The Pin

For all my avid blog followers, sorry I haven't posted in a few weeks. I was diagnosed with a concussion 2 weeks ago, and am just now able to get back to blogging. This concussion not only came at an awful time because of finals, but I also missed the last two weeks of my Volleyball season. For those who do not know, the New Trier Varsity Volleyball team went down to state on Friday, meaning we were top 8 out of 150+ teams in the state.

Unfortunately, we lost in the quarter finals. If that wasn't enough, it was to a team that we did not like whatsoever. It was a well fought game, but the worse of the two teams came out on top. In the locker room after the game, morale was low, and tears were even shed. Our coach proceeded to explain to us how great of a season we had, and handed each of us the small pin pictured above. When I received this pin, I was livid. After all the work we had put in, 3 months of blood sweat and tears, we were all given one generic pin. I didn't think it was fair, and was embarrassed to be given such a small consolation prize.

It wasn't until the bus ride home that I began to appreciate the pin. Although the pin isn't a 3 foot high first place trophy, it still does represent the unbelievable season we had. And I don't mean unvelievable because of the 32-8 record we finished with, but because of the memories and good times the team shared. When I look at this pin now, I see us beating Loyola in two sets to advance to state. I see my fellow teammates and I sitting around a bonfire bonding. I think of all the amazing times on and off the court that I shared with my teammates. When I look at this pin, the Lake Park loss in the quarter finals is the farthest thing away from my mind.

This post has nothing to do with America, which is the whole point of the blog, but I believe does teach an important lesson. This lesson is to always see the bright side of things, even if it may be hard to. I could have easily thrown this pin away in the locker room, because it reminded me of a horrible loss to a team we could've beaten. Instead, I'll use it as a memento to remind myself of the friendships I made my junior year of Volleyball. Plus, I have another whole year to win that 3 foot tall trophy.

Reverse Racism?

After writing a whole non-opinionated research paper on why affirmative action support rates have dropped, I feel the need to input my opinion on the topic. For those who do not know, affirmative action is the use of programs and quotas put in place in admissions and employment in an attempt to bridge the race gap: socially and economically. While many people feel affirmative action is important due to the fact minorities were treated so poorly in this country for so long, others feel that selection based on race is racist towards whites. As more and more cases appear before the Supreme Court regarding this controversial topic, people are choosing sides.

I believe that affirmative action is absolutely necessary in today's society. As a white, economically stable child, affirmative action does not help me at all, yet I am still able to look past my own gains, and see what is best for this country. There is a huge gap between the wealth of whites and minorities, and affirmative action is a way to attempt to change this. As of 2013, an average black household makes only 59% of the annual earning of an average white household. (Business Insider). This horrifying statistic can be bridged with he help of affirmative action programs. With minorities having the initial upper-hand in selection, more minorities will rise to the top of the economic totem pole, and therefore this gap will begin to close.

Not only are whites the ones being accepted to high-level college, they are the ones who excel in the work force. With 71% of college graduates being white, a whopping 96% of CEO's are white. (Civil Rights Education Fund) This is due to the fact that whites generally hire other white people, and therefore enter a revolving door complex: where the same high level jobs are being passed down to other whites. This leaves the upper-class work force with little to no diversity: a problem that affirmative action can help to change. Overall, I believe that affirmative action is crucial to input into our society, or America may regress into the racially segregated society we were 100 years ago.

Seflie Sunday

Each and every Sunday, teenager's Instagrams are filled with photos of themselves, with the caption "selfie Sunday". A selfie, as recently added into the Webster Dictionary, means a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smart phone. This phenomenon has exploded over the last few years, and now comprises over 30% of all pictures taken by young people. (http://www.relevantmagazine.com). The question now arises: why are selfies so popular? 

In my opinion, the skyrocketing number of selfies can be attributed to the American theme of Narcissism. Narcissism is the admiration of oneself, mainly referring to physical and mental achievements. America is seen as a very narcissistic country, which would explain why people are taking so many pictures of themselves. With so many interesting things happening all around us, many Americans cannot look past their personal bubble, and decide to photograph themselves instead. This obsession with ourselves may strive from the importance the American public and media has put on material possessions. Things such as clothes, accessories, and even make-up is a way for both men and women to propel themselves into a higher class, and photographs wearing/using these material possessions may make the selfie photographer believe they are raising their social status. Also, people want to show off their stuff at all times, and selfies allow people to brag about their stuff in a discreet way. 

On a more optimistic level, the rise in the selfie may be due to the usefulness of the selfie. One of the most frustrating parts of texting is that it's very hard to convey tone. A simple photo displaying a facial expression can help to suggest sarcasm, humor, or whatever tone one wishes. 

As selfies represent the narcissistic attitude Americans hold about themselves, it also shows America's high level of innovation. Technology was missing a personal side, and selfies make this contact seem much more realistic, as it is literally face-to-face communication. I believe selfies are a very American idea, for both good and bad reasons. 

ESPN Alerts: Quick and Easy

Almost all sports fans with smart phones have one thing in common: they all receive alerts from ESPN notifying new and important stories in sports. The interesting thing about these alerts is how brief each message is. One would assume that a true sports fan would want more than a 25 word blurb about the newest news. Yet, many people are completely satisfied with the short alerts they get, and seek no more information. While thinking about this, I began to wonder: What is so appealing about these alerts?

I have come to a few explanations. My first guess is that because they are so short, they allow busy people to stay up on the current sporting events. Instead of turning on Sports Center and watching a 30 minute segment, a quick text message gets the information into their brain, and takes up a fraction of the time. This lack of available free time can be attributed to the hustle-bustle lifestyle many Americans live in this day and age.

