Your Thoughts and Feedback Are Appreciated

Well another quarter has come and gone! This is kind of bittersweet for me in that, for the first time in 10 years, I will not be teaching next quarter.  I made the decision because I have been awarded a Human Service Professional Renewal Grant by the Lilly Endowment.  Through my renewal, I will be traveling to Alaska and Europe - and therefore, will not be able to commit to teaching next quarter.  I'm excited about my upcoming travels, but I'm sad to leave a job I love and all of you.I have enjoyed getting to know all of you and hearing your opinions in class!  I wish all of you blessings and success in the future, and hope that you stay in touch.

So for our last blog post, I would like to get your thoughts and feedback on the class.  "What did you like or dislike about the class?  What could I do to make it better?"  Answers are due no later than Wednesday, June 14, 2017.  After that, the blog will be down until class resumes in the Fall! I wish all of you a happy and safe summer break!!

You Are Beautiful - Part II

I’ve always been consciously aware of society’s pressure on young girls to be thin, pretty and popular.  As a young teen, I pored over beauty magazines and strove to match the images I saw in them.  “Will I ever have those curves? Will my skin ever be that clear?  Will my hair ever have that much volume?” Finally, I grew up, learned to love myself and learned how to support other women of all shapes and sizes.  

So I was disappointed to read an article yesterday, regarding the controversy around a billboard for the upcoming animated film 'Red Shoes& the 7 Dwarfs' which features a Snow White who is "no longer beautiful." The ad depicted a tall, thin woman in red heels next to a shorter, heavier version of herself holding her heels. The tagline promoted a Snow White who was no longer beautiful.  You can check it out for yourself here: http://www.teenvogue.com/story/snow-white-spoof-fat-shaming

The billboard immediately sparked outrage from people who thought is supported body shaming. It implies that the plumper version of Snow White isn’t beautiful because she’s fat.  The trailer for the movie posted on YouTube only back’s up their view.  It shows dwarfs hiding in Snow White’s cottage, secretly watching her undress (which is a whole separate problem than the body shaming).  As they watch her, the dwarfs are visibly excited as the slender Snow White disrobes, but when she takes of her shoes, the previously skinny woman is suddenly fatter.  The dwarfs react in horror, implying that seeing a fat woman naked is gross or displeasing, but seeing the skinny woman is exciting a good.  Again, the movie appears to be saying fat is ugly.  

For their part, movie producers say the film's synopsis promises an empowering message in which Snow White "learns not only to accept herself, but to celebrate who she is, inside and out." The company behind the film, Locus Corporation, has apologized. A spokesperson for the company stated, "…Locus Corporation wishes to apologize regarding the first elements of our marketing campaign (in the form of a Cannes billboard and a trailer), which we realize has had the opposite effect from that which was intended. Our film, a family comedy, carries a message designed to challenge social prejudices related to standards of physical beauty in society by emphasizing the importance of inner beauty."

Body shaming and negative comments they receive can have a devastating impact on a young girl’s self-esteem. Cases of anorexia and bulimia have been found in girls as young as 5.  The media bombards us with images of stick-thin models and airbrushed actresses that put even more pressure of girls to achieve the “ideal image”. Consider these startling statistics from a recent survey of girls ages 12-18, by Sugar magazine:

• 78% said they worry about their weight
• 1:5 have been criticized by a family member for “being too big"
• 51% said their parents have hurt their feelings talking about their size

So, my question to you this week is, “What do you think can be done to ensure young girls are raised with a healthy body image?” Ladies, I would love to hear how and if you were affected by this as young girls.  Guys, I would like to know how you think men contribute to what women think the ideal body image is. Answers are due no later than Wednesday, June 7^th, 2017.

Pomp and Circumstance and Protests

This past Sunday, our former Governor and current Vice President Mike Pence, returned to Indiana to give the commencement speech at Notre Dame University.  When he began to speak, approximately 100 of the 3,171 graduates got up quietly from their seats and left the stadium in protest of Pence's policy positions.  Since Sunday, there has been quite a debate about whether the students were engaging in their right to free speech, or being disrespectful.

The protest had been planned for weeks and both university and campus police were made aware of the demonstration prior to the ceremony.  Students began planning the protest after learning of Pence's selection as their commencement speaker, due in part to the numerous controversies that surrounded Pence's time as Governor, including the religious freedom bill that many felt allowed discrimination against LGBTQA Hoosiers.

