How the Grinch Fixed the Code of Conduct?

For my Argument Course, we were assigned to create an amendment to the GCE Code of Conduct, defending a necessary change in rules based upon your evaluation of its logical flaws. The purpose of this action project was to construct an argument to amend the Code of Conduct. I learned about the different fallacies. Below is my argument.

The idea in these equations is to sum all the forces on it and set them equal to ma. The interesting thing is how the equations tie together changes in all the different stress components, making them interdependent on each other, which is the same idea I wanted to introduce in my argument, this idea of equilibrium/equality. You would assume that a document that plays a major role in students'life wouldn't lacks their voices, but it does. "Equilibrium." Equilibrium. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.

Schools have been writing Codes of Conduct for decades, but the role they play in shaping students’ behavior has changed dramatically. “The Code of Conduct is a set of rules outlining the responsibilities of, or proper practices for, an individual, party or organization” (Wikipedia). These Codes of Conduct must be followed by students and are in effect during, after and school-related activities. The primary reason for a Code of Conduct is to maintain standards of an institution and set forth procedures necessary to protect and keep a learning environment.

I have crafted the following amendment to provide an alternative to the students’ contract for the Code of Conduct. This amendment rectifies the agreement portion of the Code of Conduct and allows students, including those who are new, to get a chance to discuss and modify the Code of Conduct before blindly agreeing to it. This amendment also states students’ rights, which shall not be denied or abridged by the Disciplinary council.

Preamble:

This amendment is committed to safeguarding the rights given to all students under the state and federal law and incorporating the students’ voice in a document that greatly affects them. In addition to providing civic/cognitive/emotional development and a safe school environment, all students have the right to:

Note: Many of the students’ rights include examples. The examples included are not intended to be the only things covered by the rights. The examples covered in the definition are included, but the definition/right is not limited to the examples given.

• 1. Have an equal chance to take part in any activities regardless of color, race, religious affiliations, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or class rank. 
• 2. Access to school rules and if necessary receives an explanation of those rules from staff. Staff includes, teachers, the disciplinary council, and counselors. 
• 3. Freedom of speech/expression provided that such right does not cause any disorder or disruption within the school. “Freedom of expression is the right of every individual to hold opinions without interference” (Wikipedia). This includes without limitations the right to express those views through speech, symbolism, and writing. I am fully aware that this portion of the students’ rights contradicts that of the Dress Code, which reads as follow “Clothing may not advocate or promote acts of violence, self-destruction, alcohol and drug consumption, racism, xenophobia, religious intolerance, sexual or promiscuous behavior. Clothing which contributes to the creation of a hostile, offensive, or intimidating environment based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, gender, social status, or sexual orientation is prohibited.” 
• 4. Rebuke or appeal against a decision made by the disciplinary council and has the right to a formal hearing. 
• 5. The rights stated in the FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act), especially pertaining to parents or eligible students having the right to request that a school correct records which they believe to be inaccurate or misleading, and if the school decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student has the right to a formal hearing. After the hearing, if the school still decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student has the right to place a statement with the record setting forth his or her view about the contested information. 
• 6. Peacefully assemble and petition to add/remove/modify a rule in the Code of Conduct, provided they create an unsound argument against the rule. Students are limited to petition against 2 rules every two months. The decision of whether or not a rule can be added, removed or modified will be the Board’s responsibility. Before adopting any revision to the Code, the board will hold a public hearing at which staff, parents, guardians and students may participate. (Table of contents). 

The primary goal of this amendment is to guarantee that no part of the school government becomes too powerful. For example, the mandatory expulsion rule in the Code of Conduct states an exhaustive list of offenses that shall be automatically recommended by the DC for expulsion. The last bullet point “And other good and just causes as determined by the Dean of Behavior” stated in the mandatory expulsion section and the Code of Conduct itself gives a lot of power to the Dean of Behavior (DC). This amendment prevents the DC from misusing such power because it allows for a system based regulation that allows one side (students vs. staff) to limit another, which insures that no one has too much power. My co-signer states that “Learning is a process defined by the exchange of ideas and the advancement of knowledge. This amendment assures fairness while maintaining the true purpose of the Code of Conduct”.

As it stands, the Code of Conduct employs the Black or White fallacy which provides limited choices as the only choices, when there are others. “We are being forced into signing a document agreement that you might not agree with, because our only options are either signing it or not attending the school, which contradicts with the meaning of an agreement,” said AMK a peer of mine. Is being forced into signing an agreement really being in agreement with that agreement? I would argue that it isn’t!



