Assignment 16—Daniel Mendoza Vasquez—Speech

Daniel Mendoza Vasquez
Matthew Logsdon
AP Language and Composition
17 December 2019

Final Speech Manuscript: Legacy of the Confederacy

This country is idolized and seen as a ‘city upon a hill’ for many around the world. That is, after all, what it’s supposed to be. But, take a closer look and you’ll find a convoluted and strenuous history, especially regarding race. Slavery is the most significant and consequential stain on that history, and along with it comes, intrinsically tied in every way, the Confederacy, a nation formed out of southern states that seceded from the union.

Now, in recent years, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the existence of Confederate memorials around the country. Memorials that aggrandize their leaders, such as Robert E. Lee or Nathan Bedford Forrest. Many people clamor for their removal, arguing that they represent slavery and racism and that they symbolize oppression. Others defend them as part of history, saying that regardless of what they represent, they are part of a heritage that cannot be erased. But considering the time at which these monuments were built and the fact that many people misinterpret what they mean and what the Civil War was about, these latter notions that the monuments should stay are misled. It is a fact that the Confederacy stood wholly in favor of slavery, and only existed to defend it. Therefore, all of these statues and monuments that memorialize it are incompatible with what the United States is supposed to stand for—freedom, choice, and equality—and they should not stand. Moreover, it is time for people to come to terms with the fact that heritage is not always something to be proud of.

I would first like to clear up what the Confederacy stood for and what the Civil War was about, because many Americans seem to have the wrong perceptions. In 2011, the Pew Research Center surveyed Americans on various questions concerning the legacy of the Civil War. One question that stood out asked people what they believed to be the main cause of the war. 48% said it was mainly about state’s rights, and just 38% said it was mainly about slavery. If it were true that the Civil War was mainly about state’s rights, though, then Confederate leaders at the time seemed to be blissfully unaware of that. The Confederate Constitution explicitly states that, “No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law denying or impairing the right of property in [slaves] shall be passed”, while Mississippi’s declaration of secession says “Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery— the greatest material interest of the world.” So, I suppose it could be granted that the war was about state’s rights, but a state’s right to have slavery. The fact that almost two-thirds of Americans have the wrong impression of the Civil War might explain why many don’t have an issue with Confederate monuments, but this ignorance that dismisses the war as a fight over any state right neglects the plight of black Americans as slaves as well as a great portion of the past.

It can be concluded, then, that the Confederacy only existed because of and in favor of slavery, and I assume that I don’t need to explain why that is a bad thing. But even then, even knowing this, people often maintain that all of these physical memorials are entrenched in history and that they represent Southern heritage. This argument leads to the idea that removing these memorials is like destroying history and thereby leading us to forget the past. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, however, that is inaccurate. They collected data concerning public Confederate memorials in the United States and found 1,747 of these structures across the nation. They could be found in the form of monuments, school names, the names of cities and counties, state holidays, and even several U.S. military bases. It also compiled data on when the memorials were dedicated, and it found that there were two eras during which the construction of Confederate memorials spiked: during the first two decades of the 20th century and during the Civil Rights Movement. That first part of the 1900s saw a resurgence in white supremacy, as Plessy v. Ferguson had made segregation legal and provided new fuel for white supremacy expressed by groups like the Ku Klux Klan. It was another wave of oppression directed towards black people, and these memorials idolizing the confederacy drove the knife deeper. The second, albeit smaller spike came during a time in which minorities were gaining civil rights, which angered white segregationists, and the uptick in monuments being dedicated shows a way of pushing back against them. So, a great majority of monuments valorizing Confederate soldiers are not innocent tributes to recently fallen ancestors, but a deliberate attempt to promote a false account of the Civil War bolstering white-supremacist ideology. In fact, one of the country’s most grandiose Confederate memorials, a sort of southern Mount Rushmore, was unveiled at Stone Mountain in Georgia during the 1970s. That’s 105 years after the confederacy.