Supporters of the protest, which included several Notre Dame faculty members stated that the students had a right to exercise their free speech rights.  Opponents argued that the students disrupted the graduation ceremony for others, and that they were disrespectful to their fellow graduates, faculty and civil leaders.  For his part, Pence did not seem flustered by the demonstration and ironically spoke of Notre Dame as a "vanguard of freedom f expression and the free exchange of ideas."

Some of you will be graduating in just a few weeks and I'm interested in knowing how you all feel.  "Do you commend or condemn the protest?  Would you be ok with this kind of demonstration taking place during your graduation ceremony, or do you think graduations are not the place to exercise your rights to free speech?"  Answers are due no later than Wednesday, May 31st, 2017.

A Photo Is Worth 1,000 Words

I was shocked to read an article last week regarding the magazine LensCulture, which recently posted a photo of what appeared to be a man raping a girl who looks like a young teenager. The magazine — which has nearly a million Facebook followers — was using the photo to promote a photo competition. The caption said the girl is 16 and is being forced to have sexual interactions with a "client" in the red-light district of Kolkata, India.

The girl is on her back, looking up at the camera, with a naked man on top of her. Her face is in full view. Her identity is not concealed. There are two men in the room with this young girl. There's the 'client,' paying to have sex with her; and behind the client, stands the photographer, who has been paid, through grant money, to take photographs of the girl being used.

There has been a huge outcry since the photo was published. Based on the content of the photo and its caption, the photo violated UNICEF's ethical guidelines on reporting on children by showing her face, which makes her identifiable, according to human rights activists. According to UNICEF, you should "Always change the name and obscure the visual identity of any child who is identified as a victim of sexual abuse or exploitation." 

Amid a barrage of protests from readers, photojournalists and human rights activists, LensCulture took down the photo hours after it was posted. But the magazine defended the photo and its photographer, Souvid Datta: “We'd like to emphasize that we believe the work of the photographer was carried out with great ethical care and in close collaboration with the subject portrayed; by contrast, our own posting was hasty and presented the situation without proper context.” Datta has been a highly-regarded photojournalist since starting his career in 2013. He has won several prestigious awards, including ones from Getty Images and Magnum Photos. And his work has appeared in The New York Times and National Geographic. Datta also defended the image of the girl stating in part, “She asked me to photograph this interaction — fully aware of my intention to publish this story widely in an attempt to create constructive awareness ... Where some see the image, and point to the anonymity of the client and apparently undignified exposure of an underage girl, I see the astounding resilience of a young woman who takes ownership of her reality — unlawful, deplorable and bleak though it is — and determines to be more than what her circumstances have forced upon her. I see a woman who wants to speak directly to viewers, saying if you actually want to understand my perspective "then look into my eyes and see what I feel."

I’ll admit, my first reaction to this story was one of outrage and horror. If that was one of my family members, I wouldn’t want it published. Then I realized that many times throughout history, a photograph has been the catalyst for change.  It can call attention to an issue in the way that no words can.  In fact, I encourage you to make your own political images, and push the boundaries of what’s acceptable. You are all producers of content and many of you are photographers.  You know the power of an image.  So, my question to you this week is, “What do you think of the magazine’s decision to publish photos such as the one described?  Do you think it helps or hurts the cause of human sex trafficking?” Answers are due no later than Wednesday, May 24^th, 2017

Slapped By the Truth or Kissed with a Lie?

I had planned to blog about healthcare this week.  However, in the current political climate, it seems there is breaking news almost every day.  So, I decided to go with recent events – even more recent than the healthcare legislation.  This week, President Trump fired FBI Director, James Comey after the Justice department, and more specifically, the Deputy Attorney General recommended it.  According to the recommendation, Comey needed to be fired because of the way he mishandled the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server during her tenure as Secretary of State.

To many, it seems suspicious that Trump waiting this long before firing Comey, if the true reason was because of how he handled the investigation of Clinton which was going on thoughout the campaign season.  Especially considering that in March, the FBI publically announced it was conducting an investigation into the possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia prior to the election.

For his part, Trump has denied the firing had anything to do with the FBI’s investigation of his campaign, and calls reports that his campaign colluded with the Russians “fake news.”  Democrats are calling for a special, independent prosecutor to handle the investigation, however that seems unlikely.  A special prosecutor would need to be appointed by the Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, who has already recused himself from anything related to the investigation because he admitted he did have conversations with the Russia Ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak.  That leaves the responsibility of appointing a special prosecutor to the Deputy Attorney General, but he is the one who recommended Comey’s firing in the first place.

