Take Back Our Nights, Take Back Our Days, Take Back Our Lives!

Last month, I was shocked to hear about the Ohio case in which two high school football players were convicted of sexually assaulting a fellow student.  The victim, who was too intoxicated at the time to consent, was digitally penetrated more than once by her attackers.  Other students took pictures and videos of the attack, which were then posted online.  What struck me as even more appalling was that the defendants testified they didn’t think it was rape because “it wasn’t violent”.

Then just two weeks ago, I read about another similar case in California in which three 16 year old boys sexually assaulted a 15 year old girl and also posted pictures of the attack online.  The victim, devastated from the attack and the subsequent shame of having the photos disseminated, hung herself eight days later.

These are just two of thousands of the stories across the country involving rape and sexual assault.  Consider the following shocking statistics from the World Health Organization:

• 1:5 women in Indiana will be raped in their lifetime
• 44% of women in Indiana will endure sexual violence other than rape
• Victims are 3 times more likely to suffer from depression
• Victims are 13 times more likely to abuse alcohol and 26 times more likely to abuse drugs
• Perpetrators have only a 4% chance of being arrested, prosecuted and convicted of rape and sexual assault.  Only a 4% chance!!

As I mentioned last week, April is sexual assault awareness month.  We simply have to do more to stop this epidemic of violence against women.  So my question to you this week is, “What do you think could be done to raise awareness about this issue and to help stop sexual violence against women?”  Really think about it!  Ladies – we’ve probably all been told not to accept drinks from others, walk alone late at night and/or wear revealing clothes.  That doesn’t get at the heart of the issue.  How will you teach your daughters, sisters and nieces about this issue?  Guys – I’d love to hear more about what you’ve been taught growing up about rape and sexual assault as well.  Answers are due no later than Wednesday, May 1^st, 2013. 

 As I mentioned last week, all through April and May I will be raising supplies for the Julian Center, a local domestic violence shelter. Click here to access their wish list: http://www.juliancenter.org/Donate/Wish-List.aspx   You can bring any of these items to class over the next two months to be a part of this great cause. Last year, the AI students donated over $1,000 items!! Let’s see if we can beat that total!

Marathon Terror

I would be remiss this week, if I didn’t devote the blog to the terrible tragedy that happened in Boston on Monday, in which two explosions went off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.  At the time of this writing, three individuals have died, and 176 are injured – 17 of them critically.  There are no words that can covey my sadness over another senseless tragedy, and my anger at individuals who get their kicks off of committing these atrocities.

Recently, I watched the Oscar winning movie, Zero Dark Thirty, about the manhunt for Osama Bin Laden.  The movie has been somewhat controversial for graphic depictions of torture that the United States employed in an attempt to get individuals to provide information on Bin Laden’s whereabouts.  President Bush is on record as saying he approved the use of certain “tools” on known terrorists including waterboarding, a freezing cell, and long periods without sleep, standing or in stress positions.  Pressure is currently mounting on the Obama administration to allow access to more documents pertaining to the CIA’s terror suspect detention program during the Bush administration, to clarify exactly what methods were employed, on whom and for what specific purposes.

So my question to you this week is, “Do you think the United States should torture individuals who may provide information needed to combat terrorism?  Does it make a difference if the terrorists are foreign or domestic?”  Answers are due no later than Wednesday, April 24^th, 2013.  My thoughts are prayers go out to my fellow Americans in Boston, and those affected by this tragedy.

P.S.  April is sexual assault awareness month!  Next week, I plan to blog about this issue, and all through April and May I will be raising supplies for the Julian Center, a local domestic violence shelter.  Click here to access their wish list:  http://www.juliancenter.org/Donate/Wish-List.aspx   You can bring any of these items to class over the next two months to be a part of this great cause.  Last year, the AI students donated over $1,000 items!!  Let’s see if we can beat that total!

 

All You Need Is Love - Part 2

As a teacher, you never know what kind of class you’re going to get.  You do your best to set a good tone and encourage dialogue, but inevitably, some classes are better than others.  So imagine my happiness as I read through your comments from last week.  From education to the environment, foreign policy, social programs, gun control, prayer in school and civil liberties – you were interested, and that is all I ask.  I was amused to read multiple comments which said, “I like environmental or social issues, but not political issues.”  My goal this quarter is to show you how environmental and social issues are political issues.  Regardless, I was very happy with your comments from last week.  I’m looking forward to getting to know all of you and hearing your opinions in class.  Now, on to this week’s post.

This week, we will discuss same sex marriage in class when we cover the Full Faith and Credit Clause. You are literally living history when it comes to same sex marriage.  President Obama became the first President in history to go on the record in support of same sex marriage.  After decades of avoiding the issue, the Supreme Court is currently hearing two cases that may drastically affect our country’s stance on the issue. Since I plan to discuss this with you in class, for this week’s blog I would like to expand on that issue and discuss same sex adoptions.

Efforts to ban gay and lesbian couples from adoption are heating up all across America. Florida, Mississippi and Utah have all banned same sex couples from adopting. In Michigan, gay or lesbians singles can adopt, but not couples.  Arkansas bans homosexuals from being foster parents.  Currently, sixteen additional states are considering bans of same sex adoptions, including Indiana.

Opponents of same sex adoptions, often say that children being raised with same-sex parents will have psychological issues, be bullied or teased at school, have unclear gender role models and perhaps even become gay or lesbian themselves.

Supporters of same sex adoptions include the National Adoption Center, the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association and the American Pediatrics, all of which state that adoptions by gay or lesbian couples do not negatively affect children.

The issue of same sex adoption is one that inspires debate across America and will probably be left up to the courts to decide, however one thing is clear: we all want what is best for our children. So my question to you this week is, “What do you think of same sex adoptions? Why do you feel the way you do?” Answers are due by Wednesday, April 17^th, 2013. 

Choose Your Own Adventure

It's always hard coming back to school after break. Don't get me wrong, I love teaching and being surrounded by all the crazy, creative evergy that is all of you. That being said, it's still hard to get back into the grind.  So for our first blog post, I'll go easy on you.

This week we started our study of the Constitution and the freedoms that make us uniquely American. You can order your own free copy of the United States Constitution from: http://www.constitutionfacts.com/index.cfm?section=bookstore&page=freeCopy.cfm

Normally, our first blog post has something to do with the freedoms you value most and whether or not you are proud to call yourself an American. This quarter, I would like to start with something different. A good portion of this class will be spent discussing current events and political issues that affect our everyday lives. For this post, I would like you to tell me at least one issue that you are interested in studying. To help you out, you can look over the blog posts that we've had in the past several years to get an idea of the type of things we've covered. Many of the topics are pretty controversial and I do my best to not censor the information available to you.

So my question to you this week is, "What is one issue that you are interested in studying in this class?" Answers are due no later than Wednesday, April 10th, 2013. I'm looking forward to a great quarter!