around the countries, including San Francisco. With more awareness of the negative effects on irresponsible breeding, more thought by potential pet owners involved in owning and raising an animal, and regulation of puppy mills, the number of needy animals in shelters will decrease. Shelters provide a caring and humane sanctuary for abandoned animals. Animal shelters benefit the community by providing a temporary residence for the animals that need a permanent home. Without shelters, animals would be roaming the streets, sick and in need of serious attention, attention that can be given within a shelter.

In 2011, the San Francisco SPCA conducted a survey of dogs and cats guardians in the Bay Area. Out of 708 people, 18% said they bought their dog/cat online (most likely a puppy mill) and when asked the question, “Would you ever buy an animal from a puppy mill?” less than 58% said yes (San Francisco SPCA). By buying from a puppy mill, you are supporting the inhumane system with an economic incentive to crank out as many “products” as possible.

104

Bibliography "Breeders vs. Rescues, Worldwide Pet Overpopulation Epidemic, who's at fault?." Breeders vs. Rescues, Worldwide Pet Overpopulation Epidemic, who's at fault?. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2014. <http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/articles/bre>.

"Animal Rights Uncompromised: Euthanasia." PETA Animal Rights Uncompromised Euthanasia Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2014. <http://www.peta.org/about-peta/why-peta/euthanasia/>.

"Spay-Neuter at the MSPCA." Pet Overpopulation. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2014. <http://www.mspca.org/programs/spay-neuter/animal-overpopulatio n.html>.

"Pet Overpopulation." Pet Overpopulation. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2014. <http://www.americanhumane.org/animals/adoption-pet-care/issues -information/pet-overpopulation.html>.

"Pet Overpopulation: The Humane Society of the United States." RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2014. <http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/pe>.

La Ganga, Maria L. “A Painful Debate for Animal Lovers; Shelters with ‘no-kill’ policies say every stray deserves a home.” Los Angeles Times. 27, Aug 1997 "California Dog Owners."CaliforniaDogOwners. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2014. <http://www.californiadogowners.org/bay-area-rescues>.

"Facts About Animal Sheltering - Petfinder." Petfinder Facts About Animal Sheltering Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014. <http://www.petfinder.com/pro/for-shelters/facts-about-animal-shelte ring/>.

"BAD BREEDERS." Animal Rights Action. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2014. <http://www.animal-rights-action.com/bad-breeders.html>.

"Companion Animal Breeding." Breeding. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2014. <http://guardian.apapets.org/training/breeding>.

"The Water Bowl Blog Found Animals Foundation Adopt A Pet Pet Care. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2014. <https://www.foundanimals.org/blog/animals-in-animal-shelters/>.

"Animal Shelters." PETA. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2014. <http://www.peta.org/issues/companion-animal-issues/animal-shelte rs/>.

"Animal euthanasia." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Feb. 2014. Web. 18 Feb. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_euth>.

Emily. Personal interview. 1 Dec. 2013" 105

Robbie London

GMOs

whether or not you choose to support GMOs is from the advantages and disadvantages.

In the Bay Area, the awareness and promotion of GMOs (genetically modified organisms/food) is minimal, it’s up to the public to decide if GMOs are safe or risky, what will you decide? GMOs are foods produced that have had specific changes or new introductions of traits to their DNA which gives farmers control over how the food will grow and taste. GMOs possess positive effects such as disease, pest, and drought resistance which outweigh the negative effects. Although, GMO producers need to resolve their current corruption as well as label their food for the better of the society and environment. The first genetically modified food was produced during 1983 towards a tobacco plant. Some of the common cash crops that are being genetically modified are soybeans, corn, canola, and cotton seed oil. Genetically modified livestock is also being tested and some even currently being used such as cows and chicken.

The genetically modification of cash crops has led to many advantages and challenges. GMO companies have caused many protesters and advocators. The most common challenge towards GMOs are if they should be labeled or not. There was even an attempt to make a law that which states that GMOs have to be labeled but sadly did not pass. This law was called prop 37. The decider for

The advantages of GMOs will have a great effect on our future, while the negative effects are short term and can be resolved. An important positive effect of GMOs is the multiple resistances that can be introduced into the crop’s DNA. Some of the resistances may include, pest, herbicide, disease, cold, and drought resistance.

This important advantage has potential to solve world hunger.

These resistances will give a higher surplus of crops because most of them, if not all of them, will survive due to the many resistances introduced into their DNA. The crops can also grow faster. These resistances and specific traits are introduced into the crop’s DNA by injecting the gene(s) into the seeds. Then once the seed is finished growing, they can use the new seeds that were produced from the previous crop without having to inject the new gene. A theory has been provoked from the invention of GMOs. An example is, if GM crops were grown in Africa less people would starve due to more of the crops surviving and faster growth. Although, there are some flaws, such as the quality of soil in some places, but this can be resolved by replacing the soil or creating a whole new soil bed for the GMO crop farm. Another advantage of GMOs is less pesticide use because of the added pest resistance trait. “Pesticides are substances meant for attracting, seducing, destroying, or migrating any pest” (Wikipedia). This is more economically friendly. If less pesticides are put into the air, water, and soil can mean less pollution for the Earth. GMOs also cost less compared to non-GMOs/organic.

This could reduce poverty because “people in poor countries spend 106

over half of their income on food alone, lower prices mean an automatic reduction of poverty” (Advantages and Disadvantages of Genetically Modified Crops). GMOs could potentially solve or impact positively on two major worldwide problems, hunger and poverty.

Studies also show that GMOs are more nutritious due to the healthier traits that are being introduced into the DNA such as multiple kinds of vitamins such as Vitamin C or D. Poverty stricken people will be able to afford more food and still get all the nutrients and vitamins they need to have a healthy diet. Sadly, there are still some disadvantages from GMOs. GMOs also possess negative effects, mostly towards the environment. Some of the negative effects include unintended harm to other organisms such as insects and birds, gene transfer to nontarget species and out of control super weeds. GMOs have also been blamed for the disappearance of bees but has not been proven (Whitman, Deborah). Gladly, all of these disadvantages can be addressed through a more controlled way of growing the genetically modified crops. If they are grown and controlled properly GMOs won’t have any current challenges. They can be grown properly by having the farmers plant them in an isolated place where there aren’t any other farms around that could potentially cross pollinate their own plants. So far there have been no major health risks towards humans, other than increases of allergen which may not even be from GMOs. So far, there hasn’t been any long term studies towards human health risks because GMOs haven’t been around for long enough. This is the main argument that protestors use against GMOs. A possible way to solve these problems is to

push big GMO producers to change their production process to a healthier and safer way.

Currently in the U.S genetically modified food are not labeled in stores. On November 6, 2012 there was a vote called prop 37 to label genetically modified foods in stores throughout all of California.

This means that a food that has been GM would have to be labeled so consumers know that the product is genetically modified. This vote was created because people wanted to know what’s in their food. After all the votes were in, sadly, the law didn’t pass. If genetically modified food were labeled people could decide whether they support or are against GMOs. Labeling is the main issue the public is facing. Big companies such as Mansanto decide not to label their genetically modified food because they will lose money due to people not buying their products. Monsanto and other big GMO producers are the cause of all these challenges.

People should have the right to know what’s in their food “52% of Americans realized that genetically modified foods are sold in grocery stores and only 26% believed that they have ever eaten genetically modified foods” (WebMD). People in the Bay Area need to be aware of this. Once aware they can steer clear of GMOs or decide to consume them. At least 21 countries demand some sort of labeling for GMOs and America is one of the only countries that has no mandatory law for labeling GMOs. The only con that is caused by labeling is it might be costly to re stock all the products in grocery stores that need to be labeled. People should have the right to know what’s in their food. The amount of people that know the quantity of 107

GMOs in there grocery stores is low therefore consumers should be educated about GMOs. Monsanto is the leading genetically modifying seed producer. Monsanto has a long controversial history of GM technology. Monsanto has supporters and protestors against their GM production and process. The disadvantages of GMOs that is stated in the 3rd paragraph have all been caused from big GM producers such as Monsanto.

These disadvantages can be solved if acted upon by GM producers. These companies need to take action so GMOs can be accepted all throughout the United States.

Currently the big GMO seed producers possess a lot of corruption due to their unhealthy production process and over aggression towards other farmers. An example of a producer that does this is Monsanto. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Monsanto has been and still is aggressive towards farmers in North America; they have been known for taking many farmers to courtâ&#x20AC;? (Ian Murnaghan). Farmers have been taken to court for accidental theft of Monsantoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seeds. These seeds are cross pollinated from wind or bees and then planted into other farms that are not associated with Monsanto. These farmers are losing money which is bad for them and the economy. If the farms lose money so does the government and therefore prices will rise. GMOs are ultimately good for the society and future but large GM producers need to recover from their current corruption. If these issues are solved GMOs will be positive and will affect the society in a better way.

GMOs are the many resistances that are introduced into the crops DNA and the decreased price and increased yield of the GM crops.

These traits have potential to solve or impact two world problems, poverty and hunger. It may seem impossible but GMOs could decrease these world problems substantially. In the United States GMOs are currently not labeled. GMOs should be labeled because consumers should have the choice whether to buy or not to buy GMOs. This decision should all be up to the customer. GM producing companies should relieve their aggression towards farmers.

This is effecting not only the farmers but also the economy. As farmers lose money so does the government. If the government loses money the prices of goods will increase and just cause a chain reaction of more problems. In the future, GMOs will have a big positive impact in the Bay Area and the rest of the United States. GMOs have potential to solve problems that currently the world is facing.

We need you to raise the knowledge of GMOs throughout many communities in the Bay Area and around the U.S.

GMOs contain positive and negative traits. The positive effects outweigh the negative ones. Some of the most important traits of 108

Works Cited Bocco, Diana. wiseGeek. Conjecture Corporation, 27 Feb 2013.

Web. 17 Dec 2013.

“Are Biotech Foods Safe to Eat?” WebMD. N.p, 2012. Web. 1/16/ 2014.

Whitman, Deborah B. ProQuest. CSA, Apr 2000.Web. 17 Dec 2013.

Daboub, Anthony J., Shane H. Martin, Dennis Ortiz, and Mark T. Blakemore. "The Regulation of Genetically Modified Foods: A Corporate Ethical and Social Responsibility." ProQuest. Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues, 15 Feb. 2012. Web. 18 Dec. 2013.

Ronald, Pamela, and Adamchak, Raoul. Tomorrow’s Table Organic Farming, Genetics, and the Future Food. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. Print.

Harmon, Amy. “A Lonely Quest for Facts on Genetically Modified Crops.” The New York Times. Jan. 4th 2014. Web. 1/6/2014.

Pascalev, Assya. “You Are What You Eat: Genetically Modified Foods, Integrity, and Society.”Journal of Agriculture and Environmental Ethics. 16.6 (2003): 583-593. ProQuest. Web. 7 Jan 2014.

Batrinou, Anthimia M, Dimitriou, Evangelia, Liatsos, Disios and Pletsa, Vassiliki. “Genetically modified foods: The effect of information.”

Murnaghan, Ian. “Major GM Foods Manufacturers.” Genetically Modified Foods. N.p, 2012. Web. 1/16/2014.

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Max Migdail

Student Governments: Learning from Congress Do you remember being told when you were in school: join the student government it is a place where students can express their views, learn about leadership, and serve as well as improve your school? Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very similar to the message student governments express today, but the question is, do they live up to the claims?

Student governments exist in most schools in some form or other.

They are a body inside a school elected by the students, sometimes with the aid of faculty. A student government exists to address concerns and ideas put forth by the student body (May 1). Student governments can also be referred to as student councils (and shall be in this paper) just as a member of a student government is a student officer. The powers and responsibilities of these councils can vary greatly. Some schools give the students the chance to affect almost all school policies while some only give the students charge

over tasks that are geared towards attitude and which cannot create policy change in a school, tasks like dances and fundraisers (Akashi) (DeKoven) (â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Student Councilâ&#x20AC;?).

Student governments are invaluable to a school. That is why it is important that we make sure they work and run correctly. There are however constant issues that affect all student governments. Solutions to these problems that are hampering the productivity and effectiveness of the governments exist, and it is only right that we fix what can be fixed. Throughout this project, I have interviewed people on both sides of student councils including faculty advisors and students. I also have simply talked with the people of school communities about their views. I have watched meetings and read about various student leadership committees in schools. Student Councils are a wonderful platform for student voice and concerns, but there is a major disconnect between the students, the faculty, and the student government of a school. A disconnect such as this can create a hostile environment, hinder productivity and effectiveness, as well as have many other negative effects. This divide can be changed through an increase in trust and honest communication between all parties.

The power vested in student governments by the administration vary greatly from school to school along with the format and structure of the governments. To truly understand what happens in a student government and the issues that affect it, it is important to understand the format of student governments. The more classic and standard form is hierarchy-based. This is often employed by large 110

universities and high schools. In it there are often students elected by the entire school who fill the positions of President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. The individual grades also elect a certain number of representatives and some are chosen by the teachers to sit on different committees with different focuses. For example one committee might deal with rallies and one with planning fundraisers (Smith) (DeKoven). In these governments, specifically in high schools, the main purpose is to organize parties, social events, fundraisers, and school spirit functions. These activities, with the exception of fundraisers, while being important for a school, should not be the main purpose of the student government as it is not a vital necessity of the students when compared with enacting changes for bettering the school. As is stated by the Irish Department of Education and Science “[a student council] should always work for the benefit of the school and its students,” (“The Student Council”). While these things should be dealt with a better use of the student government would be reforming school policies and reviewing school rules. It is claimed that this responsibility is in the Bay School student government, the SLC (School Life Committee).

In the SLC, there is no hierarchy, every representative is equal, and each grade has three representatives. While all representatives are equal in their vote and ability to participate, the seniors have special roles of secretary, student correspondent, and faculty correspondent. The seniors have extra responsibilities, but it is not more of a say it is simply that they have more experience and are thus looked to for some guidance (King). The SLC has the power and opportunity to make real change in the Bay School. However, from what I have observed they have so far not done so. In a meeting, the stu-

dents were given plenty of opportunities to participate but it was almost entirely teacher run."

In both the SLC and ASB forms, there is a teacher presence, however in one it is less evident. From sitting in on the Associated Student Body (ASB), which would fall under the classic hierarchy format, South San Francisco High School gave the impression of a truly student led government. At the Bay School when I sat in on a meeting, it was almost entirely teacher led with very little student participation this is not due to a lack of opportunity but that “students [today] seem less interested in leadership activities,” (Dickerson 133). However, although the ASB seemed student run the advisor, Florence DeKoven, said that while this is true of the meetings everything else had to be checked with teachers and nothing could be worked on independent of the teachers and only approved when fine (DeKoven). According to Hideko Akashi, the SLC advisor, it’s much more student led and the direction of the meetings is decided much more by the students than the teachers (Akashi). Overall, the two biggest differences between the governments is the hierarchy and the power held by the two. The hierarchy in the ASB made the meeting much more effective and clear cut in its agenda while the SLC, having far more power and responsibility, gave the meeting much more substance and importance. Overall while the form of the SLC has more power they cannot effectively use it and while the ASB could utilize the power they have none to harness making both ineffective.

This lack of power and lack of utilization of power seriously affects how the student council is viewed by students and adults in the com111

munity. Many people, students and teachers, feel that school governments have no power (Kuwatani) (DeKoven) (King). The students don’t see the government doing anything and simply think they are some organization that looks good on a college applications (DeKoven). There are even some cases in which members of the student government are looked down on and belittled because of the seeming lack of productivity (DeKoven). Productivity, in this case, can be viewed as any changes or additions to a school due to the work of a student government. In Ireland, it is officially recommended “for a member of the teaching staff to attend meetings of the Council. [As] the support and guidance offered by a teacher will be very useful to a Council when planning its activities,” (Department of Education and Science 10). While it is honorable that the administration wishes to be involved and aid the government, their presence will ultimately take away from the voice of the students.

Having a teacher will mean the student government will have to appeal to the administration before they have a chance to finish ideas and present a full case. Many students, on councils, think that teachers do not realize the importance the student government can hold if they receive the tools to improve a school from the administration and teachers instead of regulation (DeKoven). Even at the Bay School, a community far smaller than the one in which the ASB operates, the students don’t take the SLC seriously. There are also feelings that the administration does not either, that not enough trust and faith is put in the SLC (Kuwatani). This is due, in large part, to a lack of communication between all groups within a school, students, student government, and faculty. Without the whole school being notified that something has happened a belief that no busi-

ness is attended to takes hold of the student populace. The teacher view is due to the same misconception that the students it to. This is an issue that appears everywhere in life, including our actual governments. Everybody who served on a student council and consulted about student opinion, felt that the students would feel differently if they knew the ideas and process that made up what the government did. This lack of communication is just one of many issues that plague student governments.

Lack of communication among all in a school is one of the key issues that plague student governments. Without healthy communication, nothing would get done in any segment of life. Communication in this case can refer to relations between students within a council, students outside the council, and with the faculty. In a case study at a small residential college one student officer stated that “’people in the [student government] rarely go beyond their duties to help others. Some have trouble listening, completing tasks, and working with others,’” (Bloomdahl 112). This student found that the government officials had hostile relations with each other. The study focused on how poor communication and unhealthy relations within a student government negatively affects the everyday operations of a student government. The study found that there was disorganization as well as a poor quality of communication, lack of motivation, and poor delegation of responsibility. Communication is not an issue pertaining solely to the inner workings of a student government.

In 2002 a student government in a New York college was shut down because “the students [had] been complaining about the fact that the government [did] not adequately represent their views,” (“Stony 112

Brook Student Government”). There was later evidence that this was a move by a faculty member to enforce their own agenda. The fact that the administrator couldn’t try to bring up the issues of the government with the students is evidence of poor communication between the faculty and student government. There is also a lack of trust placed in student governments both by the students and by the teachers. In the previous case, the students on the government felt that the faculty member did not give them enough power and tried to control what they did. Similar concerns have been raised both by students and by the faculty members in the ASB and SLC communities (Kuwatani) (DeKoven). Furthermore in some schools it is policy to that the government has no power outside what the administration says and they could be shut down at any moment (“WHS”).

Student governments lose a significant amount of effectiveness if they are not trusted to wield power effectively. If the administration does not believe in them they cannot make any real change.

“Through effective, empowering opportunities to use their voice, experience and knowledge to make meaningful decisions, all students can have ownership in their learning, and the investment to succeed,” (Fletcher 3).

A third major issue is follow through. In the ASB, one of the biggest problems is a lack of continuing on with an idea. If a student comes up with a proposal there is often times a problem with them developing and taking the idea further. They may come up with a great plan but then work on it is halted and it doesn’t go anywhere (DeKoven).

In the SLC, it wasn’t so much that something was dropped as the

students would hit an obstacle they couldn’t work around and drop the issue or it would be taken out of their hands (Kuwatani).

Finally, there is a power struggle between student leadership and adult oversight. This is not suggesting that teachers are constantly trying to undermine the student government merely that there needs to be a set of guidelines to define the relation between faculty and students regarding authority within a student government. The lack of such an agreement means that an administrator could hypothetically completely eliminate the purpose of a student government.

Any issues of the issues discussed that student government’s face should be solved by the students not the faculty. Making the students responsible for reforming the government will increase their investment, teach them valuable skills, create a council that is useful for the students, and will increase the student voice (Fletcher 34). In Norwich University the Dean of Students threatened to ask the president to shut down the student government because there was not accurate representation of non-corps (civilian) students in the government (Carroll). While fair representation in student government is an issue, threatening a shutdown is not a fair solution to anyone because then no one is represented. For an increase in communication it is important that students and teachers know what the government is doing. There are many possible ways to notify the student body as to what is going on. Announcements by the government as to what is going on and what the council is working on can help. Even if the government cannot get the idea passed they can get feedback from the students this way and improve the idea. The creation of a newsletter with much the same purpose as 113

the announcements would be advisable. When a student recommends an idea the government should respond to the idea regardless of whether or not they can get the idea passed, explain why it is feasible or not. Without this response it seems like ideas just disappear into a gaping black hole. All ideas are worth addressing to a certain degree (Fletcher 4). At the end of each month publish a timeline of what has happened in the government. An increase in transparency would also allow people to have more faith in the government. Being aware of what is going on enables the students to give informed feedback if they wish. Transparency could also be increased if the student government let five or ten students sit in on meeting or by telling the general student body what has happened in each meeting. Really any way people can be told what happening would be an improvement. “Students need feedback and validation that their voices have been heard,” (Fletcher 3). There are also some solutions which will come into effect as a response to others, for example a respect between teachers and the government. Such a respect would allow for everyone to grow and improve as well as work to improve the school (Fletcher 4). This would arise through a realization of the skills of the government.

Another way to increase the productivity of the government is to scrutinize the people who are applying. In the ASB, they are actually missing members and have to take anyone who applies (excepting egregious cases) (DeKoven). In the SLC, anyone can apply and there is no way for the students to find out the qualifications of the nominee as it is immediately put to vote (Akashi). In the SLC there have been changes where applicants must submit a state-

ment of purpose however as of now students cannot see those (Akashi). A good way to test the qualifications of the applicant is to have speeches delivered to the students so as to have the students choose based on who they think would represent them best and not based on friendships. Without the speeches people are taking a blind vote and are likely to vote for their friends, with the speeches people can explain how they can help the student government. It is important to have invested students because it requires a lot of effort and the students deserve representative who are fully dedicated (Fletcher 4). Another way to increase productivity is to introduce a moderator with no say in the affairs of the meeting. This moderator would ideally be a student chosen by the students, to keep the organization student run, who is there solely as a nonbiased regulator to make sure business is addressed. The moderator factor is present in the hierarchy form of government, although it falls upon the secretary, and it greatly contributes to the productiveness of the conversation. The reason it should be someone who doesn’t have a vote is to keep them non-partial and so that they can focus on orderly management. It is also important to create a definite contract between the administration and the students. The students should have complete authority over the government with faculty only there in an advisory capacity, with no power until it is time for a proposal to be put into action. Ideally many student councils already operate like this, however, there are many that do not or claim to but fail to live up to the claim. Because it has been shown to hinder productivity in student governments by the interference of adults in the cases of Stony Brook and Norwich University and by poor communication in Bloomdahl’s case, it is important that faith is put in the students 114

both so that they can get work done as well as so they are forced to work to deserve the faith.

Student governments exist primarily for the benefit of the students and any other role is secondary and not a priority. They are to act as a go between for students and administration, as a body where key issues can be discussed, and as a place for â&#x20AC;&#x153;colleges and universities to train students to be future leaders, advocates, and service providers for their fellow college and university students,â&#x20AC;? (May 4). These ideas are true also in high school student governments.

A necessary part of making sure the student government can complete these jobs is assuring that all teachers and students in a school knows what is going on. Without proper communication misconceptions and misunderstandings can occur, like people not doing the work they said they would (Bloomdahl 111). Communication between all parties, student, faculty, and student council, should be common and in depth. Possible ways to improve communication is to increase student government presence through a newsletter or public announcements, respond to ideas put forth by students, and an increase in transparency possibly by letting people sit in on meetings. Communication is a necessary skill in life and it is important to learn it. A lack of communication in our actual government caused a government shutdown and the subsequent loss of twenty-four billion dollars. To increase productivity and address concerns over things not getting done make it harder to become a member. In the ASB so few people apply that everyone pretty much has to be accepted and in the SLC there is no way for the students to test qualifications. The scrutiny will ensure that only people who can and will

get stuff done are put on the governments. There is no way to ensure that the people who try to be on the council will tell the truth so you will have to trust them and have faith that the students can tell a lie from the truth. Also, to increase productivity in the student government one should create a third party to regulate discussions and make sure the meetings are productive. In addition, the third party should consist of individuals whom are elected by the student body.

Furthermore, for the government to be a truly student run organization the student body as a whole should understand that teachers are present in the body solely as an advisor with no authority until the proposal is done and ready for enactment upon which time the administration might take a more active role. Student governments are an amazing asset, they can provide a place for the student voice to gain more power. However, if they are not utilized to their fullest and are left to be an unused fixture in the school they have failed, both in serving the students and bettering the school. Should a student government be unable to pass anything they must examine core elements that allow them to run; communication, trust, and student participation. "

115

Work Cited Akashi, Hideko. Personal Interview. 13 Jan. 2014.

Bloomdahl, Susan C., Navan Joy. “Student Leadership in a Residential College: From Dysfunction to Effective Collaboration.” Journal of College Student Development. 54.1 (2013): 110-114. PDF. 15 Dec. 2013.

Carroll, Liam and Guidon Staff Writers. “Student Government Association faces pressure from Dean of Students.” The Guidon. Norwich University, 13 Dec. 2013. Web. 10 Jan. 2014.

DeKoven, Florence. Personal interview. 21 Jan. 2014.

Department of Education and Science. Student Councils: A Voice For Students. Dublin: Department of Education and Science, 2002.

PDF File.

May, Walter Preston. Student Governance: A Qualitative Study of Leadership in a Student Government Association Georgia State University: Educational Policy Studies Dissertations, 2009. PDF File.

Smith, Elizebeth and Demand Media. “Student Council Officer Duties.” Synonym. Demand Media, ND. Web. 29 Dec. 2013.

“Stony Brook Student Government Disbanded in Dispute Over Budget.” NY Times. The New York Times, 7 Nov. 2002. Web. 10 Jan. 2014.

“The Student Council Liaison Teacher and the Student Council.”

Student Council Support. Department of Education and Science and Department of Health and Children, ND. Web. 29 Dec. 2013.

“WHS Student Council Constitution.” Weston High School. Weston Public Schools, ND. Web. 29 Dec. 2013.

Dickerson, Alexandra. “Student Councils.” The Clearing House.

72.3 (1999): 133-134. Proquest Research Library. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.

Fletcher, Adam. Meaningful Student Involvement. Olympia, WA: Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, ND. PDF. King, Rebecca. Personal Interview. 9 Jan. 2014.

Kuwatani, Keith. Personal Interview. 7 Jan, 2014.

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Margaux Paradis

Modern Day Slavery?

For many people, slavery is an issue which exists only in history books. These people are wrong. There are twenty seven million people enslaved in the world today, more than any other time in history.

In the United States, one of the most disturbing forms of slavery is the human trafficking of women. Several years ago, Danielle Douglas, now 31, was trafficked into sex slavery. Her story does not begin with a spring break gone wrong, or in a dusty town in Cambodia, or on a dark, brothel-lined alleyway in Bangkok. It starts in an apartment in Boston. Danielle was 17 when she moved to start college at Northeastern University. One day, she went to an apartment where she believed there was a party being thrown, but arrived only to find one man there who was in his mid-40s. He claimed to feel badly that there had been a misunderstanding and offered to take her to dinner. For the next couple weeks they continued to stay in touch.

One ordinary night Danielle believed she was going out to dinner with him again, and when she saw him he shoved her into a car and told her she needed to make money for him. With no cell phone or money, she stood on a street corner with other girls and began to understand what he wanted her to do for him. When she walked over to an alleyway to figure out what she was going to do, he fol-

lowed her and began to beat her and threatened her life, at that point she just started to follow his directions. From that night on, it only got worse. She was constantly beaten and his eyes were always on her except when she was being forced to have sex with a client. Danielle was living in constant fear and obeying every order given to her so she wouldn’t be injured further or killed (Dimon).

Danielle’s story is similar to many other women’s who have been sex trafficked; she was manipulated, intimidated, and forced into submission. In an interview Danielle explained, "You're so ashamed of what you've done already, and then to be told every minute of every day, 'I'm the only one that’s going to love you now. The only one who is ever gonna love a ho is a pimp … I can take care of you.' And this is drilled into you. Drilled, drilled, drilled. Until you start believing it'"(Dimon). Danielle remained under her pimp's intense, overpowering control and manipulation for two miserable years, but she managed to escape-- this is more than many other girls can say. The average life expectancy for a girl who is involved in human trafficking is seven years. Human Trafficking is a thirty two billion dollar a year enterprise, second only to drug trafficking. This is more revenue than major companies including Apple and Ford (Too Close to Home). Unlike drugs, traffickers can sell a person over and over again (Conway). Human trafficking is an issue which is often misunderstood or overlooked because it happens away from the public eye. It is critical that people are aware that human trafficking is a pressing issue in our own communities and they must become educated on how to avoid, prevent, and solve this problem.

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Human trafficking is everywhere: it is a global problem, it’s a national problem, it’s a state problem and it’s a local problem. If we don't increase public awareness about this issue the sex trade will continue. A common misconception is that human trafficking is something which only happens in third world countries, but it is not a foreign problem, it is our problem in our community. The amount of girls who are sexually exploited who are US citizens outweigh the ones who are foreign born. In the US 100,000 women who are American citizens are found each year being sexually exploited (Bales). Many people believe it is only certain demographic or certain neighborhoods where human trafficking happens, it’s not, it is everywhere (Too Close to Home).

Sex trafficking happens in many venues; including strip clubs, residential brothels, escort services, massage parlors, and street prostitution (Too Close to Home). These traffickers are out in our own communities recruiting and looking to find one helpless girl which they can gain control of: searching on the internet, around foster homes, and common places where runaways go. The victims could be girls of multiple ages, ethnicities, social status, and family situations. Though a girl could be trafficked at any age, the younger girl in the US are more desirable and profitable (Wagner). The majority of girls forced into sex trade in the US are between the ages of twelve and fourteen (Bales). It is disturbing to think about what girls are forced to do at this extremely young age and how traffickers take advantage of the girls' innocence and vulnerability.

Human traffickers are extremely manipulative and have an array of different techniques they use to gain control of women. The internet,

along with other technologies, have played a large role in enabling human trafficking. In the United States, the internet has been the number one platform that pimps, traffickers, and johns currently use for buying and selling girls for sex (Polaris). Trafficking can begin with the traffickers contacting potential victims on social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace (American bar). US attorney Tom Mass says that “At any given time, 50,000 predators are prowling for children on the internet.” (Bales 91). The internet is a useful tool for traffickers, but another place where they often find girls who are easy to manipulate are places where runaways usually go. One out of three children runaways will be lured into prostitution within 48 hours of being on the streets (Too Close to Home). Runaways are very susceptible to trafficking because they are lacking something at home and the traffickers prey on that void. They are out on the street with no means of taking care of themselves and that’s what these traffickers provide for them. It only takes 90 seconds for a trafficker to size up a girl and determine what that child is looking for; whether it is attention, a place to stay, food, drugs, or a new phone (Too Close to home). The child begins to trust this person, but they suddenly are taken into a world that they could have never imagined. They lure these children into the fold then ask them to do one thing for them, before they know it, something that seemed like a good things turns into them living their worst nightmares. In a personal interview with a nationally recognized expert on human trafficking, Sharmin Bock, reiterated the most common way girls become involved with human trafficking is by being tricked and manipulated by their trafficker through promises of love. A girl who is in a vulnerable state will easily fall in love with a man, without any knowl118

edge that he is a pimp or trafficker, and then justify what they are doing by thinking that they are helping the man they love. These are the cases which are extremely difficult to prosecute because even the victim will be working against the case because they don’t believe that the man ever did anything wrong. Traffickers employ threats, violence, and rape as a means of control. They often threaten victims through saying things such as “I know where your family lives, if you want to see them stay alive, you do what I say” (Bales). Traffickers will also try to gain control of girls by getting them hooked on a certain type of drug. Once the girl is addicted, the traffickers use her addiction as a form of control and tell them they will provide more of the drug if she follows his orders. Traffickers are wily and manipulative and put much thought into how they will force a girl into the system.

The long term effects to victims of human trafficking, both physical and psychological, are brutal. A human trafficking victim is different from a rape or assault victim because they are repeatedly victimized. One victim can be raped up to 10 or 12 times a night. (Too Close to Home). These girls are abused over the course of several years. Life is challenging for the girls who escape the world of sex trafficking. The psychological challenges victims face is tragic. 68% of women meet the criteria for PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), the same range as combat veteran and victims of torture (Human Trafficking). Memories are not easily forgotten. Physical and mental health of girls is permanently altered. Often after a victim is rescued from human trafficking she forgets how to feel emotions, because she has forced herself to be numb to her situation for so

long. In an interview with a survivor of human trafficking, the girl explained “I had to completely remove myself from the situation, while it is happening my body would be there, but I made a complete mental detachment.”() Complete emotional and mental detachment is a common survivor mechanism which women feel they must use when there is no other escape from the torture. While detachment is an effective way to survive, the girls do not know any way but detachment and a lack of emotional feeling can be problematic in their life after trafficking. The situations which pimps and traffickers force these victims to experience cause a variety of physical problems as well. These victims are constantly exposed to sexually transmitted disease. Most of these kids have one or more active STD. Pimps do not care about the health of these women because their priority is money. Another major issue for women in human trafficking is drug and alcohol addiction. Pimps often hook a girl on a drug as a means of control, and this addiction continues into life after human trafficking. Drugs and alcohol can also become an issue for human trafficking victims because they have very few coping mechanisms, so girls often turn to drugs or alcohol as an escape. often ending in drug overdose. Furthermore, suicide is an issue in human trafficking victims because victims get to a point where they believe that death is their only escape.Needless to say, the physical and mental toll for the victims of sex slavery is immeasurable. There are girls who are lucky enough to come out of the system alive, but the hard fact is that once victims are forced into human trafficking, their average life expectancy is only seven years (American Bar).

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As human trafficking has become a more lucrative business, there have many new rules and laws implemented to prevent it. The problem is that human trafficking is one of the hardest crimes to prosecute. An FBI agent interview in the documentary Too Close to Home explains how “if you stop a car and find cocaine, that person is going to jail. If you pull over a car with a male and a female, how would you know that the women is a victim of human trafficking?”

(Too Close to Home). It requires very detailed training which is something police forces have improved. One significant effort to prevent human trafficking, the Safe Harbor Act , went into effect in 2013. This law allows law enforcement to take the victims of sex trafficking to a safe place where they can get the help. Before this act went into place, police were told to take children they found on the streets and arrest them for prostitution. Rather than treating them like criminals, the Safe Harbor Act allows girls to escape and receive the treatment they need. In May 2013, the House Bill 1325 was signed into law, allowing victims to expunge any criminal records incurred while being trafficked (Human Trafficking). Because of offenses which women committed while under the control of their pimp, survivors of human trafficking were not be allowed to do certain jobs, such as work with children, due to having a criminal record of offenses which they were forced to commit while under the control of their pimp (Too Close to Home). This victimized them even more. Along with these two new laws, the sentence for these pimps and traffickers has become more severe. There used to be only one sentence for a pimp or trafficker, no matter the number of girls they were controlling. Now, for each women that a trafficker controlled there is a thirty year sentence (Dimon). Most often, a traf-

ficker or pimp is in charge of much more than one girl and their sentence is extremely severe. Though law enforcement has become much more aware of the issue of human sex trafficking and implemented many new laws to prevent it, the cases of human trafficking are some of the hardest cases to solve because of so much lack of evidence.

The past two years our community has made meaningful progress in the fight to end human trafficking. Sadly, the fact remains that the rate of women who are being human trafficked is at an all-time high.

Creating awareness is critical. Educating the public, law enforcement officers and victims will make a huge difference. We have an obligation as human beings to do whatever needs to be done to end this inhumane practice. Unless the community steps up and becomes involved, our young girls will remain enslaved.

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Works Cited Bales, Kevin, and Ron Soodalter. The Slave Next Door. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: " University of California Press, 2009. Print.

Bock, Sharmin. Personal Interview, Jan. 24, 2014.

Wagner, John. "Serving California's Human Trafficking Victims and Refugees." Policy & " Practice 68.6 " (2010): 14-7. ProQuest, 2010.Web. 17 Dec. 2013.

“Human Trafficking.” Polaris Project. National Human Resource Center, 2014. Web. 2 Mar. 2014.

Dimon, Laura. “You’ll never see this side of the Super Bowl on TV.” Polymic. Polymic, 2014. Web. 2 Mar. 2014.

Do, Anh, and Paloma Esquivel. "Buyers of Sex Targeted in O.C.; Authorities Go After Customers "as Well as Pimps in Crackdown on Human Trafficking." Los Angeles Times. Aug 19 " 2013. ProQuest. Web." 17 Dec. 2013 .

Judd, Sandra J., ed. Domestic Violence Sourcebook. Detroit, MI: Omnigraphics,2013. Print.

Judge Herbert B., Dixon Jr. “Human Trafficking and the Internet.”

The Judges Journal. American Bar, 2013. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.

Peter, Phillips, and Andrew Roth, ed. Censored 2009. New York, NY: Seven Stories Press, 2008. Print.

Stacy, Teicher K. "Human Trafficking: As Awareness Grows, Calls Triple to National Hot " Line." The Christian Science Monitor: 12. Nov 22 2013. ProQuest. Web. 17 Dec. 2013 .

Too Close to Home. WEDU, 2011. Streaming.

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Spencer Paulsen

Genetically Modified Food Many Americans do not know that 80 percent of processed foods contain ingredients that were modified in a science lab. According to a poll conducted by CBS and The New York Times, 53 percent of consumers said they would not buy food that has been genetically modified. However the probability that those people have bought a genetically modified food is very high. Why donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t people want to buy genetically modified foods? People believe genetic engineering is an abomination. They donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t buy GMOs because food is very significant to society. They also believe we should not be modifying plants and other organisms. Also, these people think genetically modifying foods have only been recently introduced. However, this idea is false. Humans discovered modifying genes in 1930 by Gregor Mendel. Genetically modifying genes of plants have a positive effect on farmers, and consumers. We can engineer plants to be drought resistance, meaning farmers spend less of water. However, genetically modified foods have potential down sides. One of these down sides is: unexpected change in genetics could be fatal to people, and other organisms. This ideas can be countered because GMOs are rigorously tested. However, it isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the genetically modified food that is bad, it is the genetic engineering companies that are bad. Ge-

netically modified foods are positive for society, however big GMO companies are using GMOs to take advantage of local farmers to make a bigger profit for themselves. People need to become more informed of this problem.

Food is significant to humans and because of this people are very hesitant of genetically modifying food. One way food has impacted us is biologically (Pascalev). When we eat food it directly effects our bodies and minds health. It directly affects our health because food can make us gain or lose weight. Another way food affects our health is we need to eat to survive. Another way food impacts us is we socialize through eating food (Pascalev). If you ever go to an event, there is most likely food there for you to eat. The food laid out for you is not necessarily for you to survive, or to fill your stomach up with, it is used as a conservation piece or something that taste good. Talking about what you had for lunch or which restaurants are good are good conversation starters. Food also defines religions and nations. Food has been integrated into religions since religion has started. In religions such as Christianity, they have the body and blood of Christ, to clarify, the body of Christ is bread and the blood of Christ is traditionally wine. Christians are not cannibals. Judaism also integrates foods. There are many kosher foods, and in Judaism, kosher means to prepare foods that meet the requirements of Jewish law (Webster dictionary). Food also defines countries. Almost every country has a signature dish. When I think about America, I think about hamburgers and hot dogs. When I think of China, I think about rice, noodles and dumplings. When I think about Italy, I think about pastas and pizzas. This just shows how sig122

nificant food is to people. That is why I think people dislike genetically engineering because people believe scientist are messing around with their body, social experience and culture.

Genetically engineering is highly controversial topic, yet many people aren’t aware of what genetically engineering is (Survey Monkey). To educate the population, people need to be aware of the history of genetically engineering. In the 1930s, a man known as Gregor Mendel, or the Father of Genes, discovered genetics (Wikipedia). He is an important figure in the history of genetics because, through his studies, discovered genes and how they work. His is why we have genetic engineering today. To discover genes he worked with pea plants, and bred thousands of plants and studied many different variables, including how many peas each pod yielded, the color of the plant and how many seeds each plant produced. Through this he found out how genes work and how to get the more desirable trait a plant has. However, Gregor Mendel just discover how genes work, he wasn’t the first one to genetically modify. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, genetic engineering is the science of making changes to the genes of a plant or animal to produce a desired result. Technically, humans have been genetically engineering since we have been planting plants. After a harvest, we would chose to plant the bigger seed or the seed that gave us the most grain. After a while, the plant will cross breed with the other plants so that they have that gene. However, because of the increase of better technology and the increase of knowledge, scientist can now change an organism’s genome by inserting or remov-

ing DNA by going into an actual cell. This is controversial to some people because they don’t like people playing God. Since there is controversy, false reports and media bias, people believe genetically engineered organisms are bad and harmful. Some of the potential risk that revolve around genetic engineering is unexpected gene change (Murnaghan). This could happen when a new piece of DNA is inserted into the genome of an organism. The scientist could isolate a gene to make a strawberry bigger, however when placed into a potato could produce a protein that is harmful. This could lead to harmful results to humans and other species. That is the argument opponents of genetically engineered organisms are using to stop GMOs (Pascalev). Another potential risk genetically engineered plants pose is the extinction of different plants (“Are Biotech Foods Safe to Eat?”). There is a fear that genetically engineered plants could cross breed with natural plants and wipe out a whole species. Another concern people have is the plants could cause an allergic reaction with humans (Dr. Martin). For an example, if you place the DNA of a peanut into a tomato, people could be allergic to the tomato. Leading to a person having a life threatening allergy to a tomato. There is also a concern about the loss of the bee population. The number of bees are slowly declining and many opponents of genetic engineering point their fingers at GMOs. However all of the concerns are false or can be prevented. Genetically engineered plant go through rigorous testing (Daboub, et al.). This will prevent any poisonous potatoes leaving the lab or a tomato that will cause a peanut allergic reaction. There is also a very low probability that a whole species will become extinct. There is a very low 123

chance genetically modified crop will breed with a crop that is across the sea or in another state. There is also no study or evidence that the genetically modified foods are affecting other organisms.

Genetically modified foods have many aspects that are beneficial for society. Genetically modified foods can be good because scientist can engineer plants that are more nutritious. This can be very helpful to people that live in poverty. People can buy less but get more nutrients. This is also helpful when other countries are in a famine. Chef Ruth, who studied GMOs, and is very knowledgeable said, one year, the United States sent the Philippines genetically engineered rice because they were in a famine (Chef Ruth). This helped the people of the Philippines stay alive and live off less. Scientist can engineer strawberries to be bigger and juicier, and scientist can engineer apples to remain crisp and crunchy for a longer period of time. There are also plants that have been modified to be drought resistance and thus, farmers will spend less money on water. It won’t only cost less for the farmers, and they will cost less for the consumers and they will have a longer shelf life. Genetically modified plants will also grow faster and grow with more desirable traits (Chef Ruth). Overall, genetically modified foods are better than organic foods.

Genetically modified foods are not bad, however there is some corruption with the companies that create genetically modified foods.

Instead of creating genetically modified plants to benefit society, some corporations use them to gain a bigger profit for themselves (Bocco). One scientist created a seed that would produce a plant

that would not give of any fertile seeds; so the farmer couldn’t plant them (Dr. Martin). The farmer now has to go back to the company and waste more money on a crop that was designed to save him/ her more money. In addition, some companies sue local farmers for having their crop “illegally” (Chef Ruth). They do this because sometimes a neighboring farm has genetically modified crops, and their pollen travels to a farm that has organic plants. Those plants are now pollenated with the pollen of the genetically modified crop. The crop then produces an offspring which is genetically modified, and so the company sues the farmer for having their crop, but it wasn’t the farmer fault (Chef Ruth). The farmer then loses a lot of money.

This is a complicated problem that needs to be solved. Some solutions are government regulations. However when the government has regulations, this will limit what the companies will create. So they don’t create seeds that only last one generation. However, this will not solve the problem of how the companies sue the local farmers. A solution that could satisfy each party would be to have a compromise. If the farmer has accidentally acquire genetically modified crops, then the company would get 25 percent of the profit that the harvest yields. This way, the farmer won’t go broke, and the company will get money.

After solving the problem of GMO companies, we need to solve another problem. That problem is the unawareness of what genetically modified foods actually are. There are a lot of skeptics and false accusations about genetically modified foods. If we raise awareness of GMOs, people will start to realize the benefits. People should acquire a better education of genetically modified foods, and schools 124

should be teaching kids the benefits of GMOs. We can also raise awareness of genetically modified foods by labeling food that contains GMOs, but only after we educate the public. By labeling, this will allow the consumer the choice of choosing organic or GMOs.

Batrinou, Anthimia M, Dimitriou, Evangelia, Liatsos, Disios and Pletsa, Vassiliki. “Genetically modified foods: The effect of information.”

Murnaghan, Ian. “Major GM Foods Manufacturers.” Genetically Modified Foods. N.p, 2012. Web. 1/16/2014.

“Are Biotech Foods Safe to Eat?” WebMD. N.p, 2012. Web. 1/16/ 2014.

Work Cited Bocco, Diana. wiseGeek. Conjecture Corporation, 27 Feb 2013.

Web. 17 Dec 2013.

Whitman, Deborah B. ProQuest. CSA, Apr 2000.Web. 17 Dec 2013.

Daboub, Anthony J., Shane H. Martin, Dennis Ortiz, and Mark T. Blakemore. "The Regulation of Genetically Modified Foods: A Corporate Ethical and Social Responsibility." ProQuest. Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues, 15 Feb. 2012. Web. 18 Dec. 2013.

Ronald, Pamela, and Adamchak, Raoul. Tomorrow’s Table Organic Farming, Genetics, and the Future Food. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. Print.

Harmon, Amy. “A Lonely Quest for Facts on Genetically Modified Crops.” The New York Times. Jan. 4th 2014. Web. 1/6/2014.

Pascalev, Assya. “You Are What You Eat: Genetically Modified Foods, Integrity, and Society.”Journal of Agriculture and Environmental Ethics. 16.6 (2003): 583-593. ProQuest. Web. 7 Jan 2014.

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Henry Pond

Umad? A Study of Violent Video Games

Branches lash at your face as you sprint through the trees, your heart pounding in your ears, cracks of gunfire audible far in the distance. You emerge from the bush to see an enemy patrol approaching from the west. You steady your breath, place your sights on the enemy’s foreheads, and tighten your finger around the trigger. The men drop to the ground as you hear the satisfying thump of their bodies hitting the damp grass. Your eyes dart around the scenery, checking to see if the coast is clear. As you rise to your feet, thinking victory is in your hands, you hear a loud crack in the distance, and the whizzing of a .50 caliber bullet flying towards your chest at blinding speed.

Game Over.

Try again?

Ever since the release of the first violent video game, there has been a monstrous amount of controversy around the effects of violent video games on the human mind. There’s so much stigma around these games that society has created many myths about video games without looking at the actual facts. Video games do not melt your brain or turn you into a serial killer; they improve your ability to think quickly and precisely, and deserve recognition for all the positive effects that they provide.

The first truly violent video game was DOOM, released in 1993 as the first ever first-person shooter (FPS). It is considered one of the most influential games in the history of video games due to the fact that it popularized and forged the way for the FPS genre. Ever since then, violent video games, FPSs in particular, have generated a very bad rap. First and foremost, video games do not, in fact, cause the inside of your skull to turn into a bowl of grey matter chowder. It has been proven multiple times that there are no degenerative effects on brain or optical tissue after playing video games for long periods of time. Another argument against violent video games is that violent video games desensitize people to violence. Now while this is true to some degree, based off of the answers to a couple surveys I sent out and people I’ve asked, people experienced the same amount of desensitization to violence from video games as violent movies, if they even experienced any at all. Some of the people I asked or received responses from said that they feel that there hasn’t been any effect from playing violent video games. The ones 126

that did state that it had an effect said that it had no effect on their daily lives, and that it only desensitized their tolerance for violence in other video games. Based off of the opinions of the people in and around our community, movies and other popular forms of media offer the same amount of desensitization as video games do, and even if these effects do occur, they most likely won’t have an effect on your life. However, the more pressing issue in our society today is the fact that video games are portrayed as something that will increase long-term aggression levels and eventually cause violence.

People who support this theory state that playing FPSs and other violent video games desensitizes us to and supports the use of violence, and thus causes your average teenager to transform from a slightly aggressive adolescent to a mentally unstable serial killer.

However, there is no evidence to back up this claim except some murderers who do commit these kinds of crimes had a history of playing violent video games. The reasoning behind this argument is understandable, but the fact of the matter is that many of the shooters already had a history of violence, depression, or mental instability. This, combined with the fact that 97% of minors play video games and over 50% of male minors play violent video games (Lenhart), shows their habit of playing video games was likely a coincidence, and that their crimes were attributed to their mental conditions. In fact, studies have shown that as violent video games are released, it caused a 0.03% decrease in crime rates around the country, and around a 0.3% decrease per year (Cunningham).

There is no sound evidence to prove that video games cause teens to become killers. However, there is actually a negative effect that

comes with video games, but it is often blown out of proportion by the media.

In a study performed at the University of Ohio by Brad Bushman, he asked 70 French students to participate and broke them up into two groups. One half played the violent video games “Condemned 2” and “Call of Duty 4” while the other half played the non-violent racing games “Dirt 2” and “Pure”. After three 20 minute periods of playing over the course of three days, each subject was given the same scenario, and then asked to come up with 20 different endings to that scenario. The students who had been playing violent video games came up with more violent endings to the scenarios than the students who played the non-violent games. The next test they conducted consisted of asking the students to play a game with an opponent. In this game, they were to press a button as soon as they were prompted to onscreen, and whoever reacted first won, and the loser would receive a blast of unpleasant sounds generated by the winner. The winner would choose the intensity, volume, and kinds of sounds played through the loser’s headphones. However, the students who played the game did not know that they were actually playing against an AI opponent, and the wins and losses were randomized. In this test, they found that the violent-video gamers chose to give their opponents higher volume levels of sound than the non-violent video gamers. “After playing a violent video game, we found that people expect others to behave aggressively. That expectation may make them more defensive and more likely to respond with aggression themselves, as we saw in this study and in other studies we have conducted.” (Bushman). However, in that 127

same study, the effects were shown to be very short-lived. There is nothing to support that the effects on aggression levels which violent video games cause last longer than a day, as the effects have been shown to go away fairly quickly depending on the person’s level of interest in the game (Bushman). This relates back to my earlier mentioned argument about violence and crime. Since these attacks on various schools or facilities are not exactly easy to execute, as they require copious amounts of planning. Obtaining a gun isn’t an easy task, and no matter how you go about it, it will take longer than a day to plan and execute an attack. Since the effects on aggression have been shown to last less than a day in most cases, this likely attributes their crimes to long-standing mental conditions rather than the effects of violent video games. However, the most dangerous thing to come from playing any kind of video game is not the direct effect on the mind itself, but the risk of addiction.

Video games can be very addicting, and after interviewing a 3D designer who has been working in this field for 24 years, we can tell why. He stated that the biggest part of what makes a video game sell well and be fun to play is the aspect of achievement. After you achieve something even somewhat remarkable, you are given a medal, in-game cash, a new weapon, or in general something that is valuable and renews the gameplay experience. Then you’re given a new goal, and a new reward to shoot for. This can lead to some addicting games, and video game addiction can cause one to detach his or herself from his or her life. It can cause one to skip things that we consider to be basic necessities, such as sleep, hygiene, eating, and social interaction. (Benbow). This is the biggest

aspect to be aware of when playing any kind of video game, violent or not.

The positive effects of video games are not acknowledged due to the stigma that surrounds violent video games. Daphne Bavelier has conducted numerous studies surrounding the effects of video games. She currently works as a research professor at the University of Rochester and has a PhD in Brain and Cognitive Science from MIT. In her studies, she found a few beneficial effects, namely decreases in visual crowding, improved reaction time, and improved overall vision. Visual crowding ”…refers to the general phenomenon that it is substantially more difficult to identify a target object when other distracting objects are present in its immediate vicinity than when the target object is presented in isolation” (Bavelier), and violent video games have been shown to better the brains ability to track multiple objects within said field. In a study conducted by Bavelier, she split a group of test subjects into two groups, one group was assigned to play Call of Duty 2 and the other The Sims 2. Each person played 50 hours of their respective game over the course of a few weeks. At the end of the playing period the subject would have to tell the orientation of the letter “T” in the middle of two others stacked on top of each other vertically as quickly as possible.

This same test was conducted with varying spaces in between the letters. The VGPs (video game players) were able to perform these tests to a greater ability than the NVGPs (non-video game players), which shows that the VGPs brains can process information more quickly than the NVGPs. The difficulty of the VGPs’ first-person shooter game was steadily increased over the period of time in 128

which they were playing video games, and the increase of their ingame ability was measured by their kill to death ratio. The subjects’ KD-ratios improved immensely by the end of the playing period (one month). The subjects were actively engaged in the game, and that the time they have put into the game has had a substantial effect on their skill level. Finally, the NVGPs were trained using violent video games for another 30 hours after the initial testing period and showed large amounts of progress in the testing. Violent video games do indeed reduce visual crowding. Bavelier also used a simpler test on the same subjects. This test consisted of a multitude of small circles bouncing around each other within a large ring. A certain number of circles would be colored a different color for a short period of time, (about 5-10 seconds), and at the end of that time period the circles would return to their original color, one circle out the entire pool would be highlighted, and the subject would have to say whether or not that particular circle was one of the few that was colored a few seconds ago. The more circles that were highlighted at the beginning, the more difficult the test is, as it requires you to track certain circles in the middle of a distractingly large number of other circles. The average NVGP’s maximum number of circles they were able to track was 4-5, while the average VGP’s was 6-7. The VGPs are better suited to tracking multiple objects in a field full of distractions (Bavelier). Bavelier’s study also proved that playing FPSs improves one’s reaction time and overall vision. In a new test, the subjects were required to tell whether a small cluster of erratically moving dots was moving left or right on a screen. Before the gaming period, the subjects all showed similar results, but after playing their respective games for 50 hours over the course of a couple

weeks, the VGPs showed significantly better results than the NVGPs. The VGPs were able to answer just as correctly as the NVGPs, and they were 25% faster at it. Not only does playing violent video games increase your reaction time and reduce the amount of time it takes to process visual information, but other types of slow-paced video games do not have this effect. “How does this apply to your everyday life?” This is a question answered simply by running through your average day and really thinking about when having these effects would come in handy.

In today’s culture, increased reaction time might come in handy more than you’d think. There are a lot of small things that it would help with, such as catching a falling plate or glass, or answering questions more quickly on a test, and these help, but we could live without these. In a society where driving cars everywhere is the norm, it is invaluable to have sharp senses while driving. The improvements to visual crowding mechanisms and reaction time offers huge benefits in this situation. One may not notice it, but when driving, one must keep their eye on pedestrians, other cars, and streetlights all at the same time, as well as a multitude of other objects that may come into relevant view. If a jaywalker happens to stroll out into the middle of the street as you nonchalantly cruise along, these benefits might make the difference between a close call and a new entry in tomorrow’s obituary. (Bavelier).

Video games, violent ones in particular, are generally viewed as corruptive and dangerous to our society. This is a common misconception. By educating people about the actual facts about violent video games, one can truly understand all the aspects of violent video 129

games and what playing them entails. However, they require a degree of maturity and responsibility, as the risks concerning addiction, impressionability, and violence are still present. If you’re mature enough to know the difference between reality and fantasy, than playing violent video games can be likened to watching an action movie, and even though I can’t tell you whether or not you’re mature enough to play video games, I think that being educated about the risks and benefits can help you make the decision for yourself. If you take away all the stigma society has placed around them, you’re left with cold hard facts, and the facts show that video games, if used responsibly, can offer very useful benefits that can be useful in all of our lives.

Works Cited Cunningham, Scott and Engelstätter, Benjamin and Ward, Michael R., Understanding the Effects of Violent Video Games on Violent Crime (April 7, 2011).

Bavelier, Daphne. “Learning, Attention Control, and Action Video Games.“ Current Biology. 22.6 (20 March 2012): 197-206. Cell.com.

Web. 4 Jan. 2014.

Bushman, Brad. “Violent Video Games: More Playing Time Equals More Aggression.” The Ohio State University. Ohio State University, 2012. Web. 6 Jan. 2014.

Bavelier, Daphne. “Action Video Games Improve Vision.” University of Rochester. University of Rochester, 29 March 2009. Web. 5 Jan. 2014.

Bavelier, Daphne. “Video Games Lead to Faster Decisions that are No Less Accurate.” University of Rochester. University of Rochester, 13 Sep. 2010. Web. 2 Jan. 2014.

Benbow, Dana. “Video games can have harmful effects for addicts.”

USA Today. USA Today, 1 Mar. 2013. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.

Lenhart, Amandaz. “Teens, Video Games and Civics.” Pew Internet Research Project. Pew Research Center, 16 Sep. 2008. Web. 15 Feb. 2014.

Bavelier, Daphne. “Effect of action video games on the spatial distribution of visuospatial attention.” Current Biology. 32.6 (December 2006). PubMed.gov. Web. 6 Jan. 2014.

Bavelier, Daphne. “Action-Video-Game Experience Alters the Spatial Resolution of Vision.”Psychol Sci. 2007 January; 18(1): 88-94.

Web. 5 Jan. 2014.

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Emily Purvis

Music: Our Universal Language

As Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once said, “Music is the universal language of mankind.” Music and language have coexisted alongside one another since the dawn of our species, and experts say that music might have been developed prior to the spoken word.

The human brain processes music and language in the same areas and neurologists have found significant links between the two. Because of this, it would be only logical to assume that music could be a useful tool for someone learning a language, and vice versa. Research has shown that on average students who participate in some kind of musical activity, whether it is singing or playing an instrument, score 22% higher on exams that test for language understanding and facility, when compared to those who have had no musical exposure (Baker). Because music and language have some significant cognitive similarities, the incorporation of music into a lan-

guage curriculum has been proven to inspire motivation in a student, make them feel more at ease in the classroom, and provide cultural context for the language that they are studying.

Music and language have a whole array of cognitive similarities, and are processed in the same area of the brain. Results from case studies focusing on the neurological similarities between music and language have shown, with the help of position emission tomography (PET), that there are myriad areas in the brain where music and language are processed alongside one another. Examples of such areas include the primary motor cortex, supplementary motor area, Broca's area, anterior insula, primary and secondary auditory cortices, temporal pole, basal ganglia, ventral thalamus and posterior cerebellum. Various neurochemicals triggered by music were proven to have positive neurological effects on people being exposed to music. These effects include a heightened sense of focus, elongated attention spans, and feelings of calm and pleasure. Music is often associated with our emotions and has the ability to either “pump us up, or calm us down” (Landau) depending on which area of the brain it affects. For example most types of music trigger a neurochemical known as dopamine and, depending on which area of the brain it reaches, the person will either feel an increase in attention span (frontal lobes) or a surge of pleasure (limbic system) (Landau). This increase in attention span allows us to retain more information in a classroom setting, while pleasure has the added effect of making someone more engaged and willing to learn the material.

Another neurotransmitter that is released when the brain is exposed to music is serotonin. Serotonin is known for its ability to calm a per131

son down and focus his/her mind. The presence of such a neurochemical in the mind of a student could result in a heightening of the senses and an increased level of focus and attention. Dopamine, serotonin, and other neurotransmitters like it, have an added effect of making students feel more at ease and happy in an environment that could otherwise be considered stressful. By prompting the release of these so called “pleasure triggers,” music is allowing students to take risks, remain engaged, and, as a result, form connections with their teachers and peers.

Music and song have been used as a means to unite the members of a community (Engh). Similarly, in a classroom setting, music and collective singing can bring students together and inspire a level of comfort in both an academic and sociological sense. As Mark Huy Le, a distinguished professor at the University of Tasmania, stated in his paper The Role of Music in Second Language learning: A Vietnamese perspective, “use of song in a language classroom enhances social harmony and provides a safe space to learn collectively and contribute to the building of a community” (Le, 1999). Collective singing links students in a way that encourages them to work better as a group. A study conducted at the National Training Laboratories in 2000 stated that while only 5% of information presented in a lecture form was retained by students, 70-80 % of information was retained when presented in a discussion group format. The same study concluded that students who score within the fiftieth percentile while working alone score as high as the sixty-ninth percentile when working with other people as part of a community (Johnson). The average student that is given the opportunity to work in

groups and feel like they are part of a community, scores higher on tests and does better in the classroom overall. Music and collective singing has the ability to build this kind of community and bring students together. In an interview with Paulina Santos Torres, a Spanish teacher of 9 years at the Bay School of San Francisco, the topic of music as a way to build a community came up often. At one point she commented: “my students feel more comfortable when they are singing, or playing games, or watching videos. It’s more casual. The students work better together, and yes, there is a sense of community and common culture.” While music can act as a tool to build a sense of community in a language classroom, music and song can also act as a window into the culture and traditions of the language being studied.

Language and culture are inexplicitly interlaced and learning a new language often gives people an opportunity to explore a new culture. Music can provide context for a specific language, and by introducing students to the culture behind the material that they are studying, music can help students better understand the purpose of a language and why they are learning it. Music often mimics the traditional tone and flow of a language and can be an insight into the cultural norms and traditions of a country (Engh). Students are often more motivated to learn and take chances throughout the process of acquiring a new language if they feel like they are learning something that is relevant. Listening to the music of a particular culture gives students an insight into the lives of someone native to that culture, thus making the whole language learning process seem more connected to the outside world. Traditional music often incorporates 132

authentic, culturally specific instruments, and the lyrics often speak to the traditions and issues present in that culture. Our own culture is littered with examples of such songs. Bruce Springsteen, a famous musician and song writer native to New Jersey, wrote his album “The Rising” about the tragic effects and aftermath of 9/11. For someone not native to the United States, these songs would provide an instant insight into the daily life of an American and the issues that they, as a culture, face. Music is a human universal, but the fact that it can be culturally specific opens up a whole new window of opportunity for students studying in a language classroom.

Along with providing various educational and cultural benefits, music adds a level of excitement, which in time increases motivation, to the classic language classroom. There are various factors that affect how well a student is able to retain the material being taught.

One of these factors it motivation. In a study done by the IRF (Incentive Research Foundation), language students who were deemed motivated would, on average, score 22-44% higher on tests when compared to students who were considered uninterested in the subject material. The incorporation of music into the typical language classroom has been seen to increase the motivation levels of the students in multiple ways. A study done at Johns Hopkins School of Education concluded background music in the classroom could “provide a welcoming atmosphere and help prepare and motivate students for learning tasks” (Brewer). When song is added to a language curriculum, students tend to view the whole process of learning a language as simply more interesting: “my students used to love singing in the classroom…they are just more engaged when

music is a part of the lesson,” says Paulina Santos Torres, a Spanish teacher at the Bay School, who started using music as part of her curriculum immediately after she became a teacher. As Ms. Santos pointed out, music often increases the level of engagement on a student’s part, which can prove useful especially if the student is prone to getting distracted. Besides encouraging engagement and excitement in the classroom, music can act as a bridge between the sheltered world of a classroom and the real world. Music is everywhere, from football games to dance performances, and if it were to appear in language classrooms, it would create a link between these more casual environments and the formal environment of a classroom. Professor Dwayne Engh of the University of Calgory argued the idea that when students can link what they are studying to the outside world and imagine applying the skills they have acquired in “real life” scenarios, they are often prone to putting in more effort to learn the material (Engh).This theory was further evidenced by my observations of a small French classroom, held at the Alliance Francaise, where music was being utilized as a tool to excite and motivate the students.

Students at the Alliance Francaise are exposed to music every day, and based on my observations, it is clear that the music is acting as a catalyst to boost the motivation and overall interest of the students. The Alliance Francaise is an organization founded with the goal of spreading the influence of the French language to classrooms all around the world. Teachers at this institution often use music as a tool to support their students in various academic and sociological ways. Classes geared towards younger students in particular 133

tend to use music as a way to increase the level of comfort in the classroom while also promoting the language and the culture from which it stems. Based on an observation of a French class for children 6-9, it is clear that the integration of music into this particular curriculum was proving successful in terms of making the students feel more involved in the material and at ease in the classroom. The same students who displayed droopy eyes and tired expressions during various, more traditional, classroom activities, would light up at the introduction of music. The students were more noticeably engaged; at the same time there appeared to be an increase in the level of participation. The music seemed to also bring a new kind of light and enthusiasm to the teacher. The teacher, Vincent Minquoy, told me at one point “the kids love the music, and they pick up the lyrics and tune fast….and once they pick up the tune they learn the material faster and usually do better on vocabulary tests. I am having fun watching them progress” (Minquoy).

While adding music to a language classroom appears to have many benefits, including increased motivation and enthusiasm, there are also a few noticeable downsides. As Ms. Santos Torres put it “yes, they are occasionally distracted,” and, as research shows, she is correct. One of the only downsides to incorporating music into a language classroom curriculum is the potential distraction that it could cause. As Neuroscientist Robert J. Zatorre (Montreal Neurological Institute) suggested, music has the ability to heighten the senses and evoke emotion (Matter), but these emotions are not always good. Just as easily as music can release dopamine into the bloodstream and create a feeling of calmness, pleasure, and focus, par-

ticularly loud music can trigger a neurochemical known as cortisol (Babish). This particular hormone has been associated with feelings such as stress and irritability. High levels of cortisol can lead to a lapse in creative thinking, as shown by a study done at the University of California at Irvine. Students who are either sad or stressed out have a hard time participating and thinking creatively, two very important skills to have when attempting to learn a new language.

Although the amount of neurochemicals linked with pleasure and focus (that can be triggered by music) far outweigh those that have negative effects, it is important to recognize that music evokes emotion, and that emotion can sometimes be distracting.

While there are some cons to incorporating music into the traditional language curriculum, the pros outweigh them. Adding a hint of something as informal as song to a traditionally formal environment such as a language classroom would engage the students, make them feel more comfortable, and overall add a level of excitement to the whole language learning process. Music can bridge the gap between the real world and the classroom, enticing its students and making the subject matter seem more relevant. Acting as a window into a foreign culture, music allows students to fully understand the language they are learning and where it originated. Neurologically, music and language are processed in the same area of the brain and can be understood in similar ways. At the same time, music releases various hormones that trigger the willingness to learn and achieve a higher level of understanding. Music and song, like many other teaching techniques, are not flawless, and often come with their own set of consequences. But music is a human universal 134

(Longfellow), and sometimes it is the only way to reach out to a child who doesn’t respond to formal teaching techniques (SantosTorres). Unfortunately music is not a part of the traditional language curriculum (Engh), and this needs to change. Research has made it abundantly clear that incorporating music into a language classroom would be a simple, easy, and extremely beneficial way to helping students learn and fully understand a language.

"Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - Quotes." European Graduate School . N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Mar. 2014.

Johnson, David W., Roger T. Johnson, and Karl A. Smith, “Cooperative Learning Returns to College: What Evidence is There That It Works?” Change, July/August, 1998, pp. 27-35.

Landau, Elizabeth. "This is your brain on music." CNN. Cable News Network, 1 Jan. 1970. Web. 13 Dec. 2013.

Lang, Susan S. “Benefits of music in the language classroom." Human Ecology Forum 27.2 (1999): 24. ProQuest. Web. 6 Jan. 2014.

Works Cited Babisch, W. "Stress Hormones in the Research on Cardiovascular Effects of Noise." Noise & Health 5.18 (2003): 1-11. ProQuest. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.

Baker, Mitzi. "Music moves brain to pay attention, Stanford study finds." - Office of Communications & Public Affairs. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Jan. 2014.

Brewer, Chris Boyd. “Music and Learning: Integrating Music into the Classroom.” Johns Hopkins School of Education. 13 Feb. 2014.

Cromie, William . "Harvard Gazette: Music on the brain." Harvard Gazette: Music on the brain. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2013.

Le, Mark Huy. “The Role of Music in Second Language Learning: A Vietnamese Perspective.” 1999. Print.

Matter, Grey. “Why Music Makes Our Brain Sing.” New York Times.

Web. 12 Feb. 2014.

Minquoy , Robert . Personal interview. 30 Jan. 2014.

"Music and the Brain." Music and the Brain. TDLC, n.d. Web. 6 Jan. 2014.

Sacks, Oliver W.. Musicophilia: tales of music and the brain. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2007. Print.

Santos-Torres , Paulina . Personal interview. 15 Jan. 2014.

Engh, Dwayne. "Why use Music in English Language Learning? A Survey of the Literature." English Language Teaching 6.2 (2013): 113-27. ProQuest. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.

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Millie Robson

The Effectiveness of Documentaries to Portray and Publicize an Issue When asked about your favorite documentaries does Keeping up with the Kardashians come to mind? When someone says that they are watching a documentary film, it is unclear whether they are watching a fact packed informational film about history or a reality TV show following the daily life of a celebrity. What is the real definition of a documentary film? “The salient question might not be, ‘What is a documentary?’ An abstract, theoretical approach to a form that is grounded in the concrete facts of life. Instead it might make sense to ask what (or whom) a given documentary is for?”

(Scott). Is it always a successful way of impacting an audience?

The modern age has broadened the definition of the documentary so that now the term can be applied to many different movies and TV shows. Documentaries are not always the best way to publicize an issue to the public, and some of the contributing factors to that

are how documentaries popularity have created a large abundance of the genre, the new different documentary styles, how the genre ‘documentary’ is viewed by an audience, and the documentary’s place in the San Francisco community.

The creation and distribution of the documentary film has also boosted in mainstream popularity. Part of the reason for this is that making a film has become easier with new technology. “In both developed and developing nations, much of the world has gained access to lower-cost video equipment, to the Internet, and to uploading content on sites such as YouTube or MySpace,” (Coffman). The budget to make any film is lower than it may have been before, depending on the quality of film you are trying to make. A documentary can now be made on any smart phone with a HD camera built into it. Some phones even have video editing applications built into their systems where short clips can be modified and sent straight off to YouTube. Vimeo, another video viewing site defines documentaries as “A short video that presents a factual report on a chosen subject or idea,” letting a large range of films fall into the category on the site (vimeo.com). Technology and social media has made the role of the filmmaker one that anyone can assume. “But as high technology becomes more accessible, there’s a hidden cost- it takes a lot of energy and time to understand and keep up with it all,” (Ascher).

Though with these improvements comes the downside of a different view of documentary films, because something that needs to be realized is that though there is a large new quantity of documentaries, there is a lot to learn about creating a quality documentary. “Content accessibility is no longer an inverted pyramid ending at a blocked 136

spigot, but an open flow of rapidly moving particles with little to grab hold to. The abundance of content is matched by a complete accessibility to it, anytime, anywhere, on any device,” (Renee). This new influx makes documentary not always the best way to bring an issue to the public because of the large amounts of other existing films.

“We’re living in a time where the internet is drastically changing the way people watch television and movies, and the way that filmmakers both fund their films and get them seen, “ (Margaret). Since there are loads of new types of films, there has been a large change in the styles of documentary.

The classic style of documentary has many different characteristics, but because of the modernization of filmmaking some of these styles have decreased in popularity to be replaced by hybrid styles that are deemed more attention grabbing. Though it can be disputed what truly is the ‘classic’ way of making a documentary film, the classic categories of documentary can be decreased to six categories; the expository, observational, participatory, reflexive, poetic, and performative. The expository category is the most “associated with the classic documentary, and based on illustrating an argument using images. “The observational film is as stated in the name as one that does not involve the filmmaker in any way, which just follows the subject, (Powerpoint on the modes of documentary). The participatory film is opposite to the observational, where the crew making the film becomes involved through interviews, comments during filmmaking, etc. The reflexive mode “includes the mockumentary format, calls attention to the assumptions and conventions that govern documentary filmmaking to increase our awareness of how

films construct representations of reality,” (Nichols). The poetic documentary strives to have the view feel a certain mood while watching the film. The performance style of film is one focused on expressing, with art instead of representing something realistic (Powerpoint on the modes of documentary). “What makes a documentary ‘classic’ is this idea of being seminal, of being a classic example of what might be a new sub-genre or diversion on the path of documentary” (Reflections on what makes a documentary classic). In the 1950’s and 60’s many of the subgenres that were emerging in documentary became less popular and the classic documentary style rose, this being partially due to films being about politics. These documentary films were supposed to fit a set of “bureaucratic needs and routines, organizational control[s], aesthetic preference[s], occupational background[s], and [a] political context,” (Moran). To fit this category the classic style of documentary consisted of general statements, relation to a particular group, voice over commentary, commentary effects, straight cuts, and a music soundtrack. These films were supposed to bring out positive emotions in the viewer so that their view of the issue presented in the work would be shifted, (Moran). These films “couldn’t be too experimental, too enterprising,” (Moran).

These classic genres pose the question of whether or not the categorized way of making a film is attention grabbing enough for modern audiences compared to the new style of film.

Some of the new styles of documentary are completely different from the classic style, so the real way to look at one of these new films is by looking at the audience the movie is set up for. Since documentaries are “no longer necessarily linked with the notion of 137

public service and education,” (Martinez) there are labels of ‘documentary’ put onto all different works for many different types of audiences. This way a documentary can attack a broader audience of people. One new type of documentary is based on reality, but is mostly staged. This is discussing the shows that claim to be “reality television.” A question that comes up is how much of it really reality?

Most of the time subjects are told to react a certain way or bring up a certain topic, so that the viewer can get more entertainment out of the “staged but real” (Martinez) story they think they are watching.

Other “hybrid documentaries” are emerging like mockumentaries (Cagle). These films as suggested in the name mock the traditional style of the documentary. A popular example of this is the show The Office. Since the documentary style can impact the view of an issue, this poses the question to filmmakers; is documentary always the best way to impact an audience with your topic?

The documentary is viewed by some audiences as boring compared to the crazy forms of media, especially as these new ways deliver all of the information an audience needs to know about a product quickly, in new attention grabbing ways. Charities now feel the need to make more provocative commercials so that their issue can be recognized through advertising. One advertiser for the charity ‘Water Is Life’ made attempts at making these types of commercials, arguing that “You are not just competing against other charity brands or public service announcements. You are competing against advertising and marketing from everybody,” (Wallis). San Francisco filmmaker, and head of the advertising company Goodby Silverstein and Partners, Jeff Goodby, has found that using docu-

mentaries can be affective, but is not always the best form of media to publicize an issue. One of Jeff’s other virtual projects for Audubon had more response than documentaries. In this project, “animations of birds [flew] across homepages, [perched] on mastheads, and [flocked] to birdhouses that anyone [could] install on personal websites and blogs.” (Audubon Releases Virtual Birds All over the Internet). This project ended up being extremely popular and created a larger response than any other campaign he had worked on. Another San Francisco filmmaker had a similar experience. With Melissa, she has found that documentaries are not always the best form of publicizing a subject, because it can be hard to get a documentary film to really work in mainstream media. One example of an attempt towards getting issues into the mainstream was a project she worked on, where nonprofits took writers to teach them about incorporating real stories into normal TV series to raise awareness about the subject. A reason behind documentaries not working as well is that often when people view a documentary they already have a predisposition about the topic. Upon knowing you are going to watch a film entirely about a subject, you are going to have some opinion on it that would drive you to be interested or uninterested in watching the film. Since Melissa had this realization, the project was successful. This is because she was able to put information about issues in shows that would create awareness instead of getting someone to watch a film solely dedicated to the topic. This is why it is difficult to publicize a film about something that people have no interest in, as the entire film is grounded on facts around that topic.

Social media and advertising are typically the best way to publicize

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an issue, but she was able to bring an issue to the public in a unique way.

Documentaries are still loved as a way of bringing in issue to the public, though they may not be the best method. San Francisco has participated in the effort to bring more films to the public to increase the viewership of documentaries. Two prominent organizations helping to make the push are San Francisco Film Society and SFIndie.

SFIndie has a festival specifically for documentary films. This way people in the San Francisco community can watch films on a variety of new issues. Documentary may not be the best way of publicizing an issue, but festivals like these make it an accessible form of publicity for people who do it for the love of doing it.

Whether you are trying to let the public know about Audubon or The Bay School, documentaries may be able to cover everything that needs to be known about the subject, but they are not the best way to publicize the issue in the film. Even with the boost of documentary popularity, the influx of the styles of film has made quality films harder to find. Also, the classic style of documentary is one that may not be as attention grabbing as the new styles. Documentaries are also challenging to get viewers with predispositions on the topic to view. Even though it is not the best way of publicizing an issue, documentaries are still loved by certain audiences and an effort is being made to integrate them more into our culture.

Works Cited and Consulted "About Us." About Us. First Graduate, 2013. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.

"A Field Of Birds." Goodby, Silverstein & Partners. Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.

"Audubon Releases Virtual Birds All over the Internet." National Audubon Society. Audubon, 11 Oct. 2011. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.

Ascher, Steven, and Edward Pincus. "The Filmmaker's Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide for the Digital Age." Google Books. N.p., n.d.

Web. 03 Mar. 2014.

Beatty, Mary Lou. "Documentary Films." Humanities Sep 1998: 2. ProQuest. Web. 6 Jan. 2014.

Cieply, Michael. "Service to Expand Distribution of Documentary Films." New York TimesJul 19 2010. ProQuest. Web. 6 Jan. 2014.

Coffman, Elizabeth. "Documentary and Collaboration: Placing the Camera in the Community." Journal of Film and Video61.1 (2009): 62-78. ProQuest. Web. 6 Jan. 2014.

"Current Projects." San Francisco Film Society. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.

"FirstGraduate.mov." YouTube. First Graduate, 31 May 2012. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.

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Margaret. "The One Key To Indie Filmmaking Today." Stillmotionblog.com. Still Motion, n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.

Nichols, Bill. "Six Principal Modes of Documentary Filmmaking." Meridianstories.com. Meridian Stories, n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.

Renee, V. "Learn How to Be an Entrepreneurial-Minded Filmmaker with Tips from Ted Hope." Nofilmschool.com. No Film School, 6 Sept. 13. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.

Sacks, Ethan. "'Bully' Documentary's 'R' Rating Draws Outrage, Publicity ." NY Daily News. NY Daily News, 3 July 2012. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.

"Student-produced Documentary to Premiere at San Francisco Film Festival." Eau Claire News. University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 19 June 2013. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.

"United States : Project to Improve the Impact of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-Supported Documentary Films." MENA Report (2013). ProQuest. Web. 6 Jan. 2014.

Wallis, David. "Charities Try Provocative Ads to Attract Attention." The New York Times. The New York Times, 07 Nov. 2013. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.

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Daniel Shore

RITC Paper "In strict medical terms marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume… Marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used…” This statement was made by one Francis Law, the Chief Administrate Law Judge for the US Drug Enforcement Agency. While radical, Mr. Law is absolutely correct and has a plethora of hard science on his side.

So why then is someone arrested for a marijuana related “crime” every 42 seconds in a country that supposedly prides itself on liberty? Study after study proves that marijuana is a mostly harmless drug with countless beneficial properties. Why do we the people continue to spend billions of dollars prohibiting the use of this natural remedy? It is a complicated question with a disturbing answer. Over the course of this paper, evidence will be shown that marijuana should be legalized and culturally accepted.

In order to address whether marijuana should be legalized, we must first understand the substance in question. When smoked, the delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC; the active ingredient that makes you high) is absorbed rapidly from the lungs and into the blood

stream. This then travels to the cannabinoid receptors in your brain.

These receptors are normally activated by anandamide; a naturally occurring chemical made by your body that is quite similar to THC. Marijuana’s effects are caused by overloading the endocannabinoid system (NIDA “Marijuana”). This system of the body was only very recently discovered. Some scientists believe that it holds the key to both our physical and mental health, and by stimulating it with cannabis we could prevent a plethora of health problems from occurring; from cancer to Alzheimer’s disease. (NORML “Endocannabinoid System”).

After being fully absorbed, there are a number of physical effects that occur almost immediately. The most notable is that one’s heart rate will increase. One study found that it increases by as much as 20-100 percent in certain people (NIDA “Marijuana”). Some people’s eyes redden, and most report having a dry mouth and a substantial increase in hunger “the munchies”.

Short term mental effects are a little bit more ambiguous. According to the National Institute on Drug abuse, “The highest density of cannabinoid receptors is found in parts of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thinking, concentration, sensory and time perception”.

This is however not the full story. Different people experience completely different things. A likely explanation for this is that everyone has a different amount of cannabinoid receptors, and these are located in different sections of the brain. In addition, different strains of marijuana have different effects. There is no way to objectify with scientific means exactly what a person is experiencing. The follow141

ing is a description of the commonly experienced effects using observational terms that have been described by people who have consumed the substance.

Most people report that they start thinking about a lot of different things at the same time. They have random thinking, and completely unrelated thoughts continue to pop in their minds. For some this can lead to anxiety and distraction, for others it means enhanced creativity and a heightened sense of alertness. Many writers and artists smoke marijuana to get the creative juices flowing. Some scientists such as the brilliant Nobel Prize winning astronomer Carl Sagan claim that they had their greatest intellectual breakthroughs when they were high. What is almost universal is that it reduces feelings of anger, and may in many increase feelings of compassion, love, and empathy. It increases sexual drive in some but decreases it for the majority of people. Most experience time distortion; what appeared to be an hour may have been only ten minutes. If smoked enough, some people have an out of body experience; they see themselves through the third person. For some this is a very pleasant experience in which they learn more about themselves. Others however finds this to be displeasing and uncomfortable. Very minor auditory and visual hallucinations may also occur. This is usually described as colors being more vibrant. The majority of people report that music sounds better than it normally does, and food tastes better than it usually does. It also normally causes a personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s standards of who they consider to be attractive to decrease. Most people that smoke cannabis recreationally claim that it makes them relaxed and creates a sense of euphoria. The vast majority of people

experience reduced urges to take part in dangerous activities, and social inhibitions may increase or decrease. Many times normally introverted people report becoming more extroverted, or the opposite. For some people smoking marijuana causes them to become more focused. Many have claimed that lectures become more interesting and they truly think about every word that a person says. As with nearly all other things that I have stated, the opposite may also occur. Clearly, everyone feels something a little different. I would argue that one of the easiest and most universal ways of describing marijuanaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mental effects is to simply say that it intensifies feelings that you already have. Again though, it is important to note that this doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t always hold true. For example, marijuana has been shown to be an effective treatment in some for anxiety and depression.

What we can deduct from this at least is that even though there are a wide range of mental effects, none of them are particularly dangerous or socially harmful. One rarely becomes completely intoxicated and dysfunctional in the same sense they do with excess alcohol.

There is a general consensus in the scientific community about the short term effects of marijuana. The same cannot be said about its long term effects. There are a multitude of studies that have been conducted on this with completely different findings. When conducting my research however, I have found that most anti-marijuana studies have been politically motivated and have flimsy methodology at best. I can assure you that this is not due to my own biases; any intellectually honest person would come to the same conclusion. An example of this is the infamous government study that found that marijuana kills brain cells, conducted by Dr. Robert G. 142

Heath. They strapped monkeys to gas masks, deprived them of oxygen, and then pumped in about 200 times the amount of marijuana that a normal person would consume in one sitting. They then claimed definitively that marijuana kills brain cells. Later on, it was discovered that the brain cells did not actually die, but instead were simply altered (“Myths about marijuana” MIT). The issue is that that study was used for years to prove that marijuana caused irreparable brain damage. A much better study (larger control group that was not deprived of oxygen) conducted by the National Center for Toxicological Research found that there was no brain abnormality or dysfunction in monkeys who had been exposed to massive amounts of THC rich cannabis (“Myths about marijuana” MIT).

There has truly only been one definitive, irrefutable study done on the long term effects of marijuana usage. Ganga in Jamaica: A Medical Anthropological Study of Chronic Marijuana Use. This study was sponsored by the US National Institute of Mental Health and it occurred in the 1970’s. The researchers decided that the best place to collect data on marijuana usage would be Jamaica as roughly 60-70 percent of the population consumes cannabis or “ganga” as they call it there. They traveled to many small Rastafarian villages in which most of the populace has been smoking marijuana daily since they were 12 years old. What better people to study then those in their 70’s who had been smoking cannabis chronically since they were 12? In order to take into account factors such as socioeconomic status, the researchers matched each cannabis user with someone from the same village who never smoked marijuana. They did this with thousands and thousands of people until the sample

size was sufficient. First they conducted interviews with the marijuana users to see why they used the substance. They almost unanimously said that it made work easier and helped them manages pains and aches. In addition, they used it for spiritual purposes as they claimed that it brought them closer to God. They did not use it to get intoxicated. The next phase was testing physical health. They did extensive testing on all body metrics and found no discernable differences between the cannabis users and their paired non user.

The most astounding finding of this study was in regards to lung functioning. Many have stated, and continue to state, that smoking marijuana is just as, if not more harmful, than smoking cigarettes and other tobacco products. It is true that marijuana contains many of the same carcinogens that cigarettes have, and when you smoke a joint you are inhaling tar into your lungs. This study found that, when you remove the variable of tobacco smoking, the chronic marijuana smokers had slightly better lung functioning than the nonsmokers. Indeed, this finding is corroborated with a number of other studies. For example, UCLA’s medical school did a large survey of Los Angeles residents and found that people who smoked marijuana had slightly lower rates of lung cancer, emphysema, and other chronic obstructive pulmonary disorders (Tashkin, European Respiratory Journal). At first glance, this defies all logic. One is literally a plant on fire and inhaling its fumes into their lungs. It should be just as harmful as tobacco smoking. But study after study show that it is not; including a very recent large scale one that was conducted by the Journal of the American Medical Association. There are a couple of interesting explanations for this phenomenon. One obvious 143

one is that people simply don’t smoke as much marijuana as they do cigarettes. Most people would pass out after around 5 joints; far less than the average pack a day a cigarette smoker might consume. In addition, marijuana does not contain polonium 210. This is believed by many to be the primary cancer causing agent in tobacco. It does contain tar when smoked, but tar has never been shown to cause tumors when isolated. None of this however explains why marijuana smokers seem to have better respiratory functioning and lower rates of cancer than non-smokers. A likely explanation is that marijuana has been proven to expand the airways and therefore improve breathing. Furthermore, preliminary research is showing that marijuana has extreme anti-cancerous properties. The UCLA pulmonologist who concluded that marijuana does not lead to lung cancer, Donald Tashkin, expounded on this anti-cancer theory for an article in the Washington Post. “THC (active ingredient in cannabis) may kill aging cells and prevent them from becoming cancerous.” Even though the evidence suggested it, the Jamaican researchers were still hesitant at that time to make the radical claim that smoking marijuana offers a protective effect against various airway cancers, but instead insisted that it is certainly less harmful than tobacco smoking and does not increase one’s risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disorders.

The final aspect of this study measured cognitive functioning. They conducted thousands of intelligence tests and found that the longtime marijuana smokers actually had slightly higher cognitive functioning than the non-smokers. This increase in intelligence test scores was not statistically significant, but it was made clear that

marijuana clearly didn’t hinder their intelligence. They later conducted tests that measured a subject’s distractibility. They found that the cannabis consumers were slightly more prone to being distracted, but not dramatically. They finally conducted memory recollection tests. It has been shown in the past that while high, many people have hindered ability to recall memories. However, whether long term use permanently impairs memory recollection is still a matter of contention. This testing proved that it shouldn’t be. The marijuana smokers performed equally well on the memory tests as the nonsmokers.

In spite of the fact that studies like this which show marijuana is relatively harmless, marijuana is still federally classified as a schedule one drug. According to the US Drug Enforcement Agency “Schedule I drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Schedule one drugs are the most dangerous drugs of all the drug schedules with potentially severe psychological or physical dependence.”

Marijuana is objectively not a schedule one drug if that is the criteria; citing one brief study on Crohn’s diseases is sufficient. “… a short course (8 weeks) of THC-rich cannabis produced significant clinical, steroid-free benefits to 10 of 11 patients with active Crohn's disease, compared with placebo, without side effects.” (Dotan “Cannabis Clinical Response”). Other schedule one drugs are LSD, heroin, and ecstasy. Schedule two drugs are ones that fall under the same criteria but are slightly less severe. These include meth and cocaine. According to an official US government agency, marijuana is more harmful than cocaine and meth. How on earth did such 144

backwards, intellectually dishonest thinking arise? As with most other issues, one simply needs to follow the money.

Marijuana was not made illegal due to health concerns; the reason for its prohibition mostly stemmed from various industrial interests.

During the 1930’s the paper industry was in the midst of a corporate battle with the rising hemp industry. Hemp is a cheaper, more efficient, and environmentally friendly alternative to paper. (Ezra Soiferman “Hemp Facts”) Realizing this, the paper industry needed to resort to desperate measures. A new substance was on the rise in America that is derived from the same plant that makes hemp, cannabis. At the time it was primarily smoked by Mexican laborers and African American jazz musicians. No one thought that there was anything particularly wrong with it, but there was a growing negative association due to who was smoking it. The paper industry wanted to tie cannabis and hemp together; despite the fact that hemp contains less than 1% THC and will not make you high. (Ezra Soiferman “Hemp Facts”). In order to accomplish this task, they created a vast anti-marijuana propaganda campaign through the Hearst newspaper empire. (Bonnie “The Marihuana Conviction”). William Randolph Hearst was heavily invested in timber reserves, and had close ties to the DuPont family. This means that Hearst had a clear monetary incentive for marijuana to be outlawed. Mr. Hearst’s newspapers began to demonize cannabis, linking it to violent crime, inappropriate sexual activity, and psychotic behavior. None of this was actually based on scientific data, but instead was pure conjecture with no supporting evidence. (Bonnie “The Marihuana Conviction”). As a result of these lies, attitudes towards marijuana in this country be-

gan to change. Many believed that this cannabis plant spelled the end of American values and downfall of a great nation. With the political grounds set, Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon advocated for the prohibition of marijuana. Mellon was also heavily invested in DuPont and was a close friend of Hearst. (Bonnie “The Marihuana Conviction”). Through his efforts the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 was passed. This act made possession or transfer of any form of cannabis illegal under federal law. In 1969, the Supreme Court ruled that the Marihuana Tax Act was unconstitutional due to its violation of the Fifth Amendment. Rather than the principal that cannabis prohibition is inherently unconstitutional, this ruling was made based on a technicality regarding self-incrimination. The more draconian Controlled Substances Act was passed in 1970, immediately replacing the Marihuana Tax Act. Marijuana continued to be illegal federally, but now it was also illegal to prescribe and use it for medical purposes.

And now we are here. A recent poll conducted by the Pew Research Center found that well over 80% of Americans believe marijuana should be legal for medicinal use, and a whopping 58% of Americans believe marijuana should be legalized for recreational use. State laws are gradually starting to reflect the people’s will.

Twenty states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for medical use. Fourteen states have decriminalized marijuana; meaning that possession is technically illegal but possession of a small amount for personal use is not a criminal offense (getting caught is the equivalent of a traffic ticket). Most significantly two states, Washington and Colorado, have legalized marijuana for rec145

reational use. In both states, any person who is over the age of 21 may possess up to one ounce of cannabis. Heavy taxes on the substance are enforced; with most revenue being directed towards public education. The state of Colorado will save around 60 million dollars annually from legalization; this does not include revenue from taxation (Drug Policy Alliance “Colorado”).

Regardless of how you feel about marijuana, the US War on Drugs has been one of the greatest policy failures in American history. It has done colossal harm, on both a micro and macro level. The United States spends over 51 billion dollars annually in this war, while rates of marijuana use have been steadily increasing. (Drug Policy “Drug War Statistics”). Needless to say, this money could be better spent elsewhere. But what exactly is this money doing? Quite frankly, it is killing people. Around 70,000 people have been killed since 2006 in the Mexican drug war. The US is directly responsible for a good deal of these deaths. America openly supplies arms, funds, and training to Mexican anti-drug military units. Due to the prohibition of narcotics, the only way to import most of them is through violent Mexican drug cartels. When alcohol was illegal in the United States; the mob thrived due to the black market that formed. The mafia was slowly eviscerated as a result of the 21st amendment, and likely a similar peace would reach Mexico were we to end the War on Drugs.

In the United States, approximately 750,000 people are arrested every year for a marijuana related offense; of which 88% are solely for possession (Drug Policy “Drug War Statistics”). The natural flaw in this is that we are mostly incarcerating people who use the sub-

stance as opposed to the dealers and suppliers. Regardless of the substance in question, that is not an effective way of curbing its use.

The United States already has the highest rate of incarceration in the world; yes it is higher than North Korea, China, Iran, and Syria (Drug Policy “Drug War Statistics”). That alone is a national embarrassment, and one of the reasons for it is our punitive drug strategy.

According to Gallup’s most recent polling, approximately 40% of American have tried marijuana at some point in their lives, and therefore they have violated US law. Just by using logical deduction, it can be inferred that the majority of those people are harmless and do not engage in other criminal behavior. Most would agree that the purpose of incarcerating a person is for isolating a danger from society, as well as seeking justice for a wrongdoing. Marijuana does not make a person dangerous. On the contrary, in Switzerland, while technically prohibited, guards have a policy of allowing inmates to smoke cannabis. The prison guards claim that incidents of violence are less frequent as a result of this policy. Justice is the other component regarding the validity of incarceration. The concept of justice always involves two distinct individuals; the victim and the perpetrator. Is there a victim if someone decides to light up a joint in their own home? Does retribution need to be sought? For who even?

They are clearly not harming anyone else, and one could easily argue that they aren’t even harming themselves.

Even if you aren’t convinced by the moral, health, or legal reasons for marijuana to be legalized, the following case study will change your mind. In the Netherlands, marijuana has essentially been legal since the 1970’s. Hence, comparing statistics between them and 146

the United States is a valuable indicator of which of the two distinct drug policies is more effective. In the United States, 41.5% of people 12 and over have tried marijuana at some point in their lives. In the Netherlands only 25.7 percent of people between the age of 15 and 64 have used marijuana (Drug War Facts “Netherlands”). Evidently, the argument that prohibition discourages use is invalid. In the Netherlands 0.5 percent of people between the ages of 15-64 have tried heroin. Compare this to the United States, where 1.5 percent of people over the age of 12 have consumed heroin (Drug War Facts “Netherlands”). This completely shreds the argument that legalizing marijuana will lead to an increase in the “gateway effect”.

There is nothing inherent in cannabis that would cause a person to start consuming harder substances. Nonetheless, it is well documented that people who consume marijuana are more likely to also try harder drugs. The reason for this is that due to its prohibition, one must purchase cannabis from a dealer who will likely try to push other substances on you. As the evidence would suggest, legalization ameliorates this problem.

Thus far, sufficient evidence has been presented in this paper to affirm that marijuana should be legalized. However, I don’t believe that we should just end the discussion there. Why is it that we don’t question alcohol or prescription drugs? Alcohol is pure poison. It is toxic, extremely addictive, and a person can die from its consumption. In fact, 88,000 people die as a result of its use annually in the United States alone. It is responsible for 1.2 million emergency room visits each year, and it collectively shaves 2.5 million potential years of life off in the US annually (CDC “Alcohol Use and Health”).

Marijuana, on the other hand, has never been linked to a single death in all of recorded medical history, is non-toxic, has countless medical benefits, is not physically addictive, does not cause people to become violent or angry, and is nearly impossible to overdose on.

Yet, if an NFL player were to test positive for marijuana he would be suspended, fined, and publicly demonized. However, it is perfectly fine for the NFL to sell millions of dollars worth of a poisonous intoxicant (alcohol) to its fans. If a player has a severe injury, cannabis is not an option. Instead he is forced to take dangerous and highly addictive pain killers. This microcosm displays a much larger hypocrisy. Doctors are perfectly willing to prescribe millions of young children Adderall, an addictive amphetamine which is chemically quite similar to meth; all in the name of treating ADHD. Yet many doctors are still hesitant or unwilling to recommend marijuana to their patients, even for very serious conditions.

