Sociology: Short Story

As another part of the sociology class, we researched a drug of our choice. I decided to research Opium through interviews and a research paper. For my short story I decided to incorporate some family history, but most of the content is fictional.


Opium Short Story

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Sociology: Deviance

This project was about researching society's reactions to deviant behavior. Deviant can be anything that is categorized as "out of the norm." There is no exact definition for normal but it could mean what is accepted in society. For this project, my groupmates Alina, Candace, Amelia, and I decided to wear our underwear outside of our clothing as well as carrying signs up and down Rosecrans street.



Social Experiments

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Bureaucrats

Department of Interior

What is it?
The Department of Interior, created by Congress in 1849, is the nation's principal conservation agency. It is responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans, Alaska natives, and native Hawaiians, and to insular areas of the United States.
Their mission is to protect America's treasures for future generations, provide access to our nation's natural and cultural heritage, offer recreation opportunities, honor our trust responsibilities to American Indians and Alaska Natives and our responsibilities to island communities, conduct scientific research, provide wise stewardship of energy and mineral resources, foster sound use of land and water resources, and conserve and protect fish and wildlife.

Why was it established?
In 1848, Walker stated in his annual report that several federal offices were placed in departments with which they had little to do. He noted that General Land Office had little to do with the Treasury and also highlighted the Indian Affairs office, part of the Department of War, and the Patent Office, part of the Department of State. Walker argued that these and other bureaus should be brought together in a new Department of the Interior.

The Department was established on March 3, 1849, the eve of President Zachary Taylor's inauguration, when the Senate voted 31 to 25 to create the Department.

Obama's Nomination:

Salazar is a first-term Colorado Senator who has established a name for himself on public lands and energy resources issues. He headed the Colorado Natural Resources Department from 1990 through 1994. The Interior Department has broad oversight over the nation's energy resources and environment. It oversees oil and gas drilling on public lands and manages the nation's parks and wildlife refuges.

The Colorado senator campaigned vigorously for Obama in the Rocky Mountain state this fall, barnstorming rural areas in an RV preaching alternative energy development and its potential to revitalize economies. After the election, he urged Obama to build his economic stimulus package around investments in energy infrastructure.

Controversy
He outraged many religious conservatives when he called James Dobson, head of Focus on the Family, "the anti-Christ"—though he later revised that to "un-Christian." He upset liberals by introducing Bush's attorney general nominee, Alberto Gonzales, at his Senate confirmation hearing. Later, Salazar called on Gonzales to resign over allegations of politically motivated firings of U.S. attorneys.

Resource Management Project

As part of our unit on Governments and how they manage the resources within their country, our class is required to research and present, during our Presentation on Learning, on a particular issue or problem, and propose a solution to that issue. The issue that we are researching has to be something that we are able to pitch, present, or propose to an organization or person outside of the HTHI community in an attempt to bring a solution to the problem.

Maryross, my partner, and I have decided to tackle the issue of the Philippines' overwhelming population due to the lack of sex education.

Visit here to see more information on our Resource Management Project.


What is the resource in question?

The resource in question is education in the Philippines. It is the lack of information regarding sex education in the country. The Philippines is not using this specific resource to educate teenagers and young adults about sex because the Catholic Church opposes schools to cover this complex issue.


What are the sources that you used for your research? A minimum of five is needed.

The sources that we are using for research are: articles about this issue, blogs (parents, teachers, teenagers, etc.), interviews (our parents, people in the Philippines), media (T.V.), internet, and hopefully schools in the Philippines.

Sources:
CIA World Factbook - statistics on population
Planned Parenthood (http://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/international-program/philippines-country-program-19029.htm)
Blog: Sex Education in the Philippines (http://aboutmyrecovery.com/2006/07/21/sex-education-in-the-philippines/)
Interviews
Video-chat with school in Philippines


What is the end product and how will you present it or pitch it? Who will you pitch it to (think authenticity and truly making a difference here)?

