I Vote! I Count!

Last week, we discussed political parties and what each party’s platform is in class.  As we move into election season (am I the only one excited?!?) it will be important for you to know which party and which candidate you most closely align with.  So with that being said, this week’s blog will be a little different. 

First, I would like you to take this quiz, which will ask you about your thoughts on certain topics, and then tell you which candidate most closely matches your own viewpoints.  It also allows you to tell it how important an issue is to you. You can access the quiz here:  https://www.isidewith.com/

 My question to you this week is, “Which candidate’s viewpoints did the quiz match you up with?  Did that surprise you, or were you already planning to vote for that person?”  Answers are due no later than Wednesday, May 4th, 2016.

P.S.  If you or someone you know needs to register vote, you can register here:

https://indianavoters.in.gov/PublicSite/OVR/Introduction.aspx

Shaming the Victim

I was shocked last week when I heard about Marina Lonina, an 18 year old who stands accused of live streaming her 17 year old friend’s rape.  Yes, you read that right – she livestreamed a RAPE!  Lonina has been charged with 1 count of kidnapping, 2 counts of rape, 1 count of sexual battery, and 2 counts of illegal use of a minor in nudity material.  She stands to serve 40 years in prison if convicted on all charges.  Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time I’ve blogged about people sharing rape and sexual assaults on social media.  You can read my post and your fellow students thoughts here: http://historicalandpoliticalissues.blogspot.com/2013/04/take-back-our-nights-take-baqck-our.html

Rape is not only prevalent in America, it is the only crime “in which the victim has to prove her innocence,” according to author Alina Klein.  Consider the following statistics:

• According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, there are over 89,000 rapes reported every year. 
• Since many victims don’t report their assaults, the Bureau estimates that there are over 300,000 rapes occurring every year. 
• Women stand a 1:5 chance of being raped in their lifetime.
• The United States ranks 13^th in the world for crimes of rape.

Reading the statistics started making me depressed – before I started getting really mad.  Why aren’t we talking about this more?  Why are victims harassed about what they were wearing, where they were at, or their life choices?  The prevalence of social media makes it that much easier to blame and harass the victim, and in some cases, even publicize the actual assault.

So my question to you this week is, “Do you think individuals who use social media to broadcast crimes, are just as responsible as the person committing the crime?  Should they face the same punishment?”  I also want to know what you were taught about rape growing up: 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.  Guys – I’d love to hear more about what you’ve been taught growing up about rape and sexual assault as well.  How will we teach our daughters, sisters and nieces about this issue? 

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Black Fish

I’ve never been to Sea World, but I do love animals.  A few quarters ago, a student did her final project on animal abuse, and she encouraged me to watch the documentary Blackfish. If you’re not familiar with the movie, it is primarily about Tilikum, an Orca who was captured in 1983 by Sea World and has been involved in Sea World’s live Orca shows.

Over the break, I happened to catch this documentary on CNN and what I discovered was horrifying.  I had never really given it much thought, but I assumed that the animals at Sea World were “rescued” or in need of care in some way.  In Tilikum’s case, he was captured off the coast of Iceland for no other reason than to provide entertainment and ultimately make money for Sea World.  Orcas are social creatures by habit and the movie heartbreakingly showed their reactions to being stripped away from their mothers and family units.  The pools that the Orca’s live in at Sea World are .00001% of the amount of water that Orcas would swim in a typical day in the ocean.  In some case, the Orcas could barely turn around, their massive bodies stretching from end to end of their tiny pools.  The whole movie was so distressing that twice I had to turn it off and come back to it later.

As a response to his captivity and his primitive nature, Tlilkum has been involved in the death of three people since his capture.  He is also the main breeder for Sea World and as a result, it is estimated that up to 90% of all Orcas at the Sea Worlds parks share his DNA.

For their part, Sea World Vice President has stated that they have “altered how we care for, display and train these extraordinary animals,” and that Sea World has “changed facilities, equipment and procedures at the whale habitats.”  In fact, as a result of this documentary Sea World has pledged to end their Orca breeding program and phase out all of their live Orca shows.

I’m glad Sea World responded to mounting public pressure to end these practices, but the movie got me thinking about other animal habitats, including zoos. My family holds season passes to the Indianapolis Zoo and it is a favorite place of my niece and nephew.  Again, without giving it much thought, I always assumed that the zoo supported conservation and the animals in the zoo had been “rescued” in some fashion.  I now fear I am terribly wrong and I wonder what my money has gone to support. 

So my question to you this week is, “Do you think zoos are positive organization which support conservation and teach kids about animals they otherwise would not have a chance to see – or do you think zoos exploit the animals to support their own financial gain?  What do you think could be done to ensure that animals in zoos are properly cared for?”  You must answer all questions to earn full credit.  Answers are due no later than Wednesday, April 20^th, 2016.

This post is dedicated to one of my best friends, Azriel Sassafras, who passed away on March 25^th, 2016.  She was the best first pet I could’ve asked for and I will miss her much!

Choose Your Own Adventure!

I hope you all enjoyed a nice break.  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 energy 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

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 13th, 2016. I'm looking forward to a great quarter!