If cannabis were to replace alcohol and some prescription drugs, the benefits would be immense. Emergency room visits would decline sharply, healthcare costs would shrink, rates of domestic violence would decline, and one could deduce that average lifespans would increase as well. But this all comes with a grain of salt. There is a reason that the results of the aforementioned Jamaica study had such positive findings. The Jamaicans do not view marijuana in the same way we do. It is not some illusive substance that one gets intoxicated with. It is only consumed in moderation, and is used to help one work or to relax after a long day. The average Jamaican simply puffs on one joint over the course of the day, and as the study showed, there were no long term health consequences as a 147

result of this. Doctor Dustin Sulak, who has studied the effects of marijuana at his clinic in Maine for many years, came to this conclusion “I believe that small, regular doses of marijuana might act as a tonic to our most central physiologic healing system.” The key word in that statement is small. If people start to binge smoke it will certainly not be conducive to a productive society. That said, inferring from what has been discussed thus far; one joint’s worth of cannabis every night is certainly no worse than a few glasses of wine or beer.

This paper neither condones nor condemns the use of marijuana, nor does it say everyone must stop drinking alcohol. It advocates for commonsense policy reform, moderation, and intellectual honesty.

In other words, a change of culture.

Works Cited Yacoubian, George S, Jr,J.D., PhD. "Assessing the Relationship between Marijuana Availability and Marijuana use: A Legal and Sociological Comparison between the United States and the Netherlands." Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education51.4 (2007): 17-34. ProQuest. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.

Cohen: ACLU Report on Racial Disparities in Marijuana Arrests Proof Positive Reform is Needed. Lanham: Federal Information & News Dispatch, Inc, 2013. ProQuest. Web. 18 Dec. 2013.

Morgensten, Hal. "Marijuana Use and the Risk of Lung and Upper Aerodigestive Tract Cancers: Results of a Population-Based CaseControl Study." Marijuana Use and the Risk of Lung and Upper Aerodigestive Tract Cancers: Results of a Population-Based CaseControl Study. University of Michigan, 27 July 2006. Web. 07 Jan. 2014.

Tashkin, D. P. "European Resbpiratory Journal." Does Cannabis Use Predispose to Chronic Airflow Obstruction? UCLA, 1 Jan. 2010.

Web. 07 Jan. 2014.

"DrugFacts: Marijuana." National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

National Institute on Drug Abuse, Jan. 2014. Web. Feb. 2014.

"Fact Sheets- Alcohol Use and Health." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 26 Dec. 2013. Web. Feb. 2014.

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Sulak, Dustin. "NORML.org - Working to Reform Marijuana Laws." Introduction to the Endocannabinoid System. National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, n.d. Web. Feb. 2014.

"Netherlands Compared With The United States." Welcome. Drug War Facts, n.d. Web. Feb. 2014.

"Drug War Statistics." Drug Policy Alliance. Drug Policy Alliance, n.d. Web. Feb. 2014.

Bonnie, Richard J., and Charles H. Whitebread. The Marihuana Conviction; a History of Marihuana Prohibition in the United States.

Charlottesville: University of Virginia, 1974. Print Soiferman, Ezra. "Hemp Facts." Hempfarm.org. Hempfarm, n.d.

Web. Feb. 2014.

"Myths About Marijuana." MIT. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, n.d. Web. 2 Mar. 2014

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Kendall Sui

Single-Sex Education for Girls Imagine a young girl walking into a classroom where she has the freedom to choose who she can be and explore endless opportunities, surrounded by girls. This is the goal of single-sex education.

Single-sex education is the practice in which male and female students are separated either by classrooms, buildings, and/or schools. This type of education dates back to the 19th century, where it was a common practice in secondary school and college.

Single-sex education is advocated in many cultures because of tradition and religious reasons, and is practiced all over the world. In recent times single-sex education has become increasingly popular due to the educational research on the topic (Jost). Although many say that single-sex education decreases social skills and increases segregation, there are more positive attributes to single-sex education for girls including less distractions and increased self-esteem.

There is also the fact that girls at single-sex schools actually have a greater awareness of gender stereotypes and learning styles, allowing them the freedom to pursue what they want.

There are a growing number of single-sex schools around the US, and there are a few prominent elementary and middle single-sex

schools in the San Francisco Bay Area, including Katherine Delmar Burke School, Hamlin, Convent of the Sacred Heart, Town School for Boys, Stuart Hall, and East Bay School for Boys. All of these single-sex schools have numerous alumni working in a variety of fields all over the US. Personally, I attended an all-girls school in San Francisco, and loved my experience there. I learned a lot from my teachers and peers, and my overall experience has thoroughly prepared me for my high school education. I participate more in the classroom and have the confidence to be a self-advocate. In all, my single-sex education has been a beneficial one, and has developed many fundamental skills I need to continue learning and growing as a student.

When studying single-sex education and its effects on girls, a significant pro is that there are less distractions inside and outside of the classroom, found to improve student achievement. From various research studies focused on girls, it was discovered that girls in a single-sex environment participated more in the classroom and were able to comfortably share their opinions on the topic at hand.

There is less competitive environment for the students, therefore reducing the pressure for students to always be right. Overall less distractions create a general atmosphere that is fairer for all students to have an equal chance in the classroom (Bronson). In addition, students are less concerned about the opposite gender and having to impress the other sex.

Moreover, having a less distracting environment can increase girls and boys willingness to participate in different activities, and take on 150

different roles within the community. There are more opportunities for girls and boys to take classes that involve computers, math, theater, and music. These are some classes that girls and boys would not be as willing to participate in if they were in a coed school because of the fear of the other gender judging them, or even their own gender thinking that it is “weird” or “uncool” (Galarza). Girls also take risks in athletics, student government, computer science, and the arts (Sneed). Students taking these new courses can help them develop a growth mindset, in which they are able to try new things and accept if they fail when they don't get something right away. It also gives the chance for students to really excel in a specific topic and let it potentially become something that they are really passionate about and want to pursue for the future (“Advantages”; Wolman).

However, a recurring argument against single-sex education is that having only one gender can diminish social skills. In a coed environment the other gender is always around and can help develop social interaction. Students say they learned to speak to the other sex and have conversations, which has prepared them for situations later in life (Galarza). This can help them in the work force, and other opportunities that come their way; while sometimes students from a single-sex school have difficulties in situations with the other gender because they have been in a single-gender environment for most of their life. They may feel awkward and uncomfortable with the other sex, and cannot always speak up for themselves in situations that they need to (Wolman; “Advantages”). People use this ar-

gument against single-sex education numerous times, but no scientific facts have been proven on this side of the argument.

Girls in a coed environment have less homework completed, less enjoyment of school, and lower test scores according to studies by the Teachers College Record in 2009 (Jost). This may be because of the distraction that boys cause on girls in a coed school. In addition, some students say that girls try to dumb themselves down to make boys notice them. This includes acting stupid in class, dressing up every day, and overall just not focusing on the school. Nevertheless, this can also happen to boys in a coed environment as well (Galarza).

Another positive aspect of single-sex education is having the learning differences that occur between girls and boys be addressed in classes, and how that can lead to increased self-esteem in its student’s learning. Some advocates for single-sex schooling and researchers say that boys and girls are at different development levels when they first start school, given the fact that the brains of different genders develop more rapidly in certain parts at different times (“Single-sex”). This difference is a reason why girls and boys learn differently in school. For example, when girls are between the ages of 6-10 years old the visual processing part of the brain is rapidly developing, so this is the time for teachers to provide more visual learning aids in the classroom. The teachers at single-sex and coed schools should provide more opportunities for girls to draw pictures, look at various images, movies, and videos, as well as more tactile activities so children can see and process what they are doing. In addition, teachers can use these strategies that are specific to girls 151

and/or boys and not have the students be undermined and doubt their abilities. Another way is to use group work to help students learn to work with each other. Students learn basic communication skills and their ideas are shared in the classroom (Novotney; “Advantages”).

An example of how teachers work with girls in the classroom was when I observed a 2nd grade class at Katherine Delmar Burke School. The first aspect I noticed was the girls had lots of picture books and there were also some students using iPads. Once the class was all together, the teacher did a math exercise using pictures and having the kids count the dots to add up the numbers.

They also used blocks which they sorted into certain colors for their math activity the next day. As I was looking around the classroom I saw multiple posters that had class rules on them, boxes filled with blocks and other shapes, as well as books in shelves around the classroom. Seeing these visual techniques at use first hand was really thought provoking because it was a direct experience of how visual learning aids are so important to a girl’s development as a person and student. The different techniques used at Burkes helped me learn not only about the subjects at hand, but also how to learn so I would be better prepared for the future. This really helped my self-esteem in school and how I could be an advocate for myself.

Having the genders separated creates the chance for teachers and administrators to make a curriculum especially for one gender.

Teachers are free to provide materials that fit the interest of the girls or boys. In some coed schools, it is said that the teacher tended to focus on the interests of the boys instead of both girls and boys in

the class (Novotney). Learning differences are found to be more frequently addressed in single-sex schools and this can lead to improved test scores, graduation rates, and solutions to behavior issues like anger management, aggression, and lying.

The argument against single-sex schools is that a coed schooling can help students become better prepared for the future work environment, especially one that is dominated with men (Galarza). People say that the difference between girls and boys are over exaggerated, and that the separation can lead to prejudice or misinterpretation of the other sex. Students that have attended a coed school have said that having both genders at school helped them take charge of their own learning, speak up for themselves, and be a part of the class. They can interact with each other and solve problems that might arise. As Diane F. Halpern, a former president of the American Psychological Association says, “school is preparation for adult life, how can girls and boys learn how to interact as equals in the workplace if they have no experience interacting as equals in school?” (Novotney). However, it doesn't matter if someone attended a single-sex or coed school, everyone learns social skills that will be helpful for the future workplace. It is just how one uses what they know and apply that to situations with the other gender.

Having an open and accepting environment at school also provides diverse experiences and opportunities for girls to expand their education, move out of their comfort zone, and try something new. In this type of environment girls have a chance to thrive and flourish both academically and socially. Girls also eliminate the common youth culture stereotypes that people learn every day from the me152

dia, other students, as well as parents in a single-sex school (Sneed). This type of environment also decreases problems academically, and provides younger and older students with positive role models to look up too (Wolman).

Having an open and freer school environment also allows girls to break down gender stereotypes. Educators at single-sex schools are more focused for girls and boys to break out of their comfort zone and do things that are not considered traditional. Therefore, taking risks is highly encouraged (“Advantages”). Having a more open and free environment also allows girls to freely express themselves at school and pursue a multitude of interests. They can develop closer relationships between other students and teachers as well as have the chance to really engage in the academics at school. Because of this close relationship teachers can also address problems that the student might have and help the girls find their own solutions to problems. This promotes a strong connection between the teacher and student that can only happen in an open and free environment, commonly found in single-sex schools (Wolman).

There are some negative aspects of the open and free school environment that people against single-sex education argue. The fact that sometimes segregation and prejudice arises is a somewhat common factor, as well as the problem that for girls, especially younger ones, have a substantial amount of freedom and openness at school that they don't always know how to maturely handle. This can cause students to act out on each other and spread rumors about people or talk about friends behind their back. These are all

types of bullying and this can happen in any environment, singlesex or coed. Bullying is a large factor for all schools, including single-sex and coed because it can create a place where students are scared and afraid to participate or try something new, because they have been tormented by their peers. This can affect children later on in life, halting their fundamental development as a student and person (Wolman).

Girls in single-sex schools have a greater awareness of gender stereotypes and the negative media portrayal of girls. At coed schools teachers sometimes treat the girls and boys differently in the classroom—usually favoring boys (Novotney). There is also the untold standard in coed schools that math and science are subjects for boys while performing and language arts are for girls. Girls at coed schools have a societal pressure of double standards. This idea can be found in the book The Triple Bind by Stephen Hinshaw where he says that girls feel that have to be smart, but not smarter than boys, athletic, but not better than boys, and dress nicely, but not show off too much. (Galarza). Coed schools however do not prepare girls for real world situations like defending themselves, especially against men, in ways where they are not able to speak with the other gender because they are too intimidated. Coed schools intensify the common gender stereotypes from the media like the stereotype that girls are not good at sports, girls are only concerned about their physical appearance, and girls are bad at math (“Advantages”). While in an all-girls school there are no standards they feel they are held by, nor any stereotypes they feel they have to follow.

Girls understand what society pressures them to be, and take away 153

from their education that they do not necessarily have to follow social norms. They have an awareness of what a girl is capable of and how strong girl can be.

However, all problems have solutions, and in this specific case there are a certain number of solutions that can be applied to single-sex schools focused on social skills and gender and media stereotypes. Firstly, in the controversial argument about the social skills provided by having a coed schooling, a solution can be having teachers monitor who is participating in the classroom. If a student is not participating the teacher should encourage the girls to speak up and express their opinion. The teachers also need to let the students know that the environment they are in is a place that is judgment and prejudice free. Educators at both coed and single-sex schools, as well as parents and guardians, also need to be cautious of the cultural impact media has on kids. Some of the common media images are that girls have to be skinny, not strong or athletic, and that all girls like shopping. Administrators and parents have to make a conscious effort to not incorporate any stereotypes into the curriculum or daily life of the student. There should be a class about the public media and gender stereotypes that are prevalent in their community. Students should be able to learn that all people are different and unique, and that not everything people see and hear is true for all. This way both girls and boys can learn how to really see and know a person for who others are.

more comfortable. Thus, it should be a choice and/or option for girls and boys to attend either a coed or single-sex school, and students and/or parents should be able to decide. This type of system allows students to see if a single-sex education is right for them. I personally think that single-sex education for girls in elementary and middle school is a positive choice, and can be very beneficial to a childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s learning.

Single-sex education offers many positive attributes like less distractions, an increased self-esteem, a greater awareness of gender, media stereotypes, and accommodate different learning styles of students. All these features of single-sex schools allow girls to have the opportunity to achieve and pursue their goals in life. At a single-sex school, girls have a place for them to grow and develop into successful students who are independent which allows girls to find who they are and have more opportunities and experiences they would not been able to have at a coed school.

In an all-girls school, not all girls learn the exactly the same way; as some girls may be better suited for a coed environment because of their personality, or some like single-sex better because they are 154

Works Cited “Advantages for Girls.” National Association for Single Sex Public Education. NASSPE, 2013. Web. 14 Dec 2013.

Bronson M., Lauren. “Single-Gender Education: Does it Work?” Dominican University School of Education. Bisk Education, 2014. Web. 21 Dec. 2013.

Galarza, Bianca. Personal Interview. 10 Jan. 2014.

Jost, Kenneth. "Single-Sex Education." CQ Researcher. CQ Researcher, 12 July 2002. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.

Novotney, Amy. “Coed versus single-sex ed.” American Psychological Association. American Psychological Association, 2014. Web. 21 Dec 2013 “Single-Sex vs. Coed: The Evidence.” National Association for Single Sex Public Education. NASSPE, 2013. Web. 17 Dec 2013.

Sneed, Maree, Donna Elam. Single-Sex Schools and Programs: Equity, Access and Educational Excellence. Washington DC: Hogan Lovells, 2012. PDF File.

Wolman, Rebekah. Personal Interview. 13 Jan. 2014.

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Cole Yarbrough

Internet Security

different networks” but can cause the internet to be slow or certain services might be completely unavailable (Bright, “DDOS”).

The internet is an amazing tool for communication. It allows people to talk effortlessly face-to-face all around the world. With all this technology advancing so fast, how can we be sure that we are safe?

There are two types of internet security threats: technological and social engineering threats. As technology becomes more secure, it is important to minimize the social element and its ability to create security problems. It is in the best interest of the entire world to invest in internet infrastructure and internet security to protect both that infrastructure and other internet-connected infrastructure.

Social threats are growing more common and need to be prevented or mitigated. By educating people to identify these threats, we can safely secure the system. These threats are called “phishing,” and they prey on a non-technical user’s lack of knowledge or their trust in some entity such as a bank or social media site. Phishing attacks are growing more common among hackers because any hacker can get someone to give him or her the information without relying entirely on security flaws in the networks they are targeting. Phishing attacks make up over 50% of all cyber-attacks (Flamini 160). Teaching people how to spot phishing attempts will dramatically decrease the number of breaches. Some efforts to prevent phishing have been made. For example, there is a warning in google chrome that alerts users when a site has been reported as a phishing site by explaining, “Phishing sites trick users into disclosing personal or financial information, often by pretending to represent trusted institutions, such as banks”(Phishing Warning). This kind of warning system is a great way to reduce phishing attacks, by explaining them in plain language that anyone can understand.

Internet security is important for many reasons. One of the most important of which is access to information. One of the greatest things that the internet has done for humanity is to enable access to vast amounts of information almost instantly. An insecure internet threatens this ability. All you have to do to get rid of smaller websites is “Flood the IX's infrastructure and they'll effectively drop off the Internet” (Bright, “DDOS”). This allows people to cut out parts of the internet that they do not like or that belong to their competitors. The internet is well designed enough that taking down one server will not make “the entire thing simultaneously f[a]ll apart into a million

Phishing attacks take on a few forms; they can be phone calls, emails, copies of popular websites, ads, posts on social media and some less common methods. There are a couple of ways to spot a phishing attack. The most important way is that you will usually be directed to click on a link or visit a website. Once you click that link, it will either put some kind of malware onto your computer, or they 156

will present a fake login screen that will record the information you input and try it on the site they are copying.

Network security is the concept that interconnected networks can have a degree of separation between them in order to prevent unauthorized access and keep connected devices from being attacked.

Internet security is a similar idea, but with the largest interconnected network in the world. Internet security affects privacy and monetary transfers over the internet, as well as privacy on any connected device. The prevalence of badly secured “smart” devices like the Philips hue light bulb, which can be turned off without a password remotely, have brought attention to a completely new set of problems pertaining to everything that is connected, not just computers (Goodin, “welcome”). The internet of things is a network of appliances with simple computers inside that use existing internet infrastructure and technologies to communicate with your smart devices.

These smart appliances have a one-size fits all approach to security. They assume that your network is secured and that it is set up the same way for everyone.

Recent revelations about the National Security Agency’s (NSA) data collection program has turned attention to privacy as a big issue on the internet. The NSA has hindered internet security by creating “backdoors” or ways to get around currently used encryption algorithms. In other words, the NSA deliberately weakened the RSA Security LLC, a network security company, algorithm, which is widely used. There are even “reports of impropriety connecting a $10 million investment by the United States government and RSA’s decision to use this obscure and widely maligned algorithm in their

widely distributed products” (Sullivan “NSA”). This is designed to allow the NSA a way to easily undermine attempts to hide information by encrypting it. The problem, ethics of the spying aside, is that the NSA is not the only agency or entity able to use the backdoor; it could be exploited by hackers to get sensitive information like credit cards and tax documents. What the NSA has done is not altogether bad. Although it was not their intention, they have heightened awareness of the current state of internet security and made people more cautious of what they put online. It has made people more security-conscious and less complacent. Because of the intentional security hole, it is likely that new algorithms will be developed or the RSA algorithms will be patched. This brings up the point of how can we trust RSA anymore after they accepted money to create a backdoor? If someone gave them enough money, would they do it again? We can never be sure, but if security companies release the source code, or the code that was used to make the programs, then a diligent community of programmers can check if any security holes have been included. Like in the case of Firefox where Mozilla (the company that makes Firefox) releases the source code so that anyone can check if a backdoor has been added. As they say, “the government may request that browser vendors secretly inject surveillance code into the browsers they distribute to users. We have no information that any browser vendor has ever received such a directive. However, if that were to happen, the public would likely not find out due to gag orders” (Eich “Trust).

Security allows more privacy and increased safety for internetattached infrastructure, like the new smart grid. Privacy is very im157

portant to people so when you say that security and privacy go hand in hand, they might be eager to find out how you can increase security. Increased security also means that we are less susceptible to cyber-attacks and cyber terrorism; attacks such as shutting down power to cities and closing gas lines and causing explosions.

Although security has many benefits, it has some downsides. The more secure a connection is, the more complex it is likely to be and it might be slower. For instance, if you use a complex password for all of your online accounts you might forget them and then you will be locked out, but if you use a short password for everything then if one password if found they all are. Another instance is if you encrypt traffic, it will take time to decrypt and that will add latency to online connections and lower the maximum bandwidth making the connection slow.

Security is compromised in many ways. Some of the ways that have already been mentioned are phishing, backdoors, and taking down internet infrastructure. There are other ways too like unintentional security flaws in software may also provide access to internal networks to hackers. Although devices are getting more secure, people still have to configure those devices and they can make mistakes while doing so. They could use a default or overly simplistic password (“password” and “123456” are examples) which would allow access to hackers without much effort. An example of this is the supposed refrigerator botnet that sends spam email. The botnet was created “by exploiting default administration passwords that hadn't been changed and other misconfigurations” that allowed hackers to manipulate the machines into doing things that were malicious

(Goodin “refrigerator”). These vulnerabilities are the fault of the manufactures that do not properly secure their devices. They do not think of the effect it will have on their consumers and they think that the vast majority of the consumers just do not care.

As you can see, the internet as it is today is flawed but there are things that society, consumers, and users can do. Schools can educate kids at a young age how to tell if a website is malicious and teach them to be more cautious online. Smart appliance manufacturers need to secure their devices better to keep them from being hacked. Cryptographic algorithms such as the algorithms made by RSA must not allow governments to alter their software and/or make the software’s code available for review by the public to monitor the presence of back doors. All of these methods can make us more secure and ultimately the best security is understanding the threats

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Works Cited Bright, Peter. "Can a DDoS Break the Internet? Sure… Just Not All of It." Ars Technica. Ars Technica, 2 Apr. 2013. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.

Eich, Brendan. "Trust but Verify." Brendan Eich. Brendan Eich, 11 Jan. 2014. Web. 14 Feb. 2014.

Flamini, Roland. "Improving Cybersecurity." CQ Researcher by CQ Press. CQ Press, 15 Feb. 2013. Web. 28 Jan. 2014.

Goodin, Dan. "Is Your Refrigerator Really Part of a Massive Spamsending Botnet?" Ars Technica. Ars Technica, 17 Jan. 2014. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.

Goodin, Dan. "Welcome to the “Internet of Things,” Where Even Lights Aren’t Hacker Safe." Ars Technica. Ars Technica, 13 Aug. 2013. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.

Ouyang, James. Personal interview. 12 Jan. 2014.

Phishing warning. Digital image. Karmona. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.

Sullivan, Nick. "How the NSA (may Have) Put a Backdoor in RSA’s Cryptography: A Technical Primer." Ars Technica. Ars Technica, 5 Jan. 2014. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.

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Rights and Equality Winter 2014

Research in the Community The Bay School of San Francisco

Flickr: Craig Butz

Lauren Anderson

Wicked Church of the West: The Effects of the Westboro Baptist Church Over the years, pickets have been known to be used for fighting for equality, and standing us against an opposing force for good, but one church has completely defiled this notion. The Westboro Baptist Church is a group of extremists who have tried to get America to go against the LGBTQA community, but instead it has backfired. The church has tried to send out messages of a hateful god. This god they preach is one that has a very strict set or rules and sins, and if you go against any of them then you have no chance to ever be able to get into heaven according to them. The way that the church has enforced these rules is by protesting at military funerals, celebrity funerals, other churches, and even the Golden Globes. Westboro Baptist itself is fairly small, with only about sixty members, all

of them part of one family, but has had a huge impact on countless people. (Lavenar). What started as an outcry for hatred and fighting against others, was met with actions against the church and the messages they try so desperately to enforce. Counter protestors have begun to take action, but it isn’t always pleasant. Death threats have been sent to Westboro, websites filled to the brim with hate towards these people began to pile up, lawsuits were filed against the church and all the members, and even violence had begun to accumulate. People were spitting, and even pouring hot coffee onto the Westboro Baptist Church members. Anger was met with anger. But not every counter protestor acted this way.

In fact, the amount of love and support that was being spread far outweighed the amount of hate being projected on both sides.

Groups began popping up that wanted to turn the mission of the Westboro Baptist Church into something productive and useful that would help millions of people instead of hurting them. And the thing is, it’s working. Love is triumphing over hatred.

This infamous church was first started in 1955 by Fred Phelps and his wife Margie Phelps. Ever since the first day the church was formed, the pair tried to spread their ideals. It wasn’t until much later that they began to tout multicolored signs such as, “God Hates America, “You’re Going to Hell”, “God Hates Fags”, and even “Thank God for Dead Soldiers” as the church members paraded around Topeka, Kansas, the city where the church was erected (Sack). The married couple even had their children learn this idea of a ‘hateful God’, and this spread to the majority of the Phelps’s living 161

family. Though the Westboro Baptist Church covers a lot of different areas on what a sin is, the idea that is most controversial is against the LGBTQA people. They would say that all fags deserve to burn in hell, and that the reason that soldiers are dying in other countries is because of America’s growing tolerance of gays such as gay marriage becoming more prominent and the ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ program becoming abolished. Along with protesting against the LGBTQA community, they’ve protested against Obama claiming he is the anti-Christ, and against the new Pope saying he is a pedophile child rapist. Another surprising protest they’ve held, is a protest against Swedish vacuums. Their reasoning for this, says Louis Theroux after making a documentary on the church title, Most Hated Family in America, “Swedish authorities imprisoned a local pastor for preaching against homosexuality, thereby making the whole nation a target.” They were boycotting the entire country because of this arrest, and vacuum cleaners seemed like a good place to start. Though their protests don’t end there. Their actions are much more deep rooted than a Swedish vacuum can pick up.

The main pickets the church have performed have been at military, homosexual, and celebrity funerals. They’ve picketed at the King of Pop’s funeral, Michael Jackson because of his “fag enabling,” and plan to continue picketing at even more celebrity’s funerals. One of the military funerals that the Westboro Baptist Church has picketed at was of a man named Matthew Snyder who had died when he walked over a stray mine. The reason that this funeral was so significant though, is because the Westboro Baptist Church may have overstepped their boundaries. That day, the father of Matthew sent

in a lawsuit against the church for, “intentional infliction of emotional distress”. Soon, the case gained leverage and began to be better known. Eventually the lawsuit was even sent to the Supreme Court to determine whether or not the Westboro Baptist Church were allowed to protest at funerals. At first, it seemed that Mr. Snyder was winning. He had been given $11 million in damages, but then that price was reduced to only $5 million, and soon the case was thrown out. The reason? The Supreme Court had ruled the protests of the Westboro Baptist Church to be protected by the First Amendment.

These pickets were free speech, and the Westboro Baptist Church weren’t physically harming anyone. In response to the decision, Chief Justice John Roberts commented, “Simply put, the church members had the right to be where they were,” And the church walked free with only press coverage to spread the news that a church of extremists were making their way in the United States.

And this wasn’t even the protest that made the church so infamous: another man had to die for hate crimes for the Westboro Baptist Church to be so well known. The man’s name was Matthew Shepard, whom was a gay man living as a student at the University of Wyoming. Matthew was tortured, murdered, and left on the side of a road in Laramie, Wyoming. The case of Matthew Shepard was ruled a hate crime because of his sexuality once national outcry erupted. Using the anger already revolving around Matthew’s death, the Westboro Baptist Church decided to picket at the funeral of the famous man. What the church called out at his funeral was about how he deserved to die, how this was the divine judgment of God and was meant to happen. They even said that the men who com162

mitted the crime against Matthew Shepard were to be congratulated for doing such a good deed. Of course, this caused an uproar of substantial proportions. The amount of news coverage the church got skyrocketed, and the word of this small church spread. People began to promote petitions for the church to close and to stop spreading this message of hate. Groups on the Internet sprung up and united against the church, and soon charities followed as well.

It’s dark to think that the Westboro Baptist Church reached their level of infamy thanks to the death of one man. So far, the church has hosted at least one picket in every state in the United States, and they plan to host even more pickets. In an interview, the wife of Fred Phelps, Margie Phelps, told ABC News that they, “…plan to quadruple protests every year.” But these may as well have been empty threats, because a few months later the amount of pickets that the church had performed had been the exact same amount as before. Along with this, the church had also said they were going to picket and protest at Nelson Mandela’s funeral, but were nowhere to be seen at Nelson’s funeral. They had traded the picket for time to be on a radio talk show. If this is an example of anything, it means the church is being very strategic with their planning. Most likely, they weren’t even planning to go all the way to South Africa, so by publicly saying they would protest, it gave media the push to look into the church even further, as they had already made some shocking news coverage. They knew that just the thought of protesting against a huge icon would bring attention to themselves. Attention is exactly what the Westboro Baptist Church wants, and what better way than through the news?

Along with public protesting, the church enjoys getting their ideals out by a bountiful amount of social media websites using what they would consider humor. Already, they have made a Twitter account, a Facebook page and a group, and they have also set up a Vine account. The way that the Westboro Baptist Church tries to advertise their ideas depends on the website they use. Their Vine account uses songs made by the church such as continually singing, “God hate fags.” They’ve made jokes based off of anti-WBC comics like, “If people want to act so the Westboro Baptist Church pickets at their funeral, then why do they get mad at us when we do?” Finally, the Westboro Baptist Church have personified their signs by making them move and talk about how great the church is. Their Facebook account and Twitter account are used for promoting their Vines, saying where their next protests are going to be, creating posts about what they are currently doing which normally pertain to the church, and sending messages to LGBTQA supporters. All of the social media websites that the church uses have been used for solely promoting their ideas, and involve little to nothing about the people that are part of the church itself. But with social media comes counterprotests.

The best way to counter protest efficiently has been to protest in a way that is safe, helpful, and nonviolent. So far, the groups that have been brought together to fight against the Westboro Baptist Church and their ideas have been sending out loud messages, and are even multiplying. Most of the groups use the trio of the aforementioned effective counter-protesting. With the amount of growing acceptance for the LGBTQA groups, it’s only logical that more peo163

ple are fighting against homophobes, or people who are against homosexuality. One of the groups that has been gaining momentum and popularity is called Planting Peace. Originally, the group was started to help give medicine to children in Africa with worms, and was soon working on many different projects trying to make the world a better place. What they’ve done to combat against the Westboro Baptist Church, was the group have bought the house directly across from the church in Topeka, and painted it with the colors of the gay pride flag. On different days, the house would be painted different colors. For example, on national transgender day, the house was painted with the colors of the transgender pride flag. It is small things like this that are making a huge impact on the community.

Along with Planting Peace, another group called Angel Action has stepped up to the plate. This group was specifically made for fighting against the Westboro Baptist Church, unlike Planting Peace, and was centered on the protests of the church. As the name implies, the group focuses on angels. More specifically, they make wings. Huge, fluffy wings for people to wear. The wings are so big, that they will block any and all of the signs of the Westboro Baptist Church if the ‘angels’ stand in front of the church. The purpose of the wings is so that if a funeral is happening, the people in mourning needn’t see the church and the hateful messages they spew. Other groups have set up charities along the way that donate money to non-profits that go towards LGBTQA support such as clothing for transgender people who can’t get clothes on their own if their parents aren’t supportive. But it’s not just LGBTQA people and supporters who have been fighting against the church, the real kicker is that well known hate group, the Ku Klux Klan has even said they have

no affiliation with the Westboro Baptist Church and don’t support anything they are doing. As it turns out, one of the lead members of the Ku Klux Klan is a retired war veteran, and is appalled by how the church is defiling the dead. The way the church runs shows vast quantities of disrespect towards soldiers in combat, and those who have been killed in combat. Though the Ku Klux Klan is still all for white supremacy, if a well-known hate group is fighting against something, it really does rile people up knowing that what the church is doing is wrong. The vast majority of the protests against the Westboro Baptist Church have been fairly peaceful, and even funny with people dressing up as zombies to distract attention away from the church, but not all of the protests are as friendly.

Along with death threats in the form of emails, the Westboro Baptist Church have been assaulted during their protests multiple times.

This assault ranges from verbal abuse with people shouting profanities at the members and getting close to them to scream in their faces, to physical actions such as shoving them onto the ground.

Despite all of this violence, the church manages to keep a straight face and just get back up. The Supreme Court have commented about the Westboro Baptist Church saying, “They did not yell or use profanity, and there was no violence [on the Westboro Baptist Church’s side] associated with the picketing." The Westboro Baptist Church have always been careful to stay within the law, even when violence such as this is occurring. It’s shocking really, to think that despite their hateful protests, they still manage to be completely clean. Record wise of course. But does this mean that the people protesting against the church are in the wrong? Of course not.

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These are only a few instances of violence against the church, and the amount of good that has come out of the counter protests far outweighs the amount of hatred.

Sometimes people will forget themselves and become easily susceptible to anger, and violence against the Westboro Baptist church is a prime example of such instances. When someone gets really angry, they want to stop the problem at the source and can become violent. But compared to the benefits of the counter protests, this is minuscular. If anything, the Westboro Baptist Church is its own downfall. The extent of their actions caused so many people to stand up and fight against them, that it was overwhelming and gained many people’s support. If the church still decides to continue on the path they are leading, then it will become even worse for the church. In time, the church may even disband completely.

So the next time you try to fight against human rights, remember to keep it to yourself or even listen to the other side. If not, then you will have an angry mob of people fighting relentlessly against your every move. Peacefully of course. No one wants to become like the Westboro Baptist Church.

Bibliography "The Right to be Vile, The Supreme Court was Correct That Westboro Baptist Church is Protected by the 1st Amendment." Proquest.

Proquest, 04 Mar 2011. Web. 26 Jan 2014. <http://search.proquest.com/docview/854898948?accountid=3830>.

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Grindley, Lucas. "The Westboro Effect Triggers Embarrassing Counter Protest ." . Advocate, 25 2 2013. Web. 10 Jan 2014.

Lauck, Scott. "Westboro Baptist Church is 3-0 Against Cities." Proquest. Proquest, 14 Apr 2009. Web. 26 Jan 2014. <http://search.proquest.com/docview/242016558?accountid=3830>.

Lavener, Paige. "Westboro Pastor's Granddaughter: 'We Hurt A Lot Of People'." Huff Post Politics. Huffington Post, 30 10 2013. Web. 8 Jan 2014. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/30/westboro-megan-phelpsroper_n_4177166.html?utm_hp_ref=westboro-baptist-church Patrik, Jonsson. "What Recourse Now to Westboro Baptist Church's Rude Protests?." Proquest. Proquest, 30 Mar 2011. Web. 26 Jan 2014. <http://search.proquest.com/docview/854888366?accountid=3830>.

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Terence, Monmaney. "Westboro Baptist Church is 3-0 Against Cities." Proquest. Proquest, 22 Feb 2000. Web. 26 Jan 2014. <http://search.proquest.com/docview/421609109?accountid=3830>.

"Who We Are." Southern Poverty Law Center. Southern Poverty Law Center, 12 Sep 2012. Web. 22 Jan 2014. <http://www.splcenter.org/who-we-are>.

Theroux, Louis. "Louis Theroux Most Hated Family in America." The Guardian. N.p., 30 Mar 2007. Web. 3 Feb 2014. <http://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/mar/31/tvandradio.usnew s>.

Walter, Donna. "Missouris Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Review Funeral Protest Case." Proquest. Proquest, 10 Apr 2009. Web. 26 Jan 2014. <http://search.proquest.com/docview/241989329?accountid=3830>.

Sack, Kevin. "Hate Group in U.S. Are Growing, Report Says." Proquest. Proquest, 03 Mar 1998. Web. 26 Jan 2014. <http://search.proquest.com/docview/430948320?accountid=3830>.

Singh, Anneliese. "A Content Analysis of LGBTQ Qualitative Research in Counseling: A Ten Year Review." Proquest. Proquest, UK UK 2011. Web. 26 Jan 2014. <http://search.proquest.com/docview/858390674?accountid=3830>.

Unknown, Unknown. "Westboro Baptist Church." Southern Poverty Law Center. Southern Poverty Law Center, 15 Jan 2014. Web. 22 Jan 2014. <http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/groups/wes tboro-baptist-church>.

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Hannah Cohen-Sidley

Forever at the Bottom: Racial Disparity in the World of Mass Incarceration "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." " " " " " " -The Declaration of Independence

The United States of America, “Land of the free,” has the highest incarceration rate in the world. In 2012, the US incarcerated 2,228,400, 1 in every 108 adults (“Drug War Statistics”). Of the 2,228,400 people, 1.55 million are incarcerated for non-violent drug offences. Of the total 2.3 million, 1 million of the incarcerated population is African American, however African Americans only make up

12% of the US population (Criminal Justice Fact Sheet). According to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored people (the NAACP), “about 14 million Whites and 2.6 million African Americans report using an illicit drug,” but in the criminal justice system today, “African Americans are sent to prison for drug offenses at 10 times the rate of Whites.” There are too many people of color in jail for drug law violations proportionate to the number of people of color in the country, and the number of drug users of color (Race and the Drug War). More than 60% of the people in prison are racial minorities even though they constitute only 25% of the US population (“The Sentencing Project”). Not only does the US prison system incarcerate the most people in the world, but it also provides no help for prisoners once they are released. This cycle of jailing people of color chews them up but doesn’t spit them back out. The idea of once a criminal always a criminal is very prevalent in our criminal justice system. Prisoners are released with no housing, no jobs, and no benefits, thus turning them to drugs and crime, which creates a cycle of poverty and imprisonment. These issues in turn result in a racially unbalanced society and unequal rights for too many people of color. We may have an African American president and may all drink out of the same water fountain, but the African American community still remains the underbelly of American society. There is a great racial inequality in our criminal justice system that is inhumane, unjust, and needs to be fixed.

“The consequences that follow a drug conviction have created a permanent second-class status for millions of Americans.” –Drug Policy Alliance 167

Imagine that you are an 18 year old African American male living in the Sunnydale Projects in San Francisco. You are a senior at Thurgood Marshall high school, live with your mom and little brother, and lead a normal teenage life. You and your friends sometimes go to the park and smoke weed on the weekends, as do many white, black, Latino, and Asian inner city youth. One Friday, as you are walking to the park, with a jar of about half an ounce weed in your backpack, a lighter and a pipe, you are stopped and questioned by a police officer. As he questions you, you start to grow angry, you have somewhere to be and this is embarrassing. The police officer decides to search you, your angry and look suspicious to him. As he takes out the jar of weed from your back pack, turns you around and arrests you, he enters you into the permanent, unescapable criminal justice system. Forever demoting you to the second class status, set up for African American males like yourself. In the criminal justice system today, when you are arrested for possession of marijuana, you are subjected to an entirely new way of living. After serving your 6 month to 5 year mandatory sentence, you are released with 10 dollars for the bus home and a permanent criminal label restricting you from every government privilege and any job that requires you to check the felon box. As a person with a criminal record you now are not allowed to receive food stamps, health insurance, or any other form of welfare. Thus, you, and many other African American males in your situation, turn to what got you incarcerated in the first place, drugs. As a drug dealer you do not have to check a box saying you’ve been convicted of a felony, nor do you have to live in a government housing project that doesn’t allow people with a criminal record to reside. You won’t need food stamps be-

cause after a week on the streets you’ll have enough money for dinner. The only problem with this is that you have now become part of Americas African American underbelly, having no way of moving up in society, no way of getting an education, and your chances of being caught again are one hundred times more likely. One of the biggest problems in the criminal justice system is this unjust system of arrests, convictions, and drug dealing. “Even if someone was never incarcerated, the criminal or felon label can follow a person arrested or convicted of a drug law violation for the rest of his/her life,” (“The House I Live in”).

In addition to the many negative consequences of a drug conviction, the mental toll of going to prison is the most difficult consequence to live with. According to Philip G. Zimbardo, of Stanford University, “the way that prisoners are treated in prison makes it hard for them to return to society.” He proved this through the Stanford prison experiment which was conducted in 1971 at Stanford University. The question a group of scientists were trying to answer was “what happens when you put good in an evil place?” To answer this question they asked a group of Stanford undergrads if they wanted to make some money by being a part of a social experiment, a prison simulation. Half of the students were set to be prisoners and half were prison wardens. The experiment only lasted six days after an outbreak of mental breakdowns, depression, and a hunger strike. According to Philip Zimbardo, the head physiologist of the experiment, "On the first day of the experiment there was a little prison set up in a basement with fake cell doors, but by the second day it was a real prison created in the minds of each prisoner, each guard and also of 168

the staff.” After just one day in the fake prison, the students’ minds became warped, and they truly believed that they were part of the prison complex. One of the wardens recounts his decision to take on the character of “a very cruel prison guard.” And he was not the only one. By the third or fourth day the wardens had begun “stripping them [the prisoners] naked, putting bags over their heads, making them do press-ups or other exercises and humiliating them,” (Leithead). These were normal college students who after two days in the prison complex had turned into real prison wardens conducting cruel and unusual punishment on their friends. The toll that the experiment took on the prisoners created numerous mental break downs, sleep deprivation, and depression. Many of the prisoners went on hunger strikes and one broke out in “a physiological rash.”

Even the lead physiologist who was conducting the experiment got sucked in, and was unable to make rational decisions. After six days the experiment was shut down. The reproductions of just 6 days in the prison environment proved to be detrimental to the mental and physical heath of the prisoners and prison grades. If after 6 days, college students had to be taken out of the experiment because it was harming their mental well-being, the minds of prisoners convicted for non-violent drug offences, who are in prison for 5 to 25 years, must be one-hundred times worse. No one deserves to be subject to cruel and unusual punishment, or be pushed into an unsafe, unhealthy state of mind, especially not people who have committed a non-violent crime or a drug law violation.

Not only does being in prison negatively affect the mental health and future life of the prisoner, but the time spent in prison does not

rehabilitate him. Addicts in prison are not treated, have no form of rehabilitation, and are not helped through the painful process of withdrawing from their drugs. Thus they are more likely to, when released, resort to using them again. The prison system does a good job of keeping people locked up, but does not provide them with the skills or mind set they need to become a law abiding citizen once they’re out.

So how did the criminal justice system become so large and unequal? One reason is that the citizens of California passed proposition 184—“The Three Strikes Law”—after two young girls were murdered by a repeat felon. According to Matt Taibbi, of Rolling Stone Magazine, “Californians [at the time] were determined to never again let a repeat offender get the chance to commit such a brutal crime.” Thus the Three-Strikes-Law was born. This new law mandated that anyone who had committed two serious felonies would be sentenced to jail time upon being convicted of a third crime, even if the crime was non-violent (Taibbi). In the three strikes system, although no two cases are the same, every case is punished in the same way. Is it fair that a man who committed one serious felony when he was young, received a misdemeanor for possession of marijuana when he was a little older, and then stole a pair of socks, has the same punishment as a man who robbed a bank, had a misdemeanor for possession, and then murdered an innocent women?

The law doesn’t care what the third strike is if one of the strikes is violent. The three strikes law makes it so that if you mess up in your youth, say you’re at the wrong place at the wrong time, you can never mess up again without getting 20 to life. This is especially un169

fair in minority, inner-city communities where police are centered and expected to clean up the streets. With the enforcement of this law, the amount of inmates in prison serving life sentences increased dramatically. In addition to the influx of inmates, the three strikes law cost thirty billion dollars to enforce (Alexander). Taxpayer money that could have gone to the education system or the clean air act, is being used to incarcerate non-violent offenders, guilty of experimentation or practical jokes.

The California three strikes law, along with other states laws, fall under a category of laws called mandatory minimums. Mandatory minimums make it so that once you’re caught with marijuana, cocaine, or heroin you are given an automatic sentence along with the sentence that the judge and jury decide. The issue with these laws is that no two drug law violations or offenders are the same. The reason that we have the judicial system in America is to consider the circumstances of the individual. If police ask a man if they can search his vehicle and find an ounce of marijuana in the back seat, he will receive an automatic six months in prison for possession of drug that president Obama says “isn’t more dangerous than drinking alcohol,” (Curry). When this man goes to court, the judge cannot take into consideration that the search had an absence of a probable cause, or that this man had no previous criminal record, all the judge can do is give him his mandatory six month minimum. This situation is most common among marijuana users. Marijuana has become a recreational drug used by more than 61% of the US population (The War on Marijuana in Black and White), and should not be in the same category of punishment as drugs like cocaine and

heroin. Especially since marijuana has been proven to be equally as dangerous for the human body as alcohol (Curry). It makes sense that the prison rate would be so high, since we are constantly arresting, convicting, and incarcerating millions of people for possession of one of the most popular drugs in America.

Not only is the system of convictions unfair and unjust, but so is the way in which these people are caught and arrested. United States law enforcement uses unconstitutional, special tactics that unfairly target and arrest minorities. These practices include stop-and-frisk.

In the 1960’s the Supreme Court made it constitutionally permissible for the police to stop, question, and frisk anyone—even if probable cause is absent (Alexander). Thus, from the 1960’s until today over four million innocent people in New York City alone have been stopped, questioned, and frisked by police for the way they are dressed, the color of their skin, or the neighborhood they happen to be in. The major issues with Stop-and-Frisk tactics are: the police have a tendency to be focused in large urban areas and communities of color, and second, these tactics are violating the fourth amendment of the United States Constitution. The fourth amendment states that: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the person or things to be seized.”

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Thus, stopping and searching innocent Americans with no probable cause and without their consent is unconstitutional and an act of injustice. These police stops not only interrupt everyday lives of more than four million people, but also constitute clear racial profiling.

In school we are taught the saying “never judge a book by its cover.” In church they say “thou shall not judge.” The golden rule is “treat every man as you want to be treated.” These sayings are part of American society. You learn from a young age not to judge people who you do not know or who may look different from you. This common belief, although a staple in American society, is nonexistent in the criminal justice system. Policing urban spaces is all about judgment, some good, some bad, but part of the police officers’ job is to judge a situation and determine protocol. This important skill is used to determine if a person is dangerous, injured or carrying drugs. The issue with giving police the responsibility to determine the fate of the situation and the life of the person in question, is that the police officer may not make the morally correct decision. Historically, African Americans have been blamed for drug crimes, violence, and defying the law. So, when police see a young African American man sitting on the street corner, they may conclude that the man is carrying drugs or a weapon. Thus, the police will act as if the man is already guilty, which entails stopping, questioning, and searching him for suspicion, solely based on race. This type of racial profiling is common in all states and under all circumstances of law enforcement, including high way patrol. According to the ACLU of Arizona “African Americans were twice as likely to be stopped and searched as whites, although both groups had the same rates

of contraband seizures.” Even though drug abuse exists along all racial lines, law enforcement focuses on poor minorities. In a study done in Los Angeles, researchers found that “per 10,000 residents the black stop rate was 3,400 stops high then the white stop rate, and Black drivers were twice as likely as white drivers to be arrested during a traffic stop,” (Restoring a National Consensus). It is clear that throughout the entire country minority motorists and pedestrians are subject to racial profiling.

Race in America has been an issue since the 1600’s when the first African slaves were brought to America. Since the beginning of slavery, Blacks have been viewed by the majority population as inferior, dangerous, and unworthy of the same rights as Whites. For centuries Blacks had no rights. They were seen as property and treated accordingly. Although slavery was abolished in 1865, and Blacks gained more rights than they had before, there was still segregation between the races, and the idea of white superiority was as prominent as ever. Thus, conservative whites in America turned to new forms of racial control, known as Jim Crow laws.

These laws mandated that African Americans and whites could not go to school together, live in the same neighborhood, eat at the same restaurants, or use the same bathrooms. The African American community was unable to move up in society. They could not go to schools that would get them good paying jobs, they were not given opportunities to succeed and laws banned them from even trying to. These unfair laws sparked the start of the civil rights movement in the south. Civil rights activists such as Martin Luther King 171

and Rosa Parks worked toward finding a peaceful way for all Americans to receive equal rights.

American society linked the new drug popularity with the African American community (Alexander).

Although it took many years, these activists eventually succeeded in getting equal rights for African Americans. However, the end of segregation did not change the way society viewed people of color. And “with the success of the civil rights movement it was clear [to the white community] that a major disruption in the nation’s racial equilibrium had occurred,” (Alexander 39). Suddenly black children could shop at department stores, eat at restaurants, and drink from water fountains that were previously off limits. Conservative white people who had grown up with segregation and racism were threatened with the new equal society and began to look for a new “racial order” (Alexander 40). Thus, the term “cracking down on crime” was born.

Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow, writes “from the outset, the drug war had little to do with public concern about drugs and much to do with public concern about race.” At the time that the drug war was declared less than 2 percent of the American public viewed drugs as the most important issue (Alexander 49). According to the Drug Policy Alliance, many of the illegal drugs today became illegal not because of their health risks, but because of the people associated with using them. The first anti-opium laws in the 1870s were directed at Chinese immigrants. The first anti-cocaine laws in the South in the early 1900s were directed at black men, and the first anti-marijuana laws in the Midwest and the Southwest in the 1910s and 20s were directed at Mexican migrants and Mexican Americans (“History of the Drug War”).

The idea to “crack down on crime” came from the protests and riots of the African Americans fighting for their civil rights. The riots were violent and dangerous. The African American community was protesting for political reasons, but to whites across America “civil rights protests were depicted as criminal…thus a need for ‘law and order’ came through,” (Alexander). Conservative whites began to exploit the protests and promote fear of African Americans. They also began to publicly advertise the connection between blacks and crime.

This war on crime, which was initiated in the 1960’s, turned into the war on drugs when President Nixon was elected. Although drugs became popular with hippies, beatniks, and other whites in the 1960’s, because of the focus the war on crime had on African Americans,

The drug war initiated pressure for state law enforcement to “clean up the streets,” which meant that police were driven to arrest and convict as many drug law offenders as possible. Michelle Alexander believes that “the profit motive in drug law enforcement is the single most serious problem within the laws of the drug war.” Essentially, the more overtime law enforcement spent on drug busts and street crime, the higher their pay checks were. Because local police received federal money for drug busts, the police unequally focused on poor minority neighborhoods. In these neighborhoods drug sales were openly prevalent, people did not have money to defend themselves in court, and they did not have a voice to fight back publicly.

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As a result, law enforcement arrested a disproportionate number of minority members.

The drug war went into full swing with the election of Ronald Reagan in the 1980’s. “The number of people behind bars for nonviolent drug law offenses increased from 50,000 in 1980 to nearly 500,000 by 2000,” (The House I Live In). During that 20 year period, as federal agencies started to shift their focus to street crime and funding major drug busts, drug hysteria increased. People began to see drugs as an increasingly pressing problem, one that could only be fixed by arrests and incarceration. This hysteria in white communities was mainly caused by the media’s coverage of crack cocaine use in African American communities.

Crack cocaine, a highly addictive drug made from the leaves of the Coca plant, hit the streets of low income minority neighborhoods in the late 1980’s, when “the decline in legitimate employment opportunities among inner-city residents increased incentives to sell drugs” (Alexander 51). Furthermore, notes Ms. Alexander, when the drug war hit, the industrial employment of black men had plummeted to 28% as the impact of globalization and deindustrialization was felt most strongly in inner-city black communities.” People who once had low-level jobs, such as answering phones or working in factories, were being let go as large corporations realized that it was cheaper to manufacture in other countries. As these low-level jobs started to disappear, many of the jobs that were available required a college degree of some sort, such a thing was unheard of in these inner-city communities and even if a student finished high school with good enough grades to get into a collage, money was always

an issue. Therefore, without a collage education or a chance of getting a job, the African American communities were sucked deeper into the world of drugs.

Crack cocaine was one of the most popular drugs in inner-city communities because it was easy to find, cheap, and highly addictive.

Not only did many African Americans die from overdoses of crack cocaine, but as more people became hooked on the drug, drug dealers became wealthier and violence increased as drug lords gained power of communities. As a result the government decided to take action. State and federal law enforcement decided to make the penalty for possession of crack harsher than the penalty for cocaine. Cocaine is more expensive and is commonly found in middle- to upper-class neighborhoods, while crack is cheaper and found in poor inner-city neighborhoods containing people of color. According to the Drug Policy Alliance “since the 1980’s federal penalties for crack were one hundred times harsher than those for powder cocaine,” and both drugs are equally popular, dangerous, and contain similar ingredients.

In addition, the media played a big role in helping the people of America focus on the crack cocaine epidemic. “Media stories [of the time] had clear racial subtext, and terms like ‘crack baby’ and ‘crack whore’ were usually referring to people of color” (Alexander).

These stereotypes, along with the harsh sentencing and polices needed to clean up the streets, all led to the beginning of the mass incarceration of people of color.

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Since the drug war began and even before that, African Americans and poor minority communities have been targeted and blamed for high crime rates, drug abuse, and violence. “African Americans represent 12% of the total population of drug users, but 38% of those arrested for drug offenses, and 59% of those in state prison for a drug offense,” (“Criminal Justice Fact Sheet”). This is a result of law enforcement targeting urban areas, low-income communities, and communities of color, as it is much easier to stop, search, and arrest people on the streets in the projects then it is in a wealthy suburban neighborhood (“Race and the Drug War”). For example, In Newark, New Jersey, on June 14th, 2008, two African American youths, ages 15 and 13 were riding in a car driven by their African American football coach, Keven Lamar James, when two Newark police officers stopped their car in the rain. The police officers pulled them out of the vehicle, made them get on their knees and held them at gun point while the car was searched. After five minutes, the police man came out and told the teens and coach to continue home, as the search found no contraband. Only football equipment (“Restoring a National Consensus”). This stop and search may have very well scared the African American teens and forever given them the idea that the police are not on their side. Not only can they not drive down the street safely, but they can never experiment with drugs or make other mistakes teens of other races make all the time. The impact of racial profiling not only targets African Americans disproportionately, but scares the innocent as well. The American Civil Liberties Union, states that “harsh marijuana laws create community mistrust of the police, reduces police-community cooperation, and damages public safety.” Moreover, “people of color are far more likely to

stopped, searched, arrested, prosecuted, convicted, and incarcerated for drug law violations than are whites,” (Race and the Drug War). Undoubtedly, living in fear is NOT what America prides its self on.

The war on drugs has not only inflicted fear and inequality in African American communities, also has also cost the American people billions of dollars. Since the 1980’s America has spent about 1 trillion dollars on the drug war. Most of that money has been spent on state and federal prisons. According to the ACLU, the American Civil Liberties Union, “it costs an average of $78.95 per day to keep an inmate locked up in a California prison,” which is more than 20 times the cost of a day on probation. In total it costs 50,000 dollars to hold a Californian in prison for one year, the same amount of money California spends for four students at UC Berkeley or forty-four students at community college. Since 1980 California has built four public universities and twenty new prisons. By building more and more prisons, money that could be used for treatment and rehabilitation facilities, education, government housing, and welfare is being wasted on the up keep of non-violent criminals behind bars.

The war on drugs has greatly affected the San Francisco Bay Area by creating a school-to-prison pipeline, particularly within the African American community of Oakland. In Oakland, black youth comprise 30 percent of the city’s under-18 population (Jones), but “between 2006 and 2012, black boys made up 73.5 percent of all juvenile arrests in Oakland” according to The Black Sentencing Project, an Oakland non-profit. The school-to-prison pipeline is a current trend in which children are funneled out of public schools and into the ju174

venile and criminal justice systems (School to Prison Pipeline). The usual case in this matter is a student who commits one too many minor infractions of school rules and is kicked out and sent to juvenile hall. These policies known as “Zero tolerance policies” are intended to clean up the school yard but end up criminalizing students who make too many mistakes. The ACLU believes that “many of these children who are caught up in the school-to-prison pipeline have learning disabilities or a history of poverty, abuse, or neglect,” thus making school a challenging place to be. Coincidentally, most of the students vulnerable to the push out trends of the school to prison pipeline are students of color, thus creating a racially unequal criminal justice system from the moment the students hit junior high.

The racial bias of the criminal justice system is prevalent in the Bay Area. A major problem with the arrest rate of African American boys in Oakland is that “of those black boys 80 percent of them were not prosecuted,” (Jones). The police are arresting these young men, not because they are dealing or are in possession of drugs but in order to teach the black youth of Oakland a lesson: fear the police.

“Young African American males with negative contact with the police—even for minor offences, like gambling or drunkenness-are more likely to be arrested in the future and face lifelong difficulties resulting from time spent in jail, such as inability to find work or psychological trauma,” states Caroline Jones, referring to the report: “Policing Oakland Youth.” “What we learned from this report,” concludes Will Matthews, a spokesperson for the ACLU, “is that black kids are being arrested who shouldn't be." The mental and physical consequences of this issue are too great for police to disregard.

“To most people: all people in prison are criminals, anti-social, and disposed to violence,” -Philip G Zimbardo Part of the reason for this belief is the fact that the “war on marijuana” has gone largely, if not entirely unnoticed by middle and upper-class white communities is that they are not the party most affected and have been historically un-involved in crime and drugs (The War on Marijuana in Black and White). It is also a common belief that the people who end up in prison are meant to be there. It is also believed that African Americans have higher incarceration rates because drugs have historically been thought of as being rooted in poor minority communities. According the Leadership Conference, “Defenders of racial profiling argue that profiling is necessary and useful in the effort by law enforcement authorities to fight street crime.” With that being said it is not completely illogical to believe that the police need to have some sort of judgment when deciding whether to arrest someone or not. But using racial profiling to make that judgment results in the over incarceration and arrests of African American and Latino men, as they are often the victim of such tactics. It has been proven that drugs are prevalent in all communities across all racial lines; thus it is unjust of America’s law enforcement to focus on poor communities of color for major drug busts when in fact, all communities are drug infested.

If the American people want the prison rate to decrease and equal opportunity and rights for all we need to find alternatives to incarceration and educate the American youth about human equality.

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The ideal solution would be to eliminate drug policies and mandatory minimum sentencing that unfairly affect urban populations (Race and the Drug War). Steps to eliminate or moderate these policies have been taken. Bills have been written to equalize the criminal justice system and end the drug war, but we are far from a definite solution. As quoted from the TV show, The Wire, “you can’t even call this shit a war…wars end.” There is no easy solution to ending this war on drugs, only little steps people can take to one day have a more equal society.

opportunity to successfully reenter their communities,” states Sen Mark Leno after the assembly passed new drug sentencing reforms in California in September. Unfortunately, these new reforms were vetoed by California Governor Jerry Brown. What these reforms would have done is made the criminal justice system fairer for blacks and Latinos who are arrested and sentenced disproportionally for low level drug offences (Rivas). The bill, 1506, would have changed the penalty for simple possession of drugs under state law from a felony to a misdemeanor (Rivas).

Experts across America agree that prison for a person with a drug problem does not make the person any less likely to reoffend or stop using. We need to start by providing treatment for drug offenders and addicts when they are sent to prison. The organization CURE is working toward this solution. They believe that mental health services and rehabilitation would be a much more beneficial form of punishment for drug law violators than being locked up and subject to physical and emotional abuse in prison. Overall, people who commit non-violent drug offences should not be subject to the same form of punishment as murderers and rapists.

In conclusion, although we live in a society that prides itself on equality and freedom with an African American president, AfricanAmericans are still at the bottom of the social caste system and the justice system is keeping them there. African-Americans, as well as other people of color are in prison in disproportionate numbers because they are unfairly targeted by police, they are victims of uncontrolled drug enforcement, and unfair sentencing targets people of color. Discrimination against ex-cons makes it extremely difficult for them to survive outside of prison and lead a normal life. As a result, the country is spending over one trillion dollars on prisons rather than education and rehabilitation. There is no single solution to the inequality. Some solutions include raising awareness that America is still not an equal country. To bring down the prison rate, voters need to vote to overturn mandatory sentencing and the three strikes law so that judges can consider individual circumstance. Also, in order to fix the underlying racism that causes society to have one law for the drugs that white people use and a much harsher law for the drugs that Black people use, we need to educate the youth about

In addition to providing drug treatment in prison, prisons should also be providing education for ex-cons who are going to be released or put on parole. This education should include job skills development as well as basic reading, writing, and arithmetic skills that many prisoners do not have. If we educate these people and provide them the skills that they need to get a real job, they will be less likely to turn to drug dealing once released (Cure). “We know that we can reduce crime by offering low-level offenders’ rehabilitation and the

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human equality. If we want to be the America that our founding fathers envisioned, we must end the mass incarceration of people of color and repair the criminal justice system.

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Trevor Dines

Internet Privacy and the ECPA Since the Internet was first invented, its purpose has been to connect computers and by extension, humans, throughout the world.

There are countless websites, services, and companies that provide platforms for these communications, many of which span multiple countries. The United Nations has gone so far as to declare the Internet a human right. But what are the rights while using the internet? The Electronic Communications Privacy Act needs to be updated to adequately protect the rights of United States citizens, while also allowing the government to fulfill its national security duties.

The Electronic Communications Privacy Act, otherwise known as ECPA, drafted and passed into law in 1986, was tailored to address privacy concerns that had arisen from cutting edge technology of the time. Lawmakers factored ARPANET, the earliest manifestation of the Internet, into the creation of the Act, in addition to the recent conception of the cellphone. The Act aimed to modernize privacy rights and to create finite borders for “wiretaps”, which were no

longer limited to hard telephone lines (Magid). By including wiretaps in the Act, the Act modified the Federal Wiretap Act of 1968, which provided for intercepting and storing “hard” telephone lines, but not for new technology, such as cellphones.

The government, of course, recognizes that a law from 1986 is not sufficient for the developing national security issues that have arisen from changing conditions in the world, fluctuating diplomatic relations, and various wars that are won and lost. The controversial Patriot Act is one of few new laws that directly modify or amend the ECPA. The general movement, however, has been away from privacy, and to a more monitored society, especially following the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001. In the wake of that attack, security concerns were extreme, and the people of the United States were so concerned about more attacks, that stringent (and arguably invasive) monitoring tactics were employed.

The First Amendment guarantees, in no uncertain terms, the right to free speech. Often in First Amendment problems, “chilling effects” are used to describe when someone or something intimidates people into not exercising their First Amendment right. “Chilling effects” is also a term often used in verdicts or arguments in a court of law.

Chilling effects, as explained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, are the “deterrent effect of legal threats or posturing, largely cease and desist letters independent of litigation.” The term has also been used in a number of First Amendment cases in the Supreme Court, the first of which occurred sixteen years ago. The word “chilling” in this context does not mean the same as cold, but rather slowing or 180

stagnation. Many arguments against communications data monitoring and storing have also used this term. The concept is based loosely on the Hawthorne Effect, which states that, “subjects who are aware they are being studied change their behavior,” (Privacy & Civil Liberties). While data collection doesn’t quite constitute “studying”, the effect would seem to hold true.This is a major concern because, although rights on the internet may currently be unclear, rights regarding free speech, and anything inhibiting, it are very clear. The First Amendment guarantees a right to free speech, which by extension means we should not be intimidated or frightened into censoring ourselves. Reduction of expression, a decrease in political expression and especially political dissent are quieted when people are aware of monitoring. An additional effect of monitoring is a loss of feelings of safety and security.

There is a troubling building being constructed outside a dusty town in the Utah desert. It is an unassuming facility from the outside; a fence designed to stop 5,000 pound vehicles going 50 miles an hour, a visitor control center, and darkened windows make up the 2 billion dollar, 925,000 square foot structure (Bamford). This facility was designed to hold yottabytes (10 followed by 24 zeroes) of data.

To give perspective, Google’s former CEO Eric Schmidt estimated that all knowledge created from the origin of man until today totaled about 5 exabytes. One yottabye contains approximately one million exabytes, and one exabyte contains more than a billion gigabytes.

One yottabyte is the equivalent of more than a trillion Libraries of Congress (Bamford). The amount of data being collected is unprecedented and almost unimaginable. This data center collects, records,

and stores everything it intercepts from key relay points across the country, of which there are 10 to 20, according to an anonymous source, obtained by the Washington Post, from inside the agency responsible for the data center, the NSA (Lee).

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, the organization that obtained information from the anonymous source, also reports the widespread use of National Security Letters, which, according to the EFF, force the recipient to disclose any information requested in the letters. In this way, they function much like a subpoena, which also requires information or items to be forfeited. National Security Letters, however, are accompanied by a gag order, which prohibits the recipient not only from informing individuals about the subject of the letter, but also from acknowledging the existence of the letter to anyone (Modernizing the ECPA). These letters can request anything from phone records to IP addresses, websites visited and length of visit, and the location of the user (Magid). The letters require no court approval or review by a judge; they can be issued only at the discretion of the FBI. Google divulged that from 2008 to 2012, they received between zero and nine hundred ninety nine National Security Letters. This disclosure, which would seem to violate the stipulations of the gag order accompanying the letters Google may or may not have received, was allowed only through a special agreement between Google and the federal government, in an attempt to be more transparent on Google’s behalf. Many of these letters have been declared unconstitutional in cases won by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and a Northern California district judge ruled that the government must stop issuing these gag orders, in addition to 181

enforcing existing ones (Kellegrew). The ruling is currently being appealed in the ninth circuit courts.

Although the first thing many people think of when they hear “privacy” is the National Security Agency, the government is not the only party collecting data from communications and the internet. In Safari Web Browser, there is a feature which allows the user to see when a website attempts to store, access, or run “cookies”. Cookies are very small files that websites use to track things like how many times you visit, the length of your visit, and what you click on. An example of a very popular cookie that websites use is the Facebook cookie. This allows Facebook, through third parties which are paid to run the cookies, to track, with browsing history, if you logged into Facebook. It will then record your website visits, and tailor ads on Facebook for what you seem to be interested in (Flamini). This may seem like a harmless (albeit annoying) marketing ploy, and generally it is. Some experts such as Mr. Flamini, who I interviewd, are concerned about the ethical issues with the practice of cookie use, because most of the time users aren’t aware they’re being tracked and marketed to. This, of course, would provide less of a “chilling effect”, especially when users aren’t even aware of the monitoring.

But the worrisome reality is this is comparable to someone following you around, keeping records of where you’ve been, picking your receipts out of the trash, and then marketing something to you based on that. There are no laws that control or restrict cookies, or even restrict the unauthorized use of them (Kellegrew).

The most extreme case of cookies is a “zombie” code. This type of file, once on your computer, is copied to multiple places at once, of-

ten in more than 10 different locations (Flamini). There is also a section of the file that can detect when any one file is deleted, so it is effectively impossible to remove a “zombie cookie” on your computer once it has been received.

On January 17th, 2014, President Obama issued a long-awaited formal response to the allegations of dishonest surveillance and monitoring practices by the National Security Agency. He addressed concerns such as abuse of power within the agency, which could have led to the agency overstepping its legal obligations and duties. The first step in the right direction was his ordering the halting of surveillance of Americans, unless there was probable cause to necessitate such observation. He, along with a third-party panel, reviewed policies from the agency and from FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act), and now stipulates that any wiretap, on Americans or foreigners, be approved by a FISA court before it is enacted. This includes, of course, any mass data collection, or “metadata” wiretaps, which collect any and all information they encounter. In addition to this more stringent court oversight, the FISA courts and National Security Agency now have more leeway in what they can declassify.

Reasons for wiretaps, including metadata wiretaps, and justification for probable cause, are now able to be released more quickly, along with data about when the tap began and how it was or will be used.

The committee focused particularly on Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which is the section referenced for justification of collection of phone records. Also referenced in the report was the Electronic Communications Privacy act, which was used to declare part of the metadata collection, including telephone records collection, illegal.

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The panel, officially called the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, did not have any legally enforceable abilities, but instead made recommendations to President Obama and Congress.

Although these steps are in the right direction, these actions address only monitoring by the NSA, some of which was carried out illegally. The recommendations made by the panel, along with decisions from President Obama, are helpful in clarifying the law and what is or is not allowable. The problem is, however, that these laws are not adequate in protecting our rights.

The Electronic Communications Privacy Act is an outdated piece of legislation that desperately needs to be updated to protect the privacy and security of United States citizens, while also being reviewed yearly to keep up with the rapidly and exponentially growing pace of technology. The ECPA allows for too much leeway in monitoring and tracking citizens, both by the government and by private companies, which run cookies. In addition, the United States government needs to add court oversight or more transparency to the process of issuing National Security Letters, some of which have been deemed unconstitutional.

Works Cited Bamford, James. "The NSA Is Building the Country’s Biggest Spy Center (Watch What You Say)." Wired.com. Conde Nast Digital, 13 Mar. 0012. Web. 05 Feb. 2014.

Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, § 18 U.S.C. § 2510-22 (1986). Print.

Elizabeth, deGrazia Blumenfeld. "Privacy Please: Will the Internet Industry Act to Protect Consumer Privacy before the Government Steps in?" The Business Lawyer 54.1 (1998): 349-83. ProQuest.

Web. 6 Jan. 2014.

Flamini, Roland. "Improving Cybersecurity." CQ Researcher 15 Feb. 2013: 157-80. Web. 6 Jan. 2014.

Kellegrew, Matthew. Personal interview. 26 Jan. 2014.

Lee, Timothy B. "Here’s Everything We Know about PRISM to Date." Washington Post 12 June 2013: n. pag. Print.

Magid, Larry. "Electronic Privacy Communications Act Needs an Update." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 12 Mar. 2013. Web. 29 Jan. 2014.

Marshall, Patrick. "Online Privacy." CQ Researcher 6 Nov. 2009: 933-56. Web. 6 Jan. 2014.

"Modernizing the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA)."

American Civil Liberties Union. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Jan. 2014.

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"Privacy & Civil Liberties." Privacy & Civil Liberties. N.p., 30 July 2013. Web. 05 Jan. 2014.

S. 2271, 109 Cong. (2006) (enacted). Print.

United States. Cong. Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, ยง 18 U.S.C. ยง 2510-22 (1986). Print. 110 Cong., 2nd sess.

Cong 6304. N.p.: n.p., 2008. Print.

United States. Cong. American Law Division. The USA PATRIOT Act: A Legal Analysis. By Charles Doyle. 107 Cong., 2nd sess.

Cong. Rept. RL31377. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

United States. Cong. USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005: A Legal Analysis. By Brian T. Yeh. 109 Cong., 1st sess. Cong. Rept. RL33332. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

"Reform the Patriot Act | Section 215." American Civil Liberties Union. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2014.

Zetter, Kim. "Google Takes on Rare Fight Against National Security Letters." Wired.com. Conde Nast Digital, 02 Apr. 2013. Web. 12 Feb. 2014.

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Mark Gross

Weeding the Bars or Barring the Weed?

An Analysis of the Legalization of Marijuana and Mass Incarceration in California Should people be arrested for exercising their freedom of choice?

That is the question that the state of California is trying to answer as it struggles to solve two pressing issues: the legalization of marijuana and mass incarceration.

Marijuana is a form of cannabis, a plant that contains a psychoactive substance known as THC. The most commonly used illicit drug in the United States, marijuana is made from the dried flowers and leaves of the cannabis plant and is usually smoked (“What Is Marijuana?”; “Marijuana Legalization”). There has been (and still is) a debate about the pros and cons of legalizing marijuana in California.

The origins of drug prohibition in the United States trace back to the early 20th century, when the first anti-marijuana laws were passed in the Midwest and the Southwest. Later, in the 1960s and 70s, young adults began to use marijuana recreationally and Congress re-wrote major drug laws. Also, in 1973, President Richard Nixon placed marijuana in “Schedule One”, the most restrictive category of drugs. Then, in the 1980s and 90s, cancer patients began smoking marijuana for chemotherapy-induced nausea, and other patients began to use marijuana to treat pain, nausea, and appetite loss (“Majority Now Supports”; “A Brief History”). Finally, in the November 2012 ballot elections, Washington and Colorado legalized marijuana. This action was an extremely clear implication that other states should follow their lead and legalize marijuana as well. Now, in 2014, California is faced with the question that has plagued countries and governments all over the world: should marijuana be legalized?

In California, medical marijuana is legal and decriminalized; this means that there was a cessation by legislation to treat medical marijuana as illegal (“Majority Now Supports”). According to PEW Research, 52% of respondents of a national survey support the le185

galization of marijuana, while 45% are opposed to the idea. Arguments supporting the legalization of marijuana include the following: 72% of Americans assert that the government’s efforts to enforce marijuana prohibition laws cost more than they are worth; 77% of Americans assert that marijuana has medical uses; and critical tax revenue would be collected from the legalization and regulation of marijuana (“Majority Now Supports”; Serra).

However, the Office of National Drug Control Policy is strongly opposed to any form of drug legalization, and makes the following argument: marijuana is “associated with dependence, respiratory and mental illness, poor motor performance, impaired cognitive and immune system functioning, and many other negative effects”; marijuana intoxication can “cause distorted perceptions, difficulty in thinking and problem solving, and problems with learning and memory”; there is an “association between chronic marijuana use and increased rates of anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, and schizophrenia”; the legalization of marijuana would lower its price and increase its use; the tax revenue collected from selling marijuana would be offset by its higher social cost; and legalizing marijuana would “further burden the criminal justice system” and would do little to curb drug violence.

This problematic question is not one that can be answered with moral certainty, where there is a definitive right and wrong; rather, this is a matter of society wanting its laws to reflect and represent its ever-shifting values. Therefore, the arguments for both the opposition and the supporting of marijuana legalization are each so com-

pelling that I cannot (and will not) definitively determine whether marijuana “should” or “shouldn’t” be legalized.

Although there are very strong arguments opposing marijuana legalization, the ever-growing support for state-wide marijuana legalization is undeniable. Multiple California lawyers with expertise in marijuana convictions are of the opinion that marijuana will be decriminalized. Moreover, these lawyers believe that there will most likely be a ballot initiative to legalize marijuana for all uses by November 2016 (Blank; Gilg; Kumin; Serra). Furthermore, the majority of Californians favor legalizing marijuana for both medicinal and recreational use; 70% of Bay Area respondents favor the legalization of marijuana while 55% of Californians back the statewide legalization of marijuana (Filippi).

This information leads me to conclude marijuana will almost certainly be legalized in California for both medical and recreational purposes, probably through a ballot initiative created and finalized in time for the November 2016 general elections.

The legalization of marijuana in California is such a widespread issue that it even exacerbates California’s mass incarceration problem: there is a multitude of non-violent, low-level drug offenders that are filling California’s state prisons. This is yet another unfortunate predicament that California is currently faced with and is struggling to solve.

Mass incarceration is a problem that has been plaguing California in recent years. In 2011, the Supreme Court ruled that California was 186

violating the eighth amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America and was required to reduce its prison population by 30,000 inmates by 2013 (Liptak). California has since requested (and been granted) more time from the Supreme Court, and is currently struggling to find a legitimate solution to this unfortunate problem."

The origins of mass incarceration in the United States trace back to the 1980s and 90s, when there was a rapid increase in the number of nonviolent drug law offenses, as well as a rapid increase in the United States’ incarceration rates (“A Brief History”). Furthermore, between 1980 and 2008, the number of people incarcerated in the United States quadrupled (“Criminal Justice”). Unfortunately, the United States’ current criminal justice system is doing no better; in 2012, federal inmates accounted for 14% of the United States’ 1.6 million prisoners (Gupta). The cost of this monumentally failing federal criminal justice system is absolutely staggering: $70 billion is spent on corrections and rehabilitation yearly, as well as $200 billion spent on the United States’ general public safety (“Criminal Justice”).

Thus, California is currently faced with a failing federal criminal justice system that needs to be fixed. The criminal justice system in the United States was, according to Craig DeRoche, created to “maintain the safety of communities, to respect and restore victims, and to help offenders who leave prison to be self-sufficient and lawabiding citizens.” Unfortunately, this is not the case. Francis Scott Key’s “The Star Spangled Banner” declares that the United States of America is the “land of the free”. However, according to the Popu-

lation Reference Bureau, the United States currently has the highest incarceration rate in the entire world. The supposed “land of the free” is, in fact, the country with the most people who are (by definition) not free on the planet. This unquestionable fact, as well as the irony of this predicament, supports the assertion that the United States’ criminal justice system is, quite literally, a national disaster.

So, you might ask, what exactly can be done to fix this unfortunate problem?

To fix the failing criminal justice system, the United States needs to organize and revisit its probation/parole policies. According to Jeremy D. Blank, probation is a grant of leniency from a trial court (while a convict is still in jail), whereas parole is what happens when a convict’s prison sentence is over. While probation and parole are perfectly reasonable methods of controlling the criminal justice system, something else must be implemented once marijuana is legalized. In the past, when similar restrictive laws were changed (i.e.

Prohibition laws), convicts were given new hearings under the new law(s), or were simply released from prison straightaway. Therefore, inmates in state prisons who were arrested for low-level drug offenses should be given new hearings in a state superior court under the new marijuana law.

While a hearing under the new marijuana law in a state superior court is a perfectly reasonable solution for inmates who were convicted of a low-level marijuana offense, it is extremely unlikely that the state of California would expend the time, money, and energy necessary for any sort of change to be made. This situation is a perfect example of social liberty: how much pain are we as a society 187

able to accept in exchange for the exercising of liberty? Unfortunately, the answer is almost none. For example, in November 2008, there was a ballot initiative to ban same-sex marriage in California.

This initiative (known as Proposition 8) was upheld in the subsequent elections. This suggests that Californians are opposed to change and new ideas, and would thus be opposed to a new law (implemented after marijuana is legalized) that requires Californian superior courts to give the convicted marijuana-offense inmates new hearings. Therefore, it is extremely unlikely that any drastic changes in relation to new hearings will occur when marijuana is legalized in California. Because this legal situation is somewhat hidden, the costs and benefits are thus less compelling than, for example, the legalization of marijuana, which has been publicized to no end. With that being said, it is likely that the number of inmates in California state prisons will decrease when marijuana is legalized (Serra).

Therefore, when marijuana is legalized in California, the number of inmates in the state prisons will decrease, but all inmates incarcerated for low-level drug offenses will, in all likelihood, not receive new hearings in a state superior court. Instead, these inmates will serve the entirety of their sentences before being placed on probation or parole.

In order to decrease the population of inmates serving sentences for marijuana-related offenses, the federal government needs to accept that cannabis is a “non-toxic medically effective substance” (Gilg). For this to happen, the attractiveness of marijuana as a medical drug needs to somehow be drastically increased. However, as I

stated earlier, the Office of National Drug Control Policy is very much against the idea of any type of drug legalization whatsoever.

Thus, this is most likely going to be a losing battle, and will most likely not even take place.

Furthermore, legalizing marijuana will “ameliorate court congestion, ease probation and parole involvement, and reduce inmate population” (Serra). This is because there are (obviously) a vast amount of people in California’s criminal justice system, and, given the popularity of marijuana in California, it is extremely likely that a sizeable portion of these people were incarcerated or convicted for something related to marijuana abuse. Thus, when marijuana is legalized, that sizeable portion of people will no longer be in California’s criminal justice system, and California’s mass incarceration problem will be alleviated.

In conclusion, I believe that marijuana will – but not necessarily should – be legalized in California by no later than the November 2016 general election. Furthermore, I believe that when marijuana is legalized, the number of “convicted marijuana inmates” will decrease gradually over time, as these people will be cycled out of California’s criminal justice system with no new people being added for marijuana convictions. This will ameliorate California’s mass incarceration problem, but not solve it completely.

Now that I have analyzed the legalization of marijuana, mass incarceration, and my personal opinion/solution, I now wish to pose a question to you. However, before I do, I would like to reiterate that my opinions and assertions are not absolute, and have room for dif188

ferences and disagreement. My opinion, while informed, is not the final solution. We, Californians, are in this together; thus, your opinion matters as well. So what do you think will happen in the future?

Do you think that marijuana be legalized in California? If so, what will happen to California’s mass incarceration problem? I don’t make the final decision. We do. Together, we the people of California must come together and formulate a solution to these plaguing problems. Together, we must end mass incarceration and the debate about the legalization of marijuana. Let’s fight for what we believe in. And once we do, we will change the world.

Works Cited "A Brief History of the Drug War." The Drug Policy Alliance. The Drug Policy Alliance, 2013. Web. 16 Jan. 2014.

Blank, Jeremy D. Telephone Interview. 20 Jan. 2014.

"Criminal Justice Fact Sheet." NAACP. NAACP, 2014. Web. 09 Jan. 2014.

DeRoche, Craig. “A Failing Criminal Justice System.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 12 Mar. 2012. Web. 09 Jan. 2014.

Filippi, Chris. “Poll Finds Majority In Bay Area, California Favor Marijuana Legalization.” CBS News Local – San Francisco. CBS News, 10 Dec. 2013. Web. 06 Jan. 2014.

Gilg, Zenia. “January 11, 2014 Letter.” Message to Mark Gross. 15 Jan. 2014. Email.

Gupta, Vanita. “How to Really End Mass Incarceration.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 14 Aug. 2013. Web. 08 Jan. 2014.

Kumin, Matt. “Your Letter”. Message to Mark Gross. 14 Jan. 2014.

Email.

Liptak, Adam. “Supreme Court Upholds Order to Reduce California Prison Population”. The New York Times. The New York Times, 23 May 2011. Web. 01 Feb. 2014.

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“Majority Now Supports Legalizing Marijuana.” PEW Research.

PEW Research Center, 04 Apr. 2013. Web. 06 Jan. 2014.

“Marijuana Legalization: A Bad Idea.” The Office of National Drug Control Policy. Office of National Drug Control Policy, 2010. Web. 08 Jan. 2014.

Serra, Tony J. “Response to Your Letter”. Message to Mark Gross.

30 Jan. 2014. Letter.

Tsai, Tyjen and Paola Scommegna. “U.S. Has World’s Highest Incarceration Rate.” Population Reference Bureau. Population Reference Bureau, 2014. Web. 02 Mar. 2014.

“What Is Cannabis?” Learn About Marijuana. The University of Washington Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute, 2014. Web. 30 Jan. 2014."

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Shaw Lenox

The Queers are Here: Effects of Gays in the Media Have you noticed that gays are becoming more and more mainstream in media? They’re everywhere: Kurt from Glee is gay, Damian from Mean Girls is gay, Frank Ocean is gay, Marge Simpson’s sister is lesbian, etc. Support for gay rights has doubled since 1996 and our media reflects that shift (Pampanin). When gays first emerged into the public eye, boundaries were formed and set into place. Even though there was no ill will, they had unintended consequences.

In recent years, there have been many strides made by the pro equality movement: the legalization of gay marriage in 17 states; 19 if you count laws not yet upheld, the repeal of Proposition 8 in California, the ruling of DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act), and other advances. In the past, these advances would have been almost impossible to accomplish because of some of the things the media surrounding gays and lesbians.

Patrick McCormick, a culture columnist, observed that in the 20th century, when gays and lesbians were portrayed by the media, they

would often be the villains. He cites movies like A Man of No Importance (1994), Basic Instinct (1992), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), and Mel Gibson’s Braveheart (1994) as examples of gays portrayed as evil and sadistic. As a somewhat invisible minority at the time, these depictions really harmed how gays were perceived by the general public. Having something about you associated with brutal murderers discourages people from treating you normally and this held true for gays and lesbians.

Stereotypes, some of which still exist today, made it hard for people to treat gays equally. In the past, stereotypes caused people to define people by their sexuality and rationalize discrimination against them. One of the major stereotypes that was associated with being gay was the molestation of children, largely spread in the 70’s as propaganda to try and pass Proposition 6. Another big stereotype was gays having the disease AIDS, as this was a common plot point surrounding gay and lesbian characters (McCormick). However, I would argue that the stereotype that alienated the largest amount of people was the effeminate gay man. Gay men were often thought of as girly or sissy men who talked in an unusually high voice. This characteristic, that seems to always coincide with gay men, has been used to demonize them to no end. People like the norm, and in the case of America, the norm is a heterosexual, cisgender (born the same biological sex that you identify as), white man who expresses no female qualities. When gay men began to express themselves in an effeminate way, this was very different from how the public expected a man to act. This switching of gender expression made people very uncomfortable because it tore apart the norms 191

that we had associated with gender. People generally associate something that doesn’t adhere to societal norms to something bad and because of this, they bridged acting effeminate with being gay which already had the pedophilia and AIDS connotation (Cole). This association made by society opened the door up to many unpleasant things, namely, homophobia and queer-bashing.

girls. Previously, it might have seemed scary to be surrounded by gay men, however this show displayed that they were only here to help. It made people more comfortable with gay men and gave them a more positive, albeit still slightly stereotypical, representation.

From demonization and stereotyping, the image of gays could only get better. Many journalists herald Ellen DeGeneres coming out as the starting point of gays and lesbians being depicted in a more positive way on TV and in movies. Ellen DeGeneres is a TV celebrity who currently hosts a talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show. When she came out on Oprah’s talk show in 1997, it really helped forward the idea that gays and lesbians are human beings too. Ellen is married to a woman named Portia De Rossi, and regularly talks about their relationship on television. Although at first glance this may seem trivial, but in the way that she describes how they go about their day to day life makes their relationship so relatable and real.

You could easily replace Portia with a man or vice versa and it would all still be very normal. This really helped people normalize being gay as it gave people an insight on what a same sex couple is like when not under the eye of the media.

In the media today, there is a growing emphasis on including gay characters in TV and movies. Compared to previous generations, the amount of gays and lesbians in the media has improved drastically, with a report from GLAAD stating that in the 2013-2014 TV season, 3.3% of reoccurring characters are LGBTQ. Although this number is still proportionally small, it’s a step in the right direction.

Unfortunately, gay males still outnumber gay females in the media, but overall the ratio of gay male to female is getting closer and closer to 1. The number of states legalizing gay marriage is growing yearly and more and more people are becoming accepting of gays and lesbians which can be attributed to the increasing prevalence in the media. In theory, all of this media attention on gays and lesbians is a good thing, but in reality, there are pros and cons to everything.

I would like to discuss things that have been brought about because of this recent shift, both good and bad, and offer some advice on how the media should change in the future.

One of the shows that emerged in the early 2000s and also shaped the redefinition of gays was Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. In this show, 5 gay men, known as the Fab 5, made over a straight guy.

Each of the 5 gay men specialized in something like fashion or cooking. This show brought gay men into the limelight as people who could help you out when you needed some advice about fashion or

Undeniably, the shift in the media’s outlook has been a major boon in many ways for gays. For one, it removed the taboo of talking openly about homosexuality. As a brief example, before 1987, the New York Times would not print the word ‘gay’ because it was considered too taboo (Mohr). Over the years, this taboo has slowly broken down and opened up the doors for people to speak their minds 192

about this topic. One of the major advancements that came about because of this was the discussion and eventually repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, which prohibited gays and lesbians in the military to talk openly about their sexual orientation. Previously, if military personnel disclosed their sexual orientation, they would have been discharged. The repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell allowed gays to serve openly in the military and greatly forwarded the idea that homosexuals and heterosexuals were to be treated equally.

In addition, the increased media attention has decreased homophobia and queer-bashing. Homophobia is still present in many places today, but to a much lesser extent than previous generations. One of the major things that happened in the past was the trial and conviction of Matthew Shepard’s killers. Matthew Shepard was a gay 21 year old university student who was brutally murdered by two men because he was gay (Loffreda). The brutality of the crime shocked America and Matthew’s story was spread all across the country. His killers were convicted and sentenced for life in prison.

This sad ordeal and the subsequent coverage showed the effects and consequences of hate crimes against gays and lesbians. This is not to say that hate crimes against gays and lesbians are a nonissue today, just that hate crimes are now considered unacceptable by society.

One of the things that more media around gays and lesbians did to me, and many of the other gay youth that I've talked to, was make it visible. What this meant for us was that there were fewer feelings of shame and sadness. Exploring and learning about your sexuality is scary on its own, but imagine discovering something about yourself

that completely goes against how society says you should be. It’s frightening. Now imagine you knew no one else who was like you.

You’re filled with questions: “Am I normal?” “Am I alone?” “What if someone finds out?” “What happens if they don’t like what they find?” “Will they abandon me?” “What if my parents kick me out?”

For me and most if not all of my gay friends, this was what went through our heads when we uncovered our sexuality. Now, with more visibility, children learn from a younger age what being gay is and that it’s okay. Knowing that you’re not alone and that you’re not unnatural is, what I think, the best thing for a young gay teen. When I first realized that I was attracted to men, it was an unsettling feeling to know that I was different. Seeing gays and lesbians on TV and in movies helped me understand that I wasn’t alone and I didn’t have to hide myself.

One of the last things increased media attention has done is increase the advocacy of gay marriage. Marriage is one of the milestones of life and people are starting to understand that taking away this milestone from people is wrong. The coverage is slowly eradicating the 3 main beliefs that people use to deter the allowance of marriage equality. These three things are: the belief that gay marriage is a nonissue, the belief that being gay is a sinful thing that will lead to America falling, and the belief that man marrying man opens the door up for other things like bestiality (sex with animals) and incest (Mohr). The nonissue belief stems from the fact that if people identify a certain way politically, they often take up that entire side’s views and tack them onto their own rather than voting according to their own beliefs (Witt). Now, people realize that gay marriage is 193

something worth disagreeing with your party about. The concern about sinning stems from Abrahamic regions saying that it’s sinful for man to sleep with man. With gay marriage being better understood as just a marriage between two loving individuals, the idea that it could be sinful is slowly fading. Lastly, the idea that two people of the same sex marrying will, for some reason, open up the door for incest and bestiality becomes more and more absurd the more you know about gays. Evidently, over time, all these things holding back marriage equality should fade away. However, some of the things that come along with the new image of gays are rather harmful to the psyche of people who have recently discovered their sexual orientation.

You might think at this point is, how could a more positive image be harmful? To that I would answer: tokenization. What this entails is people being defined by their sexual orientation and nothing else.

One of the largest examples of this is the phenomenon of the GBF. The GBF, or gay best friend, is when a person, most of the time female, makes friends with a homosexual, most often male, just because he is gay. The logic behind this is that stereotypes in the media have made it seem like gay men are perfect friends to go shopping with, and talk to about cute boys (Pampanin). This may seem harmless until you think about it. When young gays come out of the closet, people might make friends with them for the sole reason of having a gay friend. This newfound gay, who may still be trying to figure himself out, will be expected to mold to the stereotypes that are expected of him by his new ‘friends’. The GBF defines people before they get a chance to define themselves which, most people

would agree, is harmful to young teens. Drawing from my personal experience, I can see the negative effects that the GBF trend had on me. Way back in 8th grade, when I was in the process of coming out to my friends, one of them said something that still sticks with me even today. As soon as I told her I was gay, she smiled and said these exact words; “Cool! I've always wanted a gay friend!” At the time, I didn’t really know how to react. I hadn’t changed at all, but she talked to me as if I were a different person and we had just met.

After a while, what she said receded into the back of my mind and I continued on with my life. As I came out to more and more people, it seemed as though I had more and more friends. As the kid who had always sat alone at lunch and was picked last for gym class dodge ball, having lots of friends was a very strange but good feeling. As time passed however, I began to realize that I was losing myself. I was playing the part of the GBF almost subconsciously; I listened to all my friends’ problems for hours on end and I would go on shopping trips for the sake of shopping. On reflection, I hate listening to people complain to me about stupid problems and I detest waiting for people to try on clothes only to tell them that they look great. I didn’t do all this stuff because I wanted to, but because that’s how I believed I was supposed to be because I was gay, just like, were I straight, I was to play the part of a macho man. This is what the GBF does. Young gay people lose themselves in what they think they need to be and forget who they really are.

In the future, being gay will become easier and easier, however there are still some things that the media could change for the better. For one, try to eradicate shows that take place in big cities that 194

have no gay characters. The odds that someone can live and work in a big city and not encounter any gay people at all is extremely slim. To have TV shows where there are no gay characters at all is a great misrepresentation of America’s society as it stands today.

Another thing that would be good is having a more proper exposure to gays earlier on in life. If this is put into place, it means fewer questions later down the road for young people and everyone will be better off because of it. One of the last things that the media should do is limit the use of stereotypes. It seems like whenever there is a gay character, he or she will have a feature that will make them outwardly seem gay. If this were reduced, then over time, stereotypes would die down. This would bring about the idea that everyone is their own person, that people should be treated as themselves and not others personification of their orientation

I would like to acknowledge editing help from Bryce Mincey, Lauren Anderson, Mark Gross, and Craig Butz.

Bibliography Cole, Shaun. ‘Don We Now Our Gay Apparel’: Gay Men’s Dress in the Twentieth Century. Oxford: Berg, 2000. Questia. Web. 8 Jan. 2014.

GLAAD. 2013 Network Responsibility Index. New York: GLAAD, 2013. PDF. GLAAD. 2013 Where we are on TV. New York: GLAAD, 2013. PDF. Haider-Markel, Donald. Out and Running: Gay and Lesbian Candidates, Elections, and Policy Representation. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2010. Questia. Web. 8 Jan. 2014.

Horne, Peter, and Reina Lewis. Outlooks: Lesbian and Gay Sexualities and Visual Cultures. New York: Routledge, 1996. Questia. Web. 8 Jan. 2014.

Kantor, Martin. Homophobia: Description, Development, and Dynamics of Gay Bashing. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1998. Questia. Web. 16 Jan. 2014.

Loffreda, Beth. Losing Matt Shepard: Life and Politics in the Aftermath of Anti-Gay Murder. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000. Questia. Web. 8 Jan. 2014.

McCormick, Patrick. "Out of the Closet and into Your Living Room." U.S.Catholic Apr. 1998: 45-8. ProQuest. Web. 6 Jan. 2014.

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Mohr, Richard. The Long Arc of Justice: Lesbian and Gay Marriage, Equality, and Rights. New York: Columbia University Press, 2005.

Questia. Web. 8 Jan. 2014.

Pampanin, Mark. “The GBF- What’s Wrong with the Commodification of Gay Men.” Tedx ChapmanU. YouTube. YouTube. Web. 16 Jan. 2014.

Sanlo, Ronni. Unheard Voices: The Effects of Silence on Lesbian and Gay Educators. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey, 1999. Questia.

Web. 8 Jan. 2014.

Witt, Stephanie, and Suzanne McCorkle. Anti-Gay Rights: Assessing Voter Initiatives. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 1997. Questia. Web. 8 Jan. 2014.

Wolkomir, Michelle. “Be Not Deceived”: The Sacred and Sexual Struggles of Gay and Ex-Gay Christian Men. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2006. Questia. Web. 8 Jan. 2014.

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Grace Reed

The Skinny Ideal, Eating Disorders, and the Pro-Ana Movement

Now, some experts have theorized that pro-Ana has grown out of a desire to express oneself and one’s feelings about body image and having an eating disorder. Others consider pro-Ana a symptom of the illness itself. And yet others view pro-Ana, and eating disorders themselves, as symptoms of Westernization and a socio-cultural environment that is poisonous to developing a healthy relationship with food and one’s body. Pro-Ana has arisen out of all of these things, but it has also come into being as a response to stigma. Because eating disorders are so stigmatized, pro-Ana sites have arisen out this need for a stigma-free space. While these sites have created a community for those with eating disorders, this community encourages unhealthy, harmful behaviors and, as such, should be banned.

Are eating disorders a choice? That is the question behind the proAna movement. And do we have a right to them? To someone who is pro-Ana, or pro-anorexia, the answer to both of these questions is “Yes.” Yes, anyone has the right to choose to engage in eating disorder behaviors, like fasting and purging. And pro-Ana will help you do that with tricks and tips and “thinpiration”.

