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Susan Bayaa (21)
The journal entry for this week comes from Chapter 8 in Why White Rice called “Why Dracula Sucks”. I enjoyed this article a lot becuase it talked about trying to spice up your writing. The author says there are no boring topics just boring writers. I strongly agree becayse you can have a very interesting topic but when you write about it it could be incredibly boring and dry. I liked that the writier gave his title “Dracula Sucks” because he knew he was taking a chance because he had such a serious teacher but he tried anyway. He didn’t follow the regular boring way his other classmates took and in writing it is good to stand out. Although his teacher didn’t appreciate his play on words he wasn’t afraid to take that chance. To me this article tells me that you have to know your audience and you can’t be afraid to spice up your writing and stand out.
Swanson, Troy. Why White Rice? Thinking Through Writing. Kendall Hunt Pub, 2010. 182-183. Print.
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Jenna McGill
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Jenna McGill
After reading the Cycle of Socialization it really summed up the way the global society works. What caught my attention was that he was talking about the ascribed statuses which I actually am learning about in sociology. We have no control of the gender, race, religion, and social class we are born into it’s just what was given to us and a lot of the times it is hard to change. We live in a world with so many different people, cultures, and mind sets so of course there is going to be arguments and stereotypes of one another. Everyone has their own judgements which causes barriers between the people in our society. It would be nice to live in a world where everyone gets along and accepts one another but let’s be realistic it most likely never happen or anytime soon at least. There will always be people who hate a certain type of people for certain reasons and they take extreme measures to have others see the world as they see it but it can’t happen that way. What I do think is possible is people could become more tolerable. Ignorance is not bliss and the more people are educated the more they can let people believe what they want. They might not agree with it or they might not like it but if they realize that no one is to blame because we all are raised with different cultures it could change the way people look at differences in societies. Everyone has a right to be who they are and although it might be difficult to accept for some we cannot change the fact that not everyone is going to be like us.
Harro, Bobby. “The Cycle Of Socialization.”(2012): 15-21. Splatter.writing101.net. Web. 22 Mar. 201 -
Jenna McGill
Share Your Soles was not my first time doing service. I have volunteered at a nursing home for 3 years in high school and as much as enjoyed it I actually felt better participating in Share Your Soles. I have actually heard of this organization through my high school Nazareth Academy because the students there would volunteer there for service hours. I went in not knowing what to expect. When I left I was amazed at how much the organization does for people in countries that are not fortunate enough to even have shoes.
It was Wednesday March 7th and we all met at the location of Share Your Soles at 10 o’ clock. It was a huge warehouse looking building and I did not think it was going to be that big at all. We all gathered in the lobby room to watch a few videos. They were awesome videos and we really got to see all about the organization and what it does and we also found out the shipment we were helping with was going to Haiti. We got to see the people they helped and how everything worked. It was unbelievable to see some of the conditions that these people lived in….WITH NO SHOES! or ones that were flimsy and worn down. Some people were living in garbage dumps and running around on rough rocks. The difference Mona has made in so many peoples lives is astonishing. I met her later in the day and she is one of the most down to earth, kind, and selfless people I have ever encountered. Mona actually travels to all these countries and takes the shipment and helps pass them out. She does not stay in fancy hotels but rather she stays with locals in there village huts. She wants to get to know the people she’s helping and it really pays off and I think it is what makes the organization successful. Another thing that completely shocked me was how expensive the trips were ranging from seven thousand dollars to twenty five thousand dollars for shipping and processing of the shoes. After we were done with the videos it was time to get to work. We walked into a huge warehouse filled with shoes upon shoes. It was crazy how much shoes they get donated to them. They even had a table set up with high end shoes that they sell and then take that money to help their cause. All of us gathered around bins filled with shoes. We then dumped out every box or bag and then paired the shoes up. We had to make sure they were not bad and if they were we threw them out. If they had no laces we had to lace them. Then we had to put them in their place and in the warehouse the shoes were categorized in all different types. There was mens dress shoes, mens gym shoes, men’s winter and work boots, women’s sandals, gym shoes, and dress shoes, then the same for children. After we organized where they were supposed to be we had to spray and lace up shoes. Mona actually chose me to do a be the camera woman for a video where Mr. McGuire interviewed everyone who was volunteering that day. Finally, we then we colored a shoe and took a survey about our day.
While I was volunteering it was 3 hours that flew by. I had no complaints because I was able to see the bigger picture and that if these people could live with out shoes and risk getting infections, diseases ,or amputated limbs from it I could at least take three hours of my time to just organize and get shoes prepared and together. All of the amazing things Mona does for these people is hard to even fathom. It makes me want to do more to help other because it can help brighten someone’s day.I had fun because we got to talk and mess around with people while we were actually helping a great cause. I was actually a bit stand-offish when I seen people leaving almost an hour early. I don’t think its that hard to take three hours out of your day to help change such an amazing organization. There were a few people that left and there was only about six people left to help the remainder of the time. It makes you realize how lucky you are and that something as simple as shoes can be taken for granted. One thing that stuck in my mind is when Mona said she was walking on a rough rocky road and there were children that would put tar on their feet and run on the road so their feet would not get cut up. Something as easy as shoes can save people’s lives and it makes you see that we have a ton to be thankful for.
People say one person can’t make a difference. Mona Purdy proves them wrong with the amazing work she has done. She is constantly helping these people and saving their lives. She is so thankful for the volunteers who help out there and it makes you feel good because the organization actually relies on volunteers to help. It made me wonder how could i do more to impact people’s lives so positively. I definitely see myself returning to Share Your Soles to help out once again. I was in something bigger than myself and this organization helps people around the world and being able to save lives with something so simple is a reward in and of itself.
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Jenna McGill
My journal this week comes from an excerpt in Why White Rice called “To All The Good Ones Along The Way, We Salute You”. There are certain teachers we meet along the way that help us to really improve in our writing. There are other teachers who don’t really affect us or spark our creative minds. I have had a teacher that really made a difference in my writing her name was Ms. Augustyn and she was not the normal boring teacher. She let us be ourselves and when I had to write a paper for her class i didn’t complain. I actually enjoyed it and would rather write a paper then do regular homework. She had new ways all the time to make writing more exciting and have us find a personal connection with what we were writing with. I was lucky to have a teacher like her. Having Ms. Augustyn as a teacher changed my outlook on writing. She made me love writing papers and enabled me to be proud of my own writing. Although we might have boring dry teachers along the way its the Ms. Augustyn’s that make writing worth something in people’s lives.
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Jenna McGill
Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor,
Our country is built upon one basic theme, FREEDOM. As Americans we believe that everyone deserves their freedom and in most parts of the world slavery is outlawed. That however has not stopped the growing underground trade of human slaves. It’s called Human Trafficking and although there are people that know about it there is not a full understanding of it. Human Trafficking is the nice way of saying they are modern day slaves. They can be kidnapped or tricked into following a “recruiter” into another country. They are promised that if they follow the recruiter into a different country they will have work where they can send money back to their families. Once they arrive there they are stripped of credentials proving who they are. Of course they do not get to send money back to their families because they are slaves forced into sex labor and hard labor. In some parts of the world human trafficking is the second highest trade next to drugs. It only keeps increasing especially with the global economy going down. All I ask of you is to spread the word about human trafficking. People can check out http://www.polarisproject.org for great information about human trafficking and how to help. The easiest way to help is just to get people aware of what is going on. Imagine if you were in a situation of human trafficking where you would never see your family members again and forced to live a life of hard labor only. It is simple to help the revolution by just using your voice to inform others about this horrible situation.
