Ou La La Pitch

For my Entrepreneurship course, we were assigned to create a video pitch about our business plan we had created in unit two. The purpose of this action project was to craft a video investor pitch for my business. My business is a full service custom umbrella store. I have a passion for fashion and hope to make umbrellas a staple of fashion like it once was. We were also assigned to revised our video pitch so that the pitch is investor worthy. I struggled with this action project. I wasn't about certain about what was being asked of me. I am proud that I was able to figure it.

Below is my pitch:

RAW - Naked and Afraid

For my third Endurance action project, we were assigned to write our own 21st Century Survival Manual. We were assigned to write a outline a survival manual for a dream or mission of ours, research pioneers who have followed a path similar to ours, and compile inspirational quotes. The purpose of this action project was to create a survival manual that would help us survive the task of achieving our mission and dreams.

Below is my Survival Manual:

Physical ED

West Loop Athletic Club 

In order for me to complete my 0.12 credit hours for physical education credits. I took a CPR training course, titled Basic Life Support for Healthcare providers, aka BLS. BLS is a course designed to provide healthcare professionals with the ability to provide CPR, use an AED (automated external defibrillator), recognize several life-threatening emergencies, and relieve choking. By taking this course I learned how to perform CPR on children, adults, and infants with 1 and 2 rescuers. In my First Aid for the basic rescuer course, I learned about the difference between stroke and Bell's Palsy and how to identify them. I learned about the first basic aid for burns, allergies (epi pens), chemical eye burns, deep cut care, and nose bleeds.

I will be graduating soon and I want to become a more fit individual. I want to adopt the exercising lifestyle and so I began by learning the purpose of exercising, proper form while exercising, dieting, heart rate, and the importance of maintaining balance and coordination. Exercising is important because of osteoporosis prevention, mental health, and releases endorphin. I learned the difference between muscle toning and building. I learned how to use kettle bells and dumbbells. I learned how to use the different machines at the gym. Since I don't know how to swim, I took some swimming lessons. I learned how to float, how to start off a stroke, different forms of treading water, and how to breaststroke kick. Also, I learned how great of a workout swimming is. took swimming lessons. Finally, I took an HIIT class and was able increase and decrease my heart rate quickly.

Biceps Curl

In my Endurance course, we were assigned to take on a physical, mental, or spiritual mission. We were assigned to work on our mission for at least 12 hours. We documented each hours with 10-second videos messages. For our action project we had to transform those messages into a 2 to 4 minute video to be shared with the world. The purpose of this action project was to have a taste of what a mission feels like, by working on it for at least 12 hours. I enjoyed taking my high intensity class, It was very fun.

Below is my video:




My mission was to learn more about exercising and get in the habit of exercising. My guiding question was : What are some of the benefits of exercising? Next year I will be going to college and I had plans to be more active and adopted the exercising lifestyle. This project was a catalyst for those plans. This project enabled me to have a glimpse of what adopting that exercising/active lifestyle would be like. I don't exercise at all, so this 12 hours challenge was a huge leap of faith. This assignment gave me the opportunity to give exercising a shot. The health benefits of regular exercising and physical activity are hard to ignore. Exercising helps combat health conditions and diseases both mental and physical and improve your mood. I was a bit nervous to partake in the high intensity class with my trainer. Though I made it through the class, I was extremely sore 12 hours after the course. I should have started small. I was so sore that I had troubles walking and was unable to pursue my original plan of enduring 12 hours of physical activities. Instead of purely enduring physical activity I enduring mental activities as well. I exercised my brain by playing games such as duo-lingo and 2048 for the remaining 6 hours. I was able to freshen up on my Spanish and mathematical skills. Overall this was good experience. I learned a lot about myself and was able both my mental and physical boundaries.

A people's history

Josephine Baker: A Diva Who Embraced the world (Apr 9, 2014)

For this action project, we were assigned to write a people's history. We were instructed to interview someone who has been involved in some of demonstration. We recreated a page out of a history text book. The purpose of this project was to tell history through the eyes of the people. I interviewed a family friend who has been involved in several demonstrations such as the #blacklivesmatter and anti-trump rallies. I enjoyed talking to my interviewee.