Our end product will be a documentary showcasing the different situations of lifestyles in the Philippines. We are planning to send it to the schools in the Philippines so that they know that the lack of sex-ed is a problem. We are also planning to send it to different organizations in the U.S. to help the Philippines develop a reliable clinic to educate students because most schools abide by the Church's decisions.The Philippines is one of the global partners of Planned Parenthood. However, most of these organizations are located in the city, specifically Metro Manila, and not in the provinces where family planning is not recognized. Our end project will hopefully encourage some of PPFA’s Philippines programs such as Reproductive Health Program for Street Children and Yo! LEAD, to also reach out to teenagers and youth in the provinces about this issue.


What is the historical context for that resource being mismanaged in the region you are studying?

For the country's 30 million people living in poverty, rice and birth control are both daily staples of life, yet increasingly expensive and difficult to access. Also, the Philippines, with 90% of the population being Catholic, are generally conservative and view education on sexual health as obscene and think that educating young people about sex will make them more promiscuous. Since abortion is illegal in the Philippines except to save a woman's life, and is highly stigmatized within this largely Catholic society, many women suffer the devastating effects of unsafe abortion. There are an estimated 473,000 abortions performed each year, many of which are illegal and unsafe, and which result in the hospitalization of 79,000 women. The Catholic Church plays a vast role to preventing schools from teaching sex education. The Church believes that sex-ed should be left to parents and not to teachers or anyone else because it will somehow encourage students to have “protected” sex instead of abstinence.


What are the current issues with regard to the resource you’ve chosen? How is it currently being managed, if at all?

In the Philippines, the government promotes fertility awareness-based methods of family planning rather than more effective contraceptive methods, and refuses to fund birth control in public health clinics. With little or no access to family planning and one of the strictest abortion laws in the world, the Philippines’ poorest women have an average of seven children to feed on less than $2 a day. Combined with the notion that sex and sexuality are not acceptable topics for teenagers — although this is changing, such as with laws protecting teen survivors of sexual abuse, it is difficult to educate the population. The Department of Education in the Philippines is currently trying to force schools to educate students about having sex. Department of Education Secretary Fe Hidalgo, wrote that "Information and services should be made available to adolescents to help them understand their sexuality and protect them from unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections and subsequent risk of infertility." However, there are many protests about this issue because conservative Catholics are very closed minded to the issue. He also states that “We are not tolerating pre-marital sex. We do not even encourage this. What we are doing is telling them the consequences of such acts and what should be done.” Even though there are plans to manage this issue, there are still people who agree with the Church that having sex-ed will not really “educate” a student but encourage them to have sex before marriage.


Are there better management models that exist? You must compare the situation you are researching to at least two other similar situations that are happening in the world now.

The Planned Parenthood in America is a better management that does exist. In America, students are taught about sex and the basics of it. At least in this country, teenagers are taught of what to expect if they do end up having sex and also teenagers are aware of the consequences at an early age. Japan is also open to teaching sex ed in their schools. They teach elementary students the basics of what happens when people have sex. As they go to high school, they are taught about the different "protective" methods of having sex. At the same time, it doesn't promote having sex but being educated about the outcomes of having sex. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia and India have also banned sex education. They both have similar beliefs as the Philippines because they would rather have parents teach their children about sex instead of a teacher. In India, they believe that sex education in school doesn’t have a place in the Indian culture. Saudi Arabia believes that it is an “immoral” social content to teach students about sex education.


What is your proposed solution to the issue you are researching? What can you make/build/do/create/propose in order to improve how that resource is managed?

We propose to have small organizations placed in the provinces of the Philippines to help educate the youth and teens about sex. They can serve as counseling if teens feel comfortable talking to someone else than their parents or if they have any questions about anything. It can also serve as a place where teens are educated about sex, protection, and consequences. The Catholic Church is saying that it should be left to parents about teaching this issue but do parents really know anything about this complex issue or how they can talk to their children about it?


What is your timeline for completing your final product? What will you need in terms of resources in order to complete the product?