President Donald Trump tweeted out in 2017 about confederate monuments being removed: “Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments. You can't change history, but you can learn from it. Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson - who's next, Washington, Jefferson?” The president seems to believe that taking down things that venerate traitors fighting solely for slavery will eventually lead to the removal of our Founding Fathers. Where does it stop, he says. Well, the answer is somewhere. Washington was not a perfect man in the slightest, but the fundamental things that he stood for were nowhere near as objectionable as Confederate beliefs. Not only that, these men fought directly against the United States and the union that Washington and Jefferson helped create. They were literal traitors.

It is time for America to come to terms with its biggest national crime. Taking away these symbols of racism and slavery won’t, and isn’t meant to, eradicate the mistakes of the past. It does not mean that there isn’t racism and bigotry in this country today either. But, we should model ourselves by what we ought to be, not what we are. And we are better than celebrating a failed rebellion a century-and-a-half ago, one that stood for reprehensible causes. We should remove Confederate memorials, and doing so isn’t removing history. History is preserved elsewhere, in museums and in textbooks. Statues and monuments are how we glorify history, not how we remember it.

Works Cited

Barajas, Joshua. “In 3 Tweets, Trump Defends 'Beautiful' Confederate Monuments.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 17 Aug. 2017, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/in-3-tweets-trump-defends-beautiful-confederate-monuments.

“Civil War at 150: Still Relevant, Still Divisive.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, 24 Sept. 2018, www.people-press.org/2011/04/08/civil-war-at-150-still-relevant-still-divisive/.

“Confederate States of America - Mississippi Secession.” Avalon Project, Yale Law School, 2008, https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/csa_missec.asp.

“Constitution of the Confederate States.” Avalon Project, Yale Law School, 2008, https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/csa_csa.asp.

Neiman, Susan. “There Are No Nostalgic Nazi Memorials.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 16 Sept. 2019, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/09/germany-has-no-nazi-memorials/597937/.

“Whose Heritage? Public Symbols of the Confederacy.” Southern Poverty Law Center, 1 Feb. 2019, www.splcenter.org/20190201/whose-heritage-public-symbols-confederacy.

assignment 16 - Lia Jacobs - speech

Lia Jacobs

AP Language and Composition

Mr. Logsdon

December 2019

As I’m getting closer and closer to entering college, I can’t help but be excited. What's not to love about college - more freedom, new experiences. At the same time, I can’t help but be scared. We’re thrown into a new environment far from home, all the while placed under the stress of college courses. And the result for most students: mental illness.

85% of students report feeling overwhelmed with their previous academic year, and 35% of students have diagnosed mental illnesses. Victor Schwartz finds that “while suicide is the 10th-leading cause of death across the U.S. population, it’s second-most among college-aged students” (David 2)

The issue has worsened in recent years, and colleges can’t seem to catch up. Designed for education, these institutions are struggling to meet the needs of increasingly stressed and depressed college students. As a result, students aren’t getting the help that they need when they need it. Most counselors can’t even meet with a student until weeks after help has been requested.

While systematic changes should be enacted and colleges should prioritize the mental wellbeing of their attendees, the chance of such a massive overhaul is unlikely. What I’m proposing is simple, implementing animal-assisted therapy in the university setting, and there are three reasons why.

First and foremost, it's actually effective. I begin with this because when I first mention animal-assisted therapy, most people don’t believe in its legitimacy. In actuality, it's been proven to have both positive mental and physical effects on its recipients. A study conducted by Jolene Muckle finds that time spent with a certified therapy animal decreases anxiety and depression levels while increasing self-esteem. These sessions had long term impacts on students and were similarly effective with and without the presence of a therapist (Muckle 78). Other studies concur with these findings. The inclusion of certified therapy animals in the college counseling system is proven to produce tangible results. Universities with these programs have seen improved mental wellbeing in participants.

Second, students are more inclined to seek help when therapy animals are involved. Many students view the therapy process as intimidating, especially in the university setting. When students are afraid to seek out the resources they need, their problems only worsen. While we need to improve accessibility to these resources, we also need students to feel comfortable in seeking out help in the first place. Reducing the threatening nature of therapy is something easily done through the addition of an animal-assisted therapy program.  

Professor of counseling, Cynthia Chandler, explains that students are more receptive to therapy when a certified animal is involved, and they’re more comfortable with sharing information (Chandler). Programs in which therapists and therapy animals are combined yield greater results than therapists alone. Furthermore, students who don’t feel comfortable talking to a therapist still receive similar benefits when only a therapy animal is present. 