Sincerely,
Jenna McGill
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Justyna Matyjaszczyk
This letter to the editor is very down to the point. I was hooked by the first sentence “ Our country is built upon one basic theme, FREEDOM.” I think it is a strong statement that would get the attention of many. The letter states that slavery still exists in the world and is not taken seriously or has the attention it deserves by it being called human trafficking. People are kidnapped, identities confiscated and people are taken advantage. The freedom and search of a better life has come to a halt. Recruiters promise people, from other countries, if they do what they are told they will be provided with work. The reality of it is these people are being put to hard work and turned into sex slaves without a paycheck and respect they were offered and deserve as every human being does. This world problem is a growing issue as stated in the letter. It says, in some countries it is almost as bad as drug trade. I am shocked this issue does not have the attention it needs. The letter is clear on how to act in order to help. There is a website link, http://www.polarisproject.org, which offers information and how to help. Also, it seems that the most important and helpful way to take action on this horrific issue is to raise awareness by speaking out and educating oneself on the topic. I appreciate the ending of the letter because it made me think about my family, friends and even myself. I could not imagine being in this sort of situation. It is absolutely disgusting and inhumane. What I am missing from this letter is the sources used to back up the facts. I think it would give this letter credibility and people would take it more seriously. Also, in what countries is this happening in? Is this an issue in the United States? Does human trafficking only occur in countries that deal with poverty? Is this a growing problem? How quickly is this spreading around the globe? Who is it affecting? Is this a controversial issue? Is it human trafficking accepted by people in the world because they live in poverty? Can it happen to anyone? Overall, I enjoyed reading your letter. It had a great first couple sentences to grab the attention of readers, then it went straight to the problem of human trafficking and what it is. Following it gave an idea of what human trafficking is and who takes advantage of these people. The letter gave information on how to get educated, involved and recommends speaking out to and educating others on the topic. I like the part in the letter where the writer asks you to put yourself in the shoes of slavery. But, I am not really sure how it fits into the letter. I think it could be replaced by a big fact with resources. Kind of like a shock factor statement. I think that would make people think more.
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Grace Cosentino
Your first sentence is awesome I really liked how you started off so strong with the capital words FREEDOM. That really hooks the reader in an instant because as an American citizen you’re like yea so true and you just want to keep reading. It is always good to start off a paper this strong it always hooks the reader which is your main goal as a writer. You continued to keep me interested and want to continue reading all the way up to when you started explaining it which is really good. You talked about slavery and that there is still the trading of human slaves which is a shock for most people and people want to know what you are talking about how this is true. I liked how you explained automatically what human trafficking is and me as a reader it helped to better understand it. I personally know what it is but I think you did a great job explaining it to readers that maybe don’t know anything about it. I liked the fact that you just gave the literal example of it that its human slaves because you didn’t beat around the bush that’s exactly what it is and it’s so terrible people really should know that this kind of stuff is happening to innocent people. It was good how you made a point to say it is the second highest trade next to drugs the fact that you compared it to a crime that people know so much about especially how bad it is really helped your paper. When I think of drugs I just think of nothing good and I see on the news all the time about people getting caught with drugs and going to jail for this crime. The fact that you compared it to drugs by saying it is the second highest trade just being in the category of a criminal trade I think really lets your reader get a sense that this is a really bad thing that we need to do something about. When you got down to the last couple sentences and gave the link for people that read your letter to check out that was the best part of your paper. That was a really good idea because you gave a brief explanation on what human trafficking was and you got the reader hooked and wanting to learn more about it and a lot of times the reader does not know where to look to get more information about the subject. So by giving the link you made it possible for the reader to just click and get more knowledge on the subject that they are reading about. I agree with you in your last sentence that this is a crime that we just need to spread the word about we cannot really do anything else but use our voices in this situation but it was good clear point to the reader that this is a problem you need to learn about and share with others it’s a problem. Your letter was really good great job!
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James Jeszke
Freedom is a big thing. It is what our country was founded on. Definitely agree with Justyna on how that is a strong opener for this letter. I believe it will catch the editors eye very quickly and might get some attention.
Slavery exists in many 3rd world countries. It is definitely frowned upon by their communities but there is little they can do with no government, no police, and little to no freedom in the slum-ridden towns. The cartels are after young people that have a lot of years left to live to be able to grow and become strong, worthy people for an army. It’s terrible to think about but being kidnapped from your family and forced into a life of crime and a lot of other bad stuff is just, awful to think about.
You do a great job of explaining slavery. It is very difficult to explain further on such a topic that is not really known to a lot of other people. The fact that you gave examples of what they’ll become like slaves forced into sex and hard labor really sticks in the reader’s head. Spreading the word about this will be difficult I can give you that. It needs to be more viral than putting it in the paper. Take Kony for example, I knew about him before he became overly popular. A guy made a video about this man to make him famous, explaining what he’s doing to children in the slum-ridden neighborhoods in Africa. He got over 10 million views in 3 days explaining further about a man that is kidnapping children, giving the boys a gun and training them how to fight and turning the girls into sex slaves. That’s crazy. I wouldn’t think anyone would have that sort of power nowadays to actually convince young children to fight for something they don’t even know. I guess if he would threaten to kill them if they didn’t fight is a pretty big deal too. In the video I seen about Kony, the filmmaker talks further on making this guy famous, putting billboards, posters, fliers, and even handouts across 12 major cities in the U.S.. Now to raise money for something like this involves knowing a whole lot of people. He got the word out though about this topic. Even contacted President Obama and got him to put some troops stationed in Africa to help train African soldiers to fight against Kony’s army. This man found something that really caught his attention and showed the real what is really going on in that country. I think this can go a long way. We need to do something about it before it is too late.Spreading the word about this is very important. The first step is getting stories out there in local papers for this cause is a good idea though. Starting small is smart. If this gets attention, please take further action on this topic because this is a HUGE deal. Slavery is a thing of the past; or so we thought.
I liked this letter. It has a main purpose and it is clear what you want. My suggestion would be to possibly think of something like Kony in Africa. One topic not just the entire thing on Human Trafficking. Its kind of vague. Even though its vague, I think its well written and can get the attention it deserves.
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Jenna McGill
I really enjoyed reading the article “Writing is Limitless”. Ever since I can remember teachers have always tried to engrave this “formula” in our brain. I agree that this formula takes the fun out of writing and doesn’t allow us to put ourselves into our writing. The article really gave me insight that anyone can be a good writer they just have to find that specific connection that helps them to write a great paper. I believe that when the writer cares what they’re writing about the readers will care to because it sparks that curiosity. One thing I’m definitely trying to do is forget the formula. Its the safe way to write and why should we be limited to writing a paper a certain way. I always wished I could be a good writer but after reading this piece it really summed up for me that you can’t be afraid to write and put your personality into it.