· We will be doing more in depth research about this issue and the different perspectives that people have about sex education.

· At the same time, we will be contacting schools in the Philippines and organizations to gather more info.

· We will also gather images and clips of the life in the Philippines and the effects of uneducated teens and families about sex.

· Create our documentary.

Refugee Camp

On Friday, the senior class went to visit a refugee camp simulation located at Balboa Park to inform us about the living conditions and the lifestyle of refugees located around the world.
Journal Prompt: Reflect on the school's water crisis and the field trip to the refugee camp run by the Doctors Without Border. QIf we could change anything in structure of the refugee camp, what would it be?

I'll have to admit that I actually believed Brian when he talked about the "water shortage" at school. However,if we are trying to conserve water shouldn't we try to conserve electricity as well? I felt that this approach wouldn't be effective, but it did raise awareness. I had no idea about how stringent we were on resources.oom.

The field trip on Friday was really interesting and informative. The hot weather also made the experience seem realistic. I had no idea that more than 42 million people are uprooted by war and conflict. I was really surprised when I saw how the refugees' food supply and living quarters were because they are the minimal basic necessities. If you look at our lifestyle compared with what our basic necessities are, we are really living a life of luxury. I think that what the organization does is sufficient enough, but they really need to improve on sanitary conditions. I know that their supply is limited, but if they improved the sanitary conditions the people would be less prone to diseases.

Voter Education Project

As part of the Voter Education Night, which takes place on 10/28, my group members and I have researched different subtopics within the issue of Education as a whole and how these subtopics affect our government today. I was able to write a 6-page research paper about the No Child Left Behind Act as well as have our group create a PSA about the Act.

My Political Platform

Though my opinions aren't fully formed and I'm open-minded on certain issues, I will post what opinions I do have. After taking a test and researching on the Green Party, I'd have to agree their party platforms.

Health Care

Especially in our society, I believe holistic approaches should be implemented in our health care system such as alternative therapies. People should be able to choose the type of healthcare they believe is suitable to them. Improving the quality of our nation's food supply and our personal eating habits should also be a priority since most of the illnesses are diet-related.

Abortion

I strongly agree with the Green Party's stance on abortion. I believe that every woman should have the right to decide whether they would like to keep the baby or not and it is not up to the government to decide it's fate. Also, I believe all methods of contraception should be approved such as the "morning-after" pill and should be allowed to be used without a prescription since these types of pills are generally used for emergencies.

LGBT

I believe that regardless of gender/gender-identity everyone should have the same rights and equal benefits. A same-sex couple that is civilly wed should have the same rights as a traditional couple such as housing, medical benefits, child custody, and in all areas of life provided to all other citizens.

Education

Since the No Child Left Behind Act will most likely be reauthorized, it definitely needs to be revamped. First of all, the standards imposed must be lessened. Testing is something I don't believe in. People should also be free to choose what school their child would fit best in.

Immigration

This is probably the main issue I don't agree with the Green Party. I don't have a solution to fix the issues pertaining to immigration but I don't think that the Green Party's call for permanent border passes to all citizens of Mexico and Canada would help and would just be taken advantage of.

Federalist 10

I have to admit that the reading was very dense and hard to grasp but what I was able to understand was basically that small separate parties don't help with the unification needed in the government.

Green Party

In our Government class, students were to take a quiz and based on our results we were to include the history of the party, name, animal symbol, slogans, site for the convention, an issues platform, famous party candidate/individual, and a three-minute (3-5 minutes) opening speech for our party's convention.

Logo/symbol of Green Party

History

The Green Party is a political party which was first established in Tasmania in 1972. Organization in the United States began in 1984, inspired by the success of the German Green party. In 2007, it became the third modern party with a Federal Elections Commission-recognized Congressional Campaign Committee. The Green Committees of Correspondence were the first Green political organization in the United States, forming in 1984 and eventually becoming known as the Greens/Green Party USA. This organization still exists. The first candidates to run on the Green Party ticket in the United States were Wes Hare (NC), Joel Schechter (CT), and Richard Wolff (CT), who ran for local offices in 1985. Official ballot access was not achieved, however, until Jim Sykes' run for governor in Alaska in 1990.

