Gun Control

Simply saying the words Sandy Hook Elementary School, out loud, is something that tends to evoke a lot of emotion from people. The tragic event that took place there, less than a month ago, is the source of recent heated discussion on gun control. Had, 20 year old Adam Lanza, not been able to get his hands on a gun, A lot of innocent lives could have been saved. Gun control issues have always been widely discussed but the events that took place in Newtown, Connecticut has surfaced many new opinions. I think greater restrictions need to be made. I don't think banning certain weapons is the answer to less violence. I think greater restrictions on people that are allowed to get their hands on a gun is the first step in protecting Americans. There needs to be tighter restrictions on gun sales. If guns aren't getting into the wrong hands then the chance of violent actions taking place are greatly reduced. I'm aware that this won't solve everything, but t's a step in the right direction.  

The ACT

Seeing as I'm a senior in high school, college has been an important subject in my life lately. The ACT is a standardized test given to high school students to measure their "college readiness". Although I'm through with the ACT process at this point, it's not something I look back on with fondness. It was a long and difficult process. This test is timed and broken up in to five subjects: math, English, reading, science, and writing. Many people argue that the ACT is beneficial to students when it comes to college preparation. I don't quite agree with that statement. I don't think one test should be the determining factor in how ready one is for college. There are many characteristics and talents that can't be portrayed through the ACT, yet many colleges defer students because their score doesn't fit the college's criteria. Some students aren't good test takers, therefore may not be able to achieve an "acceptable score". This doesn't mean that student isn't college ready, or that they don't have other qualities that they can provide for the school. I consider myself very privileged to be able to attend a school as good as Fremd, but not everyone is that lucky. Many students aren't able to attend a school that will give them a quality education. Is it really fair that those with less opportunity should be expected to achieve the same score that others, with a much better quality of education, are achieving? I don't think so. Therefore I don't think the ACT should be such a crucial portion of college applications; nor do I think it should even be a requirement for students. 

Kid Friendly Facebook

11 year old, Zach Marks, went behind his parents back and made himself a Facebook account. He had to lie about his age in order to create this a account and eventually his parents found out. They weren't happy with the adult content that he was being exposed to and made him delete it. Instead of getting upset, Marks began working on his own social media website. The site is called gromsocial.com. It's purpose is to provide a place for young kids to interact and socialize, while still maintaining a safe environment. The website is aimed towards people 16 and younger. There's a curse filter on the site to prevent any language considered inappropriate for kids of that age. I respect the fact that instead of pouting over his parents decision to delete his Facebook, he channeled his energy and created a kid friendly version. Kids in today's society seem to be growing up too quickly and that could be directly related to the maturity of the media they are exposed to. I think Zach's website will be beneficial to a lot of kids because it gives them the option to socialize through the internet but in an appropriate manner for their age. Facebook can pose a threat to a young, impressionable child. The fact that gromsocial.com has strict rules on their age limit, drastically decreases those threats. If kids have the freedom to use sites like gromsocial.com, they won't be as tempted to try out sites like Facebook. 

Amendment 64

While everyone was wrapped up in the presidential election, Colorado and Washington were celebrating their newly passed amendment. Amendment 64 is the recreational use of Marijuana. Colorado and Washington both passed the amendment while Oregon denied it. Although I agree that the recreational use of marijuana should be legalized, I'm somewhat leery on the subject. I believe it has the power to help our economy, which is the driving force behind my support. Not only will it create more jobs and is estimated to be a $36 billioin dollar industry, it would save the country money on sending people with marijuana related charges to jail. Sending these people to prison costs the U.S an estimate of $1 billion annually. On the other hand, I think this should be approched with caution due to immaturity of many people in this country. I wish there were a better method of measuring maturity levels because age doesn't necessarily project that. But even though I'm not confident in the fact that people can deal with marijuana legalization maturely, the benefit is well worth it. The same can be said about alcohol. There are those that "drink responsibly" and those that take advantage of it. Therefore I think this is something that needs to be dealt with carefully but still, something worth dealing with.              

Obama's Early Ballot 

 

     Early Voting began on October 22nd for the people of Illinois. It's estimated that 40% of eligable voters will cast and early ballot. President Obama was one of those people. Earlier today, He flew to his home town to vote in the Martin Luther King Community Center. 

     Obama politely greeted the by standers cheering for him and all the poll workers. He made a joke about the lack of gray hairs in his driver's license picture. He placed his vote and made another joke about not wantingto reveal who he voted for.

     Obama really wanted to be an advocate for getting out and voting. He lead by example and became the first president to vote early. He stressed the fact that it was an easy process and didn't take muchtime. He advised people to vote early so they can get it out of the way, incase of any conflicting issues on election day.  

    



After the Street Fight

 

     In class we watched the documentary "Street Fight" which followed the the 2002 campaign for mayor of Newark, New Jersey. The documentary was very entertaining and had me questioning what happened after the election.

     Sharpe James won the 2002 election against Cory Booker with his dirty tactics. He used any means necessary to become mayor. But in 2006 James announced that he wasn't going to run for a sixth term. 

     Booker ran for mayor of Newark again in 2006, against Ronald Rice. Rice attacked Booker for the large amount of money spent on his campaign, but Booker still won the election with 72% of the votes. 

     Shortly after Sharpe James left office there was a federal investigation in his affairs. James was guilty of selling city owned property to a mistress of his. He sold the property at a fraction of what is was worth, and in turn his mistress sold the property for a profit. 

     James spent 18 months in prison. While in jail he wrote a book about his life titled "A Sharpe View".