Ismail, Basima.”Writing is Limitless” Why White Rice? Thinking Through Writing. Kendall Hunt Pub, 2010. 77-99. Print -
Jenna McGill
My journal entry is on the topic I chose to write for my draft. After all the information I read about human trafficking I see that its a devastating problem. Millions of people every year are tricked and forced into trafficking. It really made me appreciate the loved ones in my life and the place I lived because people get their family taken away daily. It is good to see more and more people are taking action against it. I learned that so many things contribute to human trafficking. I really enjoyed learning about it because these victims need to be helped. The Polaris Project website filled gave me great information on how people can help victims and information that was need to know about human trafficking. I’m not sure if this is correct but i really liked the name of the organization. Polaris is the name of the north star and i felt that the name was symbolically saying they are giving hope to the victims. Because wherever people may be trafficked they can look up to the night sky and see the north star and think maybe their loved ones are also seeing that same star.
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Jenna McGill
Slavery Still Exists
Slavery is something believed to be outlawed and unacceptable in most places around the world. Human trafficking is the underworld trade of what is called “modern day slaves”. Every year millions of people are smuggled from country to country for labor and sexual exploitation. What sparked my interest in the topic was watching the movie Taken with Liam Neeson. His daughter and her friend are kidnapped in Europe and sold in sex trafficking. He was a retired C.I.A. agent that had extraordinary skills. Since he was in the C.I.A. he found his daughter and brought her home. One thing that came to my mind was that this was just a movie and the people that are really taken never make it home. Poverty, economic downfall, demand, and the gender blind governments have led to an increasing rate of human trafficking, which in turn has sparked a revolution to combat against it with organizations and awareness programs.
Human trafficking has been a growing issue for hundreds of years and although slavery has been outlawed in virtually every country it still remains to be a huge underground humanitarian issue. Many consider it to be “the emerging human rights issue of the 21st century” (Irby para 2). The individuals who are being trafficked have no control of the situation and are modern day slaves. The United Nations describes human trafficking as smuggling individuals by use of force or coercion for later means of exploitation (Foo para 1). In some cases it varies how the person is harbored into another country because some may be kidnapped or others might go willingly unaware of the path that is ahead of them. The tactic commonly seen in the trafficking business is the so called “recruiter” informs individuals and their families about safe migration guaranteeing their safety, which in turn the victim will agree to following the recruiter for a job to provide for their family (Human Trafficking Overview para 5). The assumption of trafficking is that the victim is kidnapped and smuggled in another country for exploitation against their will, when in reality most victims are tricked into exploitation. There is a misconception about smuggling and trafficking. Many think they are the same crime however, trafficking is the beginning of exploitation and the person is under complete control of the trafficker and in smuggling it ends at the arrival (Human Trafficking Overview para 3). There are several stages that occur in the process of human trafficking in which the victim becomes powerless. As the individual is being smuggled and sent to their destination their identification and traveling information is confiscated. (Human Trafficking Overview para 8). The victim will have no proof of who they are or a way to get home without their traveling documents. The arrival of the individual is a crucial part of seizing complete control of the victim and after the arrival the exploitation begins (Human Trafficking Overview para 9). The victim becomes aware after the arrival they have been deceived and is now at the wim of the recruiter. While enslaved a trafficking victim would undergo exploitations such as: prostitution, domestic service, agricultural work, work in factories, land clearance, and selling in the market (Human Trafficking Overview para 10). The forced labor is very strenuous and very unrewarding. Many victims hope that one day they can break free from the control of the trafficker and return home. The journey ends for some with death, illness, or injuries. When they become useless they are disposed of (Human Trafficking Overview para 11). Asia is well known for its involvement with human trafficking. In Southeast Asia alone hundreds of thousands of people have been reported to be trafficked in a year approximately 200,000-400,000 (Foo para 2). The human trafficking in Asia is a thriving underworld business. After drugs, the buying and selling of individuals is the second largest illegal trade (Burmese para 12). Under the enslavement victims are treated as if they have no human rights at all. They receive beatings, torture, rape starvation, and death threats towards their families (Fighting Human para 4). The illegal trade of humans is a controversial topic that has been taken into the consideration of the government who is attempting to handle the situation.
Poverty is a significant cause that fuels the human trafficking movement. People become desperate to survive when they have little money, thus becoming the perfect prey for traffickers to feed on. The poverty stricken areas in the world are huge players in trafficking. Parents decide to sell their children to earn money unaware that they are selling them to traffickers who will exploit them in forced labor and sexual trade (Human Trafficking para 10). Families need to get money anywhere they can find it which leads them to making drastic blindsided decisions. A young girl Nang, and alias name was looking for better income due to her father becoming ill and she was told that in Thailand she can make better wage. She decided to follow a recruiter to Thailand. The living and working conditions were unbearable for her but since she was there illegally she was powerless to stop them (Bangkok Post para 5). It is evident that many poor people looking to other countries to try and gain a better living. For example workers from nations in the Mekong regions look to Thailand for more economic prosperity. In many parts of the world where you can find poverty you will find people struggling to live off of whatever they can get. These areas that are in poverty result with an increasing rate of human trafficking.
The economic downfall has also caused a major increase in human trafficking. Experts say that with the financial crisis going on now around the world it is expected that there is an increase rate in trafficking (Foo para 3). People are struggling in these hard times and falling in to debt making the poor even more poor. Some people are trafficked for debt bondage and work for livelihood and inevitably become trapped in the trafficking world as a result (Fighting Human para 2). The loss of jobs is also becoming greater and people are losing their basic income causing even more desperation. With people searching for money to support them it led to a massive migration into more urban areas. Unfortunately while searching for work the workers were exploited in factories, construction sites, and brothels (Foo para 10). With so many jobs being lost from this financial crisis it comes as no surprise that human trafficking has become a growing business.
Another major factor for the growing issue of human trafficking is demand. Many believe that demand is the reason human trafficking is so popular and it makes it a “lucrative business” (Macan para 15). As stated economic hardships have played a role in trafficking and demand intertwines along with it. Traffickers look for the cheapest labor they can find and when there is an increase in cheap labor there is sure to be an increase in trafficking (Foo para 9). Trafficked victims are most commonly used in areas of work that the native people would not want to do. Ratirose Supaporn, an information officer for Save the Children’s Regional Cross-border Project Against Human Trafficking and Exploitation, states, “Most people come to Thailand to fill jobs that Thai people don’t want to do, such as those in fisheries or rubber and orange plantations.” And this is common in other parts of the world(Foo para 8). Due to hard times the demand for human trafficking persists and is a constant cycle. Recruiters have a never ending supply of victims to exploit because demand is high and when one source becomes useless they look elsewhere for victims (Irby para 18).