Though therapy animals are largely intended for those with less severe mental illnesses, Psychologist Carol O’Saben sees results in more severe cases at her university. Many students with trauma will share experiences with therapy animals that they are not willing to share with her. Though the therapy animals cannot provide the same feedback as a therapist, they help speed up the process of getting a student comfortable with talking about their experiences. O’Saben explains that even 15 minutes with a therapy animal makes the therapy process much easier (O’Saben). These animals can make the therapy process more comfortable and accessible while improving the results of college counseling centers.

Third, implementing animal-assisted therapy programs is feasible. As I’ve mentioned, systematic changes to reduce stress among college students are unlikely to occur, and the hiring of more therapists is equally unlikely. Animal-assisted therapy, on the other hand,  is easy to add to most colleges. In the Journal of Mental Health, Emily Wood writes that the addition of certified therapy animals to universities is an effective solution that comes at a low cost and is based on community volunteers (Wood 267). It doesn’t require hiring more staff, simply momentum to start a program. Once in effect, there is little maintenance that needs to be completed. Therapy animals can be used with and without a therapist, so implementing this program would improve the limited resources that are currently available to students at a low cost. 

Overall, creating programs for animal-assisted therapy in the university setting would improve the mental wellbeing of students. It’s a simple, effective way to increase accessibility to therapy for college students. However, I’m by no means saying that this is the ultimate solution to end all mental illness in universities. But, it's a step in the right direction. The changes we need won’t occur in one fell swoop, but better is good enough for now.

Works Cited

Chandler, Cynthia. “UNT.” Consortium for Animal Assisted Therapy | College of Education, https://coe.unt.edu/consortium-animal-assisted-therapy.

David, Eden. “Rising Suicide Rates at College Campuses Prompt Concerns over Mental Health Care.” ABC News, ABC News Network, 9 Oct. 2019, https://abcnews.go.com/Health/rising-suicide-rates-college-campuses-prompt-concerns-mental/story?id=66126446.

Muckle, Jolene, and Nicola Lasikiewicz. “An Exploration of the Benefits of Animal-Assisted Activities in Undergraduate Students in Singapore.” Asian Journal of Social Psychology, vol. 20, no. 2, 2017, pp. 75–84., doi:10.1111/ajsp.12166.

O'Saben, Carol. “Discover the Benefits of Animal Therapy on College Campuses.” AffordableCollegesOnline.org, AffordableCollegesOnline.org, Mar. 2018, https://www.affordablecollegesonline.org/college-resource-center/animal-assisted-therapy-on-college-campuses/.

Wood, Emily, et al. “The Feasibility of Brief Dog-Assisted Therapy on University Students Stress Levels: the PAwS Study.” Journal of Mental Health, vol. 27, no. 3, June 2017, pp. 263–268., doi:10.1080/09638237.2017.1385737.

Assignment 16 - Justin Zhu

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, smoking directly causes over 480,000 deaths per year and over 41,000 deaths as a result of second-hand smoke. Now everyone is aware that smoking is dangerous and a serious problem for our society, but the only seemingly effective way being used to combat smoking currently is through the use of anti-smoking campaigns. However, the safer alternative has always been present. E-cigarettes or vaping. E-cigarettes provide a safer alternative to smoking and an escape route for long-time smoking.

Now don’t misinterpret me, I do not condone the use of e-cigarettes by minors, but the possibility they hold in removing or replacing a larger threat can’t be ignored.

The reason both cigarettes and their electric counterparts are addictive is obvious. The stimulant Nicotine. However, the relationship between cigarettes and diseases such as lung and gum cancer shouldn’t be mistaken as the relationship between Nicotine and such diseases. There are other ingredients, such as tar and chemicals such as hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide, and ammonia. These cancer causing ingredients aren’t present in e-cigarette juice, but the stimulant Nicotine is. While Nicotine itself isn’t healthy and is considered a drug, a smoker can achieve their targeted “highs” with an e-cigarette without decreased danger for contracting deadly diseases. Not only does this make e-cigarettes safer for the individual, it lessens the effects of second-hand smoking, making e-cigarettes safer to smoke around children and kids.