Idealogy

The Green Party of the United States emphasizes environmentalism, non-hierarchical participatory democracy, social justice, respect for diversity, peace and nonviolence. Their "Ten Key Values," which are described as non-authoritative guiding principles, are as follows:
Grassroots democracy
Social justice and equal opportunity
Ecological wisdom
Non-violence
Decentralization
Community-based economics and economic justice
Feminism and gender equity
Respect for diversity
Personal and global responsibility
Future focus and sustainability

Famous Party Candidates

In the year 2000, the ASGP nominated Ralph Nader and Winona LaDuke for president and vice-president again. This time, the pair were on 44 state ballots and received 2,883,105 votes, or 2.7% of all votes cast. Nader's strong showing in several states solidified the changes in the Green Party from an "anti-party party" to an organization primarily dedicated to electoral campaigns. In particular, that was the widespread understanding of thousands of recruits to the party, as it went through an unprecedented rate of growth.

Site for the National Convention

The 2008 Green National Convention took place on July 10-14, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois at the Palmer House Hilton and Symphony Center. This served as both the venue for the Presidential Nominating Convention and the Annual Meeting of the Green Party of the United States.

Slogans

"Under Republicans, Man exploits Man. Under Democrats, it's just the opposite." - Earl Gray
"The Green Party is the party for the 21st Century"
"In a nutshell: Ecology and Community!"

Political Platforms

War on Terrorism

The use of Homeland Defense monies to spy on citizens exercising First Amendment rights is particularly onerous, as are "sneak and peek" provisions of the U.S.A.P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act that allows surveillance of libraries, readers, the Internet, and computer users. Basic rights ensuring individual privacy are under attack. The U.S. government's use of high tech tools, including intrusive monitoring, data mining and analysis to identify and disrupt citizen activists, should be seen as an attack on fundamental rights of an engaged, active citizenry.
The Green Party calls on Congress and the courts to reign in constitutional and civil liberties abuses that have become prevalent in the Bush administration and the John Ashcroft Justice Department

Healthcare

Medicare, which provides health care for over 40 million Americans, is at risk. We would vigorously pursue savings and cuts from abundant waste and fraud, eliminate unnecessary services that benefit providers more than patients, and rein in pharmaceutical industry price-gouging. National measures to reduce work hours, promote cyber-commuting for work, and increased vacation time for workers will significantly improve the public's health. We advocate access for all, irrelevant of income, to stress management training such as meditation techniques, yoga, tai chi, qigong, and biofeedback. improving the quality of our nation's food supply and our personal eating habits will lessen the strain on our health care system. We advocate subsidies for organic foods, as well as removing sugar/caffeine snacks from schools. This could save our nation as much as $700 to $850 billion of the $1 trillion annual health costs. We support the teaching of holistic health approaches and, as appropriate, the use of complementary and alternative therapies such as herbal medicines, homeopathy, acupuncture, and other healing approaches.

Education

Educational funding formulas at the state level need to be adjusted as needed to avoid gross inequalities between districts and schools. Educational grants should provide balance to ensure equal educational access for minority, deprived, special needs, and exceptional children. In higher education, federal college scholarship aid should be increased and offered to any qualified student. It is time to stop disinvesting in education, and start placing it at the top of our social and economic agenda. We oppose vouchers, or any scheme that will transfer money out of the public school system. That course only leads to a separate and unequal educational system. We also oppose charter schools or the administration of public schools by private, for-profit entities. We advocate state funding for day care that includes school children under the age of ten when after-school programs are not available. Classroom teachers at the elementary and high school levels should be given professional status and salaries comparable to related professions requiring advanced education, training and responsibility. We support tuition-free post secondary (collegiate and vocational) public education. Until tuition-free schooling is available to all, student loans should be available to all students attending college, and should be repayable as a proportion of future earnings rather than at a fixed rate. The Leave No Child Behind Act must be repealed, especially the section that gives the military access to student records.