The victims most commonly preyed on in human trafficking happen to be women because they are more vulnerable and many governments are gender blind to such issues.“ A case in point are the economic initiatives to prevent trafficking. They are largely micro projects that reproduce stereotypes of women in domestic roles, or as unskilled and unproductive, instead of giving women more options to undercut trafficking,” exclaimed Jean D’Chana, Senior Program Specialist at UNIFEM (Macan para 13). Some of the government aids that are supposed to be helping deter trafficking are making women look less intelligent and more vulnerable, which does nothing to help bring the trafficking rate down. Women and young girls become targets for sex trade under any type of war. Vietnam experienced girls being forced into prostitution during the war and women are the most vulnerable during those times (Human Trafficking para 8). Many countries have a significant amount of girls trafficked. Japan has the most recorded number of girls exchanged in the sex trade that come mainly from Thailand and Philippines (Macan para 16). Another country most active in the sex trade is Nepal. Inside the Indian brothels is what is considered to be “the most intensive” sexual slavery (Human Trafficking). The women in Asia are becoming modern day slaves with little rights at all. Women in India of the lower castes are sold into the sexual slavery trade and are offered up as gifts to idols and deities and are under full control of their owner (Human Trafficking para 9). The young girls have no livelihood and only live to serve whatever purpose they were bought for. The sex trade in Thailand is all business and when tourists come into the country traffickers advertise women under this motto, “ the only fruit sweeter than the durian (local fruit) is the Thai women,” (Human Trafficking para 18). The women and girls in trafficking are treated as objects and very little has been done to help them in their difficult situation due to the very reason that they are girls.
The governments of countries have come up with several organizations to combat the trafficking and hopefully put an end to human trafficking. Countries have signed the Memorandum of understanding to help deter trafficking. Part of the agreement was to inform training police officers how to deal with victims of trafficking. Additionally it was used to help bring the victims back to their home and set up an improved investigation system for traffickers (Bangkok Post para 27). Overall, the MOU was created to work out a plan to work against the issue of human trafficking (Foo para 15). One main goal that organizations aim for is sending the victim home. The International Organization for Migrants was working through sending home a dozen Cambodian children that were being trafficked at Thailand’s border (Irby para 10). Another organization that that helps not only human trafficking victims but also protects women and children’s rights, is the United Nations Development Fund for Women. Women’s rights in human trafficking are overlooked and the issue is marginalized, but UNIFEM demonstrates the importance in taking action against the belittling of women and children’s rights (Bankok Post para 27). The Asia Foundation is a huge contributor in the fight against human trafficking. The Asia Foundation is a non-profit organization that wants to innovate government law and civil society(Asia Foundation para 8). The foundation funds programs to combat trafficking. In Vietnam over the next two years the Asia Foundation is funding a $300,000 project for the prevention of human trafficking (Asia Foundation para 3). It doesn’t end there, the Asia Foundation also provides care for trafficking victims. It provides theatre programs to teach its viewers how to avoid trafficking, education for safe migration, and counseling for victims ( Asia Foundation para 3). The fact that human trafficking became such an issue in Asia it caused these organizations and programs to take action to try and protect people from it.
In response to human trafficking, the government has decided to bring awareness of the issue into light and hold several meeting where the topic of prevention is discussed. After the signing of the MOU the six countries that are a part of the agreement set in place legal and cooperative work to help curb human trafficking, protect victims, and prosecute traffickers (Curbing Human para 6). Many meetings have also been held to come up with ways to decrease the trafficking rate. In Myanmar, officials from China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam convened recently in January of this year (Curbing Human para 3). Asia wanted to bring even more attention to the subject thus creating a documentary that was sure to be seen by many. The documentary was called Traffic and was centered on the human trafficking in Asia and the Pacific (Burmese Pop para 1). The program needed to reach a diverse demographic to spread the issue of human trafficking even greater. MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking) produced the documentary and was popular all over because MTV is one of the most viewed stations (Burmese Pop para 2). Traffic tells the viewer what they can do to help stop trafficking, it also takes the viewer into the reality of a trafficked victim and how they can protect themselves from becoming a victim. People were so unaware of human trafficking, it needed to be brought into light so that people can be informed on how to protect themselves and learn how to stop it.
The Polaris Project was created in Washington, D.C. They work to spread the word on human trafficking through mass media. The biggest part to help human trafficking is to make people aware of it. They have local offices in New Jersey and D.C. for victims to go to for help. They also have victim hotlines for victims if they need to talk. They have classes and offer a fellowship program to train future leaders to lead awareness of trafficking. Their website http://www.polarisproject.org/what-we-do is a quick overview of what they do. They have great programs and have great information about trafficking.
Poverty, economic downfall, demand, and the gender blind governments is what led to the issue of human trafficking and government and non-government agencies have been trying to stay active in preventing it. The rate of human trafficking is expected to increase especially now because of the economic hardships. The government has been trying to deter it by using the organizations and programs and in order for this issue to become less severe, we must remain persistent with its efforts to defeat human trafficking. Human trafficking is a huge problem and I believe it is something that more people should try to get involved with helping. Imagine if you’re mother, father, sister, or brother is sold or forced into hard labor or sex trade. This happens every day to people and they cannot control it. It’s such a big problem that it seems impossible to try to contribute to. However, making people aware of it can make all the difference. More governments are starting to try and stop trafficking and it’s thanks to people campaigning. Being an activist for human trafficking is something I can see myself vigorously doing and trying to constantly think of new ways to help the cause. Slavery still exists today and our country worked hard to defeat it and even though its underground I still believe there are ways to deter it globally.
Bales, Kevin. “Human Trafficking: OVerview.” Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society. 2008.ABC-CLIO.23 Feb. 2012.
“BURMESE POP STAR PHYU HOSTS MTV EXIT DOCUMENTARY TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT HUMAN TRAFFICKING.” States News Service 18 Dec. 2009. Student Resource Center-Gold. WEb. 16 Feb .2012
“CURBING HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA FOCUS AT UN-BACKED MEETING.” States News Service 20 Jan.2010. Student Resource Center-Gold. Web. 16 Feb. 2012.
Foo, By Janis. “Costs Of Human Trafficking In Southeast Asia.” VIET-STUDIES | Trần Hữu Dũng. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. <http://www.viet-studies.info/kinhte/costs_of_human_trafficking.htm>;.
“Human Trafficking.” Encyclopedia of Race and Racism. 2008 ed. Vol. Vol.2. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 16 Feb. 2012.
Irby, By Caroline. “BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Thailand’s Cycle of Trafficking.” BBC News – Home. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3623091.stm>;.
Macan-Markar, By Marwaan. “Asia Times.” Asia Times Online :: Asian News Hub Providing the Latest News and Analysis from Asia. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. <http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Asian_Economy/DJ10Dk01.html>;.
“Polaris Project | Combating Human Trafficking and Modern-day Slavery.” Polaris Project. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. <http://www.polarisproject.org/>.
Supara Janchitfah. “Opinion: Human Trafficking Puts Thousands of Girls, Women at Risk Every Day.” Bangkok Post (Thailand). Points of View Reference Center. EBSCO. 16 Feb. 2012.
“The Asia Foundation Launches Innovative Anti-Trafficking Program in Vietnam.” Us Newswire 30 May 2007. Student Resource Center- Gold. Web. 16 Feb. 2012.
