9/22 Freedom of Religion

After reading the statements of people who were concerned with the government and First Amendment, I was truly surprised. What surprised me was that so many people thought that First Amendment did a lot of good. The First Amendment promises freedom of religion. However, what religion do they specify? The survey showed that 38% of people agreed that the U.S Constitution is written about a Christian Nation. This is an overwhelming majority as most other survey participants said that they either mostly agree or moderately agree. The topic I researched on the First Amendment in schools were religious holidays. As the First Amendment stands, schools are allowed to take days off of schools for religious holidays. Schools are at their own discretion for this. I think this is because if a school doesn't allow a day off for religious holidays, most students will be out practicing and have to miss school anyway. However, any student who wishes to miss school for a religious reason cannot be punished for doing so. They must be allowed to make up any work that they have missed. Still, they are not required to close if they do not think necessary. The article I chose was "Texas School District Accused of Trying to Ban Christmas". The article spoke of a school in Texas that refused students to have a holiday party. Parents were mad because they thought that the school in Texas was trying to ban the holidays in Texas all together. Only in Texas, right? In fact, they didn't want any student to be embarrassed of any religion. They wanted a fair environment for all. I really think that it is absurd that these crazy parents would even think that the school is banning a holiday. They are, in fact, doing the opposite. They are encouraging all other holidays as well as Christmas.
-Peace

September 11th Documentary

The 9/11 Documentary was not only interesting because it revealed some of the mysteries that occurred on that Tuesday but also the seven days following the attack. I feel as though this is a period in time that no one reflects upon. Apart from watching the video, I have never heard of the bomb threat that occurred in the Empire State Building. It is interesting to see the reactions of New Yorkers to these types of events. One thing that made me upset about the video were the people cheering on the rescue workers on the bridge. Although showing your support is nice, they needed more rescue workers, not cheerleaders. If you want to make a difference, you should be out there with everyone else at ground zero. I appreciate their support, but in a national disaster you don't need more cheerleaders. The acts later in the week following 9/11 also really showed the true character of New York. They proved to everyone in the world that they were going to rebuild and get through their loss. The interview with the child still surprises me. It shows how different people can be in times of disaster. The child was so sophisticated that he was almost speaking like an adult. Another thing that really surprised me was the chalk writing. People have all the right in the world to write that. However, in a time were everyone is frantic that is not the time nor place. Respect should be expected. What the lady did was basically the same as burning the American Flag at the funeral of a dead soldier. It is uncalled for and disrespectful.
Peace- Igor  

Issues Raised in Activity

We did an activity that talked about the speech code violations at certain colleges. Many of the students that were getting in trouble at these parties were "disturbing the educational process". The students were engaging in racist activities such as black face and stereotyping black students. The activity "Jim Crow on Frat Row" showed the segregation colleges face many decades after the Jim Crow Laws were taken out of effect. I do not agree with what these students did. They should be punished. Imagine being a black student at a college were everyone is supposedly equal. I would feel uncomfortable and threatened if I saw parties like this taking place. This is defiantly disturbing the learning process of African American students. They are no longer at a place where they can learn and not be bothered. Now they are submerged in an experience that threatens their education. Also we researched F.I.R.E, which is the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, and the speech codes that they impose on schools. These speech codes violate your speech in an effort to promote an equal education. They are protecting the educational values that colleges stand for. I did research on Stanford University, my first choice, and found that they have a zero tolerance racism policy. This is enforced my speech codes to protect students of minority. However, I do not see it as protecting them. I see it as insurance that they will receive equal treatment as minority students. -Peace out