Questions from class 3/25

topic: middle school athletics

why: my middle school is taking them away

1. What % of middle school students participate in school athletics?

2. Do other schools have intramural sports?

3. What is the rate of childhood obesity?

4. What % of middle schools don't have sports?

5. Are these schools (^) having a problem with overweight children?

6. Have schools chosen to drop music and arts programs too/instead?

7. Public schools dropping sports vs. private schools?

8. Do private schools get affected by budget cuts as much as public?

9. % of collegiate athletes that didn't participate in middle school?

Journal Ten

I really enjoyed reading “A Modest Proposal”. This piece was very effective as a proposal because it took into consideration its audience, it had a clear thesis, it had points that supported the thesis, and it had a rebuttal argument. This piece is structured in paragraphs that are separated by the points Swift uses to explain why children should be eaten. I liked how he uses very specific points that include ages of children, as well as what those certain ages stand for. I also liked how he placed his rebuttal argument right at the end, so after reading lots of reasons why we should believe him, we got the opposite side of the argument. He proved it wrong, which was laughable for me because the whole piece was a satire anyway. I found it funny that he was arguing against what, in a real argument paper, would be a good reason.

The points he uses are that we should fatten our kids up in order to eat them. He even goes as far as to mention that at a certain point of the child’s life they taste the best. Swift also says that eating babies would be effective because it would reduce the population and it would be better to eat babies because elderly people are just going to die anyway.

I think the satirical tone of this piece is meant to be something like the present day “Tina Fey-like” shows, or something like Saturday Night Live.

Journal Nine

Gun Control Laws

This article lays out different court cases that show different rulings on the controversy of whether or not people should be allowed to possess a firearm in their household. The real controversy lies in the second amendment, and the right to bear arms. In this topic I would argue that we should be able to have a gun in case it's needed for self defense. I would also argue that we, as citizens, should be able to exercise out right to bear arms in case it's needed.

Medical Marijuana

This article shows how marijuana was an illegal drug in the past, and now there's a growing movement toward making it legal for medical purposes. The article shows different views of it, and the pros and cons of legalizing marijuana, if it were to happen. With this topic, I would argue that the drug should stay illegal. Yes, it may be helpful for some people, but it will easily be abused (as other prescription drugs are) and especially in this day in age, there are probably other medications that are equally as effective.

Wifi In Dorms

This article shows the good and bad of getting Wifi in the dorms at Penn State. On a good note- it's much easier for students to do work and use their computers when there isn't a long cord attached to it from across the room. On a bad note- it's expensive, especially with the budget cuts just announced. With this topic I would be 100% for getting Wifi in the dorms, but I think it should wait until there is the financial stability to do it and until the budget cuts haven't had as great of an impact on the school

State Patty's Day

This year, being my first State Patty's Day, had high expectations. I had read over and over again in the Daily Collegian about how they were hiring tons of more cops to help monitor the area, bars were closing in order to not acknowledge the holiday( yes, it's a real holiday), and that there would be police officers dressed up as normal people ready to pounce on any hopeless college student. I woke up that morning to people hootin' and hollerin' outside my dorm on their way to frat row, dressed in green garb and accessories. Girls were bedazzled in green eyeliner and shamrock necklaces, guys tried to play it cool with their simple green tee shirts and green baseball caps. I observed the non-athlete students on my floor perfect their makeup for the morning (it was 8:30 AM) kegs and eggs. Seriously? People wake up on a Saturday morning to drink? I went back to bed, and when I woke up an hour later to go to breakfast, I saw the stereotypical State Patty's Day. East College was flooded with green; hats, shirts, glasses, necklaces, leggings. You name it, it was on East College. After the game that afternoon, we headed to our own party. I was on the lookout the entire time for those sneaky cops, and I even got some entertainment from drunk students on the way. We got there, and I was VERY surprised. I knew there would be parents there because all of my teammates parents stayed after the game to celebrate. What I didn't expect was that those twenty-something parents attended were the life of the party, and by that I mean they were partying harder than any college student there. Mom's were on tables dancing, Dad's were out in the parking lot playing drinking games, and us students were in awe. The popular music of the time was playing, not some oldies, and in all honesty, those moms could dance. Maybe it was the whole "reliving the college scene" idea, or maybe it was their mentality that they were "of age" so they had no worrying to do. No matter what it was that made those parents party as hard as they did, I was very surprised.

Now, since State Patty's Day was an all day long party, the night ended early. Early, as in 10:30 PM. The entertainment was over, all of the parents had gotten worn out and went to bed. There were no more Mom's on the tables, and no more Dad's livin' it up. It was just another college party after that, and for some reason that didn't seem right on a special day like State Patty's. It could have been their care-free mentality that made it a whole lot more fun, or the fact that because there were adults there the students weren't as worried about getting caught as on a normal basis. All I can say is that was the most fun party I've attended all year, maybe we should invite (cool) parents more often.