My next conclusion that explains this phenomenon is that these alerts allow non-sports fans to talk and act like a sport fan. In modern day America, especially among males, sports is a huge talking point. For males not interested/knowledgeable about sports, a social barrier can be created. By signing up for these free alerts, a non-sports fan can get sent metaphorical flashcards filled with talking points that can help bridge the social gap created by this lack of knowledge.

My last reasoning is because they are simply the next step in the technological innovation of sports. Many sports fans, myself included, love these alerts because they make sure that there is nothing we have missed. Any major game, trade, or event happening in the sports community is documented by these alerts, and ensure that all sports fans are aware that these events are transpiring.

I believe that these ESPN alerts are a great representation of modern day America. They allow people to be knowledgeable, social, it frees up time, and ensures complete understanding. These are all themes that Americans hold near and dear to their heart. As more and more technological innovations occur, Americans will be able to know and do more, while actually doing less.

The Four-Fifths Compromise

As I have been researching affirmative action for my junior theme, I have come across an incredibly interesting story about a university that I am highly interested in attending. Up until 1995, the University of Michigan used a point system to calculate whether a student would be admitted into the school. The point system was out of 155 possible points, and if you earned 100 points, you would be admitted. On the surface, it seems like a fair, even way to calculate how much a student deserves to be admitted. But once I dug deeper, I found the distribution of points terrifying.

The make-up of the points went like this: 80 for GPA, 12 for test scores, 10 for being from Michigan, 1 for a good essay, 4 for legacy, 10 for personal achievement and leadership, 18 for difficulty of high school,  and 20 points for being an under-represented minority. 20 points! The second most important category in this process is the color of your skin! Even black conservative Robert Woodson calls this system "Outrageous", and points out how race is almost doubly important as a perfect ACT score (Geocurry.com). A free 20 points for being a minority makes it a full 20% easier to get admitted. Minorities have to accomplish 80% of white a white applicant must.

Although I am for affirmative action, a process this black and white (no pun intended) is reverse racism. There must be help given in the admissions process to low socio-economic applicants, who happen to be predominantly minorities. Economic standing and opportunities given by the high school should be the defining factors, not race. A minority from New Trier should have no more advantage than a Caucasian from New Trier. It is truly amazing how African Americans were labeled as only 3/5 of a person 227 years ago, and now, they still only have to be 4/5 of the applicant a person has to be. So the question arises: When will minorities finally be treated the same as whites?

Racist Plastic

When one walks into a retail store, the first thing they see is probably a large, plastic, fake human wearing clothes. It sounds strange when you describe it like this, but these mannequins are the norm at the front of every store. What I've never thought of is the color of the mannequins, until I went into the Nike store last week.

Right when you walk in, there are two mannequins reppin' Duke and OSU basketball jerseys. Notice that the mannequins have high muscle definition, as well as having black plastic skin. Once I saw this, I was astonished at how blatantly obvious the stereotyping of that mannequin was: attempting to label all basketball players as looking like that. Then, after doing some research, I found it was really stereotyping, just honest portrayal. Of the 24 members of the Duke and Osu basketball teams, there are a combined 6 white people. Considering 60% of the U.S is white, yet only 25% of the players on these teams are white, this store was just being truthful.

Lots of questions popped into my head when I saw the mannequins. I began to think of how many times I have seen a white mannequin wearing a suit, compared to a black one. On the walk back to the car, I saw countless white mannequins wearing suits, and not a single black one. Once again, is this stereotyping or honesty? I read while researching my junior theme that 95% of CEO's are white. If every store tried to accurately portray the majority through each one of their mannequins, every sports mannequin would be black, and every business one would be white. What an awful way of segregation.

Other questions I thought of are: Maybe because I live in a white-dominant community, all the mannequins are white. Maybe if I lived elsewhere I would see more diversity in suited mannequins. I also thought about it from an advertising perspective. No matter what color your skin is, basketball fans like good basketball players. And the majority of these good players are dark-skinned and very strong. The stores are just trying to model what is seen on television, not stereotype all basketball players. I think this whole controversy could be avoided if all stores did what Addidas does: blue and pink mannequins.

The United States' Air Farce

On Thursday, March 27, at Malmstrom Air Force base, nine officers were fired for cheating on a monthly proficiency test. This was no small, unimportant test either, it was testing the officers on "the launching of intercontinental ballistic missiles"(NY Times Article). When dealing with ballistic missiles, it is crucial to operate it correctly, as the missile is intended to hit multiple targets. The officers at Malmstrom are considered 21st century minute men, and must be prepared at all times for to operate, especially with little notice. Cheating on this test not only ended their careers, but put the lives of innocent Americans at risk. These men took an oath to protect their country, and completely disregarded it by cheating.

What comes as even more of a surprise is that their Commander, Col. Robert Stanley, knew about the cheating, and did not stop it. Although only nine men were fired as of now, 82 of Stanley's other officers are under investigation. Whether we can say if it was he who provided answers, it is unclear. Stanley has been relieved from his duty. Although we do not know who is behind the cheating, we do know how they cheated.

Answers to these monthly tests were sent through text messages to the cheating officers. As I mentioned in my most recent blog, smart phones may be making us dumber. This is yet another example of how technology can be seen as evil and unhelpful. More and more information will inevitably come out in the near future, but this is already being seen as the "largest number of dismissals in the history of the ICBM force""(NY Times Article).