Environmental Justice

Devoting greater efforts to full enforcement and prosecution of environmental crimes. Funding environmental crime units for district attorneys in counties with significant pollution problems.
Imposing a moratorium on siting new toxic chemical or waste facilities in those counties with the highest percentage exposure to hazardous substances. Not forcing workers to choose between a hazardous job or no job at all. Preventing communities, especially low-income or minority communities, from being coerced by governmental agencies or corporations into siting hazardous materials, or accepting environmentally hazardous practices in order to create jobs.

Abortion - Reproductive Rights

Women's right to control their bodies is non-negotiable. It is essential that the option of a safe, legal abortion remains available. The "morning- after" pill must be affordable and easily accessible without a prescription, together with a government-sponsored public relations campaign to educate women about this form of contraception. Clinics must be accessible and must offer advice on contraception and the means for contraception; consultation about abortion and the performance of abortions, and; abortion regardless of age or marital status. We endorse women's right to use contraception and, when they choose, to have an abortion. This right cannot be limited to women's age or marital status. Contraception and abortion must be included in all health insurance policies in the U.S., and any state government must be able to legally offer these services free of charge to women at the poverty level. Public health agencies operating abroad should be allowed to offer family planning, contraception, and abortion in all countries that ask for those services. We oppose our government's habit of cutting family planning funds when those funds go to agencies in foreign countries that give out contraceptive devices, offer advice on abortion, and perform abortions.

LGBT

The Green Party affirms the rights of all individuals to freely choose intimate partners, regardless of their sex, gender, or sexual orientation. We support the recognition of equal rights of persons gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender to housing, jobs, civil marriage, medical benefits, child custody, and in all areas of life provided to all other citizens. We support legislation against all forms of hate crimes, including those directed against people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, transgender, and intersex.

Immigration

Preferential quotas based on race, class, and ideology should be abandoned for immigration policies that promote fairness, non-discrimination and family reunification.The Green Party calls for permanent border passes to all citizens of Mexico and Canada whose identity can be traced and verified. Work permits for citizens of Mexico and Canada must be easily obtainable, thereby decriminalizing the act of gainful employment. This action would help eliminate exploitation of undocumented persons by criminals engaged in human contraband (coyotes) and unethical employers. It would also help ensure that taxes will be paid in each corresponding nation per its laws. These measures will also help temporary residents from Mexico and Canada to secure driving privileges and liability insurance. Labor laws must be adjusted to take into account seasonal foreign workers. Employers must provide full rights to wages and health benefits to immigrant workers who make voluntary contributions to pension plans and pay Social Security taxes. We advocate an end to employer sanctions, which have been shown to hurt not only undocumented workers but also U.S.-born workers (especially those of color). A fair and equitable legalization program will provide equal access to working people of all nationalities, not tied to a specific employer or guest worker program. Programs involving temporary worker status must include the option of permanent residency for immigrants already in the U.S. and protection of migrant worker savings. Greens oppose "English-only" legislation. We would advocate legislation to ensure that federal funds marked for communities to provide ESL (english as second language) training, and health and social support services to immigrants actually go to them. When funds are spent in other areas, immigrants are being deprived of benefits that they earn as productive workers in their communities.