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Alex Velez
Jenna McGill’s paper “Slavery Still Exists” is on the every so growing underground business of human trafficking. Jenna’s first couple of opening lines immediately catch my attention specifically, “Slavery is something believed to be outlawed and unacceptable in most places around the world”. I immediately want to know more about what her message is because I was under the impression that slavery has been out of existence since the middle of the 19 century. She then catches me again with the example of the movie “Taken”, and now I see where she is leading me. Even if I didn’t see the movie she gives a quick accurate description and moves on. She also gives a brief history and moves on to what the human trafficking business is as described by the united nations. She then goes into detail on how the human trafficking business works. There are a number of different scenarios played on how the “recruiter” acquires their victims. After seeing the movie” taken”, I was under the assumption that kidnapping someone was the main means of acquisition. Jenna’s description paints a less physical picture which isn’t that all surprising to me now. Also, in the movie the captives are drugged up and the recruiter’s make them dependent on drugs so that they can do their bidding. In Jenna’s article they are simply stripped of their credentials and when they arrive at their destination they realize they have no identification in proving who they really are. I also thought that it was mainly a sex trade but captives are also used as labor in various undesirable strenuous jobs that they do not profit from. I couldn’t believe that human trafficking in Asia is only second to drug trade, that’s nuts! She then goes into some causes which were nicely formulated into two paragraphs, discussing the current economic downfall which opens the flood gates for some seeking a lucrative opportunity that they find in trafficking. She then explains why it’s a gender based issue as women are the main targets to such trafficking. “Government aids that are supposed to be helping deter trafficking are making women look less intelligent and more vulnerable, which does nothing to help bring the trafficking rate down.” Jenna then gets into how the human trafficking business is being combated by different organizations and how some countries are taking an initiative. Some organizations include the international organization for migrants, the United Nations development fund for women, and the Asia foundation which tries to innovate government law and civil society. The Asia foundation seems to be the most informative of the groups in raising awareness for the issue. In her last paragraph she reiterates the reasons why trafficking occurs, and who is involved in trying to prevent it. As far as what the reader can do to prevent human trafficking it looks like public awareness is the weapon best chosen. Overall I enjoyed the article and really liked the cohesiveness of flow and structure. The only thing I would want to know would be how much more involved I could get in eliminating human trafficking.
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Justyna Matyjaszczyk
Reading Jenna’s essay “Slavery Still Exists” caught my attention immediately. It began with a bold statement “modern day slavery”. I think when we initially hear the word slavery we think of history. With this essay it has become clear that to this day humans are being forced into doing things with our their consent. Another things that caught my attention was the movie “Taken”, she gave a nice summary of the movie incase others did not see it and compared it to the current issue.
I had the assumption that human trafficking was overall the same as sex trafficking, sex slavery. In this essay I was given a clear definition that human trafficking was not only prostitution but also, domestic services, agricultural work, factory work and land clearance and selling in the market. I’m not exactly sure what the last to entail. I wish I had a little more of a description of them.
The causes of human trafficking are poverty, economic downfall and gender blind governments. When people become desperate for money to survive they turn to sources they never thought they would. I think these people did not know exactly what they were getting into but because they were in dire need of work or anything that would allow them to exist longer they become vulnerable. I have the understanding that the need for survival and desperation has lead these people to become so desperate they turn to others in hope of help. Unfortunately another reason for human trafficking is the lack of education on the matter and lack of help and guidance from the governments.
Human trafficking in Asia has become so acceptable that in Thailand the traffickers advertise to the tourist that Jenna states in her paper “the only fruit sweeter than the durian (local fruit) is the Thai women.” This statement or motto seriously shocked me. I knew human trafficking was an issue in the world but for it to be so boldly advertised allows me to understand how huge of an issue it really has escalated to be. And where is the government on these issues.The people mostly affected by this are women and children. The reason for this is they are known to be more vulnerable especially in hard times. I am shocked to learn that nothing is being done in some of these countries because to help women and children because they are women! Also, organizations that are supposed to help these women against sex slavery and trafficking only make them more vulnerable by making them look less intelligent.
Overall the essay I thought covered the issue very well. It gave good information on what human trafficking is and there are many different types of ways humans are being thrown into slavery and the causes. There are organizations and countries trying to prevent and eliminate the issue but it doesn’t seem as any of them have found a true well established way of stopping human trafficking. It seems to me that speaking out is the only way to help the issue. I think speaking out is great but I am curious if there are other resources to turn to.
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John Dougherty
I think that Jenna’s draft is really good. I had little knowledge on underground human trafficking until I read your paper. I didn’t know it really existed as it does now but I was wrong. I really liked how you compared your topic to a movie in the introduction paragraph. Since “Taken” was such a good movie, I found myself wanting to read your paper because it related to that. However, for some people who haven’t seen the movie, it might be a little hard for them to tie in how the movie fits in with human trafficking. If you explained just a little more, I think it would catch a lot more attention. The background and history of your paper are very informative. I helped me understand how it differs from how it did back in the day. You described how the human trafficking system works and all the different ways a recruiter can get their victims. It is horrible that these people, mostly women, are taken to these different places and drugged so they lose sense of what they are doing. They then do harsh work and are involved in sex trade unwillingly. I think that you used your sources well and put in crucial information where it needed to be. The statistic you added about how many people were being trafficked a year was good, but if you found a few more numbers relating to the subject it would be more helpful. Statistics help people to see how many people are being affected by the current situation and it paints a mental picture for the reader. You gave a lot of information on what is causing the problem. I think that it is absolutely horrible that anyone would sell themselves or a child to someone else for money. They have no idea what they are getting themselves into and obviously they weren’t hoping to be trafficked. They are being forced to do real bad things like hard labor and sexual activities. Jenna then goes on to explain all of the organizations and people who are helping and raising awareness for this problem. The Asia Foundation seems to be one of the major contributors to human trafficking. They are raising money and educating people on the subject very effectively. I didn’t really see anything on how I as a reader can get involved or help this cause. Maybe if you added a few contacts or people someone can talk to it could help. Your last paragraph does a good job of summing your paper up. It gives an overview of all of the paragraphs in your paper and makes the flow of these paragraphs stronger. Overall, I liked your paper and thought it was very persuasive. I definitely didn’t know stuff like this was still going on so it’s good to see someone informing people on the topic. You did a real good job of covering the topic and persuading the reader.
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James Jeszke
Human trafficking is something that doesn’t cross my mind very often. When I began reading your paper it made me realize how tragic this issue is and what it is doing to so many people. It starts off strong by the example of this movie. Which is a very powerful, could be true to anyone, type of movie. Taken is one of my favorite movies. The way that this movie can relate to such a major topic is something that you portrayed very well. I didn’t know much about this topic because Human trafficking is an undermined crime that many don’t even know about except for those who actually look for it and the jobs in that field. I also didn’t know that people were actually trafficked for sex and prostitution like in taken. I thought it was just a movie. I agree with what John said about elaborating a little more of the background on taken. What its about and compare it to your topic just a little bit more by elaborating on what the movie is about to those who might not have seen it.