Once again, I’m not saying you should vape around children and kids, but in instances where smoking does occur around them, e-cigarettes are once again the safer alternative.

Now there are tons of people who are opposed to e-cigarettes to the point they want them made illegal, claiming they’re marketed toward teens through the use of different flavors. However, I believe it’s foolish to claim these flavors are used solely to target teens, as sweeter/fruitier flavors are attractive to adults as well. People opposed to e-cigarettes also fail to recognize another benefit that e-cigarettes provide. They keep teens from smoking as well. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that from 2008-2011 cigarette users in 11th grade staggered around 5.8% and in 12th grade usage was decreasing at a rate of about .5% per year, ending at 10.3 by 2011. However, by 2018, usage by 11th graders dropped to 1.8% and 3.6% for 12th graders.

Finally, probably the most important of all the impacts that can be provided through e-cigarettes, is the end of smoking traditional cigarettes. The New England Journal of Medicine found in a study of 900 smokers, that 18% of smokers placed in an e-cigarette nicotine replacement group stopped using traditional cigarettes for the entire year. 80% of those continued to use e-cigarettes as their main method of nicotine usage. While these smokers are still intaking nicotine, they are no longer inhaling the vicious dangerous chemicals used as a part of traditional cigarettes. As a result, these people are now less likely to contract lung cancer, gun cancer, heart problems, etc. The study also utilized e-cigarettes that contained less nicotine than regular e-cigarettes on the market such as juuls, proving the potential e-cigarettes hold as a practical escape route to smoking cigarettes.

E-cigarettes aren’t perfectly safe, but they hold promise in ending the smoking epidemic as we know it, rife with disease and death, and replacing it with a safer alternative through the ability of e-cigarettes to deter the smoking of traditional but dangerous cigarettes.

Works Cited

“Fast Facts.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 15 Nov. 2019, www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fast_facts/index.htm.

Hajek, Peter, et al. “A Randomized Trial of E-Cigarettes versus Nicotine-Replacement Therapy: NEJM.” New England Journal of Medicine, New England Journal of Medicine, 14 Feb. 2019, www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1808779?query=TOC#article_citing_articles.

Hannah Knowles, Lena Sun. “What We Know about the Mysterious Vaping-Linked Illness and Deaths.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 21 Nov. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/health/2019/09/07/what-we-know-about-mysterious-vaping-linked-illnesses-deaths/.

“Harms of Cigarette Smoking and Health Benefits of Quitting.” National Cancer Institute, National Cancer Institute, www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/tobacco/cessation-fact-sheet.

Office of Adolescent Health. “Adolescents and Tobacco: Trends.” HHS.gov, US Department of Health and Human Services, 1 May 2019, www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/adolescent-development/substance-use/drugs/tobacco/trends/index.html.

Assignment 16 - Cat Lucier

Catherine Lucier 

AP Language and Composition

Logsdon 1

December 2019

The Evils of Invasive Plants and What You Can Do

Since the beginning of life on Earth, there have been 5 major extinctions. The sixth is happening as we speak, and humans are the sole cause. Extinction is natural, with a background rate of 1 to 5 species every year. But, according to the Center for Biological Diversity, species are going extinct at up to 1,000 times that rate. Dozens go extinct every day. You may be familiar with some of the causes: pollution, hunting, and overharvesting, just to name a few. However, the introduction of invasive species to different places is another major, but less-known cause. In fact, according to the National Wildlife Federation, “42% of threatened or endangered species are at risk due to invasive species.” In the next 5 minutes or so, I will discuss the causes and effects of the introduction of invasive species, then explain what we can do about it, all with a focus on plants in our region of North America.