It is widely agreed among eating disorders specialists that eating disorders are a coping mechanism for dealing with emotional difficulties and pain (Bellenir, Dias). As such, eating disorders can affect everyone and “are marked by extremes” (Judd). When someone has an eating disorder, “the pursuit of thinness becomes an obsession that assumes more importance than anything else in [that] person’s life” (Bellenir). According to Holly Hoff, the director of programs for the National Eating Disorder Association, those with eating disorders “tend to be…perfectionists [and] goal-achieving” (qtd.in George). This perfectionist nature may be what allows an obsession with thinness to become a coping mechanism. If thin is the ideal body, then perhaps attaining thinness can fix everything else when it feels like everything is falling apart. It is this idea, and desire for, control that is central to the development of an eating disorder

However, eating disorders are a psychological disorder, not the choice pro-Ana websites tout them as. Choices can be stopped; they can be changed. If you have developed an eating disorder, can you stop? No, not without clinical help and support. An eating disorder is NOT a CHOICE, despite what some people think. This perception that eating disorders are a choice causes direct harm to those with eating disorders.

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for “it is the loss of control that the individual feels and the loss of self-esteem that [they] is trying to gain control of through managing [their] food intake” (Bellenir).

A few of the factors that might contribute to the development of these eating disorders are the socio-cultural, behavioral, psychological, biological (genetic and neurobiological), and environmental factors. To give a tangibility to some of these factors, the neurobiological factor may include differences in the amounts of the brain chemicals serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine, as compared to someone without an eating disorder. Also, there might be a genetic predisposition for eating disorders but there are no genes that cause eating disorders (Bellenir). Other emotional disorders and stressful events or life changes can also all contribute to the development of an eating disorder (Bellenir, Judd, Anderluh). However, the exact cause of eating disorders is, not surprisingly, still unknown, as eating disorders are “complex disorders in which both genes and environment interact in a developmental and sociological context” (Anderluh).

The symptoms of an eating disorder manifest themselves similarly in both men and women, and yet the majority of people with eating disorders are girls and women—about 95% (Bellenir, Judd, Stommel). This could be due to the diagnostic criteria for eating disorders, which is aimed towards women, and the difference in male and female levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin (Judd). In women on severely restricted diets, the levels of serotonin decreased, while in men with the same diet, there was no such change (Bellenir). This severe gender imbalance may also be af-

fected by the images of the societal expectations of beauty that are thrust on women more than on men. However, new beauty standards for men have seen a rise in eating disorders in men. “Eating disorders are more prevalent in gay and bisexual men than heterosexual men,” an effect perhaps due to a heightened pressure to look good in LGBT communities that is not found in communities of straight men (Judd).

There are four different types of eating disorders: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS). For the purposes of this paper, the focus will be on anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and EDNOS. After all, binge eating disorder does not have much to do with the pro-Ana movement.

Anorexia Nervosa affects between 0.5 and 1% of American women (“Anorexia Nerovsa”). According to the Diagnostic and Statistics Manual published by the American Psychiatric Association, anorexia is characterized by “a refusal to maintain a minimally normal body weight,” a fear of weight gain, and a distorted perception of body image. The self-esteem of the individual with anorexia is dependent upon body shape and weight. There are two subtypes: restricting and binge/ purge. With the restricting type, weight loss is primarily achieved through dieting, fasting (a 24-hour period where one goes without food), or excessive exercise. The person with the bingeeating/ purging type regularly engages in binge eating and/or purging. Purging happens in a variety of ways like self-induced vomiting or the misuse of laxatives, diuretics, or enemas. Anorexia can result in “the development of normochromic normocytic anemia, impaired 198

venal function, cardiovascular problems, dental problems, and osteoporosis” (Diagnostic). Unfortunately, pro-Ana sites do not talk a lot about how engaging in anorexic behaviors can lead to these severe medical problems and this part of what pro-Ana so disconcerting.

Pro-Ana does not just encourage anorexic behaviors, but bulimic ones as well. Bulimia Nervosa is more common than anorexia (Judd). It is characterized by a binge-purge cycle. For diagnosis, the binge eating and “inappropriate compensatory behaviors” needs to have occurred at least twice a week for at least three months. Binging can be defined as “eating in a discrete period of time [usually two hours or less] an amount of food that is definitely larger than most individuals would eat under similar circumstances” (Diagnostic). There are two subtypes of bulimia: purging and non-purging (Anderluh). The purging type regularly engages in purging, via the methods previously mentioned, while the non-purging type does not. Instead, the person with the non-purging type fasts or excessively exercises or engages in other compensatory behaviors. Bulimia can result in severe dental problems, like loss of tooth enamel, enlarged salivary glands, and a laxative dependence Also, “the fluid and electrolyte disturbances resulting from the purging behavior are sometimes sufficiently severe to constitute medically serious problems” like esophageal tears, gastric rupture, and cardiac arrhythmias (Diagnostic).

The final eating disorder that is encouraged by pro-Ana is Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS) and it is characterized by what it is not. It is a catch-all diagnosis for those who do not fit

meet all the criteria for other eating disorders. Many assume that EDNOS is not as serious as other eating disorders but this simply is not true (Judd). One of the problems with EDNOS as a catch-all category is that a diagnosis may be of value to a patient but the strict guidelines for an eating disorder may deny diagnoses to whom they might be of use (Stommel). An example of this would be “preanorexia,” which is when someone does not meet all the criteria for anorexia—most likely either the weight or lack-of-period requirements—and thus is diagnosed with EDNOS. Because the treatment for the two diagnoses is different, this individual may either have to wait until they meet those requirements, if applicable, to get the treatment they require or make do with treatment not tailored to the exact symptoms they exhibit. You could see how this could be a problem. One solution to it is changing the diagnostic criteria so that less people fit under the EDNOS umbrella.

While there are many problems that come along with the development of an eating disorder, three main problems are the aforementioned effects of the disorders themselves, the high mortality rate and low recovery rate, and the effect that eating disorders have on identity, an effect that pro-Ana contributes to.

There is a low success rate for recovery from eating disorders. It is a widely known fact that anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any psychological disorder in the Diagnostics and Statistics Manual (DSM) published by the American Psychiatric Association. This could be due, in part, to the low success rates for anorexia treatment programs (Dias). And those low rates could be due to the competitive nature of anorexia. According to Jenn Berman, a therapist, 199

“anorexics try to outdo each other—in illness, not in success” (qtd. in George). And there is always the fact that to meet the DSM criteria for anorexia, one has to be at 85% of the normal body weight for one’s age/ height group. This leads to the possibility that those with anorexia are diagnosed too late for treatment to be effective.

Lastly, those with eating disorders have, as Dr. Wyke Stommel asserts, is an identity problem, like low self-esteem or self-loathing.

She also states that the eating disorder begins to define the person as the only aspect of their identity. Pro-Ana plays into this eating disorder as an identity mindset and defines people by their illness…though part of having an eating disorder is wanting to be defined by your illness (Konstantinovosky…Personal Interview). Journalist Lynell George concurs that by being a pro-Ana site, one reduces one’s identity to one’s eating disorder (George). Part of how pro-Ana defines people by their illness and bodies is through the depersonalization of the women in the thinspirational images. These images are depersonalized by a variety of methods, such as cropping the head out of the photo and focusing in on a body part— classic signs of objectification (Konstantinovosky…Personal Interview).

This objectification of women in pro-Ana images also occurs in Western culture. When people say that “sex sells,” they really mean that is the objectification of women that is doing the selling. Not only are women used as a marketing ploy by Western media, but they also are the target of mixed messages about beauty. This the first problem with Western culture. For example, a magazine article about the horrors of anorexia might be placed next to an ad for a diet or one that has a super thin model. These mixed messages

have been globalized, along with Western beauty standards and “the thin imperative.” It is this white, thin Western ideal of beauty that has been globalized (Lelwica). Westernization coincides with an increased fear of fat and Michelle Lelwica suggests that this “dominant cultural fear of fat is more deeply rooted in commercial imperatives and cultural stereotypes than in the dangers it presents to health” (Lelwica). In Western culture, there is this fat=bad/ skinny=good dichotomy (Lelwica). It is perhaps this dichotomy and cultural fear that makes Western culture so conductive to the development of eating disorders. Dr. Stommel agrees that “eating disorders including their diagnoses, the gender bias and the pro-Ana movement [are] contingent, cultural phenomena”.

The second problem within Western culture is the normalization of disordered eating. Lelwica concurs this point when she touches on how “full-blown eating disorders have never been the norm. The real epidemic is among those with seemingly ‘normal’ eating habits, who regularly police their appetites with the aim of getting or staying noticeably slim” (Lelwica). Dr. Stommel states that “the important symptom of a distorted body image [for a diagnosis of anorexia] …is not unique to anorectics, but typical for women in a westernized culture”. The book Eating Disorder Information for Teens, edited by Elizabeth Bellenir, agrees that “although not all develop diagnosable eating disorders, the vast majority [of girls] are dissatisfied with their bodies, and persistently act on this dissatisfaction though a range of body and appetite controlling efforts.” Michelle Konstaninovosky, journalist, said that she’s “finding it harder and harder in [her] daily life to come across a woman who doesn’t exhibit some form of disor200

dered behavior around food, exercise, or body image. What constitutes a ‘disorder’ if the majority of the population engages in it?”

(Konstantinovosky). Now, “an eating disorder arises when a person develops a distorted relationship with food and weight,” so how does an eating disorder differ from disordered eating (Bellenir)? Normal eating is flexible, while emotional eating is using food and eating to produce or cover up feelings, and disordered eating is a problematic reaction, and habit, to life situations. Eating disorders, however, are unlike disordered eating in that they are not a choice and are instead an illness (Judd). Normal eating is considered healthy eating. However, dieting is not, despite what some companies would have you believe. Dieting, as unhealthy, abnormal eating, contributes to the development of eating disorders. In fact, many eating disorders start with a simple diet (Bellenir, Judd, Stommel). Dieting does not cause eating disorders, however. They can simply trigger them.

As well as provide diets like the Ana Boot Camp diet and the Russian Gymnast Diet, pro-Ana contributes to the normalization of eating disorders in mainstream culture because pro-Ana may be an extension of “the idealization of female thinness in the contemporary United States” (Lelwica). Pro-Ana sites are “products of how Western culture has produced an epidemic of eating problems” because they encourage people to control their weight through controlling their food intake, much like the diet ads on TV and in magazines and on billboards do (Dias). Pro-Ana is no longer an alternative culture; it is in the mainstream (Konstantinovosky…Personal Interview). Not only is pro-Ana in the mainstream, it is sometimes indis-

tinguishable from the mainstream Western culture that surrounds it.

Borzekowski stated that “frequent visitors to pro-eating disorder Web sites may perceive extreme dieting and exercise as normative” and this could be damaging to those who visit these sites because their eating disorder will seem like the norm and not like a psychological disorder that requires treatment, but, honestly, how different is that from the message portrayed in mainstream culture?

The third problem is that anorexia is an “aspirational illness” in Western culture: people want it; it’s desirable (Gregory). As a culture, we often talk about anorexia in a “conflicted way…our intention is critical, but our language is celebratory” (Gregory). An example of this might be all the media conversation a few years back around whether or not Lindsey Lohan had an eating disorder. While the headlines might have proclaimed the magazine’s concern for her, they still were putting her on the cover, exposed back with her visible, bony spine and all. However, eating disorders should not be an aspirational illness. Being anorexic needs to stop being glamorized (Gregory). Even online, in eating disorder communities, “the title of ‘eating disordered’ must be legitimized” and is desirable for status reasons (Stommel). This is another part of why pro-Ana is so harmful: the portrayal of eating disorders as a choice invalidates the experience of those with eating disorders and not only trivializes the disorders, but makes them aspirations in a culture that already does so.

Pro-Ana is not just a pseudo-subculture. It is a mostly online movement, and the resulting ideology that eating disorders, like anorexia, known to the pro-Ana movement as Ana, and bulimia, known as 201

Mia, are a lifestyle choice and not a psychological disorder. Pro-Ana sites promote “Ana as lifestyle” (George). They could also be described as “available and dynamic communities with ever-changing, user-contributed content” and “an informal, virtual community” (Borzekowski, Gwizdek). These sites encourage “knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors to achieve terribly low body weights” and as such can be compared to pro-“self-injury and suicide” websites (Borzekowski). Pro-Ana feeds on the competitive nature of eating disorders as well as the distorted thinking caused by eating disorders and is said by some to be symptom of the eating disorder (Konstantinovosky…Personal Interview).

The dedication to thinness in pro-Ana is quasi-religious. To the proAna movement, Ana is a goddess. Anorexia is personified as “an etheral young woman, with silky blonde curls, glimmering white skin, butterfly wings, and a slender body” (Lelwica). Pro-Ana even has its thin commandments and the Ana Creed. Perhaps ironically, the “thin commandments” were developed by an eating disorder specialist to help parents better understand their children with eating disorders but they are “often altered or displayed on pro-eating disorder Web sites, without permission, and out of their original content as examples of pro-Ana philosophy” (Borzekowski). One of the major themes that emerges when looking at pro-Ana sites is the “alternative discourses of anorexia and eating disorders in general” as well as “success, control, perfection, and solidarity’ (Dias, Borzekowski). And these themes echo through all the parts of the site: commandments, creed, pictures, and other content.

Below is the Ana Creed and The Thin Commandments. Both are examples of pro-Ana philosophy, and the mindset that abounds on these sites. The Ana Creed, in particular, is revealing. Without further ado, the Ana Creed and Thin Commandments.

Ana Creed I believe in Control, the only force mighty enough to bring order to the chaos that is my world. I believe that I am the most vile, worthless and useless person ever to have existed on this planet, and that I am totally unworthy of anyone's time and attention. I believe that other people who tell me differently must be idiots. If they could see how I really am, then they would hate me almost as much as I do. I believe in oughts, musts and shoulds as unbreakable laws to determine my daily behavior. I believe in perfection and strive to attain it. I believe in salvation through trying just a bit harder than I did yesterday. I believe in calorie counters as the inspired word of god, and memorize them accordingly. I believe in bathroom scales as an indicator of my daily successes and failures. I believe in hell, because I sometimes think that I'm living in it. I believe in a wholly black and white world, the losing of weight, recrimination for sins, the abnegation of the body and a life ever fasting.

-Author unknown

The Thin Commandments

1. If you aren't thin you aren't attractive.

2. Being thin is more important than being healthy.

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3. You must buy clothes, cut your hair, take laxatives, starve yourself, do anything to make yourself look thinner.

4. Thou shall not eat without feeling guilty.

5. Thou shall not eat fattening food without punishing oneself afterward.

6. Thou shall count calories and restrict intake accordingly.

7. What the scale says is the most important thing.

8. Losing weight is good/gaining weight is bad.

9. You can never be too thin.

10. Being thin and not eating are signs of true will power and success.

-Carolyn Costin, Your Dieting Daughter: Is She Dying for Attention? (qtd. in Borzekowski)

In light of these themes, it is interesting to note that most of the content on pro-Ana sites are not original content (Judd). Many of the pictures on these sites are co-opted from magazines and such things, and are pictures of models and celebrities that are easily available in mainstream culture. In addition, many of the diet tips are stolen from reputable dieting sites like Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig.

The purpose of these photos is to provide “thinspiration”—or inspiration to be thin— and “involves the use of ‘motivational’ imagery or sayings to supposedly inspire people to achieve or maintain thinness” (Konstantinovosky). While some of these “thinspirational” photos may be taken of someone involved in the home site, it is more common for the pictures to be of models and skeletal celebs and

the like. “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels” is a classic thinspirational mantra (qtd. in Konstantinovosky). Though not all pro-Ana sites have thinpiration, or “thinspo”, on them, the majority of them did, at 82%. In addition, “fatspiration”, or reverse thinspo, was found on 13% of pro-Ana sites. Fatspiration shows pictures of the morbidly obese as an example of what not aspire to (Gwizdek). While some may want to draw a line between thinpiration and pro-Ana, there is no boundary between the two (Konstantinovosky).

Now, pro-Ana sites are fairly easy to access. 91% of the pro-Ana websites analyzed in a study done by Diana L. G. Borzekowski and her colleagues were open to the public. In a separate study done by A. Gwizdek and colleagues, 78% of the sites they analyzed had unrestricted access instead of being password protected or invitationonly. 49% of pro-Ana sites “were mostly graphic and written at less than an 8th-grade reading level” and were therefore easily understood (Borzekowski). Easy access and understandability are part what makes pro-Ana so unnerving. Their messages are not disguised and come across to site visitors with ease. It is this that some find so disconcerting about pro-Ana. Some believe that pro-Ana shouldn’t be banned because “once many anorexics and bulimics tended to isolate themselves” but proAna is changing that (George). These sites could provide a “sanctuary” for those with eating disorders (Dias). Pro-Ana sites could also “act as tools for the self-help and empowerment of persons with eating disorders” (Casilli). Online support groups for those with eating disorders may minimize the stigma against those with eating disorders (Stommel). Overall, all mental illness tends to be stigmatized, 203

and it “tends to be stigmatized in a way that ‘medical illness’ usually is not” (Goldburg). As eating disorders are a mental illness, or a psychological disorder, if you prefer, this stigma applies to them too. Interestingly enough, Stommel asserts that “diagnosis can actually cause stigmatization” despite the benefits that diagnosis brings. She goes on to state that “on a societal level, eating disorders are highly stigmatized” (Stommel). That may seem a bit obvious but nevertheless needs to be said. “The stigma and shame that with both diagnostic labeling and society’s misunderstanding eating ‘disorders’ contribute to women’s need to find creative ways to connect and find support” and one of the ways they do this is through pro-Ana, in Dias’s view. If pro-Ana can provide a way of minimizing the stigma…there is a value to that. If these sites can actually provide a stigma-free space for those with eating disorders, as they claim, and are not seeking to turn eating disorders into a positive lifestyle choice than perhaps they should not be banned.

However, one of the problems with “theorizing [pro-Ana] sites as potential safe spaces for [women with eating disorders] to meet and support each other is that they are not safe at all,” as they are constantly being shut down, and “ultimately [the women who run them] do not have control over these spaces” (Dias). There is a high turnover rate of pro-Ana sites, about 50% between 2010 and 2012 in the study conducted by A. Casilli and colleagues. This turnover rate is most likely due to efforts made by various web servers to suppress pro-Ana, not to webmasters deciding to shut down their sites.

Measures against pro-Ana are being taken. France banned pro-Ana in 2008. Back in 2001or 2002, AOL and Yahoo were the first to ban

Ana/ Mia websites and in 2012, Tumblr and Pinterest banned content relating to thinspiration, which is related to pro-Ana (Casilli). Additionally, in 2014, when Tumblr made a change to their community guidelines, they also banned pro-Ana. Some of those who not in favor of banning pro-Ana are so because of the futility of banning it, not for the freedom from stigma. Banning pro-Ana does not solve anything because “again and again, under slightly altered names or camouflaged by coded keywords, these sites and their Webmasters rebuild and resurface, sometimes slightly disguised, but each [time] more emboldened” (George). Censorship of pro-Ana sites is also problematic because “bloggers anticipate even potential restrictions by reshaping the structure of their social network in dense, less and less interconnected clusters” –essentially, these sites are not going away and censorship only drives them deeper underground (Casilli). Some pro-Ana sites might even masquerade as a recovery site in an attempt to not be shut down.

And still yet others think that pro-Ana should be banned, despite the fact that pro-Ana webmasters feel it is their right to run these sites, because Pro-Ana sites raise levels of body dissatisfaction and prolong the length of the eating disorder as well as normalize anorexia, and other eating disorders and shift the focus away from the symptoms and consequences (George, Borzekowski, Bellenir). Pro-Ana sites “fail to address the negative consequences of eating disorders, much less the actual dangers” (Judd). Instead, the sites focus on the how to. Pro-Ana also contributes to the common misconception that all people with eating disorders are thin when, in reality, there is just as much body type variation as there is among people without 204

eating disorders (Konstantinovosky…Personal Interview). This could lead to people not taking an eating disorder seriously because the person with said eating disorder “doesn’t look it” or “isn’t skinny enough.” Some experts feel that “even if pro-ana members claim that they do not promote anorexia, their websites undoubtedly include content that impedes treatment” and this would be reason to ban it (Gwizdek). Pro-Ana “perpetuate the myth that you are in control if you choose to deprive yourself of food” (Mcdonell-Perry).

These sites entertain “the possibility that individuals prefer selfregulating their problem” than seeking clinical help (Stommel). ProAna sites “may [also] confirm the belief that pro-Ana is an attractive way of life” and “their message[s] may negatively affect the treatment of patients with anorexia” (Gwizdek). According to Stommel, this is “the dominant opinion” on pro-Ana: that is dangerous and presents a risk to both those in recovery and those in danger of developing an eating disorder. While pro-Ana sites are not the cause of an eating disorder, they can contribute to, prolong, worsen, and trigger them because these sites encourage harmful and unhealthy eating behaviors. Ultimately, it all comes down to the fact that pro-Ana sites encourage people to nurture an illness and frame said illness like a choice (Anonymous).

And though pro-Ana should be banned, perhaps building awareness around eating disorders would be more successful (Konstantinovosky…Personal Interview). Banning pro-Ana is useless unless the culture at large can be changed. A few easy ways to do that are: Use people first language. For example: say “people with anorexia” instead of “anorectics.” Also, “a person is not defined by a di-

agnosis” and, as a culture, we need to stop defining people by them (Goldburg). Stop fat-shaming people. Pro-Ana sites, as well as Western culture as large, “dishing out unveiled disgust for anyone who doesn’t fit the skinny mold and offering up tips and tricks for under eating and over exercising doesn’t help anyone. These tactics only encourage a cultural shift toward normalizing disordered behavior” (Konstaninovosky). Also, stop dieting. It is unhealthy, disordered eating and to engage in such behavior adds to the normalization of disordered eating in Western culture. Lastly, and most importantly, talk about these issues. Only conversation and discussion can enact change.

While pro-Ana sites have created a space in which to be free of the stigma against eating disorders, they also encourage disordered eating behaviors and provide information on how to engage in the behaviors and conceal them. Ultimately, pro-Ana sites are triggering and harmful to both those with eating disorders and those who are in danger of developing one. Because they cause more harm than do good, pro-Ana websites should be banned. Any step we make towards making these steps harder to find is a good one. After all, can we, as a society, condone a movement that hurts people? Or do we not care because these people do not conform to society’s definition of sanity?

I would like to thank Lauren Anderson and Mayland Treat for editing my paper.

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Bibliography Anderluh, M., K. Tchanturia, S. Rabe-Hesleth, D. Collier, and J. Treasure. “Lifetime Course of Eating Disorders: Design and Validity Testing of a New Strategy to Define the Eating Disorders Phenotype.” Psychological Medicine 39 (2009): 105-114. ProQuest. Web. 8 Jan 2014.

Anonymous. Personal Interview. 12 Jan 2014.

“Anorexia Nervosa.” NEDA. National Eating Disorder Association, n. d. Web. 5 Feb 2014.

Bellenir, Elizabeth, ed. Eating Disorders Information for Teens. 3rd ed. Detroit: Peter E. Ruffner, 2013. Print. Teen Health Ser. Borzekowski, Dina L G, EdD; Summer Schenk, MPH; Jenny L Wilson, MD; and Rebecka Peebles, MD. “e-Ana and e-Mia: A Content Analysis of Pro-Eating Disorder Web Sites.” American Journal of Public Health 100.8 (2010): 1526-34. ProQuest. Web. 8 Jan 2014.

Burton, Bonnie. “Teen Girl Shares Road to Anorexia recovery on Instagram.” news.cnet.com. CNet, 6 Jan 2014. Web. 9 Jan 2014.

Casilli, A. A., F. Pailler, and P. Tubaro. “Online Networks of Eatingdisorder Websites: Why Censoring Pro-ana Might be a Bad Idea.”

Perspectives in Public Health 133.2 (2013): 94-95. ProQuest. Web. 19 Dec 2013.

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Cohen, Henry. “Freedom of Speech and Press: Exceptions to the First Amendment.” Washington, D.C: Congressional Research Service, 2009. Web. 22 Jan, 2014.

Goldburg, Carey. “A Phrase to Renounce for 2014: ‘the Mentally Ill.’” commonhealth.wbur.org. Common Health, 3 Jan 2014. Web. 6 Jan 2014.

Dahl, Melissa. “Elle Fanning short film on horrors of bulimia may be too much for victims.” today.com. NBC. 17 Dec 2013. Web. 9 Jan 2014.

Graham, Latria. “[ESSAY] ‘My struggle with Bulimia started at 9.’” ebony.com. Ebony magazine, 29 May, 2013. Web. 8 Jan 2014.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 5th ed.

Washington, D.C: American Psychiatric Association, 2013. Print.

Dias, Karen. “The Ana Sanctuary: Women’s pro-anorexia narratives in cyperspace.” Journal of International Women’s Studies 4.2 (2003): 1-30. Gale Extended Academic ASAP. Web. 8 Jan 2014.

Lelwica, Michelle, Emma Hoglund, and Jenna McNallie. “Spreading the religion of thinness from California to Calcutta: a critical feminist postcolonial analysis.” Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion 25.1 (2009): 19. Gale Extended Academic ASAP. Web. 8 Jan 2014.

Geggel, Laura. “Struggling with Anorexia on the Web.” nytimes.com.

New York Times, 12 Oct 2012. Web. 8 Jan 2014.

George, Lynell. “Nurturing an Anorexia Obsession; ‘Pro-ana’ Web sites tout the eating disorder as a choice, not an illness, to the horror of experts.” Los Angeles Times 12 Feb 2002, Los Angeles ed.: E1. ProQuest. Web. 19 Dec 2013.

Gregory, Alice. “Anorexia, the Impossible Subject.” newyorker.com.

The New Yorker, 12 Dec 2013. Web. 8 Jan 2014.

Gwizdek A., K. Gwizdek, and A. Kosowska. “Pro-Ana, murderous face of the internet.” Prog Health Science 2.1 (2012): 158-161. Gale Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 8 Jan 2014.

Judd, Sandra J., ed. Eating Disorders Sourcebook. 3rd ed. Detroit: Peter E. Ruffner, 2011. Print. Health Reference Ser. Konstantinovosky, Michelle. Personal Interview. 18 Jan 2014.

Konstantinovosky, Michelle. “The Fat-Shaming of Kate Upton; or Why I’ll Never Buy The Difference Between ‘Thinspiration’ And ‘ProAna’ Websites.” hellogiggles.com. 16 Aug 2012. Web. 14 Jan 2014.

Mcdonell-Perry, Amelia. “Wanna Rexia.” Teen Vogue 8.1 (2008): n/ a. ProQuest. Web. 8 Jan 2014.

Nagourney, Eric. “Web Sites Celebrate a Deadly Thinness.” nytimes.com. New York Times, 7 June 2005. Web. 8 Jan 2014.

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Stommel, Wyke. “Chapter 3: Accomplishing Identity in an Online Community on Eating Disorders.” Utrecht Studies in Language and Communication 21 (2009): 53-70. ProQuest. Web. 8 Jan 2014.

Weiss, Alyson. “Small Talk that Makes You Feel Small…Or Fat.” thelifeuncommon.net. 30 Jan 2014. Web. 1 Feb 2014.

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Kate Swisher

The New Resume A young and talented actress such as Mila Kunis may wish for unlimited publicity and exposure, yet resent the idea of the paparazzi delving into her personal life - the same may be said about users of social media. Those who post personal information may want as many friends as possible to see what they have written or done; but they don't necessarily want strangers to see every post, or even worse to be judged harshly as a result of certain posts. The ability of people to globally connect on social media provides an easy way to instantly broadcast your opinions, pictures, and even secrets. The internet provides a rapid and easy method of accessing articles, events, and networking opportunities. However, social recognition on this platform can sometimes be detrimental to an individual's well-being. There are many consequences of exposing one's private details for the world to see. College admissions officers and human resource directors at many companies have the same access to social media as anyone else, creating the possibility that certain posts may create awkward situations. The questionable broadcasting of highly personal information that in another age was considered "private" has led to college admission rejections, divorce, loss of employment, and even suicides (Andrews 122). Who is to

blame? - The social media users? Businesses that encourage sharing? Or networking companies like Facebook or Twitter? Colleges and businesses may be tempted to investigate their applicants through social media accounts in order to get to know their "true" personality. Individuals may feel anxious and uncomfortable with the idea of employers and colleges viewing their personal information on social media, but it is ultimately the user's responsibility to monitor their own online activity. The internet is a public forum, and anything posted to it should not be considered private. Even tightly controlled accounts.

It is crucial to define the meaning of privacy in this age of information technology. Elliot Schrage, Vice-President for Marketing and Communications at Facebook, says that privacy means control. He explains that privacy is a person's "ability to control what they share, how they share it, and the audience that receives what they share.”

He says “There has never been one understanding of privacy." and the perception of it has changed throughout history. Our ancestors once lived in small groups and then villages where everyone knew each other's business. Over time, people began to create private physical space, and the growth in the size of villages and cities allowed for anonymity. In the present, technology has created a virtual space where people can publicly share information while allowing certain controls.

Social media supporters said that owning a social media account, and having the ability to share information more easily is so beneficial, that a degree of lack of control of that information is a small 209

price to pay (Clemmit). In his book "Cracking the New Job Market: 7 Rules for Getting Hired in Any Economy", William R. Holland explains that although it is simple for technological data about oneself to be leaked, people have the ability to control their own "brand", and what is read about them (Holland). In a talk about the history of privacy with the New York Times, Jill Lapure said "We regard privacy as... a human right.", but have "â&#x20AC;Śinvaded our own privacy by becoming our own publicists, by creating a world in which the only thing more important than privacy is publicity." People want recognition, but remain extremely anxious about their privacy rights being violated. To create this balance between the desire to be known, and keeping certain information contained, one must understand the consequences of a post, the use of privacy settings, and their intended audience.

trustworthy. He goes on to say that the good thing about social media is "It keeps people honest...and it is hard to fudge" information about oneself online, like one could get away with in a face to face interview.

A recent survey said that "about twelve percent" of questioned managers "had screened job candidates on social networking sites" and of these managers, "sixty-three percent did not hire a prospective employee based on the information uncovered" online (Bradenburg). In a CareerBuilder study, the results revealed "over a third of employers...say they will not hire someone whose" feed includes pictures of an applicant "drinking or in provocative dress." (122) In conclusion, it would be wise not to post anything you would not say or show to a parent, or teacher.

Individuals frequently misunderstand how one post could cost them a job opportunity. (Brandenburg). Employers and admission heads can make negative judgments after scrolling through online information. For example, a kindergarten teacher caught a virus from her students and jokingly wrote on Facebook that her kids were "germ bags". Because of this post, the teacher lost her job (124). A student could be photographed holding a beer in a photo, or wearing revealing clothing, and lose a desired schooling or job opportunity. Every post must be taken into consideration and weighed as appropriate or not.

Another important way to control a social media account is knowing how to use privacy settings. This isn't always easy. Â Marcia Clemmit describes Facebook's settings as complex. She says it is difficult to figure out how to make selected posts private. Facebook constantly works to improve their settings to make controlling individual accounts as simple as possible (Schrage). Most Social networks offer privacy settings similar to Facebook. However, it is the individual's responsibility to understand what those privacy settings are and learn how to use them, before becoming active on the web. If one is confused about settings, perhaps it would be wise not to activate an account at all.

Dan Klitsner, President of Klitsner Industrial Design (K.I.D) says if he were to use social media to determine possible employees, he would not accept them if there was any evidence that they were un-

No matter how careful an internet user is about containing their information, and controlling their friend groups, the possibility of informa210

tion becoming accessible to the public remains a significant concern. There have been cases in the past in which social media companies have either accidentally leaked users' personal information despite supposedly secure privacy controls, or leaked them due to flaws in their programs. Snapchat is one such company. Snapchat allows friends to take pictures, send them to other friends, who can then see those photos for up to ten seconds until they "disappear". Many questions about whether these photos actually disappear have continued since the company began. The answer is "they really don't" (Hessendahl). The source codes of the photos still exist on browsers, and can remain accessible, and there is no way to recall or delete the data once it has escaped to the internet (Gillet). Not only has Snapchat misled their users, but they have had substantial security breaches as well. A recent security incident "compromised the phone numbers and user names of more than four million users", arising from the creation of a tool that matched "account names to phone numbers" called SnapchatDB (Hessendahl). Snapchat's mistake has simply shown that social media companies cannot guarantee complete confidentiality and security. There will always be methods for getting around controls. There has also been controversy about advertising agencies using personal information to target ads.

If you use a social networking account, it is vitally important to think twice before posting, especially if you are unsure of who is receiving your information. Knowing who to trust includes monitoring friend groups, knowing whether family members can see what you post,

and even having the ability to trust yourself at times. The seniors at Bay said that they always think about how appropriate their posts are, who they are friends with, and whether those friends are family members, before posting anything on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook. This is an important process to consider before sending information out to the web. One must consider that to certain social institutions and courts, social networks are "considered...public spaces, not private ones." (123) The internet is not the same as your best friend when it comes to keeping secrets.

Friends are constantly taking screenshots of other friend's photos, and posting them on their own accounts, without permission. If a social media user is part of a friend group, and this particular group of friends have questionable interests, employers may be able to access a link to that group, see those questionable posts, and by being a part of that group, make incorrect judgments about the user based on their friend's habits (Bradenburg).

In the comedy, The Internship, an app called DrunkBlocker was invented in order to prevent drunk posts. The app asks questions before a user can post anything embarrassing on their accounts. Even if you own DrunkBlocker, it is still not a good idea to sign into a social media account while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Terry Thorton of PBS said it would be best to not "drink and tweet, and [to] avoid FUI (Facebooking under the influence)". FUI and drunk tweets have led to numerous embarrassing mistakes, and quite possibly Justine Sacco's infamous tweet.

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Justine Saco provided a great example of how fast information can spread online when she posted on her Twitter, before boarding a flight, "going to Africa. Hope I don't get AIDS. Just kidding. I'm white!"(qtd. In Thorton). Not only was this post extremely racist, and disrespectful, but by the time she had landed in South Africa the post had reached millions of users around the world, and Justine had lost her job. The problem that led her astray in terms of posts is not "a technology issue, but a trust issue" (Schrage), so be mindful of yourself, and your friends.

Though there is an anxiety among applicants that colleges and businesses might see an inappropriate post on a social media site, and therefore not accept them, many employers "would use it [social media] as much for the positive as the negative". To see if their applicants are "outgoing people, and to see if they have interests outside of just their work" (Klitsner). Employers say that posts, Youtube videos, Linkedin, and Facebook activity can show the unique qualities of a prospective applicant, and make them more "threedimensional" (Gross).

At Bay, many seniors change their social media account names in order to prevent others from seeing old information. This process may be helpful in protecting some information, but it may not help delete old information already out there. The seniors do this often due to anxiety about beginning the college process, and it is a common superstition that it will prevent others from viewing old data.

It is important to note that "less than a third" of gathered information comes from private Facebook and Twitter posts and most of the damage comes from the videos and photos which have been set to a public audience via photo/video sharing sites. Many employers do not even review social network postings to evaluate potential hires, and a total of "forty percent of surveyed employers" remain undecided about using social media to seek candidates (Brandenburg). However, these numbers may very well change as technology and social sites are consistently gaining more users every day, and are becoming even more relevant in our lives.

Should there be limitations on what businesses and colleges have the right to see and do? Certain companies demand access to their candidate's social networking passwords. No matter the post, or "how badly someone may want a job, passwords must not be compromised" (Preston), this a violation, and "invasion of privacy" (Manker). Eren Egen of Facebook supported the ban against companies forcing passwords, and said that "she would go to court if necessary". Certain states have begun setting laws prohibiting businesses from demanding passwords. People have certain privacy rights and portions of their lives which they should be able to have complete control over.

The site "Social Intelligence" allows employers to scan the internet and investigate "everything prospective employees may have said or done" while active on the web (Preston). Through the site, employers may access an applicant's publicly available presence online, a complete background check, and a check to see if they qual212

ify for the job (Social Intelligence). One employer used this site to complete a "preemployment screening...while protecting the privacy of job candidates", meaning the reports removed references regarding religion, disability, and race", but not marital status. Though this site, goes a little to the extreme in terms of investigating applicants, it may become the standard for investigating résumé in the near future.

Employers may find certain social sites more helpful than others.

For instance, Facebook is becoming more intellectual, and business oriented then it has in the past (Schrage). It allows people to present who they are, yet keep different posts organized into certain groups. Another helpful site for business applicants is LinkedIn, which was designed for the purpose of people connecting with others interested in career opportunities. The site Instagram on the other hand is purely for social pleasure, and photo sharing. This site is simply a fun past time for friends to share.

with. It is all about how the applicants will interact with the environment they are in. One can see that a grade transcript or a diploma is not always going to tell an employer everything important about an applicant. Social media allows employers to discover more information than simply grades and a degree. However, with this ability comes responsibility to respect privacy.

Using social media should highlight personal qualities. The incredible advancement of screening individuals online has allowed applicant's to show off their unique characteristics, sometimes making them more attractive to an outside personnel or college director.

Many times there is an anxiety around colleges and businesses looking through personal information. However, they have the right to search through anything intended for a public audience to see.

People who are uncomfortable with this idea should make certain they understand what privacy settings are, know who to trust, the dangers of posting irresponsibly, and how they wish to be presented.

Hiring experts say that there is little reason to do a paper only compilation of someone’s career anymore (Gross). With the wide expansion and use of social media sites, it is becoming much easier to access information on potential employees online. This way, an employer can "know the value of connecting with people who are interesting, trustworthy, and loyal" (Klitsner). When considering applicants to college or a job, one of the most important factors to consider is the personalities of the people who you are going to work 213

Works Cited

Klitsner, Dan. Personal Interview. 9 Feb 2014.

Andrews, Lori. I Know Who You Are and I Saw What You Did-Social Media and the Death of Privacy. New York: Free Press, 2012. Print.

Lepore, Jill. “The Hidden History of Privacy”. New Yorker Festival.

New York, 10 Oct. 2013.

Brandenburg, Carly. "The Newest Way to Screen Job Applicants: A Social Networker's Nightmare." Federal Communications Law Journal. Questia School. Web. 6 Jan. 2014.

Manker, Rob. “Facebook Joins Fight to Ban Employers from Requiring Workers’ Passwords”. Tribune Newspapers. 23 Mar. 2012. Web. 8 Jan. 2014.

Clemmit, Marcia. “Social Media Explosion”. Sage Publications, Inc. 15 Jan. 2013. CQ Researcher. Web. 8 Jan. 2013.

Mossman, Douglas, and Helen M. Farrell. "Facebook: Social Networking Meets Professional Duty." Current Psychiatry. Questia School. Web. 6 Jan. 2014.

Gillet, Felix. “Will Snapchat Users’ Illusion of Privacy Vanish?” The San Francisco Chronicle. 2 Jan. 2014. Web. 9 Jan. 2014.

Gross, Doug. “Are Social Media Making the Resume Obsolete?”

CNN. 11 July, 2012. Web. 9 Jan, 2014.

Preston, Jennifer. “Social Media History Becomes a New Job Hurdle”. The New York Times. 20 July, 2011.Web. 9 Jan. 2014.

Schrage, Elliot. Personal Interview. 15 Jan. 2014.

Hesseldahl, Arik. “Snapchat Account Leak Raises Questions about It and Other mobile Apps” Re/code.net, Jan. 2, 2014.Jan. 8, 2014.

Web.

Singer, Natasha. “In College Admissions, Social Media Can Be a Double Edged Sword”. The New York Times. 11 Nov. 2013. Web. 8 Jan. 2014.

Holland, R. William. “Cracking the New Job Market: The 7 Rules for Getting Hired in Any Economy”. New York: American Management Association, 2012. Questia School. 6 Jan. 2014. Web.

Thorton, Terry. “Lessons from Justine Sacco’s Tweet Heard ‘Round the World’”. PBS. 7 Jan. 2014. Web. 9 Jan. 2014.

Kelleher, James. “Ban on Demanding Facebook Passwords Among New 2013 State Laws”. Reuters, 31 Dec.2012. Web. 12 Feb. 2014.

Kleinberg, Scott. “Online Privacy Settings Apply Offline Too”. Tribune Newspapers. 12 Apr. 2012. Web. 8 Jan. 2014.

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Mayland Treat

HIPAA Patient Privacy Act: A Personal Story of Unintended Consequences An intelligent, independent, successful, strong man has a terrible car crash. Although it’s not his fault, he sustains permanent damage to his brain, and yet, he retains his pride in the man he had been.

He knows that he is not the man that he was, yet he doesn’t want to admit it, so he hides medical information from his family. HIPAA shields him from the family’s questions and probing, but the family wants to be able to help him because they see that he is incapable of making good decisions. Who is right here? Before we can answer the question, we need to understand issues of patient privacy.

Peoples increasing concern about advances in technology raised doubt about whether their information, specifically health information, was being protected. As a result, “Congress enacted the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to pro-

tect patients' basic rights to privacy and their control over the disclosure of their personal health information” (Erlen). HIPAA permits covered entities to disclose information only when necessary—“when an individual or his personal representative requests access to the individual's personal health information, and when Health and Human Services (HHS) requests such information as part of a compliance investigation or review” (Erlen). These HIPAA disclosure regulations of personal health information potentially secure the privacy of individuals' health information.

Before HIPAA was enacted, medical records were available to virtually everyone. As a result of information being broadly available, this became “especially problematic in the employment context: the danger was that employers made employment decisions based upon private employee health information”, says Jaime Lund, author of ERISA Enforcement of the HIPAA Privacy Rules. Individuals could be judged or discriminated against because of their medical conditions, which created situations where people with life threatening illnesses had their employment terminated, or people with conditions like AIDS or epilepsy could be denied employment, medical insurance or other important rights. In addition, women who were pregnant or trying to become pregnant might be denied employment if the early pregnancy became known. Employers and insurance companies had complete access to everyone’s health information, and even simple acts like doctor’s offices leaving messages about test results at an office number could result in the unwanted release of medical information. Employees could be fired by employers concerned that their medical problems would affect their future ability to 215

perform their job responsibilities. The results all too often were detrimental to employees and potential employees. Numerous patients suffered discrimination in social and professional settings, and suffered embarrassment and inequality because of disclosure of their medical conditions. But even with these major problems, no protections of peoples’ medical conditions existed.

Given the abuses that resulted from lack of medical information privacy – and the terrible, damaging effects that disclosures of medical records could have on individuals— the United States Congress enacted HIPAA nationally. The effect of this legislation has been pervasive – possibly more so than the original authors of the legislation ever imagined it would be. By securing medical information and making discrimination far less prevalent, the HIPAA Act changed the way doctors and hospitals handled medical information, and how society judged people.

HIPAA was put in place to correct rampant abuses of privacy. HIPAA has multiple rules, including the best known, which is the Patient Privacy Rule. The Privacy Rule was enacted in order to provide “federal protections for individually identifiable health information... and give patients an array of rights with respect to that information” ("Understanding Health Information Privacy”). The law requires several provisions, but the most important and far-reaching of those was the requirement that medical patients’ information be carefully protected and kept confidential. Once enacted, HIPAA mandated sweeping changes including: providing suitable safeguards for the privacy of personal health information, assuring health information and medical records are protected, having restrictions and conditions on

uses and disclosures on medical records without patient approval, and giving people the opportunity to view and have a copy of their health information, and to request corrections ("Understanding Health Information Privacy”).

Although HIPAA provides real benefits, sometimes those benefits create problems. These problems include difficulty in receiving information, confusion about what the HIPAA rules are, issues with actual privacy, and problems with patient well fare. Often times, doctors or other covered entities, encounter complications with memorizing and understanding the HIPAA guidelines; which leads to bad situations, such as this case: “After treating a patient injured in a rather unusual sporting accident, the hospital released to the local media, without the patient’s authorization, copies of the patient’s skull x-ray as well as a description of the complainant’s medical condition. The local newspaper then featured on its front page the individual’s x-ray and an article that included the date of the accident, the location of the accident, the patient’s gender, a description of patient’s medical condition, and numerous quotes from the hospital about such unusual sporting accidents. The hospital asserted that the disclosures were made to avert a serious threat to health or safety; however, OCR’s investigation indicated that the disclosures did not meet the Privacy Rule’s standard for such actions” (“All Case Examples”).

In this case, the Privacy Rule should have protected the patient’s information but the doctors did not fully understand the HIPAA guidelines. Doctor Bishir Aldabagia, a Mohs surgeon at UCSF, says, 216

“Many doctors have trouble remembering the exact rules and regulations of HIPAA’s Patient Privacy Rule. This leads to problems with patients and families and means that there are problems for doctors communicating with their patients”.

No doubt exists that the HIPAA Act corrected abuses by protecting important individual rights of privacy, but has it harmed our society as a whole? The other side of the argument is the effect of HIPAA on society, on the patients themselves, on the families of patients – and on me. This research paper reflects part of my personal journey and experience because, at the end of the day, every patient is part of a family – and so this is my story as well as society’s story about HIPAA. HIPAA is clearly well-intended and has provided countless people with needed protection. But although well-intended, HIPAA’s restrictions on disclosing patient information sometimes prevents loving family members from knowing information that might help them provide care to their ill family members. We take for granted that we can know what is wrong with our parents or other family members – but under the HIPAA guidelines that is not always the case. If the patient, for whatever reason, tells his or her doctor not to provide information to their family – even when there are good reasons why the family needs to know – then the doctor cannot provide that information. While Patient Privacy is a concern, so is patient welfare.

Keeping information from concerned family members can potentially work against the patient. As Doctor Paul Heineken, previously Chief of Staff of the Veterans Administration Hospital in San Francisco, states, “We have gone too far with secrecy about patient’s condi-

tions and in terms of the family that can only work in a negative way”.

HIPAA has solved certain patient privacy issues – but has ultimately opened up many other areas of concern. Remember the man described at the start of this paper? That story is the story of my father. I have lived through concerns about my father’s welfare as he has recovered from traumatic brain injury and traumatic epilepsy.

For me and my family, HIPAA has created real concerns and problems.

My father was in a very serious car accident ten years ago and sustained a massive head injury. He recovered after much time and therapy but was left with a number of issues including traumatic epilepsy. Normally one is not allowed to drive with epilepsy, but in California there are rules which allow epilepsy patients to drive if a doctor certifies that they are seizure free and/or not evidencing any signs of epilepsy or related conditions. My father is a very independent man, but because of his injury, he also doesn’t understand how bad his driving is, how dangerous he is, or how much his condition affects him on certain days. My mother has tried to tell his doctors that he should not be allowed to drive and to describe to them his issues, but my father has instructed the doctors to not speak to her.

Thus they cannot listen, at least on record, to her reports about various things that have occurred, his near seizures, etc. The doctors say they hate this situation, but there is nothing they can do. Dr. Janet Kayo, a physician in the Bay area, notes that “HIPAA assumes that patients make rational decisions about who doctors can talk to and who they can’t – but the problem is that a lot of patients 217

are not rational.” That, sadly, has been our experience. The people we need to be able to talk to frankly – dad’s doctors – are not available to us because of the HIPAA protections.

HIPAA’s “protections,” ironically, do not protect my family or others from the car crash my dad might have if he were driving while he has a seizure. My family’s experience with the effects of HIPAA has been a sad experience. We need to care for our Dad, but we cannot get or give the information that would help him. No doubt this was never the intended outcome of HIPAA, but it is the real-life consequence that my own family has had to deal with.

HIPAA has ensured security of patient information and has restricted health information disclosure, which both are positive aspects of the law. However, with these strict rules set in place, two major issues emerge: uncertainty of the HIPAA rules and complications between the patient’s privacy and patient well-fare; and the real world reality for families. So—what do I conclude? I conclude that HIPAA goes too far with its rules. I believe that the safeguards over unwarranted disclosure of medical information should be maintained. HIPAA should simplify its rules but should still be sustained in order for individuals to have protected health information. With that said, I believe that allowing family members the right to know a patient’s information can only benefit the patient and in a bigger scale, the community.

Bibliography Aldabagia, Bishir. "HIPAA Interview 3." Personal interview. 20 Jan. 2014.

“All Case Examples”. Understanding Health Information Privacy.

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2001. Web. 10 Jan. 2014.

Annas, George J. "HIPAA Regulations — A New Era of MedicalRecord Privacy?" New England Journal of Medicine 348.15 (2003): 1486-490. Print.

Benitez, Kathleen, and Bradley Malin. "Evaluating Re-identification Risks with Respect to the HIPAA Privacy Rule." J A M I A. N.p., 14 Dec. 2009. Web. 10 Jan. 2014.

Bunce, Victoria C. "Medical Savings Accounts: Progress and Problems under HIPAA." Cato Institute. The Cato Institute, 8 Aug. 2001.

Web. 10 Jan. 2014.

"Civil Money Penalty." Civil Money Penalty. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2001. Web. 10 Jan. 2014.

Erlen, Judith A. "HIPAA-Clinical and Ethical Considerations for Nurses." Orthopaedic Nursing 23.6 (2004): 410-3. ProQuest.Web. 10 Jan. 2014.

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule and the National Instant Criminal Background Check System

I acknowledge Ellen Greenblatt for editing my paper.

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(NICS). Lanham: Federal Information & News Dispatch, Inc, 2014. ProQuest. Web. 10 Jan. 2014.

Heineken, Paul. "HIPAA Interview 2." Personal interview. 11 Jan. 2014.

Hellerstein, David. "HIPAA and Health Information Privacy Rules: Almost there." Health management technology 21.4 (2000): 26-1. ProQuest. Web. 10 Jan. 2014.

Kaylo, Janet. "HIPAA Interview 1." Personal interview. 11 Jan. 2014.

Lund, Jamie. "ERISA Enforcement of the HIPAA Privacy Rules." The University of Chicago Law Review 72.4 (2005): 1413-43.ProQuest. Web. 10 Jan. 2014.Obama Administration Takes Additional Steps to Strengthen the Federal Background Check System. Lanham: Federal Information & News Dispatch, Inc, 2014. ProQuest. Web. 10 Jan. 2014.

"Understanding Health Information Privacy." Understanding Health Information Privacy. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2001. Web. 08 Jan. 2014.

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Spring 2014

T3

Research in the Community The Bay School of San Francisco

Edward Burke

Research Paper Rough DraftAntiVaccination: A Moral Hazard or a Real One? America and the world at large is facing a crisis. Currently, it is small, even manageable, but if it grows, it could destroy decades of medical achievements. I am talking aboutThis threat is known as the anti-vaccination movement. Even just a century ago, we had no access to vaccines and hundreds of thousands died from now easily preventable diseases (Achievements). Vaccination is the greatest advancement in medicine ever, and it is necessary for people to take advantage of this technology whenever it is available. But someYet even in our own highly advanced city, many still refuse to vaccinate. But those who think critically might say, “Do the antivaccinationists have a point?” Is there any evidence that vaccines can have negative side-effects? No public health solution is perfect,

and there are rare negative consequences. (Sepulveda). Overall, however, the anti-vaccination movement is detrimentalfar more dangerous to the health of society than vaccines themselves and we need to better understand why people choose to follow it and how to convince them otherwise.

You might be thinking, “WhatSo what is the anti-vaccination movement anyway?”? It is, as the name implies, a movementcampaign to get people to stop using vaccines. The movement hasSuch efforts have been around in some form or another since the 1800s, ever since vaccination began (Wolfe). However, the more pressing concern is the modern iteration of the movement. The current movement wasIt started when Dr. Andrew Wakefield, a well-respected scientist that, published a study in the Lancet, a global medical journal, supposedly linking MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccinevaccines to autism. His claims were eventually proven unfounded (Uchiyama), but not before he became “an instant hero for the antivaccination movement” (Bowditch). His data was also found to be fraudulent, as he had cherry-picked his subjects and was being funded by parents of autistic children trying to sue pharmaceutical companies (Bowditch). Now, Wakefield has had his medical license revoked, (Sepulveda) but many people still believe his claims. To this day, he still speaks at anti-vaccine conferences, promoting his misinformation, and is viewed positively by many (Bowditch). " Another major source of support for the anti-vaccination movement has been celebrity endorsements. One major example of this is Jenny McCarthy. McCarthy is an actress and model. In 2005, her 221

son was diagnosed with autism (Bruni). This leadled to her becoming the public face of the anti-vaccination movement. McCarthy made many claims against vaccines, stating “If I had another child, I would not vaccinate” and endorsed Wakefield’s study. Even though there was little evidence offor her claims, the media gave her a platform to speak from, appearing: she appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, as well as numerous other talk shows (Bruni). She has advised her audiences to not to vaccinate their children, and her opinions havecontained many misstatements of fact. Astonishingly, after years of being against vaccination, she now claims that she never made any of these statements, likely because she started getting bad publicity (Bruni). Unfortunately, the damage has already been done. Many people have already decided not to vaccinate their children, and public health officials have been unable to convince them otherwise. " Wakefield’s theory is the primary belief of the movement, and the one that McCarthy has been supporting. However, there are many other beliefstheories about vaccines being dangerous. Wakefield specifically blamed the MMR vaccine for causing gastrointestinal problems which would lead to autism (Novella), but many other kinds of vaccines have been blamed for all manner of problems.

Other vaccines have also been blamed, such as DTP (diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (whooping cough)) (Gangarosa), Hepatitis A and B, and HPV (Leask). McCarthy also blamed the Hepatitis C vaccine, which does not exist (Brown), further showing her lack of knowledge on the subject. Another thing frequently blamed in vaccines is thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative once present in

many vaccines (Novella). Mercury is a neurotoxin, but the amount present in thimerosal is too small to have any negative effects. Antivaccinationists argued that the amount from multiple vaccines plus from other sources, such as seafood, was too much for infants to be taking. While there is little evidence to support this, the Parenteral Drug Association (PDA) has banned thimerosal in childhood vaccines, making it no longer a problem anyway. (Novella).

Vaccines have been blamed for far more than autism as well. Many childhood illnesses have been blamedlinked, including but not limited to ADHD, diabetes, asthma, multiple sclerosis, and even cancer (Leask). There is no evidence of any of these claims, although vaccines have actually been linked to a few other diseases, including anaphylaxis and toxic shock syndrome (Leask). Anaphylaxis is an allergic reaction that can be triggered by the vaccine, while TSS is caused by a bacterial infection, possiblepossibly caused by a toxin present in the vaccine, possibly accidentally. Both of these, as well as the few others linked to vaccines, are very rare and are not a major problem. There have also been some problems with vaccines like the oral polio vaccine, but these were rare and the vaccines were discontinued (Sepulveda). The problems that the antivaccination movement blames vaccinevaccines for are generally far more common and can be caused by all sorts of different factors.

Contrary to what the anti-vaccination movement says, vaccines are vital to public health. Most vaccines in use today were invented in the first half of the 20th century. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sayssay that immunization is the greatest public health achievement of the 20th century (Ten). By the 1980s, 222

the number of childhood vaccines given hardhad risen from zero to thirteen (UCSF). Before vaccines were prevalent in America, over 500,000 measles cases were reported, including many deaths. In 1998, only 89 cases were reported (Achievements). This year, measles have reached 288 cases, the highest number in 20 years, in large part due to unvaccinated children (Henry).

Ironically, while many herein America are rejecting vaccines, many people in the developing world are struggling to get them. 7.5 million children die every year from preventable diseases worldwide (UCSF). As a CDC publication explains, in the US there are “nine vaccine-preventable diseases for which vaccination was universally recommended for use in children before 1990,” (Achievements), including those covered by MMR and DTP vaccines, as well as smallpox, polio, and influenza. Morbidity associated with those diseases has declined 100% or nearly 100% (Achievements),%, the report says. (Achievements). In the rest of the world, however, many of these diseases are still a major problem. (UCSF).

Progress, however, can be made in other countries, however. In the 1980s in Mexico, 6,000 children died of a measles outbreak (UCSF). Before that, in 1912, there was only one available vaccine, for polio, and life expectanceexpectancy was 33 years (UCSF).

Now, there are far more vaccines and life expectancy in Mexico is 65 years, and is expected to continue to rise (UCSF). Dr. Jaime Sepulveda, head of UCSF Global Health Sciences and former chair of GAVI, an organization to promote global vaccination, is an authority on vaccines. That Mexican measles epidemic led to him working towards widespread vaccination in Mexico., where he worked in a vil-

lage where all of the children had died of measles. “I was put in charge of a universal vaccination program in Mexico,” he recalled, “which by the way… was effectively able to reach the goal of having universal vaccination of all Mexican children in a relatively short time, and that gave me reasons to believe that if we were able to do that in Mexico, which is a poor country, we can essentially reach the same everywhere” (Sepulveda).

To be sure, other countries have also had anti-vaccination movements. One study looked at the DTP vaccine coverage in twelve countries, four of which kept high vaccine coverage and 8eight were disrupted by anti-vaccination movements (Gangarosa). The countries without the movements (which at the time included the US) had ten to 10-100% less cases of pertussis (depending on the strength of the movement) of pertussis than in countries disrupted by the movement (Gangarosa). This suggests that vaccines have an enormous effect on disease rates, and that anti-vaccination movements do major damage.

The reason anti-vaccine movements do so much damage is because they break herd immunity (States). Vaccination relies on the concept of herd immunity. The majority of the population has to be vaccinated, so that if one person is infected anyway, the diseases won’t spread. However, if there are clusters of unvaccinated people, such as those from anti-vaccine movements, then the disease can thrive and possible infect others, such as infants that cannot be vaccinated or elderly people whose vaccine protection has worn off (States). This situation brings to mind the Tragedy of the Commons: if one or two is unvaccinated, they won’t suffer, but as more individu223

als make this choice, further clusters of unvaccinated people appear, bringing down the whole system.

Here in the Bay area, we have begun to see the consequences of the anti-vaccination movement. There have been measles and pertussis outbreaks recently, especially among students, brought on by anti-vaccination (Bauch). And, as more and more people have begun to reject vaccination. (Bauch). Julie Bauch, manager of the San Francisco Department of Public HealthHealthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pertussis vaccination campaign until recently, recommends that when a new child is born, everyone that will be caring for the child should be vaccinated against pertussis, as the baby has too weak an immune system to use a vaccine and is susceptible to the disease (Bauch). She estimated from her experience in obstetrics that as many as one in ten babiesfamilies in a local private hospital do not follow this advice (Bauch).

By now, you are probably wondering what can be done about the anti-vaccination movement. First of all, there is a range of possible solutions, ranging from simple education to legally mandating complete vaccination of every child without exception. In a free society, the latter would be difficult to accomplish. However, changing behaviors and belief is very difficult particularly about the health of their children. Presumably, most of these peoplesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; doctors have asked them to vaccinate and they have seen some of the studies promoting vaccination, but they have not been convinced. I think that educating these people about vaccines is important, but we also need to study their behavior and why they follow these beliefs. However, the public health organizations could also try to get more creative in

their vaccination campaigns. For example, the movement was united under Jenny McCarthy for a time, so maybe public health officials should encourage a celebrity to come out in support of vaccination? AnotherThere is a wide range of possible solutions for the antivaccination movement, from simple education to legally mandating complete vaccination of every child without exception. One solution could be to restrict access to public schools for unvaccinated children with no medical reason for lacking vaccination, but this could be too restrictive for the US government to implement. In a free society, this would be difficult to accomplish. To the extent that we have such rules, many exceptions are made, thanks to the lobbying efforts of the anti-vaccine movement.

Changing behaviors and beliefs is very difficult particularly when it comes to the health of children. Parents find it easy to not do something if they feel it might be a risk. Of course, doctors have a responsibility to provide promotional information about vaccines to their patients, but many have not been convinced. Sometimes, parents put off the decision and never get around to getting shots for their children.

Educating these people about vaccines is important, but we also need to study their behavior, how their beliefs are formed, and why they follow those beliefs. The public health organizations could also try to get more creative in their vaccination campaigns. For example, the movement against vaccines was united under Jenny McCarthy for a time, so public health officials should possibly consider encouraging a celebrity to come out in support of vaccination.

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The anti-vaccination movement shows that peoples’ views towards health and science are complex, and I feel thatso a complex, multifaceted response is required. A wide range of responses will likely be required. However, I think that the anti-vaccination movement is overall detrimental to the health of society and steps must be taken to stop it. The achievements of the public health movement in the last century should not be thrown away.

I would like to acknowledge the help of Alex Testa, Joseph DeRose, and Kate Hanavan for helping with reading and critiquing my paper.

I would especially like to acknowledge Craig Butz, my teacher, for his immense help throughout the research process.

Works Cited “Achievements in Public Health, 1900-1999 Impact of Vaccines Universally Recommended for Children -- United States, 1990-1998.”

Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2 Apr. 1999. Web. 14 May 2014.

Can 'Unscientific America' be Science Literate?. Washington, D.C.: National Public Radio, 2009. ProQuest. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

"Vaccination Vindication." Los Angeles TimesFebTimes. Feb 06 2010. ProQuest. Web. 24 Apr. 2014 .

Bauch, Julie. Personal Interview. 11 May 2014.

Beckman, Mary. "A CLOSER LOOK: DIETS AND AUTISM; Science Aside, Food Theory has Support; Jenny McCarthy is the Latest to Advocate a Wheat- and Milk- Free Diet as Autism Therapy, Though Hard Evidence is Lacking." Los Angeles Times: 0. Oct 08 2007. ProQuest. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

Bowditch, Peter. "Vaccination Link to Autism Retracted." Australasian Science 04 2004: 46. ProQuest. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

Brown, Ari. "Vaccines and Autism." Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition ed. Oct 27 2007. ProQuest. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

Bruni, Frank. "Autism and the Agitator." New York Times, Late Edition (East Coast) ed. Apr 22 2014. ProQuest. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

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D'Souza, Yasmin, Eric Fombonne, and Brian J. Ward. "No Evidence of Persisting Measles Virus in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells from Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder." Pediatrics 118.4 (2006): 1664-75. ProQuest. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

Gangarosa, E. J., et al. "Impact of Anti-Vaccine Movements on Pertussis Control: The Untold Story." The Lancet 351.9099 (1998): 356-61. ProQuest. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

Henry, Trisha. Falco, Miriam. Cohen, Elizabeth. “CDC: Highest number of U.S. measles cases since 2000.” CNN. Cable News Network, 29 May 2014. Web. 29 May 2014.

Results Presented from Japan." Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 37.2 (2007): 210-7.ProQuest. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

UCSF leaders call for global access to vaccines, mental health care. (2012, Nov 15). Targeted News Service.

Wolfe, R. M., & Sharp, L. K. (2002). Anti-vaccinationists past and present. British Medical Journal, 325(7361), 430-2.

Worboys, Michael. "Bodily Matters: The Anti-Vaccination Movement in England, 1853-1907." British Journal for the History of Science 40.145 (2007): 301-2. ProQuest. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

Leask, Julie, Simon Chapman, and Spring Chenoa Cooper Robbins. "all Manner of Ills": The Features of Serious Diseases Attributed to Vaccination." Vaccine 28.17 (2010): 3066-70. ProQuest. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

Novella, Steven. "The Anti-Vaccination Movement." The Skeptical Inquirer Nov 2007: 25-31. ProQuest. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

Sepulveda, Jaime. Personal Interview. 1 May 2014.

States, David. Personal Interview. 11 May 2014.

“Ten Great Public Health Achievements in the 20th Century.” Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 26 Apr, 2013. Web. 18 May 2014.

Uchiyama, Tokio, Michiko Kurosawa, and Yutaka Inaba. "MMRVaccine and Regression in Autism Spectrum Disorders: Negative 226

Liam Campbell

Is the Bus Really Worth It’s Weight in Gold?

alone every month (CIC). That’s subtracting gasoline, rental, and accident bills. Accidents can be deadly, and not only do they cost a fortune, they kill more than 34,000 people every year (NHTSA). The danger of cars to the environment, workflow, economy, and individual are undeniable, and it’s time to start converting to a faster, safer, more efficient mode of transportation. Buses are the solution to our impending crisis.

There has long been a vicious battle between cars and public transportation in America. Car

Cars are extremely inefficient in a variety of ways, and to evaluate the competence of the bus, it’s rival automobile must be observed as well. This rival, the car, has driven the public bus into the few large, dense cities in the United States. The car is extremely destructive in a variety of ways.

are faster, more comfortable, and they give a sure sense of ownership, but their weaknesses far outweigh their perks. The world’s population is growing at an alarming rate. Global Warming threatens to severely damage our environment. Buses are becoming a growing icon for the future of transportation. Still though, the majority of the U.S. population chooses to use cars for their daily commutes to work instead of buses. Cars are extremely inefficient and harmful in a variety of ways. Car drivers emit over one hundred pounds of toxic gas every time they fill their gas tank, spilling thousands of pounds of poisonous waste into our atmosphere every year (UCS). Combining that number with America’s population, that’s billions of pounds of toxic waste being spilled every year. Traffic clogs areas countrywide. With Californian cities like Los Angeles and Sacramento being some of the worst off, the threat is on our doorstep. The average Californian spends $70.42 on car insurance

Firstly, private automobiles release tons of harmful waste into the atmosphere, promoting the Global Warming that’s destroying the world’s environment. According to HowStuffWorks, car emissions mainly consist of three materials: Nitrogen gas, carbon dioxide, and water vapor. Nitrogen gas is a main component of air, and usually passes right through the engine. Carbon Dioxide is a product of the carbon in the burning fuel mixing with the oxygen in the air being burned. When CO2 is released into the atmosphere, it thickens it. This prevents the sun’s infrared light from leaving the atmosphere, thus heating up the planet and producing the Global Warming effect. Carbon Dioxide is causing Global Warming on a massive scale, and cars are releasing it in frightening doses. It is estimated that almost 30 percent of all global warming emissions are released by the transportation department alone. Cars make up 61 227

percent of these emissions. The sheer weight of the pollution created by cars represents a huge threat to the world. Oil drilling represents another huge threat. The danger of spilling oil has revealed itself on several occasions, the biggest being the BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. This spill not only killed 11 workers on the rig, but released approximately 4.9 million barrels of oil into the gulf.

Ocean tides brought the oil around the area in a huge radius affecting numerous natural ecosystems and poisoning thousands of sea creatures. After years of cleaning the spill, the oil still hasn’t been completely removed.

On top of the environmental impacts of cars, they pose a large threat to the human ability to move around sprawling cities. As traffic gets worse because of the extreme multitude of cars on the road, the average length of commute to work will only increase. According to the United Nations, Earth’s human population is expected to grow to 9.6 billion people by 2050 (Scientific American). With that many people on the road, there simply won’t be room for cars.

The United States Department of Labor says that the average American spends almost 15 percent of their budget on transportation.

This mostly consists of gas spendings and maintenance. It excludes, however, the work time lost while waiting in traffic. The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that in May of 2014 the average private American wage earner made $24.38 per hour. Based on these statistics, an hour commute to work and back would cost $25.

These unfortunately long periods of time spent in a car are the results of traffic. Using buses helps decrease the number of cars on the road, clearing up traffic and getting the average person to work

faster. Not only does the bus user then save money on gas and maintenance, they helped clear traffic. When more people convert to using the bus, it clears traffic even more, thus allowing the employee to make an extra hour of income each day and reducing the amount of money they spend on transportation.

Buses leave a drastically lower amount of CO2 to rise into the atmosphere. Considering that a bus carries at least 20 people, and that a car usually carries one to two, buses emit a relievingly low amount of CO2 per person. This helps to create a healthier way of transportation for both the environment and the people living in it.

While most buses still use gasoline, many instead use electricity that powers the buses through cables that run throughout the city.

With new technology like the batteries for Tesla Motors, buses will soon be able to power themselves, without cords, to allow an even wider range of access.

Cars are the main cause of a numerous problems in our modern world. Global Warming, traffic, and budget drains are but a few of these. If humankind wants to move forward in it’s quality of life and society, it needs to graduate past the private automobile, in order to accommodate the new challenges that the world throws at it.

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Works Cited

“Clean Vehicles.” Union of Concerned Scientists. Jan 31, 2014.

Web. May 31, 2014.

Traffic Safety Facts. NHTSA. NHTSA’s National Center for Statistics and Analysis, Dec 2012. May 31, 2014. pdf.

“How Much is the Average Monthly Car Insurance Premium Payment?” Car Insurance Comparison. Web. Jun 1, 2014.

“How Catalytic Converters Work.” HowStuffWorks. Web. Jun 11, 2014.

How Global Warming Works in 52 seconds. Web. Jun 11, 2014.

“Gulf Oil Spill.” Ocean Portal. Web. Jun 11, 2014.

Sullivan, Colin. “Human Population Growth Creeps Back Up.” Scientific American. Jun 14, 2013. Web. Jun 11, 2014.

“How the Average U.S. Consumer Spends Their Paycheck.” Credit Loan. Web. Jun 11, 2014.

“Average hourly and weekly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector.” Bureau of Labor Statistics. Jun 6, 2014. Web. Jun 11, 2014.

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Joseph DeRose

Who’s Watching You? The Changing Face of Privacy If you are outside your home, at any given moment you might feel like you are being watched. It’s not just paranoia, cameras are becoming smaller and smaller every day; they’re on traffic lights, ATMs, the dashboards of cars, and just about every cell phone made in the last decade. If you’re in a public space, there’s a very real possibility that you are, in fact, being watched. Recently, the introduction of technology that allows both the public and the government to potentially watch people has sparked new controversy in the privacy discussion. Many of the devices that give people the ability to watch others have a wide variety of applications, making them invaluable to those who find a good use for them. Devices that allow the government to watch citizens, on the other hand, have less potential to exact real change at a macro level. New technology such as Google Glass, drones, and government fusion centers pose threats to privacy, but the benefits of public technology outweigh the costs while government spying tools are too dangerous to ignore.

One way or another, privacy is an evolving notion that will adapt to new tech as it is introduced into society.

The natural fear of being watched is quite real, and substantial evidence to support this has emerged in the last decade. Studies have shown that the human brain behaves differently when it knows it’s being watched. In 2011, researchers hung pictures of eyes in the cafeteria of Newcastle University. People in the cafeteria were twice as likely to clean up after themselves when the pictures were hung, indicating that our brains can subconsciously associate being watched with inanimate objects. If paper pictures of eyes can do that, then it’s only logical to assume that cameras, which actually do see, can have the same psychological effect. The same year, an experiment was conducted in which scientists outfitted the homes of volunteers with cameras in every room except bedrooms and bathrooms. The people living in the homes eventually got used to it, but they had to adapt to the situation by being more careful where they undressed, and not having as much company over (Angwin 41-44).

Privacy International, the Electronic Privacy Foundation, and the Electronic Privacy Information Center, organizations that fight for privacy, fear that we are headed for a world like the one created in the experiment, where everyone is constantly being scrutinized (Wacks 132).

When addressing fears like this, it’s important to know what privacy really is, and what it means to be anonymous. Historically, privacy evolved most strongly in complex societies with a distinct public domain as a realm without intrusion from the state. The private domain allows us to unwind, be independent, and naturally express our intimate selves free from the eyes of the public (Wacks 30-35). The level of concern surrounding privacy in America today is a relatively 230

recent development. In the 17th and 18th century, people living in small towns with close-knit communities didn’t have a lot of privacy.

If someone did something, the town would know. Back then it was easy to listen in on a conversation while out on a porch, or to intercept mail being delivered to a house (Privacy 516-518). Ask anyone nowadays, and they’ll say that’s a clear violation of their privacy rights. In modern society, governing the right to privacy can be very difficult, and violations must be weighed in the tradeoff between social values and privacy protection. The actual legal right to privacy comprises many different components with varying sources, some constitutional, and others enacted by laws (Alderman xiv-xv).

In public, our actions may not be private, but there is a feeling of anonymity among crowds of people. What you do may be seen, but the chances are that no one will know you, and therefore the event is insignificant to passersby. However, with the introduction of cameras into everyday life, this sense of being unknown in the crowd is deteriorating. What you do in public can, and often will, be recorded, meaning actions can then be linked specifically to you. This should come as no surprise though, what happens in public has had the potential to be recorded since the invention of the camera. Society draws the line of what can and cannot be recorded at the end of public spaces. As a rule of thumb, anything a photographer can see from a street is fair game to record, and therefore can be captured without issue. It is only when he steps inside a private establishment and starts taking pictures, that any alarm is raised. Even as technology makes covert recording easier, the social rules of what’s fair game to record remain unchanged.

As the size of cameras shrinks, it’s becoming increasingly easy to put them discretely in all kinds of gadgets, so it’s important to know who controls that cameras. Due to the rapid rate of innovation, laws have a hard time keeping up with technology. Thankfully we have some protection in the constitution, but the 4th amendment only prevents the unwarranted intrusion of privacy from the government, not other citizens (Privacy 518). From this, the question of “who’s doing the watching?” arises. Author David Brin argues that the most important question isn’t how to prevent surveillance, but instead who controls it. In his 1998 novel The Transparent Society: Will Technology Force Us to Choose Between Privacy and Freedom? a pair of hypothetical twin cities is described. They are both under heavy surveillance, with cameras in every possible location, and there is no crime in either city. In one, however, any citizen can see the security footage, while the cameras in the second city are monitored only by the police force. Because of this, the first city has some freedom while the second is a police state. Brin argues that in a society where everyone has the same ability of surveillance, a kind od mutual safety arises that can’t be created by a government because of the inherent transparency of the public, not to mention the lack of a unanimous goal, such as seeking out criminals (Angwin 42-43).

Likely the most common threat to individual privacy is the possibility of being watched by the public itself, which is being made easier by cutting edge consumer technology. Anyone can be photographed walking around busy city streets or even their own neighborhood and be completely unaware. Just about everyone has a camera, and with devices like smartphones, it’s easy to take pictures dis231

cretely. As a society, we understand this possibility, and for the most part we are comfortable with the idea that we could potentially be recorded in public. However, Google’s new device “Google Glass” is changing the picture of anonymous photography. The device is a pair of glasses with a small screen overlay that sits in the corner of the user’s vision and connects via Bluetooth to their phone. While Glass itself can’t do much more than the phone it interfaces with, it gives hands-free access to functions like taking video or pictures, texting, and finding directions.

Since its announcement, Glass has led many to fear that the device will be able to covertly record them, but these concerns are solely due to the devices obvious presence, which people are simply not used to, and if anything, makes secret recording more difficult. The product has drawn attention from lawmakers and privacy advocates alike. An incident in a San Francisco bar started a chain reaction of distaste for the product. Sarah Slocum, a 34 year-old Google Glass user, says she was a victim of a “hate crime” when she was attacked at The Willows bar. The device was allegedly ripped from her face after patrons at the bar thought she was recording them and repeatedly told her to stop (Sarah Slocum). Following the incident, The Willows owner Tim Ryan has decided to close its doors to Glass users (Bloomekatz). Shortly after, 12 other San Francisco bars followed suit and banned the device, with one owner saying “people prefer to have their privacy in here” (qtd. In Sherbert). A website called “Don’t Be a Glasshole” has also surfaced, urging users of Google Glass not to bring their gadgets into bars. The site’s creator, Daen deLeon acknowledged the fact that Glass isn’t the

only way to record people but added “I know that cellphones are quite capable [of recording], but the point is it is harder to be stealthy with that hand-held piece of plastic and glass.” It seems that as Glass is seen in public more often, fear of privacy intrusion may grow before it subsides (qtd. In Bloomekatz).

These fears are not warranted though, and nothing about the device makes it inherently easier to spy on people than a cellphone as deLeon claims. Marc Levoy, a Professor at Stanford who uses Google Glass, says that the first reaction most people have when seeing him wear the device is “are you recording me?” When he shows them what it looks like when he is actually taking a video, it “ends the whole privacy discussion right there” and they are no longer concerned. Users must speak a command or interact with the touch pad to take a picture or record a video, and it lights up and makes a sound, alerting people in the vicinity that it is doing so. Google has also banned developers from disabling this function (Walker), and although it’s possible to hack around the ban, it decreases the chances of being silently watched, and increases the severity of the penalty for doing so. However, Levoy does go on to say that some people are still concerned for their privacy even after seeing it record, and want to know if there is any facial recognition software in Glass that’s pulling up information on them. For the time being, Google has no plans to allow facial recognition on their device, although Levoy says that there are a lot of people who would find it very useful, even if it only recognized people that the user had met before. “I have 500 to 1,000 people on my contacts list,” Levoy points out, “I don’t care if their GPA in high school floats above their head, I just 232

want to remember their name… That would be good enough, and that’s not an invasion of privacy.” He argues this by saying “anonymity is very 20th century,” and that the difference between privacy and anonymity is “the linking of information.”

Despite these facts, sticklers for heavy regulation continue to press for strict laws, despite the fact that fundamentally, Glass should not need them. Privacy regulators from around the world want to know more about how Glass complies with data privacy laws. Tim Ryan, the owner of “The Willows” bar that banned Glass spoke out, saying “Since there are no actual laws we’re aware of limiting what people with Glass can and cannot record, we feel the best thing is…not allowing them at all…” (qtd. In Bloomekatz). This sentiment is one that lawmakers in Congress are desperately trying to address.

“There does not appear to me to be strong privacy protection for the population at large,” Representative Joe Barton said in regard to Glass, “…I think both political parties need to come together and update privacy protection for the 21st century” (qtd. In Tsukayama 1).

Google doesn’t plan on changing its own policies to appease matters specifically concerning Glass, and they have told lawmakers that the device doesn’t pose a threat to privacy (Tsukayama 1). “Ideally no laws would need to be passed,” says Levoy, pointing out that if people use it responsibly it shouldn’t be a problem with all the safeguards built in, “The goal of the Glass team right now is to make sure that silly laws aren’t enacted by people who have never used it…” (Levoy). To actualize this, Google let lawmakers try out Glass when they brought it to Capitol Hill. After getting a chance to use the device, Rep. Joe Barton stated that he would like to work with tech

companies to come up with laws that allow wearable tech and protect privacy at the same time (Tsukayama 1).

In response to motions for new laws, proponents of Glass maintain that society will adapt, especially with all of the potential for good it has. Journalist Richard Koci Hernandez calls the concerns about privacy and wearable technology a “knee-jerk reaction” (qtd. in Walker). According to Levoy, many of the fears regarding Glass are just because they don’t know much about it. He asserts that new technology “finds a spot in our life,” and that social contracts evolve along with it. Hernandez admits that it can be creepy to wear the device in conversation, so he has developed his own etiquette and slides it atop his head when talking to people. He adds that wearable tech and cameras are going to emerge more and more because of all the practical applications (Walker 1-2). Glass can take advantage of the fact that it’s not directly in the users field of view to be useful for all kinds of situations. Using the voice command feature, it is a handy tool to send reminders and to-do lists to yourself, and the screen is focused in a way that makes it so that there’s no need to re-adjust your eyes while looking at it. It can also pop up notifications about things like flight delays and traffic info while on the way to the airport, something that Levoy says has helped him on multiple occasions, and its ability to use Google Hangouts (Google’s video chat system) makes it all the more valuable. The device can also be used by people like firemen and doctors to provide extra information in order to help them do their duties (Levoy).

Google Glass isn’t the only public technology to come under fire recently though, another thing that many privacy advocates fear is the 233

emergence of domestic drone use, which also gives people the ability to spy on others. While most people think of military planes shooting down potential terrorist threats in the Middle East when they hear the word “drone”, all a drone really is is an unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV for short. In the last few years, do-it-yourself drone assembly kits have grown in popularity, and private drones have become an easily accessible technology, being sold in online and in hobby shops. As the list applications for UAVs piles up, and drone photography products becoming a major business, some members of the public fear that drones equipped with cameras will pose a serious threat to their privacy. “The prospects of cheap, small, portable flying video surveillance machines threatens to eradicate the existing practical limits on aerial monitoring and allows for pervasive surveillance,” say lawmakers for the American Civil Liberties Union (qtd. In Amazon 1). U.S. Senator Mark Udall says that with the drone delivery system that online shopping company Amazon announced recently, comes the need to update laws concerning privacy in order to make sure the drones don’t violate the privacy rights of Americans. One such bill that Udall has proposed, the Safeguarding Privacy and Fostering Aerospace Innovation Act, would make conducting surveillance on another person without a warrant illegal. The bill will also require owners to put their name and contact info on the outside of the drone itself (Amazon 1). Another congressmen, Representative Ed Markey, has his own bill that would prevent the FAA from issuing any commercial drone use licenses unless information such as the operator, the time and location of flight, and what kind of data will be collected, is present on the application. With tens of thousands of licenses for domestic commercial

use expected to be handed out in coming years, Markey states his bill “adds privacy protections that ensure this technology cannot be used to endlessly watch Americans” (qtd. in Drone Privacy 1). U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer also raises concern for drones owned by companies like Apple and Google who could use high quality cameras to take “detailed pictures of individuals in intimate locations such as around a pool, or in their backyard, or even through their windows” (qtd. in New).

Despite the negative attention from lawmakers, the real threats on privacy imposed by drones are dwarfed by their ability to be used for good. Senator Mark Udall does admit that “unmanned aerial systems have the potential to change everything from retail shipping to search and rescue missions” (qtd. in Amazon). Chris Anderson, the CEO of 3DRobotics, America’s leading drone manufacturer, furthers this point by arguing that there is no “lack of laws” regarding UAV flight. He points out that FAA law already makes flying a drone over residential areas illegal, and that drones are quite loud. “If there’s a drone flying over your backyard, you know about it,” he says, “it’s quite easy to put your cellphone over the fence and take a picture of someone in their backyard absolutely silently.” He goes on to say that “Drones are really just yet another example of the colonization of our planet by cameras.” Anderson also suspects that much of the fear surrounding drones among the American public is due to misconceived notions as to what a drone is. “Interestingly almost all the concerns come from people who don’t actually have any experience with them,” he says, “Almost all these concerns go away the moment someone sees the drone” (Anderson).

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Another way to remedy the concerns of skeptics is to shed light on the possible ways drones can be used to benefit society. Anderson believes that the biggest domestic uses for drones are photography, wildlife science, and agriculture. Being able to put a camera on a drone and position it arbitrarily in 3-dimensional space is something that only Hollywood directors have been able to do until now, giving photographers and filmmakers a huge range of abilities that they’ve never had before (Anderson). Drones are also becoming a useful tool in science. Originally designed by the military for spying on enemies, many AeroVironment Raven drones have been outfitted for scientific use. The United States Geological Survey used a Raven to scan wetlands for certain kinds of wildlife. Flying at 400 feet (the current height limit for private drones), the aircraft can gather imagery of birds without scaring them, which was impossible before UAVs (Farrel). The area that the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International predicts to be the biggest use for drones, agriculture, has a wide range of places where drones could prove to be key tools (McGlynn 887). By using drones to fly over their land, farmers will “have the ability to manage crops and reduce the input: chemicals, water, labor, and increase the output: food, by using…big data to make better choices” says Chris Anderson. Precision Hawk, a UAV company, is trying to give farmers user-friendly tools by making easy-to-use sensors and software to scan crops in conjunction with their Lancaster UAV (Hutchinson). According to Anderson, if companies make drones intuitive and simple enough for all farmers to use, they could become just another machine on the farm.

It’s not just the public that’s taking advantage of cameras on aircrafts though, Government agencies have started putting their eyes in the sky for security purposes. With plans currently being made to use drones for policing borders, and possibly even cities, the prospect of the government watching its citizens emerges. As David Brin depicted in his identical cities scenario, a world where the people have the ability to watch each other can certainly be a cause for concern, but one where the government does the spying is a different situation entirely. The massive amount of data that could be collected by government drones jeopardizes personal privacy in a way that public surveillance can’t due to its inherent transparency. A poll conducted by Monmouth University in 2013 showed that while 62% of Americans supported the use of unarmed drones for border patrol, 49% are very concerned about government drones with high definition cameras, and only 14% said they were worried at all (McGlynn 889). In Los Angeles, California, police did a test using an array of HD cameras attached to a plane to fly over the city of Compton for six hours. The cameras captured a 25 square-mile area in high enough quality to see individual people anywhere in the city.

After the footage was stitched together into a complete map, it was sent to the Real Time Analysis and Critical Response Division, one of many “fusion centers” that are popping up across the country.

These fusion centers, where authorities collect footage from various security systems around a city for viewing in a control room, have stirred up a hot load of controversy recently, and it is still relatively unclear whether or not they are effective crime prevention systems.

A thousand cameras from around L.A. feed into the real Time Analy235

sis and Critical Response Division, giving authorities the ability to sift through footage from nearly anywhere in the city. These cameras do have blind spots though, and many crimes end up going unseen. However, if they were able to use planes like the one in Compton more often, police could locate a target’s position with footage from the plane, and then find nearby security cameras on the ground to get a look at the perpetrator’s face. Sargent Doug Iketani, who took part in the Compton test, says that people have grown accustomed to being watched with all of the technology that exists already, and “knowing that we can’t see into their bedroom windows, we can’t see into their pools, we can’t see into their showers, I’m sure they’ll be ok with it” (qtd. in State). Elizabeth Schroder, the associate director of the American Civil Liberties Union of South California disagrees, saying “all of us have things in our backyard that we don’t want anyone else to see” (qtd. in Reyes). Brian A. Rishwain, an attorney specializing in privacy legislation argues that people “should have an expectation of privacy around their home” (qtd. in Reyes 1), and Jennifer Lynch, an attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation points out that anyone could be found using technology like this, which would mean that they would then have to prove their innocence to the court (State). Because the American judicial system is built on the idea that citizens are innocent until proven guilty, this would be a major violation of American principles. “The technology acts as a pointer system,” clarifies Mike Sena, the director of the National Fusion Center Association, making the case that date collected by fusion centers is used in court like any other evidence, meaning it’s still up to the judge and jury to decide the verdict (State).

The intention of government surveillance in a domestic setting is undoubtedly to deter people from breaking the law, but it may not even be as effective as proponents say. A 2004 study by criminologists David Farrington and Brandon Welsh, conclude that street lights are just as effective at crime prevention as cameras, and other studies by the Urban Institute found little evidence that cameras reduce crime rate at all (Angwin 45). With this evidence, it is apparent that new forms of government surveillance could pose too many threats to privacy for them to be a viable way to prevent crime.

Whether it’s in regard to the government spying on the public, or the public watching itself, privacy is an evolving concept that adapts to factors introduced into society. Many of the fears that people have could easily dissipate as the controversial technology becomes commonplace. “Privacy…is determined on what’s called a community standard basis,” Chris Anderson says, adding that it’s based on expectations of privacy, which are always changing. He equates the situation to that of “test-tube babies,” which were hotly debated and dramatized by media headlines when the technology was first made possible. He compares the public opinion on the fertilization method when it was first introduced to the opinion today, where it is considered just a part of society. Marc Levoy gives a similar example, addressing the fear that new devices will be used to secretly photograph people. “When cellphones first came out, up-skirt photographs were thought to be a real serious problem with cell phone cameras,” he notes, “Well I’ve never even heard that phrase in five years.” Looking at these trends, Anderson concludes “It’s a very normal progression for people to be scared of technologies until they 236

become ubiquitous,” at which point they see the applications and are “just not scared anymore.” It’s perfectly natural to be afraid of changes, especially in the realm of privacy, where it’s easy to imagine a slippery slope of intrusive technology, but history has shown that society eventually accepts the technologies that it initially fears, and history doesn’t lie.

While government surveillance ultimately creates more dangers than its abilities warrant, the privacy threats from most new public technologies are rendered insignificant by the wide range of benefits they can bring, and should not be used as a catalyst for preventing the emergence of new technology. Google Glass can be used to bring people closer together and make our lives more efficient by giving users the ability to do things like take videos without having to distract themselves with a camera in front of their face, and have notifications pop up in their field of view. Drones are already revolutionizing the way that amateur films are made, and putting the sky in the hands of everyday citizens. Some of the dangers of these devices are very real, but as has been proven by history, society adapts, and will eventually overcome the fear of privacy violations to usher in a wide range of tools to be used for the good of mankind.

I would like to acknowledge the help of Craig Butz, Annika Lal-Randhawa, Jae Scott, and Tony DeRose

Works Cited Alderman, Ellen and Kennedy, Caroline. The Right to Privacy. New York: Alfered A. Knopd, Inc., 1995. Print.

“Amazon’s Drone Delivery Initiative Underscores Urgent Need to Update Privacy Safeguards.” Lanham: Federal Information & News Dispatch, Inc. 2013. ProQuest. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.

Anderson, Chris. Personal Interview. 18 Apr. 2014.

Angwin, Julia. Dragnet Nation: A Quest for Privacy, Security, and Freedom in a World of Relentless Surveillance. New York: Henry Holt and Company, LLC, 2014. Print.

Bloomkatz, Ari. “San Francisco Bar Bans Google Glass.” San Jose Mercury News. San Jose Mercury News, 5 Mar. 2014. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.

“Drone Privacy Legislation to Prevent Flying Robots from Becoming Spying Robots.” Lanham: Federal Information & News Dispatch, Inc, 2013. ProQuest. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.

Farrel, Sean Patrick. “A Drone’s-Eye View of Nature.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 6 May. 2013. Web. Apr 22. 2014.

Hutchinson, Alex. “10 tech Terms for 2014.” Popular Mechanics.

Feb. 2014: 52. Print.

Levoy, Marc. Personal Interview. 11 Apr. 2014.

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McGlynn, Daniel. “Domestic Drones.” CQ Press. 23.37 (18 Oct. 2013): CQ Researcher. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.

Wacks, Raymond. Privacy: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press Inc., 2010. Print.

“New Apple and Google Plans to Use Military-Grade Spy Planes to Map Communities and Publish Images that Could Cause Unprecedented Invasion of Privacy; Technology Strong Enough to See Through Windows and Even Catch Sun Bathers in Back Yards.”

Congressional Documents and Publications. 18 Jun. 2012: ProQuest. Web. 27 Mar 2014.

Walker, David. “Google Glass: A Teaching Tool and Street-Shooting Device.” Photo District News. 34.1 (2014): 28-30. ProQuest. Web. 27 Mar. 2014

“Privacy Under Attack.” CQ Press. 11.23 (14 Jun. 2001): CQ Researcher. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.

Reyes, David. “Thousand Words over Arial Photos.” Los Angeles Times: 1. 16 Oct. 2000. ProQuest. Web. 27 Mar. 2914.

“Sarah Slocum of Google Glass Fame Reportedly Caught Up in Previous Privacy Fight.” The Examiner. The Examiner, 18 Mar. 2014.

Web. 16 Apr. 2014.

Sherbert, Erin. “Here’s the List of Bars hat are Banning Google Glass (Update).” SF Weekly. SF Weekly, 6 Mar. 2014. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.

State of Surveillance. KQED, 2014. KQED. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

Tsukayama, Hayley. “Lawmaker ‘Disappointed’ with Google’s Response on Glass Privacy.” The Washington Post: 2 Jul. 2013. ProQuest. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.

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Shiva Inalsingh

The Lives of Socialy Networked Teens, and How it Affects Future Generations From 2008-2009, the total minutes logged on Facebook increased from 1.7 billion to 13.9 billion (Meena). This is an 818% increase in usage that happened about five years ago. Imagine what the numbers are like now. However, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. How did this widely known and used social media platform start? About a decade ago, Mark Zuckerberg created a site known as “The facebook.” This was originally only available to his fellow Harvard students. Within the first day, 1,200 students signed up, and in a month, more than half of the undergraduate population was using this site. Then there was no stopping it. It spread to other universities in the Boston area, and pretty soon, abroad to colleges in the UK. In 2006, Facebook extended beyond schools and other educa-

tional institutions. Anyone with an email address could sign up (Philips). So what did Mark Zuckerberg actually create? He created a new age in digital media, and it didn’t stop with Facebook. Sites like Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and Snapchat all helped in further growing this new age of social media.

These days social networking is very common. Several researchers went into a high school and surveyed about 200 kids, and only two did not use social media sites (Meena). It is rare these days to find high school students that do not participate in some sort of social media. Clearly, with the amount of usage these platforms are getting, they are a normal and prevalent part of our lives. But will this affect the new generation of kids growing up with all this media?

The short answer is: we don’t know yet. “Facebook is seven years old,” says Larry D. Rosen, a psychology professor at California State University, “We’re not talking about an established media form…we’re talking about something that is very new” (qtd. Turgeon). People are just starting to investigate how people use these technologies for good and bad. So obviously, social networking is a useful and innovative tool. It has many pros that aids the current generation, but there are also many cons. These days, teens need to be educated about the harm the internet can do to themselves and others, because we don’t know how it will affect the next generation. So what are the pros of social media?

Many teens enjoy websites like Facebook and twitter. Although many parents might be up at night thinking about all the harm social media is having on their child, a lot of research says it can actually 239

be helpful in the development of teenagers. However kids need to know how to use it the right way. When researchers looked into different social media platforms, they discovered the idea of social empathy (creating empathy via social media). This is something Larry D. Rosen looked a lot into. Creating empathy amongst teens is actually something Facebook has helped with. Let’s say that someone had a bad day, so they decide to post something on Facebook about how horrible things were going. Then someone else responds to that post with a confidence boosting message, or something along the lines of, “I’m here for you.” That demonstrates empathy through a virtual meduim. People who also engaged in simple Facebook activities, such as status updates, photo uploads and “liking” things, tended to have more virtual empathy (Turgeon). Unfortunately, the idea of virtual empathy can have many negative aspects, and this is where the way kids use social media can change how it affects them. On Facebook, people generally only post the positive aspects of their lives, and all there pictures are perfectly edited with them looking happy. Posting negative, or sad things can almost been seen as annoying and weird. Two different German universities discovered that, “skimming through photos of friends’ life successes can trigger feelings of envy, misery and loneliness as well” (Sifferlin). Because “people appear happy all the time, Facebook may be making us sad” (Cino). Now, what everyone is probably wondering is does this empathy/sadness translate to real life? Preliminary research says yes, so clearly, Facebook can greatly affect people’s moods in their day to day lives. (Turgeon).

Another way social media is helpful to kids is that in many instances, it can make them faster learners. However, parents must be careful to not let the negative aspects distress their child. This can be done by educating them about social media at an early age.

So yes, playing different games, educational or not, can actually help children develop. (Turgeon). Although this should not be the only way they learn things, it’s a great tool. In this generation, Larry D. Rosen says social media has essentially become the, “training wheels for life” (qtd. Turgeon). Parents should not be worried that their children are being exposed to these different kinds of media, so long as they prepare their child for it. To reduce the negative aspects of these technologies, parents should talk to their kids at an early age, to discuss the difference between playing with an iPad, or a physical toy. (Turgeon). This prepares them for the world that they are going to be growing up in.

In some ways, social media can also help kids and teens socially.

When people are meeting each other for the first time, or you’re going to a new school/job, “Social networking can help shy teens become more comfortable and outgoing” (Turgeon). It is a lot easier for introverted kids to express themselves online, in chats, etc. then it would be to in person. This is especially true when moving to a new school, or meeting new people. But why is it easier? Well, when you are on social media, you are behind a screen. And the idea of kids being behind a screen is crucial when you are trying to understand kids, and social media. Because being behind a screen, can lead to many of the bad parts of social networking.

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The negative effects of social networking are vast, but not the same for every person, and this is where being behind a screen changes everyone’s experience online. The affects these websites can have depend on the environments kids are in. A huge part of social networking is that you can say things you wouldn’t normally say because you are behind a computer, and people don’t realize the effects of what they are saying when they aren’t doing it in real life.