Take the U.S. border patrol for example. That job obviously portains to those people who live in the southern states like Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico. Some have no idea what is going on around the border states that they become clueless about the smuggling ring and how illegal aliens are trafficked like circulated currency. It disgusts me. I liked how you describe the tricks of the trade of human trafficking and recruiters. I don’t know how anybody can force someone into selling their bodies. It is immoral and wrong in every way. These people really do not have an ounce of decency in themselves and do not know the damage it can do to a person. This essay was very strong in persuading me that human trafficking is still a very real thing of today and will continue to be because it is a thriving business.
The stats you put in your paper gave you true groundwork for it all. It set in stone how your argument relates to previous statements and statements beyond that. Take your paper as if it were a puzzle, all the pieces relate to eachother and stick together and I think that statistics in a paper are some of the most important pieces of a puzzle and finalize it; make it complete and wholesome.
I think that this paper was very persuasive in informing the reader on the issue. Some minor mistakes I came across were the lack of contacts that people could get in touch with for help if they know of any trafficking. Its not hard to add some but it is difficult to find valid ones that really do help towards this tragic issue. Overall, good job.
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Jenna McGill
I read the article in ‘Why White Rice’ called “You Can’t Dodge All the Bullets”. Although it was short I took a lot away from it. The first thing that struck me was when the author wrote writing is needed for everything. We are told this all the time and I wonder if people actually take it seriously. Being able to write is going to help you in any profession you choose to do. I’m not sure what I want to do yet but I know that having the ability to write well will benefit me in whatever it is. The author also talks about how she was taking classes just to take them and they weren’t really doing anything for her anyway. I somehow feel the same way in the classes I’m taking. I am just taking some because I feel I have to but I really have no interest in them and I need to be a full time student. What she is saying is that you have to start doing things for yourself and instead of waiting for things to happen you have to go out and make them happen and not take no for an answer. The main thing I took away from this article is that you can’t be afraid to put your thoughts and opinions in your writing. You have to put your personality into it because that’s what makes it yours. In this article I could see Kate’s personality and thoughts which is why I liked it so much. “You Can’t Dodge All the Bullets” was a great piece because you’re not always have everything go your way sometimes you’re going to have to take the bullet and learn from that experience to improve.
Kinsella, Kate. “You Can’t Dodge All The Bullets.” Why White Rice? Thinking Through Writing. Kendall Hunt Pub, 2010. 80. Print -
Jenna McGill
After reading “Village Voice” I was in awe. When people say one person can’t make a difference Rajeev Goyal proves them wrong. It’s amazing that there are truly good people out there who care about the world and its people. I have gained so much respect for Rajeev and the members of the Peace Corps because I don’t know if i have it in me to do what he did. Rajeev remained persistent and never gave up in anything he did. He was born to make a difference in the lives of others. At just 22 years old he was ready to start making a difference. Most people that age focus on work or partying but he was focused on improving the lives of others. Rajeev tells his mother that its time to start giving back because he realized what he has and that he is lucky to have that. Rajeev is the definition of what it means to be appreciative. He appreciates that he has been blessed with a good life a nice family, house, and neighborhood and doesn’t take that for granted. He sees that other people do not have anything close to that and the way he helps people in under developed countries is absolutely unbelievable. The Peace Corps is a wonderful organization and its disappointing that their volunteer rates have gone down. I hope that the Peace Corps picks up more volunteers because the work that they provide affects so many people. Seeing people like Rajeev and volunteers in the Peace Corps really ensures my faith in humanity.
Hesser, Peter. “A Reporter at Large: Village Voice, The Peace Corp’s Brightest Hope.” New York: The New Yorker.2010. 101-109. Splatter.writing101.net: The Messy Art of Writing. Web 9 Feb. 2012. -
Jenna McGill
The activity “Who Will Survive was one I actually enjoyed. I was trying not to be bias on the people’s lifestyles and tried to be more practical as to who would live. In this activity you could see people’s different opinions and biases. It wasn’t done to see how others judge people but it was to make us think about our personal biases. It’s just a natural instinct and it was interesting to see other people’s reactions. In my group I had a bit of different opinion. The people I thought would not survive were Bobby Lang, Jean Hernandez, Mary White, and Dr. Garcia. Bobby was mentally challenged and Jean was just three weeks old. I felt that they needed the most care and they were the most needy and probably wouldn’t make it. Mary White had no family members and had no one really to take care of her. Although there were other adults in the shelter I felt they would all be more focused on trying to save themselves or family. Dr. Garcia had two heart attacks, was old, and had bad health so I felt he definitely would not make it. Overall, I liked how we grouped together and got to discuss our opinions and defend our answers. This activity was actually a lot more difficult then I thought it was going to be but it was a good brain teaser.
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Jenna McGill
Dave Egger’s piece “What it Means When A Crowd in a Faraway Nation Takes a Soldier Representing Your Own Nation Shoots Him, Drags Him From his Vehicle and then Mutilates Him in the Dust” we see a man who can’t sit still. He thinks of all the things he could be doing instead of just sitting around and he comes across a news article. A soldier fighting for his country is brutally killed and he is very disturbed by it. If I was in the man’s position reading the article I would also be struck by this. A brave soldier who has decided to fight for my country is treated like he’s a piece of garbage and doesn’t matter. Yes there are casualties in war but killing another human being and mutilating him is truly evil. A man who has vowed to protect your freedom is murdered and tortured and there’s not a thing that this man could do about it. I think that is why it disturbs him so much because he doesn’t want to sit around he wants to be doing something because he owes the people fighting for his country something.
Eggers, Dave. “What It Means When A Crowd In A Faraway Nation Takes A Soldier Representing Your Own Nation, Shoots Him, Drags Him From His Vehicle and Then Mutilates Him In The Dust.” How We Are Hungry. Canada: Vintage, 2010. Splatter: The Messy Art of Writing. Web. 2 Feb. 2012. -
Jenna McGill
Live.Die.Kill.
Life is a miraculous thing. There is a mystery of what lies ahead in a person’s life and the only thing someone can do is make decisions that lead the pathway. Life can also be taken away in an instant. No one can know when they will die so wouldn’t you try to make every day worthwhile? Every person has different experiences, thoughts, and feelings. What matters to you might not matter to another person. Life happens to everyone and the experiences you go through in your life changes you. Thinking about what I live for, what would I die for, and what I would kill for has sparked me to think of the experiences I have went through and the people in my life.
We all have something worth living for. You have to open your eyes and figure out what it is you live for. When answering the question what do you live for? My answer is that I live for making it count. I want my life to be something I enjoy and a life worth living. There are also people in my life that make it worthwhile. Of course my family is very important to me and helped shape the person I am today but my friends are also a major part of what I consider worth living for. I am an outgoing person so I love to go out and have fun. When I go out with my friends it’s like the problems I had earlier aren’t there anymore. They help me not to forget, but realize that sometimes those problems don’t matter as much as the good in life. Dwelling on the bad makes you become bitter and angry with life which is something I want to avoid. I want to live for happiness. Happiness in my opinion is having the love and giving love to the important people in your life. I don’t know what profession I want to get into but I know I want to help people. If I can help people and make an impact on someone’s life that would be something that shows I lived my life with meaning. Why live a dull life? Finding something to live for makes a person feel alive. I embrace the person I am and hope that it will lead me to be proud of the person I will become. Yes I have my bad days, but when the people I love are around me that is all I really need to live for. To sum up my answer, I live for the people I love that give meaning to my life and making every day count for me.