Let’s backtrack for a second. What exactly is an invasive species? The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines it as “an alien species whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health.” The North American Invasive Species Network elaborates upon that definition, saying that the term is reserved for “the most aggressive species,” which “grow and reproduce rapidly, causing major disturbances to the areas in which they are present.” I would like to clarify that these “major disturbances” are commonly overlooked by the untrained eye. Most of the plants we see around us aren’t native to Kentucky, or even North America. They were largely introduced by European explorers, merchants, and immigrants, often unintentionally. They escape into the wild from controlled environments such as gardens and they hitch rides on cargo, people, and other species moving around. But a plant simply being in a new place does not make it intrinsically invasive. Allyson Muth at the PennState College of Agricultural Sciences outlines the main mechanisms by which non-native plants become invasive, of which predation is the greatest. All the living things in an ecosystem evolve together for millennia, then a new species is introduced. Muth says “We import plants, not the associated … biocontrol mechanisms. In the absence of the plant’s native control, these plants have the ability to thrive.”

Let’s take a look at a specific example. Lonicera canadensis, commonly known as American Honeysuckle, comes as both a shrub and a vine. It thrives in humusy, well-drained soil, and shade. I have a vine of it in my backyard - the plant is referred to as “hummingbird honeysuckle” because you can see so many native hummingbirds feeding from it. In fact, when I Googled “native hummingbirds of Kentucky” and went to the images, about half of the images were of the tiny birds drinking from the flowers of the honeysuckle. According to Dr. Thomas Barnes of the UK Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, hummingbird honeysuckle vine comes into flower just as ruby-throated hummingbird babies fly out of the nest and are looking to build themselves up for their trek to the tropics come fall. He says it is the best plant ever because it “produces as much as 10x more nectar than any other hummingbird plant.” But almost any other kind of honeysuckle is invasive and damaging the ecosystem. Lonicera morrowii and Lonicera japonica are two species of honeysuckle that are native to East Asia and were brought to the U.S.  L. morrowii spreads through open woodlands and develops into a thickety undergrowth which impedes the growth of native plants and the establishment of tree seedlings. L. japonica is an aggressive vine that also spreads through the undergrowth, cutting off smaller plants, but it goes a step further and climbs trees for many meters, disrupting the natural succession by smothering native vegetation and trees and preventing seedling regeneration. Both of these species are pests; some states have even made their sale illegal because of how destructive their effects are. They impair the growth of plants that are essential to animals’ diets, and their berries aren’t replacements for them either. Invasive honeysuckle is just one example of thousands of species that are damaging our ecosystem

So what can we do about these horrible invaders? The city of Lexington is pretty good with regards to plants and animals. I’m sure you’ve seen the long stretches of lush greenery lining Man O’War. Almost all of that is invasive honeysuckle. But just this past summer, Lexington landscaping crews spent weeks cutting down these massive bushes and vines that were choking all the natural foliage along the road. I have to say that the size of some of the trunks that are still sticking out of the ground is remarkable. It was a big job, and it isn’t finished; we have quite a few more roads than Man O’War in the city. I didn’t discuss winter creeper, but it is similar in its tactics to L. japonica. Here you can see it hanging off the trees on the expansive grounds of my church, and here are my parents and I cutting and pulling down the trunks of the huge vines so the trees can breathe and grow as they please, unhindered by aggressive vines. My mum especially has dedicated hundreds of hours to the removal of winter creeper from the trees in the greenspace near my house, and this is how much biomass came off of a single tree that she worked on one morning. 

But it doesn’t have to be this way, removing tonnes of biomass from greenspaces in multi-day projects for 7 people. We just have to keep up with it, and not ignore the plants until they are enormous. It’s quick and easy to pull down a few sprigs of winter creeper climbing a tree while you’re walking by if they’re still small and young. My mum sees a bit of honeysuckle, and she yanks it out of the ground in less than a minute, no matter where she is. I know of multiple gatherings just in Lexington alone where people come to exchange native plants seeds and seedlings for free. Natives are easy to grow - they’ve evolved in this ecosystem for millennia. You just press the seeds into the ground and water them for a few weeks, and you’ve got a little garden of native plants. They’re beautiful and will come back every year, the birds and insects are happier because of it, and you’re actively contributing to slowing and even reversing the 6th extinction. Buying metal straws and riding a bike and recycling are all great, but they still contribute to our consumerist society. Doing your part and pushing back against invasive plants and the threats they cause to our natural world isn’t simply attempting to slow the 6th extinction. It actively starts to reverse it.