Works Cited:

• "Table of Contents." Journal of Palestine Studies 35.2 (2006): n. pag. Web. 8 Mar. 2015. 
• "Student Code of Conduct." Student Code of Conduct. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2015. <http://stuafs.unl.edu/ja/code>.
• "Equilibrium." Equilibrium. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2015. <http://www.continuummechanics.org/cm/equilibrium.html>.

Whole Foods' Guitar

For our second unit of Light and Sound, we learned about Sound and how it works. We were assigned to build a guitar out of recycled materials. The purpose of this action project was to use the knowledge we acquired and to create a functional guitar. I learned how the decibel scale (a logarithmic unit of measurement measuring the amplitude of a sound wave) works. I am proud of the research I did during external investigation.

GN, Drawing 2015

The main source of sound in a guitar is the string. When plucked, the strings vibrate. The vibrations travel through the saddle to the bridge to the soundboard, vibrating the soundboard. The form of the guitar is a hollow sound box which amplifies the vibrations. The frequencies produced can depend on the string length, tension, and diameter.

To make this guitar, I used a Whole Foods plastic bowl, two pieces of wood, hard cardboard, thumb tacks, and lots of glue! I put two thumb tacks through the hard cardboard, so that the rubber bands could be attached. I placed the two wood pieces and the hard cardboard across the bowl and glued it together as the neck of the guitar.

GN, Design 2015

GN, Guitar 2015

Since I used a rubber band, there are two strings you can pluck. Each one is 17.5 inches long. One open note is a F#4, with a frequency of 370 Hz and wavelength of 93.24 cm. The octave note is a Gb5 with a frequency of 740 Hz (370X2) and wavelength of 46.62 cm (93.24/2). The octave is the half way point of my string.

The thickness of the rubber band is about 0.59 mm. I used a bowl which had a radius of 3.5 inches. The formula for the volume of a cylinder is 4/3piR^3. This formula gives the volume of a complete sphere. In order to find the volume of the bowl I had to divide the volume of the sphere by two. The volume of the sphere was 179.59438 cubic inches (4/3 X pi X 3.5^3). The volume of the bowl was 89.79719 cubic inches (179.59438/2).

You can hear my guitar below.



The Doppler Effect is a phenomenon in which there is a change in frequency of a wave for an observer moving relative to its source, because as the source moves forward the sound waves are being pushed together resulting in a higher pitch.

My guitar could illustrate this concept if a guitarist were to walk and play; as he walks forward the sound wave will be pushed together resulting in a higher pitch sound to the observer/listeners, whereas if he/she were walking away the sound waves would be more spread apart and they would sound lower.

Vocabulary terms:
- Sound waves: Sound waves are longitudinal pressure waves by which sound is propagated (Online Dictionary).
- Frequency/pitch: The frequency is the number of cycles per second past a given point. Hertz is the unit measurement used for frequency.
- Amplitude: The amplitude is the displacement of a wave from its mean value (What Is Amplitude?). It is experienced as "loudness" or volume.
- Wavelength: The wavelength is the length of one complete wave cycle.

Work Cited:

• Online Dictionary
• Amplitude. (2015, February 9). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:34, March 5, 2015.
• "What Is Amplitude? Amplitude Particle Displacement How to Calculate Amplitude Sound Wave Peak Amplitude Wave Sound Signal Sound Pressure Gradient Calculate Amplitude vs Voltage Definition Sound Particle Velocity Terms Question Calculate Amplitude Maximum Displacement Equilibrium Exact Definition Decibel Scale Sound Wave Pressure Gradient RMS Sound Field Quantity Elongation Oscillation of a String Peak to Peak Elongation Longitudinal Pressure Waves Wavelength Period Frequency - Sengpielaudio Sengpiel Berlin." What Is Amplitude? Amplitude Particle Displacement How to Calculate Amplitude Sound Wave Peak Amplitude Wave Sound Signal Sound Pressure Gradient Calculate Amplitude vs Voltage Definition Sound Particle Velocity Terms Question Calculate Amplitude Maximum Displacement Equilibrium Exact Definition Decibel Scale Sound Wave Pressure Gradient RMS Sound Field Quantity Elongation Oscillation of a String Peak to Peak Elongation Longitudinal Pressure Waves Wavelength Period Frequency - Sengpielaudio Sengpiel Berlin. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2015.