Death is such a hard concept to understand. When I think of what it is like to die I have so many questions. What happens to us when we’re dead? Are we reborn? Do we go to heaven? Do we end up in another universe? Or do we just go poof? I can’t say I’m really that afraid to die. I have a good life and if I have to leave this life I know that so far it was worth it. I would say that the unknown is the part that freaks me out. I somehow have this feeling that when I die I would somehow be ok. We know how people can die but there is no way to know what happens after. What would I die for? As I live for the people I love I would die for them as well. When I had a really hard time in my life it was my friends and family that helped save my life and put me back on the right track. I owe some people everything and in a heartbeat I would die for them to save their life. Knowing that I died for someone I love would be worth it for me because I wouldn’t want to have a life without them. When my grandpa died it was so hard trying to cope with that. He was like my dad and he was the most influential person in my life and having him taken away was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. So if someone else I loved was going to die I would take their place because without the people you love what’s there really keeping you here.
Taking a life is something I cannot fathom. How can one person play God and decide what they can do with a person’s life in their hand. Killing a person changes a person. Their soul is filled with darkness after taking a life and the damage is done, this is something that cannot be fixed. I would never want to kill anyone because life is so precious. However, there is one person I would kill for as much as I hate to think about it I know I would do it. I would kill for my little sister Paige. She is twelve years old and she’s a part of me. My sister and I are very close. My parents work full time so I have watched her since she was little. Paige is very sensitive and I hate when I see her upset because she’s such a compassionate person. She is my world and if anything were to happen to her I have no idea what I would do. If she was in danger and someone tried to take her from me I would kill them without flinching. When I say that I only mean the most serious situation I would kill a person. Other than that I could never kill somebody. That is the most despicable thing that a human being can do. People who become murderers and have no remorse are not human beings. They don’t have the respect for life that normal people have. We all only have one life and how could someone live with themselves after they forcefully take one. I hope I never get put in the situation where I have to because being on the level of a murderer is horrifying.
Before I started to answer these questions I thought it was going to be very simple. After I started I realized that was not the case. I had to put a lot of thought into this because these questions have so much meaning behind them. This assignment really made me think about what matters in life and how these questions shouldn’t be taken lightly. The words live, die, and kill are powerful and everyone has a different understanding of them. Everyone has a different answer and even if you don’t agree with the person you can’t really argue with them because it’s their choice of what they would do. When the questions, what do you live for? What would you die for? And what would you kill for? Are answered you see the values that someone holds. I have to say the hardest one to answer would be what I would kill for. What I live and what I would die for is simple because I see what’s important in my life. I have described what I live, die, and kill for and when I answered these questions I could see the type of person I am. I care about people and I live for making my life count. I know that now I am headed in a good direction and somewhere in my future I have something great to come.
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John Dougherty
I liked your writing very much. The way you started your draft off really got my attention. You were very clear as to what you were writing about. Your first paragraph is very strong and will really draw a reader in to want to read more about what you have to say. It got me thinking about the questions as I read on. I think the answers to the three questions are very in depth and detailed. You elaborated all of you main points and gave good information about how these things make you feel. This is important in your writing because it helps get to your reader and make them feel for you. Your vocabulary and grammar were awesome and that is something a lot of people struggle with, including myself.
I can relate to a lot of the content in your paper. You said you live for your family, friends, and happiness. Those things mean so much to me as well and I live for things like this. Another thing I can relate to is when you said it is hard for you to say you would kill someone, but you would for your sister without a doubt. I to find it very hard to say I would kill someone unless of course they hurt my family. Out of your paper, I understand that you are very passionate about people that are close to you and being happy.
Overall, I thought that your paper was great. You really got into your writing and I think that is what makes the best writers. -
Justyna Matyjaszczyk
Your answers were clear with details and explanations to follow. I was able to feel along with you how much love you have for your family and friends and the appreciation you have for the life you live. I also like your views on living, dying and killing because we have many in common. There is one thing I’d like to point out from the “kill” section. You stated you could not fathom killing another person yet a few sentences down you clearly state you would kill for your sister paige without a flinch. It seems you went form one extreme to the other. I was hoping for a little more clearification. Over all I really enjoyed your point of view and the positive thoughts and your style of writing is neat and consistant.
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James Jeszke
First off, your writing style is perfect. Repetition and flow makes an A+ paper. Your structure is perfect minus a couple little comma mishaps but other than that, perfect paper.
I liked how you talked about living for your family and happiness. I can relate to that because i live to go out and have fun. It seems that you have strong family values and it is always good to have that. Never let them go. They are the people that are going to be there when all the smoke settles and everyone else upped and went. Keep your sister close to you. I have a 14 year old sister and she’s starting her freshman year next year and i am terrified. If you keep her close, all the drama, problems, and trouble she might get into could fall into your hands instead of your parents first. I wouldn’t want to see my sister getting hurt or getting into trouble but if i could help instead of having my parents yell and ground her, it’ll be better that way. The way you put how you wouldn’t kill for anything unless you had to is very well thought out. Life is precious i agree. If someone drove me to that point where i had no choice, then yes, killing could be understandable. -
Jessica Cortez
I really enjoyed reading this. i feel the same way about my family. your paper really shows how you value your family, and your life. what i got out of reading your paper was that your family means a lot to you as well as your success in life. Happiness for me comes from what we do with our lives. if we strive for the best and succeed at doing so we are happy. being able to live with happiness in our lives and having our families their to share it with is a great feeling. i also really enjoyed your conclusion paragraph. i think it really brings everything together. i like how you say that after answering the questions it gave you a better outlook on the person you are.
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Jenna McGill
I believe that ecological literacy is understanding what we as humans do to our planet. There is a term ecological footprint which is defined as what mark the human race left on the earth. Our consumption and using our natural resources rapidly is damaging the earth. Pollution, extinction of animals, using too many unrenewable resources, and our wastefulness are things all things that damage our planet. Ecological literacy would be grasping the concept of those things and trying to find the responsibility within ourselves to try and avoid those destructive behaviors. I would say I’m ecologically literate in the way that I am aware of a lot of things that go on in our ecosystem and I’m also open to learning more about what is going on. For us to stop the destruction of our planet more people are going to need to be ecologically literate.
Capra, Fritjof. The Web of Life: A New Scientific Understanding of Living Systems. New York: Anchor, 1996. Print. -
Jenna McGill
The grading contract is fair and straightforward. If you put forth the effort your grade will reflect upon it.
James Jeszke, 
Alex Velez, 
John Dougherty and one other person are discussing. 
Grace Cosentino, and 
Justyna Matyjaszczyk are discussing. 