Bibliography

Barnes, Thomas. “The Hummingbirds Are Back at the Feeder!” Kentucky Native

Plant and Wildlife, 15 July 2013,

https://kentuckynativeplantandwildlife.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-hummingbirds-are-back-at-feeder.html.

Center for Biological Diversity. "Extinction Crisis."

www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/biodiversity/elements_of_biodiversity/extinction_crisis/index.html.

“General Invasive Species Information.” North American Invasive Species Network,

https://www.naisn.org/information/.

“Invasive Species.” National Wildlife Federation,

https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Threats-to-Wildlife/Invasive-Species.

“Lonicera Japonica (Japanese Honeysuckle).” Invasive Species Compendium, Center

for Agriculture and Bioscience International,

https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/31191.

“Lonicera Morrowii (Morrow´s Honeysuckle).” Invasive Species Compendium,

Center for Agriculture and Bioscience International,

https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/31193.

Lyda Lucier, Carri. Personal Interview. 15 December 2019.

Muth, Allyson. “What Makes Invasive Plants Successful? (Center for Private

Forests).” Center for Private Forests, Penn State University, 11 Feb. 2014,

https://ecosystems.psu.edu/research/centers/private-forests/news/2014/what-makes-invasive-plants-successful.

United States, Congress, “Five-Year Review of Executive Order 13112 on Invasive

Species.” Five-Year Review of Executive Order 13112 on Invasive Species,

National Invasive Species Council, 2005.

Hannah Whaley- Assignment 16- Underemployment

Hannah Whaley

Mr. Matthew Logsdon

AP Language and Composition

14 December 2019

Underemployment Manuscript

Shining, sparkling opportunities are available for us. We are gifted, hard-working students and through this hard work, doors are opened to the lives and careers we dream of. If we just get through high school, if we just make it into a good college, if we just do everything we are meant to do, our unmatched skill and talent will get us wherever we want to go. That’s what we’ve been told all our lives. Only, it’s not all true. An Associate's degree may as well be a high school dropout and a Bachelor’s degree may as well be a high school diploma. I’m here today, standing in front of my peers, to inform you of an issue that will affect us more than any other previous generation. This issue is underemployment, also known as the lack of work that makes full use of the employee’s abilities. As it becomes apparent that a degree is not enough to ensure a successful career, the solution lies in the student’s own hands as well as others. It is necessary that universities establish a connection with businesses, that students establish connections, and that students choose more specialized training. 

College degrees are a necessary stepping stone to the dream future that gifted students’ families and teachers put into their heads. But college degrees won’t get everybody where we want to go, like even I had believed before. According to research from the U.S. Census Bureau, the underemployment rate has been increasing since the early 2000s. This means that even larger percentages of college graduates, with at least a Bachelor’s degree, are being employed in jobs that do not require a degree. According to the Economic Trends Magazine, college graduates are likely and willing to take these jobs because they need employment. 

However, this underemployment percentage does of course decrease with age. One may argue that underemployment is simply college graduates finding their groove in society, since underemployment rates decrease steadily with age. However, since the 90s, that decreasing trend in underemployment has plateaued at around 33 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This means that for all ages of graduates, at least ⅓ are underemployed. Even after years of time to “find their fit in society,” one third of college graduates still find themselves in jobs that don’t require a degree.

A great solution to prevent college students from having to accept underpayment would be for universities to establish more connections with businesses through research and training partnerships. Evolllution, an online newspaper, shows that these connections benefit both sides by providing workers for businesses and high employment rates for colleges. These partnerships include either an agreement to carry out research projects together, or an agreement to aid in the training of the college’s students, like an internship. 

Not only do colleges need to establish these connections, but the students themselves. The University of Connecticut shows that 70-80 percent of jobs aren’t advertised publicly. This means students often “will need to go out of their way to initiate conversation with prospective employers and uncover job opportunities.” Networking connections can be established through research projects or internships, and require the students to take that initiative. Getting through college won’t be enough to ensure a job that is worthy of the student’s skill level and education. This is especially evident in careers that are considered more sophisticated.

Now, raise your hand if you’re interested in space sciences - if working for NASA sounds like a dream come true. The need to make those connections with possible employers includes you.