US intelligence already accused Moscow of orchestrating multiple cyberattacks against Democratic political organizations and leaking stolen info during the campaign season in an attempt to sway the election in Trump’s favor.  Trumps initial appointment for the National Security Advisor, Mike Flynn, also had to resign after it was revealed he too had communications with the Russian ambassador that he failed to disclose to Vice President Pence.

All this talk sounds so much like a spy novel; I have a hard time believing this is really our country’s political news.  So, my question to you this week is, “What do you think about the investigation into the Trump campaign’s Russia ties.  Do you think something nefarious occurred, or is the media sensationalizing the story?  Do you think we should appoint a special, independent prosecutor, or should we let the FBI continue their investigation?”  Answers are due no later than May 18^th, 2018

Black Lives Matter...But To Who?

It has been a long week.  Most of you know I was traveling this past week to Baltimore.  Baltimore’s murder rate has been on the rise, so much so that the mayor has requested help from the FBI because the Baltimore police can no longer control the high rates of violent crime.

Meanwhile, in Texas, Jordan Edwards, an unarmed, African-American 15 year old, was shot and killed by police.  The officers had received a call about a teenage house party where they believed under-age drinking was occurring.  When the police arrived, the teens did what many teens would do in that situation – they scattered and tried drive off.  The police first said they saw a vehicle reversing aggressively at them; however body camera evidence later showed the vehicle was driving away from the officers.  Officer Ray Oliver fired into the car of teenagers, killing Jordan with a shot to the head.  Bloodwork showed none of the teens had been drinking at the time of the incident.  I’ve blogged far too frequently about the killing of un-armed African American men.  You can read my thoughts and your fellow students’ comments here: http://historicalandpoliticalissues.blogspot.com/search?q=trayvon and here: http://historicalandpoliticalissues.blogspot.com/2014/12/hands-up-dont-shoot.html and here: http://historicalandpoliticalissues.blogspot.com/2016/07/americas-black-and-blue.html

I was raised to respect police officers.  I have friends and family that serve in the police department.  I understand that they often have to make split-second, life-changing decisions.  That being said, we can’t ignore the history of racism in this country, particularly within the justice system.  We all have biases – perhaps those biases come into play more when you’re faced with high stress situations.  I don’t have the answers, but it breaks my heart to lose so many young men to senseless violence.

So my question to you this week is, “What do you think can be done to ease the tensions between African-Americans and police?  How can we begin to find healing after incidents such as those mentioned above?”  Answers are due no later than Wednesday, May 10^th 2017

In A Galaxy Far, Far Away....

This past weekend, scientists from all over the world, marched to celebrate science and the role it plays in everyday lives. The goals of the marches and rallies were to emphasize that science upholds the common good and to call for evidence-based policy in the public's best interests.  A few months ago, I had the opportunity to see the movie Hidden Figures which tells the story of Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson - brilliant African-American women working at NASA, who served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, a stunning achievement that restored the nation's confidence, turned around the Space Race, and galvanized the world. 

I’ve always enjoyed learning about science, and particularly space.  My father had an amateur interest in astronomy and was always waking us up in the middle of the night to watch a meteor shower, see a comet or otherwise gaze at some celestial body that was visible enough for us to see and enjoy. He did this so often, it motivated my sister to became an Earth Space science teacher.

Which is why I was amazed to find out a few months ago that NASA has discovered a single star that is home to 7 Earth-like planets!  I’m not imaginative enough to believe in aliens out to invade the world, but I do believe there could be life on other planets – even if “life” just means amoebas or vegetation. 

NASA budget has been the source of conflict over the years, with some saying we’re spending too much and others saying it’s not enough.  For fiscal year 2017, NASA’s budget is 18.5 billion. That might seem like a big number, but it’s actually just .4% of our $4.147 trillion budget.  To put in in perspective, the Department of Defense’s budget for the same fiscal year is $523.8 billion – or 12.6% of our federal budget.  NASA has launched no new flight crews since 2012, and we currently pay Russia to transport our crews to the International Space Station.

So, my question to you this week is, “Do you think we should fund NASA at a higher level and invest in space exploration, or is the money better spent right here at home?  What are the benefits of space exploration?”  You must answer both questions for full credit.  Answers are due no later than Wednesday, May 3rd, 2017.  May the force be with you!

P.S.  If you haven’t seen Hidden Figures yet, I highly recommend it. This visionary trio crossed all gender and racial lines to inspire future generations of scientists to dream big!