(Sydell). Going back to virtual empathy, many people think that virtual empathy actually only stays online, and people on Facebook are generally nicer than they are in public (Sydell). When you are behind a screen, you feel much more empowered to say exactly what you are feeling, or even over exaggerate. Because you are simply typing online, it’s easier to say more controversial things that you would normally say out loud, and people “Can confess things to people that they would never talk about face to face, like suppressed feelings or personal thoughts” (Eleftheriou). This can be a positive thing when it pertains to shy kids. They can compliment someone on a picture, talk to them via chat, and be more involved socially, but being behind a screen can ultimately lead to what is known as cyberbullying.

Cyberbullying has many complications, and is not a black and white subject by any means. At a study done at a public high school, 88% said they had either seen cyberbullying happen, or had been cyberbullied themselves (Blair). This goes back to the crucial idea of being behind a screen, and why cyberbullying can be such a problem.

Even when you aren’t on social media, the things people say behind a screen are far different then when in public. A study done at Yale

further proved this. Essentially, the experiment that was done involved test subjects acting as “teachers” and one actor playing the student. Every time the student got a question wrong, the “teachers” had to give an electric shock to him (the actor just pretended to feel the pain of a shock-no shock was actually given). It was discovered that the more distance the shocker had from the actor, the stronger the shock they gave. When they could see him through a glass window, but couldn’t hear him “scream” the shocks they administered were said to be up to 450 volts. The more distance there is between people, the less they feel the effects of their actions-in a negative or a positive way (Eleftheriou). And this is why cyberbullying can be so prominent. It can happen to anyone, and when high school teens were interviewed it was clear that “Cyberbullying and harassment are most often perpetrated by other teens and tend to happen most to older girls and teens of either gender who have a strong online presence (Meena). There can be rude comments on people’s pictures, embarrassing photos can be uploaded, or even not liking someone’s picture can count as cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is such a gray topic, because the effects of it depend on the time and place. Some people might take a funny, but mean comment as a joke and laugh, while it may offend other kids a lot. So obviously the more you use social media, the more prone you are to being cyberbullied, but again, that’s the generation we are growing up in; a time where many kids love to be on the internet, maybe too much.

The idea of internet addiction has been around for a while, and it can potentially be a serious problem. What is interesting is that computer usage is generally encouraged. So if you have an addiction 241

problem with the internet or social media, that can be a big deal, because it’s not necessarily that bad for you. With internet addiction, you don’t necessarily see extreme effects, unlike and addiction to something like crack. (Turel). Because you don’t really see the effects of using the internet too much, “Young adults, particularly teenagers tended to be unaware of just how much time they really spent on social networking sites and the effect this might have on their academic performance and social interaction” (Meena). And the use of the internet is still going up, In 2009 the average social network user spent 5 ½ hours per month on social networking sites, this is triple the amount of time people spent on other online things like web browsing (Meena).Yet this was in 2009, and these numbers have likely gone up even more.

Because of all this time being spent on the internet, there was a clear correlation amongst kids who frequently checked Facebook, and lower grades. (Turgeon). In a study done in another high school, 1 quarter of the 200 kids fell into the category of having frequent problems, because of the excessive use of social media websites (Meena). So clearly, at least in some cases, this addiction is real. But what makes our bodies wired to enjoy this so much? Harvard has the answer.

A Harvard study found that the act of disclosing information on social media sites activates the same part of the brain that is associated with pleasure. Disclosing this information can give us the same feelings we get from activates that include: eating good food, getting money, or even having sex. Parts of the Brain associated with rewards were also strongly engaged when people were talking about

themselves, and this same part of the brain was not engaged at all when someone was talking about someone else. And this is also true when people are talking in real life. When people were told to share their own personal thoughts that would then be shared with a friend of family, the same reward region of the brain was very active. But when they were told that no one was going to hear their thoughts, the activity in that region of the Brain went down. Test subjects even turned down money (a few cents) to talk about someone else, so instead they could talk about themselves. Harvard (and anyone else who read this) could now conclude that “Our brain considers self-disclosure to be a rewarding experience” (New.) This is what can make social media so addicting. Our brain is essentially wired to enjoy social networking, in the same way people love chocolate. This can be an issue because if most people’s brains are wired to enjoy it so much, everyone needs to know how to handle it.

There are also psychological problems that can occur because of excessive media use. Parents who said their kids (4-8 years old) who used media like internet, music and video games all experienced a level of anxiety problems or depression (Turgeon). But sometimes even people who don’t use social media excessively can run into problems; all it can take is one post.

It has become clear that everything people put online is permanent.

You never know when people will check what you have done over the internet, this could affect a job interview, applications to schools and especially athletes. For instance, in 2009 a school teacher in Georgia posted a picture of her at a bar with beer and wine on Facebook. A parent ended up seeing this picture posted, and complained 242

to the school that this promoted alcohol use, and the teacher was eventually asked to leave the school (Bean). Even though the teacher was not personally affecting the kids in any way, this simple post on Facebook led to her being fired. It also can affect athletes, who often get into hot water for posting things they should not have.

Tom Izzo, the head coach for the Michigan St. basketball team, had this to say about social media, “If this was HBO, I would get more in depth about how much I despise it because I still, and I'm going to say this, I think it hurts kids" (qtd. Wetzel). Social media allows people to put things online that are permanent quite quickly, allowing many college athletes to receive criticism in an instant. Tom Izzo continued to say that “"I told my players [before the opening game of the season], it you beat Kentucky you're going to have 10,000 fans tweeting you and you are going to have to deal with that, Then if you lose to Kentucky, because we love the negativity in our society, you're going to have 100,000 fans tweeting you telling you how bad you are, well, just think about that … that was not easy for them to deal with (qtd. Wetzel). And what every fan posted on their twitter, Facebook, or Instagram was there for essentially ever, which can be very impactful on student athletes. But this is how people communicate these days, they talk about the big game via social media, instead of in person. And this happens especially with kids, which can have long term affects.

Social networking has completely changed the way kids are interacting with each other as they grow up. In many studies done, it has been noted that outdoor activities amongst teens such as outdoor games, visiting friends, going to zoos/museums etc. were much less

common ways of social interaction, because of social networking (Meena). This can have a whole complexity of problems with how kids develop into adults. It is an important skill to be able to communicate with people in real life, and if kids are mostly used to doing it online this can be pretty awkward. These days it is not uncommon to see a group of friends “hanging out,” but the group of 7-8 kids are all sitting around looking down at their phones. In a recent study done by Andrew K. Przybylski and Netta Weinstein from the University of Essex, they discovered that “simply having a phone nearby, without even checking it, can be detrimental to our attempts at interpersonal connection” (Lee Lin). This is something people, especially teachers, have noticed in their high schools, and educators view on social networking sites are quite important.

Dr. Adriana Smyth, a science teacher, had an interesting response in terms of social networking. She said that social media sites rarely distract her, and that she only uses them when she’s bored, or waiting in line or at the doctor’s office when is nothing else to do. She uses Facebook about 3 times a week, but only to see what other people posted. When asked about how she sees social media affecting students she said that, “We (teachers) never really will know how students are using social media so telling them how to use it may not be very helpful.” She felt that although there can be serious problems with social networking, they are so rare that there doesn’t need to be a full scale intervention with kids about it. Maybe a little info here or there. Tony Pickering, a Spanish teacher, had somewhat of a similar view on social networking. He said that he uses it extremely minimally, and hasn’t gone on Facebook in months. He 243

created a Facebook in the first place because he liked the idea of connecting with old friends from college, but soon realized that there was a reason they hadn’t kept in touch. Again, he said Facebook, or other social media sites did not distract him in any way. A big point he made was that, “If you really wants to talk to someone, you should pick up the phone and call them, this generation it’s about texting and posting stuff, which replaces conversations, which is not a good thing.” For him, he doesn’t notice social media affecting kids at all because he designs his classes so that it won’t.

Rarely is a computer used, and phones are not allowed which makes it so kids have to be fully engaged in learning. His general opinion about education on social media was that it would be helpful, and time should probably be set aside. On the opposite spectrum, Brooke Wilson, an admissions staff member, was completely addicted to social media, and knew she needed to stop. She described it as a compulsion that, “I can’t control.” She said she used social media to fill idle time, but that was a big problem, especially when she has work that needs to be done. She definitely thought time should be set aside to educate kids on social media.

Most of the students interviewed felt they were addicted, or overly used these sites, but said it wasn’t necessarily a problem, it was just part of their lives. So clearly, there are a wide range of opinions out there. Some educators feel social media is not that big of a deal, while others think it’s quite an issue. And visibly, many teenagers are addicted as well, which leads us to the question, what should we do about it?

Looking at the pros and cons of social networking, it is clear at some level something should be done, and it would seem educating teens on this matter would be helpful. A good start, which one study has mentioned, says that to minimize negative effects of social media, parents should talk to kids about social media when they are young (Turgeon). If it is something they are going to be growing up with, they should be used to it, and know how to handle it. Another short term solution for teens when they get distracted while studying, are “tech breaks” which involve 10 min of HW then a break to check social media, then 10 more min of HW etc. (Turgeon). This can be extremely useful for kids if they find themselves seriously hindered by social networking websites.

Although it seems like there are many serious problems with social networking, we should not look down on social media. Growing up in the future there are so many uses for these technologies, and eventually people are going to have to accept that’s where we are headed. Social media is an incredible and useful tool in the 21st century. It’s amazing how fast news travels through websites like Twitter and Facebook, and how connected the entire world really is. Now that doesn’t mean we should sit on the computer all day long, there are clearly cases that need to be looked into, which is where education about social media is crucial. With the research that is out there, it seems to be that the cons of social media can almost be obliterated by giving good quality education about it. The physiological problems, addiction problems, and social problems only occur because these platforms are so incredibly new. By educating the future generation that will be using these media outputs, or even in244

venting them, we can limit the negative effects that we have seen so far. As this generation grows up, hopefully, everyone becomes more responsible with how they go about what they do online, and all the amazing things we can do with these technologies come through stronger. Of course there will be kids that have serious issues with using these sites, but that’s a minority group. Once all the kinks are worked out, without a question, social media will be an incredible and useful tool that keeps growing and growing.

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Blair, Elizabeth. "Online, Researcher Says, Teens Do What They've Always Done." NPR. NPR, 25 Feb. 2014. Web. 01 Apr. 2014.

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Ito, Mizuko, et al. Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out: Kids Living and Learning with New Media. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2013. Print Lee Lin, Helen. "How Your Cell Phone Hurts Your Relationships." Scientific American Global RSS. Scientific American, 4 Sept. 2012. Web. 20 May 2014.

Meena, Parth, Pankaj Mittal, and Ram Solanki. "Problematic use of Social Networking Sites among Urban School Going Teenagers." Industrial Psychiatry Journal 21.2 (2012): 94-7. ProQuest. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

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Sammy Kroner

One Course At A Time: Will it Improve High School Education?

Imagine that all your classes are coming to an end, you have a test and a presentation in biology, a test in mathematics, a test in languages, a final essay for humanities, and the regular homework assigned daily, all while also participating in a sport for two hours a day, five days a week. Imagine how stressed you’d be. Now imagine if you had one test or final project, and one class. The traditional high school schedule with 6 classes a day is used in practically every high school, and its flaws have strangely been overlooked. A solution to this problem is a scheduling system thought of in 1970

by Colorado College. This system is called the “Block Plan” and also the “One Course At A Time schedule (OCAAT),” and it allows students to take one class for 3 and a half weeks, 3 hours a day (College students opt). This scheduling system is only used in a few colleges, and has gotten positive reviews wherever it is used (The

Block Plan). But what if it were used in high school? Despite various drawbacks, the OCAAT schedule would have an overall positive effect on the education of high school students.

OCAAT allows students to go more in depth and gain a better understanding of a topic than they could ever achieve in the traditional schedule, and it is extremely effective in language and science. It is so effective in languages because of its similarity to being left in a foreign country where no one speaks English. The science curriculum can make students feel like they have a real job in science; if you were studying geology, you would be studying rocks like a professional would (Alan). This is one of the other reasons why people love the Block Plan, because of how well it can simulate real life jobs and occupations.

The Block Plan also encourages creativity among students, which is something that the traditional scheduling system isn’t as good at, given the short amount of time students have for each class (The Block Plan). Because classes last for so long, students have the time to work on larger projects that they wouldn’t be able to focus on normally (Why it’s Different).

A drawback to the Block Plan is the level of intensity it has for both students and teachers, because of the short duration of each block, “Every day is like a week in the semester system” (Bunce). Students usually have class for 3 hours a day, and then they have 6 hours of homework each night all focusing on one subject. This can be overwhelming, and some consider it to be even more difficult 247

and intense than average colleges (Dad). But the high level of difficulty can be overlooked if students enjoy the class they’re in.

traditional schedule. Systems like these could be used as well, perhaps 2-3 classes at a time could be the most effective.

Another benefit to the Block Plan is students’ enjoyment. As Colorado College, the first school to propose this plan states, “If you love your class, you’re free to obsess over it. Not your thing? It’s over in three and a half weeks and by block break, you’ll have learned a semesters worth of material. It’s a win-win.” If students already know what their favorite class is, then they can dedicate all of their time to that. If they aren’t sure what they want to do yet, then the Block Plan is a great way to see what fascinates them and what might not.

A form of the block schedule is used at the Bay School, and is a medium between the traditional schedule and the Block Plan. Instead of one course at a time, and instead of classes lasting for less than an hour, classes last for 80 minutes and students take 4 classes a day. This schedule is more popular in high schools, and a hybrid of that and the traditional schedule is used at Redwood High. But John Blaber says that he would prefer if Redwood’s schedule moved to a full block schedule, instead of the hybrid. This is because he is an English teacher, and he thinks that I ti better to have his class for longer periods of time. But he also says that language teachers would prefer to have one class a day to allow their ideas to sink in, which would mean a traditional schedule.

A reason why students can enjoy their classes so much is partially because of the interaction they have with their teachers. There is much more communication and discussion between students and faculty instead of what we have now in most schools, where the teacher sits behind a desk, following the textbook (Bunce). This change emphasizes the uniqueness of the Block Plan, and how it could help give students passion and interest in a subject.

One worry people have with the Block Plan being used in high schools is issues with behavior. John Blaber, a teacher at Redwood High school, expressed his doubts, saying that high school students aren’t as mature as college students, and that if you have a student or multiple students who misbehave, then it could ruin the class for the teacher and any students who want to learn. But to contradict this opinion, Dirk Rasmussen, a paraprofessional at Colorado College says that the behavior might depend on the high school, and that at his old school, they used a hybrid of the Block Plan and the

Another positive idea of the Block Plan is the free time that it allows.

Teachers get a mini sabbatical in between their classes, and it gives students the time to prepare for their next subject, visit their family, play sports, or just relax. And normally if a student has to miss school for a few days they fall behind in all of their classes, but with the Block Plan they can just drop the course they’re taking, and take it at a later time (Dad). This would help relieve stress among students, and make everybody’s life a bit easier.

In addition to the extra free time the Block Plan provides, it also can save time. An issue with the traditional schedule is the time lost in the transition between classes (Campbell). If schools had one class, no time would be lost in changing classes, which means more time 248

to learn. A typical transition between classes is 5 minutes, assuming you have 6 classes in one day, then there would be 5 transitions, this would mean that every day, 25 minutes are lost going between classes.

A drawback that numerous people seem to have with this system is that it is easier to forget the information learned in those 3 and a half weeks while the main focus is on another course (Rasmussen).

This is one of the main issues with the system, but the amount of understanding and knowledge that is gained from this system could outweigh the issue of memory.

The Block Plan does not work for everybody. Dirk Rasmussen said that it is best for students who are more social and not afraid to speak their mind. Classes require social interaction between the students and teachers, and somebody who is less social may have difficulty keeping up in their class. “It certainly doesn’t suit everyone, but I think that if the Block Plan can be applied appropriately, then for the right students it would certainly be a great learning opportunity” (Rasmussen). While this is true for colleges, at a high school level it could help students that aren’t social to improve their group work skills, further preparing them for their adult life. The Bay School already focuses on group work to help prepare students, but the Block Plan would put more emphasis on social interaction (Rasmussen).

The National Education Commission said that “Schools will have a design flaw as long as their organization is based on the assumption that all students can learn on the same schedule” (Irmsher).

While the Block Plan should not be used exclusively and would not work for all students, it should be used alongside the traditional schedule, with students given the choice of what type of high school they would like to attend. The Block Plan is a brilliant idea that could be extremely effective in high school students’ education if it were implemented correctly. While it is not for everyone, it would be good for the right type of person, and despite the flaws people see in it, the Block Plan would help prepare students for the real life, help them with teamwork and social skills, encourage creativity instead of textbook work, and give them an idea early on of what they want to be as adults.

Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge Alex Testa, Craig Butz, Tess Lewis, and my Mom for helping with revisions.

Bibliography Alan, Bunce. "College Students Opt for Intensive Study Many Like a 'Block' Plan for its One-Course-at-a-Time Focus, but some Say the Approach Doesn't Allow Time for New Ideas to Sink in." The Christian Science Monitor: 12. Sep 16 1996. ProQuest. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

Blaber, John. Personal Interview. 27 Apr. 2014.

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“The Block Plan” ColoradoCollege.edu. Colorado College. Web. 20 May. 2014 Campbell, Shanyce, Corliss, Brown, and Breonte Guy. Assessing Current Course Scheduling Practices of Highschools. North Carolina: Department of public instruction, 2009. PDF. Dad, Dean. “One Course at a Time.” Confessions of a community college dean. Inside Higher Ed. 2012. Web. 21 Apr 2014.

Gose, Ben. "One-Course-at-a-Time 'Block Plan' Re-Examined by College that Adopted it 25 Years Ago." The Chronicle of Higher Education 41.47 (1995): 1. ProQuest. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

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North Carolina State University, 1999. Web. 3 Apr 2014.

Irmsher, Karen. “Block Scheduling.” ERIC. 104. ED393156 Musbach, Jennifer. “Traditional Vs. Block Schedule.” University of Michigan. Saline Area School " District and Ypsilanti Public Schools, 2013. Web. 15 May. 2014 Rasmussen, Dirk. Personal Interview. 14 May. 2014.

“Why it’s Different” Coloradocollege.edu. Colorado College. Web. 20 May. 2014

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Annika Lal-Randhawa

The Challenges of Airport Security Airport security has been a controversial topic since it was increased following 9/11. After the two planes crashed into the World Trade Center, the American government decided to heighten security measures. Scanners and pat-downs soon became a normal sight in airports. Although these security techniques may keep passengers safer than metal detectors alone, many people view them as unnecessary, inefficient, and unhelpful. After researching this topic this trimester, I was able to understand airport security from the behind-the-scenes perspective of a scanning technology company, as well as TSA officers, flight attendants, and travelers. From interviews and online research, I have concluded that airport security is a necessary, but imperfect way to ensure passenger safety.

The debate around passenger security centers around three main issues: privacy, health, and efficiency. In addition, there is a debate as to whether TSA is overly focused on the passengers versus other areas of airport security.

Opinions of airport security range from hatred to applause. Some passengers believe that the invasiveness of the technology is not worth the security. Others believe that the technology is ineffective

and does not work well. Designing a new type of technology that is both effective and non-invasive is a challenge. Websites such as dontscan.us portray scanners in their worst light, “This technology uses radiation to penetrate a person's clothes and create a nude image of the person.” Websites like these may not provide all the necessary facts. The information is tailored to fit the argument and is trying to make the viewer think poorly of the security system. How much is true?

Privacy is the main concern for many travelers. Rapiscan, a scanning technology company, designed a backscatter scanner that uses a pencil-sized x-ray beam to scan the passengers body and sends the image to a computer. Rapiscan has been replaced by millimeter wave technology, sold by ProVision, which is currently used in airport scanners. Unlike backscatter x-ray scans, millimeter wave technology “emits energy more akin to microwaves.” Both scanners create the same type of image. The images taken of the passengers using backscatter machines are more detailed than those taken from scanners that use millimeter wave technology. In fact according to Sanjeev Mehta, the Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Rapiscan, “the problem with the imagery was it was actually very good, so it shows human body parts.” Supposedly, the officer who is looking at the images of the passenger’s body does not have the chance to identify the passenger because the computer and the viewer are not located at the inspection site.

Many passengers still think this is a problem and that their privacy is still being invaded. Mehta believes that a logical next step would be to explore the use of computers in reviewing these images. How251

ever, computers do not work like humans and may mistake something to be a weapon, causing more harm than help. Rapiscan decided to opt out of creating a computer algorithm to scan the images. The company believed that it wasn’t possible. Mehta says, “Much bigger companies, 10 times our size, are still in the game.”

Companies such as ProVision are still working to create a system like this. Pat-downs are widely accepted to be intrusive of personal privacy. However, for passengers who opt out of or trigger scanners or metal detectors, it seems like the only fair alternative.

machines are not intelligent enough to identify safety hazards in luggage or on fully-clothed people. This problem is a challenge to fix.

TSA further slows down the process by not managing the lines, machines, or staff properly. Efficiency is a problem that could potentially be easy to solve. Equipment companies are working to make the process less cumbersome, but TSA needs to improve the management of its operations. One thing that TSA should be given credit for is substantially increasing the TSA PreCheck group, which helps reduce delays.

Health is another outstanding concern for passengers. Some believe that the scanners pose a health risk. David Ropeik, the author of How Risky Is It, Really? Why Our Fears Don’t Always Match the Facts, says “Radiation is undetectable by our senses, which also makes any risk more frightening.” This is true even though a passenger’s radiation exposure from scanners is relatively low. According to Robert Shmerling, M.D., the average person is exposed to 360 millirems (mrems) of radiation per year and going through a backscatter airport scanner exposes passengers to 0.1 mrems. Passengers are actually exposed to more radiation when riding on a plane than going through a scanner. Travelers should be exposed to this type of data so they can arrive at their own conclusion that scanners are in no way a health risk. This would benefit the public and make TSA more credible.

Another important area of airport security takes place behind the scenes. This includes the security measures that involve employees, baggage, cargo, and contractors (other people involved in the airport system). Some assert that these groups are checked much less than the average passenger. Evidence suggests otherwise.

Flight attendants use a system called “Known Crew Member”. As their website, knowncrewmember.org, puts it, “The program expedites flight-crew member access to sterile areas of airports, reduces passenger-screening line congestion, enhances security, and makes airport checkpoint screening more efficient for all who depend on air transportation.” Crew members are checked and screened and are given an ID that can be used at 40 airports across the U.S. This is the flight crew equivalent of TSA PreCheck for passengers. Although KCM “strengthens partnerships and allows the TSA to focus on travelers whom we know less about or who present a greater risk to aviation security”, it can still be unsafe since, as a flight attendant told me, flight attendants and pilots don’t get checked at all the other airports, especially the smaller ones. An-

Efficiency is a key concern for travelers. Ask anyone, there will always be complaints of how long the lines are for the security check.

It is a time consuming and cumbersome process to remove shoes, jackets, laptops, and liquids. This is necessary because the security

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other concern for many passengers is the security checks for employees. Employees who work in the airport building are checked as much as passengers are, so employees should not be a big concern. Security checks for luggage and cargo work differently than passenger checks. Rafi Sela, a security expert based in Israel, believes, “you can’t look for a needle in a haystack by checking each straw individually.” However, American airports continue to check each bag and all cargo individually. It may not be efficient, but so far has kept passengers safe.

While the system works pretty well, there are a few improvement opportunities. For example, even though it is a challenge, the scanners can be designed to be less invasive and have even lower health risks. Computers could be designed to read the scans and determine risks without a human ever seeing the images. The scanners should be designed to be less cumbersome by not requiring the removal of clothing layers, shoes, electronics, and liquids. TSA should improve their operations to minimize delays. Flight crew security in smaller airports likely needs to be tightened. Equipment companies are working hard to improve, but can TSA raise their game?

Airport security may not be as efficient as we would hope, but it poses minimal health and privacy risks and does a good job of keeping passengers safe.

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Baum, Phillip. "Security Depends on Many Things." The New York Times. The New York Times, 23 Nov. 2010. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.

"Drastic Changes in Airport Security After 9/11 Stir Controversy." PBS. PBS, 8 Sept. 2011. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.

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Ropeik, David. "Travelers' New Fears." The New York Times. The New York Times, 29 Aug. 2011. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.

Schneier, Bruce. "A Waste of Money and Time." The New York Times. The New York Times, 17 Oct. 2012. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.

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Shmerling, Robert. "Airport Scanners: Are They a Danger to Your Health?" MSN Healthy Living. Microsoft, n.d. Web. 21 May 2014.

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254

Tess Lewis

Behavioral Medications for Pets For tens of thousands of years pets have been man’s best friends.

They are our loyal companions, our protectors, and our rescuers, all without ever holding a grudge. Unceasingly cheerful, they provide fun and companionship, asking for little in return other than food, shelter, and affection. But with the advances in medicine and understanding of our pets, it has become clear that they may need more from us than we’ve thought. In this way, the field of behavioral medication for pets came about, along with all its benefits and challenges. While veterinary behavioral medication can be used to better the lives of both pets and their owners, additional safeguards are needed to curb over-prescription, and to ensure that drugs do not become a substitute for the training required to address a range of challenging, but normal, pet behaviors.

Some of the different behavioral problems that are now being treated with medication are timidity, noise phobias, separation anxiety, compulsive behavior, and cognitive dysfunction. These behaviors are treated with a variety of medications including BZs, MAOIs,

TCAs, and SSRIs, many of which are also used on humans to treat anxiety and mood disorders (“Behavioral”).

Before even beginning to talk about the pros and cons of practical administration of pet behavioral medications, it is important to look at the industry they come from. In the past four years sales in the pet medication market have increased 35%, and in 2011 Americans spent almost $7 billion on pills for their pets (Bury). What could be the cause of such a dramatic increase in spending; are we just beginning to love our pets more than we used to? One explanation posed by David Lummis, a senior pet market analyst for the market research firm Packaged Facts, is that we have always loved our pets this much, “My theory is that it’s always been there, but it’s been sanctioned now. It’s not just the crazy cat lady. It’s marketers and all of this consumer advertising that have made it O.K. to spend tons of money on your pet,” (Vlahos). Companies have taken notice of the trend of humanization in American society and are lining up to make a profit. Humanization is defined simply as ‘to make human’, or in this case, to begin diagnosing our pets with psychological conditions which until recently have barely been recognized as human mental issues.

However, humanization is not the worst thing to come out of society’s change in mindset towards our pets; the most threatening idea in the industry today is that through these pills pets will become perfectly behaved. Society today is so controlled that we are beginning to want our pets the same way: follow an exact schedule, don’t bark or be annoying, don’t show any signs of aggression, and many 255

other animal behaviors that have become annoyances in modern life. People seem to be forgetting that animals are not appliances, they don’t come with a remote control. In fact, says Dr. Nicholas Dodman, founder of the Tufts University Animal Behavior Clinic, many things that people treat as behavioral problems in dogs are not problems at all, “A lot of the ‘behavior problems’ we see are actually normal behaviors for the animal,” (Vlahos). Once we begin treating normal animal behaviors with drugs the role of pets in society and in relation to humans will change drastically for the worse.

sues. In his New York Times article author James Vlahos quotes a pharmaceutical company executive who did not wish to be named, “All of the behavioral issues that we have created in ourselves, we are now creating in our pets because they live in the same unhealthy environments that we do,” he said, “That’s why there is a market for these drugs,” (Vlahos). If you consider what the average dog or cat’s life is like, spending hours alone in a quiet, empty house each day, it is not unreasonable to suggest that domestication is the cause of many issues we see in our pets.

This troubling possibility serves as evidence for the argument that the administration of behavioral medications to pets is a dangerous field to explore. Assuming Dodman is correct, and many of these problem behaviors are actually normal, it suggests that said problems can be controlled through training before resorting to drugs.

The basic policy of behavioral training is to ignore bad behaviors and reward good behaviors. With this theory, exercise, diet, and tough love will be just as effective as medication. The process of training your pets can also be useful for more than modifying behavior; the training process helps strengthen the bond between pet and owner and can be emotionally beneficial for both parties. Dr. Ian Dunbar, a veterinarian and founder of Sirius Dog Training, believes that another side effect of medication will be the loss of this relationship, “Training is basically about forming a relationship, but for some people, that interactive process is now giving the dog a pill,” (Vlahos).

But, just because we ourselves may be the cause of the problems does not mean we don’t have a responsibility to fix them. The most pressing issue in the prescription of behavioral medication is the fact that most vets today are not properly trained to administer said medication. Dr. Jeannine Berger, director of behavior resources at the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said this about veterinary training, “…In order to understand psychotropic medications, a veterinarian needs special training. He or she needs clear understanding of pharmacological actions and interactions with other medications. Furthermore, owners need to be counseled carefully about expectations and outcomes,” (Berger). Currently, veterinarians are not sufficiently trained to be able to correctly prescribe these medications.

Along with the theory that problem behaviors are simply natural, some people propose that our pets are merely mirroring our own is-

Along with the many problems associated with these medications, there are also significant benefits. The HSUS estimates that approximately 3-4 million dogs and cats are euthanized each year in the United States (“The Humane”). Medication can often be the last resort for owners; the only alternative to giving up their pets to a shel256

ter. In this way medication could save pets lives and keep them off the streets. Medication can also help pets be happier. Many common problems such as repetitive behaviors and separation anxiety are not simply annoying to owners, they are harmful and distressing for the pets themselves. Medications can reduce fear and anxiety, making pets happier and less stressed. As owners, we have a responsibility to help make our pets happy when we can. And although training can often be a better option, there are several concerning problems with the pet training industry. Carlo Siracusa, director of the Small Animal Behavior Service at the veterinary hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, believes that these issues are in fact more worrisome than the issues surrounding medication, “Currently, the use of behavioral medications for pets is less concerning than the use of inappropriate behavioral modification. While the prescription of drugs is regulated and restricted, there is no regulation on the use of training for behavior modification. Selfproclaimed behaviorists, without any certified expertise, may use dangerous, inhumane and unscientific training techniques. This inappropriate training can cause permanent damage to the animal and its behavior, often far more severe than the potential side effects of psychoactive drugs,” (Siracusa). For these reasons, behavioral medications are an important option to consider when treating your pet’s issues.

gral part of the treatment of behavior problems. They can help lower the anxiety level, so that behavior modification training can be more effective,” (Berger). With behavioral medication working alongside the appropriate training, humans will be taking a significant step forward in taking correct responsibility for our pet’s happiness. " "

In conclusion, medications should be used as a supplement to proper training when treating behavioral issues in pets. The drugs will help make animals more comfortable and more adaptable to training. As Dr. Jeannine Berger says, “Medications can be an inte257

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Alex Mai

Alternative Medicine and Pharmaceutical Distrust According to homeopathic medicine practitioners, diluting a cure makes it stronger. In the UK, homeopathic medicine is a rapidly growing market (Swayne 140). How could a practice so highly criticized by those who practice orthodox medicine become so popular?

Well, the popularity of homeopathic medicine could relate to how pharmaceutical companies and doctors have treated patients. Pharmaceutical companies’ business-like approach to research is ostracizing the public and causing mistrust in the pharmaceutical industry, while some doctors’ beliefs regarding how much power a patient should have in making health related decisions is making patients feel that medicine is impersonal. The public belief of what the pharmaceutical industry should do and what pharmaceutical companies actually work do not line up. Pharmaceutical companies are businesses that focus on making money; the public believes that they

should be focused on saving lives and doing research. Although it is necessary for pharmaceutical companies to place some focus on money, making money a priority can violate the ethics of medicine.

By acting like a business and placing their focus on making money, they ostracize the public and cause people to look to alternative medicine, such as homeopathic medicine. However, even though pharmaceutical companies are not trustworthy, they are better than alternative medicine.

Samuel Hahnemann discovered alternative medicine after he found that his remedies became more effective when he diluted them. He then proceeded to keep diluting the remedy, discovering that it became more powerful as he diluted the medicine (Roberts 1). In fact, the remedy was still found effective even though the resulting solution was 100% water (Roberts 1). His remedies were things that caused symptoms of the sickness that Samuel wanted to cure in a healthy person (Swayne 17). These “remedies” would then supposedly cure the sickness in a sick person (17). “Homeopaths would argue about the ‘memory’ of water… could possibly record some sort of imprint of another molecule,” which would supposedly explain how diluting the cure until the solution is 100% water would somehow be an effective form of medicine (Roberts 2).

Alternative medicine has no scientific evidence to prove how and whether it works. In 2005, a trial conducted on 110 homeopathic treatments showed all effects of the drugs to be similar to the effects of the placebo, and no study in the past 150 years has showed any contrary findings (“Homeopathic” 2). The FDA doesn’t have to 259

approve the homeopathic drugs because the ingredients are so diluted that there are no effects to be concerned with (“Homeopathic” 2). Still, homeopathic remedy supporters insist that the only thing that alternative medicine shares with orthodox medicine is the beneficial effects the medicine has on the organ (Swayne 3). “Alternative medicine is believed to be safer, more natural, and generally more compressible to the patient” because just a few simple treatments can supposedly reverse any health problems (Roberts 108, Cargill 4). However, there is not enough evidence to show that they work (“Homeopathic” 2).

The problem with alternative medicine starts when it is used as a substitute for orthodox medicine. Often, when faced with the threat of cancer, patients will turn to alternative medicine because they are not satisfied with the cures orthodox medicine has to offer (TPH 43).

One case in which a patient refused to take orthodox medicine because of this is the case of Tyrell Dueck, who developed cancer at 13. However, when confronted with the treatments orthodox medicine could give him: chemotherapy and amputation, he and his parents refused and sought help from alternative medicine (TPH 43). It was not until the Canadian government intervened that Tyrell started to take chemotherapy, but it was too late and Tyrell’s cancer spread to his lungs, causing his to die four months later (TPH 44).

The use of alternative medicine instead of orthodox medicine can also be accidental due to the two types of drugs being sold side by side (“Homeopathic…” 2). One company guilty of this is Zycam, who likes to sell their homeopathic remedies next to their orthodox remedies and (“Homeopathic…” 2).

On the surface, its clear why some people would prefer alternative medicine to orthodox. According to one practitioner, alternative medicine claims to be able to help in every situation, even in making the patient feel as young and good as they want (Cargill 9). Alterantive medicine claims to be able to heal many more issues outside of orthodox medicine’s scope. Finally, the use of alternative medicine shows a deep distrust of orthodox medicine (Roberts 108). Many practitioners describe that orthodox medicine is rigid and invades the body while alternative medicine is flexible and simply enhances the body’s natural healing process (Cargill 10, Swayne 141). It is also easy to understand. Overdose is not possible because the dosage quantity doesn’t actually matter (Swayne 3). Whereas in orthodox medicine laymen are afraid to speak their opinion because of the scientific jargon used in medicine, in alternative medicine practitioners find the patient’s every opinion regarding the disease important (BF 21).

As the pharmaceutical industry currently stands, the way doctors and patients interact is very impersonal. When a doctor is confronted with a moral dilemma, a doctor immediately assumes it is his or her responsibility, ignores the patient's autonomy, and assumes he or she will be passive because of the doctor’s medical knowledge (Roberts 18). The doctor will then make a decision based mostly on scientific knowledge with very little attention to the patient’s interests (18). When faced with an issue such as abortion, the pharmaceutical industry refers to principles instead of the moral dilemma, which has earned bad publicity (19). The difficulty with these particular issues is that ethical issues are not the same as le260

gal (16). This idea of patients having a certain degree of autonomy is a recent ideal that protects a patient’s ability to make his or her own decisions (14). However, as medicine has gotten more advanced, the patient has become increasingly ostracized and less autonomous (29). This has led to people feeling that the medical system is “so huge and impersonal that each patient feels like a forgotten cog in a machine” (Cargill 3). Overtime, it has become tempting for the doctor to think that he or she knows what is best for the patient because the patient does not have a medical education (otherwise they would be a doctor) (Roberts 20 - 23). As a result, patients have begun to question everyday decisions that their doctors make and looked to alternatives (Healy 255). One of the largest problems with the system currently in place is the impersonality of how patients are treated. Patients have described that they felt like doctors were simply “tinkerers” that had no interest in curing the patient and were only concerned with testing whether or not their methods would work (Cargill 5). The problem is that the method that doctors approach curing a patient is the same method that researchers use to solve a problem. Doctors make a hypothesis based on their observations and then take action (BF 20). Orthodox medicine reduces the patient to a “biological entity” because of the scientific and technological aspects of it, and can therefore sometimes strip humans of dignity and autonomy (Roberts 108). Orthodox medicine “separate[es] us into different body systems each with their different specialisms and treatments” while “homeopathy requires that we take the patient’s experience of their illness seriously in all its individual detail, in all its often implausible individual detail” (Swayne 7).

This relationship between the doctor and the patient has caused

some patients to turn to alternative medicine because they feel alienated by orthodox medicine (Roberts 108). According to Roberts, “The use of alternative medicine is not simply grounded in ignorance but reflects the failure of orthodox medicine to meet the needs and expectations of patients and the public” (Roberts 23).

Sometimes pharmaceutical companies allow money to get in the way of the health and wellbeing of the public, which can understandably make some people distrustful. One form of putting money in front of public wellbeing comes in the form of bribing doctors, or conflicting interests. One of the major figures that pharmaceutical companies manipulate for monetary purposes are doctors (IPIPM).

Although the patient is the end user of the product, the doctor is the one that controls what product the patient uses and how often (IPIPM). Because of this, pharmaceutical companies offer doctors free samples of their drug with a reward for them if they manage to prescribe a certain number of people the samples (Pedro). Such rewards have included but are not limited to: free tickets with their family on vacation, upgraded seats when flying, and money (IPIPM). Despite the disputable ethics of this practice, it is very common. A survey conducted in 2011 in Canada showed that, on average, a doctor accepted 6 gifts per a year to prescribe a certain drug (IPIPM).

In fact, studies and statistics have shown that it is more effective to advertise a drug this way than to show its benefits scientifically to a doctor (IPIPM). The problem with this technique, other than the ethics of it, is that the doctor is supposed to respect the patient’s autonomy in their health, and by trying to prescribe certain drugs to the patient, the patient’s interests might become secondary (Johar 2).

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The patient’s autonomy is one of the most important things for a doctor to uphold because the doctor has more authority in health decisions because of his or her education, and it is his or her responsibility to not abuse that (Roberts 21). No matter what, the doctor is to maintain that the patient is the center of his or her focus and not a pharmaceutical company trying to sell drugs (Johar 5). That is why this situation is known as a conflict or interests (Pedro). In this situation, in order to keep the conflict legal, the doctor must state that he is getting gifts from the pharmaceutical company to prescribe this drug (Pedro). However, it is clear that the pharmaceutical is not trying to sway doctors for the interests of the public but rather the interests of themselves.

Another form of letting money being prioritized over wellbeing is when pharmaceutical companies violate ethics that date back to the first ever doctor, Hippocrates, in ancient Greece (Johar). In a few pharmaceutical test trials for a drug, researchers and pharmaceutical companies have violated the concept that is a doctor shall do no harm (Johar). In these cases, financial interests have competed with research interests, which has been known to “hurt research subjects, embarrass researchers, and severely damage an institution’s reputation. Even one or two widely publicized research fiascos involving financial conflicts can spoil the trust of the public in our entire research enterprise” (Kassirer 155). A common problem that can cause bad publicity is the failure to communicate real risks and benefits during a trial (Roberts 23). In 1999, Jesse Gelsinger died in a clinical trial from a gene therapy test and the media exploded. Under investigation, it turned out that the gene therapy that the re-

searchers from the University of Pennsylvania were testing had caused the same death in monkeys and severe side effects in other patients, and Jesse had not been informed of any of these (Kassirer 159). In addition, the researchers proceeded with the tests even though Jesse’s conditions should have excluded him. As it turned out, both the University and Dr. Wilson, the principal investigator, had financial stakes in the outcome of the trial, which proves that “financial incentives can and do influence how study questions are framed and the very design of experiments” (Kassirer 158, 167).

The FDA revealed hundreds of similar incidents that went unreported in a nationwide investigation (Kassirer 159). In one victim’s word, “As lay people we assume doctors in research are doing this for the betterment of mankind, but in this case there were billions of dollars that could have been made. That was something I felt we had a right to know” (Kassirer 160). One of the problems that caused these incidents was that US science policy in the past has been light handed, placing “trust in the integrity of faculty and scientists” (Kassirer 161). In the 1960s, there was no review board to judge the ethics of medical research (Healy 254). As these incidents have shown, sometimes trust is not sufficient. Today, there must be informed consent to prevent patients from going into tests without knowing the risks of the trial (Roberts 76). However, sometimes, when a test is being explained and the placebo or control group is brought up, test subjects can be scared away because of the difficulty of explaining the concept of the placebo (Roberts 75).

By acting like a business in an industry that is viewed to be one that should be focused on saving lives and doing research, pharmaceuti262

â&#x20AC;¨

cal companies have lost public trust. Not only are they a business, pharmaceutical companies have also endangered the lives of the public by prioritizing money and have violated the ethics of medicine. However, although pharmaceutical companies are not worthy of trust, the alternative to refusing to trust and therefore use orthodox medicine produced by pharmaceutical companies is much worse.

Works Cited Bozzette, Samuel A., Rebecca D'amato, Sally Morton, Katherine Harris, Robin Meili, and Roger Taylor. Pharmaceutical Technology Assessment for Managed Care: Current Practice and Suggestions for Improvement. Santa Monica, CA: Rand, 2001. Questia School.

Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

Cargill, Marie. Acupuncture: A Viable Medical Alternative. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1994. Questia School. Web. 11 June 2014.

Carpenter, Daniel. Reputation and Power: Organizational Image and Pharmaceutical Regulation at the FDA. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 2010. Questia School. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

Ceccoli, Stephen J. Pill Politics: Drugs and the FDA. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2004. Questia School. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

Goozner, Merrill. The $800 Million Pill: The Truth behind the Cost of New Drugs. Berkeley, CA: U of California, 2004. Questia School.

Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

Healy, David. Let Them Eat Prozac: The Unhealthy Relationship between the Pharmaceutical Industry and Depression. New York: New York UP, 2004. Questia School. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

"Homeopathic Drugs: Look-Alike Meds." Consumer reports 06 2008: 45. ProQuest. Web. 29 May 2014.

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Johar, Kanika. "An Insider's Perspective: Defense of the Pharmaceutical Industry's Marketing Practices." Albany Law Review 76.1 (2012): 299+. Questia School. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

Kassirer, Jerome P. On the Take: How Medicine's Complicity with Big Business Can Endanger Your Health. New York: Oxford UP, 2004. Questia School. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

Moynihan, Ray, and Alan Cassels. Selling Sickness: How the Drug Companies Are Turning Us All into Patients. Crows Nest, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin, 2005. Questia School. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

Roberts, Steve. "A Homeopathic Approach to Homeopathy." Australasian Science 03 2008: 46. ProQuest. Web. 29 May 2014.

Salek, Sam, and Andrew Edgar, eds. Pharmaceutical Ethics. New York: Wiley, 2002. Questia School. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

Schacter, Bernice. The New Medicines: How Drugs Are Created, Approved, Marketed, and Sold. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2006. Questia School. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

Swayne, Jeremy. Homeopathic Method: Implications for Clinical Practice and Medical Science. New York: Churchill Livingstone, 1998. Questia School. Web. 11 June 2014.

Taneja, Girish. "Impact of Pharmaceutical Industry Promotion Mix on Doctor's Prescribing Behaviour." Asia-Pacific Business Review 4.4 (2008): 82+. Questia School. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

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Gabriel Perko-Engel

Myth and Monsters When most people hear the word “monster,” the thoughts that jump into their head are of a savage beast tearing across a landscape.

Upon encountering this hypothetical monster, most people would flea or have some sense of heroism and feel the need to fight back.

For some people, the monster would have invoked images of demons or Satan, both of which are symbols of evil and immorality. In either of these scenarios, the thoughts and images called upon when hearing “monster” are of an inhuman entity that one could easily identify as separate from mankind. However, modern fiction tells a very different story than what one may think. Monsters are no longer depicted as external entities for mankind to battle. Instead, they have become mere perversions of humanity for people to make peace with within themselves.

The easiest way to understand the nature of the modern monster is important to compare it with the classical concepts from which most people's ideas of them are made. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a monster as “a strange or horrible imaginary creature.”

This definition certainly fits with the examples of monsters given earlier, but an important question remains. What is the purpose of mon-

sters? Since they are imaginary by definition, people must have had some reason for creating them in the first place. To discover what purpose monsters serve as well as how and why they could have changed, we will have to uncover what makes them important.

To do this, we will have to expand our search to include mythical creatures as a whole.

Classical mythical creatures is a rather broad subject to interpret, especially when we are only trying to uncover the truths behind modern monsters. However, we do not have to interpret every GrecoRoman legend in order to understand the basic makeup of lore. Instead, we only need to have a general idea of where these stories came from.

According to Bryn Nelson, the ideas of what made up such mythical creatures as giants, Cyclopes or even gods could have been the discovery of enormous, ancient, bones at the locations of several prominent sites in Greek legends. Such discoveries could have provided distinct images to ancient peoples of what oral traditions were already creating, deities and beliefs that feature prominent human traits and moralities of the times. Given that positive or (at least) human traits were associated with powerful beings that most people would not call monsters, it is only obvious to assume that such negative or inhuman traits would be assigned to monsters and beasts and that both of which would be clearly inhuman in one or more ways.

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Fast forward to modern times and a new issues arises. Now, most people don't believe in deities and legends. And indeed, many people don't even believe in or agree with the Christian God alone. For those that would be apt to believe in or at least honor the concept of monsters, this creates an interesting dilemma. The scenario is that there may not be a human to assign commonly human traits to, leaving the inhuman traits without an inhuman alternative as well. The effect this could have on modern literature and fiction, is a change in the types of stories that monsters and mythical creatures are featured in.

If you wish to understand what has changed in the presentation of fantasy and mythical fiction for young adults, you need only check online or visit your local bookstore. In doing so, you’ll find that most of the stories fall into five major archetypes. Stories involving zombies, stories related to vampires, pieces about werewolves, and works on the subject of the supernatural (Bowman) as well as more traditional fantasy. For the sake of simplicity, first four archetypes of modern young adult mythical literature are being catagorized as being paranormal literature.

Obviously, there will be some confusion as to the differences between supernatural and paranormal literature. By name, they are very similar. However, in this case paranormal is referring to anything beyond the ordinary, especially in relation to transformations within a single being. For this definition, paranormal includes supernatural, as well as the first three archetypes of modern teen monster fiction.

In my definition, the supernatural archetype relates to stories involving ghosts, wraiths or anything beyond the grave in that manner.

This is obviously one of the smallest of the four main archetypes, but is still prominent enough to be worth mentioning.

In order to understand why these four types of paranormal creatures had become so prevalent in modern fiction, it is important to look into the origins, traits and similarities of each.

Of these four archetypes, the one trait most prevalent amongst them all is the idea of a transformation of sorts, turning a regular human being into the specified monster. This is in stark contrast to the original ideas of monsters that were mentioned earlier. These are not inhuman beasts, so much as they are perversions of what it means to be human.

Of these modern archetypes, the one that most clearly exemplifies the perversion of a human being would have to be the zombies.

Zombies, often called “the living dead,” were traditionally not deceased at all. On the contrary, they were still living creatures, once human, now with no control over their minds. The original story behind them was that they were created via a combination of African paganism and Christianity called vodun (or voodoo) (Patricia D).

In modern times, zombie stories have evolved slightly and become far more widespread. Now in literature varying from Max Brooks’ critically acclaimed novel: World War Z, to parodies and reinterpretations such as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, by Jane Austen or Alice in Zombieland, by Gena Showalter.

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Interestingly, zombies and zombie stories have grown dramatically in modern times. With media coverage rivaled only by their more seductive cousins, zombies have begun to appear in books, movies, video games and many other types of popular media as well.

This leaves the question, what makes zombies so interesting and their stories so relatable? One, Daniel P. Horan believes he has the answer. In his work “Faith, Hope and Zombies,” Horan describes how zombies are an “allegory for human sinfulness” and that stories such as World War Z, call upon old Christian imagery and strike more traditional cords with the readers. He then continues to argue that one of the reasons that zombie stories have become such a popular archetype in literature is that they mirror various trends in our culture, such as the growth and hunger of capitalism.

Unfortunately, even with this added insight, we do not yet fully understand either what changes have occurred in the depictions of monsters in modern times or why these changes took place. To do this, we will have to look further into the other three paranormal archetypes.

Besides zombies, only vampires have had such a profound impact on our culture or become nearly as widespread. Our culture’s obsession with vampires is far older than our love of zombies. As a matter of fact, vampire stories existed long before such works as Dracula, by Bram Stoker and are at least as old as ancient Greece (Patricia D). However, just because our love of vampires has been around for so long, it hasn’t necessarily remained unchanged. Instead, vampire stories have become increasingly complex and have gained far more emotional depth (Hirschman). This may, of course,

be a mere need for each new story to stand out in some way, but it also implies and increased emotional connection and correspondence between the human consumers and the stories they take in.

With more emotional depth in paranormal monster stories, it seems only likely that the purpose they serve in society is getting larger and larger, that they are filling an ever increasing void and to some extent, losing their sense of fear (John J Miller). To see this void, one needs only look at the increasing number of shows about the paranormal (Mark Flowers) and realize that many people have an ever growing need and obsession with these shows. But, what’s causing the increase in shows and works about the paranormal?

Some research shows that shows about the paranormal justify the belief in them (Hill). What this means is that, despite our society becoming ever more scientifically minded, there are more and more people that have some sort of belief or at least respect in the paranormal. How can this be? Well, some studies have pointed to an increase in belief of the paranormal being tied to an increase in anxiety as a whole. And in modern times, people have never experienced more stress and anxiety or had more going on in their lives.

This is an age of anxiety (Mark Flowers).

What this means for monsters, is that there is an increase in both the number of stories for them to be involved with, as well as the void that they are commonly used to fill. This explains the surprising amount of stories that still involve monsters, fantasy and the paranormal, but not their current state within our society. In order to fully understand this, we must finish looking at the modern arche267

types that monsters are divided into, as well as how evolution of monsters even occurs.

The remaining of the three most related paranormal archetypes is that relating to werewolves. Historically, the roots of werewolves were likely a combination of two diseases and disorders. The more frequent one referred to by which hunters as lycanthropy, is a serious psychological disorder, the belief that one is a dog or wolf. The other disorder is a skin condition called porphyria that drastically changes the texture of an individualâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s skin and causes them to become extremely sensitive to sunlight. This meant that people with the condition could only head out at night, assisting to the myth.

Over time, the original myth evolved into what we commonly accept today, that a victim is bitten and then transforms into a half wolf creature every night of the full moon. Interestingly, the modern story of the werewolf isn't the only monster story that involves the victim being bitten to transform. In fact, all of the archetypes we have gone over thus far involve a bite of some form.

Under closer evaluation, it is easy to see that the nature of the bite relates to the nature of monster, which gives us insight into what each type of monster we've looked at so far represents. In most modern myth, when a human is bitten by a zombie, it spreads an infection that turns the person into an animated corpse with an unending appetite to continue the disease's spread.

With vampires, the transformation is a little more complex. Currently, the vampire infection is not just spread by being forced upon

a victim. It also involves a transformation of the victim as a person, rejecting what they once knew. When a vampire bites another person on the neck, the victim's blood is replaced with a new vampiric source that inverts them as a person and provides powers in accordance. This provides insight into both the seductive qualities of vampires as well as their connection to the dark side of both the individual and society as a whole.

Werewolves' bite is likely the simplest of the three to interpret. In their case, an animalistic beast-person attacks and bites a person to spread their curse. This is much wilder than either zombies or vampires and likely relates more to man's relationship with their interpretation of beasts.

The final of the four paranormal archetypes I initially mentioned is the supernatural, that which relates to ghosts, spirits, wraiths, phantoms, specters and other creatures separate from the afterlife. Despite many different origins for different types of ghosts and their stories, the common interpretation of the supernatural in modern times is that a person's spirit is somehow prevented from moving onward to their next life, whatever that may be. Despite its differences from the other three paranormal archetypes, stories involving the supernatural is theorized to have gained popularity with teens and young adults by the nature of being between two worlds, something which these demographics is able to relate to and appreciate.

The final of the five archetypes initially mentioned is that of physical, traditional monsters. These aren't classical monsters such as those depicted in Greek and roman literature. It is much more in refer268

ence to such creatures as dragons or elves, that, while definitely appearing in ancient lore, have had various modern interpretations as well as various accepted canons. This archetype is too broad to evaluate in detail at this time. However, it is worth noting that even while these monsters evolve and are reinterpreted, society's relationship to them has changed much less than any of the paranormal archetypes and that this likely has to do with the physicality of traditional fantasy. This archetype is also often used in conjunction with one or more of the previously mentioned archetypes as well and as such has influential effects on those as a whole far more than it does on itself.

With modern myth as a whole, it may seem that the evolution of monsters and their relationship to society has slowed down and stopped evolving. This may certainly be the case with the archetypes I have mentioned thus far in most scenarios, as they are distributed as a single static form, books or movies that rarely change much if at all. This is unlike how stories and myth used to be passed along, by oral traditions, which allowed much more evolution and interpretation within a story as well as making and further changes a result from the interpretation of said story as well as reactions towards it.

It is worth noting that, while there has been a change and potential slowdown of myth evolution in mass media, not all distribution occurs through book stores and cinemas. Instead, in modern times we have a new creation and resource that no previous generation had, the internet. You likely already know about the internet's ability to distribute information, news and culture efficiently on a global

scale, but it also allows the same capabilities for myth and monsters.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary describes an urban legend as â&#x20AC;&#x153;an often lurid story or anecdote that is based on hearsay and widely circulated as true.â&#x20AC;? There are many examples of this available, but the one most relevant to modern monsters and myth is the phenomenon referred to as Slenderman (or Slender Man).

Slenderman was an internet creation that originated in 2008 on the Something Awful forums as a submission in a photoshop challenge.

Since then, thousands more photoshop alterations have occurred to add Slenderman to them and the creature has developed a following and entire mythos through creation and redistribution of content.

It had become so large that many people actually believed that Slenderman existed. Of course, the Slenderman sensation has died down somewhat over the last couple years, but this only serves to even further show how myth and monsters as a whole has changed in modern times and evolved with relation to the internet.

While older and more traditional monsters may not be embraced by the young internet community as much as new creations, the internet does allow for the rapid development of monsters and myth, as well as lore surrounding them. Such rapid development means that monsters can evolve incredibly quickly now, far faster than they ever have in the past. But, what does this show about our modern society? Does our culture reflect the creation and distribution of socially generated myth? If so, how?

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Patrick Dane believes that the spread of Slenderman was in part due to a void that has been left in modern internet users (as well as other people). He is under a similar impression as Flowers who said that our modern times are an age of anxiety and that the monsters we honor reflect that mindset. This is represented in [first person mentioned in this paragraph]â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ideas regarding Slenderman as he believes that many people today do not find a spiritual and cultural fulfillment that we once did and that the void that this leaves in us is filled by modern monsters, myths and urban legends, including Slenderman.

One new trait of modern myth and urban legends left by Slenderman and other phenomenon is that their history is easily traceable.

When historians and philosophers try to uncover the history of our myth they are faced by a challenge. Since for much of our history myth has been passed down orally or through other impermanent means such as documents without duplicate copies, much has been lost and out history has been challenging to trace. In modern times, the internet brings a new level of permanence to the evolution of myth.

Of course, with modern technologies we are able to trace the history of older myths, monsters and legends far better than anyone who told them in the past. We know more about the origins of the Greek and Roman gods than much of their nations ever did. In a sense, we are removing the mystery from both modern and traditional myths as well.

But, is this a bad thing? Is there anything wrong with adding clarity to myths once expired? It certainly allows us to look back at our history and trace the history of monsters far better than we have been able to in the past. But, it has also taken away much of the mystery and mythological aspects behind them. However, this gaining of clarity is just that, added insight and understanding of how myths and monsters evolve over time and the changing face of how monsters evolve hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t created a void as Dane and Flowers argue, so much as it has allowed us to understand the void that has always been there.

For example, anyone looking into the history of Slenderman can find the exact forum post he originated from in only a few clicks, they can then proceed to find other forum and blog posts where the image was duplicated or new images were made. It is easy for anyone to trace the history and development of Slenderman or any urban legend. This hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t been the case with myth in the past and has led to a demystification of the origins of myths and, for many, given them less mystical meaning.

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Works Consulted and Cited Blessing, B. "Monsters and their Meanings in Early Modern Culture: Mighty Magic." Choice 49.7 (2012): 1325. ProQuest. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

Bowman, Laurel. "Mythical Monsters in Classical Literature." Phoenix 64.1 (2010): 214-6. ProQuest. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

Castaldo, A. "Monsters, Gender, and Sexuality in Medieval English Literature." Choice. 48.8 (2011): 1481. ProQuest. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

Cohen, Jeffrey J. "Constructing 'Monsters' in Shakespearean Drama and Early Modern Culture." Shakespeare Quarterly. 55.1 (2004): 98-100. ProQuest. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

Dane, Patrick. “Why Slenderman Works: The Internet Meme That Proves Our Need To Believe.” What Culture. What Culture, 1 Apr. 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

Flowers, Mark. "They Suck, they Bite, they Eat, they Kill, the Psychological Meaning of Supernatural Monsters in Young Adult Fiction." Young Adult Library Services. 10.2 (2012): 47. ProQuest. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

Goins, S. E. "Mythical Monsters in Classical Literature." Choice. 45.4 (2007): 629. ProQuest. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

Hirschman, Elizabeth C., and Morris B. Holbrook. "Consuming the Vampire: Sex, Death, and Liminality." The American Journal of Semiotics. 27.1-4 (2011): 1. ProQuest. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

Horan, Daniel P. "Faith, Hope and Zombies." America 12 Aug. 2013: 31. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.

Kaigler-Koenig, Katherine. "Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth." Library Journal. 125.13 (2000): 92. ProQuest. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

Lanoue, Guy, and Nadia Ferrara. "The Self in Northern Canadian Hunting Societies: 'Cannibals' and Other 'Monsters' as Agents of Healing." Anthropologica. 46.1 (2004): 69-83. ProQuest. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

McCay, Mary. "Monsters, Gods, and Heroes: Approaching the Epic in Literature." The Booklist. 101.6 (2004): 606. ProQuest. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

Miller, John J. "Defanged: once upon a time, the living dead were scary." National Review 8 Feb. 2010: 27. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 13 June 2014.

Nelson, Bryn. "Ancient Myths could be Written in Bones; Merging the Fields of Paleontology, Archeology and Literature, Researcher Speculates that Legends of Giants and Monsters were Fueled by Fossil Discoveries." Los Angeles Times: 1. 24 Sep. 2000. ProQuest. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

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Suellentrop, Chris. "In a World Filled With Zombies, 2 Girls Still Find Magic at the Mall." New York Times: 26 Apr. 2014: C1(L). Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.

"Vampires." The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of Paranormal Phenomena. Patricia D. Netzley. Ed. Loren " Coleman. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2006. 306-307. Opposing Viewpoints in Context.

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"Werewolves." The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of Paranormal Phenomena. Patricia D. Netzley. Ed. " Loren " Coleman. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2006. 306-307. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. "Web. 13 May 2014.

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Emmet Pfau

Doping in Professional Cycling Many pro cyclists during the 1980s through the early 2000s thought doping wasn’t an option, it was a necessity. They claimed that everyone else was doing it and in order to keep up with the top riders they had to do it as well. Tyler Hamilton, a former teammate of Lance Armstrong is partially responsible for exposing Armstrong and all the doping that went on in world tour teams. The three main kinds of dope used by professional cyclist are EPO, blood doping and use of stimulants. EPO and blood doping were used to increase the red blood cell count in the blood stream and also carry more oxygen to muscles. Stimulants were used to replicate the effects of blood doping in general. There are many riders over the years who have used these substances to get ahead of the competition, the most commonly known being Lance Armstrong. Armstrong and the U.S. Postal Team were known for having the most sophisticated doping ring, but definitely were not the only dopers in the sport.

From 1990 to the 2000s, 20 out of the 21 past Tour de France winners have been linked to doping. Doping is a widespread problem in cycling, leading some people to think we should make doping legal

so we can better monitor it to ensure their health. However, allowing the problem to persist is not a good idea because doping can cause serious health issues and doesn’t promote clean, pure competition.

Despite all the doping in the 1990s and 2000s, if we can implement better laws and stricter enforcement, it is possible for cycling to evolve into a cleaner and safer sport for generations to come.

Since the beginning of athletic competition, man has always looked for ways to get ahead of his competitors and find short cuts to winning. In cycling, the most common ways to get ahead are using EPO, blood doping, steroids, stimulants and finish bottles. EPO or erythropoietin was the most common type of banned substance used by pros. Undetectable in tests until 2001, EPO is a naturally occurring chemical in the kidney that regulates the production of red blood cells. When a cyclist injects EPO it boosts the amount of red cells produced and thus more oxygen gets to their muscles, enabling faster muscle growth and less muscle pain. The down side to this drug is that EPO can ruin your ability to produce natural EPO, so the cyclist may have to inject themselves with EPO for the rest of their lives. Blood doping is done by extracting blood during a rest period or during training run, when blood is fresh, then storing it and transfusing it later during races to boost red blood cell count. Blood doping can be dangerous because if you don’t properly store the blood, it could cause blood clots, and if you get the wrong bag of blood you will become incredibly sick. With your heart pumping oxygen rich blood from either EPO or blood doping, you can put major stress on your heart because the blood may be thicker than normal.

As a result of using EPO, Joe Papp was rushed to the hospital with 273

swelling in his rear. Papp is a former US pro cyclist who crashed in the 2006 Tuscany’s 100-mile Granfondo Muchele Bartoli. Assuming he was okay, he got up and finished the last half of a mile. Later that night in his hotel room his left buttock had swelled grotesquely. One of the team aids took him to the hospital. Several days later surgeons operated and removed an EPO-damaged sludge that amounted to roughly a fourth of Papp’s blood volume.

Steroids and stimulants, such as cocaine and amphetamines, are also used. The difference is that they are more detectible because they stay in a cyclist’s system for up to six months. They can also damage your kidneys and cause pre-mature baldness and aggression. Former professional cyclist and Armstrong teammate, Floyd Landis, was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France win because he tested positive for testosterone in his urine. The most recent type of doping method is finish bottles. They are bottles for the last 10 or 20 miles of a race that have extra drink mixture and pain killers such as tramadol in them. Taylor Phinney, a current world tour pro and US pro time trial champion, explained the risk of pain killers being used in bottles to Velo magazine: “I’ve never tried tramadol before, but I know that it’s an opiate-based drug that you give your dog when your dog has surgery. It’s not something that puts you in the right frame of mind. I don’t think is contributes to safety in the final of races” (Beaudin). The use of pain killers in cycling can negatively affect the rider’s mindset and could increase the risk of a crash. To test for EPO, blood doping, stimulants and steroids, anti-doping agencies take blood and urine samples from riders before and after the race, if the rider does particular well. Testers will then take the

data from the test and transfer it into a “passport,” which records all the blood and urine samples for each individual racer over time. The anti-doping agencies will look at it and see if there is an increase in red blood cells or some type of banned substance.

If a cyclist violates an anti-doping rule, he will suffer serious consequences. The UCI defines the following as an anti-doping rule violation, “The presence of a Prohibited Substance or its Metabolites or Markers in a Rider’s bodily Specimen” (UCO). If a cyclist breaks this rule, his first violation will be a racing ban of two to four years. Alberto Contador, winner of the 2010 Tour de France, failed a doping test and received a two-year ban and the loss of his Tour winning title. If a cyclist is caught violating the anti-doping law for a second time, he will receive a six to eight year ban. If a cyclist is caught for a third time, he will receive an 8 year to life ban. Lance Armstrong is one of the riders who have received a lifetime ban and has had all of his titles stripped because he lied for seven years saying he was clean when he wasn’t. Other cyclists who had their titles stripped were former US pro Floyd Landis and current Spain pro Alberto Contador. As soon as riders are caught doping, sponsors drop them immediately and teams push them to the bench or kick them off the team. They do this because they want to be represented by clean racers and if their reputation is tarnished, they will lose money and positive publicity. Cyclist aren’t the only ones who are affected by being busted, it can also affect the fans. When fans of a cyclist find out their favorite rider has been banned for doping, they lose hope in the cyclist and may question their own ability to succeed in the sport if they want to be riders themselves. Fans will also lose hope 274

in the purity of the sport and start to doubt all the other cyclists who say they are clean. I have seen the evidence of this first hand. I once heard two cyclists discussing the doping scandal and saying that his jersey signed by Armstrong was now in the trash can outside of his house. This is just one small example of the way fans are questioning their idols and starting to feel hopeless.

The current way that anti-doping agencies are enforcing a ban is through a zero tolerance law. This law is being enforced by UCI, USA and WADA anti-doping agencies. The law is also strict and even a very minor violation will result in some sort of punishment.

Many people like the zero tolerance law and many don’t. The people who like this law think that having a zero tolerance policy is the way doping laws should be approached and there should be no loopholes or any ways to get out of it. The people who don’t like it think it is too strict and that we should let the cyclist dope, just like we let football player’s bash into each other. They also think that the anti-doping agencies should relax their enforcement so they can monitor doping and ensure first and foremost that athletes are safe and healthy. Yet, even if use is monitored closely, there are still so many health issues that can emerge and the risk is not worth it.

EPO only became detectable in 2001 and this shows how possible it is to advance and improve our testing systems. If more money was spent on improving testing systems, then there might be less doping and cleaner cyclists. There is also a problem with officials taking bribes and waving tests results in order to protect a cyclist.

Anti-doping agencies should also have a zero tolerance policy for officials who have any record of altering tests. Another way to dis-

courage cycling is to decrease the amount of money cyclists get paid when they win major titles. This suggestion came from Coach Laura Charameda, during my interview with her. She believes that by lowering the incentive to cheat, cyclists will ride more for the love of the sport and will be less likely to want to cheat. Instead of putting money into the winners, she suggests we focus more on junior development programs and showing young riders that they can be competitive without illegal substances.

In pro levels of mountain biking, the riders have all agreed to not have EPO, blood doping or any other banned substances in their sport, and their mutual agreement has proven successful over time.

This begs the question of why something like this can’t be successful in pro levels of road biking. Many people have tried to answer this question. The best way to answer it is look at what former and current pros say. In an article published by Bike Pure, the author talked about Joe Papp and how he “doped not to earn money, but because he loved cycling so much. He wanted to keep cycling and that meant wins” (Bike-Pure). Other former pros like Armstrong claimed that it was impossible to win the Tour clean at the time he was racing because everyone else was doing it. Armstrong said it was just an accepted part of the job. Perhaps the best answer comes from Taylor Phinney, a current world tour pro, who said in a recent interview with Velo magazine, “We have had such a problem because the sport is just so hard. No other sport completely changes your body over a week of doing it…that’s because it’s so difficult.” Phinney is right – no one can deny that the sport is almost unbearably difficult and taxing on the muscles. But, on the other 275

hand, so is mountain biking. It seems like the culture of allowing doping and assuming that everyone else is doing it as “part of the job” is what is holding road biking back from moving toward a cleaner future.

Cycling is a true test of the bodies’ endurance, strength and mental strength. Injecting one’s self with substances and harming the body is not what the sport is about and it does not enhance the sport in any way. Doping can also cause serious health risks, whereas there are other, safer ways that cyclists can gain an edge on the competition. In an interview with Coach Laura Charameda, she said that eating rice instead of pasta before a race helped her perform better.

Current pros are very serious about diet. They know that the right diet can give them a slight advantage over the competition and can make a difference between first and second place. Many pro teams, bike companies and clothing companies have started to pay attention to other seemingly minor things. For example, on cold days, riders will drink hot tea to stay warm, and on warm days, riders will put pantyhose stuffed with ice down their jerseys. If we promote these kinds of safe strategies, celebrate cyclists who are proven clean, and spend more money on doping tests and development programs, cycling can become a cleaner, better sport.

Works Cited Ap. "Lance Armstrong: 'Impossible' to Win Tour De France without Doping."USA Today. Gannett, 28 June 2013. Web. 06 June 2014.

Beaudin, Matthew. "Talansky Blasts Di Luca's Claim That 90 Percent of Giro Peloton Dopes - VeloNews.com." VeloNewscom. Velo News, 22 Jan. 2014. Web. 06 June 2014.

Beaudin, Matthew. "The Sprint and the Letter the Fine Line between Competing and Cheating." Velo Magazine May 2014: 19-20. Web. Cal, Andres. "Alberto Contador Returns to Cycling Circuit, but Showdown Looms Over Doping Claims." The Christian Science Monitor: 2. Feb 16 2011. ProQuest. Web. 6 June 2014.

"Doping Consequences: A Case Study." Bike Pure Promoting Fair Honest Cycling Doping Consequences A Case Study Comments.

Bike Pure, 13 Mar. 2010. Web. 06 June 2014.

Macur, Juliet. "Cycling Teams' Internal Testing is Drawing Criticism." New York Times, Late Edition (East Coast) ed. Feb 13 2009. ProQuest. Web. 6 June 2014.

Samuels, Alana. "SPORTS; Sponsors Shift to Avoid Scandals; some Drop Events, but Others use Monitoring to Help Keep their Images and Athletes Clean." Los Angeles Times: 0. Jul 27 2007. ProQuest. Web. 6 June 2014.

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"Tyler Hamilton on Postal Service Drug Cheats: 'We Were Delinquents' - VeloNews.com." VeloNews.com. Velo News, 18 Mar. 2013. Web. 06 June 2014.

"Types of Drugs and Methods Used in Cycling." Bike Pure Promoting Fair Honest Cycling Types of Drugs and Methods Used in Cycling Comments. Bike Pure, n.d. Web. 06 June 2014.

UCO. "UCI Cycling Regulations." Union Cycliste Internationale.

UCI, n.d. Web. Vaughters, Jonathan. "How to Get Doping Out of Sports." New York Times, Late Edition (East Coast) ed. Aug 12 2012.ProQuest. Web. 6 June 2014.

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Izzy Rees

Does Representation Really Matter? : People of Color in Animated Films America has always been known as the land of equal opportunity, regardless of race or gender. Diversity is welcome here, so to speak. However, despite the actual diversity in the population, there is a huge disparity between the representation of whites and people of color in media, in particular, animation. These days, children are being raised by their TVs, and with animation being so prevalent in our society, these films can create a large impact on children. The lack of representation of people of color in animated films has helped fuel disconnection against them in America, causing there to be a lack of empathy for people of color.

While America has a reputation of being diverse, how diverse is it really? According to the US Census Bureau, people of color ac-

counted for roughly 36.6% of the population of the US in 2012, while non-Hispanic whites accounted for 63.4% of the population. It is estimated as well that, by 2043, whites will be the minority in the United States. A part of this research project was compiling a list of the races of human or humanoid protagonists in films. This information came from the companies Disney, DreamWorks Animation, Pixar, Blue Sky Studios, and many more. In the end, after gathering 100 films and recording all of the races of each protagonist, only 18% of the characters were people of color. That’s a little less than half of the actual proportion of people of color in the US. Even more interesting is the fact that the US Census Bureau also released the information that racial ‘minorities’ made up to 50.4% of births in 2011. Considering the fact that the target audience for most animated films is children, most kids are soon going to grow up barely seeing themselves represented in the movies they watch.

Why does it matter if kids do not see their race reflected in the media they watch, some may argue. After all, people of color in America seem perfectly fine with consuming media with white protagonists. This lack of representation helps fuel the racial empathy gap, as Andre Seewood points out. The racial empathy gap is the theory that people in the US sympathize more with whites. This theory has been backed up by studies conducted at the University of MilanoBicocca and the University of Toronto Scarborough. In the study, researchers showed participants video clips of a needle or erase touching someone’s skin. They then measured the participants’ reactions from the activity in the matrix of the brain. If we see someone being hurt, it triggers the same network in our brain that is activated 278

when we are hurt. The studies found that the amount of mental activity in White participants was significantly lower when watching a non-White in pain. Whites feel more sympathy towards Whites, and when it comes to storytelling, sympathy is incredibly crucial. If you cannot sympathize with the main protagonist, it makes it harder for you to enjoy the story. Even more interesting is how, in the study, some African Americans lacked empathy for their own race. So why is it that some African Americans lack empathy for their own race?

Andre Seewood explains that “many of the big budgeted, summer and holiday tent-pole blockbusters often have a majority White cast and/or feature Blacks and other minorities in supporting or noninfluential roles.” Since African Americans frequently see Whites as the main protagonist in films, rather than African Americans, it becomes easier for them to sympathize with something they are used to.

Not only does this create issues with empathy, but also issues of self-esteem. “Clearly there's always a correlation between the images you are bombarded with and how you feel about yourself,” says Dr. Robert Atwell, president of the Association of Black Psychologists. “You either get presented with images that stimulate your sense of potential or images that ignore you or are negative."

When you are a child, one of the biggest influences on you is media. Children receive exposure to films early on, with these films helping form some of their basic understanding of the world. Considering the fact that now a little more than the under age 5 group is made up of people of color, a majority of children will not see their race represented in media. If, for examples sake, you are an African

American girl who wants to be an actress, you might be discouraged from going into the business due to there being not much representation for black girls. When all you see is primarily white protagonists in films, you might gain a mindset that being an actor or actress is reserved exclusively for white people. The situation I just described to you is what Whoopi Goldberg, a famous African American actress in Hollywood, dealt with when growing up. However, once she saw Nichelle Nicole, the first ever African American to star in a sci-fi series, play the role of Lt. Uhura on Star Trek, she finally thought to herself, “I can do it. I can do anything.” However, having just one or two people represent an entire race in animated films is not nearly enough. After all, as Lester Neal, a professor of English at the University of Arizona, pointed out, it took Disney 25 years after the making of Snow White to create an animated movie with a person of color, an Indian, as the main protagonist. Not only that, but it took Disney 72 years before introducing an African American as a main protagonist. This is not to say the industry has not made any progress since the release of Snow White. For example, DreamWorks is planning on releasing the first 3D animated movie with an African American, a girl named Tip, as the protagonist. This movie, called Home, is scheduled to release in 2015. Tai Coates states how Tip “is a HUGE step forward for representation. I just hope it doesn’t stop here.” After all, considering how a majority of the film market is starting to move towards a more diverse audience, film companies might pick up on that and even out the representation of each race.

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While representation is incredibly important, there is also some problems that can come from representation; portrayal. Disney in particular is infamous for its portrayals of people of color, from the jivetalking crows in Dumbo to the release of the film, Song of the South.

If the portrayal of people of color in films is negative, than that will just decrease the amount of sympathy people feel for people of color. The Princess and the Frog, while a step in the right direction, originally had quite a few issues, and still does. In the beginning, Tiana was to be a chambermaid for a white woman. Not only that, but she was originally named Maddy. People quickly pointed out that Maddy was commonly used as a “slave name” and also sounded similar to mammy. These two bits were changed eventually, though only due to a massive outcry from the African American community about the issues. Tiana is known in the film for being incredibly ambitious, which is a good trait by most. Though, as Scott Foundas points out, “Disney's first black ‘princess’ lives in a world where the ceiling on black ambition is firmly set at the service industries, and Tiana and her neighbors seem downright zip-a-dee-doo-dah [reference to Song of the South] happy about that.” Not only that, but the Princess and the Frog has been criticized for glorifying New Orleans during the Jim Crow era.

The Princess and the Frog is not the only Disney film that has come under fire for having racist undertones. One of the more prominent examples are the jive-talking crows in Dumbo. As Ben Joseph, a writer at CRACKED, says sarcastically in an article, “Come on, blackbirds acting in a manner stereotypically assigned to AfricanAmericans isn't that offensive. At least they didn't just get some

white guy to do his best ‘black voice.’ Oh, really? They did? And, they called the lead character ‘Jim Crow?’ Um, hey, look over there!” Not only do the crows act stereotypically, but they are also depicted as being poor and uneducated.

Besides the crows in Dumbo, there have also been complaints about other films, such as Aladdin and Pocahontas. In Aladdin, there were complaints about two lines from the song, Arabian Nights. The two lines, "Where they cut off your ear if they don't like your face / It's barbaric, but hey, it's home!" were eventually edited to be much less provocative. Not only that, but there have been complaints about Jafar’s appearance in comparison to Aladdin.

“More interesting is the obvious racism and ethnic stereotyping in the story. The dastardly characters (like Jafar, the vizier) are decidedly Arabic looking. While the hero, Aladdin, looks and sounds (‘Call me Al’) like a fresh-faced American,” (Maio). In Pocahontas, the big issue people had with it was the over sexualization of the main character, Pocahontas. In reality, her actual name was Matoaka and she was only ten or eleven years old when she first met John Smith. Pocahontas never actually had a romantic relationship with John Smith, so the main issue was that they just aged her up and made John Smith a love interest to make the story more ‘popular’. While it is definitely good to try and include diversity in films, studios also need to be careful in how you present people of other cultures and ethnic backgrounds. At the time, it may have been a good step forward, though currently it could be better. Studios should learn from their past mistakes to avoid making any more missteps in the future.

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I believe the major way to solve the issue of representation and portrayal of people of color in animated films is to get rid of the notion that movies with people of color do not sell as well. After all, more than 50% of children under 5 are now people of color, so it would make sense for animated companies to diversify their films considering their target audience is changing. Not only that, but companies should be careful with their portrayal of characters and have several people who belong to the ethnic or racial background of the character they are portraying there to avoid any stereotypes.

Works Cited Aleiss, Angela. "MOVIES; Animated Features of a Different Hue; More Films are using Ethnic and Minority Characters, but there is Still a Dearth of African American Roles." Los Angeles Times: 24 Jan. 1999. ProQuest. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

Bennett, Alana. “Dreamworks' 'Home' Will Add Some Much-Needed Color To FuturisticAnimation.” Bustle. Bustle, 15 Apr. 2014. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Beifuss, John. "Princess and Frog hops gingerly in racial swamp."

The Commercial Appeal. Memphis, TN. McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. 2009. HighBeam Research. 1 Apr. 2014.

Cauchon, Dennis, and Paul Overberg. "Census Data Shows Minorities Now a Majority of U.S. Births." USA Today. 17 May 2012. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.

Foundas, Scott. "Disney's Princess and the Frog Can't Escape the Ghetto." Village Voice 24 Nov. 2009. 2 Apr. 2014.

Joseph, Ben. "The 9 Most Racist Disney Characters." Cracked.com.

CRACKED, 16 Nov. 2007. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

Lester, Neal. "Disney's the Princess and the Frog: The Pride, the Pressure, and the Politics of being a First." The Journal of American Culture 33.4 (2010): 294-308. ProQuest. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

Maio, Kathi. "Disney’s Dolls." New Internationalist Magazine. Internationalist Magazine, 5 Dec. 1998. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.

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U.S. Census Bureau. Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin: 2010.

U.S. Census Bureau, Mar. 2011. PDF file.

Wade, Lisa. “The Racial Empathy Gap.” The Society Pages. Aug. 27 2013. Web. Mar. 31 2014.

Warner, Tony. "Lack of Black Characters in Children's Films under the Spotlight." People With Voices. 18 Feb. 2011. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.

Yen, Hope. "Minorities In America: Whites Losing Majority In Under5 Age Group." The Huffington Post. The Huffington Post, 13 June 2013. Web. 29 Mar. 2014.

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Julia Roehl

Brain Development in Juvenile Detention Centers Being a teenager is hard enough, but being a teenager behind bars takes it to a new level. Due to the budget cuts in juvenile detention centers, development of the residents is becoming gradually worse and the only waysomewhat better, but still needs improvement. The only way for the justice system to progress is to have more money and time spent on the rehabilitation of the residents and improving their time in the juvenile detention center. However, the juvenile justice system has come a long way since the 70s. At that time, violent outbreaks were occurring regularly on a day to day basis and occurred because spaces built for 40 people were being used for 80 people (Goodman). juvenile detention. The simple solution would be to not send juvenile offenders to juvenile detentionHowever, the justice system is not perfect just yet. Today, some police are just letting youth offenders off with just a warning. That is the simple solution, but that wouldn’t be helping anyone. Backstrom, a chief legal representative, says “When serious crimes are committed by youths, they need to be dealt with appropriately, with significant conse-

quences. If we roll back the clock, were going to be harming our society” (Katel).

Juvenile detention centersHowever, the juvenile justice system has come a long way since the 70s. At that time, violent outbreaks were occurring regularly on a day to day basis and occurred because spaces built for 40 people were being used for 80 people (Goodman). Juvenile detention should not only be a place of punishment, but a place of rehabilitation. Most adolescent offenders come from troubled homes with histories of drug or/and alcohol abuse. Resources should be provided to the residents because without them the offender will not change and societies will remain unsafe. Life in juvenile detention center is split into four different priorities security and control, education, health, and staff development (Pilson and Forstater). These four central ideas are great starting points, but there is a lot of room for improvement. However, budgetBudget cuts are delayingpreventing the availability of opportunities forto juvenile detentionsresidents. The following things are what needs to be changed and improved: budget cuts, leadership and security, education, spacing/architecture, and health. When improvements are made onin these thingsareas, progress can be made in juvenile detentionsdetention centers.

Budget cuts are preventing any improvement in today’s juvenile detention centers. Unfortunately, the recession and economic pressure occurring today is resulting in more adolescents in juvenile detention centers and less money available to help them (Billitteri). Dr. Pozzoboni, a professor from San Francisco State, says, “Young peo283

ple can influence their own development, but it depends on the opportunities they have.” In juvenile detention, the opportunities are limited because of budget cuts. Due to budget cuts,Ineffective ways of saving money won’t be spent on juvenile detentions. Money being saved in the justice system is not the way they should be saving.are becoming repetitive. Instead of arresting adolescents for crimes, theypolice are letting them off with warnings because there is not enough space and money that could be used for them in juvenile detentions.detention centers. In California, counseling facilities are being threatened to close because of these budget cuts (Goodman). This prevents the adolescent offenders of rehabilitating themselves. This begins the cycle of being in and out of juvenile detention. However, budget cuts prevent money to be put to this use. Juvenile detention centers are losing money and they aren’t receiving enough money to pay for the resident’s needs. Due to budget cuts, money won’t be spent on juvenile detention centers. Instead of putting the adolescent’s lifelives in danger and society, there should be more government money available to be spent on prevention program (Katel). However, budget cuts prevent money to be put to this use. Juvenile detentions are losing money that only the necessities are being paid for. The goal should be to rehabilitate the youths and then release them knowing that they have become a better person.

Marc Mauer, the executive director of The Sentencing Project, says, “there’sThere’s growing interest and attention in trying to look at more collaborative models of how to address these problems…punishment per se is increasingly viewed as of only limited value in terms of preventing or deterring kids from engaging in violence and crime.” (Billitteri) However,Punishment is not helping the question is,

what does continuous punishment do?kids in juvenile detention centers. Of course there is the opportunity of a lesson being learned, but what does that matter when you aren’t in a juvenile detention center. Meredith Moersch, a psychology student at Berkeley, says, “I have friends who have worked with counseling in juvenile detentionsdetention centers and the adolescents would tell them that they would rather be in a juvenile detention center than homeless. The residents say that they have a roof to live under and a meal here and that’s better than what they would get on the streets.” The residents are not expecting much because they are used to the standards of juvenile detention centers. These residents are not receiving the proper care, like rehabilitation, because of budget cuts.

Money in juvenile detentionsdetention centers is being spent so they can take care of the prisoners, but it should also be spent on helping the resident’s future. With budget cuts, juvenile detentionsdetention centers cannot provide the same opportunities that an adolescent could receive elsewhere.outside of juvenile detention.

This is because of budget cuts and if more money could be spent, there would be less people in the juvenile detention centers and on the streets (Pozzoboni). Juvenile offender’s lives also need guidance, which is provided to them by leaders.

Surprisingly, leadership in juvenile detentionsdetention centers has a great impact on the residents. When good leadership is exemplified, residents are more likely to become a valued person. Dr.This statement is proved in Dr. Pozzoboni, a professor at San Francisco State saysstatement, “Youth development is the leader’s responsibility and leadership should be provided to the resident.” If the leaders 284

are not having the resident’s best intentions, then the rehabilitation is not as successful as it could be. Adolescent offenders rely on the guidance of the adults around them because some have never had a role model. Zack, a prisoner advocate, says, “To change things, there has to be real leadership and this is not a constituency people care about.” (Clemmit) It is important that the staff are positive and educated people. If they do not know what they are doing, the residents will not know any better and go back to their old ways of committing crimes. The residents need to be properly educated to their needs. Most residents in juvenile detention centers have mental problems that they are trying to fight, but need proper guidance (Pilson and Forstater).. Today, most teachers in juvenile detentionsdetention centers are trained to teach special needs, but not all teachers (Pilson and Forstater) Life after juvenile detention is something that most residents worry about. There are chances they will become homeless because they were not rehabilitated and didn’t have proper guidance. The solution to this are supervision officers and career counselors. Only about 12% of youths with supervision officer went back to a juvenile detention center a year after their release (Goodman). This statistic shows that supervisionSupervision officers help keep residents out of trouble and guide them on the right path. Supervision officers have the opportunity to meet the resident’s family before being released. Also, supervision officers can get to know the resident before his or her release. This is very helpful for the resident because most resident’s families may be struggling with alcohol abuse, drug abuse, or may be committing crimes themselves. (“When Kids Get Life”). The supervision officer helps the resident find a way to cope with his or her surroundings. This

will affect the future life of the resident and hopefully keep him or her out of trouble.

Another leader that helps with a bright future is a career counselor.

ItCareer counseling is saidan important job and this is proved in the following quote, “Career counselors are thus in a unique position to act as change agents in the lives of these youths and society at larger.” (Ameen and Lee) Career counselors help support and guide the resident to a better and more successful life. With the guidance and encouragement from the counselors, residents will regain faith in themselves and begin to create a better future for themselves. Career counselors need to be helping the residents get back on their feet and start their lives again. How do we improve our leaders?

The answer is to employ a good OJJDP, “Yet simply appointing the right OJJDP (The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention)). These leaders will greatly affect the justice system, “Yet simply appointing the right OJJDP administrator could make a big difference, because administrators can use federal grant-awarding power to steer states towards a more rehabilitation orientated approach.” (Katel) With federal grants, more money can be spent on having stronger and better leaders for our juvenile detentionsdetention centers. Safety is also a big part of life in the juvenile detention centers and it is important that they are safe.

As one can imagine, life in a juvenile detention center is very unsafe. In an unsafe community, youths do not have a good chance at developing correctly. They will be around violence and this is not helping their rehabilitation. If violence is a big part of someone’s life, it will continue to be that way even after they are released from a ju285

venile detention center. Like leadership, better security should be appointed in order to protect the residents. The ratio of a resident to a security guard today is 1:5 (Pilson and Forstater). The goal ratio would be 1:3. With more good security guards, violence will be limited and rehabilitation of residents will continue successfully. However, some juvenile detention security guards are the problem.

Physical abuse by officers is a common problem today (Zimbardo).

Abuse by a leader leads to riots in between the residents and the police (Kuklin). Security guards should be educated and stable. If there are unstable guards treating the residents, it will only make the rehabilitation and development process corrupt. Guards aren’t the only ones who need to be educated, but also the residents.

Education is such a big part of everyone’s lives and this is because of its great influence on adolescent development. “Once they enter the juvenile detention system, many youths find it difficult to escape its consequences.” (Ameen and Lee). Instead of trying to escape the consequences, adolescents can try and spend their time as well as they can. Becoming educated is the perfect place to start, and it is also beneficial to your youth development. A popular type of education in juvenile detentionsdetention centers in experiential education. Experiential education is when you learn by doing it with your hands. When actually doing something, the information is more likely to be remembered. Different types of experiential learning are ropes courses and climbing walls. Not only do these activities help work your brain, but they also physically motivate you. Motivation is a very important value that most adolescents in juvenile detention centers need in order to help their own development. Educating

youths is very important. Educated people are most likely to become successful as they grow older. These opportunities should be provided to the residents in order to give them a fresh start at life.

Another great way of learning is through writing. Writing not only helps the resident to write well, butin many ways and is also as a form of counseling. Writing, also known as journaling, can relieve stress and anxiety. Adolescents will experience a lot of stressful times in juvenile detention centers and journaling is one of the best ways to cope with it. Journaling can help someone stay sane in a time of craziness. Dr. Pozzoboni says, “In juvenile detention, youths have to learn to complete everyday tasks because they won’t have the opportunity to do it at home.” Life skills should also be a big part of the educational system in juvenile detention, like banking. Learning how to be able to live on your own is a big step to becoming more mature. This helps the youth’s development into adulthood.

The goal is to have juvenile detention be a fall along the way of a greater path. We have made much progress along the years, “Educational requirements within the juvenile detention centers are usually provided by the local school district or contracted through special services of an intermediate unit.” (Pilson and Forstater) Education is being provided to most juvenile detention centers, but there is much room for improvement. Unfortunately, today only about 11.6% of people who were previously incarcerated withwill find a job after juvenile detention (Goodman). Everyone deserves a second chance and, if we better educate the adolescents in juvenile detention, they will have a greater chance or rehabilitating themselves and have a better future. However, there needs to be enough space for the residents in order for them to have enough room to learn.

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Spacing is a really big problem in our juvenile detentions.detention centers. Too many youth offenders are being placed in juvenile detentionsdetention centers with not enough room. Violent outbreaks are also a ginormous problem. Without the space, violent outbreaks are occurring more frequently than normal, “Due to this ongoing battle, detention centers are being crowded with juveniles who cannot receive the appropriate care they require while in the systems jurisdiction.” (Pilson and Forstater) When overcrowding the juvenile detentionsdetention centers, special needs cannot be met because there a too many different focuses at once. This is a really big problem because when someone isn’t getting the proper attention they need, they don’t have a good chance at improving their life or rehabilitating themselves. In order to avoid overcrowding juvenile detentionsdetention centers, juvenile offenders can be sent to other detention centers that are farther away. The problem with this is that; which makes it will be harder for families to visit. The best solution for the problem of spacing is to improve architecture. This means having more space in order for there to be more room for the residents. However, this is a lot of work because a big part of juvenile detention center architecture is suicide proofing. (Pilson). More space means thatmore time because of detail will have to be paid closely attention to. Until the time being, the best way to avoid violent outbreaks would be to separate gangs, but this is not a permanent solution. More improvements in architecture need to be made in order to have a safer detention center. Therefore, more money needs to be spent. This money also needs to be spent on providing health benefits for the residents.

The health of the residents depends on the treatment they are receiving in juvenile detention. 75% of youths in juvenile detention centers have mental disorders (Hanger). This calls for specific attention. Today, juvenile detentions are not addressing all the health problems. In juvenile detention centers, they may be aware of the mental problem, but do not pay close attention to it. When an adolescent offender first arrives they immediately receive a mental disorder screening, “““The purpose of mental health screenings is to identify youths who’s mental or emotional conditions suggest that they might have a mental disorder, suicide ideation, or present a risk of harm to others in the immediate future.” (Williams and Grisso) Like mentioned, thisThis screening will help the staff know what kind of medications and treatment the resident will need. Even though they have the knowledge of the health problem, not much can be done because of lack of money. Some juvenile detentions only have a nurse available a few times a week (Pilson and Forstater). At least 2/3 youths in juvenile detention centers have at least one psychiatric disorder (Ameen and Lee). These residents require special attention and are not getting the attention they need because of budget cuts. Counseling programs are being cancelled because there is not enough money to be put towards them. More money needs to be spent towards health programs, so the development of the residents will carry on properly and so will the rehabilitation.

“Many youth-crime experts hope that new approaches and new insights into adolescent behavior will lead to further strides in curbing youth crimes.” (Billitteri) Hopefully, improvements will be made in juvenile detentions. There are more than 80,000 youths behind bars 287

today and their development and rehabilitation is very important in creating a safe society. More government money should be spent on improving the programs in juvenile detentionsdetention centers.

Bibliography Ameen, Edward J., and Debbiesiu L. Lee. "Vocational Training in Juvenile Detention: A Call for Action." The Career Development Quarterly 60.2 (2012): 98-108. ProQuest. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

Bear, Mark, and Connors, Barry, and Paradiso, Michael. Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams &Wilkins, 2007. Print Billitteri, Thomas J. "Youth Violence." CQ Researcher 5 Mar. 2010: 193-216. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.

Carter, Rita. The Human Brain. New York: DK Publishing, 2009.

Print.

Clemmitt, Marcia. "Prison Health Care." CQ Researcher 5 Jan. 2007. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.

Goodman, Peter. “Budget Cuts Eroding Progress in Juvenile Justice.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 10 Jul. 2009.

Web. 5 Apr. 2014.

Hanger, JauNae M. "Screening, Assessment and Treatment: Indiana Addresses Mental Health in Juvenile Detention Centers." Corrections Today 70.1 (2008): 36-8. ProQuest. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

Katel, Peter. "Juvenile Justice." CQ Researcher 7 Nov. 2008: 91336. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.

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Kuklin, Susan. No Choirboy: Murder, Violence, and Teenagers on Death Row. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2008. Print.

Pilson, Thomas, and Jerry Forstater. "Examining the Planning, Design and Operational Components of Juvenile Detention."Corrections Today 67.2 (2005): 116-21. ProQuest. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

Sweeney, Michael. Brain: The Complete Mind. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2009. Print.

When Kids Get Life. Public Broadcasting Service, 2007. DVD. Williams, Valerie, et al. "Mental Health Screening: Pennsylvania's Experience in Juvenile Detention." Corrections Today 70.1 (2008): 24-7. ProQuest. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

Zimbardo, Philip. The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil. New York: The Random House Publishing Group, 2007. Print.

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Jae Scott

The Real Cost of Living in San Francisco “Welcome to SF! The land of the rich!” In every city across the globe, there has been (and always will be) a divide between the rich and the poor. What else could one expect when living in a capitalist society? People come and go and cities morph to accommodate those who live there in the current moment. For example, circa 1943, about 9,000 African Americans moved into the Fillmore district because the Japanese that lived there were forced into concentration camps. The Fillmore was transformed into “Harlem West” – mecca for soul and jazz music - and was forever changed by the displacement of the Japanese. However, one way, in particular that holds most of the responsibility for these types changes is gentrification. Gentrification is a process of displacement in which longtime residents, or, residents that are unable to afford to live in a specific area must relocate because of the gentrifying profiteers' financial focus. This process can be looked at as the driving force behind most San Francisco neighborhoods being subjected to drastic changes.

Gentrification is an ongoing process that is still very relevant in San Francisco today.

In 2012 and 2013, Bloomberg BusinessWeek claimed SF “America’s Best City”, the Bay Area has “the best blend of entertainment, education, safety, clear air, and a prosperous economic base” (Kolc Tech Boom). When the dot-com-boom hit the Bay Area hard in 2005, Facebook and Twitter created an opportunity for people around the world to come into the Bay Area and be a part of the new movement which catapulted the city’s economy. “With them,” says Joe Kolc, writer for News Week and longtime Mission district resident, “San Francisco has flourished.” The unemployment rate dropped to 4% and the median income increased by 20% (Jr., Stephen The Conversation Continues). However, there still remains a large inequality gap among the rich and the poor. Services for the poor have not yet recovered from the 2009 recession. For example, San Francisco is lacking tremendously when it comes to affordable housing and even housing in general. When housing is scarce, those who cannot afford the new living costs are forced to move out of San Francisco.

