Gay Marriage: A Worn Out Yet Critical Debate

I think of myself as a person who stands up for the well being of others, including family, friends, peers, and strangers. When the worn out debate ove gay marriage surfaces in any conversation, I can't help but become strongly defensive because I am proud to stand in strong favor of gay marriage. I wouldn't call this attitude stubborn because in high school I engaged in formal debate over the issue in a Speech and Debate class and in Government class, so I've done the research and formulated opinions based off of more than just personal values. This is my stance:

As one of the most powerful countries in the world, America is constantly setting the precedent for other nations to meet. However, there is one glaring omission from the progressive attitude of America: the lack of a nationwide law permitting same sex marriage. Same sex marriage is a controversial issue in the United States that has fueled many conflicts in the past. There have been court cases, overturned laws, and passionate protests in the past decades. Although same sex marriage debates were not as prevalent prior to the 1990’s, the history of the issue traces all the way back to the traditional definition of marriage. In its simplest form, the issue is concerned with human rights. Same sex marriage should be legalized in every state because, in forbidding it, the government is denying a basic human right, discriminating against a minority, and resisting change to a modern age.

The issue of gay marriage appeared in the United States courts in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Court rulings were inconsistent and had little impact on the general population. In the 1990’s, it seemed support for gay marriage was possible. However, the Defense of Marriage Act seriously undermined the success of the 1990’s. In the past five years, more states have passed legislation granting gay rights than ever. The next step that remains for every state, and hopefully at last the national level, is redefining marriage to mean ‘the permanent relationship with a significant other’. 

I could go on. And on. And on. I take pride in this passion of favoring gay marriage. I think the importance of holding strong beliefs is underestimated and ignored by young adults, causing a lack of awareness about societal issues.

How to Write About Family Emergencies

Wednesday afternoon, my Grandfather passed away. I am very close with my family and the loss has put my life on hold. I had two exams on Thursday and a paper due today. When I inquired the Office of Student Affairs about an excused absence from these exams, they said that the death must be of an immediate family member. So this morning, I was stuck composing emails to my professors about my situation, asking them to work with me through this loss.

I know this is a depressing blog post, but when something like this happens, it becomes your entire world. My family is absolutely critical in my life, and a loss like this that threatens our foundation terrifies me. I put studying on hold last night so that I could spend time with my brother, the closest family I have up here. I have been up every night this week with a terrible cough that prevents me from sleeping more than a consecutive hour. It's not so hard to write about my situation in a blog post, but how can I communicate with my professors in the right way? How can I let them know that I still value their course? I struggled with this dilemma earlier today, trying to say just the right things in my emails.

We have learned in class that verb choice, sentence structure, and style are critical in writing. We have also discussed the difficulty of communicating via email because of the loss of emotion in typed words. I typed and retyped every sentence of my emails, worried that my professors would think I was using this family loss as a mere excuse to get out of taking their exam. I have minimal relationships with these professors. However, I still try to excel academically in these classes. My emails had to explain my situation and outline a plan for me to overcome it. I clicked "send" and now await responses from professors, uncertain that they will sympathize with me missing exams today. Luckily, these kinds of situations rarely occur, but unfortunately, when they do, coming up with the best response is very difficult.

(Not So) Happy Meals

I have seen the documentary Supersize Me three times. It intrigues me, but also leaves me with many lingering questions. I think the film fails to address a relevant controversy: the Happy Meal. Unhealthy eating habits start during youth; therefore, the unhealthy components of a Happy Meal increase the chances of a later, unhealthy lifestyle.

I remember riding home from intramural soccer games in elementary school with my hopes set on one goal: a McDonald's Happy Meal. On special occasions, my parents would treat me to a Happy Meal. For me, it was not about the chicken nuggets or french fries. Sure, I enjoyed them, but I much rather preferred my Mom's home cooking. I lived for the free toys. I introduced the Happy Meal toys into my extensive collection of bath toys. I swam through the bathtub with Buzz Lightyear, Pocahontas, and Simba figurines floating by my side. My floating friends came from my Happy Meal, therefore, it is easy for me to associate a Happy Meal with happiness. However, this association leaves out an unfortunate ramification of Happy Meals: improper nutrition for America's Youth.

My Happy Meal was made up of chicken nuggets, fries, a toy, and orange soda. Today, a Happy Meal offers an array of slightly healthier options, including: 'all white meat' chicken nuggets, apple slices, and a milk jug. Certainly these options are superior to the typical Happy Meal of my youth. Except, what elementary school age child would ever choose apples over fries? Milk over soda? Very few.

At the drive through, the menu displays bright images of salted french fries, juicy beef patties, crispy chicken nuggets, and bubbly soda. The healthy options are definitely pictured, but with a much less appealing nature. There is clearly less effort to make the apples appear crunchy or the milk appear fresh. In the restaurant, wafts of fried food seep through your senses. Oils popping from the grill and fry basket saturate the air and massive ketchup containers spread a hint of tomato among the smells. The scent of fresh cut vegetables and fruit or lean proteins is completely absent.

What has McDonald's actually done to encourage children to pick healthier options in their Happy Meals? Barely anything. On the surface, the company can boast the mere existence of the healthier options and therefore slyly avoid criticism. Unfortunately, McDonald's has not changed their advertising, presentation, or ideology in the slightest. The restaurants and menus are geared for customers to purchase the classic McDonald's foods, and not the somewhat healthier options. The company capitalizes on the biology of humans: we crave unhealthy foods because they satisfy pleasure centers in our brain.

PowerPOINTLESS

After Robin explained the PowerPoint controversy in class yesterday, I reflected on the PowerPoint styles that I have encountered recently and throughout high school. I think I can break it down to a few specific styles:

The frantic copier- Aaaah. Too much text on a slide, not enough time for the pen to busily scratch down every word. How can I decipher what is crucial and what is not when my teacher verbalizes every phrase on the PowerPoint?! Conversely, some of my professors have a tendency to elaborate extensively on a single slide while I lose my place and let go of all hopes of organization.

Technical difficulties- Don't get me wrong, I love my Stat professor. But his constant mumblings over clicking the wrong button or how to work the laser point or flipping back and forth between slides are incredibly distracting. I also love my high school Government teacher. However, his fear of his SmartBoard led to many interruptions during failed attempts at PowerPoints during class.

Slide overload- This inevitably leads to the "time-is-running-out-let-me-skip-six-slides-in-ten-seconds" trick. Class is almost over....the end of the PowerPoint is nowhere in sight! So, why not just fly through each slide? Wrong. Too many slides in the PowerPoint restricts time limits enough at it is. Flipping through the last slides to save time deprives important information from the lesson.

That's just too fancy- I don't understand why people insist on excessive animation on their slides. I don't care if my title slide flies in, flips upside down, bounces, spins, shakes, or changes colors. It just has to be there! Intricate backgrounds detract from the focus on the text on the slides and complicated formats make the slides hard to follow. Sometimes, fancy is fun. Sometimes, fancy is just too much.

...Luckily, I have had teachers who utilize the PowerPoint brilliantly, leading to enhanced learning and an overall better educational experience. Kudos to them. However, those who fail, usually fail miserably. PowerPoints are tools for rhetoric, allowing the presenter to effectively convey their ideas to their peers. Unfortunately, Powerpoints are also weapons for mass confusion.