 Even having a master’s degree in space sciences won’t protect a graduate from the harsh reality of underemployment. As seen in an interview by the National Public Radio, many college graduates eventually choose to change careers because of underemployment. Josh Borchard graduated with his master’s degree in space studies and planetary sciences. He endured years of struggling to make ends meet with odd jobs. In 2019, he claims, “ I’m almost 30 years old now, and I have never made more than about 25,000 thousand a year.” His employment was either in his field, but grossly underpaid, or in completely unrelated careers like retail. Now he’s going back to college, to try again. The dreams we are encouraged to follow don’t always turn out how we want them to. That’s why it is our job to put ourselves in the best possible position to ensure success, like through networking.

To prevent a complete career change due underemployment, like happened to Josh Borchard,  it is suggested to choose a career path that will ensure success. Those with majors that provide less technical and more general training, such as leisure and hospitality, communications, the liberal arts, and the social sciences and business, have higher rates of unemployment, as seen by the U.S. Census Bureau. If you want to lock in a career after you graduate, it is best to go into a specialized field that always needs more employees, like medicine, engineering, or computer science.

My goal today, standing here in front of my peers, isn’t to discourage you from following your dreams. But to inform you of how to best achieve them and to inform you of the choices that likely won’t result in success. In a world where it’s every graduate for himself or herself, you have to do anything you can to get a leg up. There’s nothing wrong with networking or choosing your career wisely to ensure that it isn’t you working at a fast food restaurant with a Bachelor’s degree. As the percentage of people going to college increases, the path to success is not as simple as it should be. However, that doesn’t mean there is no hope. There’s a key in your hands that opens the door to those shining, sparkling opportunities, and it’s up to you to use it.

Assignment 17- Penelope Pierson- Into the UnKnOwN~

So sorry, but I have had no time to go and see a film, even though I love procrastination. Though, I will talk about the most recent movie I watched, which I saw over fall break, Frozen II. This movie I found surprisingly enjoyable. The songs, Olaf's depressing realization that growing up kinda sucks, and even the transformation of Elsa, this movie really hit it home. Usually, Disney sequels aren't really my favorite, but I did enjoy watching this film. The animation stayed true to the original, but the small details were noticeable, and the singing was of course, astounding. "Some Things Never Change" has got to be one of my favorites, and has been on repeat on Spotify. The cast as well, I never knew, has such personality. Probably because I was still a small child when I saw Frozen I, I never really cared about the cast, but the voice actors of this movie has such personality, and the chemistry works so well, which is a key factor in making such a good movie. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised at this movie and would recommend it.

(also, I just realized I kept that first little sentence in and whoever reads my review will have no idea what I'm talking about, but it'll be ok.)

Assignment 16- Penelope Pierson- 1st Draft of my speech, it's got a lot of typo's but its technically done

Last year, instead of opting to read a book in Mr.Wises class, I decided I would rather take a DNA test. I would get maybe a little more white or a little more asian, but alas, I was 100% 50%. Half and Half. But it’s interesting. Whenever someone asks me what I am, I always respond with “Chinese” and “White”. Yet, this isn’t true. Well, at least the chinese part isn't. My mother is from Hong Kong, and while yes, technically they have been part of China since 1997, I don’t consider myself to be chinese. Yet, why do I respond to people’s questions with the opposite of what I think? It’s simple; because it’s convenient. Having to explain Hong Kong and it’s past, and possibly, now, it’s future, is time consuming. As humans, we want to put the least amount of burden on ourselves, so thus we go with the most convenient answer. It also doesn't help that when I respond with “Hong Konger”, many people laugh as the name sounds funny. So, how is this important? Now there becomes a disconnect between myself and the idea of myself to other people. No longer am I a Hong Konger, but I am simply Chinese, one of the billion that make up the ever growing country, and while Hong Kong and China, from an external view, are very similar, the lifestyle and values that these differing places continue to polarize daily. So, it's frustrating, why do people have the perception that Hong Kong and China are all the same? They’re not. 