“Report: You need to earn $29.83 an Hour to afford a 1- Bedroom in San Francisco” (Allen-Price Report: You need to earn). According to a new report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition , to be able to afford a market-rate one-bedroom apartment in an Francisco, someone needs to make $29.83 an hour or $62,046 annually.

San Francisco is also known for being a good city to raise a family in, so if an extra bedroom is added to the household the hourly wage would need to increase to $37.62 and the total amount of money made annually would need to be $78,249. (Allen Price Report: You need to earn). This makes San Francisco, and even the 290

counties around it- Oakland, Fremont, Santa Cruz-the most expensive metro regions. The average renter in San Francisco might make $31.45 an hour, at this rate it would take 1.2 full-time jobs to be able to afford a two-bedroom apartment. When a roommate or spouse is added into the picture, it gets more manageable- for those at or above average (Allen Price Report: You need to earn). In June 2013, the median rental rate in San Francisco was $3,414 (International Business Times A Protest in 140 characters), and according to the U.S Census, from 2008-2012, 25.7% of rental units were over $2,000 per month, 16% were between $1,500 and $1,999 per month and 17.2% were between $1,000 and $1,499 a month. In 2011, nearly 43% of San Francisco’s 238,000 rental households paid more than 30% of their income for rent. (Allen Price Report: You need to earn). Moreover, the median sale price for all homes in San Francisco was $897,000 in 2013 (San Francisco Chronicle Evictions surge as market heats up). The new cost of living in San Francisco is only attainable by those who are at the average income line- or above it.

When San Franciscans are forced to leave the city because they are not able to pay rent, or pay their mortgage, they are being involuntarily displaced. There are two types of displacement that can occur in gentrification; one being direct displacement, and the other being indirect or involuntary. Direct displacement is when there is construction on new transit infrastructures like train stations, or BART. On the other hand, indirect or involuntary displacement occurs when residents are no longer able to afford the neighborhood they reside in (Cravens et al Development without Displacement).

While there are many negative emotions that arise within the San Franciscans that get evicted from their homes, some, like Rich O’Neal, a 30 year resident of Freedom West Homes in the Western Addition say, “property values go up, crime rates go down and it is a generally known fact that infrastructure gets improved” O’Neal then goes on to say, “what was not previously in the community comes to the community. Blight systematically vanishes, and the public schools improve- because property taxes help determine how much money a school receives. Also, stronger, wealthier PTA’s are formed.” In theory, these are all positives changes for any community to experience. However, these positive changes may not necessarily benefit the communities that are suffering due to blight, underperforming public schools and crime. All of these negative aspects leave the physical area, but follow those who left. So the problem never actually gets resolved.

While there has always been gentrification in the city, this current wave has been more aggressive compared to previous ones. There has been and 38% increase in overall evictions between March 2010 and February 2013. And a 170% increase in Ellis Act evictions between the same time period (Allen Price Report: You need to earn). Many landlords are trying to get their tenants to self-evict, opposed to buying them out- in which the landlord would pay the tenants to leave. Martina Ayala, a teacher, artist and consultant for San Francisco nonprofits working with low-income families told Truthout, “They're trying to get us out without having to pay the eviction costs. And so they're doing that by harassing us and calling us every day, sending us three-day notice to pay rent or quit without fol291

lowing through with service” she continues, “"Even though we are paying $1,750 that is still not enough for the landlord, because the average rent is now $3,000." According to San Francisco’s rent board, there is no rent control in San Francisco.

In order to evict a tenant from a rental unit covered by the Rent Ordinance, a landlord must have a "just cause" reason that is the dominant motive for pursuing the eviction (San Francisco Rent Board).

There are fifteen Just Cause reasons for evictions. Non-payment or habitual late payments, breach of rental agreement or lease, owner occupancy, performance of capital improvements, substantial rehabilitation of a building that is at least 50 years old, creation of a nuisance or substantial interference with the landlord or other tenants in the building, to demolish or permanently remove a rental unit from housing use and finally to withdraw the rental units from the rental market under the Ellis Act (San Francisco Rent Board).

From 1997 to 2013, there have been over 11,000 no-fault evictions either through demolition, owner move-in, or the Ellis Act. The Ellis Act is a California state law which allows landlords to evict tenantsor "go out of business" by pulling their property off the market (Hudson Truth-out). Joe Kolc, writer from Newsweek further explains what the Ellis Acts truly are, “The Ellis Act: allows landlords to empty out buildings and sell them. It does not permit landlords to offer those apartments for rent at a higher price, but it does let them sell shares of the building to new buyers.”

San Francisco’s landlords typically write, so thereforeconspicuously enough, benefit from the laws that regulate SF real

estate. Tyler Macmillan, the executive director of the Eviction Defense Collaborative (EDC), shared with Truth-out, “The vast majority of laws are written by and for folks who own property…" he continues to explain that when some of these evictees try to defend themselves, they face a code of civil procedure. The civil code, really favors those who are wealthy have access to good attorneys. Macmillan continues to explain why this playing field is so unfair, “for most tenants in San Francisco, both of those things are missing. They don't have money to get to an attorney, and then they're dealing with a set of laws that are really, especially at the state level, against them in terms of the rights of property.” In addition to not being able to pay for the new rent or a good attorney, the tenants are given three-day notice to either pay or leave- following the rules and regulations of the Rent Ordinance of course. But how are these average people going to pay their new rent when they already spend either 30% or more of their income on their current rent alone? CEO of San Francisco Association of Realtors has very eloquently stated, “It’s called capitalism.”

Gentrification in the bay area may have provided a fruitful flow of money to the city, but one question still remains: What can San Franciscan’s say about the communities that are being decimated as a result of the hyper-gentrification that has been forced upon low-income communities? Some people are convinced that gentrification is institutionally systematic, and intentional. Rich O’Neal, local San Franciscan who has seen San Francisco change over a course of thirty plus years, in addition to also working in real estate as a landlord, is relatively suspicious of the driving forces behind to292

day’s hyper-gentrification. “In many cases, yes” he says “some of the decisions that government authorities make are intentional. For example, when housing authorities get federal bond money to renovate public housing, half of the tenants are certified to move back in, and the other half are not. Obviously, forcing those tenants to find housing elsewhere.” In 2014, there has already been 128 evictions due to demolished or removed housing units and 216 Ellis Act evictions. (San Francisco Rent Board). This seems to be the perfect storm to total re-gentrification.

Marcus Books of San Francisco was evicted from 1712 Fillmore Street, the building that housed the historic black bookstore since 1981. Marcus Bookstore missed a couple of rent payments – nothing rare considering that at the same time the largest US banks and even the government asked tax-payers to give them hundreds of billions of dollars for assistance. The mortgage holder foreclosed the building and sold it to the Sweis family- owners of the Royal Taxi in San Francisco. The Swies family bought the building in a bankruptcy auction for $1.6 million. The Johnson family, previous owners of the Book store offered them $1.8 million but the Swies family set the price to $3.20 million- with the hope to double their purchase price. However, due to public outrage, the family brought down the asking price to $2.6 million. (An Open Letter From the Johnson Family). This added a million dollar profit to their purchase of the building without adding any improvements to the property. Mayor Ed Lee has delivered many speeches stating his commitment to righting the wrongs of the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency’s slaughter of the thriving African American Fillmore District, unfortunately, these

speeches has not allowed these people to move back into their buildings. This is a perfect example of how black and brown communities are decimated from gentrification.

The displacement of the longtime tenants, or residents, unfortunately means the displacement of ethnic minorities. This new wave of displacement that has become more apparent in the last 20 or so years. “Between 1990 and 2011, over 1,400 Latinos left the Mission district. In the same time, white households increased by 2,900” (Rodriguez How Brown and Black Communities Are Decimated).

This wave of displacement has left, not just the mission, but neighborhoods throughout San Francisco homogenized- making them almost impossible to distinguish one from the other. “The faces of people walking down Mission Street are different. I see a new park-let being built, then a new coffee shop opening” (Chavez A Mission Address: The New Status Symbol?). One block lower 24th Street, San Francisco’s most vibrant center of Hispanic culture and commerce, had the most concentration of Latino owned businesses in San Francisco. Specialty stores, Mexican bakeries, grocers etc. But now, high-end coffee shops and restaurants are making their way in the scene, along with hip delis that sell $13 sandwiches. (Rodriguez Report Details How Brown and Black Communities Are Decimated).

While the population of Latinos are decreasing, there is a steady increase in white households in the same communities. Just to clarify, just because there were many Hispanic owned shops in the mission does not mean that poverty and oppression were non-existent.

These neighborhoods were filled with violence, drugs, and many single-parents homes, so, the opportunity for many of these people 293

to ‘rise up’ and get the education and job they needed to be able to afford the housing now ,was non-existent. Gentrification in San Francisco’s mission district is nobody’s fault, but it is however, unfair. Unfair because mostly the minorities that cannot afford the new housing prices were never given the chance to rise up from oppression in their own neighborhood.

People around the country always say how important diversity really is, but how important could it truly be if the importance of it is often ignored or overlooked? Diversity- economically, culturally, and ethnically, all make San Francisco what it is. When a community ends up being all the same, the result will be a segregated, homogenized community (O’Neal). These new people move into communities that already have defined their community and have a purpose.

The purpose is usually to better the lives of the people that already live there. The new residents that are moving in may not necessarily understand the needs and desires of the communities that they move into. The new residents may love the culture that they are moving into but may not necessarily love the people that already live there. Robert Hernandez, a longtime community activist in the Mission district spoke to what gentrification looks like to him and his community, "These calls are reminders that there are new people here that love our culture in the mission...but they can't deal with the people that are already here.” The culture of San Francisco- the so called ‘melting pot’- does not seem to be held true, considering these new patterns.

Looking into the future, if San Francisco continues to erase the well rounded diversity though the process of gentrification, future genera-

tions will left in a small bubble that is nothing like the real world. Future generations will not be able to experience the richness in diversity that San Francisco has to offer. Future generations will not have the opportunity learn about other cultures and people and grow as a community if no household around them is different compared to their own. With that, tolerance decreases and ignorance increases.

The opportunities, as well as educational experiences that come with diversity, are lost.

What can San Franciscans do to help prevent the great loss that is approaching? Education. “There must be a strong understanding of what gentrification is. [Communities] must do powerful lobbying to preserve their ethnic identity. Ethnic identity is what sets us all apart. Diversity is very important in all communities” (O’Neal). David Talbot, the founder of Salon.com told Ilan Greenberg, writer for New Republic, “San Francisco—and New York—is becoming a sort of precious preserve of the tourist and foodie class,” he continues with, “But San Francisco used to be a city where people came not because of the hills and the trolley cars but because of the vibe. Now you have a dull city.”

Hope still remains for San Francisco. This hope lies in the hands of three things; equitable development, education, and housing. Equitable development “ensures that low income communities and communities of color participate on and benefit from regional growth and development” (Cravens et al Development without Displacement).

Having enough affordable housing for the people who need it won’t be the end of the world. In fact, “equitable development also is essential if Sf is going to shift the use patterns to reduce greenhouse 294

gas emissionsâ&#x20AC;? (Cravens et al Development without Displacement).

[Equitable development] in addition to socially and economically diverse neighborhoods will serve as an even more important guidepost as San Francisco searches for ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through more compact development that clusters jobs, transit, and housing around existing infrastructure. (Cravens et al Development without Displacement). The second solution would be educating the public about Rent Control laws and the real cost of living in San Francisco. If more people were aware of the fact that to afford a 1-bedroom apartment, they would have to earn $29.83 an hour, someone might have the courage to try to change this. For example, the minimum wage in Seattle is now $15. The third solution would be more housing. More housing means that there is less competition which means that the housing becomes more affordable.

When housing is plentiful as well as affordable, the number of evictions will decrease, and hopefully the number of ethnic minorities will stop decreasing.

cisco what mutual respect looks like, and how it should look like in their community.

I would like to acknowledge Craig Butz, and Ronnie Scott.

While the majority of San Francisco has been hit by hypergentrification, there are still parts of the city that can still implement equitable development, and educate their neighborhoods to avoid all the detrimental effects of gentrification. Bay View Hunters Point, for example, is having this conversation now. Community activists are trying to ensure that the residents in Bay View are treated with mutual respect and have the opportunity to change their community on their own. Activism groups such as Take a Stand SF, and Center for Political Education are teaching the young people of San Fran-

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Works Consulted Chavez, Lydia. "A Mission Address: The New Status Symbol?" Mission Locl. Mission Local, 8 Mar. 2014. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

Cravens Et Al, Marisa. "Development Without Displacement, Development With Diversity." Community-Wealth.org. Association of Bay Area Governments, Dec. 2009. Web. 30 May 2014.

Destiche, Kyle. "Staying in the Mission Without a Tech Salary." Mission Locl. Mission Local, 31 Mar. 2014. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

Kolc, Joe. "Tech Boom Forces a Ruthless Gentrification in San Francisco." NewsWeek.com. News Week, 15 Apr. 2014. Web. 20 May 2014.

Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neal Rich. Personal Interview. 5. March. 2014.

Rodriguez, Joe F. "San Francisco Bay Guardian." Report Details How Brown and Black Communities Are Decimated, Step by Step.

SFBG, 18 Apr. 2014. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Greenberg, Ilan. "I Left My Home in San Francisco." New Republic.

New Republic, 12 Apr. 2013. Web. 20 May 2014.

Hernandez Robert. Personal Interview. 15. April. 2014.

Hudson, Adam. "The Bleaching of San Francisco: Extreme Gentrification and Suburbanized Poverty in the Bay Area." Truthout. Truth out, 27 Apr. 2014. Web. 20 May 2014.

Jones, Steven T. "San Francisco Bay Guardian." Tale of Two Tech Titans. SFBG, 17 Apr. 2014. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

Jr., Stephen A. Crockett. "The Conversation Continues." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 07 Aug. 2012. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

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Ian Simons

War: What Is It Good For? The world we live in is filled with technology. From cell phones to airplanes to cars to GPSs to drugs. Technology is an integral part of our lives. We use it every day, and are very reliant on it to help us in our new modern world. Technology lets us connect with other people that we may not be face to face with, provide entertainment, help drive our economy, or let us explore parts of our world and others that would not be possible without them. But these technologies came at a price. Many of these inventions were made or advanced in war, for war, and killed many people in terrifying ways. There is also the fact that most of these new inventions are just weapons, and they were created just to kill people. This connection raises a moral dilemma: are the lives lost in war worth the lifestyle we have today? Divorced of motives or other lives, are these technologies worth the price?

In wartime, we have advanced very far. In WWII, for example, advances made in the field of rocket science quite literally blasted off.

With the aid of Wernher Von Braun, the Nazis made many advances in liquid fuel and rocket design. He invented many rockets, including the V2, which can be called the world’s first ballistic mis-

sile (Beyerchen). With this, the Nazis bombed many European cities. Over time, it was made more accurate (when the first were launched, the Nazis didn’t have any means of guidance. This made the missiles prone to exploding in unpopulated areas, and being mostly ineffective. By the end of the war, the average number of kills per missile was 2)(wiki contributors).

After the war ended, Wernher von Braun was captured by the Americans in Project Paperclip. Project Paperclip was the U.S.’s initiative to collect up as many Nazi scientists as they could after WWII (Beyerchen). In the care of the U.S., Wernher went on to design many rockets, including the Saturn rockets (Neufeld). And Wernher was motivated: he wanted to go to space, to get objects to the moon and other planets. And in his time at NASA, he did many great things. As previously stated, he was a key factor in creating the Saturn rockets, the Saturn V being the tallest and heaviest rocket ever, which took us to the moon But we have gotten so much more from the space program as well.

Innovations in rocketry have led to other unexpected advances.

One main problem of the rocket program is that the rockets needed to be powerful, but light. “To get off the Earth requires huge rockets with thousands of pounds of thrust using propellants chilled down to hundreds of degrees below zero, but at the same time they have to be as light as possible” (Hagerty). This made the acquisition and discovery of smaller, lighter materials paramount. In finding and/or creating “exotic metal alloys and carbon fibers” (Hagerty), we have found new materials to make things other than rockets. And it 298

wasn’t just the materials that were getting lighter. NASA also had to make its component smaller. Weight was a big factor, but size was also important. If smaller components could be sent into space, then the rocket would be more effective. So work was done to make the components of the spacecraft smaller, including electronic equipment. If it wasn’t for these early changes, we may not have smartphones, laptops, or even home computers.

We would never have gotten as far as we have today if it weren’t for Von Braun and the expertise he had acquired from building rockets during WWII. Now that we are in space, we have the capabilities to do so much. GPS’s and cell phones would not exist or be nearly as effective without rockets and satellites.

Satellites are vital to many things. The most applicable is the cell phone. Cell phones need satellites to bounce radio frequencies to any other part of the world. Without this technology, calling for help would be a lot harder, and many more people would have died over the years. Another application is GPS, or global positioning systems. They work in comparing the positions of GPS satellites with the radio frequency on the ground to determine one’s position on the earth. This has had revolutionary applications in the tracking of airline flights, so the pilots know where they are heading, along with search and rescue operations. GPS has revolutionized the way people navigate, and how they are found. GPS systems help rescuers get to people quicker than they could if they were searching without the systems. Time can be saved with GPS systems, and thus, lives can be saved.

Air travel is one of the most important advanced that we have made. In the beginning of WWI, airplanes had just been invented around a decade before the war started, and thus were still very rudimentary. They were essentially boxy clunky death machines.

When WWI first started out, they were used only for reconnaissance (if two pilots from different sides saw each other, all they could do was wave) (Stubkjaer). This changed when someone thought to bring along a gun to shoot at the other pilot. Soon, both sides figured out how to drop explosives down onto their enemies without using zeppelins, which were essentially exploding hydrogen death traps. The new bombers could fly in, drop their payload, and fly out, instead of the zeppelin, which had to float over the target, and potentially get pushed around by the wind, not to mention being shot at from the ground.

Now that the new bombers were in use, each side had to come up with a way to defend themselves against the new onslaught from above. The solution was to arm smaller biplanes with machine guns. Soon, the alternator was invented (the machine that keeps bullets from hitting the prop), which helped people realize the feasibility of fighters, and a new age of aerial combat had begun. Slowly, airplanes got larger and larger, until they could fly across oceans or around the world.

The other period of great improvement for airplanes was WWII. At the beginning of WWII, there were still countries using biplanes.

When these countries realized how important air superiority was, they quickly got around to making planes faster, more durable, and more heavily armed. Soon, biplanes were ditched altogether (the 299

second wing helped provide more lift, but slowed the plane down.

Once a more powerful engine was invented, airplanes didn’t need the second wing, because they could get off the ground with just one set of wings). Now that each side had high flying heavily armored planes, they started trying to one up each other, making their planes faster, more bullet proof, or adding more machine guns and cannons, or larger bomb payloads. When the Nazis invented the jet, the allies had to quickly figure out how to make their own through experimenting or capturing German planes.

There are many aspects of today’s life that are influenced by these technologies. One major one is business and diplomacy. Both of these are heavily influenced by air travel. Without air travel, business would be much slower than it is today. And if it is interrupted, then consequences can be devastating.

In 2010, the volcano Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland erupted, and flights in Europe had to be canceled for a short time. According to airbus, the disruption of flights had major impacts around the world, with “The total impact on global GDP will amount to approximately US$4.7 billion as airlines, airports, hotels, convention centers and a host of other sectors realize lost business both during and after the shutdown of airspace” (Airbus). This was due to one region of the world being cut off from air travel for a week, but the impact on tourism and unrealized business shows how integral air travel is. Without it, tourism to other countries would be much slower, and not as popular or cheap. With that, hotels and other businesses would not be as lucrative. Plus, airports are a source of tax money. They support the government, and are a large part of every economy.

But though these technologies make the world what it is today, there is an unpleasant truth. The fact of the matter is simply that in wars, people die. And maybe these new technologies aren’t worth the lives lost, especially when the lives lost range in the millions.

Let’s take Wernher von Braun for example. Even though he got us to the moon, he was still a Nazi. He did not oppose or stand by Hitler. He just worked on his dream, and created weapons for Germany. And then there was the fact that his inventions were used as weapons. Over 3,000 V2 rockets were launched, killing around 6,000 people in Britain alone. And they were the beginning of a new kind of warfare.

Another problem with war technologies is that many of them are made with the sole purpose of killing. The nuclear bomb is a great example. With the ability to flatten cities, it is a terrifying weapon.

Coupled with ICBMs, and nukes can be deployed anywhere within an hour. This new type of warfare is a scary thought: the ability to end millions of lives at the push of a button. Weapons like this aren’t even useful anymore. Right now, they are used as nuclear deterrents. Today, they do little more than scare people.

Chemical weapons are another example of tools that are usually only used to kill lots of people at one time. Chemical warfare was originally thought up in WWI by German scientist Fritz Haber, who invented chlorine gas (wiki contributors). Substances like chlorine gas kill people by reacting with mucosa in the lungs to for hydrochloric acid, which caused the subject to drown on land. In WWI, many of the deaths caused were due to gas attacks.

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Yet another downside of these advancements is their impact on the environment. Weapons like bombs and nukes have taken their toll on the environment. And the production of these products is another thing to consider. Lots of oil and rare earth metals go into making these products, and the acquisition and use of these products is slowly heating the planet. Nuclear power is another large source of environmental hazards.

Because of these problems we need a way to advance technology without killing people. Unfortunately, I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see a realistic situation where this is possible on a large scale. One way to solve this problem is to have all scientists, nationality disregarded, connected to each other so that they can bounce ideas off of each other and collaborate. But this would take countries cooperating with each other, and not every nation is friendly. A large reason countries conduct research is to gain the upper hand. Nobody wants everybody to have an upper hand.

After completing this research project, I am still not entirely certain where I stand. On one hand, we have gained so much from these conflicts. The conflicts of the past have gotten us very far. But with that said, many have died in these conflicts, and mostly due to these new weapons. Divorced of all other motives and casualties, and just looking at the effects, I think that after analyzing this subject, the use of these new technologies today is too great to not have them. Also accounting the people these technologies have saved, and

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Beyerchen, Alan. "German Imports -- Secret Agenda. the United States Government, Nazi Scientists, and Project Paperclip, 1945 to 1990 by Linda Hunt." Science 255.5043 (1992): 481. ProQuest. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.

Birriel, Jennifer. "New Cosmic Horizons: Space Astronomy from the V2 to the Hubble Space Telescope." Astronomy 05 2002: 84,84,87. ProQuest. Web. 25 Apr. 2014 .

Bolton, Claude M. "US Army Aviation - the Way Forward." Military Technology 30.10 (2006): 98-101. ProQuest. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.

Reddy, F. (2006, 02). NASA's next giant leap. Astronomy, 34, 62-67.

Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/215928746?accountid=3830 "The Economic Impacts of Air Travel Restrictions Due to Volcanic Ash."Airbus.com. Oxford Economics/ Airbus, n.d. Web. VON BRAUN. (2007). Kirkus Reviews, (14) Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/917354064?accountid=3830 Wikipedia contributors. "V-2 rocket." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 1 Jun. 2014. Web. 3 Jun. 2014.

"Collections Search." Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Home Page. Smithsonian, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Edwards, Owen. "Wernher von Braun's launch: although the Nazi 'vengence weapon' was a wartime failure, it ushered in the space age."Smithsonian July-Aug. 2011: 32+. U.S. History In Context.

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"Flights into History and Their Effects on Technology, Politics, and Commerce."Science and Its Times. Ed. Neil Schlager and Josh Lauer. Vol. 6. Detroit: Gale, 2001. Science in Context. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

Mellberg, William F. "A rocket pioneer's legacy." Sky & Telescope Sept. 2004: 118+. Science In Context. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

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Reynolds Sullivan

The Special Needs Education System The government should be helping to keep their promises and encourage the community to help support children with disabilities get a better education to suit their needs There are many children today in the United States that have very severe disabilities such as autism down syndrome and many more. Every kid deserves an education right? So why is there such a lack of knowledge in the education of these kids? Most people don't pay any attention to the special ed classes in schools and the and special needs kids in their town. These kids have families, friends, and relatives who will care about them and want the best for their education. And as a community we should want the same for them. Unfortunately there's not as much time and effort put into looking at the funding and support for the special needs programs as there are four schools in a normal classroom setting.

Educating children with special needs is a very important roll our community place. These children will grow up to become adults that I hopefully can live a functioning life and homework possibly on their own and be a functioning member of society. Every parent hopes that the kid will be able to grow up in the is successful life although

these visions change when users child has special needs parents still want the best for the kids and the community should try and support families that might not be able to provide this for their kids.

The child special-needs there are some things that help make learning easier for them some of these things are: having a good relationship with the teacher, being comfortable in their learning environment, being able to interact with peers and other students, a structured program, and being challenged and pushed to learn new things (shima). In today's systems it's hard to find the right program to accommodate all of these needs, and for some children who learn best without other kids around, or get very anxious with other kids it can be helpful to be in a private program instead of a public or private school (Ussery). Each program has its benefits and its drawbacks but learning how to correctly place a child to suit their needs and to fully grasp their learning potential is a difficult challenge in today's society. But with some help, some support from the community, and support from the Board of Education could be fixed.

There are some major problems with the systems today. The current system for kids is set up in a way where it is hard for parents and family members to decide where their child would learn best (Shima). Some parents would like their child in a personalized system. In a private system like that there are some pros and cons.

Some of the positive aspects of it are that the child has very monitor progress, the goals can be changed and the child gets to have a comfortable and close relationship with the teacher. These are all very important in helping a child with special needs learn the skills 303

they need to. However in order to provide a special needs child with such an aducation requires a good about of money. Approximately 95% of all familys with a child with special needs in the United States do not have the proper funding for a completely personalized education program (Ussery).

However being comfortable in a learning environment is not always the best thing for children with special needs (Shubha). Just like in a normal school setting, children benefit from watching their peers. In a classroom setting is really beneficial for kids to look at their peers and base their progress off of them (Littin). In a public school setting children are in a class with a greater number of other kids. By being in a class with kids that have other special needs and even some that might have similar needs a child can see what their peers are doing and can continue to work on what they need to. Social skills are very crucial component to a child's development as well (Littin).

By being in a public setting where a child with special needs is exposed to other kids they can work on their social skills and learn how to interact with one another. This is one of the drawbacks of having a private personalized education program. In a program where kid is at home and working with tutors they don't get the chance to meet other kids their age and learn how to interact with them. This is a very big component and how it child develops (Ussery). By not having other children to compare their progress with a child with special needs has a hard time gauging where they are and where they should be at their age. Another drawback to having a child in a personalized program is that the teachers are usually kids in college or just out of college they don't generally have

very much experience and although sometimes this can be a good thing sometimes it's very helpful to have someone with more experience to gage child's progress. In a public school system there is a mix of very experienced teachers Who have been teaching for a while and kids that are out of college or in college that are learning (Ussery). Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s good to have teachers of both groups to have new input and experienced input. A public school is not always the best option for a kid though sometimes kids don't learn well in the big learning environment public-school classes can have up to 50 kids in the special-needs program. In a private school program that is still a school for multiple kids but is not public there about 8 to 10 kids per teacher. It can be really beneficial to kids because they still have the peers to interact with and they also have a close relationship with the teachers.

There are other benefits that don't only and affect the student. For a lot of families those 6 to 8 hours that their child that school is the only time that those parents have without the child. Every parent love the kid but want to child special needs it can be a real strain on the family for other siblings and for the parents the child often has to be supervised 24 seven. As much as parents hate sending a kid to school it can be a real stress reliever to have a few hours for themselves for the family (Laura L).

Many people have some concerns about sending their child the way to the school. This is especially true if a child has never been away from home or from the pants for an extended period of time or if the child is nonverbal. Having a nonverbal child can be very stressful to not have them in your site and nonverbal child leaves the child in ca304

pable of telling the parents of something is really wrong. If the child is being hurt at school or abused but have no way of communicating to the parents of somethingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wrong. This is not only true though in private and public schools is can also happen at home with a private tutor it's less often reported but it still is an actor people don't realize that these things happen everywhere and that the matter where you are there's always some risk but it's not worth jeopardizing your child's education for a very uncommon occurrence. The reality of it is that no one the matter how horrible is completely safe wherever they go the learning how to cope with different situations makes them more prepared for the real world (Ussery).

One more problem that is currently set up by the school systems throughout the country is that there's a very inconsistent is the government funding and support for children with special needs. Children to qualify can receive a certain number of hours towards their education. It helps parents who don't have the correct funding to send their kids to private school or even a public school and especially not a private education program if that is the right choice for the child. For example right now I child who can receive up to 400 hours in the state of New York from the government can only receive 50 hours in North Carolina (Ussery). This leads to a lot of confusion for the family and the parents. There needs to be a system across-the-board throughout the United States to help parents and families with kids who have special needs know exactly what support they will be given it should not vary from state to state.

There also needs to be away for a parent guardian and family genocidal which program is best for their kidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s needs. There needs to be

a much more extensive test and an investigative team to go and then and analyze each individual such a situation to truly decide which program would be best for the kids. In the past few years there's been a major increase and Hispanic and other racially and racial and ethnic groups of children with disabilities coming into the system because of the awareness that is being spread however the parents and the family members don't have enough knowledge about the subject properly evaluate which program would work best for the child. The family may just except whatever the school for the government suggests.

The government needs to be helping to keep up with the public schools that are being funded by them to make sure that the teachers are utilizing their support. For example, children with developmental disabilities often need speech therapy (Lisa A). Usually in public schools the children go to see the speech therapist once a week. However, just learning something every seven days is not a sufficient way of learning. A teacher must practice and go over the skills that were learned the last class throughout the rest of the week to help keep those skills fresh. When teachers do not reinforce these new skill they are lost on the students and by the next week the teachers are going over the same things. The government and the teachers should have a better way of making sure the students are learning to their full potential.

Another flaw in the system is something that used to be in place. It is called Curriculum based introduction, or community based introduction (Ussery). This is a crucial skill for children to have. It is where the children go out and practice the skills they have learned 305

in real life situations. Without being able to go out and actually practice the skills that they've learned the children have no way of setting what they know into actual skills that they can put to use in the world. Although the teachers can teach them using a plastic credit card in a plastic ATM how to swipe a credit card and how to pay for something it's not as effective is actually going out and practicing the skills.

All of these problems that I have just listed but only a small portion of the issues in the system today. But by raising awareness and helping people in the general community and in educational support systems understand what the needs of the special needs kids are it can make a huge difference in the support provided for kids. The kids no matter what disability they have are going to grow up to become a part of a community and if they're not educated properly at it early age they will have less of a chance to contribute to the community. It's important to make everyone feel like they have a place and not to leave people out of getting an education which is something that most of us take for granted. If everyone in the community works together to help raise awareness then the Board of Education will see that there is a need for it they will help and stand for the children and families kids with developmental disabilities.

Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge my family for giving me background information throughout my life, having a family member with a disability helped me understand the topic on a deeper level.

I would also like to acknowledge Kelli Ussery for allowing me to interview her and for proofreading.

I would like to acknowledge my aunt for letting me talk to her about how she chose a schooling program for her daughter.

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Works Cited Arce, Josephine, et al. "No Child Left Behind: Who Wins? Who Loses?" Social Justice 32.3 (2005): 56-71. ProQuest. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Caillier, James Gerard. "The no Child Left Behind Act: Are States on Target to make their Goals?" The Journal of Negro Education 76.4 (2007): 582-96. ProQuest. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Grow, Laura L., et al. "A COMPARISON OF METHODS FOR TEACHING RECEPTIVE LABELING TO CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS." Journal of applied behavior analysis 44.3 (2011): 475-98. ProQuest. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Huffman, 138 Members of Congress Ask President Obama to Increase Funding for Special Education in FY15 Budget. Lanham: Federal Information & News Dispatch, Inc, 2014. ProQuest. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Lauderdale-Littin, Stacy, Erica Howell, and Jan Blacher. "Educational Placement for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Public and Non-Public School Settings: The Impact of Social Skills and Behavior Problems." Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities 48.4 (2013): 469-78. ProQuest. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Reed, Phil, Lisa A. Osborne, and Mark Corness. "The Real-World Effectiveness of Early Teaching Interventions for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder." Exceptional children 73.4 (2007): 417-33. ProQuest. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Tracy, Gershwin Mueller, George H. S. Singer, and Elizabeth J. Grace. "The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and California's Proposition 227: Implications for English Language Learners with Special Needs." Bilingual Research Journal 28.2 (2004): 231,251,291-293. ProQuest. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Kalaei, Shima. "STUDENTS WITH AUTISM LEFT BEHIND: NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND AND THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT." Thomas Jefferson Law Review 30.2 (2008): 723-49. ProQuest. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Kashinath, Shubha, Juliann Woods, and Howard Goldstein. "Enhancing Generalized Teaching Strategy use in Daily Routines by Parents of Children with Autism." Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research 49.3 (2006): 466-85. ProQuest. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

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Alex Testa

Corporate Chain Stores vs Independent Stores Weighing the Benefits vs. Costs to the Community There is a lively debate in cities across California and the Nation concerning the cost and benefits of allowing large corporate chain stores to enter our communities. More often than not, it appears that there is a vocal opposition to large chain stores entering a community. However, there are a growing number of people that are advocating for a balance between independent businesses and large corporate chains. Both sides of this debate have their own set of facts and studies that supports their position, although after consideration and research some facts and studies appear much less convincing than others. The support and justification in favor of large

corporate chain stores always includes an analysis of their financial impact on the communities they serve. While the supporters of independent stores generally focus on the concept of keeping decisions local, income in the community and promoting a diversity of customer choice. Every city should strive to maintain a healthy balance between independent and chain stores, however in today’s economic environment, communities simply cannot afford to just ban the direct economic benefits chain stores bring to the cities they serve.

The “Debate” between the benefits of big business versus small local businesses is not new. In fact it started almost as soon as the modern corporation came into existence. “Henry Demarest Lloyd, a precursor for the muckraking journalists of the Progressive Era, considered the lords of industry monopolists and profiteers, who blocked the road to success for those who tried to compete with them. Others, like Edward Atkinson, a successful investor and businessman, asserted that the great business titans made all Americans better off through their innovations in management, finance, and production,” (The Debate Over Big Business). Mr. Lloyd first wrote his attacks on Standard Oil in 1881 in the Atlantic Monthly, and in 1894 he published “Wealth against Commonwealth,” (Henry Demarest Lloyd). Lloyd’s basic argument against big business remains almost unchanged in modern times - that the powerful and wealthy businesses take advantage of the poor individuals and small businesses. Lloyd’s statement, “Believing wealth to be good, the people believed the wealthy to be good. But, again in history, power has intoxicated and hardened its possessors,” (Henry Demar308

est Lloyd) is not much different in meaning than what modern antichain store advocates say today, even the stakeholders remain unchanged from Lloyd’s time.

It is clear there are a wide number of stakeholders involved in the Debate between big chain stores and independents. The most obvious are the owners of Independent Stores and the owners of the big chain stores. It is important to keep in mind that “owners” of the big chain stores are the shareholders of a corporation which can include individual people, financial funds, and other corporations like banks, and investment firms. This difference in ownership is a major reason why the reactions from the two groups of owners are very different. The individual owners or “sole proprietors” are personally involved in the success or failure of their business, and take any threats to their business very personally, or even to the point of giving up, “I don’t want to do this anymore,” (Miller Thinker Toys to Close). The owners of a corporation are really represented by the Board of Directors, and the CEO of the corporation. While the Board and the CEO are typically also individual shareholders of the corporation, they are solely focused on the financial performance of the corporation. This difference is probably responsible for why there is such a big difference in the arguments made by Independents and big chains. The independents often sound like they are fighting for survival and the big chains are taking a more profit driven approach. However, the owners are not the only stakeholders with a stake, at stake.

There are four other groups of stakeholders in the debate: consumers, employees, the community and the city, each with their own

self-interest in the outcome. It is important to understand that consumers, employees, and the community are actually the same individuals acting in different roles and often with different priorities.

The City on the other, hand has its own set of priorities including the fiscal welfare of the community and economic viability of the city, including increasing its tax base. For consumers, their priorities include: low consumer prices, product variety, diversity of shopping experience, and proximity of shopping to their homes. Employees’ priorities are high wages, good medical insurance, and pleasant work environments. The Community is a broader category of people living in a general area that share common interests. The Community includes both consumers and employees, but also includes people of all the different financial strata (rich, middle class, and poor), children, retired, and non-working people, etc. The Community’s interest is often to maintain overall prosperity, and enable the area to flourish. Generally speaking, there is no single solution that will to satisfy all of these groups, tradeoffs must be made, and it is over the tradeoffs that debate between big chains and independents really happens.

In evaluating what side to take in this debate, a person must be prepared to weigh the importance of each stakeholder’s value relative to their communities’ interests. If a city has high unemployment, then employees (or job seekers) interests would be considered more important than consumers’ interests. In the same way that Independent store owners interests may not be considered as important to a city that is losing employment opportunities due to shoppers leaving the area to shop in other cities. The prosperity of the 309

community in a city like San Francisco, can also have big impact the overall priorities of stakeholders. If a city is affluent then often the community is more interested in Consumers interests of diversity and shopping experience. In all cases each community must make a determination of what is important to them, and then hope that the officials in the city they live in agrees. In any case it is often the advocates way of stating their position that has as much impact as the position itself.

The advocates against chain stores usually take the position of “for” independent stores and “against” chain stores, whereas the advocates of chain stores do not typically argue against independent stores. This becomes obvious when reading the research and opinions of experts and speaking with common folks about their experience. If you do an internet search on “is Walmart good or bad.”

You quickly find that the majority of the responses point to debates and essays that either point out the harm that Walmart does to independent retailers and its employees, or defend Walmart for its ability to create jobs in the community, (Walmart Good or Bad). None of the pro-Walmart advocates pointed to the benefits of the destruction of independent retailers. This difference in approach often makes the anti-chain store groups seem mean spirited and malicious in their attacks. In only a very few of the papers and debates on the topic, did the anti-chain store advocates grudgingly admit that there were any benefits to allowing chain stores into the community.

On the other hand, the pro-chain store supporters often seemed much more balanced in the support of their position, relying less on emotion and more on evidence and economic analysis. This is not

to say that the anti-chain store groups do not also have their own economic analysis of the impacts of chain stores, the difference is that their analysis usually hinges on the damage suffered by independent stores and the owners themselves, rather than the impact on the overall communities. The Benefits of Buying Locally is a good example of this approach in which the author’s primary concern is only for a small minority of independent store owners, rather than the community as a whole. In weighing the economic benefits, a person must decide if the benefits of the community as a whole outweigh the benefits of a minority group.

Another argument in favor of independent stores hinges on the diversity and character they bring to the community and their success in supporting tourism. Cities that depend on tourism know the value of “character” in attracting tourists and the revenue generated by tourism. “Communities that sell to tourists have significantly more retail establishments and a diverse mix of products and services,” (Attracting Tourists). Creating an interesting cityscape that is successful in drawing tourists often depends on attracting Independent shops, each different and unique, to make for an enjoyable shopping and dining experience. Evelin Knafo, an affluent San Francisco shopper said, “I enjoy going to Department stores, like Niemen Marcus and Saks, because I can find everything I need. However when it comes to whether or not I want to go to a local restaurant or a chain, I would normally choose local, because they serve gourmet quality food,” Independent restaurants each with their own unique menu give people a wide variety of food choices so that both locals and tourists will come back to experience something new. It is their 310

drawing power that is often considered a major benefit of Independent stores and restaurants. However, it may actually be the drawing power of the chains that enables the independent stores to survive.

The chain store “halo effect” on independent stores is not something you will hear about from the anti-chain store advocates, but it is something Independent owners clearly recognize and are willing to use to their advantage. The “halo effect” is the positive impact chain stores have on surrounding businesses as they use their marketing dollars to attract shoppers to a location, and also their consumption of local services. Here in San Francisco there are 67 Starbucks locations and the more than 250 independent coffee shops competing with them. Here the “halo effect” that Starbucks has on surrounding business is tremendous, even for the competing independent coffee shops. Having a Starbucks next door to your independent coffee shop actually drives up business. Herb Hyman the owner of 3 Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf stores in San Francisco experienced this when Starbuck’s moved in across the street. “Hyman's new neighbor boosted his sales so much that he decided to turn the tactic around and start targeting Starbucks. "We bought a Chinese restaurant right next to one of their (Starbucks) stores and converted it (to a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf location), and by God, it was doing $1 million a year right away,"” (Don’t Fear Starbucks).

This “halo effect” directly contradicts what anti-chain store advocates often point out as a major issue, that once a chain store or restaurant has entered a community it always draws away customers from independents. Even for big box retailers this is not always the

case. “Small shops love being close to the big stores. "Do we benefit? Absolutely," said Amanda Swanson, manager of the European Wax Center, a new shop near the 3-year-old SuperTarget in Woodbury. "At least 50 to 75 percent of our new guests say they have seen us when they were going to Target." (When Walmart Leaves) However, there seems to be a difference in the way chain restaurants impact a community versus chain stores.

It appears that consumers appreciate Chain Stores for their variety and good pricing, but appreciate Independent restaurants for much the same reasons. Evelin Knafo, an affluent San Francisco shopper said, “I enjoy going to large department stores, like Niemen Marcus and Saks because I can find everything I want in one store and often at great sale prices. However, when it comes to whether or not I want to go to a local restaurant or a chain, I almost always choose local, because I can pick the type of good food I feel like having and know I’m not getting a meal that was prepared an hour before I got there” (Evelyn Knafo). As Mrs. Knafo points out and studies agree large chains typically have lower pricing than local independent stores for the same items because of their large volumes and supply chain advantages. Even expensive chain stores like Saks are still less expensive during a sale than independent clothing stores. However, Mrs. Knafo is typical of San Francisco residents in her preference for local (Independent) restaurants. In this situation, it is the quality of the food and the ability to pick exactly the type of food she wants that is more valuable. This opinion is probably why independent restaurants are so important in tourist areas, they add needed diversity, but you will always find a few fast 311

food chains nearby as well to enable people to eat and run. One can compare a single Starbucks Coffee shop to a single independent coffee shop with interesting results. A single Starbucks in San Francisco generates approximately $1,160,000 in gross revenues with an average of 16 employees per location. This means that all 67 locations in San Francisco contribute roughly $6,600,000 in sales tax with about 1072 employees. The average San Francisco independent coffee shop averages roughly $550,000 in gross revenue, contributes $46,750 in sale tax revenue, and employees 10 people. There are approximately 180 independent coffee shops in San Francisco generating about $8,400,000 in sale tax with 1800 employees. So it would seem that Independents and Starbucks are roughly similar, except there are more independents. However, there is one critical area where Starbucks excels – medical coverage for its employees.

Starbucks provides medical insurance to every single one of its employees, including part time employees. This is one benefit large companies have that they can pass on to their employees – health care. Independents in San Francisco with less than 20 employees are not required to provide medical coverage to their employees or to participate in the city sponsored health care plan. As Shannon Staples, owner of the Fat Angel Bakery, in Fairfax, CA says, “I would love to provide medical coverage for myself and my employees, but with only 12 employees I simply can’t afford it. It would cost more than the flour I use each month.” (Shannon Staples). In fact, Starbucks actually does spend more on health care than it does on coffee beans. (Health Care than Coffee") So while the sala-

ries are similar at both Starbucks and Independents, Starbucks is clearly a better place to work as an employee.

Is there a clear winner in the Debate? The answer is no, what is evident from the research is that there is no single answer for every community and city. San Francisco appears to be a very special case in America, it actually has the largest number of independent businesses than any other city in America with more than 115,800 small business which make up 98% of all businesses in the city.

(Top Cities for Small Business) A key reason for this amazing number of independent business is that in 2006 San Francisco enacted a law stating, “a “formula” retail store or restaurant cannot open in any of the city’s neighborhood commercial districts unless it undergoes a public hearing and obtains special approval from the Planning Commission.” (SF Dealing with Chains). What is important to understand about this law is that it does not prevent large chain stores from operating in the city center and downtown commercial centers. So while the anti-chain store advocates want to eliminate this “loophole”, this fact may be exactly why the law is so effective.

By preventing chain stores from operating in the local neighborhoods, but allowing them in the city center, San Francisco has set up an enforced balance within its community that appears to work well.

The solution to protecting independent businesses and diversity, while allowing large chains to provide their benefits of low price and selection is to segregate them in the community. What makes San Francisco’s law work so well is that it does not simply eliminate the large chains stores, but rather it gives them a designated location, 312

and forces them to compete with each other. If you visit San Francisco’s Union Square you will find thirty major clothing retailer battling, for your business, but if you walk along Union Street you can visit more than 30 independent clothing stores, and only two major clothing retailers: Armani and Bebe. And both Armani and Bebe on Union Street were required to build small format locations similar to the other independent boutiques. So the solution is not about banning the chain stores, cities understand that they stand to lose in terms of employment and tax revenue.

But as good as San Francisco’s solution works here locally, would the solution work everywhere else? The answer maybe yes, but there are some important elements of San Francisco that other city managers would have to consider. Most important is that San Francisco is an extremely affluent community with very low unemployment, this means its community has the ability to absorb the higher prices required by Independent business, and there is not a large number of job seekers residing in the city itself. However, the idea of segregating chain stores to defined shopping districts and allowing local businesses to serve local neighborhoods makes the most sense for all communities. This solution allows all the stakeholders to benefit.

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"Starbucks Company Statistics." Statistic Brain RSS. Statistic Brain, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Chain Store (retailing Operation)."Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 07 May 2014.

Vedder, Richard K., and Ken Jacobs. "Is Walmart Good or Bad for America? A Debate: Events: The Independent Institute." Is Walmart Good or Bad for America? A Debate: Events: The Independent Institute. The Independent Institute, May-June 2007. Web. 03 June 2014.

Sabatini, Joshua. "Expansion of SF Chain Store Regulations Would Be Bad for Business, Report Says." The San Francisco Examiner.

Foundation, 14 Feb. 2014. Web. 09 May 2014.

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Zoe Thompson-Brooks

Man’s Best Friend: The Sad Truth about Animal Euthanasia Dogs are commonly referred to as ‘man’s best friend’. If this is true, then why are so many of them being put down in shelters every year? More than half of the 8 million dogs and cats in homeless shelters right now won’t ever make it out alive. If someone were to combine the total number of dogs euthanized every day in just the LA County Shelters, they would get a total of 200 dogs—per day. In LA County alone! Think of how many people searching for a family dog could have adopted one and saved a life. What’s stopping people?

There are many reasons why overpopulation of homeless pets is a big issue all over. One of the main causes of this worldwide issue is unfixed pets. Another reason this issue is caused is the common myth that you can only get a good dog from breeders. Many people buy their dogs from breeders, thinking this is the better option, that adopting a dog isn’t a good idea because it might’ve had a bad past

and not be friendly. But this is very untrue! Euthanasia of dogs and cats is a big issue that must be stopped by fixing pets, and adopting instead of buying from breeders and puppy mills.

Euthanasia is quite a controversial topic. The root of the word comes from the Greek word, εὐθανασία, which translates to “good death.” And, at a first glance, pet euthanasia may not seem like a big deal. It might even seem like the right thing to do, or, at least, the least wrong thing. If there’s too many pets, and euthanasia is the most humane way to kill a dog or a cat, then why is it so bad?

But as you dig deeper into the topic, the right answer becomes clear and simple; why destroy innocent lives when we can do everything in our power to destroy the root cause of the problem instead? Overpopulation is caused by us humans making mistakes in where we get our family pet and how we treat them. Without people causing this problem, we wouldn’t even have to use euthanasia, because the shelters wouldn’t be overcrowded in the first place. Overpopulation and homelessness is a huge issue in the dog and cat world. Efforts for decreasing high rates of strays are currently in action, yet it feels like we can do so much more to help this issue. And even though putting a dog to sleep may seem like a humane way to die, how can we know that for sure? And, euthanasia is costly! “Over $2 billion is spent annually by local government to shelter and ultimately destroy 8-10 million adoptable dogs and cats. If we took just 5% of the money we use to euthanize, we could use it to open a low-cost spay and neuter clinic,” says Veronica Ferrantelli, president of The Dog Rescuers, a non-profit, charitable organization. With this 315

money, we could be trying to fix the problem instead of just euthanizing and never helping to fix the problem.

The first cause of this issue is clear; people need to stop buying dogs from breeders. There’s a popular phrase: “adopt, don’t shop.”

People like to buy dogs from breeders because they want a ‘purebred’ dog, like a mixed breed dog isn’t a good type of dog. But this myth is not true in the slightest sense; mutts are just as good as purebreds! Veronica Ferrantelli says, “there is also the misconception that breeders are responsible and professional, making sure they don’t produce too many dogs. But, there is actually no such thing as ‘responsible breeding.’ In fact, breeders have an overwhelming population control problem.”

Along with breeders, there are also puppy mills. Puppy mills treat dogs terribly, keeping them in tiny cages and breeding many females to have far too many puppies, and just create more and more dogs to end up in the shelters and be euthanized. "Many people don't realize that when they buy a puppy from a pet store or online they are most likely condemning the mother of that puppy to a life of misery in a puppy mill," said Melanie Kahn, senior director of the puppy mills campaign for The HSUS. One unfixed female and her litter, over the span of 6 years, can produce up to 67,000 dogs.

Over a lifetime, a female can have over 100 puppies, and a male can father even thousands. (The Dog Rescues) The other main cause of this issue is unfixed pets. This is a big issue in many different countries for varying reasons. Here are some common reasons; “I’ll just be careful—there’s no need to spay/

neuter my dog/cat.” This reason is common because people often think it is possible to be careful, even though it isn’t. It is much too risky to keep your dog unfixed and think that you can just control what he or she does, because it is extremely likely that your dog will become pregnant or cause pregnancy. Another reason is, “It’s cruel to neuter/spay a dog/cat.” This is not true at all. The dog feels absolutely no different than it did before it was fixed. The real cruelty is causing dogs and cats to be homeless and eventually euthanized.

“Many people with unfixed pets say that they want their children to ‘witness the miracle of birth,’” says the Dog Rescuers. Some people aren’t even educated in the subject and just had no idea the issue even existed. It is clearly an issue when you understand that 70,000 puppies and kittens are born every single day, and with the rates of unwanted animals being born per day, we’ll never have enough homes for them. So, the second solution becomes clear—we must spay and neuter pets and stop the steadily increasing rates of overpopulation! Many places offer low-cost spay and neuter clinics, and although the cost may seem high initially, think of the money your saving in the long run; spaying and neutering saves taxpayer dollars, since capturing, sheltering, and euthanasia costs approximately $1100 per animal, which comes out of our own money. And, if your pet ever became pregnant, raising a litter of kittens or puppies costs a lot more than fixing the animal in the first place.

Although this issue continues to grow, it is not a lost cause! Presently there are many efforts being made all around the world that are helping educate others about the issue and helping lots of homeless dogs and cats find homes. And, anyone who wants to can help!

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Always adopt instead of buying a pet, and remember to spay and neuter your pets. Volunteering at shelters, adoption services, or any place that rescues stray, unwanted, and/or homeless dogs and helps them find a home without breeding their own puppies and creating more lives that may end up in the shelters, homeless, or euthanized is also contributing to the gradual process of solving the issue of animal overpopulation. It may feel like you are only contributing just a fraction of a percent to helping the issue, but any amount of helping gets us closer to not having the problem anymore! You are still making an impact. There is a story that goes like this: one day, a boy was on the beach, enjoying life. He saw another boy picking up starfish that had been washed up on shore and throwing them back into the ocean. He walked up to him and asked why he was doing that, and the boy responded, “I am saving these starfish’s lives.” He laughed and asked him, “But, there are so many washedup starfish. There’s no way you can save every single one.” The other boy replied, “It doesn’t matter. I know I can’t save them all, but at least I’m making an impact on the one’s I am saving, even if it is only a small amount of them. It’s the beginning to helping the issue.”

Volunteer at animal shelters is just like this—any impact, no matter how small, is still an impact.

An example of a great place to volunteer is Lake County Animal Services (LCAS), an organization where they take homeless, unwanted, adoptable pets and help give them good homes, without dogs being put to sleep. Their main goal is to save lives of unwanted pets and to minimize the number of dogs and companion animals being put to sleep every day. Volunteers help wash, social-

ize, and inform people about the puppy or dog they may be interested in. Events are held every Saturday at different Pet Food Express locations in Marin. Since 2003, LCAS has adopted out over 2500 dogs, and last year alone 74 were adopted. But this year, so far, they’ve adopted out 64, which is great! And, in Lake County, the efforts being made to help stop euthanasia is paying off— “This year so far, 1633 dogs and cats were euthanized, not including owner surrender. This is actually very good, because this is only 38% overall euthanasia rate, whereas just last year it was 2133 pets, a 58% overall euthanasia rate,” says Karen Schaver, the head organizer of LCAS. This is all good news.

Pet overpopulation and homelessness is still an issue, even if there are efforts to stop it. Dogs and cats are being put down every day just because there are too many of them. We need to put an end to this and truly fix this problem, and we can accomplish this by fixing pets and adopting them from shelters and giving them good homes.

No living creature deserves to live a short life without a proper home, so why not help give them a long, happy life? If only people with unfixed pets having unwanted litters could only see where the puppies and kittens usually end up once the litter is given to the shelters. This is why it is important to educate people on this subject, about what the issue is, why it is happening, and what the solutions are to the problem. “There is nothing more necessary than warming an orphan,” says Annette King Tucker. “Nothing more rewarding than saving a life.”

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Works Cited Bailey, Eric. "California and the West; Tiny County to Air Pet Euthanasia Documentary on TV; Animals: Officials Hope the Blunt Film Will Spur an Increase in Sterilizations. but Critics Say it is Offensive and may Give Viewers the Wrong Idea about Shelters." Los Angeles Times: 3. Dec 17 1998. ProQuest. Web. 22 Apr. 2014 .

Banks, Sandy. "Saving Pets, One at a Time; 'no-Kill December' was a Milestone for L.A. Animal Shelters. Cynics See a Hollow Victory; Others See a Way to Someday End Euthanasia." Los Angeles Times Jan 05 2013. ProQuest. Web. 22 Apr. 2014 .

Pets." The Washington Post: 0. Aug 22 1998. ProQuest. Web. 1 Apr. 2014 .

Scarlett, Janet M, D.V.M., PhD. "Are You Doing all You can to Reduce Euthanasia of Healthy, Adoptable Pets?" Veterinary Medicine 102.10 (2007): 638. ProQuest. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

"The HSUS Launches Puppy Mill Reward Offer during 2012 Puppy Mill Action Week." Targeted News ServiceMay 08 2012.ProQuest. Web. 25 May 2014 .

Verdon, Daniel R. "Euthanasia: Emotional and Costly." DVM 34.7 (2003): 24. ProQuest. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Ferrantelli, Veronica. "The Dog Rescuers." The Dog Rescuers. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 May 2014.

Hall, Carla. "L.A. Moratorium on Pet Euthanasia is Still in Effect." Los Angeles Times: 0. Feb 15 2007. ProQuest. Web. 2 Apr. 2014 .

Millan, Cesar. "Solving the Stray and Unwanted Dog Problem." Cesar's Way. Cesar Millan, Inc., 04 June 2013. Web. 02 Apr. 2014.

Parachini, Allan. "Pets and Ethics Veterinarians Rethink Euthanasia and Other Common Practices." Los Angeles Times (pre-1997 Fulltext): 1. Apr 26 1989. ProQuest. Web. 1 Apr. 2014 .

Pressley, Sue A. "A Collie Goes to Sleep on TV and Awakens a Community; Sheriff shows Euthanasia in Push for Spaying of 318

Zach Brenner

Holocaust in the Holy Land With all of the violence and corruption the Middle East has displayed, one conflict remains unresolved and ceaselessly ongoing more than 70 years. This is the Israel and Palestine conflict. The Israel Palestine conflict is a war that has a large effect on the Middle East due to its fragile political and religious ties. It pits the Jewish religion against the Muslim religion as well as the Arab nations against the western world. The immediate conflict started in 1947 when the UN voted to partition Palestine into two nations. One nation would remain Palestine and the other would be Israel, a nation for the Jews. Naturally this caused a large amount of resentment on the side of the Palestinians. Ever since the separation of Israel and Palestine, the two countries have been constantly at odds with no near end in sight. With no clear idea on which side is “right,” the only way to obtain peace is to have leaders who will stop demanding for “what belongs to them” and guide their radical citizens away from hate and terrorism, and towards building an accepting community that works alongside their neighboring nations to share a common goal of peace and prosperity.

In terms of modern history, the creation of Israel was only possible due to the effect of World War I. The area of Palestine was controlled by the Ottoman Empire until the end of World War I when the British took over, making Palestine known as British-mandate Palestine. The British were already in good terms with the Zionist movement and had already claimed it’s “support for the establishment in Palestine of a National Home for the Jewish people” (POV). The British ruled over Arabs and Jews in British-mandate Palestine, and in 1921, gave all of the Palestinian land east of the Jordan River to Emir Abdulla to create the country of Jordan. This caused a set of riots by the Palestinians who were now watching part of their home being taken away. The rest of what was British-mandate Palestine lasted until 1947 when the UN voted for a partition of Palestine to create Israel. When Zionist leaders proclaimed the state of Israel in 1948, the conflict we know today began.

While Palestine was partitioned in 1947, that area, specifically the most holy city, Jerusalem, appeared in Judaism, Islam, and Christianity for millions of years. While the land of Jerusalem is a major factor in all three religions, Israel’s first appearance in historical scripture is in I Samuel 3:19 of the Old Testament, where the “Land of Israel” is mentioned (Lewis 21). This shows that Jerusalem has been part of the Jewish faith for a long time, even though Zionism, the idea that there should be a nation of Jews, is relatively new. While an influence on Judaism as the Promised Land, Jerusalem has served as a holy land for Christianity and Islam. Jerusalem is the location of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion as well as the land from which the Muslim prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven. The name Je319

rusalem, however, does not appear in the Qur’an, but is known as the place to which Muhammad traveled to from Mecca in one night (Laquear 303-304).

In order to understand the conflict, one must understand the Zionist movement. It could be said that the whole conflict started with Zionism, but that does not make it a destructive movement. While definitions of the term vary, the clearest definition of Zionism was made

by Judge Daniel Brenner, an American judge in Los Angeles as well as avid Israeli activist, as “the idea that there should be a Jewish state and that the Jews are a nation (Brenner).” Zionists wanted to establish independent Judaism in Palestine, which is the location of Israel in the Jewish religion (Smith 26). Zionism dates back to the nineteenth century as a reaction to secular nationalism and antiSemitism in Europe (Smith 26). Smadar Lavie, Israeli author and Palestinian activist, who is very against Zionism, describes Zionism as a “European ideology of Jewish Nationalism.” She says that the main goal was to colonize Palestine in order to establish a Jewish state (Lavie). Lavie even goes on to suggest some incriminating details such as the fact that Theodore Hertzall, the founder of Zionism, was actually disdainful to Judaism and even refused to have his son circumcised, as is an ancient Jewish tradition. During the Nazi movement in the 1930’s-1940’s many Jews were forced to leave Europe which increase Jewish presence in the Middle East and especially Palestine, whereas said earlier, was a place of Jewish origins. That fact is something many people neglect, as many people believe that there were no Jews in Palestine before the partition into Israel. The Nazi movement also is said to increase anti-Semitism in the Middle

East, but Smadar Lavie disagrees, saying that Anti-Semitism is a European ideology and is not present in the Arab world (Lavie). Zionism wanted to end the anti-Semitism that prevailed in Western Europe (Smith 31). Finally, after the war, the British gave formal recognition to the Zionists and supported the idea of a “National Home for the Jews” (Lewis 348). The UN voted for a partition of Palestine and in 1948, the Zionists succeeded in their campaign and proclaimed the State of Israel. The UN turned a blind eye to the Arab rejection of the Partition.

The partition of Palestine occurred in 1947, and the Zionists proclaimed the state of Israel in 1948. This caused immediate reaction

by Palestine, who were enraged by the fact that their rejection of the partition went unheard. Due to the partition, 750,000 of the 900,000 Palestinians residing in the area were forced out (Lavie). Lavie may be exaggerating, as the UN holds the estimated amount of Palestinians forced out at 726,000 (Lewis 364). To the Israelis, the partition was known as the “war of independence” or Milhemet Hatzma’ut. To the Palestinians, this was known as “the great Catastrophe” or alNakbah (POV). What followed was known to the Israelis and most of the world as “The 6 Day War” in 1967. To the Islamic world, this was known as “The Setback” because the results were a large Israeli territory expansion. Israel took control of Egyptian, Jordanian, and Syrian lands including the Sinai Peninsula, which will become important later (POV).

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(Liveleaks.com)

The 6 day war paved the way for the ongoing conflict that plagues the Middle East today. While UN meetings with the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) tried to negotiate resolutions to give the Palestinians more rights, nothing was settled. Israel had become the epicenter of violence in the Middle East and nothing could be done. In 1972, in what was supposed to be a peaceful event, a group of Palestinian terrorists called the Black September infiltrated

the Munich Olympics and killed all but two of the Israeli athletes.

Not only were the governments of both sides quarreling, but radical citizens were taking matters in their own hands. Citizens who were not receiving attention they deserved, tried to grab the world’s attention by force. Judge Dan Brenner, who is an Israeli Jew and Zionist supporter puts it bluntly: he says that no leaders can make peace if their people consists of radicals who will stop at nothing to cause death and violence to the other side. While Judge Dan Brenner may have a bias being Israeli and Zionist, he does have a point that many would agree with. Terrorism, on both sides, hinders peace making processes more than anything. One of the most prime examples was the Munich Massacre in 1972. The Palestinian terrorist group Black September murdered almost all of the Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics while they were sleeping. The unspeakable act of terrorism shocked the world. Israel’s reaction, however, showed the country’s response to terrorism. Israel’s Prime Minister at the time, Golda Meir responded by saying “We have no choice but to strike at terrorist organizations wherever we can reach them.

This is our obligation to ourselves and to peace. We shall fulfill that obligation undauntedly” (Klein 101).

Since the 6 day war and Sinai war, small acts of violence and hate occurred in Israel and Palestine. One such occasion, as documented by journalist David Rubinger, was of a Palestinian doctor who was driving with his wife and children from Ramallah to Jerusalem when their car was stopped by Israeli border police. The policemen demanded to see their identification for no apparent reason, and after checking the I.Ds, threw them on the ground and told the 321

doctor and his wife to pick them up. The Palestinian doctor told Rubinger that he was not a terrorist, but at that moment felt that he could easily become one. (Rubinger 214). This shows that violence and terrorism just breed more violence and terrorism. It wasn’t until December of 1987 when the first Intifada, Arabic for “Uprising,” occurred. The Intifada was a large act of violence carried out by Palestinian civilians who organized outcries that involved throwing stones and gravel at Israeli soldiers. These citizens were those who felt oppressed by the Israelis in Gaza and the West Bank. These acts of what an Israeli soldier would call radicalism caused chaos and violence in both countries as Israel tried to react by adding more armed forces to the streets which ultimately led to more death. Journalist David Rubinger, who lived in Israel during this time documented his experiences such as being shot by a rubber bullet during a meeting with a Hamas (will be discussed later) leader when an Israeli convoy raided and open fired. He also witnessed a common form of violence in which while Palestinian radicals were rioting, Israeli police would “send in a jeep equipped with a cannon that spewed out volleys of gravel at demonstrators. Stones against stones” (Rubinger 212-216). A second Intifada would later occur in July of 2000 due to rioting in Jerusalem because of an Israel opposition leader’s trip to pray at Temple Mount. The two Intifadas were extreme acts of violence that contributed largely to the conflict, but aren’t quite acts of terrorism like that of the 1972 Munich Olympics.

In Palestine, a group called Hamas formed in the 1980’s in response to the first Intifada. Hamas is probably the most controversial group related to the conflict. To the UN and Israel, Hamas is a classified terrorist group with intentions of eradicating Israel and

spreading the name of Allah across Palestine. Smadar Lavie, on the other hand, disagrees with this label as she describes Hamas’ actions as “Guerilla Activities” and cannot be confused with terrorism.

She informs that Hamas, while having many negative sides such as their radicalism, brings a lot of good to Palestine. They were elected democratically and are monitored by the United States, she says, as well as give healthcare and education to Palestinians. She says that it is the Israeli Regime that commits acts of terrorism, where they bomb innocents just to kill one Hamas leader. Lavie’s comments seems to contain bias, because there is no denying that the two Hamas suicide bombings in 1994 as response to an Israeli attack in Hebron is terrorism (Smith 448). Dan Brenner describes Hamas as a terrorist organization that is radical and have no intentions for peace. He says that Israel in no way commits acts of terrorism, and it is Palestinians that blow up busses full of innocent children to gain media attention and cause chaos to Israel. It is known that acts of terror have been caused by Hamas, such as in 1996 when a Hamas suicide bomb killed 57 Israelis. Hamas does reject any peace treaties made in the famous Oslo agreement (will be discussed later). David Rubinger says that Israel thought that they would be able to control Hamas which is why they did not interfere with the group’s formation in 1988. They thought it would be a good thing for Hamas to take over in Palestine but as Rubinger puts it: “they [Israel] failed to realize at the time, however, was that, by giving tacit support to Hamas they were helping to create a monster” (Rubinger 212).

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Before looking at ways to make peace, it is important to look back on attempts for peace in the past. In 1978-81, Egypt’s President Anwar Sadat, Israel Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and United States President Jimmy Carter all sat down to discuss peace and eventually signed the Camp David Accords. In this agreement, Israel gave back the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt that they conquered during the 6 Day War in exchange for peace and alliance with Egypt.

While this was a significant step for Israel and the Arab nation, Egypt was expelled from the Arab League in response to the act of peace (POV). Later, the Intifadas would start in response to Israel’s occupation. In October 1991, the Madrid Peace Conference took place, which marked “the first time Arab parties (except for Egypt) sat down at a table together” (POV). The Madrid Conference consisted of representatives from Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, and Egypt. While little was accomplished from this conference, the next conference would prove to be a major step for Palestine and Israel. This conference was held in Oslo, Norway. As a result of the conference, Israel recognized the Palestinian Liberation Organization and both sides agreed that they would make gradual steps for peace and negotiation. The Oslo Agreement would end the idea of existentialism, which is the idea that a land belongs to someone because they claim it is rightfully theirs (usually to do with religion) (POV).

Even with the Oslo Agreement, violence continued to erupt in Israel and Palestine such as the 1994 killing of over 20 Palestinians by an Israeli radical as well as a 1996 Hamas suicide bombing. Just like the old proverb says: “the more things change, the more they stay

the same.” Hate and aggression still rips apart the Middle East.

When asking Smadar Lavie about her opinions on peace, her first thought is that peace is impossible. When asked about the peace agreements between Israel and Egypt, she says that the peace is not real. Israel may have given back the Sinai Peninsula but the two countries do not interact with each other and do not contact each other. She says that the situation between Israel and Egypt is different from the situation between Israel and Palestine. Israel did not expel 90 percent of Egyptians to create a state, as they did to the Palestinians. Judge Dan Brenner would agree with this statement, as he gives the analogy: “Think about your house. Let’s say the government of San Francisco kicks you out. They paid you can gave you however much money you want. It’s your house though. All of your children are taught that is your house. You want what is yours.”

Smadar says that in order for there to be peace, there must be normalization between Israel and Arab states, and most importantly, there should be equal representation of Mizrahi Jews and Ashkenazi Jews in Israel. The Ashkenazi Jews are upper class Zionists that rule over the immigrants from Arab lands, which are the Mizrahim Jews (Smith 222). The Mizrahim Jews are usually treated as “inferiors because of their Arab cultural backgrounds” (Smith 222). Lavie says 50 percent of Mizrahi Jews should take up media, military, and politics in Israel. Judge Dan Brenner believes that in order for there to be peace, there must be leaders who have the courage to make peace. Leaders must stand above the radicals who only seek death and destruction.

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Since the 1940s, Israel and Palestine have been fighting for land.

Since the days of the bible, Judaism and Islam have been at odds.

Since the first civilizations, there have been hate and intolerance.

Peace will not come easy, and if both sides continue seeking revenge for each otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s evils then peace will never be achieved.

There cannot be those who act radically against the other country, all people must learn to accept one another, whether they be Israeli or Palestinian. The most important part of this process is to educate the children to accept everyone. The adults in Israel and Palestine have made up their minds, and they have chosen violence and intolerance. If the children of Israel and the children of Palestine can learn to live with one another, and shun the madness of those who came before them, then peace may just be achievable.

Works Cited

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POV. History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. PBS, Dec. 2001.

PDF file.

Brenner, Daniel. Personal interview. 30 Apr. 2014.

Lavie, Smadar. Personal interview. 5 May. 2014.

Laqueur, Walter. Dying for Jerusalem. Illinois: Sourcebooks, Inc. 2006. Print.

Lewis, Bernard. The Middle East. New York: Touchstone, 1997.

Print.

Liebman, Charles. Don-Yehiya, Eliezer. Religion and Politics in Israel. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1984. Questia. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Promises. Promises Film Project, 2001. DVD Rubinger, David. Israel through My Lens. New York: Abbeville Press Publishers, 2007. Print Smith, Charles D. Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2013. Print.

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Tiffany Poon

Stereotype Threat Sticks and stone will break my bones but words will never hurt me.

A lot of people have heard that phrase, and some believe in it. However, research shows that the stereotypes people often hear around them can negatively affect their effort, confidence, and even ability while doing different tasks. Stereotypes can be held accountable for the academic test gap between different groups of people that is so visible in the world. So what exactly are stereotypes and how do they affect students?

According to the Oxford Dictionary, a stereotype is defined as a “widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.” Stereotyping is putting a person or a group of people into simple categories. An article called “The Psychology of Stereotypes” suggests that stereotyping and generalizing is instinctual for animals (including humans), so that people can quickly differentiate between friend and foe (Stossel). The same was also said by diversity counselor Alison Park, who said that people tend to group and generalize things so they aren’t overwhelmed with everything that goes on. Since people meet and encounter so many news things daily, it’s hard for them to see and take in every

unique aspect of their lives. Grouping things together and putting a general label on them prevents people from being overwhelmed by the amount of information we register (Park). Saul McLeod wrote an article that talks about the advantages and disadvantages of stereotyping. One advantage is that it helps people “respond rapidly to situations because we have had a similar experience before.” Being able to quickly generalize and connect to previous experiences helps people make decisions on how we should react to the situation. The main disadvantage however, is that we don’t look at each individual as unique with differences and might and “therefore think things about people that might not be true.” (“Stereotypes” and Park). Ignoring the uniqueness of individuals is the basis of stereotyping.

Since everyone unconsciously stereotypes whether they like it or not, everyone is affected. All aspects of life can be stereotyped, so it doesn’t only affect the people who we usually generalize to be affected by stereotypes, for example African Americans (“Reducing”).

Factors like gender, age, race, socioeconomic condition, skin color, posture, religion, culture, family background, and many others could affect the way someone views another (“Reducing”).

Students everywhere are affected by stereotype threats. The actual term “stereotype threat” was first used by Steele and Aronson in a 1995 study. The term refers to being at a “risk of confirming, as a self-characteristic, a negative stereotype about one’s self or one’s group” (“Reducing”). This is when students are afraid of being grouped into a negative stereotype, and they are under pressure to 325

perform differently to try not to confirm this stereotype. For example, females are stereotyped to be less intelligent in fields like math and sciences, so they could be more susceptible to stereotype threat when working in this area. Another example is present in African Americans. There are stereotypes about how they are better at music than other races. This could affect African Americans that aren’t musically talented, as well as African Americans that are musically talent. People could brush off years of hard work and training as something that is just present in their race, while people could think less musically talented African Americans are lazy and don’t reach the expectations. Are there such things as positive and negative stereotypes? Park claims that though there are stereotypes that could put a positive trait to a group, stereotypes have a negative effect on the student. It gives them a pressure to either live up or sink down to a stereotype, and it gives the student overall more psychological stress. However, in some cases, students actually put more effort in their work, but the stress to conform to their stereotype is still very relevant in the process (“Reducing” and Park). Multiple studies show the effects of stereotype threat in the academic aspects of student’s lives, which we will go over next.

Studies show that stereotyping can affect a student’s effort, confidence, and overall performance. Children as young as five years old start recognizing stereotypes (Ambady et al). In a study done by the students from Harvard University and the University of Michigan, they found that children become aware of gender and ethnic categories at a very young age. At ages of 2, children can differentiate between males and females, and by ages 3-5, they can identify

people of different ethnicities (Ambady et al.). These studies show that at a very young age, we already start to generalize and group people. Later, people can be influenced to connect a certain group of people with a certain trait, which becomes the stereotype. The same group of students did studies more specifically around Asian students and mathematics. The created a test but phrased the questions differently to activate different identities associated with “positive” and “negative” stereotypes. They found that test scores when down for girls when their gender identity was activated, and scores went up when their racial identity was activated. For the boys, test scores for when gender and racial were activated were higher than the control group, which took a test phrased so that it wouldn’t activate any identities (Ambady et al.). They think that this could be because of the common stereotype that girls are worse at math than boys, and that Asians are superior in mathematics. Similar studies were done on African-American students that prove stereotypes can do a lot of harm. Lot of common stereotypes depict black students as less cultured, less civilized, and overall less smart. Though these generalizations are not true, it can get to a lot of their heads. Problems or instructions that activate their ethnic background usually yield lower scores and showed that the students were less confident. The nature of the test or task can impair the rate and accuracy of a black person’s performance (“Stereotype Threat”). When a test was presented as an eye-hand coordination test instead of an intelligence test, the black students did significantly better. Also, they scored better when they thought they were going to be compared with other blacks. This shows the fear of conforming to stereotypes (“Stereotype Threat”). Though we hear about this less, white stu326

dents also are affected by stereotype threat. In an experiment, a group of confident white math or science majored males that received high score on SAT math were put to test. Their test scores plummeted when they were told they were part of an experiment to see why Asians appear to outperform other students on tests of math ability (“NY Times: Intelligence”).

Age is a major factor in stereotype threat. During lower school, statistics show that the test scores between different races did not show any signs that one race did better than the other. According to the Joshua Aronson, an associate professor of applied psychology at New York University, the test gap starts out as nothing, but as students become older, the gap widens (BUniverse). This could be because as kids mature, they are exposed to more stereotypes that could portray their identities negatively, causing lower performance.

The overall consequences of stereotype threat on students include a lowered confidence, an increase in anxiety, and increase of stress. Studies by a variety of researchers found that stereotype can be noticed in laboratory studies, a classroom setting, and during state-wide standardized tests. The Steele and Aronson’s extensive research “provided evidence that stereotypes suggesting poor performance, when made salient in a context involving the stereotypical ability, can disrupt performance, produce doubt about one's abilities, and cause an individual to misidentify with one's ethnic group” (“Reducing”). It can also cause a student to put in less effort in their work if they don’t believe that they can do it. Students could feel that if they don’t succeed anyway, why should they try? Even though there are cases where the student puts more effort into their

work, this could be because they are trying to live up to a certain expectation or trying to prove a stereotype wrong. However, more effort doesn’t mean better performance, and the burden of having to conform to a stereotype is still present. Though these are mostly consequences surrounding academics, it can cause problems with their self-identity too. Students might try to distance themselves from a certain type or group of people to try not to be grouped with them, or try to act a certain way to be noticed or looked at a different way. This makes it so that students can’t fully be themselves (“Reducing”, Krissa).

Stereotype threat carries on throughout an individual’s life. Stereotype threat can impact an individual’s choice of colleges, and whether or not they attend college at all. Blacks and Latinos are half as likely to go to college as white students, and blacks and Latinos had a 50% dropout rate in college (B.U Today). It can also affect the major or field an individual wants to pursue. People might stay away from subjects that are supposed to be “hard” for their certain identity, and not want to take the chance of failure (Krissa, Park, and “Reducing”). A more heavy effect could be misidentifying with a group that casts a negative stereotype. This could permanently stay with and individual, causing them to feel left out or disengaged from a group that they are used to being in (“Reducing”).

With stereotyping and generalizing being such a big part of everyday life, it can be hard to avoid the effects of stereotype threat. It can be hard for people to realize when they are putting someone under a stereotype that doesn’t show their unique personality. Alison Park said that the first step in being more conscious about stereo327

types is being able to talk about and recognize when stereotypes are happening, and being able to tell when it isn’t true. Making it a more open topic can help people recognize when they are under stereotypes, and when they are making false assumptions of other people. Another way to lessen the effects of stereotypes starts in the classroom. Being a diversity consultant, it’s Park’s job to create a more inclusive classroom environment. She says that communication is an important piece. The teachers should let their students know that it’s okay to struggle with work, and that it’s expected. This way, the kids don’t feel less of themselves or their identities when they get stuck on their work. As of test taking, rephrasing the questions so that it doesn’t activate any particular identity can greatly reduce the stress of having to live up or down to stereotypes surrounding that identity. In serious cases, stereotypes can lead to cases of inequity and discrimination (Krissa). Though it can be a hard thing to do, being more aware of how phasing everyday conversations and when an assumption is being made is a good way to start noticing and reducing usage of stereotypes (Park). Similar to Park, RST.org says that reframing the task so that it doesn’t activate any particular identity can lessen the effects having a stereotype connected to the individual (“Reducing”).

break my bones but words will never hurt me” would be more accurate as “sticks and stone will break my bones but words can hinder my confidence, lessen my effort, and lower my performance in school.”

With so much research and studies backing up the negative effects of stereotype threat, people are now starting to see the importance of addressing this problem. Stereotypes limit a person’s individuality, and confines them within constricting boundaries. It can affect aspects of a student’s academic life, as well as their own selfidentity. Unfortunately, the catch phrase “sticks and stones will 328

Works Cited Ambady, Malini, et al. “Stereotype Susceptibility in Children.” Harvard University and University of Michigan. 12.5 (2001): 385-390.

William James Hall. Web. 25 April 2014.

Aronson, Joshua. “The Threat of Stereotype.” Educational Leadership. ASCD, November 2004. Web. 25 April 2014.

"ReducingStereotypeThreat.org." ReducingStereotypeThreat.org.

N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2014.

Singletary, Sarah, et al. Literature Overview: Stereotype Threat: Causes, Effects, and Remedies. Houston: Assessing Women and Men in Engineering, 2009. PDF file.

"Stereotypes." Simply Psychology. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2014.

“A Stereotypical Teenager?” Teen Ink. Teen Ink, n.d.. Web. 25 April 2014.

“Stereotype Threat.” Racial Identity and Academic Achievement. University of Michigan, n.d. 25 April 2014.

"BUniverse: Boston University's Video Community." BUniverse: The Nature and Nurture of Human Intelligence. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2014.

Stossel, John, and Kristina Kendall. "The Psychology of Stereotypes." ABC News. ABC News Network, 15 Sept. 2006. Web. 20 May 2014.

“Challenges in Diversity Management: How do Stereotypes Affect Us?” DiversityInc. DiversityInc, n.d. Web. 25 April 2014.

Stroessener, Steve and Good, Catherine. Stereotype Threat: An Overview. R. Rhys, n.d. PDF file.

Lebacqz, Krissa. Personal interview. 28 Apr. 2014.

“The Impact of Stereotypes.” BUToday. BUToday, 28 March 2008.

Web. 25 April 2014.

Park, Alison. Phone interview. 13 May 2014.

Paul, Annie. "It’s Not Me, It’s You." The New York Times. The New York Times, 6 Oct. 2012.

Ramos, Zuania. "Ethnic Stereotypes In Schools: We Are All Part Of The Problem." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 10 Dec. 2012. Web. 21 May 2014.

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Food, Health, and Sports Spring 2014

Research in the Community The Bay School of San Francisco

Flickr: Sodanie Chea

Lizzy Albinson and Hannah Gammon

Losing a Loved One Introduction The death of a loved one can impact many aspects of someone’s life. One of the two main aspects that is affected by death are the individuals and family life. The family dynamic can be drastically altered by the loss of one of its members and an individual has to undergo their own personal struggle through grief, a change in how they perceive death, and memorialization. When somebody loses someone they were close to they should let themselves grieve and remember them. Losing a loved one is a very painful experience, but keeping their memory alive without trying to “get over it” is essential to moving forward.

How death impacts a family A parent’s death can have a severe effect on the family dynamic.

For children, parents are the people who brought them into the world and the children hold them up as role models. Parents represent safety to the children and when they pass away, the children feel as if they are more vulnerable and alone. Children who lose a parent are more likely to suffer from depression and withdraw from

social situations (Meyers 66).When the father in a family passes away, the mother takes care of the children and has to support the family financially. Her grief for her husband may make her overprotective of her children. The oldest male child becomes “the man of the house” and if he is old enough, usually gets a job to help support the family (Meyers 55). The mother may use the oldest son as a “surrogate husband,” keeping him from getting married or going to college so she would not be alone when the other children left.

When the mother of the family passes away, the father often gains new responsibilities. If the mother was primarily in charge of the caretaking of their children, the father will have to take care of the children and balance his work life on top of the grief for his wife.

Close relatives may come to stay with the family to help out while the family is recovering and children may find they need to grow up faster to be strong for their remaining parent despite their grief.

When a grandparent dies, the parent is losing their mother/father as well as the grandchild is losing a grandparent. The loss of a grandparent is usually the first death a child will experience in a family because the grandparents are senior members of the family. The parents may try to hide their grief from their children as a form of protection (Lebacqz). Children develop a strong bond with their grandparents so it is very hard when they lose them.

When a child dies, the loss is extremely painful because the child had just begun its life. Parents can be driven apart, fighting over whose fault it was, or can become closer grieving for their lost child.

9% of marriages do not survive the death of their child (Meyers 57).

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Parents can idealize their lost child, making their other children feel inferior. Parents can feel isolated from the rest of the world because people will say they understand how it feels but it is impossible to understand unless they have gone through it themselves. The circumstance of how the parents lose their child can have a different impact on the family.

Miscarriages and stillborn babies can be devastating for both the parents even though they did not spend much time with their baby.

Stillborn babies are babies who are born dead and a miscarriage is the sudden loss of the baby before the 20th week. These losses are still devastating because the parents were excited about bringing their child into the world, and during the time the mother was carrying the child, both parents felt connected to it. They had eagerly anticipated the birth of their child so they could finally meet them, but that day would never come.

When a parent loses a teen or young adult, it is a much different situation. Parents tend to blame themselves and feel like they could have done something. Their child had such a great future and something took it away. Teens understand death but do not accept their own mortality, which can cause them to do reckless things. Teens are more likely to commit suicide than adults and are more likely to get into car accidents. 48% of teen deaths are caused by unintentional accidents, with motor-vehicle accidents being most common.

Suicide is more common in teens than adults. Parents can be really hard on themselves even if the situation was out of their hands. In teen suicide, “81% of [the suicides] were males and 19% were females” (Miniño).

When a sibling dies, the other children feel as if they have lost a part of them. The children usually look up to or feel protective over their siblings. They may feel as if their parent does not pay attention to them anymore or that their sibling was better than them. If they fought with their sibling a lot, they might feel guilty especially if they did not get to apologize (Meyers). They may feel depressed and lonely without their sibling there to give them advice or hang out with them.

Losing someone is hard for everyone, they don’t have to be a relative. An important part of losing someone, however they were connected to the departed, is grieving.

Stages of grief and grieving 332

“Grief is an emotional, physical and spiritual necessity… the only cure is to grieve” (Grollman). Although grief is difficult to cope with, you will feel better eventually, however there is no timetable for how long it will hurt (Grollman). Grieving takes time, and the first step in coping with grief is to accept the loss. Everyone’s grieving is unique, (Meyers) and your grieving depends on several different factors.

Those factors include your relationship with the person who died, the people you have to support you, the circumstances surrounding the death, and more (Grollman). Although everyone grieves differently, sometimes people feel like they need to act in a certain way while grieving (Jenkins). A few feelings you may feel from grieving are envy, panic, disbelief, and loneliness. If your family member dies, you may be envious of other families enjoying each other and their intact family. After a loved one dies, you may panic because you are afraid of losing control of the ability to function during normal daily activities. You may feel a sense of disbelief that your loved one is indeed gone. When you sense loneliness, you may feel a quiet, dull ache and feel all alone (Grollman).

“A family is a system”, and when a family member dies, the system of the family is broken for a period of time (Meyers). If a family has lost a loved one, they may feel the need to grieve in the same way as one another, however everyone’s grieving is unique, and sometimes a family may need to grieve differently from one another (Meyers). Families may tend to visit the cemetery on birthdays or other occasions, to feel closer to the deceased (Meyers). A family will grieve until they have felt like they have let them go, but grieving and remembering that loved one can sometimes be as important as

letting them go (Jenkins). After a family loses a loved one, the rest of the family may be clingier towards the other members of the family, because they realize how precious life is after losing one of their family members. Although remembering a loved one is good, mementos of that loved one may not always bring comfort to the family member. Sometimes, mementos can bring back memories of the lost loved one, and leave the family over the edge in grief (Jenkins).

When someone is grieving for the loss of a loved one, “helping others can make a griever feel better” (Jenkins). Friends can help the grieving feel better, from bringing food or talking to them to distract from the grief (Jenkins).

There are five stages of grief, which include denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and lastly, acceptance. These five stages of grief are important stages to experience in order to move beyond the daily grief of the loss. They are necessary to both someone who recently lost a loved one and to a terminally ill patient who is told they are going to die soon.

In the stage of denial, you ignore the fact that your loved one just died, and you deny the truth that he/she is gone. “It is a defense mechanism that buffers the overwhelming shock”(Axelrod). When a loved dies, it may seem unreal, and a person may tend to deny it at first. One day they may be talking with this person, and the next day they’re gone, and it will be hard for them to accept. When ill patients are told they are going to die, they also deny it. They think “No, not me, it cannot be true” (Kubler-Ross, M.D.) because death had never crossed their minds. Denial is just a temporary feeling, which gets us through the first wave of pain.

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Once accepting that the loved one is gone, people will naturally feel angry. “When the first stage of denial cannot be maintained any longer, it is replaced by feelings of anger, rage, envy, and resentment.” (Kubler-Ross, M.D.). After learning that a loved one has died, it is normal to be angry, and sometimes people don’t know what they are angry at. The anger can be towards inanimate objects, strangers, friends, family, or even the dying or deceased loved one (Axelrod). Most of all, they are angry that their loved one, who they were once talking to and spending time with is gone. For a terminally ill patient, anger may be very hard to cope with for the family of the patient and the doctors of the patient. A doctor who diagnosed the illness might be the one who is the recipient of the family’s anger, because, “whatever they touch is not right… they are blamed for never leaving the patients alone”. (Kubler-Ross, M.D.). Another emotion an ill patient may feel is that they are no longer in charge of their lives, and instead the doctors and nurses have taken over, which may lead to anger. For the terminally ill patient, they can become angry that the doctors and nurses talk about their final days and their death to family members and not to the patient themselves.

“The stage of bargaining, is less well known but equally helpful to the patient” (Kubler-Ross M.D.). During the stage of bargaining, a patient may make a secret deal with God or a higher power to postpone the death. Bargaining is a stage in which to draw the patient’s attention from the “painful reality” (Axelrod).

Depression is a normal thing to feel after a family member or loved one is gone. People may feel that while they are grieving, they have

spent less time with others that depend on them. Another type of depression is more personal and it is a time where someone can prepare to say goodbye to their loved one. Sometimes depression after a loved one has died can lead someone to suicidal thoughts, because they cannot deal with the pain of not living with someone they love. For a terminally ill patient, depression can be felt once they have accepted that they are going to die, and they may feel depressed because they do not have very much time left (Kubler-Ross M.D.).

The last stage is acceptance. After grieving for some time, people will come to accept the loss of a family member or loved one. Not everyone will reach the stage of acceptance. For some, “death may be sudden and unexpected or they may never see beyond their anger or denial” (Axelrod). For a terminally ill patient, acceptance is when they are aware that their death is inevitable.

People find it uncomfortable to talk about death and dying, however the topic of death cannot be ignored. Thinking about death when we need to, can help us “better face the idea of death ourselves because we are better informed and better prepared for the messiness, the overwhelming grief and the suffering associated with dying” (McNamara). As much as people are scared of death, “No one is free to choose the death they would wish and it may be a blessing that we do now know what is in store for us” (McNamara). With that said, death and dying gives people an opportunity to evaluate life experiences. As said by Bauman, we tend to push death away, but it inevitably approaches, and although frightening, death comes to us all. People do not usually talk or think about death, especially 334

for those individuals who have had no close family members die, they do not usually dwell on the subject. Because death is a part of life, it is important that people accept it so that they don’t fear it when they are older. (Kubler-Ross, M.D.).

When we are young, we tend not to think about death. “We know that we will all die, but we have yet to learn to accept this reality and to normalize the conversations needed to comfort ourselves and each other around the issues surrounding dying and death” (Johnson, Web). Death is associated with fear, and because of that fear, we tend not to think about death and exploring its reality and meaning. We fear death because we have no evidence of what truly happens, so therefore we imagine what death will be like, which makes us fear it, because our imaginations of it seem so real (Johnson, Web). “As living beings, we can’t know what death will be but must face the challenge of accepting its reality” (Johnson, Web). Fearing death can cause many concerns surrounding the process of dying, which include no longer living, leaving loved ones behind, experiencing illness, pain, and suffering, the unknown, when and how death will occur, and more. Johnson makes an observation, that by looking at the list above, she is surprised that many people’s fear is death and not the process of dying. People were asked whether they would prefer to die suddenly or as the result of an illness, and 80 percent would rather die a sudden death. “In reality, 90 percent of us will die from illness and only 10 percent from sudden death” (Johnson, Web).

Instead of dwelling on death, it is better to “develop a healthy respect for death” (Johnson, Web). How we live our lives can help us

better prepare for death, and making peace with death. We can ask ourselves, “Does God exist?” or “Does some higher power exist”, and if so, are we really living our lives in accordance to this higher power? “Consider what you think is the meaning and purpose of human life and death and whether or not your life reflects these beliefs” (Johnson, Web). An obvious thing to do is to value life and those around us. If we remember that everything, including our bodies will be left behind when we die, then we can learn to pay closer attention to the non-material things in life. Time and energy are two very precious and limited resources, and we must be careful as to how we spend them (Johnson, Web). When you put your affairs in order, it can give you time to prepare for death. Putting your affairs in order can benefit you in many ways by helping your family members carry out your wishes when you die. “It maximizes your chances of a peaceful and dignified death” (Johnson, Web). Lastly, there is more to life than you realize. “If you can accumulate how much fun you can have, explore that deeply and let if inform, how you live your life” (Johnson, Web).

Memorializing and Funerals After the death of a loved one, arrangements must be made for the funeral or memorial. The word ‘Funeral’ usually implies the presence of the body while a ‘memorial’ indicates the body is not present (after cremation or burial). The choice of having either a memorial or a funeral, if not otherwise specified from the deceased, is decided by close family members. These plans can be very stressful especially while someone is still grieving (Lebacqz). Funerals and memorials are a good way to celebrate the lives of passed loved 335

ones, provide peace of mind and closure (Grollman). The close family members of the deceased usually decide what kind of service will be carried out. A lot of these decisions are also decided by the religion of the deceased. Some of these decisions are rooted in religion.

a Jewish funeral is that immediate family members tear their clothes to symbolize their loss (Obayashi). Although some of their customs are different, they still mourn and celebrate the life of the deceased during the funeral or memorial.

Christianity

Hinduism

Christianity, today, is the world’s most widespread religion and they have certain beliefs and customs for their funerals. Christians believe in the eternal life of the human soul which guides their beliefs about the afterlife (Obayashi). They believe that when a person dies their soul goes to either heaven or hell, depending on if they were a good or bad person. A Christian mass is normally held for Christian funerals (“Christian Death”). Hymns are sung and passages from the bible are read to ease the deceased’s soul to heaven. Black is normally worn at Christian funerals as a sign of solemnity. Although they are serious, Christian funerals are mostly about celebrating the life of the deceased and sending their soul to heaven.

Hinduism is a completely different religion and has different customs. Hindus prefer to be cremated because they believe their soul will be able to escape the body faster (Obayashi). This is important to Hindus because they believe in reincarnation and it is necessary for the soul to leave the body. In India, it is traditional to have the cremation on the shore of the river Ganges. In other countries, Hindus will just have their cremation in a crematorium. The family will be in official mourning for twelve days after the death, after that they are allowed to continue their normal lives or continue mourning (Meyers).

Cremation vs. Burial Judaism Jewish funeral customs are differ in some ways from Christianity’s.

Judaism doesn’t have a single set belief about where people go after death (Obayashi). Jewish Funerals and memorials take place faster than those of Christianity. The burials usually happen within 24 hours of the death. Usually the synagogue takes over most of the arrangements (Klug). The coffins the deceased are buried in are simple and usually made of pine. One ritual that takes place during

Cremation vs. burial is an important conflict to both Judaism and Christianity. Burial is more prominent in Judaism and Christianity than burial because cremation can be seen as desecration of the body. In the Old Testament, most references to burning of bodies is reserved for enemies and criminals, making people feel uncertain if cremation is the right decision (“The Cremation Process”). Having a proper burial is very important in the bible. However, the Bible never explicitly states that cremation is wrong (Obayashi). Cremation is less expensive than burial and takes up less space (“The Cremation 336

Processâ&#x20AC;?). In the end, the decision is up to the family of the deceased if the deceased did not leave instructions for their own burial.

Conclusion The death of a loved one or the knowledge of your own inevitable passing is very hard for anyone to accept. However, there are many ways to remember that loved one and keep their memory alive.

Whether itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s planning the funeral, visiting the cemetery, or just having a friend to help you, there are many ways to remember your loved one but not let their death overwhelm you. The five stages of grief are important for a person to move through when a loved one dies so that the grief does not render the person powerless to continue to live their own life.

Works Cited Becker, Ernest. The Denial of Death. New York, NY: Free Press Paperbacks, 1973. Print.

Ducasse, C. J. A Critical Examination of the Belief in a Life after Death. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas, 1961. Questia School.

Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

Earl, Grollman H. Straight Talk About Death For Teenagers. Boston, Massachusetts: Beacon Press, 1993. Print.

"Fragile Lives: Death, Dying, and Care." Read Fragile Lives: Death, Dying, and Care. Beverley McNamara, n.d. Web. 25 May 2014.

"How Different Religions View the Afterlife." How Different Religions View the Afterlife. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

Husten, Larry. "Two Views Of Death: The Scientist And The Novelist." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 02 Jan. 2014. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

Jenkins, Clare, and Judy Merry. Relative Grief: Parents and Children, Sisters and Brothers, Husbands, Wives and Partners, Grandparents and Grandchildren Talk about Their Experience of Death and Grieving. London: Jessica Kingsley, 2005. Questia School.

Web. 25 Apr. 2014.

Johnson, Judith. "Overcoming Our Fear of Death." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 21 Apr. 2011. Web. 25 May 2014

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Kubler-Ross, Elisabeth M.D. On Death and Dying. New York, NY: Scribner, 1969. Print.

"Religious Movements." Views on Death According to Different Religions -. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

Meyers, Karen H. The Truth About Death and Dying. New York, NY: DWJ books LLC, 2009. Print.