Green Party Speech

Thank you for giving us the chance to voice our opinions this year at the National Convention. The green party is an organized political party and has been so since 1984. For those of you who don’t know, our main focuses are on the environment, how we can focus on staying green and keeping ourselves (the nation) healthy without damaging nature; respect for diversity, we believe in giving everyone equal rights; peace and nonviolence; war isn’t always the answer and conflicts can be resolved with communication and one-on-one discussion. The Green Party is the party for the 21st century. For healthcare we advocate access for all, irrelevant to income. Improving the quality of our nation's food supply and our personal eating habits will lessen the strain on our health care system (organic). For our education system, we want to ensure equal educational access for minority, deprived, special needs, and exceptional children. In higher education, federal college scholarship aid should be increased and offered to any qualified student. It is time to stop disinvesting in education, and start placing it at the top of our social and economic agenda. The Green Party is the party for the 21st century. A woman’s right to control her body is non-negotiable. It is essential that the option of a safe, legal abortion remains available. Clinics must be accessible and must offer advice on contraception meaning consultation about abortions and the performance of abortions, and abortions regardless of age or marital status. The Green Party supports the recognition of equal rights of persons gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender to housing, jobs, civil marriage, medical benefits, child custody, and in all areas of life provided to all other citizens. The Green Party is the party for the 21st century. The Green Party calls for permanent border passes to all citizens of Mexico and Canada whose identity can be traced and verified. Work permits for citizens of Mexico and Canada must be easily obtainable, thereby decriminalizing the act of gainful employment. We want to devote greater efforts to full enforcement and prosecution of environmental crimes. We don’t want to force workers to choose between a hazardous job or no job at all. In doing so we will prevent communities (especially low-income or minority communities) from being bullied by governmental agencies or corporations into sitting hazardous materials, or accepting environmentally hazardous practices in order to create jobs. Ladies and gentlemen, look around, times are changing. It’s time to focus on the present in order to move forward into the future, that is why the Green Party is the party for the 21st

My Party

If I were able to register to a party I don't believe I could come up with such a commitment just yet, because I'm not very aware of all the stances of the different types of parties. Issues that I am concerned about are education, taxes, energy, immigration, and abortion. I think that based on my beliefs of these issues and what the candidates' beliefs are would help me narrow down what party I could associate myself with since they would have similar views of me.

2008 Election Issues

On a separate sheet of paper (or your blog, or my email), rank the three issues listed below that are most important to you...then, tell me your stance on the issue.


1. Education - No Child Left Behind Act
As an incoming college student, I believe that education is a big issue for me. I have been researching the No Child Left Behind Act and it does appear to be flawed especially for the low-income schools that are experiencing the consequences; I find the act to be unfair and to have too high of expectations annually.

2. Energy
I really feel that we rely too much on oil and especially foreign oil. I find this to be an important issue because I am concious about the environment. I'm not sure how well the funding is in relation to researching/promoting alternative fuel sources but we should look to that.

3. Taxes
I am not very aware of our tax system but I think we should implement a tax system where it is based on income and not allow for tax cuts for the wealthy.

Public Service Announcement

In Elika's class we were assigned to create our own public service announcement prompting the public to vote.

Rock the Vote PSA

In Elika's Government class we watched various types of PSAs that all dealt with persuading people to vote in order for our assigned groups to create our own version of a PSA of this issue and presenting it for a scholarship.

Out of all the Public Service Announcement my group (Candace & Mariah) have seen, I think this was the most appealing. However, I am not sure if it would be appealing to the voting age group as a whole, since this seems to gear towards 18+/young voters. The PSA has a catchy song with a message, previews various issues in an unbiased way, and informs/urges the public to vote. I think that this PSA was the most creative and would give the public a sense of "Maybe, I should vote." -esque kind of feeling.

Why Vote Article

I believe that the author of this article does have a point, but it is somewhat extreme. He claims that the ads mudslinging candidates cause people to not vote as a whole, however, I think it is untrue. I don't think the majority of the people would take these ads seriously if they were truly aware of the candidates. Also, I don't agree with what my other classmates had to say when they brought up conjuring a form of test/merit based system that would base whether a person could vote or not. I have to agree with Candace and say that, that method would be unconstitutional.

Why Vote?

I won't be eighteen by the time the elections will be taking place, but if I was I would vote. Voting for president would determine what the next four years would be like. It is much more than the candidate, but also the issues that we believe. If I were to have anyone as president I would want to make sure that his or her representation of my country is on par to my beliefs. This is why I would vote, if I could.