Is There Justice?

I was shocked to read the headline in Jeff Coen’s article, “He Killed 14 People. He got 12 Years,” from the March 27th in Chicago Tribune. Nicholas Calabrese, a mob hit man, killed 14 people over the years and because he is cooperating with police officials will only receive a 12 year sentence. In fact, since he has been in jail since 2002, he will only have about 4 more years to serve. Families of the victims were outraged. However, without Calabrese’s testimony, mob bosses such as Joseph Lombardo and James Marcello and their “enforcers” Paul Schiro and Anthony “Twan” Doyle would be free. In a companion article by John Kass, “Leniency to Calabrese vs. mob and its justice,” Kass suggests that the “fear” or the mob getting back at him for informing on them will be punishment enough.

What do you think should be the policy on murderers who cooperate with officials? Should they get a lighter sentence in order to encourage others to come forward and cooperate? Is the “Fear” of retribution enough of a punishment?

"Symbolic Interactions"

Recently in American Studies we discussed “symbolic interactions” and how people that believe in these interactions feel that everything in life is a symbol. An example of this was stated in the book, The Soiling of Old Glory, and the picture on the front cover that carries so many different meanings and interpretations. Mr. O’Connor brought up an example of a symbol that he saw when visiting different court rooms. He was able to identify the stance that a judge has by the artwork that he/she places around his/her office or court room. I thought that this topic was really interesting, and I started to look for symbols in my life. They were everywhere! Some symbols seemed meaningless, but others surprised me and I was amazed at how many connections I was able to make.

What symbols do you see in your life?

Our Future Exploration into Space

James Janega, the author of “Orbiting the Moons of Jupiter,” in the Chicago Tribune, discussed how NASA recently planned a mission to travel to Jupiter. This “massive, multibillion-dollar interplanetary mission” would be aimed to launch in 2020. Two spaceships are going to be pit into orbit around two of Jupiter’s moons. The mission will take nine years to complete and the space crafts will travel through the solar system for 2.7 billion miles. These space orbiters will study Jupiter and its moons, Ganymede, Callisto, and Io. When their mission ends, they will crash into one of Jupiter’s moons or Jupiter itself.
Jupiter and its numerous moons store an amount of liquid water that is thought to surpass all that exists on Earth. Therefore, this mission is going to be a very important part of space exploration because scientists believe that the mission would explore the “most likely pocket of the solar system besides earth where there is a plausible chance for life to exist.”

What are your thoughts on the mission?
In times of economic disaster should our country be spending money on space exploration missions?

Remembering the Past

With President Barack Obama, an African American, in the White House, there has been much talk on NPR and talk shows about abolishing Black History month and banning books such as Huckleberry Finn. I found this top very interesting as we just finished reading and analyzing Huckleberry Finn, and it relates to a number of class discussions. In this week’s edition of Newsweek, Allison Samuels refutes these ideas in her article, Rethinking Race in the Classroom. Those in favor of the banning of the books want to remove the “N—” word from history and any negative connotations regarding African Americans. While I am against the prejudices revealed in these books, I feel they should remain in the curriculum. We should not shut them away in the closet and ignore history. This topic is an important part of our country’s history. The atrocities of the past should not be forgotten, while at the same time our current progress should be applauded. Black History month and these controversial books help us remember the past and work for a better tomorrow.
~Check out the link to the article. It is really interesting.~

Do you think Huckleberry Finn should be banned?
What are your thoughts on continuing Black History month?

Should Dora Grow Up?

Throughout the weekend, I spent much of my time with my younger four year-old cousin. Her favorite cartoon icon is Dora the Explorer. Tons of her toys, clothing, and materials have Dora the Explorer on them. She was wearing a shirt with Dora and Boots on it and even her tennis racket had a picture of Dora painted on the side. This morning I was looking at the Chicago Tribune newspaper at a funny illustration called "Recessionista Barbies." Below this, the title, “Just what is new Dore exploring,” caught my eye. The author discusses how the spunky shorts, backpack, and purple t-shirt wearing “childhood fixture for millions” is being transformed into a “tweenage Dora” that wears short skirts and pointy shoes. A mother of two young girls, Stephanie Raleigh states that, “Dora ‘growing up’ in the stereotypical way just reinforces the issues that young girls face today.” Personally, I really liked this doll because she didn’t follow the typical long hair, stick thin, mature doll motif that is so common today. This doll is such a large part of many children’s lives, such as my cousin, that it will change the way they see their role model. I would rather have my cousin look up to the nature loving explorer than this “tweenage Dora” model that can push kids towards the wrong path. James Oliphant closes the article asking, “And what’s in store for Dora’s animal loving cousin, Diego? Perhaps he becomes a hip-hop star with plenty of bling and an appetite for gunplay? Or a rough-around-the edges street-racer?”

What do you think about this topic? Should Dora follow through with this transformation?

The Hidden Messages New Trier Portrays to the Public

Today in class we discussed the numbers of different signs posted around the school and the meanings that they hold. From this discussion and observations I have made throughout the day, I came to the conclusion that New Trier’s goal is to portray its success to the public. It seems that a large portion of this goal involves sharing our achievements. I have found that the greatest of our achievements have been placed in very public places throughout the school. For example, there are signs, banners, and posters that support our sports teams and our academic success. In the gymnasium we have flags that list all of the years that our sports teams have made it to state. In the front of the school we post HUGE banners that say, “Good Luck at State” where a welcome sign should be placed. Also, when you walk through the halls many teams post flyers on lockers wishing their teammates good luck at their upcoming game and every saying relates to winning. Next, we show our academics in the lists of important people that have graduated from our school, and in many of our showcases placed around the school (for example, science Olympia). Finally, we display our positive students’ behavior with posters showing the drinking and smoking rates. Our school focuses on the successes that we have had in the past and the successes that we hope to have in the future.

Do you agree that we portray our success and achievements to the public? If so, where else do you find examples of this in our school?

What’s Next?

Recently I was reading an article from the Chicago Tribune titled “Obama sets Iraq timeline.” Julian E. Barnes, the author discussed President Barack Obama’s plans for the future. Obama has stated the procedures that he wants to take to retrieve the U.S. troops from Iraq. He has created a timeline that expects the number of U.S. troops to decrease from currently 142,000 to 35,000-50,000 by August 31, 2010. He also confirmed that all the U.S. forces are scheduled to be out of Iraq by December 31, 2011. There have been many mixed feelings about Obama’s troop timeline. Many are expressing that they believe that 35,000-50,000 is too large of a group to remain in Iraq. Furthermore, many of the Sunni lawmakers are upset over the departure of the forces, who are seen as “a buffer against Shiite persecution.”

Do you think that it is a good idea to leave troops in Iraq to “advise Iraqis, protect civilians and conduct counterterrorism missions?”
Do you believe that August 31, 2010 is a reasonable date for the Iraq combat mission to end? And is December 31, 2011 a reasonable date to have all forces out of Iraq?