Mini単o, Arialdi. "Mortality Among Teenagers Aged 12-19 Years: United States, 1999-2006." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 05 May 2010.

Web. 19 May 2014.

Moltmann, Jurgen. Is There Life After Death. Milwaukee, WI: Marquette University Press, 1998. Print.

Schowalter, John E. Children and Death: Perspectives from Birth through Adolescence. New York: Praeger, 1987. web.

"The Cremation Process. Its History. Cremation and Burial in the Bible." Religious Tolerance. Religioustolerance.org, n.d. Web. 23 May 2014.

Obayashi, Hiroshi, ed. Death and Afterlife: Perspectives of World Religions. New York: Praeger,1992. Questia School. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

"The 20 Life." The 20 Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

"RELIGIOUS VIEWS ON DEATH." Death & Religion : What Christianity, Hinduism, Islam Say about Death. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

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Oceana Baranchuck

The Lockdown Lowdown Botched executions, denying treatment to the sick, self-abuse in solitary, deprivation of privileges based on race, and suicides are common events that happen every day in the prison system in America.

The world has founded prisons for the protection of the general population and has deemed them necessary for the reformation of criminal minds. However, statistics prove that the current methods, which are often cruel and unusual, do more harm than good to inmates.

In an ideal society, there would still be consequences for committing crimes and felonies, but there would not be unnecessary abuse.

We would not abuse prisoners to the point that they would selfabuse to “feel” something, in a world of what seems like nothingness. Most prisons in America contain a feeling of emptiness due to lack of human contact and from the deep well of boredom that one’s mentality spirals down. In an ideal world, everything would be the opposite of what it is today. Prisoners would be given jobs, perhaps either by working for the state, government, or given a task in the industrial industry. These jobs would benefit society by reducing financial tension while increasing state budgets. Prisoners would

also be allowed to partake in sports, arts, writing programs, and have the right to see a doctor or therapist as needed. Involvement in activities would increase their morale and better their mentality.

Those who commit smaller, less heinous crimes would not go to prison and would be given less confining punishments. Such consequences might include being put on probation, house arrest, assigned volunteer work, and/or donating x amount of money to an organization that would benefit their victim. No matter how big or small the punishment would be, prisoners would not become mentally ill just from trying to complete their punishment, which are made to reform prisoners – not break them. Prison terms more often than not fail to reform prisoners, they ruin them.

The story of Michelle Smith and Tookie William’s prison experiences are great examples of the flawed prison system in America. They both faced many hardships in prison. Smith went to prison for embezzlement. She embezzled $50,000 from her employer. Although she went to a low-security prison, there were still many problems that arose for her due to hardships that the system creates for inmates. Smith is a woman, and most research is based on men’s prisons – the evidence of problems in places such as low-security and women’s prisons only adds to the question which is, “is it really that bad?” and yes, it is bad. Smith explained her story, starting from the beginning when she first entered the system. She had been sent to a prison where women who are on the death row are sent. She described it as being an awful experience, where many of the prison employees were yelling at her. During her stay, she also had to go through many tests both for mental and physical 339

health. She was deprived of visitors for the first six weeks until she was transferred to another prison, which gave her the privilege to have visitors on the weekends. Smith was lucky to not be a victim of bullies, and was treated fairly well. She did tell me that there were violent fights that would occur between inmates, often as a result of racial differences. She received three meals a day, with only two a day on the weekends. The meals consisted of lots of beans and greens, but she said that the mystery meat was the worst. She suffered from boredom along with the other inmates due to the lack of jobs, activities, and classes that the prison offered. Fortunately, Michelle’s family was able to send her money so that she could buy things from a prison store. She could go outside, play sports, attend church, see family on the weekends, and read a lot. She read the entire bible from start to finish for the first time and noted that she thinks “a lot of women do turn to God” while in prison to help them seek a higher understanding of why they made their mistakes and as a way to cope with the consequences (Smith). Another story which gives more evidence that the system is in need of reformation is the story of Tookie Williams and his stay in San Quentin Prison in the 90’s for gang related crimes. Williams’s stay in a maximum security prison was much worse than Smith’s in minimum. One had to be careful since knife stabbings and rape would occur more often than not, as well as people who would pretend to be one’s friend but did not really have one another’s backs when it came to bullies (Williams 73-74). The guards were not much help either, since they often shot at inmates if fights would start or just would not stop them (Williams 70). Just like Smith, Williams described prison life as being quite boring with a lack of activities to do. He recounted the toll

that loneliness could take on one’s mentality. For instance, when the occasional female would walk through San Quentin and wave nicely or just say hello, the prisoners who were severely disabled mentally would get riled up and angry since they would think it meant there was a love connection between them and the woman, and once she was gone they would feel abandoned. Another uncomfortable activity that was part of the daily routine for Williams were the invasive strip searches that had to be conducted daily each time a prisoner went into or out of a room. The strip searches, which are still used, consisted of checking hands, mouth, hair, ears, feet, penis, butt cheeks, rectum, and scrotum, and although they were performed by male guards, females were sometimes present during the search. They are conducted as a precaution to ensure there’s no smuggling of drugs, alcohol, or tools and weapons. Williams ate the same meal every Monday, the same meal every Tuesday, etc., while again the mystery meat was the worst (Williams 60).

Does anyone really know what the mystery meat consists of? Williams even took multivitamins on a daily basis since he was worried about the lack of nutrition that was offered in the food.

The prison system has many rules that deprive the prisoners of many privileges, as well as conforms them. When it comes to family, the inmates can only kiss and hug them upon arrival to the visitation room and upon returning to their cells. Many inmates are often abandoned by family members while in prison due to the embarrassment that families feel from having a relative in prison. This abandonment only makes prisoners treat themselves harder, and feel more depressed, since they no longer feel the love, which is one of 340

the few things that can help a prisoner feel that prison is not the end of the world. To make matters worse there is a rule book said to be “174 pages” (Williams 45). The rules cover everything from the length of hair and nails, the amount of time you get to shower, the size of a television one could buy, the number of pencils allowed in a cell at a given time, and the amount of books one could check out at a given time and so on. All of these smaller issues may not seem like they would have that much of an effect, but when one adds them up they can create a big impact on both a prisoner’s physical and mental well-being.

Gaining insight into the causes and results of these problems can give some insight into how these institutional programs work and how they do not. There are currently 2.3 million inmates in America’s prison system, bear in mind that that constitutes for 25% of the world’s inmates, while America only counts for 5% of the world’s population (Clemmitt; Liptak). An astonishing number of over two million of the people incarcerated are victims of either mental illness, addictions, diabetes, or suffer from sexually transmitted diseases (Clemmitt). Futurity has reported that 7 out of 10 people need substance abuse treatment while in prison, which is a result of one of the most common ways people get incarcerated, which is either by taking or selling drugs. It was also reported by the CQ Researcher that 1 in 13 deaths in 2003 were due to AIDS. These statistics are a result of neglect to provide sufficient health care.

Now we can ask ourselves the question, “why are these problems happening”? Many of the problems start with health care. Health care in the prison system is state provided. It has been under-

staffed and underfunded for many years due to the effect that the overpopulated institutions have had on the economy as well as the challenge of finding people who want to work in America’s prisons.

In one instance, a prison in Iowa had a population of 8,000 inmates but only 3 psychiatrists on staff (Davies). The understaffing issue has led to many lawsuits by the inmates themselves, who complain that with so few people working on site, they cannot possibly provide adequate care. In one instance, Tookie recalled that when one felt sick in San Quentin it could take days and sometimes even weeks just to see the onsite doctor (Williams 64). One inmate had complained that he desperately needed to see the doctor, however, since there was a waitlist he was told that he just had to wait. What began as a small little cough and cold turned into a full-swing illness and after weeks on end of being denied treatment and only given aspirin, he landed in a hospital. These incidents can be extremely fatal. The system does not show much regret or sympathy towards those that suffer due to these healthcare problems. This lack of care has led to a few lawsuits which have even been brought to the Supreme Court. The Court ruled that prisoners have a right to good care and that when correctional officials express “deliberate indifference” it is a violation of the 8th amendment of the United States constitution, which states “cruel and unusual punishments” as an offense (Pew). The Supreme Court ruling has also resulted in a court order requiring the hiring of more qualified staff members; however it has still not been completely implemented across the country.

The Supreme Court and the United States Constitution do not say that addiction programs are a constitutional right like health care, which is unfortunate, with half of all inmates admitting to having ei341

ther done drugs while they were committing their crimes or having done drugs in the past (Clemmitt). Many addicted inmates have difficulty getting clean, since many of them cannot afford treatment outside of the system. Drug addicts contribute to overpopulation since many of those inmates will go straight back to using drugs once they are released from their institution. If they are convicted three times, it can result in a life sentence. Smith’s low-security women’s prison is in the minority of prisons that give somewhat okay care.

She was lucky to get “yearly physicals and mammograms” and was taken to a hospital when she discovered lumps in her breast, unlike many male prisoners who are lucky to even see a doctor when they are in extreme pain (Smith). She mentioned many of the women were on medication for mental illnesses and that there was assistance for them during their stay. The overpopulated system has had a large impact on state budgets since many of the prisoners are aging, and taking care of elderly people costs more money due to dementia, hearing or vision lost, chronic illness, or immobility. A study showed that between the years 2001 and 2008, the amount of prisoners aged 55 or older increased 94% (Pew). Addiction rehabilitation programs are not the only health care programs that are not easily accessible outside of the system. The elimination of mental health hospitals is another factor in overpopulation. Many mentally ill people go to prison, some of these people may even think that they will be better off in prison because they are at least guaranteed to have care, but what many don’t know is how unstable the health care program is in prisons. A statistic from 2003 says that the number of mentally ill people in prison is three times the number of mentally ill in hospitals, a result of mentally ill people going to prison on

purpose just to receive care. If health care programs provided adequate care both in and outside of prison, the overpopulation issue would be lessened (Debbie).

The surge of lawsuits in recent years has not only had the Supreme Court ordering the hiring of more qualified staff members, but states have begun the enforcement of health care screenings. Health care screenings include screenings for general health as well as for diseases such as HIV/AIDS. Critics felt strongly that these tests should be required pre-release from prison in order to ensure that inmates are healthy before leaving institutions. The World Health Organization has however called HIV testing “unethical, ineffective, and an invasion of privacy.” It’s a controversial topic, but a study has shown that the rate of infection is twice as high for those who did not volunteer to be tested versus those who did volunteer (Clemmitt).

Overpopulation has hindered the system by making it nearly impossible to provide good health care that consists of adequate and effective treatments. Besides the mentally ill and drug addicts who land themselves in the system either on purpose to receive care or because of their addiction, why is the system so overpopulated?

Many believe that it is due to the strict sentencing guidelines that America has set. Some argue that the “three strikes and you’re out” rule has also greatly contributed to it. In recent years, states have been turning to private managed care, such as Medicaid, in attempt to shift responsibility. Private managed care has been picked up by a few states as an “attempt to improve the quality, efficiency and cost-effectiveness” (Robbins). It is currently the cheapest form of 342

care, and also provides the least amount of care. The problem with private managed health care is that the workers have no incentive to help their patients. The private companies only pay one fee for each inmate, so essentially they pay the same amount of money to take care of a healthy prisoner as they would for a sick inmate (Robbins). The providers of the private managed health care will often base their decisions on how they can save more money over the actual needs of the inmates. If they deny care for an inmate, the inmate cannot go anywhere else unless it is the hospital for undisputable reasons. These decisions are often made by undertrained employees. Fortunately, some people have spoken up about the idea of banning private managed health care. The banning of private care would mean more adequate care would have to be given to the inmates. But what would replace private managed care? A newer form of care called “Telehealth” arose in the 90’s. Telehealth is cost-efficient and is a way that doctors can provide adequate care without being on site-via technology. They communicate to the patients and nurses at the prisons over screens using “monitors, exam cameras, and electronic stethoscopes” (Pew). This allows the doctors to give proper instructions to the nurses or give a confirmation that he/she thinks that the prisoner needs to visit a local hospital.

Telehealth has proven to be a success thus far, it saved Georgia $9 million in 2011, after they had already spent a large sum of $1.5 billion that year (Pew). The University of Texas has reported that between the years of 1994 and 2008, Telehealth saved the state $780 million (Pew). Although providing good adequate health care is not the only answer to fixing the overpopulation problems, it still may lead to a decrease in mentally disabled people from entering the

system. Most inmates still need help post-prison to ensure that they have a better chance of staying clean and happy. Brown University has suggested providing mental health care post-prison, assistance in helping inmates enroll in Medicaid, and that the acquisition of health records from prison doctors be required (Futurity). This would provide treatment and help for those who cannot afford it, prevent less diseases from entering the community, as well as reducing overpopulation with the increasing rate of addicted getting clean, and the mentally disabled getting mental health care. Will the Brown plan be the solution to all of the problems in the system? No, but it is a first step towards a reformation of the system, in terms of health care, but it will not be a solution for solitary confinement; one of the two biggest issues in the system along with health care.

One of the most hideous aspects of prison life in America is solitary confinement, it is a prisoner’s worst nightmare. Neglecting to follow rules often lands inmates into solitary. Inmates do not want to be in solitary since it means that many privileges are taken away, adding to their boredom which is known to affect them mentally. It is a backward system for the mentally disabled. Many people Williams knew had admitted that they would rather kill themselves than be in a cell, especially on the death row, due to the toll the boredom takes on people (Williams 34). Inmates become claustrophobic from being stuck 23 hours a day in a small box with one tiny window (Frontline). Inmates on death row are also not allowed to work, ensuring their isolation is to the maximum. In today’s modern society, the prisoners are not penalized for not working, which means less prisoners are working, which provides more room for endless hours of 343

boredom. The endless hours on death row are amplified even more by the deprivation of certain privileges, such as not being able to use the phone or the limited amount of books one can have at a given time (Frontline). Currently 46 states in America use solitary confinement or segregation - a term coined by many correctional officers (Rockwood). In “segregation” prisoners are alone in a cell approximately 80 sq. ft. with a bed, sink, and toilet (Breslow). They spend 23 hours a day there, with one hour to exercise outside in another cage - alone (Frontline). They must even take their meals in their cells. The food gets delivered through a small slot below a small window, which is usually the only window besides a back window in some prisons. In the 20th century, a typical stay in solitary was only a few days. Now, many inmates easily spend weeks, months, years, and even decades in solitary (Breslow). It had originally begun as an experiment in the 19th century to see if it would reform criminals but was eliminated when there were reports that it made the inmates mentally insane (Breslow). It just only reemerged in the 1980’s. Supporters say that “the practice helps keep prisons safe, but according to the medical literature, solitary confinement can take a heavy mental toll” (Breslow). Inmates often kick, howl, punch, scream, and cry as a result of the toll that the boredom takes on their mentality (Hale). The inmates at Maine State Prison stated in the documentary, Solitary Nation by PBS, that their mentality would spiral down while in “the prison within the prison” (Frontline).

Fortunately for the inmates in solitary confinement, their best hope starts with Maine State Prison’s new warden. The warden is questioning whether solitary is a justified punishment. He has decided it does more harm than good to a prisoner since there is no evidence

that it does the psyche any good, so he has offered a new program to the inmates. The program group consists of the inmates and one correctional official. They talk about why they made the kind of choices which landed them in prison or solitary. As a reward for completing the program, the warden will move the inmate out of solitary and into a transitional room, which puts him with other inmates and gives him more privileges. Although it is not quite general population, which is where the majority of the less harmful criminals are housed, they get more privileges. It is at a step towards attaining a healthier mental state. The complete elimination of solitary confinement may seem scary since they can house harmful people, but the improvements in one’s mentality is the only way a person can improve their outlook on life, as well as change their behavior.

In May 2014, there was a botched execution which raised questions about the problems and controversies surrounding the death penalty. The execution took place in the state of Oklahoma. Clayton Lockett, a man who was convicted of murder and rape was sentenced to execution. Lockett was given a mixture of three different drugs (Payne). The first drug that was given to him was supposed to create a sleepy effect, yet nothing was happening. Officials were then too quick to give him the second and third drugs. After being given the three drugs, witnesses watched as Lockett began “convulsing” on the table, looking as if he were trying to speak, but could not (Payne). The officials in the room then closed the shades so that the witnesses could not see anything else. However, it was reported later that the officials halted the administration of drugs at that point, but the man lived for 43 minutes longer, until he died of a 344

heart attack brought on by the trauma (Payne). The drugs used in executions are supposed to kill the inmates within minutes, even seconds. Lockett’s story has created a frenzy with the critics, one being the White House. In actuality though, Lockett’s story is not a unique one to the prison system. There had been another botched execution in Ohio, the man died after 10 minutes (Payne). Louisiana has also reported that after one incident of a botched execution that it still plans to use the same two drugs used during the horrible incident. The drug mixtures are currently being questioned as a violation of the 8th amendment (Payne). The White House chimed in to say that even in certain cases when the death penalty is justified, it must be done “humanely”. Although correctional officials say that the death penalty is necessary for those who commit the worst crimes of all (i.e. murder and rape), they agree that states need to be aware and follow “protocols” (Payne). Amnesty International USA has also voiced their opinion on the recent botched execution, saying that it is the perfect example of why the death penalty should be eliminated. Interestingly, Payne has reported that a poll conducted by CNN in the beginning of 2014 showed that 50% of Americans believe that the punishment for murder should be execution, and 45% believe it should be life sentence, with the last 5% being other. Another poll conducted by Gallup shows that 62% of Americans think that the death penalty is an acceptable punishment, while 31% think it’s unacceptable. What happened to our idea of America being a humane country? It cannot be considered one until the death penalty is reformed or removed (Payne).

One can say that California is a liberal state, however prison statistics make it look racist and anything but liberal, due to itue to lack of activities, and facilitatedeives cruel and unorthodox methods. We are open to people of different lifestyles and sexual identities, and embrace the unusual in people. It makes one wonder why California is the only known state to use “race-based lockdowns” (Thompson). Race based lockdowns occur when one man or woman of a certain race disobeys a rule, by attacking another prisoner for instance, and in response to the attack the prison will punish not only the attacker but every one of the same race in the prison regardless of whether they played a role in the incident or not. Race-based lockdowns tend to include a deprivation of outdoor privileges. One inmate is suing the state for not allowing him his outdoor privileges for a year and a half just because there was a mark on the outside of his cell which identified him as being a black man. He had suffered from a leg injury, and could not exercise it to health which led to his suffering from “muscular atrophy” which caused the man “severe pain” (Thompson). Another inmate is suing the state for depriving him of his rights to attend religious services and access to adequate care, just because he had been identified as a black Muslim.

There were approximately 722 prisoner lockdowns between January 2010 and November 2012 which involved race (Thompson).

Even in a low-security women’s prison, Michelle experienced racial tension, which even included guards at times, and one had to be very careful with whom to trust and who had who’s backs. California has rationalized their unorthodox method by saying that it is necessary in a country where there is “race-based gang violence” (Thompson). This is challenged by a 2011 lawsuit claim against the 345

state of California which accuses the state of making assumptions of which inmates are in which gangs based on their race. A spokesperson for the state stated in their defense that it is not a policy to restrict certain privileges based on race unless there’s “penological” reason for doing so (Thompson). Lawsuits are evidence that this is occurring even without “penological” reasons. One lawyer said she has not seen such discrimination since the 60’s. Others say that it is not productive but rather increases “hostilities” (Thompson). It is an injustice to those people who enter the system and just want to do their best to get out when they are supposed to get out. Fortunately, the Supreme Court has taken issue with these practices.

The courts have ruled that there is enough overcrowding, directly contributed to by race-based lockdowns, to violate the 8th amendment and has ordered the State of California to reduce it’s prison population, for the sake of the safety and health of the prisoners (Thompson).

We know that the prison system in America is in need of reform due to it’s unusual and harming methods, and meditation can be one of the first steps. Maine State Prison’s warden has already expressed interest in a reformation of solitary confinement, but what about the other states? It is going to take more than a few programs and steps, but they may begin in Alabama. Donaldson Prison in the state of Alabama has seeked the help of vipassana meditation “for solutions” when they had issues of violence and understaffing in the prison (Martin). In 2002, the institution began to offer the program to inmates, during which they partake in 10 days of complete silence (Martin). Inmates who join the program wake up at 4 a.m.

and meditate on and off until 9 p.m. They cannot smoke or drink caffeine throughout the 10 days. They eat a vegetarian diet. One of the ideas behind inmates taking vipassana is so they will “feel the pain” from sitting for a long period of time, but when they eventually stand up to go back to their rooms, they will feel the pain leave.

They must “dig deep”. It gives them the “tools” to tap into their subconscious so that they can become more happy and peaceful people. Johnny Young, who is serving a life sentence without parole, said he joined the program to help with his anger issues and that it changed his life. He admitted to often engaging in violence before the program, but afterwards he no longer wanted to engage in violence but rather to stay in peace (Debbie). However, some prisoners do not take to it well. They break down as some of their bad memories arise from the tapping of the subconscious. Otherwise, it has been proven to be a success. The vipassana program has reportedly resulted in a “20% reduction in disciplinary action” in inmates (Martin). The warden has reported that the inmates that partake in the program not only became less violent but were also more willing to help around in the prison such as in the chapel or hospice unit. The warden has also been encouraging staff members to have more positive attitudes towards inmates and to not jump at every misconception they have. This could lead to a reduction in guard abuse towards inmates. Dr. Ron Cavanaugh, who is a treatment director at Alabama Department of Corrections, says that the program has helped inmates to stop trying to defend their past but rather become more accepting of the fact that they cannot undo their mistakes. It has been a widely popular program. 430 inmates have completed the program and there is a waitlist for the quarter 346

year sessions (Debbie). It has, however, been difficult to spread the program to other prisons in the state since Alabama is a state known for its harsh rules. Hopefully, the vast improvements evident by statistics are enough to at least bring vipassana to other prisons in other states. Vipassana is the first of many steps towards less violence, and an easy step which includes an activity, which would help support mentality as well. The Buddhist based meditation program has many pros and seemingly no cons.

grams like these, we may begin the journey towards a complete reformation of the prison system in America.

Some say the prison system is a mess, while others believe in it.

Study conductors want to turn the “vicious cycle into a virtuous one” by finding alternative punishments to incarcerating people (Futurity).

Yet, many other study authors have said that “prison and jails are necessary for the protection of society” (Futurity). We must find a balance, but gaining balance is not going to happen unless people become more aware of the issues the prison system has created.

The correctional officials must also take initiation and create incentives in some way to help the incarcerated.

The prison system of the United States has performed multiple botched executions, created boredom due to lack of activities, and facilitated racial wars. The system does not provide adequate care due to understaffing and underfunding issues, and has done little to help any of these issues. They have taken some steps towards providing more programs for inmates such as a meditation program in Alabama and a help program for solitary inmates to think about the choices they have made. They may be small steps but they have resulted in big improvements, and with the continuation of more pro347

Works Cited “At End-Of-The-Line Prison, An Unlikely Escape.” NPR. National Public Radio, Feb. 2011. Radio. National Public Radio. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Breslow, Jason. “What Does Solitary Confinement Do To Your Mind?” PBS. PBS, 22 Apr. 2014. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.

Clemmitt, Marcia. “Are prisons dumping grounds for the mentally ill?” Current News 5 Jan. 2007. CQ Researcher. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.

Cohen, Adam. “It’s Time To End Solitary Confinement In U.S. Prisons.” Time. Time, 25 Jun. 2012. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Davies, Rachel. “Mental health of US prisoners is poor.” 362. 9394 (1 Nov. 2003): 1466. ProQuest. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Hale, Mike. “Alone In A Prison Cell With a Tiny Window.” New York Times. New York Times, 21 Apr. 2014. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Levs, Josh, Ed Payne and Greg Botelho. “Oaklahoma’s botched lethal injection marks new front in battle over executions.” CNN. CNN, 1 May 2014. Web. 2 May 2014.

Liptak, Adam. “U.S. prison population dwarfs that of other nations.”

New York Times. New York Times, 23 Apr. 2008. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

Locked Up In America. Frontline, 2014. PBS. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

“Managing Prison Health Care Spending.” The Pew Charitable Trust. Albany: The Pew Charitable Trust, n.d. PDF file.

“Meditation In Maximum Maximum Security.” NPR. National Public Radio, 28 Apr. 2010. Radio. National Public Radio. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Orenstein-Brown, David. “Why Health Care For Prisoners Could Lower Costs.” Futurity. Futurity, 4 Mar. 2014. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.

Robbins, Ira P. “Managed health care in prisons as cruel and usual punishment.” Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology 90.1 (1999): 195-237. ProQuest. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.

Smith, Michelle. Personal Interview. 3 May 2014.

Thompson, Christie. “Are California Prisons Punishing Inmates Based on Race?” ProPublica. ProPublica, 12 Apr. 2013. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.

“Treating Humans Worse Than Animals: Prison System Voices Decry Solitary Confinement of Mentally Ill.” Democracy Now, 2014. Democracy Now. Web. 18 Apr. 2014 Wexler, Evan and Sarah Childress. “How Much Time U.S. Prisoners Spend In Solitary.” PBS. PBS, 22 Apr. 2014. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.

Williams, Stanley “Tookie”. Life In Prison. San Francisco: Morrow Junior Books, 1998. Print.

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Audrey Connell

The Toll on Immigrants

With the Affordable Care Act, there will be various ways Americans without proper health insurance can get coverage, but for the most part the treatment for people with insurance will not change. According to the federal government half of America’s population will be insured by their employers, one third by the government, one in ten will buy their own insurance, and 30 million, or under one in ten, will be uninsured (“ObamaCare”).

Immigrants receive poor treatment in America’s health care system, this is a controversial challenge because immigrants have integrated themselves into our society so much so that America depends on them a lot. Although they receive poor treatment, they still play a huge role in the United States’ economy in ten ways, one of the more influential ways is that they start businesses. “Immigrants are 30% more likely to start their own business” than US-born, from these small businesses they have employed 4.7 million people in 2007 and have earned $776 billion annually (Furman). As you can see immigrants play a major role that has impacted our economy in a positive way. Unfortunately getting healthcare is a growing issue among the immigrant community. Immigrants are a thriving community that has integrated themselves into our society and economy to the level that the US depends on them a lot, yet they suffer from poverty and racial discrimination. To make matters worse many cannot afford or are eligible for health care services, such as meeting the requirements of income, state residency, and most must wait 5 years before applying for health care. In hope to alleviate the pain for immigrants, Obama has established the Affordable Care Act; but the question is does it actually help immigrants.

To resolve the issue of the number of Americans who are uninsured, Obama has created the Affordable Care Act, or better known as Obamacare. To explain the effect it has on the citizens more in depth; for people who are covered by their employers, not much will change, only that they may pay less for checkups then they use to, and will receive free preventative care (“How”). Now for big businesses with over 50 employees that do not offer insurance, they will be required to offer health care by the federal government. If businesses do not offer health coverage to full time employees then they must pay a penalty. However, small businesses will not face the same penalty if they refuse to buy coverage, but instead will be encouraged to do so. To make it easier for them, the government will set up a marketplace, if they buy coverage then they will be offered a temporary tax break. Good news for employees, insurers cannot inflate prices if they are sick. For citizens who are insured by the government, not much will change for them. Medicaid is expected to expand towards the people who were previously not eligible. The only issue is, that states are allowed to decide if they want to be part of expanding Medicaid. If they do, then the government will cover most of the cost, and that gives people another option of 349

health insurance. But if the state says no, then citizens living in that state will not be able to buy Medicaid. For of people that want to buy their own coverage, they can explore in the insurance marketplace set up by the state or by the federal government. If they do buy their own, then the government may offer a tax credit so that insurance can be more affordable. The government will make sure that insurance companies are fair, such as treating women and men equally (“ObamaCare”). The elderly will pay less, and the young will evidently pay more, but younger adults can stay on their parent’s plans until they turn 26 years old (“How”).

Usually, some Americans will wait until they actually get hurt before buying health insurance, unfortunately for them that will not be allowed anymore. Starting now, the uninsured can only buy coverage in a certain time period (“How”). If not insured then individual mandate requires that they must pay a fine, if they cannot afford to then the government will waive the penalty fine. Since health coverage will become cheaper, where does the government get the money to afford all of this? Taxes. The government will target health industries, even tanning services, individuals who are wealthy, hospitals, and insurance companies. The cons of Obamacare is that undocumented immigrants will be neglected because of the Affordable Care Act. Legal immigrants who eligible for coverage who were previously not covered will be required to pay a penalty. The pros are that immigrants who were previously not eligible will be qualified.

“Medicaid has expanded up to 15.9 million men, women, and children below 138% of the poverty level” (“ObamaCare”). Since a big

part of America has already been helped, the federal government hopes in the end everyone will be able to get care.

Although the Affordable Care Act is supposed to alleviate the stress for immigrants, they still face major obstacles. “Social determinations of health, including age, race, and poverty underlie substantial inequities” in health care (Blewett). Certain aspects of the inequities in health care are far greater effect on the immigrant community than others. Such as poverty, language, parental education, racism, and fear. Not only do these inequalities effect immigrants, but also children of immigrants. In 2010, in a family of four the poverty guideline was $22,050 (“Read”). That same year 25% of children in immigrant families lived below that poverty line (Blewett). If nothing is done than poverty will become a huge issue for immigrants because if they do not make enough money than they will not be able to afford health care. In 2012, the average weekly earnings, or 48 hours, of foreign-born was $625, whereas natives earned $797 (Bureau).

Another obstacle immigrants face is a language barrier; the most significant problem for immigrants during checkups is the miscommunication, which can lead to them being overcharged (Lessard and Ku). Hopefully the number will increase, but in 2004, 74% “of homes where a language other than English is spoken” at least one person could speak English fluently (Hernandez). This could be a child or an adult. So as it may seem children do play a huge role in this challenge. That is why it is important that they receive proper health, although they are US-born they may not get health insurance either because of the parents education, racism, or fear. As suspected, there is some unfairness in the coverage immigrants re350

ceive compared to US-born citizens. It has been noticed that immigrants typically take the jobs that US-born citizens will not take, such as cleaning and kitchen crew. Although noncitizen immigrants have higher employment rates than citizen workers they are less likely to be offered health insurance by their employers. The reason being that employers think that since immigrants are new they do not know all the rules, hoping that they can cheat them off their benefits. It has been noticed that in some health coverage programs there has been some discriminatory acts towards certain immigrant communities. It is believed that the health care differs by which the immigrants country of origin is (Blewett). It also appears that most children of immigrant parents are not covered for fear that if they give their personal information, than they could be deported. Surveys show that families wish to enroll their children but do not know if they are eligible for the program (“Children’s”). Believe it or not, a child’s parental education will influence their chances of receiving health coverage. In 2010 it was noted that children of immigrants whose “parental education was less than high school had a 2.4 times higher odds of uninsurance” than children with at least one parents who graduated college (Blewett). It seems as though that many immigrants in general, with or without children, has had very few years of education. In 2012, 24.6% of the immigrant labor force 25 years and older had not completed high school, whereas for natives it was only 5.1% (Bureau). In general, children are greatly influenced by these programs and restrictions that are laid out for their parents. In 2004, 76% of children with immigrant parents were insured whereas 88% of children with native born parents were insured (Hernandez). Although that may seem like a big number, it

still has a harmful effect on immigrants and their children. It seems though that the most in need are immigrant children. Among immigrants, one out of five under 17 years old are likely to be poor, uneducated, and uninsured therefore having a poor health status (Blewett). As well noticed, many children suffer the consequences of an unstable health system.

The current care that immigrants obtain is still going through changes to make the process and restrictions easier for them to get the care they need. Most of the changes are towards certain programs targeted towards children of immigrants. There have been many laws that provide care for children and their families, such as The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), and the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) in 2009. The PRWORA’s purpose is to establish and enforce child support, it “benefits children and families by locating noncustodial parents” (“Read”). As a result of confusion, panic, and fear of deportation and not being eligible; after the act was enacted, the number of US-born children with immigrant parents declined (Ku). Therefore it is important to teach immigrants how they are eligible for these programs and explain the laws that prevent their deportation if they apply.

Another program that helps children of immigrants is the CHIPRA, which was enacted in 2009. The initiative is called The Children Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the purpose is to implement better health benefits for children, especially in Medicaid. Certain aspects include express lane eligibility (allows states to enroll children based on their info from other sources), enrollment grant funding 351

(promotes effective enrollment and renewal strategies), and performance bonus (offset some of the costs, with states success in covering children) (“Children’s”). Since the federal government covers some of the costs of health insurance, the National Health Interview survey noticed that children with an income below 200% of the poverty line, the uninsured dropped by a third since 1997 to 2007.

Many states have taken the initiative themselves to help immigrants use their own funds, such as California. Since California seems to reside many immigrants, Jerry Brown the governor of California has passed many laws that will help immigrants especially in the work force. For example there was a recent law that was passed that states employers may not report immigrants if it is related to a work complaint, nor can they extort money, or threaten to deport them (“New”). This way all their fears of deportation will be uplifted and therefore can get a job to afford health insurance. It is very alarming how not many states take the initiative, like California, to help immigrants. In 2007, of the 27 states that have a doubled immigrant population only seven of them offer “state funded coverage for legal immigrant children in Medicaid” or CHIP during the five year wait (Ku). The five year wait, is a law that was enacted because of the Welfare Act in 1996. The meaning of the wait is so that immigrants cannot apply for Medicaid and CHIP until they are of “qualified” immigrant status, usually resulting in a five year delay. Some immigrants are lucky enough to not have to wait five years. For example, Heather Wu, a Mandarin tutor, arrived in the US in 2002. By 2003 she had health insurance, which was provided by her employer,

therefore it depends on the job the immigrant gets when they first move to the US (Wu).

There have been many controversial ideas towards the question of how to provide the needs of immigrants, and the way to revise the health insurance process for them so that it is easier for them to apply. An example being there are many nonprofit organizations that help immigrants, either with free clinics or accepting immigrants of all status. The Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center is an example of a nonprofit organization, and their mission is to serve minority communities. They serve 3,500 individuals on average per year, and about 25% of them are immigrants (Toma). Of course they hope that many more uninsured immigrants will reach out to them for hope, but undeniably all organizations encourage immigrants to reach out to them for health care (Toma). These programs also need to be aware of the language barrier, many of them should provide translators or hire employees who are bilingual (Lessard and Ku). Heather Wu explained that when she was looking for a doctor, she looked for one that could speak mandarin in order for her to understand everything that would be said to her (Wu). Others also believe that if the government increases health coverage than more immigrants will apply for insurance (Ku). Some people believe that if there were “more opportunities for immigrants to obtain legal residency and citizenship” than it may lead to expanded care (Derose).

This could be the case because immigrants are afraid to apply because they think that their personal information will be seen by the federal police who could deport them. This leads into the opportunity to establish a program that is more trusted, which would be of 352

value to the immigrant community, but as well as the need to expand eligibility rules. If there are not as strict rules on eligibility, then there would not be so much confusion of whether or not the individual can apply. Luckily there are services that administer enrollment that can help families with varying status. Some other services are even adjusting their rules to accommodate families with varying statuses (Lessard and Ku). This way more immigrant parents with USborn children can apply and not worry about deportation. Hopefully with all these new ideas to make health care easier for immigrants to get, the government can help improve programs to take the weight off the backs of immigrants.

In conclusion, immigrants face racism, poverty, and a language barrier yet they have been able to overcome them to support Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economy. In order to repay immigrants contributions America should provide a proper health insurance for them. Although the Affordable Care Act is supposed to help, it is still a step in the right direction. If they succeed in providing a successful program, then the immigrantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fear and uncertainty will all go away.

(Leighton and Jewers)

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Yasmin Eltawil and Mellany Alvarez

Beauty Kills Beauty for females has been a controversial topic for ages. Are we supposed to be thin? Overweight? Blonde? Brunette? Beauty is a trend, and it has changed rapidly through the ages. It has gone from fat to thin to back again (Beauty Marks).

But… What is beauty? To tackle this question, one must first begin with the definition of beauty. Merriam Webster’s Dictionary defines beauty as “the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit.” Who is pleased by beauty? The answer: everyone, but everyone has a different perception of what is beautiful. The “perfect” model of beauty set by men and the media has become big breasts, a large bottom, a small, pointed nose, large, smoldering eyes, full lips, minimal hips, blonde hair, above average height, and a small waist (Killing Us Softly 4). These ideals are naturally possible separately, but together, they are hard to achieve. The idea that a female has to possess all of these traits is a mental weight, and especially on young females and teenagers (Beauty Marks). The constant need for perfection mixed with the erosion of a young female’s confidence creates less and less opportunities for success in her daily

life. The “inevitable failure to attain the standards of beauty [young women] see around them erodes [their] confidence, increases selfdoubt, and consumes [their] energy” (“For Working Women”).

Who sets the standard of beauty? The media: the first place we look for fashion inspiration or entertainment (Killing Us Softly 4). Magazines, TV ads, and social media are all places where the ideal model of beauty is shown. The media’s portrayal of the perfect female has negatively affected the self-esteem, health, and confidence today’s generation of young women (“For Working Women”).

The media offers females a glimpse of perfection. We see perfect female features, happy smiles, and successful lives, but, is all of that real? The answer is simply, no. With all of the photo-shop, airbrush, and plastic surgery, it has become possible to make someone look completely different using only a computer program (Beauty Marks). The standards of media editing have become very high, and therefore, it has set an impossible standard of beauty that females feel the need to meet. In fact, it has been proven that “the more and more we use editing, the higher up the standard [of beauty] goes” (“Photoshopping: Altering Images and Our Minds”).

The idea of the “average woman has become distorted by photoshop. What was once considered beautiful in the eyes of the media and society has now become average (“Photoshopping: Altering Images and Our Minds”).

The media pushes females to believe they can reach these above average ideals using certain products (“Photoshopping: Altering Images and Our Minds”). Maybelline promises to make you beautiful; 356

Chanel promises to make you expensive, and Nutri System promises to make you skinny. Females constantly have the shadow of becoming “perfect” by using media marketed products (Killing Us Softly 4). The media is simply a product seller. It instills the fear of being fat, ugly, or unacceptable by society, and therefore, it can market products to us that will fix these “problems” (Killing Us Softly 4).

The media tells us that “every aspect of a female can be improved,” and by using certain products, we can get closer to improvement (“For Working Women”).

Beauty has become a multi-billion dollar industry. The amount of money made from media influence and marketing is astronomical.

In 2010, the weight loss industry alone made a sixty-one billion dollar profit (Killing Us Softly 4). Sixty one billion dollars is enough to fully restore the Gulf of Mexico sixty times, triple the federal fund for medical research, and we could offer more financial aid grants and scholarships for young adults entering college (Leonhardt). Instead, females are spending this money on weight loss tactics. So many ways have emerged to make females more beautiful in the last couple of decades- waxing, laser treatment, plastic surgery, permanent makeup, tattooed eyebrows, and the list goes on (Killing Us Softly 4). The media has created a market for beauty products and procedures to females, but it has, in turn, created a population of young females that have body and self-esteem issues.

The media has created an image of beauty that has caused young females to harm themselves both mentally and physically in their daily lives. Through the years, beauty has become not only an issue of appearance, but a health risk (Killing Us Softly 4). Young females

should not have to have the added stress of being the “perfect model of beauty” everywhere they go. This pressure has created a need to be perfect, and recently, young females have been taking this need to be “perfect” to extremes (“For Working Women”). Eating disorders, unneeded plastic surgery, and self-harm rates have skyrocketed over the past twenty years causing an altered image of beauty (Killing Us Softly 4). The physical impact is not as great as the mental impact because females who do not fit the standard of beauty develop self-esteem problems and self-hate mentalities (Beauty Marks).

Eating disorders have become a common struggle with teens and young adults. Roughly 41% of teens with eating disorders self-harm ("Eating Disorders Statistics”). The media’s distorted body image leads many young women to purge, binge, starve, cut and compulsively exercise. The consequences of eating disorders are permanent damage to your bodily functions, comas, and even death. According to Lexie and Lindsay Kite Ph.D., there has been a 119% increase in the hospitalization of children under 12 in the last twenty years (“Photoshopping: Altering Images and Our Minds”). One hundred and nineteen percent is an astronomical number, and the reality is that that number is only increasing every day. In a recent study done by Forbes, over half of young women reported that they would prefer to be hit by a truck than be fat. Two thirds of women would rather be mean or stupid” (“For Working Women”). The media has lead us into believing that being fat is worse than death and ignorance. Is being fat really that bad? In our world, it is. Anorexia has become prevalent in places around the world that do not even have 357

a word for it (Killing Us Softly 4). In fact, a recent 24 Fitness ad reads, “Are you tired of being fat and ugly? Just be UGLY!” It is unusual that an ad would send that message because it makes the reader feel degraded. The standard of beauty is ever changing.

Therefore, why does 24 Fitness have the right to judge what is ugly or not? This attacks the self-esteem and confidence of young females. Over “60% of women have negative thoughts about themselves” (“For Working Women”). These self-esteem issues come from the media telling women they have to look a certain way, act a certain way, and think a certain way. Women, on average, have more stressors in their lives than men. A woman must carry the stress men carry with the added stress of appearances (“For Working Women”). If a female does not look “put together”, she is deemed “unacceptable.” As a matter of fact, heavier women are paid less than thinner ones (“For Working Women”). Why should your body or looks meter how much you are paid or how much of a hard-worker you are? The effect of the media on females in their daily lives is tremendous, and many females are traumatized and held back by the negative impact of the media, adversely causing women to slip into eating disorders and self-harm.

One of the most common eating disorders is Anorexia. Anorexia is a major problem affecting teenagers and it “is the third most common chronic illness among adolescents” (“ANAD”). Out of the whole world’s population, 1 percent of the world suffer from Anorexia that is about 70 million people considering our current world population (HUH). Most people who suffer from Anorexia remain in denial.

Some people may not even know if their friend or family member

has the illness since victims could be of all different body types.

“The peak onset of eating disorders [occur] during puberty and the late teen or early adult years” (Beauty Marks). Anorexia can affect people of all ages.

But… Why have so many females become Anorexic lately? The media is the answer. Media offers us constant glimpses into the “perfect” world (Killing Us Softly 4). A world where everyone is skinny and beautiful. There is an “over-emphasis on appearance” in our society which may be one of the main influences on anorexics (Why Do They Happen). Our society encourages dieting, dissatisfaction of our bodies, and the desire to be thinner (“Why Do They Happen”). “69% of girls in 5th-12th grade reported that magazine pictures influenced their idea of a perfect body shape” (“ANAD”). Yet body types that the media displays are generally unrealistic and almost impossible for women to achieve (Why Do They Happen). People should be aware of what is going on with eating disorders since many do not know the health risks. Most people with eating disorders vary in cause of death, there are some who die from failure of body functions or even suicide (“ANAD”). Most of all, when victims are suffering from Anorexia, they do not see how much harm they are doing to themselves.

Anorexics tend to be in denial about having a problem. Sometimes they get the help that they need when it is too late, and have already been experiencing failure of bodily functions (Beauty Marks).

They are always putting themselves down or they are have constant mood swings that are linked to being in denial. In the film, Beauty Marks, a girl suffering from Anorexia said, “I stopped eating at 12 358

years old. I fed my food to our dog.” She rather have her dog eat food that was not made for dogs than eat it herself. When anorexics feel like they have eaten too much, they find ways to get out of eating. Most commonly people suffering from Anorexia make up excuses why not to eat, some say stomach aches and others just keep a bag in their room and throw their food in there. Anorexics feel power when they do not eat because they are unhappy and they are actually doing something about it (Beauty Marks). It should not have to come to the point where anorexic’s bodies are not functioning properly because the lack of food that they are consuming.

Even if anorexics wanted to recover, the media always displays a “beautiful” woman in an ad, on Tumblr, and in magazines. This is a force that works against a young woman’s self-esteem.

Young women who have been influenced by the media usually end up developing low self-esteem issues which can lead to Anorexia.

According to Analyst Data Monitor, teenagers are using personal care products including cosmetics, makeup and hair care items for to establish their sense of identity (“Why Do Teens Use Cosmetics”). Women constantly buy beauty products in order to still look as young as they did in high school. Teens also buy makeup to look as perfect as the models they see in the media (“Why Do Teens Use Cosmetics”). Some people are determined to look and be perfect even if the people in the magazines are not even perfect themselves. Societal pressures and the media are the major reasons why people want to be the perfect idea of beauty. The media has only helped youth get hope for the perfect body that is almost impos-

sible to achieve. Another way the media negatively affects young girls’ self-esteem, is through images of perfection.

The media has only helped youth get hope for the perfect body that is almost impossible to achieve. The “media has been obsessed with a youthful definition” (Beauty Marks). Society does not give exceptions to flaws. Magazines are living proof that when it comes to beauty, imperfections are not allowed. There are many models in magazines who suffer from Anorexia as well. In Killing Us Softly 4, Jean Kilbourne mentions that Ana Carolina Reston, a model since the age of thirteen, was a victim of Anorexia and lost her life to severe thinness. She was twenty-one-years-old, and had a successful modeling career ahead of her. She was also in several magazines which were available for everyone’s eyes to see, especially teenagers. How would a teenaged girl interpret pictures of Ana Carolina? If the picture is media approved, it is teen approved (“Photoshopping: Altering Images and Our Minds”). Teens are more drawn in the way models look, causing the need to adjust their appearances to fit in the category of beauty. Some teens edit their pictures with Photoshop to make themselves appear as models or be titled as “beautiful”.

Photoshop is commonly used in magazines and have helped the industry influence young girls’ idea of beauty. “47% of girls in 5th-12th grade reported wanting to lose weight because of magazine pictures” (“ANAD”). There have also been reports of magazines (Vogue) claiming that they have made their models bigger since they looked too thin to be a healthy weight. Having models that are not even the average weight for a teenager is a problem. If teenag359

ers are not supposed to be about 80 pounds, neither should 20 year old women who are 5’10 (Killing Us Softly 4). Your teenage years are all about finding yourself and discovering your unknown interests, and there shouldn’t be anything that influences your decisions in a negative way that may affect you in the long run. Society forces you to think that there is one official way to look beautiful. Sufferers cannot go a single second without having food on their mind. Even though food is something that they don’t want, they spend their whole day thinking about it (Beauty Marks). “Eating disorders often begin with ‘normal dieting’” (“Online World”). It is not long when the dieters start thinking that maybe it is good to skip a couple meals.

“Social critics have long blamed the fashion industry’s use of such models for inspiring teenagers and young women to engage in extreme dieting” (“Why Girls Starve Themselves”). Extreme dieting is not a useful way to lose weight because people eventually gain back the weight that they originally lost or, even gain more weight.

Adolescents need to see more inspirational things to help support them in a successful life in the future. Teens depend on others to feel like they are accepted and that they fit in (“Women, Eating Disorders, and Self-esteem”). Anorexics can feel like they have no choice but to keep on continuing to lose weight because if they want to stop, they’d have to eat and eating means gaining weight (“Women, Eating Disorders, Self-esteem”). Food advertisements can make anorexics want food or sick to their stomachs. Not even taking a few steps outside your house can help you escape from advertisements. The most dangerous place of them all for advertisements is the internet.

In addition to magazines and advertisements, the internet is home to many harmful sites that are supportive of Anorexia. Pro-Ana websites is where anorexics tend to go for tips, tricks, and advice on how to strive for the “perfect” body which may lead teens to their deaths (“ANAD”). There are chat rooms and pictures to keep anorexics motivated and keep striving to be anorexic. Pro-Ana websites make anorexics feel like they are a part of something. These websites may make people who are suffering from the disease to feel like they are not alone and that there are tons of others going through the same things. Many people want more to be done about Pro-Ana websites (“Dying to be Anorexic”). Unfortunately, there is little to do since everyone could create their own website. However, Pro-Ana websites are not the only thing that encourages young women to continue on.

Tumblr is a blog website that allows users to express their feelings through images and text posts. Unfortunately, there are people that abuse the social networking site and promote harmful things. There are blogs on Tumblr found to promote Anorexia. Users have even created their own words for other users to search up the hashtag and not get their posts banned. Tumblr warn users for the searching up certain words (Tumblr Bans). Some people feel that Tumblr should completely ban everything that promotes self-harm and other blogs, and Tumblr has recently stated that they are willing to discuss policies regarding harmful blogs (Tumblr Bans). Until then, teens will continue on being “warned” about content. Soon, it will be an automatic routine for teens to put “ok” without even reading the warning, and continue on scrolling pictures of sickly thin women, 360

which teens may consider the perfect body and an inspiration. “The body type portrayed in advertising as the ideal is possessed naturally by only 5% of American females” (“Eating Disorder Statistics”).

It would be beneficial if teens were to know that there are barely any women in the world who actually obtain society’s “perfect” body.

There have been other occurrences where the media shown to be negatively influencing teen’s views on their body. The pop star, known as Lady Gaga, has once said, “It’s all about starvation, pop stars don’t eat” (Killing Us Softly 4). Lady Gaga is an inspiration to many teens to be themselves, considering her big fashion statements and claims that it is just how she likes how she looks. If she is sending this message out to her fans, it would make them feel the need to starve if they would like to be a pop star like Lady Gaga.

Kate Moss, an English model, stated that “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels” (Killing Us Softly 4). Which implies that if you are skinny, then that is the best feeling that you can have, and being thin is more important than eating. Celebrities that are looked up to have stated things that may or may not have impacted the way adolescents feel about themselves. Most anorexics develop depression due to the stress of constant reminder of their body image.

Eating disorders are sometimes common when someone is dealing with depression (“Why Do They Happen”). Anorexics only self -confidence will come from their desired weight and appearance (“Women, Eating Disorders, and Self-esteem”). “Eating disorders can arise from a variety of physical, emotional, social, and familial issues” (Beauty Marks). This meaning that there can be many reasons why someone is suffering from Anorexia. The self- esteem that

people acquire can come from the type of family that the person grew up in. There could be someone born into an overachieving family and feel like the shadow. There are also many reasons why someone’s self- esteem is down. Low self- esteem means the pressure to be better or lose more weight in a shorter amount of time (“Women, Eating Disorders, and Self-esteem”). Women with eating disorders seek approval and acceptance from almost everything (“Women, Eating Disorders, and Self-esteem”). A lot of anorexics never believe when other people call them skinny. If the victim feels as if they’re fat, their opinion only matters. It is when someone else puts them down that makes them feel the need to do something. A lot of anorexics set goals for the month or week for their desired weight. This is when they feel the need to constantly weigh themselves (“Online World”). Eating is considered failure in an anorexics eyes for not controlling themselves for the hunger of food (“Dying to be Anorexic”). They risk their life in order to meet society’s expectations. Some anorexics say “with Ana anything is possible” (Dying to be Anorexic). As if having Anorexia can help you achieve anything.

Self-esteem is an important factor in Anorexia, because if one feels as if they are not skinny enough, they will continue on going with extreme dieting. Extreme dieting will only let you lose weight for a certain period in time. It is an endless cycle to be Anorexic even when people are saying that you are skinny. People, especially young females, think that they should stop losing weight to help them focus more on their lives, but it is a tough decision to make and usually they get back into their old habits. Society should no longer cause young women to feel the need to change their own perspective of beauty.

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How do we stop this? Well, here are a few solutions formulated by experts in the field: Solution 1: First and foremost, the world should strive to eliminate the standard of beauty. Fat, tall, short, thin, white, black, blue, green, etc. should not exist for labeling purposes (Anonymous).

When society labels women, they become dehumanized objects.

Dehumanizing women limits and crushes their potential (Beauty Marks). Women and teenagers should be allowed to be beautiful in their own skin. Some women cannot be stick thin, tall, or tan, and their communities shouldn’t let society tell them they have to be (Anonymous). The initial question remains- How can we stop them?

One idea is to start loosening up the reigns of photo-shop and airbrush on today’s media and ad covers. The less and less filtered media is, the more it can accurately portray what it is to be a “real” woman. Women in the media should not be photo-shopped, airbrushed, or have excessive, unnecessary plastic surgery (Anonymous). If young females can see that cellulite, wrinkles, acne, and the likes are fine to have because even our celebrities have them, they will have an increase in self-confidence; celebrities’ and role models’ “imperfections” will inspire others to embrace their own (Killing Us Softly 4).

Solution 2: Another step society can take is stress academics and progressive achievement more highly in the media than it stresses the importance of beauty. Beauty is not lasting; it fades (Shalit). A degree is an achievement, and it will remain with you for the rest of your life. Beauty is temporary: you cannot naturally change how beautiful you are (Anonymous). Once you have a degree, you can

do anything you set your mind to, and a degree can contribute comfortable living, confidence, and leadership in society (“For Working Women”). “Your body is an instrument to live and do and be” (“Photoshopping: Altering Images and Our Minds”). If you can use your body wisely, it will pay you back by giving you its full potential. For your body to serve you to its full potential, you have to nourish it. If the media continually stresses beauty over academics and success and achievement, females will continue to fall under the hand of eating disorders, self-harm, and long lasting physiological thoughts and feelings (Anonymous). Therefore, we should put pressure on the media to put less of an emphasis on beauty and more of an emphasis on personal achievement and academics. " Society has to end the media’s altered image of beauty before it withers all female self-esteem and confidence. Many females are falling under the pressures of the media and using eating disorders as a way to cope with having low self-esteem and confidence. Society cannot continue to pressure females to pursue an impossible standard of beauty because it does not only harm the physical body, but it is also bad for the females in the long run. A woman should feel like she is pretty regardless of her size, race, or features, and the media is slowly destroying that feeling (Killing Us Softly 4).

Women want to be perfect because of society’s pressures (Beauty Marks). Being perfect comes from feeling perfect, and when you can “achieve” perfection, others can see it. The media’s altered image of beauty is causing stress for young females, and in turn, that is causing a lack of confidence (Killing Us Softly 4). Confidence makes you beautiful, but because of the way that the media portrays beauty, females are forced to think that being beautiful is what 362

makes you confident (Anonymous). In letting go of all the additional stress and weight that beauty standards add on to females, society can create a more successful and optimistic female community (“For Working Women”) . With only 12% of women in the United States being satisfied with their appearance, it is hard for them to move forward in the workforce (“For Working Women”). If society can let go of its need for beauty, it can adopt a need to succeed and become independent. Therefore, that will cause females to become more and more efficient, and in turn, that could benefit our economy, our upcoming generations, and our own self-esteem and selfconfidence. With high self-confidence, society can better move on, and once the next generation sees that it does not need the media to dictate society’s standards, females can take their money and effort and move on to more important things such as improving our economy, improving national poverty rates, and helping restore nature around the world (Killing Us Softly 4). The standard that the media, whether it be social, magazines, or advertisements, has affected young females everywhere. The amount of affliction ranges from some body image hatred to death, and many of the adverse effects last long after a woman has stopped starving or cutting; this leads to missed opportunities, a lack of motivation, and a lesser success ability. What the media is doing to our young females is causing many problems for young women, and it must be stopped before it takes an even bigger toll.

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Jacobs, Deborah L. "For Working Women, Focus On Beauty Erodes Self Confidence." Forbes. " Forbes Magazine, 23 Apr. 2014. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

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Tiger Feng

The Current and Future Designs of the Modern Short Board From surfing Waikiki in the early 1900s to the Association of Surfing Professionals World Tour now, there have been many transitions in the design of surfboards. Surfing technology and the understanding of how surfboards work has been improving ever since the invention of surfboards. New futuristic surfboard shapers have been pushing surfboard design even further to improve the performance, but how do they work now and what can be improved?

There have been many advances in board design throughout the history of surfing such as the invention of the Alaia in 1905. An Alaia is a board made purely out of wood. It is rocker-less and does not have a fin. This board was one of the first surfboards ever used. In 1910 the redwood board was invented. After 1960, there were many breakthroughs in surfing as the short board revolution took place in

Australia and board height dropped by a couple feet. Another notable event that took place was that shapers discovered foam as a material that was easy to carve and shape into a surfboard. They then used fiberglass to seal the foam to prevent water from ruining it.

The 1960s are also notable because big wave legend Greg Noll started shaping surfboards. His boards now are very famous and surf collectors are lucky if they can get their hands on one of these beautiful pieces of art. In the 1970s, George “Mr. Pipeline” Lopez’s Lightning Bolt Pipeline gun was shaped in Hawaii. This board changed perceptions of what was possible as George Lopez charged enormous Pipeline on this board. Ten years later, in 1980, the short board was invented in Western Australia by Australian shaper Simon Anderson. This was one of the most important inventions in the surfing world because the short board is the model that everyone uses currently. All of the World Championship Tour surfers are riding the short board. Surftech is a board company that uses epoxy fiber as their main material and they also mass-produce their boards. Many beginning surfers will purchase a Surftech surfboard because of the durability and the price which is low because they are mass-produced. In the 21st century, surfboards blanks started to become manufactured. Blanks are used as templates that shapers carve boards out of. They are already shaped basically like a surfboard. Channel Islands is one of the leading board brands of the current short board scene. Channel Islands’ leading shaper is legendary Al Merrick. Many of the surfers currently on the World Championship tour ride Al Merrick shaped models (Guy Motil).

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Design and Technique Contemporary shapers have come up with a good design method for the modern short board. The first step in creating a short board is creating an outline. An outline is the shape of the board including the rails, nose, tail etc. The outline shape varies to tailor to the wave type (“The Effects of Surfboard Design in Wave Performance”). The rails are the sides of the board and they affect glide, drive, control, and almost everything for a surfboard to ride well (“Surfboard Design Guide”). The nose or front of the surfboard helps with making steep drops but also the turning ability of the board (Shred Show).

Volume is the amount of foam that is used in the final product of the board. Jon Pyzel is the shaper of Pyzel surfboards in Hawaii. He makes boards for John John Florence, a surfer who spends most of his time in the top five of the World Championship Tour. Pyzel who is from California but moved to Hawaii when he was young, says that he doesn’t like to have “any of that volume out on rail because it will work against you when you are setting your line. The back third is where everything is very foiled down so you have a nice edge that penetrates into the water (Jon Pyzel). The tail is a very crucial and important part of the modern short board.

There are many varieties of tails made to suit any wave in the world.

If one is thinking of ordering a custom surfboard, they must research tails and what will suit their break the best. A squash tail, the most common tail, has more area and therefore it maintains speed down the line and is also loose for powerful turns. A round tail has very good control but maintains the looser feeling that a squash tail has. A square tail is one of the earliest tail designs invented. It is great for pivotal turns. A swallow tail is only found on fishes and on specialty models, they are similar to two pintails conjoined. It is easy to maintain speed and is good for smaller sections. A pin tail is great for control in big and powerful waves (“Basic Tail Shapes”).

Using all of these components, a surfboard is constructed. There 369

are bigger short boards called step-ups which are for more powerful waves like Pipeline or Teahupoo. There are also fins.

Fins Many modern fin system companies have made a name for themselves in the surfing world; replacing the traditional glass-on fins (fins that were attached to the board by fiberglass when the board is glassed). There are two main systems, a brand called FCS and another brand called Futures. FCS fin systems can be identified on the boards by their signature two plug systems. Futures can be identified on the boards with their signature one plug boxes. These types of fin boxes are used universally in every board and the companies also make the fins themselves. There are many fin manufacturers who make fins either one plug or two plugs like Kinetic Racing, Rainbow, and others. On short boards there are two fin patterns people use, which are either thruster or quad. The thruster was invented by Simon Anderson in the 1980s. It is a three fin set up with one fin in the back and two fins on the side. It is very good for maneuverability. A quad fin set up has two fins in the back and two on the side.

The two fins in the back of the board with a quad set up are called trailers and they are considerably smaller than the fins on the side or the fins in a thruster set up where all of the fins are the same size. Fin manufacturers all produce a set of two trailers that can be added to any set of fins on a thruster set up (Shred Show) which is ideal for holding lines on the wave and longer carves. It also very helpful for control in the barrel. Stock boards from board brands usually come in thrusters but sometimes quads depending on the conditions that the board is tailored to. Custom board orders can be or-

dered in a five plug fin system which has five fin boxes and basically one board now is turned into two boards. Personally, I love thrusters because of the looseness and the ability for super pivotal and snappy turns off of the top of the wave. Fins also have different size ranges from extra-small to small to medium to large to extra-large surfers. The extra small size is from 75 pounds to 115 pounds. The small size is from 105 pounds to 155 pounds. The medium size is from 145 pounds to 195 pounds, and the large is from 180 pounds and above. There are many different materials that are used to construct fins. There is fiberglass material which is used to make a very rigid and can endure the heaviest waves. Fins made with fiberglass are used for big waves. There is also the honeycomb construction which has a good amount of flex but not too much. Techflex construction features the honeycomb construction combined with carbon fiber in some areas to make those parts more rigid. The carbon fiber is used to meet the needs of a surfer that carries more capacity throughout turns. Blackstix construction is very loose and is a very fast fin (Futures Fins). Fins can be mixed and matched to make a board that would be good for one type of condition if it had glass-on fins great for any type of wave.

The Modern Short Board Over the years, surfboard design methods and techniques have been developed by shapers all over the world. A brand called JS Industries is one of the best brands in the surf industry currently. JS Industries is based in Australia, which has every type of wave on the planet. The shaper, Jason Stevenson, is also a very good surfer so he is able to test his boards and figure out what works and what 370

does not. On top of this, JS also boasts a very impressive team including world champion Joel Parkinson, world tour stars like Julian Wilson, and finally young prodigies like Kalani David (Jason Stevenson). They have many high performance models that many professionals use on the World Championship Tour for performance waves. Their most popular model is the Monsta 3 by JS. The Monsta 3 comes as a thruster but one can order it with a five fin setup.

The Monsta 3 features medium exit rocker, which is the curve from the middle of the board to the tail. It also features little entry rocker, which is the rocker from the center of the board to the nose. This allows the board to get speed and glide through small and average conditions when the waves are not good. The concave, or the curvature from rail to rail is another element that can be played with. JS points out that the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Single concave starts in the nose to direct water under your lift and speed. Double concave starts in front of the fins which maintains lift and directs water release for maneuverabilityâ&#x20AC;?

(Jason Stevenson). This board is ultra-high performance which means that it is geared for tight turns and complicated maneuvers.

This is an example of a modern short board. Shapers have been pushing boards farther in terms of new futuristic models that have been making their way into the surf scene.

Design Changes There have been many design changes throughout the many years of surfboard design. There have many new shapes that have been coming into the surf scene in the past ten years. The difference is obvious as the boards look very significantly different than the HiPerformance models that are the standard currently. The first very

distinct feature is the height of these new futuristic boards compared to the height of Hi-Performance boards. The height has significantly dropped off in futuristic models because the shapers utilize more volume in other areas of the board rather than in the top seven or eight inches that are used to put a lot of volume in HiPerformance boards. The second feature that is evolving is the nose. The noses on the newer shapes have been increasingly less sharp and broader to add more surface area and to increase the amount of rail that penetrates the water. The third feature that has changed is the variety of new tail shapes that have emerged. There is not a distinct method for futuristic tail shapes yet but there are many exciting possibilities in the works.

Boards of the Future Shapers such as Thomas Meyerhoffer and Daniel Thomson have been emerging as the top futuristic board builders. They include futuristic models such as the Vanguard from Firewire shaped by Daniel Thomson, the Slip In, the Super Normal, and the Tipping Point by Meyerhoffer. Many of the futuristic shapers have been utilizing volume distribution throughout the board differently. The conventional short board model utilizes the volume from the tail to nose with a lot of length and not a ton of width. New futuristic models have been utilizing the volume from rail to rail, making the boards shorter and wider but still having the same amount of volume as a regular short board. The Vanguard, a model by Daniel Thomson, is a futuristic model that looks nothing like a regular short board. The first thing that people notice on the Vanguard is the abnormal looking nose, this nose allows an equal amount of volume and the same amount 371

of rail in the water a conventional short board and thus makes the board a lot shorter (Daniel Thomson). The Super Normal is a futuristic short board made by Thomas Meyerhoffer. This board is called the Super Normal because it performs just like a normal short board just with a different shape (Meyerhoffer). The advantage of the Super-Normal and other futuristic boards is in their environmental impact. Each outline is cut from a blank and the shape of futuristic boards are more similar to the blank shape so shapers get more out of the foam and less foam is wasted. These boards are the future of the modern short board.

Works Cited

Things to Come

Motil, Guy. Surfboards. N.p.: Globe Pequot Pr, n.d. Print.

Although people have thought to come up with the most modern short board innovations quite recently, surfing and surf design will keep evolving infinitely. Every other year there is a new surfboard model or new design techniques. Shapers like Daniel Thomson and Thomas Meyerhoffer will keep pushing the envelope to make surfing more exciting and surfboards more effective in hydrodynamics and materials. There are many new concept models that have been invented but not yet mass-produced yet, like the hydrofoil which moves over the water with a special fin which improves glide and ride. If they were to be mass-produced they would be very expensive. These new boards are just a preview of the innovation of surfboards to come in the near future.

Pyzel, Jon. "What He Rode: JJF." Surfer Magazine. Surfer Magazine, 13 Feb. 2014. Web. 22 May 2014.

Fins, Futures. "EA Blackstix." Futures Fins. Futures Fins, n.d. Web. 22 May 2014.

Futures AM2 Fins and Rob Machado Fins. Quads vs. Thrusters Shred Show Ep #25. Dir. Chris Grow. Perf. Chris Grow. N.d. Online Video.

Meyerhoffer, Thomas. "Super Normal." Meyerhoffer. Meyerhoffer, n.d. Web. 22 May 2014.

Science, Surf. "Basic Tail Shapes." Surf Science. Surf Science, n.d.

Web. 22 May 2014.

Science, Surf. "Surfboard Design Guide." Surf Science. Surf Science, n.d. Web. 22 May 2014.

Stevenson, Jason. "Monsta 3." JS Industries. JS Industries, n.d.

Web. 22 May 2014.

Thomson, Daniel. "The Surfboard of the Future." Surfer Magazine.

Surfer Magazine, 10 Feb. 2014. Web. 22 May 2014.

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Today, Surfer. "The Effects of Surfboard Design in Wave Performance."Â The Effects of Surfboard Design in Wave Performance. Surfer Today, 24 Mar. 2012. Web. 23 May 2014.

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Andrew Heard

Life in the Fat Lane Fast food has developed into a worldwide, multi-billion dollar industry due to its main purpose of making profit, and its emphasis on quantity and consistency over quality and healthiness. Since the days of roadside burger stands in the 1920s, fast food companies have systematically taken over the American food scene, becoming some of the most recognizable and profitable brands in the nation.

Despite the industry’s success, it has attracted significant controversy and criticism as a result of its quantity-over-quality approach and excessive standardization. Thus, the reasons for the rise of fast food are the same reasons for its current problems. " The roots of fast food can be traced back to the 1920s, a period when the United States was experiencing a number of cultural shifts (Pendergast 71). In fact, these changes had a profound effect on the conception and popularity of fast food (Pendergast 71). “The rise of the fast food restaurant would not have been possible without concomitant changes in American culture” (Pendergast 71). In the decade following World War I, the United States was able to reallocate its resources towards technological and industrial developments, which in turn influenced the morale and behavior of Ameri-

can society. The most noticeable change was a significant increase in cultural interaction due to the telephone, mass media, affordable cars, new roads, and a growing tourist industry (Pendergast 71). In addition, hordes of people were moving into the cities in search of work (Pendergast 71). All of these factors increased the pace of the American lifestyle, and there was a growing need for people to quickly eat on the go, rather than sitting down for a “proper” meal (Pendergast 71). Eating in public, a concept that was previously deemed inappropriate, was increasingly accepted (Pendergast 71).

This growing cultural interaction created a more homogenous feel to American culture, as the boundaries between individual and society were broken (Pendergast 71). “The need for fast reliable, affordable, and convenient food, along with an increasing acceptance among Americans of a more homogenous culture, led to the rise of the fast food industry…” (Pendergast 71). In addition, “food was becoming merely a fuel, like gasoline, for the human working machines” (Pendergast 71). The hamburger, formerly viewed as a poor man’s food, was increasingly accepted, and was a staple food by the end of the 1920s (Pendergast 71). This simple meat patty sandwiched by two pieces of bread would be the basis for one of the most profitable industries in the decades to come (Pendergast 71).

White Castle, founded in Wichita, Kansas in 1921, is considered the first real fast food restaurant (“Fast Food”). The five-cent burger joint had expanded to various other locations including Omaha, Kansas City, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Louisville, Cincinnati, Chicago, and the east coast by the end of the decade (Pendergast 374

72). All aspects of its operation were standardized, from the burger production to the architecture and floor plans of all its restaurants (Pendergast 72). Even the hats and aprons that the employees wore were made by White Castle (Pendergast 72). This standardized operation appealed to a lot of people, and by the end of 1930, White Castle had sold over 21 million burgers (Pendergast 72). By 1937, that number nearly doubled (Pendergast 72).

Fast food’s dirt-cheap price was especially appreciated during the Great Depression, as many people could not afford the more highend restaurants (Pendergast 72). The industry thrived as the nation struggled, taking advantage of the troubled times.

Trying to capture the success of White Castle, among others, businessmen started creating franchises to run new fast food restaurants (Pendergast 72). “The franchise was a distinct business strategy that standardized not only the specific product sold, but the very institution that sold it” (Pendergast 72). As one entrepreneur remarked, there was “more money to be made selling hamburger stands than hamburgers” (Pendergast 72).

Kentucky Fried Chicken, commonly abbreviated as KFC, was founded in 1952 by Harland Sanders in Salt Lake City (Pendergast 73). The business served stereotypical Southern food, and largely appealed to that demographic, although became immensely popular nationwide (Pendergast 73).

McDonald’s was started in 1955 by Ray A. Kroc in Des Plaines, Illinois (Pendergast 73). “The McDonald brothers designed their fast-

food hamburger restaurant in an attempt to streamline the process of making food and to reduce the costs of production” (“Fast Food”).

Only five years later, the brand had expanded to include 228 restaurants (Pendergast 73). McDonald’s “did not promise the best burger, but the same burger throughout the world; indeed, the public came to accept this dictum, preferring predictability over quality” (Pendergast 72). This philosophy has held true ever since, and is in many ways the basis for fast food’s unhealthiness and massive profit margins (Pendergast 72).

Burger King, founded in 1954, offered McDonald’s the most significant competition in the coming decades (Pendergast 73). In fact, McDonald’s was forced to release new menu items to compete - the Filet-o-fish in 1962, the Big Mac in 1967, the Egg McMuffin in 1971, and Chicken McNuggets in 1981 (Pendergast 73).

Taco Bell was started in 1962 by Glen Bell, and served stereotypical Mexican food (Pendergast 73). In 1983, John Martin re-did the company, removing all ethnic references, including changing the logo from a sleeping Mexican man with a sombrero to a bell (Pendergast 73). This significantly increased the success of the company, and it quickly became more popular with non-Hispanic customers (Pendergast 73).

Arby’s was started in 1964, targeting a slightly higher-class demographic, and serving a more expensive menu (Pendergast 73). Its chains contained Wild West decor, and it served roast beef sandwiches, which had never been seen before in the fast food industry (Pendergast 73).

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Wendy’s, founded in 1969, was the first fast food chain to feature drive-thru service (Pendergast 73). Although drive-thrus had existed since the 1920s, the trend did not really catch on until the 1950s60s (Pendergast 72). The Wendy’s drive-thru was so popular that Burger King and McDonald’s followed suit (Pendergast 73).

The 1960s through the 1990s is considered the Golden Age of fast food (Pendergast 73). The industry grew and thrived, and this period saw the introduction of “the strip” - a line of several fast food restaurants along any given highway, all in quick succession (Pendergast 73). In addition, menu size was increasing, and chains were starting to experiment with different dishes to appeal to even more customers (Pendergast 73). “McDonald’s, Burger King, Taco Bell, Wendy’s, and Kentucky Fried Chicken remained the most successful fast food chains at the end of the twentieth century, edging out most of their competitors during the ‘burger wars’ of the late 1970s and 1980s, a time when large companies bought up fast food franchises and either made them more successful or put them out of business” (Pendergast 73).

Towards the end of the 20th century, the vast scale and influence of the fast food industry began to be realized. For example, Americans consumed 50% more beef and chicken in 1976 than they did in 1960, which coincided with the golden age of fast food (Pendergast 73). Two decades later, the numbers were even more staggering. In 1994 alone, fast food restaurants sold over 5 billion burgers (Pendergast 74). In 1996, 7% of Americans ate at McDonald’s every day (Pendergast 74).

Understandably, these mind-blowing statistics started to raise concern beginning in the 1970s, and this concern increased along with the scale of the industry. Critics of fast food worried about unhealthy food, poor working conditions, minimum (or below) wage for employees, very young or inexperienced employees, and the overall impact of the “fast food mentality” on the public (Pendergast 74). Nutritionists targeted the specific ingredients of the food, pointing out that the fat, sugar, and cholesterol content was way too high, while the vegetable content was severely lacking (Pendergast 74). Furthermore, they predicted that people would get in the habit of eating unhealthy, which would spell trouble for the future (Pendergast 74).

There was also concern about the overall “fast food culture” that was taking hold during the late 20th century, with the quick-service, over-standardized industry that was erasing ethnic backgrounds and taking a global foothold (Pendergast 74). In essence, the very same principles that guided the rise of the industry were now bringing about serious concern among many of its customers.

Fast food companies combated criticism by making a number of changes, scrambling to stifle the controversy by distracting the public from the issues at hand, rather than addressing the problems head-on. This involved hiring older workers (still with low wages), serving salad and “healthy burgers” (neither of which sold well), marketing themselves as “family restaurants”, and targeting children with attractions such as playgrounds, mascots, and kids’ meals with prizes. The latter proved to be especially successful - in 1973, 96% of American children recognized Ronald McDonald, second only to Santa Claus (Pendergast 73).

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In addition, companies like McDonald’s tried to appeal to a larger audience by expanding overseas. There were over 7,000 foreign McDonald’s by 1996, each slightly tailored to the surrounding culture. Beer was served in Germany, and wine in France. Men and women were separated in Saudi Arabia, with four daily closings for prayer. Beef was even eliminated from the menu in India (Pendergast 74).

tics show a correlation between obesity and lower income (Melnick).

This is supported by comparing the San Francisco fast food locations with the San Francisco income map – there is a high concentration of fast food restaurants in the northeastern region of the city, and that is also one of the poorest neighborhoods. In the wealthy areas, fast food restaurants are scarce or nonexistent.

The constant expansion and flexibility of the fast food industry over the better part of the 20th century has led to what we have now - a massive, multi-billion dollar business that dominates much of American lifestyle. 50 million Americans are served fast food every day.

44% of Americans eat fast food once a week, 20% eat twice a week, 14% eat 3 or more times a week, and 6% eat daily. On the other hand, 28% never eat fast food. The annual revenue from fast food is $110 billion (Statistic Brain). There were almost 264,000 fast food restaurants in America as of 2012 (Jacques).

Much of fast food’s popularity can be attributed to advertising. $4.6 billion was spent on fast food advertising in 2012, an 8% increase from 2009 (Fast Food Facts 2013). McDonald’s spent 2.7 times as much on advertising in 2013 as all fruit, vegetable, bottled water, and milk advertisers combined (Fast Food Facts 2013). On average, US preschoolers watched 2.8 fast food ads on TV every day in 2012 (Fast Food Facts 2013). Kids aged 6-11 viewed 3.2 per day, and teens viewed 4.8 (Fast Food Facts 2013). Fast food restaurants also tend to target black and Hispanic youth, both groups at high risk of obesity and other related diseases (Fast Food Facts 2013).

The restaurants also target a lower income demographic, and statis-

On the left is a map of all the fast food restaurants in San Francisco, and on the right is the San Francisco income map. In the income map, the 377

lightest colored areas are the poorest, and the dark gray/black areas are the wealthiest. Note the correlation in the northeast area of the city. Fast food map: (Google Maps). Income map: (City-Data.com)

Despite the fast food industry targeting low-income areas, fast food is actually the most popular among the middle class, who are less prone to obesity (Melnick). In addition, visits to fast food restaurants increase with annual income, but only up to $60,000 (Melnick).

Above that point, popularity starts to decline (Melnick). This seems to go against common belief, but it is really quite intuitive â&#x20AC;&#x201C; poor people do not have enough money to afford fast food. Fast food prices are much higher than what they were in the early 20th century when the industry was on the rise. Although current prices still seem cheap to middle-class and wealthy people, many poor people are not able to regularly afford fast food. Thus, popularity increases with income â&#x20AC;&#x201C; people with more money can buy more fast food. But beyond a certain point (which happens to be $60,000 a year), people tend to eat at higher-end restaurants, and therefore eat less fast food.

Current research has also shown that the targeting of certain demographics by fast food companies has significantly altered the lifestyle of those demographics. In 2009, UC Berkeley researchers found that living near a fast food restaurant means a 5.2% greater risk of obesity (Lee). Living in an area with a high density of fast food chains increases the risk of having cardiovascular problems by 2.62 times (Lee). For each 10% increase in fast food chains in a region, people are 1.39 times more likely to die from a cardiovascular condition (Lee). Fast food even correlates to death - areas with high numbers of fast food restaurants are 2.52 times more likely to have high numbers for all-cause mortality (Lee). Each 10% increase in

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fast food restaurants in a certain area causes 1.36 times more allcause mortality (Lee).

There are many well-known dangers of eating fast food, which include type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular problems, and obesity. These foods are extremely high in calories, carbohydrates, and fat, while severely lacking in protein. When eating a fast food meal, one consumes 37% of daily calories, 42.6% of daily carbohydrates, and 33.6% of daily fat, but only 15.4% of daily protein (Statistic Brain). “Coupled with low nutritional value, the high fat, calorie, and sodium content of these foods can lead to a variety of health problems. With statistical associations to weight gain, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular conditions and all-cause mortality, regularly eating fast food can be a dangerous thing” (Lee). Diabetes is one of the most prevalent consequences of unhealthy eating.

Regularly consuming fast food doubles the chance of developing insulin resistance, which leads to type 2 diabetes (Lee). The number of people worldwide with type 2 diabetes has more than doubled since 1980, going from 153 million to 350 million (Lee). Trans fats are also a major problem in fast food - once they’ve been consumed, the body has trouble getting rid of them (Selby). They get into the bloodstream, form clots, and lead to obesity (Selby). As of 2013, less than 1% of kids’ meal combos met recommended nutrition standards (Fast Food Facts 2013).

Preservatives are also another major component of fast food which can be harmful or unhealthy. Fast food companies are greatly concerned with making their food last as long as possible, so they add chemical preservatives to prevent decay and degradation. These

preservatives often have a negative effect on the healthiness of the food. McDonald’s fries show few signs of aging after three years, due to high levels of preservatives. McDonald’s would have to use “a lot of sodium propionate to prevent bacterial or mold growth” (Jacques). Their buns also contain both calcium propionate and sodium propionate (Shah). In addition, McDonald’s fries contain a high amount of fat, which greatly aids preservation (Shah). “Anything that is high in fat will be low in moisture,” says Barry Swanson, a professor at the Washington State University department of food science (Shah). And low moisture makes it very hard for mold to grow (Shah).

In addition to the well-known dangers associated with fast food, there are many hidden dangers that can be equally, if not more harmful. Fast food restaurants often add suspicious, secret ingredients to their food, presumably for the purpose of preservation, but one can only wonder. Wendy’s chili contains silicon dioxide, found in sand and quartz (Jacques). Many fast food restaurants add propylene glycol to their salads - a chemical used in antifreeze and sexual lubricants (Jacques). The FDA even says it’s acceptable for sauce to contain “30 or more fly eggs per 100 grams” and “1 or more maggot per 100 grams” (Jacques).

Many of the processes that go into making the fast food are also questionable. McDonald’s has been repeatedly accused of making Chicken McNuggets from “mechanically separated meat”, a process where the entire chicken (including bones, organs, etc.) is put in a food processor and ground up, then breaded and fried to make nuggets (Jacques). McDonald’s has publicly 379

The reason for much of fast food’s unhealthiness is that the industry values consistency and speed over quality and healthiness (Selby).

Fast food restaurants need to be able to quickly provide food for people over and over again, and it needs to be the same every time. In doing so, the quality and nutritional value of the food is sacrificed - it would take too long to prepare good-quality, healthy food.

In addition, getting the food from its natural state to its processed, fast-food state requires a lot of steps in between, and all of those steps are detrimental to the nutritional value of the food (Selby). The industry’s primary focus is on profit - as is any industry’s - and that profit would not be nearly as much if fast food restaurants meticulously prepared quality, healthy food.

ment. The fast food industry prefers the CAFO method because it is cheaper and requires less space, time, and resources.

All in all, the fast food industry values consistency and convenience over quality and nutrition. This is the way they make their profit.

Even if it means adding dangerous preservatives, fattening America, or raising unhealthy animals, they are fully willing to do it, because of the greater monetary gain involved. The industry brushes aside moral and ethical dilemmas, almost always taking the path of greatest profit.

Another example of this quantity-over-health mindset is the way the fast food industry and the farm industry treat the animals before they are killed and turned into meat. Most cows and pigs that end up in fast food are raised in gestation crates or CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations), which confine the animals to tiny enclosures (Selby). They are forced to remain there, unmoving, until they are slaughtered (Selby). Aside from the ethical questions this raises, the quality of meat from these animals is significantly lower than that of free-range animals, which were allowed to move around naturally before being slaughtered. Free-range meat tastes noticeably better than meat from animals that were kept confined (Selby). This is due to the fact that their bodies were allowed to develop in a natural manner, instead of being confined. This makes the animals leaner (less fat), and allows for natural muscle develop-

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Works Cited “Fast Food Facts 2013.” Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. N.p., Nov. 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Fast Food Nation. Dir. Richard Linklater. Perf. Patricia Arquette. Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2006. DVD. “Fast Food Statistics.” Statistic Brain. N.p., 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.

Goldstein, Myrna C., and Mark A. Goldstein. Controversies in Food and Nutrition. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2002. Questia. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Google Maps. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May 2014.

"How Fast Food Has Changed Our Nation." One Green Planet.

N.p., n.d. Web. 16 June 2014.

Jacques, Renee. “These Disturbing Fast Food Truths Will Make You Reconsider Your Lunch.” The Huffington Post [New York] 20 Nov. 2013: n. pag. Print.

Pendergast, Sara and Tom Pendergast, eds. “Fast Food.” St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. 2000. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

Royle, Tony, and Brian Towers. Labour Relations in the Global Fast Food Industry. New York: Routledge, 2002. Questia. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

"San Francisco, California (CA) Income Map, Earnings Map, and Wages Data." City-Data.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May 2014.

Schlosser, Eric, and Charles Wilson. Chew On This: Everything You Don’t Want to Know About Fast Food. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006. Print.

Selby, Ruth. "Interview with Ruth Selby." Personal interview. 30 Apr. 2014.

Shah, Riddhi. "The Secret to the Immortality of McDonald's Food."

Salon. N.p., 1 Sept. 2010. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.

Super Size Me. Dir. Morgan Spurlock. Perf. Morgan Spurlock. Samuel Goldwyn Films, 2004. DVD.

Lee, Matthew. “Statistics of Health Risks From Eating Fast Food.”

Healthy Eating. SFGate, n.d. " Web. 21 Apr. 2014.

Melnick, Meredith. "Fast Food's Biggest Customer: Not the Poor, But the Middle Class." Time. N.p., 7 Nov. 2011. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.

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Dane Johnson

The Disease of Addiction Addiction is a disease that is often both misunderstood and underestimated in our society. Society doesn’t see Addiction as what it really is; most people see it as a moral failure instead of a disease. This has impacted addicts in many ways such as not being able to get help, not being able to get the information necessary to fight the disease they possess and much more. Addiction is a very controversial topic, but people that argue against being supportive of addicts usually do so because they lack understanding about the disease. Addicts are not addicts by choice, and need society’s forgiveness and full support.

There are many common misconceptions that most of the population assumes about addicts. Most of these origin from the fact that people aren't educated enough on the disease. The most common misconceptions often are linked to underestimating the disease. A person who underestimates the disease of addiction (could even be an addict themselves), share similar ideas and perspectives on the Disease of Addiction. The first misconception, is that addiction is not a disease, but a character flaw, or moral failure. Society likes to look down upon addicts and blames them for something that they can’t

help. Another common misconception, is that there is one cure for all addicts. All addicts think differently. There isn’t one type of addiction; many addicts are addicted to different things in different ways.

Another misconception is that treatment doesn't work, addicts don't need treatment but only will power, or addicts continue to use at their own will. These are all false. The only way for an addict to get help, is to be supported by others and have people to talk to. The first step in getting sober is admitting you have a problem, but from then on you have to allow people to help you. An addict cannot do it by him/herself. Addicts put themselves into a different state of reality, in which will power doesn’t exist. Addicts do not control anything; if an addict could choose, they would choose their family over a substance. A substance can get to the state of addiction in which it can control your mind and priorities itself over everything; including family. If an addict becomes sober they are ok for life is also another misconception on addicts. This is untrue. Addicts who manage to overcome their addiction think about and struggle with their addict every day. Every day is a constant struggle, which is why they need our help and support. Addicts who receive help but can't get sober at first are hopeless is also untrue, because in most cases, addicts have to make an attempt at rehabilitation multiple times before they can get completely sober. The last of the most common misconceptions that society places on addicts is that addicts need to hit rock bottom before they can receive help and (“Alcohol Dependence”).

I attended an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting on May 18th 2014, as I saw almost all of these examples on display. Each addict that spoke during the meeting revolved around the idea that alcohol had 382

ruined their life, alcohol was ruining their life, or how AA helped them recover. I saw each of the symptoms displayed in this meeting; as each addict hinted at the horrible life experiences they had to suffer through. Some of the most common symptoms included, denial about the disease, thinking treatment won’t work, and many others. Most of these addicts had bought into society’s misconceptions; which eventually led to each of these addicts destroying themselves without realizing they had a problem. By the time each addict in the room had realized they had a problem, it was too late. They had practically ruined their lives. I got to see these first hand. Many people had been in denial about the disease and had only very recently come to terms with it.

What addicts need to know, is that everything assumed by society stated in the previous paragraph is false. Addiction is a disease, not a choice. Addiction is classified as a brain disease, also known as the “Addictive Gene”, or “Addictive Personality Disease” (“Inside the Brain of an Alcoholic”). Possible addicts also need to know things like “the disease can affect anyone, regardless of who you are, regardless of your character, status, education, profession or sex” (“Peirs”). Anyone can inherit this recessive gene from their parents, regardless of class, race, residency, or anything. Another concept addicts need to wrap their heads around is that “alcohol dependence is a disease where the craving for alcohol can be as strong as the need for food and water” (“Alcohol Dependence”), as this goes for all other types of addictions as well. Addiction is one of the leading causes of death, mainly because it’s known as the quiet disease. Shown in this table here, you can see that in 2010 there were

over double the amount of drug related deaths than car/motor vehicle related deaths

(“Prescription Drug Abuse Statistics”). Most people die without even knowing they had it/being in denial of having it (“Inside the brain of an Alcoholic”). Society needs to embrace the disease if they really want to help addicts.

The type of addiction that is most lethal, is when a person becomes dependent upon a mood or mind altering substance. When a person becomes addicted to something that changes the way their brain works, overtime the addict will become a completely different person. Their priorities change (drugs over everything) and they often don’t enjoy the same things that they once did (i.e. sports, drugs take natural highs out of things) (“Peirs”). Their personalities take a turn for the worst. Addicts often become in denial; as the brain starts making every excuse it can find to keep using the drug (“Inside the 383

brain of an Alcoholic”). Many addicts can live completely normal lives for a while, as they think they have their addiction under control, until it finally ends up ruining their lives ((“Peirs”)).

substances. Their emotions get involved with substances, which often creates confusion in an addicts mind, and can cause serious damage (“Inside the Brain of an Alcoholic”).

The amygdala, or the “emotional system” of the brain, is the part of the brain that plays a “key role” in seeking drugs. It is believed to be much more active in addicts; so in other words, addicts usually become emotionally attached to drugs (Inside the brain of an alcoholic). This is a result of have the disease of addiction. Addiction, or, the “Addictive Gene” is classified as a genetically transmitted disease (“Inside the Brain of an Alcoholic”). A child can inherit this gene from his or her parents, as it is a recessive trait, it is possible their parents couldn’t have it but the child would; possibly inheriting it from his grandparents. What this disease is, is a brain disease. An addict’s brain is wired relatively the same as a normal person, yet there are some differences. When a “normal” person intoxicates themselves with a mind altering substance, it releases its chemicals into the brain and activates its “high”. Most drugs revolve around the dopamine dispensary of the brain, and alter its regulation process causing the brain to release a lot of dopamine in a very short period of time (“Inside the Brain of an Alcoholic”). Once the high ends, it exits the brain and that is it. For an addict, it is different. Since the disease of addiction causes brains to become wired differently, mind altering substances pass through different passage wages. The main problem with addicts, is that mind altering substances, once entered the mind, enter through the emotional system of the brain.

This allows addicts to literally become emotionally attached to their drugs. This is what makes addicts so prone to becoming addicted to

Addiction doesn't just harm addicts, but puts others in harm’s way as well. An addict is struggling with addiction, it has some emotionally stressful effects on their families. According to Alcohol Dependence, addicts are seven times more likely to get a divorce, commit domestic violence, traumatized their children and neglect their children (“Alcohol Dependence”). This behavior, along with the high probability of inheriting the additive gene (this disease is genetically inherited through parents or grandparents {“Inside the Brain of an Alcoholic”}), puts the offspring of most addicts in a very hard position. Being neglected, abused or being involved in a divorce can often lead a teenager to abuse drugs and alcohol. Chronic addictions are always hard on individuals and families; addicts often push away the only people who could help them (Dr. Greenblatt).

Another problem with addicts is that they costs society. Each year millions of addicts will at one point drive under the influence. As you can imagine, this puts many people in danger. In 2009, about 11,000 people died due to someone driving under the influence; which accounted for about ⅓ of all traffic deaths in the U.S. (“Alcohol Dependence”). Addicts don't just cost society through operating motor vehicles while under the influence, but also “annual healthcare expenditures for alcohol-related problems amount to 22.5 billion” (Inside the brain of an alcoholic). A few examples other examples of how addicts cost society would include drug related fights, 384

police attention focused primarily on drug trafficking and hospitalizing injured/overdosed addicts (Inside the brain of an alcoholic).

Dr. Aaron Greenblatt; who is a doctor studying to become a family doctor, knows much about the disease of addiction. He has just finished his 3rd year of family residency and is toward the end of his training. He has one more year of addiction training; as he is currently helping people with pills and heroin addiction while in the process of learning to treat all other drugs. I interviewed Dr. Aaron Greenblatt, and he was very insightful about providing information about drug use in teenagers. Although addiction is very serious with adults and a threat to society, addiction in today’s youth is even more lethal. Teenagers are the most prone to addiction for many reasons. These symptoms are more severe in teenagers; since teenagers are in a vital developing state (Dr. Aaron Greenblatt).

Teenagers are often more willing to try things that come with bigger risks, some studies suggest (Inside the Brain of an Alcoholic). Teenagers also have their whole lives against them; if adults use drugs, there is a less risk (Dr. Greenblatt). Teenagers are often more unexperienced than adults, which for many obvious reasons can lead to much more severe consequences.

Addiction is a serious “disease” for which one in every ten humans carry the tendency. Addiction is a disease that is often misunderstood, abused and underestimated. Addiction kills many people, just as many as cancer and other leading causes of death diseases. Addiction is seen as a moral failure by society; but it is in fact a disease, not a choice. Society acts as if addicts are like everyone else, with the exception that they are weak and abuse drugs and alcohol.

It is not an addict’s fault, in fact it is societies. Since society looks down upon addicts, it is hard to get help. Addiction is not taken legitimately, so it is hard for addicts to educate themselves about a disease they don’t know they are fighting. Addicts live in denial about the fact that the disease of addiction even exists, even though they carry it. Addicts live their life thinking that they are perfectly normal, and their experiences with mind altering substances is exactly the same as everyone else’s.

How to get help/or learn more about the disease of addiction: If you have been experiencing any of the symptoms/situations along the lines described in the paper, or want to learn more there are things you can do to give you support. The first thing you need to do is understand the disease. You need to respect the disease as a disease, and never turn your back on it. If you want to learn more, you can follow my sources on my bibliography. You don’t need to have the disease to want to know more; knowing a lot about addiction could save a life of a loved one. If you think you have the disease, there are many things that you should and should not do. For starters, there is nothing wrong with you. It’s like being diabetic or bald; almost always out of your control. You need to not be ashamed of your addiction, and live in the open with it. There are many addicts who live their lives drug free and are happier than most people.

Once you become at peace with the idea that you could be an addict, there are plenty of ways to get attention and/or support. Some of these things include: seeing a school counselor, attending an AA meeting, or even talk to an addict who could be very insightful.

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Works Cited “Alcohol Dependence.” This Emotional Life. Elephants and Ants: 2009. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.

Youngerman, Barry, Dingwell, Health. The Truth About Alcohol. New York, NY: Infobase 2010. Print.

A.M. Hussong, L. Cai, P.J. Curran, D.B. Florra, L.A. Chassin, R. A. Zucker. “Disagreeing the Distal, Proximal, and Time-Varying effects of Parental Alcoholism. Springer Science. 20, Sep. 2007:12. Pro Quest. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

Bakewell, Lisa. ed. Alcohol Information for Teens. Detroit, MI: Omnigraphics: 2009. Print.

Benn, Peirs.”Can Addicts Help it?” Philosophy Now. Apr/Mar 2014.

1. Pro Quest. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

Carson-DeWitt, Rosalyn, ed. Drugs, Alcohol, and Tobacco. Durham, NC: Tomson & Gale, 2003. Print.

“In Side the Mind Of an Alcoholic.” New Scientist. Ed. London: Reed information Business UK. 10 Feb. 2006. Pro Quest. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

“In the Mix.” PBS. PBS: no date. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Koebler, Jason. “Taste of Beer, Not Alcoholic Content, Triggers Brain's Reward Centers.” U.S. News and World Report. Apr. 2013: 1. Pro Quest. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

“Prescription Drug Abuse Statistics.” Center for Lawful and Abuse Deterrence. CLAAD, 2014. Web. May 20th, 2014.

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Sophie Ghiasi and Yoshi Kohlwes

Criminal Minds in Court The newfound field of neurolaw is being used in the courtroom which can alter both society's definition of guilt, in addition to how courts should carry out punishment to those convicted. The use of brain imaging was first implemented in 1981 when the defense team for John Hinckley, who attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan , used CAT scans that showed signs of brain shrinking, a mental illness (Baskin). These images were used in court and marked the beginning of the newfound field of neurolaw. A group of scientists, including John Harlow and Dr. Henry Bigelow, first linked head trauma or abnormalities to behavioral changes through the example of Phineas Gage (Baskin). When working on a construction site, a 3-foot spike passed through his head and he miraculously survived. However, his personality was drastically altered, and he changed from hardworking and kind to rude lazy and mean (Baskin). This case study sparked interest in seeing how the brain plays into who we are as people. Today neurolaw is being used in the courtroom to help reduce sentences for convicted criminals by attributing their actions to genes, childhood factors and brain abnormalities. However, factors such as brain scans not being conclusive and the question of whether these criminals truly can be rehabilitat-

ed—particularly if they suffer from an antisocial personality disorder—makes neurolaw tricky to implement in the courtroom. Although one’s upbringing and environment play key roles in personality development, those with prevalent anti-social personality disorders are truly what defines psychopaths. The newfound use of neurolaw is deemed by experts to be too young of a science to yield concrete evidence; however, many lawyers still utilize it in an attempt to relieve their clients of charges.