Jessica Cortez, 
Justyna Matyjaszczyk 3:14 pm on March 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Jenna’s reflection essay is on her time volunteered at the Share your Souls organization. Share your Souls is founded by a woman named Mona Purdy. This organization collects shoes of all types to be distributed around the world to those in need. I like your reflection of this organization. You gave a short summary of the purpose and reason why Mona does what she does. Mona loves and is very passionate about her work and takes pride in her doings. You made that shine through your writing by telling me she doesn’t stay at fancy hotels when she travels to hand out shoes. Mona spends the night in the homes of the families who are in need of help. I think that is absolutely amazing! I have never heard of anyone who put them selves in these sorts of situations. Well you hear about politicians going to visit areas of disaster or poverty but not actually putting themselves into their situation over and over again. It definetly shows a lot of character and dedication. If I were to decide if I wanted to volunteer at this organization from your essay, I’d have to say you pretty much had me convinced it’s a cool place to share your time. You mentioned it is only 3 hours and the time flew by. To me that seemed like there was plenty for people to do and they need the help. I am curious as to why people chose to leave an hour into it? Did something go wrong? Was there not enough work that day? Did they not like the organization? If you don’t know why they left can you name some things maybe you didn’t like that was going on that day? Like I mentioned you stated there was jobs to do. You had to pair shoes, spray them, lace up sneakers if they did not have laces and place them into categories. You also mentioned shoes were put in categories, such as, women, men and children. From there they are put into smaller categories, sneakers, sandals, dress shoes, work boots and winter shoes. Looks like a very good way of staying organized, I can only imagine the tons of shoes piling up and getting lost in them. I am curious to know how many boxes of shoes go out on each trip? Where do these shoes go besides Haiti? Or is this her only destination? Do any of the shoes get distributed in the United States? Overall, I think your essay gives the readers a good general idea of Share your Souls. You had a couple great statements that stood out to me and gave me a reason to share my time with the organization. Also, I like that you said it made you feel good to volunteer at this location. Mona inspired you to continue helping those in need of shoes and motivated you to volunteer at other organization. One person is more help than none. And that statement itself is so true and inspiring.
John Dougherty 11:23 pm on March 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Jenna’s paper is about the time she volunteered at Share Your Soles. I too, went to this foundation for my volunteer time because I had prior knowledge about it. She started off with a brief introduction about her service time. Jenna explained that when she got to the warehouse she thought it wasn’t going to be that big, but it ended up being a massive area. When I arrived at the place I thought the same exact thing, but when I was taken into the place I was fooled on how big it was. She goes on to tell the rest of the schedule of the day, including the videos that were shown to all of the volunteers. They showed how the foundation worked and talked about some history with the foundation. I think they really got to some people because it motivated them to get more done at the warehouse rather than not care. The videos were really an important part of the service. Jenna talks a little bit about Mona Purdy, who is the founder of the Share Your Soles foundation. She explains how she is changing lives and saving people by going to these other countries. I met her when I went and I agree that she is very down to earth and she really cares about these children in other countries suffering with no shoes. One of the big things Jenna mentions about her is that she stays with the villagers to get a glimpse of what it is like in their lives. This is very important in making the organization successful like she says because Mona gets to experience the pain and hardships these people must endure every day. This motivates someone like her to work harder to achieve her goal. Then, the paper goes on to describing how Jenna organized the shoes and cleaned them. I didn’t take too much part in this when I was there so it is cool to see some of the other jobs that the volunteers were doing. I’m sure this probably made you very good about yourself because you were actually dealing with the shoes. Share Your Soles was a great place to volunteer time and like you said it flew by. It did bother me when people left way early. It wasn’t hard just to stick it out even if it dragged a little at the end. One thing that I think could help your paper is giving a brief history of the Share Your Soles foundation. You sort of just got right into talking about Mona. If someone who doesn’t know about the foundation or what they do would have not the slightest clue who she is. Other than that, I think you did a very good job on your essay. You put a lot of detail into how you felt during your service experience. It is interesting to see other perspectives on the foundation and what they thought about it. Share Your Soles was a real good place to do service at.
Alex Velez 9:50 am on March 27, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Since I shared the same experience the Saturday after, I could make some comparisons to your experience. I think it’s pretty cool that you have some volunteering under your belt at a nursing home. I agree with you that share your soles has done a lot as an organization for those less fortunate than us that can’t afford shoes. We also saw the videos that you did and they were pretty powerful in getting the share your soles message and story across. I think it was especially cool that you got to talk to mona to get to know her a little bit to be a down to earth person. This is pretty cool because how often do you get to actually meet the person behind all of this work? One figure you obtained but we didn’t was the amount of money it took to ship the shoes. I realize now how much money it takes for this process to actually be successful. To be the camera woman must have been pretty interesting. I would of liked to know what kind of questions you asked other people who where there. I must admit that after an hour of volunteering myself I felt like I didn’t get much done but after we got busy time flew and I would have liked to have stayed longer but I had other things to do. I would have liked a little more organization during my visit. Either way it was still a fulfilling experience so I can agree with you there. Giving something back in general can be extremely fulfilling for oneself. I also share you disappointment upon hearing about people who left early, its only 3 hours of your life. I also had fun with the people I was paired up with and really got to know them a little better as well. Mona has done so much for people that would be without shoes had she not stepped up to do something about it. I worry about what can be done so Mona wouldn’t have to send shoes anymore? I touch on this subject in my reflection and wonder how places like this get so poverish in the first place? What can be done to change it in the future? I like your paper, but I would like to see more figures in it such as the number of shoes sent since share your soles was started. I would like to know when and how share your soles was started. Facts and statistics would be a good way to put things in perspective and give your reader some depth as to how serious the situation is. I personally went online and viewed the video we saw at share your soles to get some content for my paper. When you go back to revise this paper it might prove to be helpful in this respect.
James Jeszke 9:48 pm on March 27, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
A bunch of people have attended the Share Your Soles and it seems like I am the only person to attend it. By the looks of the papers I have read, many have had an experience that is self fulfilling. This paper is pretty good but I think that the last couple papers I read lacked was the total number of shoes that are sent over year after year. It would be a good thing to add that since it would give your paper that much more ‘umph’ and set the stage for this paper. A couple simple statistics can boost the credibility of this paper through the roof. Take into consideration adding a few of those. But, other than that your paper is very well prepared and showed that you had a very good time with those you were paired up with. I’m sorry for hearing that people actually left the place. 3 hours is not a very long time. It’s a shame that some people would actually do that. I cannot really relate to this topic because for my service opportunity, I went and talked to some of the old folks at Sunrise Senior Living. The experience there was great. The person I interviewed showed me how to charish the life you live because it truly is short. He did a great deal of service for our country during World War II and worked building our countries railroads. This man was by far one the most courageous, good hearted people I have ever met. Think about all the shoes and things you got together for your service opportunity and who that is going to and what its going to do when it finally reaches that individual. Their heart will melt with joy and happiness because of your efforts in putting a ‘survival pack’ together really. It’s easy to say that Share Your Soles sounds a very great organization with a great purpose in giving back to the truly needy people in this cruel world.
Remember, service is a big thing in this world and without it, where would we be? Several people would be stuck without food, water, shelter, and clothes. You did a great in dealing with one of the major components that most people take for granted in this world, shoes. I agree with Alex Velez’s questions; how do places like that get so poverish in the first place and what can be done to change it in the future? To me, adding a few minor stats about this subject can make this paper standout and give it credibility. Give it a shot and see what your results are at the end of the semester on this paper. It could be useful to do so and will boost your grade up.