To start, we need to go back. Way back. Since 1841, Hong Kong was under British rule when this transfer of territory ended the first Opium war., yet in 1997 the control of this territory was given back to China in under promise of Hong Kong to be a special administrative region with the principle of “one country two systems,” an idea that means Hong Kong will continue its own government, economic, and financial affairs separate from Mainland China for 50 years. Yet, as Hong Kong continues to be a booming city, Mainland China has encroached slowly onto Hong Kong land and policies, starting small, but becoming exponentially bigger, to the point that destructive riots/protests against these very actions have been going on for almost 6 months now. But we’ll get back to that. Because of the long British history, Hong Kong has developed a separate culture than that of Mainland China. Cantonese vs Mandarin, Hong Kong Dollar vs. Yuen, Democracy vs Communism, Hong Kongers even need a visa and must go through immigration just to get into mainland china. it’s not hard to see the differences between these two places, yet people still believe their the same. Why would Hong Kong have so many differences if they were so similar? Hong Kong continues to aim to maintain their own lifestyle, yet day by day they become evermore concerned with the fate of their Hong Kong identity. 

In a CRS Report for Congress titled “Hong Kong: Ten Years After the Handover,” Micheal F. Martin, an Analyst in Asian Political Economics, quote “there is a growing interest and concern about the preservation of Hong Kong culture” and “social and cultural changes have raised the issue of a Hong Kong identity that is distinct and separable from a chinese identity”. This report shows how aware Hong Kongers that their identity is starting to be lost in the bustling world of Mainland China. From minute details such as the changing of currency to no longer having members of the royal family on it, to larger scale changes, such as the extradition bill being passed, China continues to make its everyso prominent mark on the 7.3 million people living in this small territory.  In Aria Chen's article “Hong Kong in Revolut”, posted in TIME Magazine, Chen goes over the history and the feelings that have brought Hong Kong to the protest where it is now. Starting from the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989, which was going on its 30th anniversary when the extradition bill was introduced in Hong Kong in June, this only added fuel to the already heated Hong Kongers towards China and the Communist Party. The bill seemed to origionate from a 2018 murder that happened to a Hong Konger on a vacationing trip to Tiwan. Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive, wanted to push for a bill to get the murderer extradited, which as a result, would allow for any individual who goes against the communist party to be transferred to a territory with not extradition agreement. Once again, China attempts to push Hong Kongers lifestyle and politics into a corner, but this time, Hong Kong isn’t taking it. Starting peacefully, with protests happening every weeking to much more violent actions such as beating police officers and throwing petroleum bombs, Hong Kong is fighting for something much bigger than what they originally wanted; now it’s to become independent. But, why would they have to fight for such an idea if, according to some, Hong Kong and China are the same? It’s because they’re not. Hong Kong fights for their own identity, their own way of life, but China is making it so difficult.

 My grandfather just celebrated is 83rd birthday, but had to leave early as the streets of Hong Kong would become too dangerous for him to stay out any longer than he has already. Tear gas, destruction of property, the list goes on and on, the disasters actions from both the police and protesters have left Hong Kong trashed. Hong Kongers do not want their fight for democracy to be forgotten, such as Tiananmen Square was, but they fight for themselves, to be recognized as separate from that of Mainland China. They aim to preserve the identity they have created for themselves. You, the audience, recognize the efforts, the differences, and the attempts that Hong Kong has gone through to show their differences than that of China, and see that Hong Kong and China, truly, are not the same. Once you do this, and perhaps the rest of the world has, hopefully my DNA test can be updated to no longer recognizing me as 48% Chinese, but 48% Hong Konger. 

Assignment 17: Hurray of Hollywood

It's Oscar season,  that time when movie studios parade out their Oscar contenders.  So for this post I'd like you to go to the movies over the break.

Actually you can just watch at home but I like the idea of you telling your parents that you HAVE to go for a homework assignment. 

Please pick one:

1. I'd like you to pick a genre or director and watch two films by that director and then compare/contrast the two in whatever way you deem appropriate.

2. Go see a film and submit a review of that film here AND on rotten tomatoes.  At the end of your review,  post your so I can see your review "out in the wild."

Minimum of 150 words - due Sunday, January 5 at 11:59 pm

February 9 is the last day to make up blogs 17-19