Although there is rising controversy surrounding the legitimacy of brain abnormalities used by lawyers for criminal defense, there is little controversy surrounding certain genetics that have been proven to make one more prone to violent behavior. The warrior gene was first recognized in the 20th century to be a dominant trait in the Maori people, whose culture supported and credited their success as a society to its distinctively aggressive personality traits (Rod). “The warrior gene is a variety of the gene MAO-A on the X chromosome” (Jestes), causing it to be more prevalent in men (Jestes). The strength, endurance, and heightened sense of adventure needed to expand their territory was beneficial to the Maori. In addition, a drastically higher level of violence is not the only repercussion of the gene; those affected are also more prone to other hazardous behaviors such as substance abuse and gambling, factors that can often lead to more violence (Rod). The gene is thought to have been spread to the mainland by the Maori when they ventured across the Pacific where it has now become integrated into society.

While the mental and physical traits associated with the warrior gene code could potentially lead to dangerous behavior, the effects 387

of are often manageable. Serotonin, a neurochemical that is lacking in those with the warrior gene, regulates moods and provides the explanation for the uncontrollable rage that is experienced by carriers.

Despite the sense of violence, invincibility, and enjoyment of risk that are both prevalent in the most dangerous of criminals, and the effects of certain genetics, environment also plays a key role to people with the gene (Robinson). Exposure to violence raises one’s potential for violent crime by over 400% (Robinson). Therefore, it is important to understand that the gene alone does not automatically make an individual break the law (Rod). The warrior gene does not make one particularly more aggressive. It only raises the likelihood of responding aggressively to a situation (Jestes). Therefore, when exposed to childhood abuse, violence is not only seen as the solution, but people are also more comfortable with it, causing aggressive responses to situations as normal (Robinson). What makes the combination of the warrior gene and childhood abuse a tragic occurrence is that “[n]o one chooses the circumstances of their early childhood...And more generally, if you think of someone’s behavior as ultimately a product of their genetic inheritance and the circumstances in which they find themselves...then in a sense, everything is ultimately beyond your control” (Robinson).

A case study that was conducted in Sweden by a team of psychologists to determine the reason that violent crime often runs in certain families discovered that 40% of the violent behavior in biological children was linked to genetics (Litchenstein). Children adopted into violent households often showed just as high a level of violence, lead-

ing to the statistic showing that 60% of anti-social behavior is tied into environment. Violent genes are often passed into future generations by parents as 95% of violent men and women will chose an aggressive partner (Litchenstein). The high probability of aggressive partners being attracted to each other ties into the fact that a criminal convicted of violent crime increases the probability of raising violent offspring by five times (Rod). Siblings raised in the same home often share a similar violence level. However, when compared to their cousins, the number decreases dramatically unless the cousins were also raised in an abusive home (Robinson). The age a convict commits their first violent crime is very telling of their aggression levels. If a crime is committed before the child is 15, the aggression level is at the maximum and often indicates that the person is a carrier of the warrior gene (Litchenstein). Genetics and environment affect each other in the creation of either a criminal or a functioning citizen (Litchenstein).

The example of identical twins who are both carriers of the warrior gene but are raised in different houses is often used is a perfect example of the influence of environment and genetics (Price-Hansen).

Although they both have the warrior gene, while one has been raised in a nurturing, wealthy home, the other has suffered extensive childhood abuse and poverty (Price-Hansen). The child raised in the nurturing home experiences urges for violence and has to extensively focus to avoid uncontrollable rage. However, he is a functioning member of society with a steady job. In comparison to his brother, the child who suffered childhood trauma is in prison for murdering a man in a bar fight in blinding rage (Price-Hansen).

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Although it is far less common than the warrior gene, fragile x syndrome is another genetic abnormality that promotes violent behavior. It occurs as a direct result of a single gene mutation on the long side of the chromosome at Xq27.3. Commonly referred to as FXS, it usually only directly affects men similar to the warrior gene, and is a single gene disorder causing many men to become more aggressive. It also greatly depends on both the environment, and the functioning of different genes. However, unlike the warrior gene, there is great variability in the behavior with those with FXS (Hessl). For example, if one has a good serotonin transporter (a neurotransmitter that has great control over emotions), they will be far less aggressive, and the gene may barely affect them, meaning that only 50% of men with it actually experience violent, self-destructive behavior (Hessl). Violent surroundings promote its negative sides, in addition to unexpected transitions or change. There is almost as much destructive behavior towards themselves as there is towards others from those affected, 50% hit, 30% bite, or 30-75% beat themselves as commonly as they would others. In the rare case that a woman is affected by FXS, it has the opposite effect than men (Hessl). “A study of 193 women and 152 men evaluated their happiness level and women who carried this mutation on one or both X chromosomes rated themselves as significantly happier than women who did not carry this trait” (Jestes).

Genetics have been used in courts of law to provide an alibi. Bradley Wouldroup utilized this his genetics to his advantage in his court case. After getting into an argument with his wife and her friend on October 6th 2006 in his Tennessee trailer home, he ended up shoot-

ing the friend eight times before attacking both with a machete.

Originally, he was facing manslaughter charges. However, his criminal defense team showed how he had a high-risk version of the warrior gene. His medical condition reduced his charges to involuntary manslaughter. However, the fact that one has the warrior gene should not excuse their actions as it does not guarantee that they will not commit violent crimes again, and they should also feel the weight of the consequences.

Two recent case studies show the role that violent family upbringings play in the making of a criminal even without brain abnormalities or violent genes. In Sweden, a study done where those convicted of violent crimes underwent a test to study whether their family had a history of other criminal convictions. The tests highlighted whether the violence that they had experienced had “exposed” them to this behavior, teaching them that it was the appropriate way to handle situations (Litchenstein). The results disclosed that in fact those incarcerated had other family members who had faced similar charges of violence or aggressive behavior. Those who were adopted or were raised in foster homes had a lower percentage of family incarcerated, yet there was often at least one relative with whom they had had contact. Another study that was conducted yielded similar results. Out of 150 murderers such as Jeffery Dahmer, Kip Kinkel, Susan Smith, and Ted Bundy, 94% of them were the victims of both childhood sexual and physical abuse (Robinson).

Many do not suffer from genetic or brain abnormalities. However, their childhood is traumatic to the point that they are extensively damaged.

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Childhood abuse has long-lasting mind-altering, physical, and psychological effects that heightens feelings of paranoia and a need for power. They often lead to substance abuse, and when combined with mental or genetic disorders, is a recipe for disaster (“Criminologist”). Morals, empathy, and compassion are learned, not inherited traits. Abuse does not allow them to develop, changing the brain as certain areas responsible for emotion become atrophied or even damaged and permanently bruised. If abuse is combined with defects, substance abuse, and brain trauma, violence is likely to ensue (Kolla). The physical and psychological trauma that comes hand in hand with high levels of childhood abuse can lead to growing up far more aggressive and antisocial (“Criminologist”). Many criminals commit crimes in order to exercise control over their victims, something that they never had as a child. Besides posttraumatic stress disorder, paranoia, and a need for control that often comes as a result of childhood abuse, “during development, the neural networks, underlying various possible strategies become part of the brain’s physical structure” (Litchenstein). Therefore, violence becomes a child’s strategy for dealing with conflict as the areas of their brain that control negotiation, and problem-solving skills remain underdeveloped, while the areas of the brain controlling violence is heightened.

Violence is often transmitted through families by way of genetics and environment. However, it is often hard to delineate between the two (Litchenstein). There is a case study that shows a direct link between lower socio-economic classes and both physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect. In fact, children from families with an in-

come lower than $15,000 per year unfortunately experience twice the violence as wealthier children (Litchenstein). When in an underprivileged family, children do not have easy access to resources such as therapy before they do something drastic such as violent crime, and by then, it is often too late (Litchenstein). Many children are responsive to rehabilitation, yet since they are unable to gain access to those resources, they often fall into crime. The older the child is, the harder they are to rehabilitate, and by the time help has come to them, they have often damaged their future (Litchenstein).

When faced with childhood abuse, many children often fall into gangs or other criminal organizations that provide structure and a sense of security. Organizations such as these promote violence, and often, if a child is caught and no longer part of the gang, they have no sense of how to act in a civil manner (“Criminologist”).

Another factor that keeps violence passed generationally throughout families are the high levels of violence in siblings (Litchenstein).

A child may experience violence from a parent, but even worse from an older sibling. Especially if the older sibling has mental or genetic abnormality, they might exercise the frustration of their abuse or their desire for power over the younger child (“Criminologist”). A child would be raised facing abuse from all angles in the family, and very few people have the power or the means to escape such a situation. In addition, since they are locked in because of poor financial status, they have no ability to escape, and often continue the pattern of violence into the next generation (Litchenstein).

In higher socio-economic classes however, genetic or brain defects are the leading cause of domestic violence in families. There are no 390

crimes out of desperation or poverty in these families and a far lower exposure to violence, unlike those from lower socioeconomic classes, therefore, when there is abuse, it often stems from personality disorders (Litchenstein). Therefore, beyond genes or brain defects, childhood experience is the third thing you need to become a serial killer (Robinson).

An example of the use of childhood abuse in the court of law is of Donta Page who grew up in terrible circumstances. He experienced terrible abuse, lead exposure, and complete neglect as child, in addition to having no father, and a brain defect. During the court trial after he raped a woman in Denver, Professor Raine testified for him showing the facts that relieved him of some charges (“Criminologist”).

Although showing a “conclusive relationship...between a particular brain region’s function and any associated cognitive processes remains difficult” (Philips), scientists have linked certain behaviors to designated areas of the brain. Anatomically, the Hypothalamus (part of the Limbic region) is closely linked to “predatory aggression” or “extreme anger” (Baskin), and the prefrontal circuit and the orbitofrontal circuit are the two sections of the cortex that have the greatest influence over our behavior. The dorsolateral prefrontal circuit allows one to maintain attention for an extended period of time, plan, problem solve, order events, learn, remember, and “adaptively change cognitive and behavioral sets” (Baskin). While, the orbitofrontal circuit is responsible for empathy, compassion, and social awareness. In addition, the common opinion in scientific experts is that the orbital cortex is involved in decision making (Robinson),

and acts as the brakes on the amygdala; this being involved in anger, fear, and violence (Robinson). When there is an imbalance or damage in the frontal cortex, aggression increases, along with impulse, in addition to poor social behavior (Hagerty). Because a decrease in function in the amygdala or the orbitofrontal cortex shows a direct link in impulsive, antisocial behavior, “people are either freewheeling types or sociopaths” (Fallon). In fact, damage to the frontal lobe or claims of frontal lobe abnormalities are the most common symptom that defendants claim to be suffering from as it controls both morals, and social behavior. Many claim that they are “unable to comprehend the criminal wrongness of their conduct” (Sample).

However, as frontal lobe abnormalities are not the only sole factors in violent behavior, it is also affected by environment and other factors such as substance abuse. In addition, the brain depends on interactions between many areas, and as these areas assume the function of others if only minimally damaged, therefore only severe trauma would cause personality disorders (Kaufmann). However, the greatest thing to consider regarding brain scans is that “the biology of the brain is not shaped only be genetic influences. What the brain registers through its sensory systems about the surrounding environment is increasingly recognized as a critical factor that permanently changes the brain by altering its connections” (Pincus).

Therefore, the combination of substance abuse, mental abnormalities, and childhood trauma lead to disaster. Many who suffer from just one are functioning members of society (Kaufmann).

Dr. Jim Fallon provides an excellent example of the importance of childhood when regarding criminal’s brains. Dr. Fallon had eight al391

leged murderers in his family. While looking at his brain scan, he realized that he shared the same image as the other psychopaths in his family. He was the recipient of the monoamine oxidase a gene that promotes aggression and violence. However, unlike other family members. Dr. Fallon had a nurturing childhood, something that he accredits his prevention of becoming a murderer to (Hagerty).

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Extensive brain damage has also been linked to behavioral changes, criminal behavior, and violence. In a patient case study conducted by Dr. Russell Swerdlow, a well-known American Neuroscientist, he studied a 40 year-old schoolteacher who began to gain an attraction and make sexual advances on young children, teenagers, and adults. In addition, he not only made advances on his stepdaughter, but also downloaded child pornography. He was next enrolled into a rehabilitation program, however failed to remain enrolled as he began to make sexual advances towards the staff. After leaving the facility, he received medical care after complaining about a persistent pain in his head, in addition, his fine motor skills decreased dramatically. It was discovered that there was an egg shaped tumor lodged onto the orbitofrontal cortex. Once removed, his previous personality returned, however, years later when it was discovered that he was collecting porn again, the tumor had returned. After extensive treatment, the tumor was removed permanently, and he was himself again (Davy).

Another example that falls under the group are known as white collar psychopaths, who are highly functioning people in society that use their charisma, as well as many characteristics of psychopaths to obtain their goals are assumed to have ASDP. They often reach high levels of success at the expense of others, and feel no remorse. Common examples are high ranking business men and CEO’s who \do not take time to consider those beneath them to make more money. It takes a cold calculating brain to be able to make moves like that.

A Psychopaths is someone considered to have “a real profound difficulty understanding empathy, guilt and remorse” (can genes). Psychopath, however, has become a slightly archaic word to use. Now many people with antisocial disorders are considered psychopaths.

Psychopath’s exhibit criminal behavior “characterized by superficiality, glibness, lack of empathy or remorse, and is associated with difficulties in processing and producing effective material” (Baskin).

Many psychopaths can also be charming and good verbal manipulators, as well as stimulation seekers. However, they do not know how to appropriately function in society or relate to people (“Criminologist”).Those with antisocial disorders understand the differences between right and wrong, and thus are cable of convincing others of their good intention for the future (Philips). Although they understand this difference between right and wrong, they do not understand empathy and thus have no guilt for their actions (Philips).

These killers, however, are not mad. They do not act from a deranged mind, but rather from a “cold calculating rationality combined with an inability to treat others” as human beings (Philips). The patients with personality disorder many times tell lies to convince others of their good intentions, getting so wrapped up into these lies that they sometimes do not realize the difference between reality and fantasy (Philips).

One is labeled as a psychopath based on the Hare Psychopathy Checklist created by Robert D. Hare (Kiehl). It is score from zero to forty and it measures one’s inability to feel emotions like remorse or empathy as well as test if they are pathological liars (Kiehl). Average males receive a score from four to five, average inmates being 393

around 22 (Kiehl). However to be considered a psychopath, one has to receive a score of 30 or more (Kiehl). An average of 7.32 violent crimes are committed by psychopaths, with 4.52 per non psychopathic offender (Phillips).

Psychopath research, however, indicates that genetics can cause emotional dysfunction in individuals, thus making them have a “greater risk of developing psychopathy”, and thus have a higher violence increase (Philips). Researchers have found that many psychopaths commit crimes for fun as well as do not have loyalty to groups (Philips). However, it is important to note that it is not only psychopaths who can suffer from a bad combination of brain defects, genes, and childhood abuse. These factors can impact normal killers as well, not only those with antisocial personality disorder. High risk genes in combination with childhood abuse can increase being convicted of a violent offense by more than four-hundred percent (Robinson).

Neurolaw “The interaction between [neuroscience and behavioral genetics] with civil and criminal law is known as neurolaw and it is attracting increasing interest from lawyers, neuroscientists, behavioral geneticists, forensic psychiatrists, forensic psychologists and philosophers” (Davy). This “idea of neurolaw is... on-the-come” (Davy) and about 1,200 cases have been presented, with U.S. courts seeing drastic increases in lawyers using brain scans to argue that their client was not liable for their crimes (can genes and Sample). Lawyers state that their clients were not responsible for their behavior due to

having brain abnormalities or trauma, shown through their brain scans (Sample). Although neuroimaging has greatly advanced our knowledge on the difference between a healthy and unhealthy brain, it brings with it widespread controversy (Baskin and Sample).

Neuroscience, so far, has been used to reduce criminal sentences “even though it is only one aspect of evidence” (Sample). Lawyers will also use brain scans to state that they client is “not competent enough to commit the crimes” that they are accused of (Sample).

While scans were previously used to reduce one’s sentence, they are now also being used to attempt to clear charges (Sample). With this newfound growth, one must understand that many people argue that it is too early to incorporate neurolaw in the court of law (Robinson). Many refer to neurolaw as a “high-tech crystal ball” due to its unpredictability (Sample). Prosecutors also worry that defense attorneys will begin “to latch onto [anything] to save their client’s life or to lessen their clients culpability” (Robinson). Many legal and medical experts also have hesitancy about using this scanning to tell whether their client was aware of their actions (Sample). “Brain scans are not infallible, and many brain studies on criminal minds draw statistical conclusion from populations and cannot reliably applied to individuals” (Sample). Since localized theory that emotions and memories originate from one location has been disputed, scientists now know that personality traits or action can not be solely confined to one area of the brain. Therefore, the scans suffering conceptual problems as damage or alteration to one area does not necessarily mean alteration in one’s personality (Sample). Many individuals involved in neurolaw also dispute that although psychopath’s brains are abnormal from the majority of the population, does not 394

mean one has the grounds to say they have a brain abnormality and thus decreasing charges (Sample).

Brain over claim syndrome is also a huge reason for neurolaw to be looked upon as circumstantial. This is since many people fear that criminal and their defendants will fake insanity or emphasize brain scans too much, thus getting them off for false reasons (Sample).

These worries are not frivolous. “My brain made me do it” is one of the most highly used defense with scans of over 1,500 people between 2005 and 2012 (Sample). One example of blaming their brain was Vincent Gigante, the head of a large crime family in New York (Baskin). He feigned mental illness by wandering through the streets in a bathrobe mumbling to himself (Baskin). He did this so his doctors and psychiatrists would testify that he would not be able to stand trial and thus avoid incarceration due to his “mental illness” (Baskin). It was, however, later revealed by Gigante that he in fact had lied about his mental illness to avoid incarceration (Baskin).

Convicts blaming their brain for their crime can pose an extreme danger inside and outside the courtroom because at times the use of neurolaw could release dangerous individuals back into society (Kaufman). Future danger is almost impossible to predict, therefore leading to controversy since neurolaw can be “unscientific and unreliable”, however this would have a higher risk of danger since these individuals are more perilous (Kaufmann). Future danger also considers the community the convict may enter into to get treatment, and the safety of these doctors and psychiatrists (Kaufmann). There is also the factor this convict may have a brain abnormality, they will always have it, thus being a constant danger to society (can genes).

Overall, many experts agree that the “Law ask questions that science can’t answer, and science answers questions that law doesn’t ask. You cannot leap from a dynamic brain scan to notions of responsibility (Eastman). Neuroimaging can be dangerous for society, since at a medical level a subject could be misdiagnosed. However, in the legal field consequences would be much higher (Baskin).

Tests can lead to false results due to varying difficulty of questions and tasks that the subject had to undergo. As the complications from tests increase, the complexity of the data simultaneously increases (Baskins). At times one brain can have a false indication of abnormality form looking squeezed, when the person’s brain is only slightly altered (Baskins).

Although many argue against using neurolaw, some believe it is trying not to argue whether psychopaths know the difference between right and wrong. Instead, arguing that they are incapable of making the right choice or decision in a certain situation (can genes and Kiehl). Lawyers and psychologists emphasize the notion of partial guilt in law and punishment and how one needs to take in the factors that can influence a person, particularly when the convicted criminal has no control over these factors (“Criminologist”). Many cases where neurolaw was implemented shows that abnormalities in brain scans or a person who has the warrior gene can be linked to criminal behavior (simple). One example of this being Mr. Waldroup, who had a particularly dangerous version of the warrior gene, and ended up going through a fit of rage and killing his wife and her friend in front of his children (Robinson). However, a juror on this case noted how he seemed not to tick right and that without 395

these genes, he could have reacted completely differently to that scenario. Through the use of analyzing the factors that can play a role into one actions’, scientists can better place what can truly affect someone. One example of how people have begun to regard parts of neurolaw being real is through impulsiveness now being a symptom or disease recognized by federal courts due to frontal lobe damage (Kaufmann). Defendants with certain mental conditions are now considered “victims of certain types of mental disease” and are often excused heinous crimes (Kaufmann).

Professor Kent Kiehl is a neuroscientist who specializes in using clinical brain imaging to understand major illnesses like psychopathy or psychotic disorders. He has looked at the brain images, through his one-of-a-kind mobile MRI machine, of over 1,100 inmates to test and see the brains of psychopaths (can genes). An fMRI machine is a functional magnetic resonance imaging device that depicts one’s brain function through colored 3D images (Philips). Unlike an fMRI an MRI depicts the brain structure through grey tones, while a CAT scan is a computed Axial Tomography, both taking pictures that are reconstructed by computers (Baskin). An fMRI machine, which is what is usually used in the court shows any alteration in blood flow that highlight changes in brain cell activity, in coordination with the subject action (Baskin).This is then supposed to point out anything that varies from healthy brains (Baskin). Kent Kiehl believes that brain scan will soon be the standard fare in cases with these types of convicts (Kiehl), He also believes that neuroscience will begin changing our philosophy on how we punish people (Kiehl). He hooks them up to the machine and shows the differ-

ent types of photos, one a moral violation, say KKK starting a fire (Kiehl). Then a morally ambiguous image, for instance a car on fire, the last being neutral, students surrounding a Bunsen burner (Kiehl). He then would have them rate the moral violation from a one to a five. Although both “regular” and psychotic people rate these pictures the same way the limbic system of the regular person lights up, this being their emotional circuit. However the psychopath’s limbic system would not engage in the same way (Kiehl).

To use examples neurolaw examples in court, brains scan have “to meet legal and medical standards with scientific and medical integrity” as well the person’s current thought and action need to be linked to the images (Baskin). These scans, therefore, require medical interpretation (Sample). The medical professional have requirements outlined in regards to the question they ask, the testimony and relevance of images (Kaufman). Psychologists, neurologists and psychiatrists are responsible for supplying the attorneys with the correct information from the scans (Baskin). Many people, however, believe that judges and lawyers need to gain an understanding of neuroscience so that they are no longer dependent on a possibly biased read (sample).

There are many factors that play into whether scans are allowed to be used in court. The image must be “accurate, reliable, valid, reproducible and the image technique must be sensitive” (Baskin). This is decided by neuro psychologists as well as judges who make sure everything is carried out legally. According to Brower and Price, “The evaluation of research [and] the neurobiology of violence demands conceptual clarity, along with careful analysis of methods 396

and data to prevent misunderstanding and possible abuse of the results” (Baskin). “To be found not guilty by reason of insanity, for example, a defendant must demonstrate that they lacked substantial capacity either to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law” (Sample). Scan for patients also have to undergo a five part test to ensure reliability, feasibility, publication, potential rate of error, control of the operation, and the acceptance by the scientific community (Kaufmann).

Although these steps are used there is still controversy between judges on the use of brain scans in the courtroom (Baskin). Many feel that “scientific evidence, which offers insight into the offenders mental state is crucial because it is the only means of determining whether an offender's punishment is proportional to his crime” (Baskin). Other judges argue that “objective” evidence does not “wholly determine the controversy and focus instead on their duty as gatekeepers to independently evaluate scientific evidence” (Baskin).

A convict's potential for rehab is solely based off of their mental capacity and genetics. Many professionals in both the law and medical fields believe that the entire justice system should be reworked to incorporate an extensive rehabilitation component. Starting at the juvenile level, the sole purpose of the present incarceration facilities is to keep offenders off the streets, with little focus on attempting to fix the problems that lead to their arrest (Kohlwes). It is widely believed that when convicted, a criminal should be observed for an extended period of time, in addition to receiving an elaborate evaluation of their potential brain, genetic, physical, and psychological

problems. After their evaluation, and depending on the severity of their crimes, a criminal would be moved to either a classic prison, or a high security rehabilitation facility established on their projected success of rehab (Kohlwes). However, disregarding the system, the most vital aspect of convicting criminals is the evaluation of their potential for future violence (Price-Hanson). The new system would be ideal as there have already been clearly delineated lines created between those who are open to rehab and those who are not.

There are is a clear distinction between criminals with curable issues who are responsive to rehab, and those who are unaffected.

Although there are exceptions, a person whose crimes reflect and are a result of high levels of violence that they were subjected to as a child are a strong candidates for rehab. Their illegal acts of violence are often directly linked to either extreme paranoia, a need to exercise power over others, or rage, all three of which have been discovered to be highly treatable traits (Price-Hanson). These behavioral tendencies are found to be especially reversible if treatment is started while the subject is still in childhood or their teenage years (Kohlwes). It is widely believed that if familial violence history was utilized and evaluated properly, violence levels could be reduced as children’s violence would often become predictable, able to track, monitor able, and treatable with meditation or therapy (Litchenstein). This would all happen far before the child had committed a crime, and the therapy would involve the prevention of the violence, not the reversal of it. Another treatment program also suggested did not target the children but abusive parents. Children would be extensively studied if signs of abuse showed, and if abuse 397

was proven, both children and parents would attend mandatory therapy together. If the abuse persisted, the child would be moved into a secure facility where they would be cared for, and their therapy would be continued to teach proper behavior (Litchenstein).

A program similar to the ones prescribed above has been implemented in Wisconsin. The highest risk patients are selected from juvenile facilities throughout the state for this intensive project. While in their juvenile detention facilities, it was projected that there was a 90% chance that they would land in prison for future violent crimes.

Michael Caldwell is the head of this project whose treatment program stretches from nine months to a year, and has found a reduced recidivism rate of over 50% in those who completed it (Robinson). Even though it is high security, the program does not look to punish its subjects, instead, they hope to teach them how to reenter society when they are able to control traits such as impulse, anger, and paranoia. A study conducted with 1300 prisoners shows how mindfulness can lower aggression levels in prisoners (“Criminologist”). This tactic is used in the Wisconsin treatment program as it is something that the prisoners can continue to implement into their lives to keep them out of trouble even after they have left the facility.

In addition to mindfulness lowering aggression levels, it also has been shown to activate the amygdala, and to thicken the frontal cortex (“Criminologist”). We have proven through the success of these selected programs that the majority convicts are susceptible to rehab. If expanded onto a country wide scale, these programs could drastically lower rates of long term incarceration (Robinson).

Convicts with substance abuse or mental illnesses treatable by medication also have suggested rehabilitation facilities. Those suffering from substance abuse problems are to be put through extensive drug/alcohol therapy, teaching them to live their lives soberly.

The rehab would not affect the years of the prescribed incarceration, as it would serve to teach prisoners how to live their lives without the substances that often lead to their crimes. Those affected by mental illnesses such as schizophrenia would receive medication and learn to work with their condition. Many NGRI patients who have been “not guilty” by reason of mental illness have had disorders such as schizophrenia or are bipolar and have become fully functioning members of society (Robinson). Often the cause of crime are outside factors such as mental illness or substance abuse, therefore, if convicts are taught to work with them, violence would be greatly decreased.

When seeing the 90% success rates of these progressive facilities, the factors that make up other 10%, the unrehabilitatable must be considered. The 10% is composed of those with antisocial personality disorders, people who were previously deemed as “psychopaths” (Kohlwes). “The scientific community has long believed that psychopaths are either not treatable, or are less treatable than nonpsychopaths” (Philips). Science cannot yet understand the cause of antisocial personality disorders, yet it is apparent at a young age.

Parents can only helplessly watch their child “tread a crooked path of self-absorbed gratification accompanied by a sense of omnipotence and entitlement” (Philips). As these children grow older, parents discover that their children labeled as possessing “callous398

unemotional traits” are “unresponsive to parent practices that positively influence the behavior of other children with behavioral problems” (Phillips). The best explanation for their behavior is that they are simply wired differently as they feel no compassion, empathy, or regret. The behaviors that people with personality disorders lack are often accompanied by narcissism or they possess God Complexes (a personality that entails fixed traits that have one believe that they are far superior to those around them, and can accomplish tasks beyond human ability). Because of this, when they commit crimes, they are meticulously calculated, the person feels that they have the right to end another’s life, and they only feel empathy for themselves regarding the consequences of the crime, not the victim.

Therefore, no matter the outside factors of childhood violence or substance abuse, this small minority of people are unrehabilitatable.

Work Cited Baskin, Joseph H. "Is a Picture Worth a Thousand Words? Neuroimaging in the Courtroom." ProQuest Health and Medical Complete.

ProQuest, 2007. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

"Can Genes And Brain Abnormalities Create Killers?" ProQuest Health and Medical Complete. ProQuest, 06 July 2012. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.

"Criminologist Believes Violent Behavior Is Biological." ProQuest Health and Medical Complete. ProQuest, 21 Mar. 2014. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.

Davy, Melissa. "Blame the Brain." The Sydney Morning Herald. The Sydney Morning Herald, 03 Feb. 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2014 Hagerty, Barbara Bradley. "A Neuroscientist Uncovers A Dark Secret." NPR. NPR, 29 June 2010. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

Hessl, David. "Brief Report: Aggression and Stereotypic Behavior in Males with Fragile X Syndrome--Moderating Secondary Genes in a "Single Gene" Disorder." ProQuest Health and Medical Complete.

ProQuest, Jan. 2008. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.

Jestes, Roberta. "The Warrior Gene." DNAeXplained Genetic Genealogy. DNA Explained-Genetic Genealogy, 16 June 2013. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.

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Kaufmann, Paul M. "Neuropsychologist Experts and Neurolaw: Cases, Controversies, and Admissibility Challenges." ProQuest Health and Medical Complete. ProQuest, 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Rod, Lea. "Fed: "Warrior" Gene Blamed for Maori Violence: NZ Study." ProQuest Health and Medical Complete. ProQuest, 08 Aug. 2006. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.

Kiehl, Kent. "Inside A Psychopath's Brain: The Sentencing Debate."

Interview by Barbara Bradley Hagerty. National Public Radio. NPR. San Francisco, California, 30 June 2010. Radio.

Rosen, Jeffrey. "The Brain on the Stand." The New York Times. The New York Times, 10 Mar. 2007. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Kohlwes, Jeffery. "Research Interview 2." Personal interview. 7 May 2014.

Sample, Ian. "US Courts See Rise in Defendants Blaming Their Brains for Criminal Acts." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 11 Nov. 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Kolla, Nathan J. "Childhood Maltreatment and Aggressive Behavior in Violent Offenders with Psychopathy." ProQuest Health and Medical Complete. ProQuest, Aug. 2013. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.

Litchenstein, Frissel T. "Violent Crime Runs in Families: A Total Population Study of 12.5 Million Individuals." ProQuest Health and Medical Complete. ProQuest, Jan. 2011. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.

Philips, Kimberley D. "EMPATHY FOR PSYCHOPATHS: USING FMRI BRAIN SCANS TO PLEA FOR LENIENCY IN DEATH PENALTY CASES." ProQuest Health and Medical Complete. ProQuest, 02 Aug. 2013. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.

Price-Hansen, Doug. "Research Interview 1." Telephone interview. 2 May 2014.

Robinson, Drew, and Cynthia Lecroy-Schemel. "Can Your Genes Make You Murder?" Interview by Barbara Bradley Hagerty. National Public Radio. NPR. San Francisco, California, 01 July 2010. Radio.

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Patrick Mayrisch

Steroids and Supplements Steroids have been a prominent factor in Major League Baseball for many years. In 1998, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa both raced to break the single season home run record of 61 set by Roger Maris in 1961 (Brooks). McGwire hit 70 home runs and Sosa hit 66.

They brought new excitement to baseball after the strike of 1994 (Brooks). McGwire later admitted to using steroids, and Sosa later tested positive for them, after Major League Baseball banned anabolic steroids in 1991 (Brooks; Beck). Other than Major League Baseball, steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs were also banned from sports associations including the National Football League, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, and the Olympics (Beck; Ashby; McCloskey 85; “Anabolic”, New). Some steroid policies such as the National Football League’s are based on fairness and competition (Ashby). In addition to steroids, the National Football League, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, and the Olympics ban the supplement Creatine, but Major League Baseball does not ban it ("Anabolic", New). Creatine makes the body produce more energy so one can lift more weights (Risher). In some sports associations such as Major League Baseball, steroids are banned but Creatine is not, and in some sports associations,

both steroids and Creatine are banned ("Anabolic", New). Steroids should be illegal in all sports associations because of the dangerous side effects that they have, not because they may give players an unfair advantage. Supplements such as Creatine should be legal in all sports associations because the side effects are much less harmful, regardless of the advantages that Creatine may give to users.

Anabolic-androgenic steroids, simply known as steroids, help increase muscle tissue and body mass by acting like testosterone (“Anabolic”, ESPN; “Anabolic”, New). These steroids are not like the inhaled steroids used for asthma medicine ("Anabolic", New). Testosterone holds protein from food which helps develop muscles ("Anabolic", ESPN). Most men make about ten milligrams of testosterone per day and women make a very small amount ("Anabolic", ESPN). Steroids are supposed to be used for helping cancers, AIDS, and other diseases (“Anabolic”, New; “DrugFacts”). Artificial testosterone was used by German soldiers for aggression during World War Two (McCloskey 84). Steroids were made illegal under United States Federal Law unless prescribed after an examination (“Anabolic”, New; Verducci).

Like many drugs, steroids have been and are abused. The most common use of steroids is, in fact, by people who want to be stronger faster and in shape (McCloskey 85). Some still use steroids for aggression ("Anabolic", New). Rich and poor men, women, and children take steroids ("Anabolic", ESPN). Steroids are types of performance enhancing drugs, performance enhancing drugs,

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which also include cocaine, amphetamines, and narcotics (McCloskey 24).

Steroids, like any other drug, have their risks, prescribed or not prescribed, directed dosage or more than the directed dosage, even under medical supervision (“Anabolic”, ESPN; Ashby). Steroids can cause physical and psychological effects ("Anabolic", ESPN). The harm done can be irreversible ("Anabolic", New). Steroids can affect the liver, the heart, and the reproductive system (Ashby). Steroids can feminize men, masculinize women, and stop children’s growth ("Anabolic", ESPN). Growing too large with steroids can injure one’s body because the body is not built to be that large (Verducci). Getting HIV and Hepatitis B from shared needles is also a concern ("Anabolic", ESPN).

Creatine has much fewer risks, at least in the short term. Short-term studies of the supplement show that it is mostly safe (McCloskey 106). Creatine can cause cramping and diarrhea, and has also been linked to muscle problems, including oblique tears, and kidney problems (“Anabolic Steroids and”; Rathman). Though there have been few long term studies, Creatine users should still be careful ("Anabolic", New). Supplements can be dangerous when mixed ("Anabolic", New). Creatine users will gain weight (Risher). It attracts water into cells which cause more protein synthesis (Risher).

However, muscle will only be built by working out while taking Creatine (Risher).

Steroids have been used in sports since at least 1973, and likely earlier (McCloskey 42). That year, George Burman, a center for the

Washington Redskins, admitted to using steroids, the first documented usage in the National Football League (McCloskey 42).

That same year, the National Collegiate Athletic Association banned steroids, but did not start testing until 1986 (McCloskey 85). In 1981, Ben Plunkett broke the world record for the discus throw twice in two weeks, and a week after the second throw, his record was taken because he had tested positive for steroids earlier in the year (McCloskey 97; Litsky). Plucknett later stated that he did not need more muscle, he just needed aggression (Lisky). In 2003, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency had 6,890 athletes test for steroids, and just six were positive (McCloskey 289). Recently, there have been notable steroid scandals in cycling, such as Lance Armstrong, and many in baseball.

Athletes using steroids have developed serious side effects. In Italy, soccer players have developed liver cancer that is connected to anabolic steroid use (McCloskey 46). Dan Naulty, a former pitcher for the Minnesota Twins and the New York Yankees, took steroids to get bigger in order to throw faster and make the major leagues (Verducci). Naulty went from weighing 180 pounds to 248, including gaining 20 pounds in one offseason (Verducci). Naulty’s steroids use eventually led to alcoholism, and eventually his alcoholism became so severe that he had to use speed to cure a hangover (Verducci). Some athletes use ten to one hundred times the usual dosage of steroids (“DrugFacts”). Some athletes take two or more steroids together, and some combine oral and injectable steroids, which is known as “stacking and can cause more damage later in life (“Anabolic”, New ; “Anabolic”, ESPN). Taking steroids can cause an 402

aggressive mood known as “roid rage” ("Anabolic", ESPN). Steroids are addictive (“Are”).

(Wilson). Armstrong also had to give back his Olympic bronze medal (Wilson).

The use of steroids brings up questions about fairness. The New England Journal of Medicine found that ten weeks of steroids and exercise gave men 13 extra pounds of muscle and made the men able to bench press an extra 48 pounds (McCloskey 67). Steroids also help endurance (Steroid). People who use steroids have an advantage over non-users, and the game may change from an emphasis on ability to one of money and drugs (Ashby). However, steroids do not help skill, so is the fact that they give players an advantage the major issue ("Anabolic", New)? Doing what one needs to do is part of sports (Engmann).

A company called Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative gave steroids called THG to 27 athletes including baseball players Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, and Gary Sheffield (McCloskey 59-60, 62). The San Francisco Chronicle reported in 2004 that Giambi had admitted to taking steroids from BALCO in 2003, and that Barry Bonds had too, but had not been told by Greg Anderson, their dealer and Bonds’ trainer, what they were (McCloskey 59-60). In 2004, President George Bush talked about how steroids are wrong and the steroid problem in sports needed to be fixed in his 2004 State of the Union Address (McCloskey 62). In 2007, a report presented to Major League Baseball by former senator George J. Mitchell, known as the Mitchell Report, linked 68 players—including Naulty, McGwire, Sosa, Bonds, Giambi, and Sheffiel—to performance enhancers, such as steroids (“Baseball’s”).

In 1996, cyclist Lance Armstrong announced he had severe testicular cancer (“Lance”). He had surgeries to remove cancerous tumors (“Lance”). In 1997, he was announced as cancer-free (“Lance”). He successfully rehabilitated and went on to win seven consecutive Tour de France races from 1999-2005, and won a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympics (“Lance”; Wilson). There was much speculation that he used performance enhancing drugs (“Lance”). In 2012, The United States Anti-Doping Agency filled charge against Armstrong which threatened to take his Tour de France titles (“Lance”). Armstrong called the accusations “nonsense” (“Lance”). The AntiDoping Agency took away the Tour de France titles (“Lance”). The evidence was piling up against him and in January 2013, he went on the Oprah Winfrey Show (“Lance”; Wilson). Armstrong admitted to using steroids and human growth hormones, and blood doping

Major League Baseball first tested urine for steroids in 2003 and added punishments in 2004 (The Associated; McCloskey 97). In 2005, the regular punishment was a ten-game suspension (The Associated). In 2006, the first time a player tested positive they would be suspended for 50 games, the second time would be 100, and the third time they would be banned from Major League Baseball (The Associated). From 2008-2011, there were two to four positive tests (The Associated). In 2012, there were 12 (The Associated). Most users were using steroids that could only be detected in blood tests (McCloskey 37, 111). About one third of the pitchers and Major League Baseball are believed to be using the drug Adderall, which 403

is used to help them focus, though not all of them have ADHD (Rathman).

In 2013, 14 players were suspended because of documents from Biogenesis, an anti-aging company, were leaked to Major League Baseball (The Associated). On July 22, Ryan Braun, the former National League Most Valuable Player accepted a 65 game suspension (“Tony”). On August 5th, 12 players connected players were suspended for 50 games, and Alex Rodriguez, winner of three American League Most Valuable Player awards, received a 211 game ban (“Tony”). Two of those players suspended for 50 games, Jhonny Peralta and Nelson Cruz, came back that year for their teams the Detroit Tigers’ and the Texas Rangers’, respectively, playoff games, which made many players upset (The Associated). This year, Major League Baseball change its punishments for positive test from 50 games for a first offense to 80, and from 100 for a second to 162, a full season (The Associated). Players who are suspended will no longer be eligible for the playoffs or post-season bonuses (The Associated). Also, players suspended for a season will not get paid (The Associated). The Biogenesis scandal produced the largest mass suspension in the history of Major League Baseball.

Former steroid users such as Bonds and Roger Clemens, also named in the Mitchell Report, should not be banned from the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame (“Baseball’s”). The Hall of Fame is about putting people with good statistics together (Berg). Not everyone who used steroids ended up having statistics that are Hall of Fame worthy, so steroids do not completely build a player (Berg).

The Baseball Writers Association of America, the group of writers who vote players into the Hall of Fame and pick the winners of the end of the year awards such as the Most Valuable Player award and the Rookie of the Year award, should “put great baseball players in the Hall of Fame” (Berg). Some writers state that they do not vote for Bonds and Clemens because they lack the sportsmanship and character which is required for the Hall of Fame, not because of their steroid ties (McHugh). Ty Cobb “would sharpen his cleats for the sole purpose of cutting the infielder’s legs when he slid into second”, and yet he is in the Hall of Fame (McHugh). Other writers do not vote for players such as Jeff Bagwell and Mike Piazza just because they are suspected of using steroids, instead of having actual evidence (McHugh). The Baseball Writers should not differentiate between who admitted to steroids and who did not either. If one player was inducted and did not admit, and another player admitted and was not inducted, how is that fair (Berg)? This should be the case for all sports leagues, not just Baseball.

Steroid users should also be able to hold records like the single season homerun record and the record for most homeruns in a career.

“All 762 of Barry Bond’s home runs”, including the 73 he hit in 2001, “still counts in the box scores” of games he played in (Berg). If Bonds had hit a homerun with the help of steroids in a game where the Pittsburgh Pirates or San Francisco Giants win by one run, that win will still count, so the season and career totals should still count.

Clemens won a World Series game in 1999 and 2000, and in both cases the Yankees won the World Series (“Roger”). The Yankees are not going to have two championships taken away from them.

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Clemens also won seven Cy Young awards, the award for the best pitcher in each league, including one when he was 40 years old (â&#x20AC;&#x153;Rogerâ&#x20AC;?).

Steroids should be banned from all sports associations because they have many harmful health risks. Supplements like Creatine should be accepted in all sports associations because of its lower health risks, and should not be banned because they help players develop muscles. Former steroid users in baseball should be allowed in the Hall of Fame and be entitled to holding records because their accomplishments still count in the games that they played in. Not all users have Hall of Fame caliber statistics. The win will not be stripped from the team, so the statistic should not be taken from the player.

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"Anabolic Steroids." ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. <http://espn.go.com/special/s/drugsandsports/steroids.html>.

"Are Steroids Worth the Risk?" KidsHealth. Ed. Mary L. Gavin, MD. The Nemours Foundation, June 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. <http://kidshealth.org/teen/food_fitness/sports/steroids.html>.

Ashby, April. "Why Steroids Have No Place in Sports." Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. <http://law.marquette.edu/facultyblog/2010/10/20/why-steroids-have -no-place-in-sports/comment-page-1/>.

The Associated Press. "Suspended M.L.B. Players Now Ineligible for Playoffs."The New York Times. The New York Times, 28 Mar. 2014. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/29/sports/baseball/suspended-pl ayers-now-ineligible-for-playoffs.html?_r=0>.

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Beck, Jacob. "The Only Good Reason to Ban Steroids in Baseball: To Prevent an Arms Race." The Atlantic. Atlantic Monthly Group, 17 June 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. <http://m.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/06/the-only-go od-reason-to-ban-steroids-in-baseball-to-prevent-an-arms-race/276 932/>.

Berg, Ted. "4 Reasons the Baseball Hall of Fame Should Include Steroids Users."USA Today. USA Today, 27 Dec. 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. <http://ftw.usatoday.com/2013/12/baseball-hall-of-fame-steroids-bon ds-clemens-piazza-bagwell/>.

Brooks, Will. "Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire Changed The Game For The Better." Bleacher Report. N.p., 12 Nov. 2014. Web. 13 May 2014. <http://bleacherreport.com/articles/81049-sammy-sosa-mark-mcgwi re-changed-the-game-for-the-better>.

"DrugFacts: Anabolic Steroids." National Institute on Drug Abuse.

N.p., July 2012. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. <http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/anabolic-steroids >.

Engmann, Sean. Personal Interview. 6 May 2014.

Jones, Tom. "Dos and Don'ts for Little League Parents." Tampa Bay Times. N.p., 12 June 2009. Web. 09 May 2014. <http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/twocents/content/dos-and-donts-li ttle-league-parents>.

"Lance Edward Armstrong." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2014.

Web. 19 May 2014.

Litsky, Frank. "Ben Plucknett, 48, Track Star Who Lost Record After Drug Test."The New York Times. The New York Times, 22 Nov. 2002. Web. 13 May 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/22/sports/ben-plucknett-48-trackstar-who-lost-record-after-drug-test.html>.

McCloskey, John, and Julian Bailes, M.D. When Winning Costs Too Much: Steroids, Supplements, and Scandal in Today's Sports. Lanham, MD: Taylor Trade Pub., 2005. Print.

McHugh, Matt and Spencer Walling. “Should steroid users be allowed in the MLB Hall of Fame?” The Aragorn Outlook. 6 Feb, 2014. Web. 22 May, 2014.

Rathman, Daniel. Personal Interview. 30 Apr. 2014.

Risher, Brittany. "Creatine: Side Effects, What It Is, What It Does."

Men's Health. N.p., 2 Sept. 2013. Web. 11 May 2014. <http://www.menshealth.com/nutrition/Creatine-side-effects-what-itwhat-it-does>.

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"Tony Bosch and Biogenesis: MLB Steroid Scandal." - Tony Bosch and Biogenesis: MLB Steroid Scandal - Miami New Times. Web. 20 May 2014. <http://www.miaminewtimes.com/specialReports/tony-bosch-and-bi ogenesis-mlb-steroid-scandal-3698782/>.

Verducci, Tom. "To Cheat or Not to Cheat." Editorial. Sports Illustrated 4 July 2012: n. pag. SI.com. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. <http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/magazine/05/29/baseball.ster oids/>.

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Amara Norman

How does the industry of processed & package foods influence our consumption?

Are you eating for your cells or for your taste buds? When you become hungry you may gain desires for food that will satiate your wants but how do ensuring your satisfying your real dietary needs?

You reach into the pantry to access the bag of chips that have been sitting in the cabinet for almost a week now. You disregard the idea that what you seek to consume is filled with additives and wiped of substantial nutrients, posing a risk to your health. People are often influenced to quickly obtain what’s convenient and have become accustomed to a fast paced life that requires convenient sources for obtaining what one considers nutritious. The effect of marketing

causes people to become oblivious to the lack of value in packaged foods. Although processed foods are easily accessible, it is imperative that people have a higher awareness of the sugar and carbohydrate impact on the body. Unfortunately, the strategic advertising of low cost packaged, processed foods towards adolescents and young adults, is encouraging the consumption of products that should not be considered foods.

Initially humans were hunters and gathers which enables eating fresh food that allowing the value not to alter. Over time the ability to store food became more imperative as societies became more developed and the need to do other tasks rather than find food became more prominent in everyday life, due to having “the social organization necessary to tackle the complex and large-scale task of farming” (Roberts). In order to preserve food, previous humans ground and cooked grain into flat breads and gruels which increased its nutritional value as well as its palatability (Roberts). The skeletal remains from the hunting period conveyed that humans were more disease free and had better physical qualities, whereas humans from the early agricultural period suffered from dietary issues and decreased in height. Although farming caused early humans to get smaller, it increased the population within societies, eventually leading to a modernized approach to production. Farming was revolutionized when food production was assisted by factories miles away, where a large network of “commodity buyers and processors had arisen to convert grains, animals, and other farm products” (Roberts). Our bodies were not made to digest the heavily preserved foods most people consume now because the body’s di408

gestive acids can’t break down products not intended for our system. Yet they exist nonetheless, so understanding why is essential to our understanding of its impact on our bodies. Humans are “hardwired by natural selection to prize sweet foods” (Mazis). The type of sugar found in nature within fruits or vegetables provides a slowrelease type of energy, crucial micronutrients are obtained. In the world we currently live in, sugar within packaged foods no longer have the same positive connotations with our body as it once did.

Sugar should not comprise for more than 5% of one’s daily energy intake, yet the majority of processed foods contain amounts that eventually add up beyond the reasonable amount (Kobayashi). The calories within sugar are void of nutrition and added sugar is not required for the human diet resulting in an unnecessary source of calories. It provides no feeling of fullness permitting one to have no problem eating more. The fructose component of added sugar (the type of sugar found in most packaged foods) is toxic to the liver when an excess amount is consumed, turning it into fat (Malhotra). The use of sugar is used more in low fat items in order to maintain an appealing taste with the absence of fat. People tend to gravitate towards labeling that implies there is less food consumption, yet are unaware that gaining weight can derive from sugar and carbohydrate content.

Companies that seek to profit in the food industry can gain the most revenue by increasing the value of an item by catering to consumer’s needs for convenience. In order for a customer to be more inclined to purchase a product, “value is added to gasic raw foods through processing” (Nestle). Consider the conversion of potatoes

to potato chips: the potato is the original food source that our bodies are used to, but through processing it becomes a more valuable item from a financial standpoint. Companies can add value to fruits and vegetables by selling them frozen, canned, packaged or prepared (Nestle). By limiting how fresh an item is a brand can increase their revenue by having the ability to create and store more items. A company is free to produce products in the most economic and profitable way possible as well as the product delivers its expected taste, texture, convenience and cost. A company can substitute ingredients depending on the availability, price, or consumer concern, while still hiding the origins and methods behind its creation (Roberts).

There is a decline in a consumer’s ability to comprehend and prepare their own food, thus people are more inclined to obtain packaged food. It is seen as an easy alternative to rendering raw materials into something edible (Roberts). Time was viewed as a scarce resource, and woman having potential as a wage earner made them more inclined for their income to contribute to someone else preparing the food. Convenient food provided the gift of time, a valued component to the modernized world.

The shift towards refined foods entails utilizing white flour and white rice over brown, causing nutrients to be lost. Refining grains enables the shelf life of a product to be extended, thus contributing to mass production and consumption. Refined grains lacks fiber, a contributing factor to the slow release of sugars. The finer the flour, more of the surface of it is exposed to digestive enzymes causing the starches to become glucose quickly, energizing us briefly but 409

not benefiting our health. The use of white flour is to market in terms of image rather than nutritional value. The reason that the industry is able to profit from processed foods is biological. The brain can crave refined carbohydrates since carbohydrates are predominantly an energy source of pure glucose. Once a company has gained the ability to alter the “seeds of grasses into the chemical equivalent of sugar” (Mazis) it is hard to recall how to obtain substantial and reliable energy for our body that has substance. The amount of calories has increased not only in carbohydrates but sugar as well causing a diet with these foods to be half sugars – calories that provide solely energy.

The role of packaged and processed foods contributes to a consumer’s addiction by tweaking the ratios of salt, sugar, and fat in order to optimize the person’s enjoyment of a product. By minimizing the usage of salt, sugar, and fat people will not desire to eat an item as much. Including these ingredients optimize the taste of a product which hooks a consumer to continue purchasing.

Media is used to convey a brand image or attract consumers to a certain product (Mazis). These methods entail package design, typeface, pictures, and other content that permits a company to exploit certain trends.When there is an abundance of products available, a company must establish a concept behind a product they intend to sell. For example conveying food as fun is a crucial method to draw in kids to desiring certain products, by making them colorful and show an opportunity for play. For children, “color, taste and touch are vital elements for differentiation” because food is more than about eating (Roberts).

When color fades from processed vegetables and meats during cooking or pulverizing, it gets restored through brightening. For example, Chlorophyll gets put into canned peas to add back green.

Flavor is another factor that needs restoration. For example, “3 percent of a cookie’s flavor remains after baking, much of which gets absorbed into packaging” (Roberts). This is restored in the processing stage by spraying on flavoring and other confections after baking. The key component for any flavor can derive from as little as a single compound when synthesized. By utilizing the right chemistry, a company can establish a flavor for a product that is unrealistic and not attainable without alteration. Engineering food permits companies to make the cooking process easier and gain control over costs. The majority of society have become accustomed to the synthetic versions of food that it is preferred over the original (Roberts).

A product can be most successful if it is designed to be eaten anywhere at any time, without preparation. Companies are furthering the snack concept towards busy people, making them consumable one-handed and with less hassle, making “the future of food as an accessory” rather than a necessity (Roberts).

Additives are used in products in order to repair the damage done to food during manufacturing. For a product to sell after it is processed, the sense of quality must be restored whether it be the vitamins and minerals, color, or flavor. Fortification is done to replace vitamins and minerals which deliberately increases the content of an essential nutrient within a food. It raises the difficulty of monitoring folic acid content which is a member of the B vitamin family. Folic acid is the synthetic form of Folate which is naturally found in 410

fruits, vegetables, and grains. The body can convert Folic acid into Folate. While it has its benefits, too much folic acid can hide signs of anemia which is a warning of Vitamin B12 deficiency. This can lead to problems of dementia, confusion, or severe damage to the nervous system (Keep the Multi). Too much consumption of folic acid can also accelerate the growth of existing tumors and may be associated with increased risk for “colorectal, breast, and prostate cancers” (Keep the multi). When Folic acid is added to food like breakfast cereals, nutrition bars, it can “deliver up to 800 micrograms of folic acid, double the recommended daily dose” (Keep the Multi).

Based on the First Division Association requirements, labels on food are not to be false or misleading. The FDA only permits seven health claims on labels and only authorizes certain terms for nutrient content claims. The Federal Trade Commission regulates advertising of food products and permits other health claims if there’s evidence and allows non-FDA approved vocabulary. Advertized health claims can impact a consumers purchasing behavior and consumers tend to believe government mandated information (Mazis).

In order for a food product to have a health claim on a package, it must be inside of a package, thus clearly depicting whether the food is processed rather than wholesome. Health messages that convey benefits in a product by campaigning it increases sales (Mazis).

Since consumers are more skeptical of advertising rather than labeling, misleading phrases cause people to overlook the lack of nutritional value. Advertised health claims can impact a consumers purchasing behavior. “If a health claim is true, then nutrition information

will probably confirm an initial impression based on their exposure to labeling on the front panel” yet if the claim is untrue, the nutrition information will misinform prior impressions (Mazis).

Considering the fact that processed foods are more desirable, they are more profitable, thus “only 2.2 percent of direct advertising to the public through media is for fruits, vegetables, grains, or beans” (Nestle). This is an issue because “children establish firm preferences at a young age for certain brands” (Nestle). Our current society tends to discourage out of home activities encouraging less movement and more exposure to food advertisements (Nestle).

Households are smaller these days so there is an increased devotion to children within smaller families which leads to children being able to indulge in what they desire.

The diets of most American children are far from meeting the nutritional recommendations. The problem is that people tend to eat too much of the wrong kinds of food and consume way too many calories as a result. Income is a major factor in childrens nutrition and leads to nutritional deficiency. Low income groups have the same nutritional intake of those who are better off financially, but tend to choose diets higher in calorie, fat, and sugar (Nestle). In order to respond to a consumers demand and satisfy stockholders, the strategy of a company is to increase the size in food proportions. This promotes eating more of what one really needs rather than less, due to “relative prices discouraging the choice of smaller portions” (Nestle).

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Cost is a big factor in food choice thus causing people to gravitate towards cheaper options. This can cause an increase in the consumption of calories, fat, and sodium. The intention behind eating is to maintain one’s bodily health (Pollan). When people consume processed food, they are prone to becoming malnourished. Malnutrition isn’t solely caused by lack of food, but instead lack of high quality foods like grains, fruits, fibers, and vegetables (Clifton). The foods that are in packaged foods are solely satisfying ones taste buds rather than providing the proper nutrients for the body. One should strive to “avoid any food that has been processed to an extent that it is more the product of industry than of nature” (Pollan).

Consuming food products with artificial colors, flavors, synthetic sweeteners, and novel fats, cause us to consult food labels rather than our senses (Pollan). Although the main goal of processed food is to extend shelf life, the ingredients within them are designed to sell us more food.

based on its nutritional value. Healthy eating habits entail addressing the nutritional quality of the food being consumed, how much of it is needed, and overall whether or not the body will benefit from it.

Another measure to take in order to maintain health is to remain hydrated due to the fact that “2.5 liters of fluid” is lost from the body each day (Currie). Drinking water prior to a meal will take up a portion of the room within the stomach, leading to consumption of a lower food volume.

Although it may be difficult to completely remove packaged foods you purchase from convenient stores out of your diet, it is important to differentiate between a need and a want when it comes to what is being eaten.

In order to nourish the body properly, it is crucial to strive in having a balanced diet. This is done by ensuring that the majority of what is being consumed has a high nutritional value. Nutritional value is the amount of nutrients within a product. A primary issue with packaging is that the food contains toxins deriving from the manufacturing process. If people make an effort to eat raw and fresh foods like salads, vegetables, fruits, and nuts one gains a higher intake of nutrients and fiber. Raw foods have enzymes that help the body digest and assimilate nutrients that are often lost when food is cooked (Currie).

The main thought to keep in mind while choosing what to eat is asking yourself whether you expect the item to nourish your body 412

Sources Consulted Boeschenstein, Nell. "How The Food Industry Manipulates Taste Buds With 'Salt Sugar Fat'" NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 25 May 2014.

Coles, Clifton. 12:53 PM Obesity as a Major Malnutrition Issue: Poor Nutrition from Overeating May Become a Primary Killer. N.p.: Futurist, n.d. Online Print.

Roberts, Paul. The End of Food. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2008.

Print.

"The Worst Thing You Can Eat Is Sugar. - Public Health." Public Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2014 "We Must Wind Back the Harms of Too Much Sugar." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 30 Sept. 2007. Web. 26 May 2014.

"Keep the Multi, Skip the Heavily Fortified Foods." The Nutrition Source. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2014.

Mazis. Consumer Perceptions of Health Claims in Advertisements and on Food Labels. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Online Print.

Nestle, Marion. Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health. Berkeley: U of California, 2002. Print.

"Nourish Your Body: The 6 Healthy Habits Explained." Nourish Your Body: The 6 Healthy Habits Explained. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2014.

Pollan, Michael. In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. New York: Penguin, 2008. Print.

Rothberg, Daniel. "U.S. to Revamp Nutrition Labels; New Rules for about 700,000 Food Items "to Emphasize Calorie and Added-Sugar Data." Los Angeles Times Feb 27 2014. ProQuest. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

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Matthew Penny and Cole Schneider

Puer Athleta From the beginning of humanity athletic individuals were a prized part of society. During prehistoric eras, humanity relied on athletic individuals to hunt and bring back fresh meats. As civilization progressed the role of an “athlete” has changed. Greece held the very first Olympics honoring its best athletes in the 7th century B.C. and today we continue the tradition. Colleges give scholarships to athletes who have risen above the rest, and professional athletic clubs pay their athletes millions of dollars. Throughout history athletes have always been given the best and highest quality food available.

This has been the case since the ancient Greek era and before. Today college athletes eat for free in cafeterias separate from the normal school cafeterias, which have healthier, more nutritious foods.

The concept behind these “super” cafeterias is that the athlete has the best fuel to put into his machine so that it can work at its best.

The fact that athletes can maximize their performance by using these “untapped” natural enhancers is generally accepted. The importance of nutrition has been recognized by professional athletes and professional sports teams for many years because proper nutrition aids athletes. In contrast, high school athletic programs have not acknowledged nutrition as a significant factor in athletic suc-

cess. Professional athletic teams have sports physicians and nutritionists to help provide knowledge and counseling to the players so that they can make informed and educated decisions on what they put in their body. Do high school athletic programs have hired sports physicians or nutritionist to support and encourage young student athletes to consume food that is going to maximize their aptitudes on the field? The answer is decidedly no. “Overall, schools focus on increasing students’ knowledge about what is meant by good nutrition, with less emphasis on influencing students’ motivation, attitudes, and eating behaviors” (National Center for Education Statistics). By fueling their body with appropriate foods athletes are giving their body a superlative fuel source; nutrition is the strongest and healthiest approach to cultivating one’s athletic aptitudes and these resources should be made available to high school athletic programs and our youngest “professional” athletes.

Many high school and teenage athletes today do not understand the importance of eating and drinking healthy, and often suffer in their ability to perform on the field. The athletes often avoid diets and other restrictions because of how much the diets takeaway from their choices of what to eat. When we talked to one of the nutritional speakers at Lick-Wilmerding, and longtime runner at the Olympic club, John Hommeyer. He said that one of the most important things to do with teenagers and healthy diet “is not to restrict their choices with, “you cannot have that,” or “no, eat this.” Then that attitude towards eating changes, and instead of positive thought correlating with healthy foods it is replaced with thoughts of restriction,” (Hommeyer). John also added that one of the keys to getting teenagers 414

to eat healthy is to add healthier choices gradually to counterbalance the junk/bad food that kids eat.

Another questionable choice high school athletes make have to do with their hydration and sugar intake. Teenagers often favor sodas and sweeter drinks over water because of the taste, but soda is the quintessential antagonist of hydration. Even diet sodas contain large amounts of artificial sweeteners and chemical additions that are a bad substitute to good old H2O. But that is not the only mistake made by teens in the area of hydration, but some are only partly the fault of the athlete themselves. One of the biggest misuses of sports drinks is the constant overuse of them. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Gatorade advertises their products for everyday use, and make the impression that there is never a wrong time to drink their products. I will say if used properly Gatorade is very effective as fuel after a game.â&#x20AC;? (Hommeyer). And the science supports that the sugar and salt in Gatorade are powerful refueling agent and helps prevent sugar spikes (Optimal Dietary Guide).

Most of the time a hamburger or a fast food meal would not affected an athlete too much, but when athletes overload on protein and carbohydrates to try and grow more muscle or develop an eating problem then it becomes a serious health risk. Athletes are proven to be more susceptible to eating disorders due to their desire for better athletic performance, and in America approximately 10 million girls and 1 million boys have eating disorders (Calvello, Tony. Athletes and Nutrition). These children are either too afraid of being fat or cannot stop eating, but some athletes eat a lot because they want to be big. Often bigger, slower athletes find themselves at a disad-

vantage when it comes to sports and cannot keep up with smaller more athletic players, and so they decided to focus purely on size instead of speed and agility. Most of these athletes participate in contact sports, and rely on their sizes to bully smaller players around. Yet this urge to get bigger often results in the players overeating and puts strain on joints and vital organs. This unnecessary health risk due to the slim margin of athletes that actually make the major leagues (Calvello, Tony. Athletes and Nutrition). And to acquire this bigger size, athletes are required to eat a large abundance of both protein and fats which also affects the heart. But with a healthier diet, many of these health issues would not arise.

In prehistoric times, man was categorized as a hunter and gathers.

Hunting and gathering was humanity's first diet, and was used up until the invention of agriculture 12 thousand years ago. Hunting and gathering was an employed strategy, used by Homo erectus 1.8 million years ago, which we then evolved from Homo erectus to Homo sapiens. At this point our body had evolved so that it could stay healthy with little meat and a lot of nuts, eggs, fruits, and greens. This is because during the Homo erectus era the society was not able to have an unlimited supply of meat. Game took many days if not weeks to track down and kill. Hence the people lived on things they could gather. However, as civilization advanced, developing agriculture and farming tactics, there was suddenly and abundance of meat, fruits and vegetables. Only a thousand years ago there was very little to no meat every week juxtaposed to now, where there is a copiousness amount every day. This caused the Homo Saipan to start eating a new diet that was primarily meat.

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Now, in the 21st century humanity has studied the science of nutrition and have produced thousands of different diets. In the United States of America the most popular diets are Vegetarian, Vegan, Raw, and Paleo. Each of these diets have up-to-date information and yield healthy bodies.

Modern Diets Vegetarians are people who do not consume products that comprise of land or sea animals but will commonly consume eggs and dairy products. Of course there are many different types of Vegetarians. There are four main classes that vegetarians can be systematized into. The four are: “Lacto-vegetarians who consume dairy products, but no eggs. Ovo-vegetarians consume eggs, but no dairy.

Lacto-ovo vegetarians consume eggs and diary.”(Nordqvist). People choose to become vegetarians for many reasons. One reason that has been utilized since “the 6th century B.C., in India, Greece and the Greek civilization in Southern Italy. Is that there was a desire not to harm animals. In India this peace towards animals was called ahimsa and was a common lifestyle among religious people and philosophers” (Nordqvist). In today’s modern world many studies have been conducted at many colleges and institutes including, Cancer Research UK, University of Toronto, and St. Michael's hospital that have shown Vegetarianism can increases life span, ameliorates cholesterol levels, Lowers one's risk of developing cancer, and other diseases. Thus the second reason an individual decides to start the practice of Vegetarianism is that they want to improve their overall health.

Veganism is a diet that branched off of Vegetarianism. Like Vegetarians, Vegans will not consume animal product but vegans will traditionally not eat honey or eggs, drink milk or any animal product, and will also not wear animal products like leather. There are many different variations of a Vegan Diet but most are either orthodox Vegans who will not wear animal products and then there are Vegans who will wear animal products but will not eat them. What makes a person become Vegan? In an interview with Mr. Broudy, A Humanities professor at the Bay School of San Francisco and a high performance athlete who has been Vegan for 22 years explained his choice to become Vegan was during College. Mr. Broudy had previously been practicing Vegetarianism in high school.

“My decision to become Vegetarian was health related because I had problems with my heart and my doctors could not figure out what was wrong so I decided to become vegetarian to try and improve my heart. My sister at the time was Vegetarian so she inspired me to try it. I noticed my symptoms improving and even more so when I switched to Veganism later in college.” Food Technology published an article in 2012 explaining that plant-based diets yield the development chronic diseases, such as diabetes type 2, cardiovascular disease, and cancer drastically reduced. Just like Vegetarianism, people decide to convert to Veganism for many reasons but the major factors are health and the non-harm done on animals.

People who practice eating raw consume unprocessed, whole plant-based, organic foods that are uncooked. Just like veganism, raw foodist can be organized into four main classes. The four classes are: Raw vegetarians who, do not eat meat except for eggs 416

and dairy. The second classification is raw vegans who do not eat any animal products. The third is raw omnivores who eat both plant and animal based foods. And the fourth category is raw carnivores who consume meat products but they are only eaten uncooked. According to the Vanderbilt University Psychology Department, raw foodist state that the process of cooking food rescinds or alters the enzymes and thus eradicating essential vitamins and minerals. Just like Veganism and vegetarianism, the raw food diet minimizes the risk of developing a chronic diseases, like cancer and type two diabetes. In an interview The Medical news today interviewed a raw foodist who says Eating Raw gives you more energy, you skin is healthier and will have better appearance, your digestion improves, and you will lose weight. Although raw foodist are fully committed to their diet, nutritionist and dietitians some food consumed raw can be hazardous to one’s health. Although Doctors approve this diet, they warn Raw Foodist to be mindful when consuming meat, it may “contain harmful bacteria, parasites and viruses.” When eating Raw eggs consumer should be aware of Avidin, which is present in raw eggs but inactive in cooked eggs, is a vitamin B7 inhibitor. The consumption of 24 egg whites may inactivate the vitamin B7. In addition, salmonella bacteria is present in some eggs, which can cause serious illness if they are not cooked.” When ingesting raw milk, it “may contain Mycobacteria bovis, which can cause non-pulmonary tuberculosis.” Eating kidney beans and or sprouts can be harmful because they “contain a chemical phytohaemagglutin that may be toxic.” (Nordqvist, Christian. What is the vegetarian diet? What are the benefits of a vegetarian diet? Medical News Today).

The fourth popular diet is Paleo. The Paleo Diet mimics the diet of our ancestors who were Hunters and gatherers, who suffered from fewer chronic diseases juxtaposed with modern society. The Paleo diet has gained attention in the media and on book shelves due to the fact that the diet yields improved health of those who follow diet.

Diane Sanfilippo, the author of the New York Times best seller Practical Paleo, says in her body that “the diet is simply about (1) eating whole foods that provide better fuel for our body and (2) avoiding processed, refined sugar, and pasteurized dairy products.”(Practical Paleo 22). The Paleo Diet is one of most popular modern diet. The Diet main focus is to eliminate refined grains, whole grains, packaged snacks, dairy products and sweetened beverages. The food that Paleo eaters do consume are meat, seafood and eggs, Vegetables and fruits, nuts and seeds, fats and oils. Diane Sanfilippo says “by going Paleo you setting your life up for a healthy living.” By starting the Paleo practice you will have a higher potassium and lower sodium intake. You will have moderate to higher fat intake dominated by mono-saturated and poly-saturated fats with balanced omega 3 and 6 fats. You will also have a higher fiber intake: non starchy vegetables have thirty-one times the amount of fiber than refined grains. People who practice Paleoism will also have a higher protein intake. Protein comprises about 15% of calories in a modern western diet but in a Paleo diet it comprises 19-35%. The Paleo diet is adopted for many reasons. Some of the reasons are it for better health, to lose weight, trying to clear acne, Lactose intolerance, and or want to try a new diet.

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But what is the best diet for performance? By educating oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s self in the new and innovative science of nutrition, one can change his life and performance on the field by making educated decisions on what to feed their body. Further research through interviews and publications by esteemed colleges and researchers, led to a diet that was created for high school athletes and has traits adopted from the four most popular modern diets to date. The new diet, Puer Athleta that literally translates to young athlete, was crafted to improve the performance of specific athletes to help them rise to the top of their game. Puer Athleta was based off the Paleo diet but because restrictions in the diet, changes were made to allow for a high electrolyte and carb intake.

The Paleo the diet restricts all refined grains and whole grains, Packaged or non-natural beverage, and artificial sweeteners. The Puer Athleta diet restricts artificial sweeteners, certain unnatural beverages, and certain refined grains and packaged snacks. We allowed for whole grains and certain refined grains because of their valuable carbohydrates but if eating grains it must be whole grain or mixed with other grain. We allowing quinoa because of its high protein and fiber. We are going to allow certain refined grains for quick fuel but refined must be used in reserve do to their high content of carbohydrates.

Another restriction in the Paleo diet is the full elimination of packaged snacks thus meaning restricting protein bars, pre-packaged protein shakes, and other sport bars. The Puer Athleta diet allows for the use of sports related bars and drinks but only used for fuel and refueling. The Puer Athleta diet seconds the idea that other

non-sports related bars and drinks are not permitted. The diet also warns against consumption abuse of sports drinks and bars because of their high sugar, calorie, and protein intake that could be damaging to one's health if not exercising. The Puer Athleta permits the consumption of dairy. Just the Paleo diet, Puer Athleta recommends organic is good, better is grass-fed, pasture raised, and the best would be grass-fed raw and unpasteurized (Practical Paleo).

The Puer Athleta allows for yogurts and cheeses due to their nutritiously rich properties, protein, calcium, riboflavin, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12. Although Puer Athleta does not recommend the consumption of milk before a sporting event, it does recommend that the athlete drinks milk a couple times a day because cow milk contains, protein, fat, lactose, and minerals. If lactose Intolerant, Coconut milk and almond milk are suggested which both give you the valuable nutrients milk does. Puer Athleta allows for sweetened drinks as long as their sport related drinks and are only being consumed during an athletic activity when one's heart rate is at running rate. Â To find out what your average heart rate during exercise you first subtract your age from 220 which yields your maximum heart rate. Second, to determine your average running heart rate subtract your resting heart rate from your max heart rate (Livestrong Foundation What is the Average Heart Rate Running). Other artificial non athletic drinks are not permitted and Puer Athleta warns that the consumption of artificially sweetened non sport drinks can cause bloating and cause a lower performance during athletics. Sweetened drinks should only be used during athletics to replenish electrolytes and blood sugar so one can his muscles put out the greatest power.

The Puer Athleta diet allows fruit juices and smoothies. Pure fruit 418

juices are not allowed to be consumed. Juices must be blended with spinach and or kale with an additive of flax. The reason behind this is that when you juice a fruit the juices is 95% sugar and 5% vitamins and minerals. With the new blend of vegetables and flax seed, the new juice is 60% sugar and 40% vitamins and minerals. Fruit smoothies should only be consumed post athletics and should not be consumed constantly.

The Puer Athleta diet follows the same foods that are permissible in the Paleo diet. Meat, seafood and eggs must be Grass fed, pastureraised, organic-fed animals or wild-caught and sustainable seafood sources. Vegetables and fruits should be organic and should not be genetically modified. Nuts and seeds are one of the best quick energy sources. Puer Athleta recommends Almonds, Brazil nuts, Chestnuts, Hazelnuts, Macadamia, Pecans, Pine nuts, Pistachios, Pumpkin seeds, Sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts, and flaxseed. The Puer Athleta diet recommends Super foods are consumed often. Super foods include dulse, kelp, seaweed, herbs, spices, bone broth, sauerkraut, carrots, beets, yogurt, kefir, and Kambucha. All fats and oils are allowed but coconut oil or olive oil is recommended when cooking.

When one observes the many ways in which food and nutrition play a major role in our lives, it quite obvious that making the right choices in food affect everything about the person's feelings. This observation is most obvious in athletes and their performance on and off the field. An athlete has to eat healthy at every meal, and make sure to have a balanced intake of the base chemical components, such as proteins, vitamins, fats, etc. But in a sub-category of

athletes are teenage athletes whose performance and diet are still evolving and growing. “Teenagers and Adult diets are quite different, teens require more carbs and vitamins because there are still developing.” (Katie Morford). That is why most High school and teenage athlete struggle with eating healthy, torn between what taste good and what good for the body. Using the research that was studied, we created a diet that is not confining people why still having them eat healthy foods. So by fueling their body with appropriate foods athletes are giving their body a superlative fuel source; nutrition is the strongest and healthiest approach to cultivating one’s athletic aptitudes and these resources should be made available to high school athletic programs and our youngest “professional” athletes.

High School athletes should use this diet because of the mass amounts of positive benefits and improved performance that this diet gives.

Works Cited Anderson, J. "Nutrition for the Athlete." Nutrition for the Athlete.

N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.

"The Best and Worst Ways to Stay Hydrated | Healthy Eating | Eat Well | Best Health." The Best and Worst Ways to Stay Hydrated | Healthy Eating | Eat Well | Best Health. Best Health, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

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"The DASH Diet Eating Plan." DASH Diet for Healthy Weight Loss, Lower Blood Pressure & Cholesterol. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. <http://dashdiet.org/>.

Calvello, Tony. “Athletes and Nutrition.” St. Ignatius College Preparatory, San Francisco, CA: Nutrition. Saint Ignatius College Preparatory, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

"A Guide to Eating for Sports." KidsHealth - the Web's Most Visited Site about Children's Health. Ed. Mary L. Gavin. The Nemours Foundation, 01 Nov. 2011. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

“USA Swimming - Nutrition Center.” USA Swimming - Tips and Training. USA Swimming, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

"Nutrition and Athletic Performance: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia." U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.

Gaspar, Erik J. “Nutrition Guide for College Aged Athletes.” Saint Mary’s College of California, Spring 2010. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

"Olympic Athletes' Diets: The Strangest, Most Efficient and Yummiest Foods." The Huffington Post Canada, 24 July 2012. Web. "Optimal Dietary Guide | U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA)." Optimal Dietary Guide | U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). N.p., n.d.

Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

"Sports Nutrition." Brown University. Brown University.Edu, n.d.

Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Klimecki, Zachary, and Karen Bellenir. Diet Information for Teens.

Third ed. Detroit, MI: Omnigraphics, 2012. Print.

Duyff, Roberta Larson. American Dietetic Association Complete Food and Nutrition Guide. Third ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, 2006. Print.

Nestle, Marion. What to Eat. New York: North Point, 2006. Print.

Nordqvist, Christian. "What is the vegetarian diet? What are the benefits of a vegetarian diet?" Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 26 Nov. 2013. Web. 13 May. 2014.

National Center for Education Statistics. “Nutrition Education in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools.” Nces.ed.gov. Fast Response Survey System, n.d. Web. 16 May 2014.

"Dietitians and Nutritionists." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.

“Food Groups.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 27 Sept. 2012. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

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Nick Quazzo and Oskar Lind

Athletes Going Pro Over the past decade, the eligibility rules used by the major American professional sports leagues have become increasingly controversial. Each of the leagues imposes different criteria that entering players must meet in order to be selected in the draft or be able to sign with a team. These criteria reflect aspects of each league, such as the developmental structure within each organization or the transition that players face between the collegiate and professional levels of play, but the differences are considered to be unfair to players and do not take into account their concerns about money or injury risks.

The best-known rule is the National Basketball Association (NBA)’s relatively new “one-and-done” requirement, which was put into place in 2005. The NBA mandates that all entering athletes be at least 19 years old and at least one year removed from graduating high school. Before these criteria were added, there were no age requirements other than the basic labor laws that protect all United States citizens. The National Football League requires players to have had at least two years of college, while Major League Baseball

allows American citizens to join an organization directly out of high school.

These discrepancies between sports have sparked controversy. As Randy Wittman, the coach of the NBA’s Washington Wizards, said when asked about eligibility, "There's not a perfect system. If there was a perfect answer we'd have been at it already" (Standig). Many think that all sports leagues should require athletes to go to college and get some level of higher education. Others believe that if a player is good enough to play at the highest level, they should be allowed to do so no matter their age.

The eligibility rules were put in place to benefit teams in each league. They enable scouts and team owners to avoid spending millions of dollars on unprepared players by providing them with an extra year or two to watch them play before making a decision. MLB, the only league with no college requirement, has the best minor league structure of any sport. Players can enter the minor leagues straight out of high school and develop their skills, a structure that is popular among amateur players and that makes teams more willing to invest in players whose skills are unrefined. The NBA’s Developmental League, on the other hand, is almost entirely unknown, and the NFL does not even have a minor league apart from its teams’ practice squads. If the three major sports leagues are to discuss and establish common eligibility rules and recruiting systems, they must come together and address the differences between the ways they train players once they enter the league.

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For high school baseball players, the system may seem simple, but the reality is that the process of making it to the Major Leagues is a long road, for everyone. However, unlike other sports, baseball players have many options before they go into Major League Baseball’s system. American players have three options: 1. to be drafted straight out of high school; 2. to spend a minimum of three years in college; and 3. to go to a junior college and be drafted at any time.

Meanwhile, international players are essentially treated like free agents, which means that teams bid for these players, rather than having priority in the drafting process. Although all these rules are very strict, a few players have found ways around them. Bryce Harper, for example, crafted an original way of getting into professional baseball as soon as possible. He dropped out of high school at the age of 16, earned his GED, and played at a junior college for a year. He was then drafted at the age of 17 and is now a star in MLB. (E:60) According to one major-league scout, Harper did what he had to do to accomplish his dreams. However, Harper is a special example, because he is thought as one of the greatest teenage prospects in baseball history, the type of player that does not come around very often.

Of the three sports that will be addressed, baseball teams scout the most high school players. This is because baseball does not require as much strength (meaning physical and muscular maturity) as other sports for a player to perform well. However, scouts will always look at mental maturity, seeing if a player is a sensible and responsible person; this can make the difference between getting an extra million dollars on a contract and not being drafted at all. For

example, an MLB scout stated: “Sometimes scouts will go to the mall or the movies or wherever and see what a player is like with his friends. There was a player who was gonna be a second-round pick for [a major-league team] in 2007, [and going to] get like $600,000, but the scout followed him to a pizza place and sat near his table.

The kid called his coach a jackass to his friends in front of the scout and got taken off the [major-league team’s] board.” This story shows how much caution MLB teams take when scouting a young player, because the risk of drafting a teenager is higher than drafting a player older than 21. There are various other factors that scouts also consider when drafting an 18-year-old, some of which may seem ridiculous to outsiders. For example, scouts sometimes view a player who has (in the scout’s eyes) an ugly girlfriend as lacking the confidence to develop and succeed (Daniel Rathman).

The minor-league baseball system is the key difference between the MLB draft and others, such as the NBA’s. Players who are drafted almost always go to the minors and are there for 2-4 years until they either quit or make it to a major-league team (Anonymous Scout). The NBA and NFL do not have a comparable minor-league structure, which is why those sports resort to college to develop their future players. In baseball, college is not always the best option for players, because coaches will not usually care as much about their futures after college. The coaches just want to win as much as they can for the 3-4 years the player will be there, without necessarily considering the player’s long-term health and developing the skills that they will need as professionals (Daniel Rathman).

For example, baseball may throw a pitcher for 150 pitches, which 422

can ruin his arm. On the other hand, there are a few upsides of going to college, such as improving your physical maturity and giving MLB scouts a better chance to recognize your talent. (Anonymous Scout). Most of the stars in the major leagues today came straight out of high school. Most of the day-in, day-out players, who represent the majority of the league, came out of college (Marc Isenberg).

The amount of money that young baseball players are now seeing is higher than it has ever been. Ten to 15 years ago, signing bonuses for rookies would not go over $2 million, and a deal for $5 million was just a fantasy. Recently, there have been a handful of players who have received these kinds of bonuses, and now, even $10 million figures have been thrown out, an idea that was not even thought of before 2005 (Clary). The record baseball signing bonus is $7.5 million, which the Washington Nationals gave to Stephen Strasburg, a pitcher from San Diego State University, in 2009 (Isenberg). Strasburg stayed in college for three years, just like Ben McDonald, a pitcher from the 1990s. McDonald ended up hurting himself and offered this advice to Strasburg: “There’s nothing guaranteed in this game, only the money” (McDonald). Ironically, Strasburg did get injured, suffering inflammation in his shoulder and a torn ligament in his elbow, which led to what could have been career-ending surgery. Although Strasburg is pitching in the majors today, some say he is not the same pitcher, and he’s only 25 years old (Jason Clary).

Another example of a young star in MLB is Strasburg’s teammate, Bryce Harper, who as mentioned was drafted when he was 17.

Most consider Harper to be one of the greatest players of the last 50 years, but he also is currently injured, recovering from major ligament damage in his thumb, which reminds us of the old baseball saying, “The baseball gods giveth and taketh away…..”(Daniel Rathman). This is not to say that the injury is the end of his career; it may not be at all. But it still stands as a reminder that anyone can get hurt in this game at any time. In the end, two of the greatest prospects of the past 50 years ended up getting hurt. For Strasburg, people think the injury occurred because of the wear and tear of pitching in college; for Harper, it was just a freak incident on a slide that any player could have suffered (Jason Clary). As these examples show, leaving school early has advantages, but there are two main factors that athletes must consider: money, and the risk and prevention of injuries (McDonald). These factors relate to basketball as well, even though eligibility rules are different.

The NBA’s one-and-done rule is the most commonly debated of the three sports’ eligibility requirements. The typical top recruit receives scholarship offers from all the top basketball colleges, picks his first choice, and takes his talents to the NCAA for a year to meet the criteria of being a year removed from high school and at least 19 years old. Many players who succeed in their first year in the NCAA often choose the NBA over staying in college for multiple reasons.

First of all, if a player is good enough to play, the NBA should let him do so. This gives the athlete one more year of experience and professional earnings. One player, the University of Connecticut’s Shabazz Napier, said “last year I went to bed starving,” because he could not afford food while playing in the NCAA (El-Bashir). Playing 423

college basketball is a commitment that takes up all of an athlete’s free time. The players do not have much time to work, which makes life very hard, especially for those whose families can barely afford food at home. They have basketball practice two times a day, every day of the week. Each year a player is in college, he is not making any money, while in the NBA the minimum salary is $500,000 for a rookie. As Steve Johnson, a former college basketball player, said, an amateur should be able to go to the NBA for “the simple fact that what if a player suffers a career ending injury? Then he misses out on millions. Anyone can go to college, but 1 percent go or have the opportunity to go to the NBA. If your not ready and living in poverty, I say go get that money. You never know when that ACL is going to go” (Johnson).

Many parents say that athletes should always stay and finish their education, but this increases the risk of injury and the possibility of missing out on millions of dollars. How many people could tell their kids to pass on multi-million dollar contracts at age 19? (Noonan).

From a basketball standpoint, the big disadvantages are age and experience. Some players who have been NBA-caliber all four years in college have seen their draft stocks decrease over time. Adreian Payne, a star senior at Michigan State, is 23 years old, which has lowered his value to NBA teams because he will have fewer years in his athletic prime. The year of college may be important for a player’s skills, but staying any longer takes more away from the experience and lessons that can be learned from veteran professional players. The maturity gained in college is not as important for athletes as the physical ability and talent that they could take to the

NBA straight from high school. When asked if maturity was more important than ability, Steve responded, “I would have to say ability [is more important]. You can teach a boy how to be a man but you can not teach someone how to be a genetic freak” (Johnson).

The benefits of college are giving students time to mature and providing them with an education, as well as boosting their level of play and allowing them to face top competition. The NCAA tournament often has a huge impact on a player’s draft stock (Imren). Napier, a four year player at UConn, improved so much in his four years playing collegiately and competing in the tournament that he now has a very good chance of making the NBA (El-Bashir). Monta Ellis, a shooting guard for the Dallas Mavericks, was drafted late in the first round, days after receiving a high school diploma, and needed three years in the league to become a consistent player. College gives players like Ellis a chance to develop physically and mentally, especially their maturity, while providing an education that could serve as a backup plan if they do not.

The development in players’ skills over their time in college has turned many unknown and little recruited high school players, like Lazar Hayward and Royal Ivey, into contributors at the highest level (Corry). Furthermore, the maturity they gain also helps them to make better decisions once they reach the NBA. After a few years, many have at least seven figures in their bank account, and that number is only growing (Noonan). A year of college can help you manage the money. Jerry West, one of the best players to ever play in the NBA, said, “The goal should not be to get into the NBA, it should be to stay in the NBA” (Isenberg). Staying in the NBA comes 424

with maturity. A college dramatically increases your chance of a better lifestyle: “Full-time workers aged 25 and over with at least a bachelor’s degree had median weekly earnings of $1,219 in the last quarter of 2013, almost twice the $648 median earnings of high school graduates with no college” (Coy). The reason college makes so much of a difference in your wage is what you learn while there.

The material you learn in college increases your value to employers and enhances your earning power. Even if you do not learn anything in college, having a college degree makes it easier for employers to screen and choose who they want to employ, and the decision between a college graduate and a candidate with only a highschool education is an easy one. Since average earnings double for those who go to college, it is clear that a degree is a huge benefit in the workforce.

One of the biggest ways the NBA age rule has influenced basketball is recruiting. Players who opt for college rarely stay for four years, so they are being recruited from a very early age. The recruiting starts as early as the player’s freshman year, which has resulted in some recruiting based purely on the player’s high school. Oak Hill, for example, one of the best basketball schools in the country, has such a high reputation that there are scouts at almost every single one of their games (Noonan). In addition to college and NBA scouts, shoe companies are very important. They scout all the best players in high school and invite the best of the best to all-star games sponsored by the companies (Noonan). This gives NBA scouts a place where they can watch the best play against each other. When scouting players, the stars usually have a special physical gift that ap-

peals to recruiters: strength, athleticism, or basketball knowledge. In the past three years, there have been many talented kids, but not all 18-year-olds are mature enough to play in the NBA, which is a very difficult thing to scout. Kwame Brown, the no. 1 pick in the 2001 draft by the Washington Wizards, is to this day considered one of the biggest draft busts in history. Many scouts noted his inconsistent effort and immaturity in high school but could not pass up the natural talent he had. A current star in the NBA, Kevin Durant, who played collegiately at the University of Texas and won the MVP and scoring title this year, said, “hard work beats talent, when talent fails to work hard” (Kevin Durant). This proved to be true in the case of Kwame Brown.

The one-and-done rule not only helped recruiting, it also helped the NBA. The eligibility requirement was put in place to protect the NBA, not the players. The Association did not want money being spent on players who are not making the NBA more interesting. As sports analyst Dave Grudge said, “The NBA is nothing more than a business” (Dinardo). Kwame Brown, currently a free agent, was drafted directly after high school (before the rule was put in place in 2005). He was paid millions of dollars, with sports analysts saying he was the future of the NBA, but he never thrived. A highly regard sports analyst said, “The reasons that the NFL and NBA give for the age requirement rules are sketchy” (Dinardo). The extra year of scouting is to protect the business. Randy Wittman, a well respected coach for the Washington Wizards, said, "It's got to be hard on college coaches. Each year, having one-and-done players, where your not turning over the team every year, It's hard on us 425

when you get guys who do not know how to play or have not learned how to play yet or are not physically ready to play yet that could have used another year. Add those things together and I think if you talked to college coaches as well as coaches at this level, they'd both think [age limit] would be good for everybody” (Standig).

Theses coaches concerns may lead the NBA to change their eligibility rules, making players stay longer in the NCAA. The NBA now wants to increase the age limit from 19 to 20 and require that a player be two years removed from high school. This rule change would make the NBA work similarly to the NFL, with more developed and fundamentally skilled players. However this can increase the risks of injury for college athletes as well as decrease their earnings in their professional careers.

Football offers something of a midway point for eligibility when compared to basketball and baseball. Like the NBA, the NFL does not allow you to go straight into the professional organization; instead, they say a player must go to college for three years or until he turns 21, similarly to MLB. Now, there are a lot of people that say college literally takes years away from some football players’ careers, because they are risking injury, not making any money in college, and getting hit every day in practice. Others say young players need those hits because their bodies are not physically ready yet for the toll they would take in the NFL. The typical path of a football player that wants to go to the NFL can be described in one sentence: They spend two years in college and then apply for the seven-round NFL draft. However, this sentence

does not tell you the physical and mental anguish that these players feel on a day-to-day basis, whether it be from a concussion or lifting weights or taking a bone-crushing hit. The players take abuse every week, and they devote 50-70 hours weekly to their individual programs on average! They do this for years, subjecting themselves to injury week after week. One player who knows the struggles of being a collegiate athlete is Trent Richardson, a running-back for the Cleveland Browns who went to the University of Alabama. He has had two knee surgeries, and he blames it for the abuse he took in college. Richardson once had a very promising career, but now he is just following a similar path as other running-backs, who average only 2.57 years in the NFL (Robert Weintraub). So, the typical path for an athlete in college is not always filled with stardom that easily transforms into NFL success. Some think that players are better in college because the competition is easier. Although this is true, it’s also because the players’ best abilities and athleticism are at their peak in college.

The NFL has a strong opinion on the matter of keeping young kids out of the NFL. They even reference the basketball league, saying, “We do not want to become like the NBA” (Mark Maske). They later go on to say that the NBA has a strong lack of fundamentals, does not require as much physicality, and that the organization is becoming a daycare center (Mark Maske). This means the NFL will not consider allowing high school players to enter directly anytime soon, and indicates that it will not even change to a one-and-done rule to lessen the college requirement. And why would they change it? The NFL’s minor league is the NCAA, and it is extremely helpful to the 426

league and its teams to have their future players developed for free.

The NCAA has no complaints either, because they continue to make money through football programs, which sell out games and bring in millions in advertising revenue at many of the major programs. The people who suffer the biggest loss (financially) are the players on the field.

The restrictions on the players are for their own safety, the NFL says, because young athletes are not prepared physically or mentally (Mark Maske). Others compare football to other occupations: For example, they ask, “why do not music students have requirements like these?” or, if a student is smart enough, why do they have to attend medical school if they already know everything (Gerry Dinardo, Marc Isenberg)? Although it is true that no doctor has had to ever block a 300-pound man, it is not giving athletes an equal opportunity to succeed in their respective professions. The NFL hides behind a wall of safety requirements but this is leaving out the extraordinary athletes, not being fair to those who work hard to get into the NFL. To limit them because of their age is something that very few other professions require and this ultimately hurts the NFL, because they waste years of profiting from these superstars.

The compromise that many have suggested is that college athletes be paid, which would hopefully satisfy their financial needs as well as professional organizations scouting needs. However, the NCAA has been very strict about this point, because then they would have to pay over 300,000 athletes, men and women, all the same amount even if some sports require less time, skill, etc. This recently rose to

the forefront when Northwestern football players (who were not on scholarships) were legally allowed to form a players union.

A players union would grant players the rights to raise their scholarship amounts and prevent players from having to paying their own medical expenses. College sports have always been about playing for your school with pride instead of getting money in return. On the other hand, the NCAA is making profit off the college athletes competing. Paying college athletes would make the NCAA much more appealing to athletes, even those who have potential to play professionally, and it may become more appealing for them to stay in college longer too. It would also make food and other necessities in college affordable to athletes like Napier, whose families cannot support them. Many athletes do not have time to work, because they have basketball in the morning and the afternoon, school in the middle of the day, and have to do homework at night. The amount of time that the players put into basketball, with twice-a-day practices is amazing. Many players think they need compensation, because they do not have time to work and the NCAA is making money off of them (NBA). Adrian Peterson, the best running-back in the NFL, who plays for the Minnesota Vikings, has a strong opinion of whether or not college athletes should be paid: "When I was in college, I know personally, as far as jersey sales and ticket sales, I helped make that university a lot of money, Johnny Manziel helped make Texas A&M so much money. You’re not talking about championship games that he was able to lead those guys to. You’re not talking about jersey sales that he do not see a dime of. I feel like as much money as universities make, I feel 427

that some of that money should be given down to the players as well because we are the ones that are making this university moneyâ&#x20AC;? (Breech).

These star players deserve some sort of compensation for the money the colleges make off of them, selling jerseys and tickets, and receiving championship endorsements. All that money would not be made if it were not for the players practicing and playing day in and day out every week..

Different sports have different risk levels, but in all cases, athletes want to make sure they're compensated for their talents before they erode. As a result, having different eligibility rules and not paying players in college creates different incentives for players depending on their sport. These incentives might not be in line with the risks or benefits involved, and thus are unfair. By creating a system in which all 3 sports have similar requirements and rules the leagues can create a system that is fairer to players that helps them make better decisions coming out of high school.

Another idea that has recently been discussed is the possibility of establishing universal eligibility rules across all sports. The core of this idea is that each player in every sport should have the same opportunity to go the highest competition in the world at the same point in their athletic prime. Right now, the NCAA acts as a minor league for the NBA and NFL, while MLB has a great internal development system with minor league levels that hugely benefit many young players. Many people think it is smart for players to go to college to see if they can compete with bigger athletes and harder competition, but if a player is good enough when they finish high school to play and earn money in their field, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fair to argue that leagues should let them do so. There are high school kids playing tennis, baseball, and even participating in the Olympics, but they can not play in the NFL or NBA (Imrem). The NBA, NFL, and NCAA need to change, not the kids who are doing what they love. The best solution to the professional sport eligibility debate is to have all leagues either improve their internal development structure to MLBâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s caliber or drop the minor leagues and have the same college requirements.

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Works Cited Barra, Allen. "Both the NBA and the NCAA Want to Keep Athletes in College for Too Long." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 06 Apr. 2012. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

Breech, John. "College Athletes Should Be Paid." CBSSports.com.

CBS, 10 Apr. 2014. Web. 16 May 2014.

Clary, Jason. "College Vs. Pros: Should Athletes Leave School Early?" Bleacher Report. Bleacher Report, 13 Dec. 2009. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

Edelman, Marc. "The NCAA Claims To Support Athletes Turning Pro Early; I Call Hogwash." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 04 Nov. 2013.

Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

El-Bashir, Tarik. "High School Athletes: Bigger, Stronger, Older: Extra Year Helps Boys Develop for Colleges, Pros, but Questions of Fairness Raised." The Washington Post: 0. Jul 05 2002. ProQuest.

Web. 23 Apr. 2014 .

Imrem, Mike. "The Kids Can Play, So the NBA Should Let 'Em." The Daily Herald 27 June 2001. Â 27 June 2001. Questia. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.

Conway, Tyler. "Delany: Let Players Skip College." Bleacher Report.

Bleacher Report, 26 Sept. 2013. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

Johnson, Stevie. Interview. 15 May. 2014.

Coy, Peter. "College Is a Waste-but Not Going Is Worse." Bloomberg Business Week. Bloomberg, 13 Feb. 2014. Web. 20 May 2014.

Isenberg, Marc. "The Decision to Stay in School or Go Pro." Coaching for Success the Official Website of George Raveling CoachGeorgeRavelingcom. George Raveling, 27 Mar. 2012. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Crust, Kevin. "MOVIE REVIEW: Going for the Sure Thing Or the NBA Draft?; `Through the Fire' Tracks a High School Player as He Decides between Attending College Or Turning Pro." Los Angeles Times: 0. Feb 10 2006. ProQuest. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

Dinardo, Gerry. "Why Not Let 18-Year-Olds Head Straight for the Pros?" The New York Times. The New York Times, 27 Aug. 2011.

Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

"Kevin Durant: The Kid Who Could Be King." Sports. Seattle Times, n.d. Web. 13 May 2014.

Manfred, Tony. "Here Are The Odds That Your Kid Becomes A Professional Athlete (Hint: They're Small)." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc., 10 Feb. 2012. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.

Maske, Mark and Jon Gallo. "From Prom to Pros; the Way is Open for Player to Go from High School to NFL." The Washington Post: 0.

Feb 19 2004. ProQuest. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

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McGraw, Mike. "Young Players Should Have College Option If They Fail in the NBA." The Washington Post. Www.questiaschool.com, 3 Mar. 2005. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.

Morley, Jefferson. "At 18, the Decision of a Lifetime; Basketball Star from Md. Weighs Going Pro." The Washington Post: 0. Mar 28 1999. ProQuest. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

"NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to Push for Higher Age limit | The Point Forward - Sports Illustrated." The Point Forward SIcom RSS. SI.com. Web. 13 May 2014.

Nightengale, Bob. "'There's Nothing Guaranteed in This Game', Only the Money - USATODAY.com." 'There's Nothing Guaranteed in This Game', Only the Money - USATODAY.com. USA Today, 3 June 2009. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

Noonan. "Fast Break to the Big Time." Newsweek.

Www.questiaschool.com, 28 June 2004. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.

Standig, Ben. "Wittman on NBA Draft Eligibility: Stay in School, Kids." Comcast SportsNet Washington. Www.csnwashington.com, 1 Apr. 2014. Web. 22 May 2014.

Taylor, John. "Delany: Let Players Go Straight to Pros from High School." College Football Talk. NBC Sports, 26 Sept. 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

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Clare Roediger and Bailey Coleman

Genetically Modified Foods: Helpful or Harmful?

For years, genetically modified foods have been a major national issue. The exploration of how and why GMOs are used continues to develop as technology advances. People these days want to know how our food is being processed and what exactly is in the food that they are consuming. Also, “for consumers, it can be difficult to stay up-to-date on food ingredients that are at-risk of being genetically modified, as the list of at-risk agricultural ingredients is frequently changing” (“GMO Facts”). Genetically modified food is everywhere in our daily lives and is almost impossible to avoid. Unless a food is specifically labeled “non-GMO” or “certified organic”, the chances of it being a GMO are very high (Prevention). Although there is concern around genetically modified foods, they have the potential to increase nutrition and crop yield. However, since studies have not been conducted to show long term effects on human health and the environment, the impact of GMO’s is unknown. Therefore, the consumers should have the right to know when they are eating or buying a GMO.

Development of Genetically Modified Foods " Genetically modified organisms are a relatively new product on the market for consumers. The first GMO plant was introduced in 1987 and was first commercially introduced in 1996. The justification for widespread GMO use is that they are needed to compensate for the population increase, which increased 0.71% in 2013 in the United States alone (Armekanakas and Alexiades-Armenakas) (“US Population Growth”). Because they are fairly new in the industry there are no studies that have been conducted that gave real conclusive results whether or not GMOs are good or not, not only in the human health sense, also in an environmental one (Smyth). Although genetically modified organisms have the potential to increase agricultural productivity and help the hunger burden, there is no way of knowing if this is possible due to the lack of studies to show long term effects (Armekanakas and Alexiades-Armenakas).

Even though there is no way to know what the effects in the future are from GMOs, Peter Day, the head of the biotech center at Rutgers University, made a good point saying, “If you’re going to be credible, you’ve got to include a whole spectrum of opinion” (Macilwain). This means that if the public is going to trust the corporations even without studies to show, they have to be able to hear and respond to all the different opinions and stay confident in their product even though the future is an unknown.

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Developing GMOs is an extremely expensive, time-consuming process. This process takes a lot of time looking for genes that may fulfill agricultural needs. Researchers are currently combing through the entire genome for a few promising base pairs (Palmer), which is why new genetically modified organisms arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t being released quickly. This genetic engineering belongs to the biotech industry, which is the science of governing genetic modification, engineering, manipulation and other gene and recombinant DNA technologies (Jefferson). Through this genetic engineering genes are able to be transferred between any organisms. This could either be good or bad for the development of this technology, but right now there is no way to know for sure.

There is hope that as GMOs are being developed more that they will help to increase nutrition. The productivity and usefulness of the crops is the driving force behind rationalizing this new technology of genetically engineering our foods (Jefferson). In South-East Asia, rice is a main staple of their diet. Rice on its own does not have a lot of nutritional value, but bio technicians have developed a type of rice in which daffodils, which are high in vitamin A, are spliced into regular rice to increase the nutrition (Smyth). This new type of rice is called Golden Rice. If other types of plants like Golden Rice were developed where the nutritional value is increased, many people think that they could be very beneficial to our world, but right now the corporations are creating new genetically engineered crops and organisms for their own profit, not for the benefit of others (Selby).

While some believe that the development of these crops are good, others think that many of the natural foods have enough nutritional

value on their own and should not be changed because you cannot have a balanced diet no matter how much you add to a food as long as someone is just eating one thing (Selby).

Right now many people are wondering if eventually all of our crops will be genetically engineered, but there is not a need for that (Smyth). The reason there is no need for all of our foods to be genetically modified is because currently only widely used crops that appear in nearly all of our foods are giving the large companies big profits. If less used crops and animals were genetically engineered the companies wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t necessarily get the turnaround profit, so why would they develop them when they are so costly and take so much time to make? In the future there will be many new advancements in GMO technology, but whether or not they benefit the public or the corporations is unknown (Smyth). "

Scientifically making a GMO Genetically modified organisms are plants or animals that have been modified and engineered with DNA from other organisms.

These cross breedings cannot occur naturally in nature. They must be experimentally carried out by merging DNA from a different species into a certain plant that is going to be genetically modified (GMO facts). The purpose of genetically modifying a crop is to give it new characteristics such as, tasting better, looking better and being resistant to insects, heat or drought. For example, tomatoes are modified to taste better and look better by inserting certain genes.

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Also, the modification provides an advantage for hardy growth.

GMOs are difficult and hard to make. They sometimes do not work because it is too complicated. At this point, going back to a world without genetically modified foods is impossible.

The process in which foods are genetically modified is a complicated one and the method of splicing a gene into another organism is sometimes unpredictable. “Three main components are included in making a genetically modified organism; the gene you want to transfer, the organism that you want to put the gene into, and a vector to transfer the gene” (GMO Facts). It may sound simple, but in reality, it is not (Smyth). Genetically modifying food “merges the DNA from different species which creates an unstable combination of plants, animals, and bacterias that do not happen naturally.” (Non GMO Project). When modifying a crop, nothing from the crop is deleted it is only added. To splice the genes, recombinant DNA and plasmids are used.

For example, the creation of an insect resistant tomato plant is a complicated and detailed process. To start, a piece of bacterium of the plant you want to modify is obtained. Next, a piece of the specific insect resistant gene is cut out and inserted into a vector with a selectable antibiotic resistance marker gene (Smyth). The vector is then copied in the bacteria and then loaded into a gun. The gun is used to release the particles at a high velocity which penetrates the plant cells. The vector then enters the cell and the genes are incorporated into the original plant and “once the new gene has been introduced, the plant can be bred to create a new strain that passes

the gene from generation to generation” (“No need to Fear Genetically Modified Food”).

Role of Industry Many large industries take part in genetically modifying food not only to make money, but to increase nutrition and resistance in plants and crops. Scientist Ken Cook, who has scientifically worked with GMOs says, “It is frightening to think that we can incorporate new genes from a certain species into a completely unrelated species just through genetic engineering” (Duff Wilson).Facilitating the production of these crops forces humans to question these crops and question the foods that they are consuming. On the other hand, according to big GMO industries, there are many good reasons to use genetically modified foods. One of the main reasons is that there would be a reduced need for herbicides and pesticides. Secondly, big industries would be able to manipulate foods to increase wanted components in food. Lastly, there would be an increase in the production of food for many poor countries (Pringle, peter).

These factors are part of what makes genetically modifying food successful.

These industries have many valid reasons to produce genetically modified foods; “First off, by reducing the need for herbicides and pesticides, GMOs become more popular. It makes sense that if the crop plant itself was producing a toxin that killed major insect pests, it seems logical that less insecticide would be needed” (“GMO: harmful effects”). Another primary benefit of genetically modified foods is the better overall quality and taste. Through the modifica433

tion of foods, nutrition can increase and flavors can be enhanced (“GMO facts”). For example, many peppers these days are genetically modified to become sweeter or spicier. Corn can also become sweeter by adding certain elements. Lastly, in some developing countries that struggle with food and needed resources, nutrition can increase by enhancing foods with certain vitamins and minerals.

Monsanto Monsanto is currently the largest food and Genetically Modified Organism manufacture in the United States (Armekanakas and Alexiades-Armenakas). “With Monsanto’s patented genes being inserted into roughly 95 percent of all soybeans and 80 percent of all corn grown in the U.S” (“Four Winds 10”) they develop most of the pesticide and pesticide resistant crops so that the farming community has to buy both (Smyth). Monsanto develop plants, pesticides, herbicides and own the majority of the patents of seeds. They have also banned farmers from storing seeds for the next year, and the farmers are instead forced to buy new seeds each year (Armekanakas and Alexiades-Armenakas). Not only does Monsanto develop and make these plants, but they own the seeds that nearly all of our food is comprised of which includes corn, sugar and soy; which makes up the basic ingredients in most US foods (Armekanakas and Alexiades-Armenakas).

Critics believe that bioengineering researchers should be leading the studies that allow Monsanto and other corporations to develop and sell GMOs, but the problem is that creating a genetically modi-

fied organism is an extensive and extremely expensive process (Smyth), and so far corporations such as Monsanto are the ones that have been conducting the studies. It is true that companies do extensive research on the crops before they release them to the public to consume, but because there are no studies to show the long-term effects, it is hard to know if they are safe. Another reason that biologists aren’t heading these studies is because it is the corporations that benefit from the production of these crops, not the biotech industry (Armenakas and Alexiades-Armenakas). If the corporations didn’t benefit directly economically, the bio technicians would most likely be in the forefront of the testing and creation of GMOs, but because they make Monsanto and other companies like them so much profit there is no reason why other industries would spend so much time and money creating something that didn’t greatly benefit them economically (Smyth).

Labeling Legislation Currently in the United States, labeling foods to disclose if they have been genetically modified or not is not legally required. Even though there has been no conclusive testing to show the long term effects of genetically modified organisms, the consumer has no way of knowing if what they are eating has been genetically altered unless they buy strictly certified organic food or foods labeled “NonGMO.” The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s requirement of ingredients added to foods to be labeled on the produce does not apply to GMOs because genetically modified organisms are inserted into food. By doing this, they therefore bypass the requirement to inform the consumer if they are present in a particular product (Ar434

mekanakas and Alexiades-Armenakas). Activists argue that the public has a right to know the full ingredients in the food they consume (Armekanakas and Alexiades-Armenakas). Not only do genetically modified foods present themselves in obvious ways such as in corn, soy and rice, but they also can hide in vitamins and other additives in food (“GMO facts”). There is currently only one third party GMOfree verification labeling group in North America (“GMO facts”). Without knowing if genetically modified foods are beneficial or hindering to human health the public should be aware if they will be consuming a genetically engineered food.

Recently a law requiring labeling of all GMO foods was brought up in the state of California, but it did not pass. Many argue that the big companies, like Monsanto, are lobbying to make sure such a law never passes (Selby). Because large corporations have so much power critics wonder if a law to inform consumer about GMOs in their food will ever pass (Selby). As people become more aware of what a GMO is, those against GMOs have increased. Activists are hopeful that in the near future the public will agree that it should it be legally required that food companies inform the public about the genetic origins of their food (Smyth). A recent survey showed that 91% of the population in the United States would like to know if what they are buying has been altered and labeling products is an important step to restore consumer protections, which then puts the consumer in charge (“GMO facts”). While the consumer should have the right to know what is in their food the corporations argue that there would be a huge expense to make new labels for every processed food product currently on the market.

In other parts of the world such as Europe, once labeling GMOs became legally required, GMOs have practically disappeared from the economy. It is predicted that if labels were mandatory in the United States the genetically modified crop would decrease just as it has in Europe (Armekanakas and Alexiades-Armenakas). Many of the large corporations fear that if they labeled their products regarding their genetic information the sales of their products would decrease just as they did in Europe (Armekanakas and AlexiadesArmenakas). Because Monsanto have patented GMO seeds for crops such as corn, sugar and soy, they comprise nearly all of the basic ingredients in most US foods. Another reason corporations don’t want agricultural labeling to be mandatory is because there is major competition with GMO and naturally produced food that GMO labeling ensures, farmers are discouraged from using conventional seeds (Armekanakas and Alexiades-Armenakas).

Human Health When considering genetically modified foods, one of the factors that comes up is human health in general. Although there have been studies on animals, the results are inconclusive and badly done.

There is no way to know if they are good or bad for humans as well as the long term effects they could possibly have. Considering how ubiquitous genetically modified foods are in the US, we surprisingly know very little about the long term effects. The big question is, “are GMO’s safe?” According to scientist Ken Cook, GMO’s can be unsafe “anyone who uses fertilizer has the right to know what is in it.

And whether it is made from toxic industrial waste. But beyond this basic public right to know, health officials need to know what is in 435

the nations fertilizer in order to protect the nation’s food supply, rural communities, and farmers from toxic chemical contamination” (Duff Wilson).

of rats, it still shows how GMO’s can possibly effect living beings. In the picture below, rats are shown with tumors in their stomachs and skin.

It is true that genetically modified foods have been proven safe in a sense. There have not been any tests that show a human dropping dead from drinking a soda sweetened with GMO corn syrup (Lambrecht). But, “that just means that GMOs don’t have what scientists call “acute” effects- severe ones that you notice right away” (Lambrecht). “But what about chronic effects? Do they exists? According to critics, “this is when we are eating in the dark”” (Lambrecht).

For example, scientists have studied genetically modified foods by testing rats. Scientists have done an experiment in which they obtained 200 rats and spanned two years which is the average life expectancy for a rat. Monsanto, one of the biggest marketing industries of genetically modified foods, obtains Roundup Ready Corn.

The experiment feeds half the rat certified-organic corn and the other half Roundup Ready Corn. Studies show that this Roundup Ready Corn has harmful effects including tumors, kidney and liver damage which lead to premature death. Other harmful effects have shown up such as birth defects, neurological problems, cancer, and other organ failures (Mandate for Labeling). By the end of the study, the scientists report that “50% – 80% of the females had developed large tumors compared to 30% in the control group” (Jefferson). To drive its point home, researches included several photos of rats with large tumors. According to researcher Hansen, the experiment was too small to draw any real conclusions. Although the experiment could have been carried out more precisely and with a larger group

(“GMO: Harmful Effects”).

Environmental Effects Although one of the perks of genetically modified organisms was said to be less pesticide and herbicide use, this is not true. Companies such as Monsanto develop plants genetically resistant to a certain pesticide and or herbicide, and an herbicide or pesticide to go along with it. This allows for farmers to spray the chemicals directly onto the plant and remain unharmed (Smyth). The way creating a GMO works, is GMO agricultural crops have genes inserted into them that code for pesticide resistance, growth factor and or other 436

substances not normally present (Armekanakas and AlexiadesArmenakas). The problem with this is the only way farmers can get the increased yield and growth they would like, they have to flood the plant with more nutrients than normal, which takes more water, fertilizers and other nutrients (Smyth). Due to global warming there is an increased demand for drought resistant plants that have yet to be developed so the increase in water being used to grow the plants may cause detrimental effects to our environment in the future (Smyth). Since the introduction and use of toxic herbicides such as Roundup (a product developed by Monsanto), the use of them has increased fifteen times (“GMO facts”). Not only is there a fear of consuming the pesticide and herbicide, but it also effects the ecosystems around. The reason that increasing amounts of chemicals have to be sprayed on the plants is because weeds and insects evolve very rapidly, and in ten or so years they will be completely resistant to the products that are for sale to eliminate them. This then allows corporations to sell a whole new crop of plant and new pesticides and herbicides to the farmers in order for them to keep up with the constantly evolving insects and weeds. In addition to the increased use in pesticides and herbicides, GMOs also are hazardous to our ecosystems.

Genetically Modified Organism toxins are beginning to enter our ecosystems beyond the crops modified and are dispersing into other organisms and food chains. Critics argue that “anyone who uses fertilizer has the right to know what is in it, and whether it is made from toxic industrial waste. But beyond this basic public right to know, health officials need to know what is in the nations fertilizer in order

to protect the nation’s food supply, rural communities, and farmers from toxic chemical contamination” (Cook and Wilson). This idea of knowing what is in and on what people are buying goes back to protecting the consumer’s and environment’s rights. Because of this pollution, non-target organisms are being exposed to and ingesting transgene toxins from GMO plants (Armekanakas and AlexiadesArmenakas). A transgenic crops is another way of saying a plant that has been genetically altered. Another way they are being spread to other places other than the farm the crops reside on, is through pollen (Jefferson). There is no way to contain pollen on these farms due to wind and other natural weather conditions, so this poses as a threat to farms that are known as being organic. Not only can it ruin the authenticity of crops on other farms, but the pollen produced is causing a major problem in human’s allergies (Smyth). The real question that should be asked is: what are the long and short term effects on the ecosystem? The answer to that is unknown and critics believe that without extensive research, GMO foods should not be allowed until the effects are known.

Religious Controversy Although there are many health and environmental issues concerning GMOs, many humans also have religious and spiritual beliefs about genetically modified foods. Some religious views include how genetically modified foods are unacceptable in their religion. According to many religions, there is no need to modify anything, especially in nature because God created everything perfectly and humans do not have the right to manipulate anything that God has originally created (Hugi, Maria). Human diet sometimes intersects 437

with genetically modified foods. For example, “For jews, there were myriad contradictions in consuming genetically modified foods” (GMO or No). Many religions, such as the Jewish faith, believe GMOs can sometimes be harmful: Most participants agreed that food was a central part of Jewish life and agreed that GM foods are technically allowable since they are not specifically forbidden in Jewish texts. But Jewish ethics and kashrut seek to limit overproduction and unnecessary consumption, and genetically modifying animals may constitute hubris in that humans seek to alter God’s perfect creation. Yet while the Mishnahprohibits plant grafting, it does not indicate that Jews cannot use or consume hybrid products or species. When viewed from a health perspective, many Jews surveyed were in favor of genetic modification for therapeutic or medicinal intervention. (“GMO or No).

changing, it is hard for humans to know exactly what they are putting into their bodies. Since many studies have not been conducted on GMOs to find out effects, the impact of GMOs is unknown. Still to this day, we as humans can be unsure of what we are consuming. It is risky, but there is nothing that can be done to stop the manufacturing of genetically modified foods.

Works Cited Armenakas Sophia, and Macrene Alexiades-Armenakas.

"Genetically-Modified Organisms in United States Agriculture: Mandate for Food Labeling." Food and Nutrition Sciences 4.8 (2013): 807-11. ProQuest. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Different religious groups agree or disagree with the role of genetically modified foods today in our world. Some believe it is acceptable, and others do not.

By, Jill C. "U.S. to Allow some use in Food of Genetically Modified Plants." Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition ed.: 0. Aug 02 2002.

ProQuest. Web. 22 Apr. 2014 .

Conclusion

Feature, WebMD. "Genetically Modified Foods (Biotech Foods) Pros and Cons." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.

Genetically modified foods have struggled with many issues over the past years. Although there is much concern and controversy about the use of genetically modified foods, they have many positive characteristics that lead them to becoming successful in the modern day world. They can potentially increase nutrition and crop yield, but since the overall list of at-risk agricultural ingredients is

“Four Winds 10 - News.” How Monsanto Owns and Manipulates the World’s Food Supply Four Winds 10. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May 2014.

"GMO Facts." The NonGMO Project RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.

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"GMO: Harmful Effects." GMO: Harmful Effects. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.

"GMO Labeling Bill Fails To Pass In Senate - Independent Voter Network." IVNus. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Hugi, Maria. "There's no Need to Fear Genetically Modified Food."

Medical Post 46.16 (2010): 11. ProQuest. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Jefferson, Valeria. "The Ethical Dilemma of Genetically Modified Food." Journal of environmental health 69.1 (2006): 33-4.ProQuest.

Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Robin, Marie-Monique. The World According to Monsanto: Pollution, corruption, and The Control of the World’s Food Supply. New York: New, 2010.

Selby, Ruth. Personal Interview. N.d.

Smyth, Adrianna. Personal Interview. N.d.

“US Population Growth Rate by Year.” Us Population Growth Rate

by Year. N.p., n.d. Wed. 21 May 2014.

Wilson, Duff. Fateful Harvest: The True Story of a Small Town, a Global Industry, and a Toxic Secret. New York: HarperCollins, 2001.

Lambrecht, Brill. Dinner at the New Gene Cafe: How genetic engineering is changing what we eat, how we live, and the global politics of food. New York: St. Martin’s, 2001.

"Legal Experts Reject Food Industry Claims That GMO Labeling Laws Are Unconstitutional." Truthout. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Macilwain, Colin. "US Food-Safety Body Hears Protests Over Genetically Modified Food." Nature 402.6762 (1999): 571.ProQuest.

Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Palmer, Brian. "How Scientists Manipulate the Genetics of Crops."

The Washington Post. Mar 06 2012. ProQuest. Web. 22 Apr. 2014 .

Pringle, Peter. Food Inc,: Mendel to Monsanto - The Promises and Perils of the Biotech Harvest. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003.

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Stan Roediger

Head Injuries in Football Concussions cause thousands of deaths nationwide each year and impose a serious threat on sports in America. Football has always been known as a contact sport and with that there will always be injuries. Americans love seeing grown men slam into each other using their heads. They love to see the biggest hits and sometimes love to watch gruesome injuries to a player on the opposing team. However, the injuries sustained on a football field can have long lasting effects later on in life and ultimately affect how the brain and the body function. The question that America is faced with every day is; is there anything we can do to limit and eradicate the amount of head injuries that occur in football nationwide? There are things that we can do limit them but there is absolutely no way we can eradicate them from football altogether.

Concussions affect the way the body performs. They affect the way we think, what we do, and have great effects on our judgment. “Before just a couple of years ago, a concussion was when you got knocked out, nothing less” (Hoover). Now, a concussion is defined as “a type of traumatic brain injury that is caused by a blow to the head or body, a fall, or another injury that jars or shakes the brain

inside the skull” (Klimecki). With modern technology and medicine, we have determined that a concussion can be caused by a simple bump, blow, or jolt to the head and does not have to knock you out (Klimecki). Common symptoms of concussions are headaches, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, blurry vision, groggy feeling, difficulty paying attention, and confusion. A bump or blow to the head should never be ignored even if it does not cause pain. After being hit in the head, only a doctor or a health care pro can tell you if you have a concussion or if it is ok to resume playing (Klimecki). Concussions can last for a long time, sometimes taking up to one-two weeks to feel better. A hit in the head should never be ignored, and if you ever experience pain in your head, you should stop playing or doing what you are doing immediately (Klimecki).

Football is a universal sport that attracts thousands of little kids every year to play however the sport that thousands of kids play every year could be in jeopardy. The children are pushed physically and forced to compete to their highest potentials. Head injuries are also common at this level of play. One source goes into great detail about the risks that children have in playing football as adolescents.

The writer explains that “the prognosis for children who suffer repeated concussions, even mild ones, is unknown. It’s hard to imagine your child as a disabled, middle-aged man, but repeated concussions could put a child at risk for such crippling conditions as early onset dementia, Parkinson’s disease and other neurological disorders that require neurosurgery that no one wants to think about on the sidelines at a football game” (Powers). Children are at an increasing risk of head injury because of how fragile their bodies are 440

and how they are still developing (Klimecki). If a child experiences multiple concussions at a young age (which happens quite often), they should stop playing football immediately for the risks are too great. Pop-warner has lost over 23,000 kids over the 2010-2012 seasons because of head related injuries as well as other crippling injuries (Powers). If this rapid decline in youth signing up for football continues to grow, Pop-Warner football could be facing a very serious problem.

In the past couple of years, the NFL has been waging a huge lawsuit against the players that have been experiencing depression, Alzheimer’s, and dementia (diseases that are very common among exNFL players). These players blamed their illness on head injuries sustained while they played in the NFL. “The NFL long has denied any wrongdoing and insisted that safety always has been a top priority. But the NFL said Thursday that Commissioner Roger Goodell told pro football's lawyers to ‘do the right thing for the game and the men who played it’” (NFL, ex-players). The NFL has always said they were doing the right thing and protecting their players from sustaining these head injuries when that is simply not the case whatso-ever. Roger Goodell influenced the lawyers of these players to not raise their voice and instead be silent, and keep playing the game. The NFL eventually gave in, giving “$5 million for men with Alzheimer's disease; $4 million for those diagnosed after their deaths with a brain condition called chronic traumatic encephalopathy; and $3 million for players with dementia” (NFL, ex-players). Because there was no way they could keep this a secret for any

longer, the NFL was forced to let it go, paying millions of dollars to effected players all over the United States.

There were other major factors in the lawsuit one of which being that the NFL had been hiding the players concussions with common painkillers. “The eight former players who brought the suit claim the NFL administered cocktails of medications, including opioids, local anesthetics and anti-inflammatory drugs, with little regard for drug interactions or medical histories” (Pearson and Gullo). The NFL was performing illegal maneuvers to cover up the truth. The commissioner of the NFL was obsessed with the popularity that he had received over the last few years and how popular the sport of the NFL was. He did not want to ruin that by talking to thousands of men whom had received such terrible injuries. Another problem that the NFL faced was that “doctors gave players medications without warning them of side effects or the dangers of mixing drugs, and unlicensed trainers also dispensed medicines, some of which were addictive, Owens said by phone. The practice violates U.S. drug laws, according to the complaint (Pearson and Gullo). This illustrates yet another example of the NFL going crazy about popularity. They were willing to risk the lives of ex-NFL players and break the law then just to except what they have done and pay their debts.

Not only do concussions affect the human body immediately, but they also have long lasting effects on how the body functions and works later on in life. Now-a-days we label a concussion as whenever your brain makes contact with the skull (Hoover). If these injuries or concussions pile up over time, the brain can deteriorate, eventually leading to death (Klimecki). The human brain is also very 441

complex. Getting hit in the head over and over again can affect overall mood, or manifest itself in different places driving the patient insane or turning them into a very angry person (Hoover). Fairly recently, we lost a member of the football community to as a result of suicide. According to different sources, this man had experienced some of the hardest hits a player could experience at the highest level of play, ultimately affecting him later on in life. This player became a very angry person, throwing fits and getting agitated easily.

These fits and anxiety highs are believed to be a result of multiple concussions that were received in the NFL and in collegiate level football. (Anonymous). When we lost this hall of fame caliber player, the NFL had to face reality and recognize brain injuries and abnormalities. Before this case the NFL was starting to recognize head injuries but this was really the tipping point in this new search for answers. Now-a-days, the NFL has started giving millions of dollars in aid to the families of the concussed players in order to help restore their full ability to function properly and to support their families.

Joe Namath, one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game, has said ‘none of the body was designed to play football’. He spoke to CBS Sunday morning and told them all about what he thought regarding football and the human body. He said “’I've been through some things medically. I've seen some things on my brain,’ Namath told Rita Braver of CBS Sunday Morning in a brief preview of the interview released in advance. ‘But I've had treatment, and I've improved. None of the body was designed to play football. Excuse me, you know, football, we're just not designed for it’” (Greenberg). Namath talks about how football has changed his life and how he still

experiences some symptoms from the hits he suffered back in the day. Namath tells CBS that he remembers “'getting [his] bell rung.'

And then whenever you took some time, maybe a little oxygen, you went back to work’” (Greenberg). After getting your ‘bull wrung’, a player would maybe take a little oxygen and a little rest, and go right back to work hitting and slamming into people.

Another former player, Tony Dorsett, has been experiencing heavy symptoms from a degenerative brain disease. This is a result from all of the hits that he took in his years playing in the NFL. Tony said that “‘Remembering people’s names; I take my kids to practice for years, and all of a sudden, I don’t know how to get there,’ . . .

‘Those kinds of things, it’s very frustrating. It makes me mad; it’s just a real frustrating thing I’m going through, but again, I’m trying to be proactive rather than inactive and trying to cut it off’” (Greenberg). The head injuries that Mr. Dorsett experienced on the football field were traumatizing and have made him a changed man. Today, Mr. Dorsett gets frustrated very easily and some of the normal things that happened every day in his life he has begun to forget and leave out of his daily routine. Overall, this brain disease that he and thousands of other NFL players are suffering from takes a huge toll on the body every day.

The technology that is being used in helmets know is widely different then what players wore many years ago. Before the modern day helmet, football players wore leather helmets that were based on comfort and offered no protection. The helmets that these men wore were made of leather and offered almost no head protection. This was an accurate description of what football was like for these men 442

before technology and helmets were issued across America. Nowa-days, we cannot imagine playing football in leather helmets. We have state of the art helmets that do their absolute best to protect the players from getting injured. Of course, the helmet cannot eradicate head injuries from football altogether, we have to take more precautionary measures. Some of which hurts the popularity of the sport but is necessary and some of which boosts the popularity of the sport. Enforcing penalties and giving players fines are the two main measures that the NFL has implemented right now into the game. The first example is a good consequence and can help dictate the outcome of a game but the second one does not do much.

The players in the NFL make so much money that a 10,000 dollar fine doesn’t mean anything to them. The best thing we can do is modernize the football helmet even more. Recently, researches from Florida State University studied how football helmets have an effect on preventing concussions (“Football”). They discovered that wearing a football helmet only reduced mild traumatic brain injury by 20 percent (“Football”). Some helmets were much better are reducing the numbers of brain injury but unfortunately these helmets were not popular at all among professional and young athletes (“Football). While the researchers note that wearing a helmet is important, they hope that the players can better understand how little they do to protect them from brain injury.

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Here are two examples of football helmets. The one on the right is a common helmet that is used all over football and in all levels of the game. As you can see there is a padding in here but it does not have a very good effect on helping with concussions. The helmet on the left is no better at preventing concussions. Everything that we have tried to prevent concussions with the football helmet is not going to work. As long as there are people running full speed and hitting each other with their heads, there will be concussions.

Before we were able to look into peoples brains and before we had these technical helmets, people didn’t know what brain trauma looked like or what it even was (Hoover). It wasn’t until recently that people started learning about how serious head injuries are and there long lasting effects on people. Before just a couple of years ago, it was just as simple as knowing how many fingers were being held in front of your face, knowing who the president was, or knowing your parents’ names. If you answered these questions you were immediately thrown back in the game, furthering your chance of getting injured even more (Hoover).

Equipment is key to making this sport safer and less injury prone.

Each and every football organization across America needs to be able to provide their players with the newest technology in helmet and padding. Thus, the new helmets and padding can immediately prevent and have an effect on the amount of injuries suffered while playing football (Fatsis). Another important factor besides the equipment having the new technology is that it needs to have never worn before by any other player (Fatsis). If the equipment that these kids are receiving is tattered and old, or doesn’t fit perfectly, the conse-

quences can be extreme (Lott). If kids do happen to get injured during a game, whether that be because of equipment failure or getting hit by a kid twice your size, it is an absolute necessity for there to be paramedics at every game. Paramedics can help treat these kids immediately when they are injured instead of the children having to wait to be transferred to a hospital or back home. We need people that know what they are doing and can help these children once they get hurt immediately (Fatsis). Most games that occur today happen without a doctor or ambulance anywhere near them. This causes a lot of suspicion and deserves to be looked at very closely.

In order to prevent more injuries from happening in the NFL, the players, coaches, general managers, and doctors need to be smart and to be educated (Hoover). Football players must look at what is developing around them and in a split second adapt to it. One thing that is threatening the NFL right now is the lack of education in the league. More players need to be educated about what to do when they get hit, how to react when something happens to you or a fellow teammate, and plenty more things that are being diminished from football altogether (Lott). If we lose sight of education, we lose sight of integrity, honesty, and character which together are key factors in great teammates and developing a championship contending team.

Head injuries need to be addressed immediately in the game of football in America. They are a huge health risk to people of all ages and have long lasting effects. If the National Football League and the people of America do not come together to help prevent these serious head injuries from happening, we may lose football as a 444

sport in our country. The leaders of football clubs and teams needs to take some initiative and stand up for what is right in our country and what the morally correct thing to do is. When these head injuries happen, they do not affect just the person who sustained the hit. They affect the families of the patient, the people watching the game, and the people who love the player. Together, America can stand up to these serious concussions and help spread awareness throughout the country and possibly even bring an end to these terrible things from happening.

Bibliography “Concussion: Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention.” WebMD. WebMD, 29 November 2011. Web. 20 May 2014.

Daugherty, Kay. "Concussions: doing the right thing." AAOS Now (2014): Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Fatsis, Stefan. "The NFL: A Peek at Preseason: The NFL's Big Headache --- Each Season, Pro Players Play Through the Pain Of 200 Head Injuries. “ProQuest. 7 Aug. 1998. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

"Football Helmets Do Little to Prevent Concussions, Study Finds." Fox News. FOX News Network, 18 Feb. 2014. Web. 17 June 2014.

Futterman, Mathew. "NFL Retirees Sue League Over Head Injuries." ProQuest. 7 July 2012. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Klimecki, Zachary. Sports Injuries Information For Teens. Peter E. Rufner, Print.

League of denial: the NFL’s concussion crisis. Michael Kirk, 2013.

DVD. Maske, Mark. "Series of Head Injuries Prompts NFL to Crack down on Illegal Hits." ProQuest. 19 Oct. 2010. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

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“NFL Concussion Litigation.” NFL Concussion Litigation RSS. Web. 22 May 2014.

NFL Rulebook. NFL. PDF. Pearson, Sophia, and Karn Gullo. “Former NFL Players Say League Masked Injuries With Painkillers.” Claims Journal News. Web. 22 May 2014.

Powers Alexander K. “A Neurosurgeon Tackles Brain Injury in Youth Sports.” Neurosurgery – Brain Injury In Youth Sports. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.

"The Hits Keep Coming; Brain Injuries in Sport." Economist 12 Apr. 2014: 61.Gale Cengage Learning. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Velasco, Schuyler. "Junior Seau Tragedy Shakes NFL, Intensifies Concern about Head Injuries." ProQuest, 3 May 2012. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

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Reed Sandbach

Healthy Food When healthy food is described, it is described as nutritious. Many of us take nutritious food for granted. Some have grown accustom to foods labeled “organic”, “grass-fed”, or “fat-free”. “Junk food” is viewed as an indulgence, an occasional snack, a bad habit; but to some, junk food is an everyday norm. These people are required to eat at fast food restaurants that serve cheap, highly processed foods. To them, fresh fruit and veggies are a luxury. What differentiates the diets of these two classes? The answer to that question is threefold: awareness, money, and availability. Pushing past these barriers may seem intimidating, but as a community with privilege, it is our societal duty to help bring healthy food to everyone.

There are many people whose only guide in what is nutritious is the media. One diet called “six weeks to OMG” recommends not eating fruit, eating protein heavy foods, and soaking in cold water to encourage the burning of fat. Another diet called Drunkorexia recommends you get most if not all of your calories from alcohol (NY daily news). Both of these are almost completely wrong if not crazy. With nutrition guides and celebrity diets circulating, it has become hard to discern what is healthy from what isn’t. I, for part of my research pro-

ject, have rooted through the lies and deceit to help us all find out what food is really “healthy” and how we should be eating it.

The first steps that must be taken to bring healthy food to all are to spread awareness of what is “healthy”. To begin, some advice from Michael Pollan, a journalist/ activist who has thoroughly researched this topic, “Eat food. Not much. Mostly plants.” It is best to eat lots of fruits and vegetables, as they contain many nutrients and vitamins.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommends that you eat 3-5 servings of veggies, 2-4 servings of fruit, 2-3 servings of meat/poultry, 2-3 servings of dairy, and 6-11 servings of grain every day. A serving is a cup of fruit, veggies, or dairy, a slice of bread, or a pound of meat. It is also recommended that we eat fats, oils, and sweets “sparingly” (USDA).

Our society isn’t known for eating in this fashion. We are more commonly known for eating, as Pollan puts it, the “western diet”. “The western diet is generally defined as a diet consisting of lots of processed foods and meat, lots of added fat and sugar, lots of refined grains, lots of everything, except vegetables, fruits, and whole grains” (Pollan 10). With white bread, hamburgers, and candy, who would want more, right? Wrong. “Virtually all of obesity, type two diabetes, 80% of cardiovascular disease, and more than a third of all cancers can be linked to [the western] diet” (Pollan 10) Many of you know or have been told that processed food is bad for you, because it contains lots bad things, but my hope is to educate you as to why it is so bad for you, and why it is a major problem that so much of

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this country lacks monetary resources to the point where they must eat the “bad” foods or nothing at all.

There are three villains who are especially responsible for poor health through eating processed foods: salt, sugar and fat. These three aren’t normally a problem. In fact, “we are hard wired to go for three tastes, salt, fat, and sugar” (Michael Moss 10). Unfortunately, “These things are very rare in nature,” and we indulge ourselves past healthy limits. Through overindulgence, we damage our bodies in serious, often fatal ways.

The first villain on this list is Salt. Many people are very familiar with salt, but are unfamiliar with the risks of high sodium levels. We see salt as a tasty craving and a common cooking material, and it is perfectly acceptable to view it in such a manner, but as of late our society has come to crave it in dangerous amounts. The USDA recommends we eat 1500- 2300mg of salt a day, but in 1989 teenage boys and men were eating more than 10g of salt a day. That is nearly two full teaspoons, over four times more than the recommended amount today. This may not seem like a problem, but it actually is a serious one. One of the major results of having too much salt in your blood stream is high blood pressure. High blood pressure in turn can play a major role in heart risk, and can cause major damage to your body.

Fortunately, if you currently have a high salt intake, you can easily decrease it. The sensory receptors that perceive salt in people who eat more than the recommended amount of salt get overloaded and start to build up a bit of a tolerance to the stimulation. Reducing the

salt intake, however, will get your salt receptors back to normal within a few weeks. It isn’t too late to change your diet for the better and avoid health risk.

The next culprit in unhealthy eating in America is sugar. Our sugar consumption in America is rather frightening, with each person consuming roughly 71 pounds of caloric sweetener each year, or 22 teaspoons daily, compared to the government recommended 6 teaspoons. We as Americans get 16% of our calories from sugar, when we are supposed to get 5%(. One of the biggest contributors to our absurd sugar intake is our consumption of sugar sweetened soda.

In 2011, we, again as Americans, consumed 32 gallons of soda per person. In earlier years, that number was at an even more frightening 40 gallons per person. This is problematic because “research suggests that our bodies are less aware of excessive intake when calories are liquid” (Salt Sugar fat). Soda is a method for us to overload ourselves with sugar and calories with our bodies none the wiser.

Why is sugar bad for you? Over-indulgence in sugar can cause many health issues, primarily diabetes. To explain why diabetes is bad, we need to go over a few things first. Glucose is important, and much of food is broken down into glucose to be used by cells as energy. As a result of having and needing glucose as an energy source, we have insulin, which is a hormone that regulates the amount of glucose in the blood stream. Diabetes is defined as not having enough insulin or having a resistance to insulin. People with type 2 diabetes still make insulin, but either can’t make enough to match high glucose levels, or can’t use it very well. You can see 448

how the obese, who maintain a steady, large intake of calories, sugar or no, might produce too much glucose and not have enough insulin to regulate it. The same is true for people who eat too much sugar. When there isn’t enough insulin, glucose can’t get into the body’s cells, causing build up in the blood instead. High blood glucose levels can damage nerves, blood vessels, kidneys, and can lead to heart attack and stroke. High blood glucose levels can damage nerves, blood vessels, kidneys, and can lead to heart attack and stroke (Web MD). “Nearly 1 in 4 American adolescents may be on the verge of developing type two diabetes, or already have it” (Salt Sugar Fat). It is rather frightening how much of our population is close to contracting a potentially deadly condition.

The last main food to worry about is fat. Fat stores access calories in a safe way to mobilize a source of energy, which doesn’t sound too bad, but unfortunately, the main sources of cheap fat are from processed animals. These animals, especially cows, are fed lots of corn, instead of their natural diet of grass (Food Inc). This is due primarily to the cheap production of genetically engineered corn. This diet of corn is harmful, because the corn quickly and prematurely fattens the cattle (Food Inc). It is these overly fat cattle that go into all fast-food burgers.).

Visceral fat is the kind of fat that causes the most problems. It is this kind of fat that is produced when the cows are fed a diet of corn.

(Food Inc.). It is believed to play a greater role in insulin resistance, which can increase diabetes risk, than other fats. According to some studies at an elderly clinic, visceral fat can increase the risk of dementia. Visceral fat is also known to “suffocate” organs by growing

around them and giving them less room inside you to function. Visceral fat is also the kind of fat that humans typically produce when consuming large amounts of calories (Web MD). It is no surprise then, that evidence suggests that the more meat in your diet, the greater your risk of heart disease and cancer (Pollan 41).

Now that we know why foods high in salt, sugar, and fat are unhealthy and potentially dangerous or even fatal, let’s look at why poverty makes getting healthier foods harder. Poverty thresholds are the dollar amounts used by the census bureau to determine poverty status, before taxes. They are the maximum amount of money someone can make to be considered in poverty. In 2012, the US poverty rate was at 15%, 46.5 million people, a 2.5% increase from 2007. In this year, the poverty threshold was at $11,490 per year for one person living alone, while it was at 23,550 for a family of four.

That year, 9.1% of people over 65, 13.7% of people 18-64, and 21.8% of children under 18 were in poverty.

To understand poverty, we need to look at minimum wages. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. All other states are required to have minimum wages higher than this. The California minimum wage for example, is $8 an hour. Here in San Francisco, we are very fortunate. As of 2014, our cities minimum wage is $10.55 an hour, the highest in the country. Unfortunately, this isn’t enough.

One bread winner in a family of four living in San Francisco, working six hours a day at minimum wage for everyday day of the year, would still be in poverty on a federal scale. This is still without accounting for the high housing price in San Francisco, nor the require449

ment to work so many hours. It also leaves access to healthy food out of the question.

If people can’t afford nutritious food, they can’t eat it. One mother who lives in poverty said “we don’t have time to cook cause we leave at six, (and) we don’t get home until 9, 10 at night… when you have only a dollar to spend, and you have two kids to feed, either you go to the market and try to find something that’s cheap, or go through a drive through and get two small hamburgers for them” (Maria Gonzalez, Food, Inc.). To feel like you have a full stomach, it is most effective to eat high-carbohydrate, high-fat, high-sodium foods that cause many health issues. In 2007, Potatoes cost $0.52 per pound while Lettuce cost $1.49, broccoli cost $1.53, and strawberries cost $2.00.

A gallon of milk cost $3.84 while two liters of cola cost $1.23. It is rather disturbing that we set so many people up to eat unhealthily, just through food pricing, or as food Inc. says, “The biggest predictor of obesity is income level”(Food Inc.).

One would think that the government would help sate the hunger of its citizens, and with food stamp benefits, it does help, but it usually isn’t enough. Food stamp benefits in most states require households to have less than $2000 in the bank to be eligible to actually receive food stamps. Because of this, many in poverty end up avoiding the occasional fluxes in income, or spend them rather than saving them, because they aren’t reliable. This once again sets those in poverty up to fail, discouraging saving and eventual self-sufficiency.

malnutrition. The effects of malnutrition are usually irreversible, and it can cause lots of developmental damage. Malnutrition also can’t be “cured” with food aid later in life, as the deprived child will fail to develop fully, and possibly have a lower IQ, without nutrients and sustenance necessary to survive and thrive. This once again is setting up the poor to loose. So why doesn’t the government simply better fun the food stamp program? To start, the most recent bill concerning the food stamp program in fact cut 8.6 billion in funding for over the next decade. Another bill, which is now on the floor in congress, plans to cut about 39billion over the next ten years. While bills to increase, rather than decrease the food stamp program are often proposed, they fail to make it through congress.

One rose in this shroud of thorns realizes itself in the form of the FDA. Since calories, serving size, and percent daily value are all important to fighting obesity, chronic diseases, and improving health, the FDA has revised its labeling system for nutrition information.

The FDA wants labels to reflect a realistic consumption. They are changing nutrition labels to make them more straightforward and to eliminate marketing loopholes that allow for misrepresentation. One example is added sugars will now be noted separately from sugar content. This process of revision is to encourage companies to make healthier products, and will hopefully benefit us all.

The government also doesn’t have a large enough food stamp budget to be able to help everyone who is hungry, which leads to 450

Works cited Berg, Joel. All You Can Eat: How Hungry Is America? New York: Seven Stories, 2008. Print.

Jaslow, Ryan. "World Health Organization Lowers Sugar Intake Recommendations." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 5 Mar. 2014. Web. 17 June 2014.

Eskenazi, B., A. Bradman, and R. Castorina. "Abstract." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 18 Nov. 0005. Web. 02 May 2014.

Feature, Kathleen Doheny.WebMD. "Body Fat Types (Brown, White, Visceral) and Locations (Belly, Butt, and More)." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 14 May 2014.

Food Inc. Kenner, Robert. 2009. Netflix. Web. 12 April 2014.

Moss, Michael. Salt, Sugar, Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us. New York: Random House, 2013. Print.

Pollan, Michael. Food Rules: An Eater's Manual. New York: Penguin, 2009. Print.

Rosenbaum, Dottie, Stacy Dean, and Robert Greenstein. "Center on Budget and Policy Priorities." Cuts Contained in SNAP Bill Coming to the House Floor Would Affect Millions of Low-Income Americans —. N.p., 17 Sept. 2013. Web. 14 May 2014.

"Type 2 Diabetes: Symptoms, Causes, Treatments, and More." WebMD. WebMD, 04 May 0090. Web. 13 May 2014.

"United States Census Bureau." About Poverty. US Government, n.d. Web. 12 May 2014.

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Isabella Sturdevant

Would You Speed Your Way to an A? It is the weekend before finals week and you are not prepared at all.

However, you do not want to spend all weekend studying. You know that you could do well on the finals by taking Adderall. Would you take the time to study and learn the material, or would you cheat your way to an A? Some students do take the “easy route” by abusing Adderall. Adderall is a drug used to relieve symptoms from Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) that causes people to have difficulty paying attention for long periods of time. Adderall has increasingly become a drug abused by college students because it allows students to spend more hours studying without losing focus. Some students feel that this drug allows them to procrastinate with the satisfying outcome of high grades and increased test scores. Although this drug may seem like a miracle during finals, it comes along with dangerous side effects and is highly addictive. Although Adderall may be helpful to those who have ADHD, it is an addictive drug and prone to abuse. Not only is abuse risky and dangerous to one’s health, using Adderall also creates an unfair advantage and is considered cheating in some cases when students without the disorder use the drug for its benefits for personal academic enhancement. Our society’s pressure on students has an impact on

them and can be the reason why students abuse Adderall in the first place. Doctors need to stop over diagnosing ADHD and overprescribing Adderall because they are putting young lives in danger along with raising an unfair “playing field” in academics.

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a considered a long-term illness which affects both children and adults and is typically treated by the medication called Adderall. ADHD is recognized as a “disability by the courts, the U.S. Department of Education, the Office for Civil Rights, the U.S. Congress, the National Institutes of Health, and all major professional medical, psychiatric, psychological, and educational associates” (Powell). Signs and symptoms of ADHD include: difficulty keeping attention, frequently distracted, very unfocused, failure to follow directions, unorganized, forgetful, physically restless and impatient, along with impulsive behavior. Hyperfocus is another type of attention disorder which can be a part of ADHD. This is when people get so absorbed with what he or she is doing that they do not notice anything else around them. Also, “60 percent of children with ADHD have comorbid disorders such as conduct disorder, oppositional and defiant disorder and anxiety disorders” (“Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder”). Although both boys and girl are equally affected by the disorder, they commonly show different symptoms. Girls are more likely to show mood changes, have more fear and social withdrawal while boys usually are less aggressive than average and have more impulsive disorders. People who have ADHD have difficulties with persistence and concentrating skills that can impact them at school. Children who have been properly diagnosed with ADHD are usually prescribed medications to 452

help relieve the symptoms so they are able to focus in environments that require a high attention span, such as school. Common medications that are used for ADHD treatment are usually psychostimulants, which are “helpful for 75%” of people who have ADHD (“Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder”). Examples of psychostimulants that are commonly prescribed to those with the disorder are Ritalin and Adderall. Psychostimulants “reduce problem behaviors of ADHD” allowing students to focus and concentrate, like their peers at school.

Diagnosing the disorder, however, is also a problem because there is a high chance for misdiagnosis and over diagnosis. How is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder typically diagnosed? Doctors will usually perform physical exams, lab tests, and even hearing tests to diagnosis patients who are said to have the disorder. Educational and psychological tests may also be conducted (Powell). In order for a doctor to diagnose, symptoms must be reported by a teacher or parent to confirm that the symptoms have occurred for the past six months. The symptoms should have caused problems in both the classroom and home environments (“Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder”). According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 8 million children are diagnosed with ADHD in the United States. Diller, a Californian pediatrician, emphasized that ADHD is the “most commonly diagnosed and treated childhood psychiatric problem in the United States” (Loe). Also, “6.4 million children between the ages of 4 and 17 have been diagnosed with ADHD. By high school, nearly 20 percent of all boys will be diagnosed with ADHD—a 37 percent increase since 2003” (D’Agostino).

However, only “9 percent of boys and 3 percent of girls in the general population” actually qualify for a diagnosis of ADHD (“Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder”). Nine out of ten children who are diagnosed with ADHD are prescribed drugs such as Adderall. During an interview with Sharon Lawless, who has her PhD in education and is a teacher and tutor to children with learning differences, she explained that if she notices a student who is having constant trouble focusing and doing work, she will usually notify the parents and give her input on the situation. Although she tells them about the recurring problems during lessons and advises them to see a doctor, she never requests that they medicate the child. Lawless claimed, “That is a personal decision for the parents and doctor to make” (Lawless). Like most mental disorders, ADHD is diagnosed by behavioral observations rather than physical abnormalities. Some doctors say that they would never prescribe medications to the patient from the first visit with symptoms because of the risk the patient is faking it (Schwarz, Alan). However, for other doctors this is not always the case. Because the disorder cannot be determined by conducting a simple blood test, it is hard to differentiate those who really struggle from the disorder from those who fake the symptoms to obtain the drugs. Faking symptoms is an easy way to receive medications (Clemmit). Many of the millions of diagnoses are false and “experts say misdiagnosis is the real problem” (“Adderall Alert”).

There needs to be a mandatory standardized diagnostic test that must be performed before any other diagnosis for ADHD or prescriptions for Adderall. The drug is too easily accessible nowadays (Rigney). There is no way for questionnaires to distinguish between patients who truly have been experiencing symptoms associated with 453

ADHD and those who fake it. Some doctors use a questionnaire as a “shortcut diagnosis” when the questionnaire is really intended to gather a patient’s symptoms (Schwarz). Also, doctors do not spend enough time monitoring their patients’ side effects to the medications prescribed to them. Because doctors tend to have many patients, they cannot have all of their patients thoroughly evaluated prior to diagnosing them. Doctors tend to quickly diagnosis which may not be entirely accurate (Rigney). Dr. Parker, a psychiatrist in Virginia Beach stated, “We have a significant travesty being done in this country with how diagnosis is being made and the medications that are being administered” (Schwarz, Alan).

There also is a major problem of overprescribing stimulants to treat ADHD such as Adderall. The National Center on Addiction and Substance reported that the number of prescriptions for ADHD medication increased to 23.4 million a year between 1992 and 2002 (Towey). According to IM Health, a pharmaceutical information and consulting company, there were 31.8 million prescriptions in 2005 for ADHD medications (Towey). Advocate Claire Mindy confirmed that, “nearly 14 million monthly prescriptions for ADHD were written to Americans ages 20-39 in 2011” and around 5 million Americans take medications such as Adderall and other stimulants for ADHD (Schwarz). College students without parental supervision can easily obtain stimulant prescriptions legally from obliging doctors. Why are doctors so willing to prescribe drugs so quickly?

Although abuse may be blamed on students who want to take advantage and cheat themselves to success, the culture we live in may be promoting success to a point where students insist they

need assistance. A California pediatrician, Diller, argued that, “Most in need of examination, however, is a culture that values achievement to the point that it drives ‘increasing use of stimulant drugs for enhancement even among the general population’” (Clemmitt). The pressure on students now a days to be successful and “the best” leads to substance abuse because students believe it is the easiest and sometimes only way to achieve their high-set goals. Meika Loe, Ph.D., an Associate Professor of Sociology and Women’s Studies at Colgate College wrote, “United States College students today are among the first to be raised in a society where prescription drugs are an everyday commodity-socially branded and advertised directly to consumers-not unlike cars and blue jeans. These students are also the products of the most intense competition ever for college admission” (Loe). When students are under stress and pressure, they turn to the “easy-way out” which commonly leads to substance abuse, like Adderall. She also wrote, “[In future pharmaceutical era generations, prescription drug use] can be acceptable and even strategic in a competitive academic environment” (Loe). Students want the opportunity to be successful, but nowadays, academics is very competitive. Students believe that it is safe and acceptable to abuse drugs like Adderall to increase their GPAs and scores in school. The students, however, do not always know the harmful effects that come with abusing Adderall.

Adderall abuse in competitive environments such as colleges has increased over the years as more and more students begin to become reliant on this drug. According to a study in 2013, “In 2010 and 2011, Adderall abuse increased to 6.5 percent among 12th grad454

ers, and continued increasing to 7.6 percent in 2012 and is now at 7.4 percent in 2013” (“Adderall Abuse Increases among High School Students”). As Adderall becomes more common, more students want to use it for its academic benefits. Before, students used NoDoz or other stimulants, such as caffeine, to help them through finals. Now students use deadly stimulants for assistance (Towey).

According to pharmacist Gregg Wendland at the University of Oregon, “The use definitely peaks during high stress times, such as finals week” (“Adderall Alert”). College students think using this drug is a legitimate way to get through long study nights and especially finals. They believe that when using Adderall, they can procrastinate and cram for tests because the drug allows them to get good grades without as much effort. According to the University of Michigan, Adderall is the most abused brand-named drug among seniors in high school (D’Agostino). Towey wrote, “A survey published in 2005 in the journal Addiction, found that rates were highest at colleges that were competitive” (Towey). According to recent surveys focused on individual campuses, “20 percent of college students have used Ritalin or Adderall to study, write papers and take exams” (Jacobs). Also, “students with a GPA of 3 or lower were two times more likely to abuse the drugs than students earning a B+ or higher” (Towey). A 2004 survey of students on a University of Wisconsin campus led by William Frankenberger, a psychology professor at UW EAU Claire, found that, “14 percent had abused Adderall or other ADHD medications” (Towey). Psychostimulant “grey markets” exist at secondary and college schools promoting abuse. Students are able to buy Adderall pills and prescriptions from their peers on the grey markets. National research was conducted by

public health researchers as the University of Michigan and found that, “25 percent of college students on any college campus had used psychostimulants without a prescription” and a quarter of college students nationwide have reported obtaining illegal prescription drugs such as Adderall from friends, family, or internet pharmacies (Loe). Yes, the drug may be helpful for stressed out students, but there are serious health risks from abusing a drug like Adderall.

Since abuse has recently become more common among high school and college students there is a larger community being impacted by the dangers of Adderall.

There are many health risks and dangers from misusing Adderall.

Steve Pasterb, President and CEO of the Partnership at Drugfree.org proclaimed that, “Abuse of all prescription medicines is an immediate threat to the health of America’s teens” (“Adderall Abuse Increases Among High School Students”). Students take advantage of the mental effects as a study aid, but do not necessarily think about the harmful impact the drug may have on them. Bob Nystrom the manager of the adolescent health section for the Oregon Public Health Division believed that one of the problems is that, “Many students abusing prescription medications [like Adderall] also think a drug that comes from a doctor is safe, even if the prescription isn’t for them” (“Adderall Alert”). Students do not understand the dangers of misusing Adderall. A prescription drug is prescribed individually because it is designed to give the correct and safe dosages to a specific individual, but can be a dangerous amount to another person. This is why prescription and medicine abuse is an epidemic health crisis. The reliance of prescription stimulants to enhance 455

one's performance has become as frequently used as caffeine, Red Bull, or No-Doz (Jacobs). Some side effects when not used as directed include: insomnia, irritability and loss of appetite (Towey).

Other side effects can be weight loss and sleeping issues. Also, “48 percent of subjects of one study who took ADHD medications experienced side effects like sleeping problems and mood disturbances.

In another, 6 percent of children suffered psychotic symptoms, including thoughts of suicide” (D’Agostino). Recently, Adderall and other ADHD medications have been reported to be linked to the deaths of 25 people (Towey). Those who are wrongly diagnosed with ADHD and are prescribed Adderall or those abusing the drug have a chance of acquiring a bipolar condition which can be brought on by ADHD stimulant. Those with heart conditions can also die from the stimulants because the affect the stimulants have on the heart rate (D'Agostino). Adderall also can lead to social, psychological and psychological issues (Loe). The stimulants can associate with, “new psychotic symptoms such as hearing voices and believing things that are not true” (D’Agostino). According to a 2006 study in the American Journal of Psychiatry, even with proper doctorsupervision of ADHD stimulant usage, they can still “trigger psychotic behavior or suicidal thoughts in about 1 in 400 patients” (Schwartz, Alan).

Misusing Adderall can also lead to addiction because it is a highlyaddictive substance. Adderall works just like cocaine and can have the same effects of addiction. Stimulants exert effects by, “modifying the normal communication that occurs among brain neuron and brain circuits” (Center for Substance Abuse Treatment). These ef-

fects can cause addiction to the stimulant. A 2006 study Journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence found that, “about 10 percent of adolescents and young adults who misused ADHD stimulants became addicted to them” (Schwarz). However, although Adderall has many dangers, it has been found that, “Stimulant medication may actually reduce the risk of substance abuse for young people with ADHD. Lower rates of marijuana, cocaine, and alcohol abuse when they grow up compared to children with ADHD who had not received medication” (“Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder”). Even though the use of Adderall may reduce the risk for other substance use, this does not mean that Adderall is safe to abuse. Not only are there dangers, but it is illegal to use without a personal prescription to the drug.

The Federal Drug Enforcement Administration lists Adderall as a schedule II controlled substance meaning that it is illegal to use and possess the drug without a prescription. Adderall is classified in the same category as cocaine, opium, and morphine which all have high-tendencies for addiction. In some states, possessing Adderall without a prescription is a class C felony which can be up to 18 months of probation and is punishable up to 30 days in jail. Not only is it easily accessible from doctors, but students sell their pills and prescription to those without the disorder who want the drug. Selling your prescription to others can be a class B felony resulting in up to 24 months of probation and up to 60 days in jail. Selling the drug has harsher punishments than possessing it. Dr. Robert Herman reasons that doctors cannot control whether if their patients share

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their prescribed pills with others (Jacobs). The problem is that there is no way to stop people from sharing their prescriptions with others.

Recently, students’ abuse of Adderall has called into question academic integrity causing it to be considered cheating in some instances. The use of stimulants to enhance one’s academic performance is raising issues about fairness and competitiveness. In competitive environments, the use of Adderall can be considered cheating to increase test scores, grades, and GPA. (Jacobs). Many students believe that the usage of Adderall without the disorder is not fair. People have even related the drug to steroids used in sports.

Megan Towey wrote that the drug is now being used as an “academic steroid” and critics say that it is “creating and unfair playing field on college campuses” (Towey). However, there are other advantages that some students have over others without the use of drugs such as private tutoring, preparatory courses and other enriching activities and trips. Fairness is hard to come by, especially at schools. The abuse of psychostimulants threatens academic integrity and the success of students who actually have the disorder (Rigney). People are thought to be cheating themselves by misusing stimulants like Adderall to enhance their academic ability. For some students “success is defined by unrealistic performance standards in every arena of life” (Loe). But how can success be measured if students are advancing themselves with the help of drugs?

Not everyone is against Adderall. There are different viewpoints and solutions to the “Adderall situation”, and many professors and doctors are advocates for Adderall. Stanford University’s Henry Greely and colleagues argue that taking medication such as Adderall, “is

no different from eating well or getting enough sleep [before an exam]” (Mcllroy). Dr. Laurence Greenhill, a clinical psychiatrist at the University of Colombia believes that it “won’t increase your intelligence, it just increases your diligence” (Jacobs). One’s grades do not increase because Adderall makes you smarter, it just allows one to focus and prepare in a more helpful manner. Dr. Tim Caulfield, Canada Research in Health Law and Policy at the University of Alabama stated, “Even though they [stimulants like Adderall] seem like ‘cheating,’ in what qualitative way are they different from other forms of enhancement? Coffee in an enhancer. Should students be banned from using that before an exam?” (Mcllroy). The question of what should be considered cheating in academic environments is a tough one to answer because there are many exceptions and ways to make an unfair playing field. Timothy Writers, the author of “Straight Talk about Psychiatric Medications for Kids” and a child psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School believes, “These are very safe medications. They have been used for 70 years, and we haven't had terrible catastrophes” (Jacobs). Bill Dodson, M.D. Psychiatrist believes that ADHD treatment such as Adderall really helps the problem (“The Promoters of ADHD”). Although these are two examples of psychiatrists who are pro-Adderall, they have not factored in student’s abuse of the drug. If people are using the drug appropriately then they are believed to be safe and effective. However, when abuse occurs the drug is a health risk. Meika Loe wrote how some students try to “reverse ADHD symptoms” (Loe), so they do not need to take drugs. These students use study skills and concentration techniques instead of popping pills. It is about the effort put into the work, not just relying on drugs to do the work for you.

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In conclusion, Adderall has increasingly become more abused in competitive environments resulting in health risks to many of the abusers. ADHD is commonly over diagnosed and misdiagnosed leading to over prescribing of Adderall and other ADHD medications. The question of student’s academic integrity when misusing the drug has been answered from both perspectives. Some say that Adderall makes an “unfair playing field” in academics just like steroids do in sports. Others say that Adderall is exactly like caffeine and has no real effect on student’s grades and success. Whether abusing the drug is cheating or not, it is illegal to use without a prescription and has many health risks and dangers. Adderall is a highly addictive stimulant and should only be used with caution and when directed by a doctor. However, doctors should be careful when diagnosing ADHD and prescribing Adderall because it can be dangerous to any user. The pressure on students nowadays has pushed and stressed students to the point when many of them want to rely on dangerous stimulants such as Adderall for assistance.

While the drug does not make one more intelligent, it still can increase one’s grades and test scores. Are students in our society so concerned about grades and test scores that they are willing to abuse a drug which can be harmful and highly addictive? If so, perhaps there are deeper underlying issues that need to be addressed, issues that even Adderall cannot fix.

Bibliography "Adderall Abuse Increases among High School Students." Targeted News Service: Dec 18 2013. ProQuest. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

"ADDERALL Alert." The Register Guard (Eugene, 0R). 05 Jul. 2009.

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Advokat, Claire, and Mindy Scheithauer. "Abstract." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 29 May 2013. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.

"Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder." Drugs, Alcohol, and Tobacco: Learning about Addictive Behavior. Ed. Rosalyn CarsonDeWitt. Vol. 1. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2003. 89-92.

Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Treatment Improvement Protocol. Rockville (MD): Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (US), 1999. NCBI. Web. 19 May 2014.

Clemmitt, Marcia. "Treating ADHD." CQ Researcher 3 Aug. 2012: 669-92. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.

D'Agostino, Ryan. "The Drugging of the American Boy." Esquire.com Article. Esquire, 27 Mar. 2014. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

Jacobs, Andrew. "The Adderall Advantage." New York Times. 31 July 2005, Late Edition ed.: n. page. ProQuest. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

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Custode, Kelly and Jill, Norvilitis. Contemporary Trends in ADHD Research. InTech, 2012. InTech. Web. 19 May 2014.

Lawless, Sharon. Personal Interview. 12 May 2014.

Loe, Meika. “The Prescriptions of a New Generation.” Sage Publications, Inc. Contexts, 7.2 (2008), pp. 46-49. JSTOR. Web. 26 Apr. 2014.

Twohey, Megan. "Adderall Is a Dangerous, Addictive Drug." Student Life. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Pills Become an Addictive Study Aid: At Colleges, Students Take a Deadly Risk by Abusing ADHD Drug." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 26 Mar. 2006. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Wallace, Kasey. Personal Interview. 21 Apr. 2014.

McIlroy, Anne. "Cognitive-Enhancing Drugs Are Useful Study Aids."

Student Life. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Experts Back Brain Boosters for All." Globe and Mail 12 Dec. 2008. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Powell, Sherlyn Ezell. "Should Children Receive Medication for Symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder?" Peabody Journal of Education 78.3 (2003): 107-15. JSTOR. Web. 23 Apr. 2014 Rigney, Erinn L. "Doctor's Orders: A New Prescription for ADHD Medication Abuse." Doctor's Orders: A New Prescription for ADHD Medication Abuse 88.No. 2 (2012): n. pag. Questia. Web. 21 Apr. 2013.

Schwarz, Alan. "Drowned in a Stream of Prescriptions." The New York Times. The New York Times, 02 Feb. 2013. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

"The Promoters of ADHD." The Medicated Child. PBS. 10 Apr. 2012. FRONTLINE PBS. Web. 24 Apr. 2014 459

Kendall You Mak and Nathan Wang

Competitive Youth Sports: Helpful or Harmful?

Youth Sports Only in the last couple of centuries or so did societies begin to popularize organized youth sports. Public schools and clubs like the Young Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Christian Association, or YMCA, first organized youth sports activities in the 1880â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, with little parental involvement (Hyman). Dr. James Naismith of the Springfield, Massachusetts YMCA invented basketball in 1891 (Hyman). In 1903, Public Schools Athletic Association first organized a competitive sports league, starting with 300 students (Hyman). Within seven years, more than 150,000 players participated (Hyman). As time progressed, youth sports leagues and adult involvement expanded, which led to both positive and negative effects. Alongside this expansion, the starting age of youth sports has dropped from around age seven to nine, to four or five years of age (Roberts). In an extreme case, one national youth soccer league accepts players starting at 18 months (Roberts). In addition, youth athletes are receiving greater stress and pressure from coaches, peers, and even parents (Lerner). While some say

we may be progressing too quickly and seriously in the development of youth sports, others believe that the trend of youth sports and exercise at young ages needs to keep spreading because of positive impacts on the youth, such as teaching children to make appropriate decisions and stay healthy. Competitive sports provide children with an outlet to stay fit, teach them valuable life lessons, and are enjoyable. Competitive sports are also a place where children can get injured, both physically and emotionally, from too much pressure. Collegiate sports on the other hand are the future for many aspiring youth athletes, affecting youth sports culture in both good and bad ways. Positives like getting recruited for a full scholarship to school and college sports being a stepping stone to professional sports, and negatives such as too much pressure on athletes, overuse injuries, and recruiting habits and pressures due to the opportunity to play for nationally renowned colleges.

Competitive Youth Sports Competitive youth sports have become a popular trend and have positive benefits, which include staying healthy and fit, learning life lessons, and most importantly, having fun. Promoting youth activity and sports leads to a healthy lifestyle, better academic organization, and better performance. But adults, such as coaches and parents, need to be role models to the kids (Moody and Schuler). 50% of parents with obese kids are obese themselves primarily because of the local environment and lifestyle. Shockingly youth sports participation in the U.S. has been declining in the last few years (Meyer and Schuler). The National Center for Education Statistics, or NCES, 460

published a report of the status of high school athletes eight years after their senior year in 2005. The study conducted in 2000 analyzed high school athletes and nonathletes, and found those who participated in high school athletics were more likely to have higher incomes, a full time job, and get a bachelors degree and postsecondary education, and continue participating in fitness activities (Meyer). In addition, physical activity and organized sports allowed children to learn about making good decisions and staying out of trouble (Hyman). But in order to enjoy competitive games, there are two things to keep in mind. First, the student athlete needs to be in the right mindset to have fun, and second, adults need to do the right things to keep kids motivated to perform better while continuing to have fun.

In any sort of physical activity, love, interest, and motivation in the sport are key to working harder, playing smarter, and having fun (Riegel). Students and parents need to be aware that “sports for kids is not a career path” in order to continue having a positive experience in sports (Roberts). Teaching kids to think optimistically and positively about competitive youth activities increases motivation.

For instance, a saying originally derived from Green Bay Packers’ first coach Vince Lombardi: “Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to is” was changed by Enlightened Training Adventures’ founder Arthur Riegel to: “Love isn’t everything ... it is the only thing, and winning is a happy byproduct” (Riegel). Being a parent to eight kids with twenty years of coaching experience, Riegel hopes that youth athletes keep winning in mind, but more importantly “love what [they] play” (Riegel). Another important quote for youth athletes to be con-

scious of is that, “With love, effort, and enjoyment, everyone finishes as winners, no matter what the scoreboard says” (Riegel).

The son of renowned author Mark Hyman, who wrote Until it Hurts, talked about how he did not feel pressured when playing baseball competitively in junior high and high school. He essentially played his best, enjoyed the game, had fun, and shared successes with his team (Roberts).

Coaches and parents have to be aware that the general youth population are not as emotionally and physically mature as adults and professionals (Lerner). Therefore a youth athlete pressured to do better cannot perform as well as professionals because they lack experience, and are still growing, developing, and learning. Adults can help children have a positive experience by doing several things. Giving constructive feedback and positive reinforcement is a source of motivation (Lerner). It is important for student athletes to know that adults care about their feelings and take them seriously (Williams). Caring can be as simple as asking a constructive question after the activity or game like, “Did you have fun?” (Williams).

Also, tasks such as having a little fun in practice or coaching youth athletes within their physical and mental limitations, will prevent burnout, make the sport enjoyable, be less prone to injuries, and have a better chance of improvement, all of which helps increase motivation to continue loving and playing the sport (Lerner). While pressure is often viewed negatively, some say that when under control, intense pressure can bring out the best of the youth athlete, allowing them to reach their highest

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potential (Pitcock). The young athletes who can thrive under pressure will be successful in competitions (Pitcock). In addition to success in competitions, working and thriving under pressure also teaches youth athlete to work hard and be committed in what they want to pursue. Youth athletes should keep in mind that they will, “Never know how things turn out if [they] don’t keep going with [their] commitments and [their] all” (Riegel).

On the other hand, disadvantages to competitive youth sports include physical pains such as overuse or severe injuries, and emotional stress like burnout and pressure from adults and peers. The American Academy of Pediatrics said that half of youth sports injuries are caused by overuse or stress (Hyman). Some of the most common overuse injuries in youth sports include tearing the Anterior Cruciate Ligament or dislocating the shoulder (Moody). Without a doubt, youth have physical limitations; their bodies have not developed enough to handle the level of play associated with professional athletes (Lerner). In Until it Hurts, Mark Hyman describes an explanation for youth injuries, which is due to coaches who push players to win, even if “it hurts” the body and brain (Meyer). Hyman’s son was one of the countless burnt out victims at one point.

At age fourteen, his son was pitching in a baseball game and began to feel extremely exhausted with shoulder pains, but Hyman forced his son to play longer. When his son went back to pitch, it was immediately recognized that he was injured (Roberts). Mark admitted that at his son’s games, it had become more about what he himself thought was right, rather than what his son wanted (Roberts).

Pressure on the student athlete to perform has also changed significantly since the beginning of organized youth sports. One major reason is the increase in adult involvement, specifically with parents. At first, parents were too busy and not interested in organizing and watching their children play sports (Hyman). Now it has become so competitive to the point where parents have become leaders and coaches for teams, while other trained adults who started organized sports for kids were shoved into the background (Hyman). This is primarily because parents are afraid to let the child(ren) fail or do poorly, leading to sugar coating and inflated praise (Lerner and Weller). When parents coached youth league sports, they shifted the focus away from enjoyment and onto winning competitions to increase self-esteem (Hyman). A survey showed that 74% of kids reported “out of control” parents at their games (Hyman). There is no surprise that students athletes are being pressured by adults and peers to perform well and win, but protecting students athletes by giving inflated praise will not prepare them for failure in the future (Weller).

Despite not being a coach or parent of a youth athlete, there are still many other adults in the world who watch competitive youth sports as a source of entertainment, which intensifies pressure on the players (Roberts). The pressure to perform like professionals in competitions has become detrimental to youth athletes (Hyman). One example of youth athletes who thrive under a lot of pressure are those who play in the Little League World Series. The Little League World Series is a worldwide competition that brings school baseball teams of youth ages eleven to twelve to compete against other teams.

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These young baseball players are essentially playing a game of baseball in front of an audience of approximately sixty million people worldwide, which is highly nerve racking (Roberts). But statistically, many kids who play in the Little League World Series do not go on playing in the major leagues because of burnout, both physically and mentally (Roberts).

Pressure is a very sensitive issue, and it can affect student athletes positively or negatively. Parents, coaches, and peers may not realize it, but they could be contributing to the student athlete’s level of stress and pressure he or she feels (Lerner). Competitive pressure and over training can increase chances of burnout, and studies have shown that 70% of youth athletes stop playing at age 13 because of emotional stress, saying that, “Sports weren’t much fun” (Lerner and Hyman). In addition, a youth soccer association polled their players, and 33% said they were yelled at or teased by a fan, and 15% said that their parents were angry at them for performing badly (Hyman). Now professionals are questioning whether or not organized youth sports are benefitting athletes by teaching lessons and skills, and also being positive and having fun or are just entertainment for adults (Hyman).

There are competitive youth athletes who play one sport year round, and those who vary the sports they play throughout the year.

Athletes that play a single sport throughout the year may be specializing in their sport. The athletes that play different sports depending on the season are called multiple sport athletes. Twenty to thirty years ago children played different sports depending on the season (Meyer). However, there is a modern trend to specialize in one

sport. Recently, specializing athletes have begun at younger and younger ages. Mark Hyman says that “in that past generation, it was typical of kids to start in sports at age seven or eight, sometimes nine. Now, that’s almost mid-career for most kids,” (Roberts).

By middle school, most athletes have given up all but one sport (Popper). The pressure to succeed is the motive behind early specialization (Meyer). Specializing in one sport provides athletes with the opportunity to focus just on that sport. The goal is that they can play at the higher levels, such as collegiate or professional (Meyer).

By specializing, there are no other distractions from other sports, and athletes can reach their potential by playing for highly competitive club and travel teams. Year round training and focus gives athletes skills that other young players their age would not normally have accomplished yet. They are the elite players for their specific sports (Meyer). Parents believe that their children will have an perform slightly better than the competition if their kids start playing sports at an earlier age. One national youth soccer league even starts accepting players when they are eighteen months (Roberts).

This is barely after they learn to walk! Even this league is exceptionally young for specialization. The typical starting age is four to five, whereas thirty years ago, children did not play organized sports until they were seven to nine years old and they didn’t play year round (Roberts). Early specializing can be seen beneficial as well as detrimental.

Early Specialization By playing one sport, athletes can find and pursue their passion.

And “countless hours of training and competing leads to teach com463

mitment” (Pitcock). Everyone on the team has to be 100% committed in order to be successful at such a high level of play, otherwise, it is pointless to specialize. Since their team is the athletes’ priority, that sport should be what the player loves to do. And the player will get to play that sport all the time because it is the only one the athlete participates in.

On the flip side though, specializing in one sport can be harmful to the athlete. When playing just a single sport, the player is using the same muscles and going through the same motions, never developing the rest of the body (Popper). This is every doctor and physician’s worst nightmare. These specializing athletes are especially prone to injury because they have developed their bodies in an unbalanced way (Moody). Overuse injuries are not uncommon in specializing athletes. About half of the patients at Presidio Sports Medicine, a physical therapy and recovery facility in San Francisco, are high school athletes or younger (Moody).

Another disadvantage of specializing is that high level teams often focus on the outcome rather than improvement and recreation. Focusing on performing well to win increases the risk of athletes burning out from mental fatigue from dealing with the pressure and/or physical fatigue from overuse and training (Lerner, “Performance”). 70% of youth athletes drop out of sports by the age of thirteen because athletics are just not fun anymore (Hyman). This is because the players aren’t self-driven to play. The pressure comes from their parents, coaches, teammates, siblings, or even the desire to succeed at an elite level, which leads to burnout (Moody). Adults need to realize that the amount of pressure put on

youth athletes emotionally affects them differently than adults. Pressure takes a much bigger toll on the younger players than it would on professionals (Lerner, “Training”). Children do not yet know how to navigate their emotions as well as adults and can be crushed by losing a highly publicized game, like the Little League World Series, or can become egotistical from winning such important matches (Hyman). The stakes have become too high. Plus, the sport has lost its fun for these players because their lives have become so repetitive, that even though countless amounts of time and money have already been spent on the athlete, they still drop out (Lerner, “Training” and Moody). Pressure has made the sport so unenjoyable that sports are not even worth playing anymore. Los Angeles sport psychologist Casey Cooper said she has treated athletes as young eight years old for depression and anxiety due to sports (Madu).

Elite travel teams for highly competitive specializing athletes can also be a problem. Even though they are helpful for players to get recruited and move on to the next level of play, they also discourage less talented players from playing a sport because they do not make the travel team (Meyer). In addition, playing on a travel team is a costly investment (Schuler). For many low income families, costs to play for big name clubs or keeping up with all the equipment and team gear needed to play is too great. For an elite soccer team, families have to pay on average, about $3,500 a year. And if the player makes it to the Olympic Development Program, or hires personal coaches, families can be looking at fees of about $10,000 (Woitalla). Cost causes the player to miss the opportunity to play, creating another form of exclusion from travel sports teams (Meyer).

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Multiple Sports Meanwhile, athletes who play multiple sports are less prone to burnout. Each season, these athletes switch sports, and the constant change is refreshing and new, providing new challenges and opportunities each season (Lerner, “Performance”). In addition, by playing multiple sports throughout the year, children develop their body in a more balanced way by using different muscles for different sports (Hyman). More balanced muscular systems lowers the risk of injury (Lerner, “Performance”). And if an athlete suddenly loses interest in a certain sport, there are still others that s/he can play, whereas with specializing, if one suddenly wants to quit, there isn’t anything left for that player to fall back on to (Lerner, “Performance”).

Another advantage of multiple sport athletes is that they tend to continue playing sports when they are adults if they played various sports during their childhood (Lerner, “Training”). Those players that only played one sport, usually discontinue their sports endeavors after they leave school. There is less than a ten percent chance of college athletes playing professionally in both men’s and women’s basketball, men’s football, baseball, ice hockey, and soccer according to 2010 NCAA report (Meyer). Playing multiple sports throughout the year is more beneficial in the long term to keep people active and healthy.

A disadvantage of playing multiple sports is that athletes aren’t committing to one sport or one team. Players can constantly change their priorities and be indecisive. This kind of behavior can teach young athletes that giving up is acceptable, or not to follow through

on their word and stick by a team (Ferguson). If a player doesn’t keep up with a sport, the athlete will never know how it could have turned out, so it is better to stick with it and give it every effort (Riegel). Giving up and not keeping their word is not necessarily a desired value to instill in young athletes.

Collegiate Sports Collegiate sports have become a large part of American life, causing them to become professionalized, and subsequently adding more pressure on youth athletes. Since college sports draw national attention, they are held to high standards, and there are large fan bases. College sports have basically become a younger pro league.

Even for the players, college athletics are similar to a job (Butzin).

They require time commitment, practice, off season training, and bring in money for the school. Because colleges are constantly graduating players, there is always a need for new ones, so a new batch of young athletes is scouted each year. Since college sports level and standards have increased, so have the expectations, and therefore the pressure for youth athletes who hope to be recruited to play in college.

Since college sports draw national attention and are a feeder system for professional sports teams, there is highly competitive recruiting for college sports teams. This competitiveness can be attributed to the professionalism that has swept over collegiate and youth sports (Popper). All the colleges want to get the best players for the teams. Standout players focus more attention on the school. The stars bring in TV contracts, ticket sales, help to sell team gear, 465

which all profit the school (Butzin). They also give people a reason to donate to the school. In total, when Texas A&M star quarterback Johnny Manziel drew national attention for his team in 2012 and 2013, donations to the school increased by roughly $440 million (Schwartz and Eder). So colleges try to recruit the best players they can by finding young talent and offering a scholarship.

in women’s sports can be attributed to the passing of Title IX, and the women’s sports equality that came with it. Women began to gain confidence in playing sports, making their numbers increase.

Soon girls will have to fight for college attention like the boys in order to get a scholarship, rather than the way it is now with the schools fighting for the girls.

The kinds and number of recruiters depends on the age group and gender of the athletes. There tends to be more recruiters viewing juniors and seniors, but these scouts are usually from smaller, less competitive schools. Meanwhile, the eighth graders and high school freshmen attract the attention of highly competitive colleges that have national championships under their belts (Popper). Coaches from big name colleges say that it is best to recruit younger girls (Butzin). Scouts need to find talented girls at a younger age, because the player pool is much smaller than the male player pool (Popper). So there are fewer talented women than there are scholarships from the money required to go to women’s teams because of Title IX, and there are more talented men than there are scholarships, making colleges fight over talented girls, while talented boys fight for colleges (Popper). Especially since the law requiring universities to have equal opportunity for both men and women athletes (Title IX), there has been a trend to cut men’s teams and putting more money into creating and maintaining women’s teams. Now, there are on average, two more women’s teams per division one college than men’s teams (Meyer and NCAA). In addition, girls sports participation is increasing. It tripled from about 60,000 women athletes in 1981 to roughly 180,000 in 2010 (Meyer, NCAA). This surge

Over the last five years, recruiting has focused on younger and younger players, which is known as early recruiting (Popper). Some recruits study players as young as thirteen years old, five years before they will even be in college, which is against specific NCAA early recruiting rules (Butzin). It is illegal for college coaches to call an athlete until after the athlete’s junior year of high school. Then, if a deal has been struck and the player has been offered a scholarship, the athlete is not allowed to officially sign it until the spring of his or her senior year. Only then can he or she sign a letter of intent to attend the specific college (Popper). While NCAA rules don’t limit an athlete from contacting a college coach, they do limit the coach calling the player (NCAA). However, the coach can contact a player through his or her high school or club team coach (Popper). The rules also don’t say anything about the topics discussed between the college coach and the player (Popper). Therefore, it is very difficult for the NCAA to monitor and enforce early recruiting laws (Popper). Because of early recruiting, many elite college teams already have a full roster by the time official recruiting of players is allowed to take place (Popper).

Early recruiting is difficult. College scouts look for potential in players, not necessarily the skill level they are at at that particular mo466

ment (Butzin). But sometimes players don’t reach their full potential, and end up committing to a college, only to sit on the bench, which is devastating to both the player and the coach (Popper). The player doesn’t get any minutes, and the coach picked a bust. So early recruiting is sometimes a risk. In addition, coaches like players who are able to pick up new skills quickly and is naturally athletic (Butzin). But because so many college coaches are involved with early recruiting, it puts a lot of pressure to make decisions quickly and offer scholarships to the best players. If a scout doesn’t make a decision and doesn’t make an offer, then a different college will give that player a scholarship, and an opportunity will be lost. So there is a lot of pressure on scouts to make quick decisions after only one viewing of a player (Popper). However, by making quick decisions, sometimes a scout doesn’t get the full range of the player’s abilities, or maybe the player is just having an exceptionally good day. This can lead to the players going to a college, only to be a bench warmer (Popper).

Even though some coaches and parents disagree with early recruiting, they still allow it to happen because if the coaches don’t recruit early, other coaches will and take all the good players, and their own sports program will become weaker. Meanwhile, the parents worry about the psychological and physical effects on their players (Popper). Most of the time, early recruiting can be harmful because it is too much pressure for young teenagers to handle. For the parents, the main problem with early recruiting is that their child does not know what he or she want for the future. When players commit to a college before their sophomore year of high school, there are

still several years for the player to change and they usually don’t know they want for their lives (Popper). It is difficult to ask a fourteen year old to choose a college when it is already so difficult for most eighteen year olds to decide. Sometimes, once a player actually attends the college they committed to three years previously, they discover they don’t enjoy being on the team there, or don’t like the school, and end up transferring anyways (Popper). According to a NCAA report, 40% of basketball players transfers (NCAA).

From the player’s point of view, the recruiting process is long and stressful. It is emotionally wearing for young players to contact coaches, speak to adults about the player’s future, talk about scholarship money, train, and play games, all the while still keeping solid grades in school. There is also a high chance that the player will not receive a scholarship at all. According to a 2010 NCAA study, less than 4% of high school basketball players, men and women’s go on to play in the NCAA (Meyer). Basketball is the most competitive scholarship for colleges, seeing as they bring in the most profit (Meyer and NCAA). For other sports, like football, baseball, and men’s soccer, the percentage of high school students that make it to the NCAA is under 7% (Meyer and NCAA). Most players say that they are relieved once they have committed to a school and the recruiting process is over for them (Popper).

Since early recruiting has become such an integral part of sports culture, some club teams and coaches make it their responsibility to guide their players through the process (Popper). They create connections between players and colleges, and sometimes help facilitate conversations. Coaches meet with parents and players before 467

the process begins, to set a game plan for recruiting (Tucker). Usually coaches are honest with the level of play they believe a player can reach and help contact schools (Tucker). Coaches sometimes also help with highlight tapes that players send to scouts and answer any questions that recruiters have about an athlete (Tucker).

However, if the rare coach is unwilling to put college coaches in contact with players, the scouts tend to go through team managers or parents to reach a player (Popper). One of the coaches who does not allow college coaches to contact his players early is Rory Dames. Dames is the coach of a highly successful youth women’s soccer team in Chicago. He shields his players from all college scouts until they are in the tenth grade because he thinks the girls are too young to be making college decisions in eighth or ninth grade (Popper). Even though there is the delusion that scholarships run out quickly, Dames claims that “when his players wait, they find scholarship money is still available” (Popper).

The widespread use of the Internet has also made it more difficult to enforce NCAA rules about early recruiting. The Internet allows coaches to stay in their offices to review potential players (Butzin).

Players send highlight tapes, personal resumes, recommendations, everything ever possibly needed to convince a coach to recruit him or her. Plus, the Internet hosts a variety of scouting services. There are entire websites, such as MaxPreps and 247Sports, devoted to tracking college offers to recruits and which players are still available to be recruited (Butzin and Popper).

There are still ways to get scouts besides the Internet. Some sports offer high school combines, where all the best high school players come together to compete with each other throughout the day in scrimmages, drills, and practices, in order to showcase the best of the best for college scouts to crowd around and observe (Butzin).

Combines are very good ways for players to get wide exposure for many colleges. A highly recruited football player, Brian Cole, had an outstanding performance at the Midwest Regional combine, earning him a scholarship from Ohio State on the spot (Butzin). However, if a player does not do well during a showcase event, it becomes very difficult to receive a scholarship (Butzin).

Even though scholarship offers aren’t technically official until the player’s senior year of high school, these early recruiting deals are usually considered binding by both involved parties (Popper). After committing to a school, the protocol for the player is to stop shopping around at other colleges. Meanwhile, the college is supposedly not recruiting other players as well (Popper). However, since these offers are happening unofficially, they can be withdrawn and a player can be left without a scholarship. This is unlikely, which is why many parents like the insurance of committing to a college early, knowing that their child will get at least a little bit of scholarship money (Popper). Once a player got a scholarship, personal trainers and position coaches are often hired for the athlete to maintain that scholarship (Butzin).

Scholarships contribute to recruiting. Some players receive full rides to college, while others only receive partial tuition scholarships.

Throughout all the different sports, the 150,000 plus NCAA athletes 468

combine to receive about $2.7 billion a year in scholarship money (NCAA). Full ride scholarships, and sometimes even partial ones, help athletes graduate from college debt free, whereas many of their peers need student loans to pay for their higher education (NCAA).

The NCAA controls all the rules of the league, even those pertaining to scholarships. In 1956, the organized attempted to set some rules for scholarships, but eight Ivy League colleges did not comply.

Those eight were Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton, and Yale (Meyer). However, the NCAA did manage to pass some academic requirements for student athletes (CollegeBoard). If a student drops below the academic standards set by the NCAA, they cannot play a sport for their school. These requirements include: receiving a high school diploma, completing sixteen core college courses within four years, and earning a minimum GPA of 2.0 (Meyer). The GPA is equivalent to at least a 1010 on the SAT or 86 on the ACT. For some athletes, these academic standards make it hard for them to play for their college. Derrick Rose, a Chicago Bulls player in the NBA, allegedly paid another student to take the SAT for him because he had already failed the ACT requirements three times (Meyer). Academic standards aren’t just hard on athletes, but also on colleges.

Schools with higher academic standards than the NCAA requirements have difficulty with early recruiting (Popper). Examples of high standard colleges are the Ivy Leagues. Ivy League coaches are not allowed to recruit freshmen, and in order for an athlete to be eligible to get scouted, they need to have at least a 3.7 GPA or

higher than a 2,000 on the SAT (Popper). The grades are always the first thing that coaches look at. “If [a player] can’t get admitted to the school, we are wasting our time,” assistant Harvard coach Kenny Blakeney says (Clarida and Freed). However, once a coach finds a player he or she wants to play for him or her, they report it back to the admissions office of the school. There, the athlete’s name goes on a preferred list of applicants (Popper). The player still needs to apply to the college, but most of the time, if he or she meets the academic standards of the school, he or she will be admitted. Coaches are able to let their possible recruits know whether or not they will be accepted into the college typically by the summer of the athlete’s junior year (Popper). In addition, Ivy Leagues are not allowed to give athletic scholarships (Clarida and Freed). Their need-based scholarships leave many athletes facing huge tutions that they can’t possibly pay, so they can’t go to the Ivy League.

UCLA freshman Noah Allen faced this problem. Allen said that his “family can’t afford sixty grand a year, and that’s what the financial aid people told us it would cost. It broke my heart. I really wanted to go to Harvard” (Clarida and Freed).

Even though there are many advantages to playing collegiate sports, there are also some negatives centered around the topic.

Both youth and collegiate sports alike have become very professionalized. There is a whole industry devoted to collegiate sports. Selling team gear, recruiting the best players, bringing attention to the school--it’s all part of the growing sports business, adding more pressure to the athletes. Because money is pouring into university sports programs, there is pressure on the schools to have the best 469

athletic teams. This leads to recruiting, where multiple scouts are fighting to recruit the best players and other athletes showcase their talents to try to attract the attention of some scholarship money.

There is a whole pressurized culture surrounding collegiate sports, scholarships, and recruiting. In order to get recruited in the highly competitive pool of athletes, some players hire personal trainers and skill specific coaches to increase their chances of getting a scholarship (Butzin). When most players have multiple coaches for a different aspects of the same sport, it raises the overall level of play for all the players in that sport, raising the expectations and increasing the pressure on the athletes to perform at a higher standard (Butzin). The pressure only increases as athletes get recruited from a younger and younger age.

Early recruiting is taxing on all the parties involved. North Carolina women’s soccer coach, Anson Dorrance, says that early recruiting is “killing all of us” (Popper). Early recruiting stresses out parents, puts more pressure on athletes and forces coaches to make quick decisions. However, there is hope. Because many coaches and parents, and players dislike early recruiting, they are taking a stand.

Their goal is to make the NCAA write rules prohibiting it, or at least regulating early recruiting and enforcing those laws, more so than the laws that already exist and everyone bypasses (Popper).

There are also other perks to being a college athlete. In the beginning, the purpose of “college sports [were] supposed to be strictly amateur and are supposed to fulfill an educational role,” (NCAA).

Plus, athletes get to travel the country and the world for competitions, leading to pro exposure elsewhere (NCAA). Athletes also

have the benefit of having medical care and medical insurance, courtesy of the college, and sometimes are even provided with nutritionists and dieticians (NCAA). Another plus of being a student athlete is access to the top tier workout facilities, coaches, equipment, and food, all normally worth thousands of dollars per year if they had to afford it on their own (NCAA). Grade cuts motivate players to be on top of their studies, and if a player needs help, he or she can also get academic support with school sponsored technology, tutoring, and advising (Durham and NCAA). Plus, coaching staff and teammates support players on and off the court (Durham). The team is a family on and off the court, which makes socializing easier for athletes (Durham). In addition, if the athlete is a little short on cash, due to valid reasons like family emergencies or they come from a low economic class, they are exempt from financial aid limits from part time employment and if they play D1, also have access to $73 million of student assistance funds from the NCAA (NCAA).

These NCAA funds can be used to purchase flight tickets back home, or school books, or whatever the athlete needs (NCAA). One more advantage of playing college sports are the lessons that are learned. Athletes get experience with teamwork, leadership, and time management, all of which are helpful in the job market (NCAA and Pitcock). In addition, if a player is especially talented and may be thinking about leaving school to play professionally, athletes are given “boosters” or bribes and perks to stay in college and play.

These boosters include money, rent-free stays, and whatever else can be offered in order to keep a player in school (Meyer). Boosters can help players, who can milk them and eventually remain in

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school to get a free education and go to play professionally later.

Conclusion There are positive and negative effects of playing youth sports.

Young athletes can learn to work hard, be committed, become acquainted with failure, and never to give up through competitive sports, as well as staying fit. However, competitive youth sports are also an opportunity to become injured. Young players can become physically hurt from overusing the same muscles as they specialize in one sport in order to become the best. They also face troubles emotionally when the pressure to succeed becomes too high, or the young athletes become tired of the same sport and experience burnout.

The pressures on youth athletes can be attributed to the professionalized culture of collegiate sports and the high standards it forces upon young athletes who hope to compete in college. College athletes face even more pressure than youth athletes do, as they sometimes perform nationally and have to continually train for the same sport throughout the entire year. There is also a lot of pressure due to the recruiting of young athletes. Recruiting is a very emotionally intensive and stressful time for players, coaches, and parents alike.

Once a player gets recruited for a school though, they sometimes have a full ride scholarship and can graduate debt free from college while getting international and professional exposure as they compete in their sport.

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