I started being aware of what was happening around me because of someone who took care of me as a very young child. She exposed me to some of the singers that were a part of the growing civil right movement, such as Nina Simone and Josephine Baker. I grew up listening to music that I love and didn’t really understand.

Josephine Baker was an American born French jazz singer and dancer. Baker is also known for her contributions to the Civil Rights Movement. She became wildly popular in France during the 1920s. “In the 1920s she moved to France and soon became one of Europe’s most popular and highest-paid performers,” (Biography). Josephine Baker was born Freda Josephine McDonald in St. Louis, Missouri on June 3, 1906 (Biography). In 1935, Baker returned to the States and was received as an uppity colored girl (Encyclopedia). She refused to perform for segregated audiences. “White audiences were reportedly used to seeing, and wanted to see, blacks in what they considered “Negro” role --- Mammies and blues singers ---- and could not accept a black woman of style, grace, and sophistication,” (Encyclopedia). Through the 1950s and 60s she dedicated herself to combating racism and segregation in the States.

I was born in 1950, so when the civil rights movement got momentum I was in my teens, in high school. Before then, I was in a kind of protected life and was unaware of what was going on. In high school, I had an incredible teacher who had a huge impact in my classmates and I. When Martin Luther King was assassinated I entered a brief period of depression. I remember writing poetry about it and being so aware on the events of the world.

"Mississippi Goddamn" is a song composed, written, and performed by American pianist and singer Nina Simone. The song was Simone's response to the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, which killed four black children (Wikipedia & What happened to Nina Netflix documentary). "Alabama's got me so upset, Tennessee's made me lose my rest, and everybody knows about Mississippi goddam," are some of the lyrics demonstrating the political focus of the song early on. Mississippi Goddamn became a civil rights activist anthem and Simone's most famous protest song (Wikipedia).

In 1968, I went away to college at the University of California, Los Angeles. There was a lot more happening there about the war in Vietnam as well as the Civil rights movement. I immediately got involved in things that was available for me to do. There was a lot of things happening on my campus. Angela Davis, who was a very prominent figure in the Civil Rights movement was a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Free Angela & All Political Prisoners, Essence Mar 28, 2013.

Angela Davis is an activist, scholar, and writer. She advocated for the oppressed. In 1970, "she made FBI's Ten-Most-Wanted list after guns registered in her name were used in a courthouse takeover which left four dead," (PBS). Eventually, she was acquitted of all charges.

I eventually ended up in Washington, DC for graduate school and lived there for several years union organizer. I moved to chicago in 1982, and once again there were lots of events around U.S dictatorships in Central and South America. My social life formed by my activities, through my activism I was able to make friend with people from all corners of the world.

I was involved in the backing of the election of Harold Washington, which was a flash-point for a lot of progressive people. I have also been involved in the #Blacklivesmatter demonstrations and was at the anti-trump rally. I involved in the #Blacklivesmatter demonstration on Michigan Ave in Chicago. It was wonderful. I felt so welcome and took the opportunity to learn. I have a coworker who is African American, she belong to the Charleston South Carolina church and my Facebook post restored her faith in white people.  

BB (interviewee, Facebook Post 2015)

The Fallacy, Delusion and Myth  of Tikkum Olam, 07/06/2013. 

I was raised Jewish and one of the values that I learned was that of Tikkum olam.

Tikkum olam (לתקן את העולם), which means repair the world. Tikkum olam is a concept in Judaism and is a commandment which has come to connote the pursuit of social justice in the modern movement in Judaism (Wikipedia). The term dates back to the Mishnaic period and Kabbalistic literature began broadening use of the term (Wikipedia).

My parents all through their life had stood up against injustice, but they were worried that I would give up my financial stability in order to carry this commandment through which I was willing to do. Activism is something that is kind of sort of in my faith and is a part of who I am, which is that you make a difference in the world.


Work Cited:

• Jane Henderson. "Josephine Baker: A Diva Who Embraced the World."St.Louis Post Dispatch. N.p., 9 Apr. 2014. Web. 19 Mar. 2016. <http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/books-and-literature/josephine-baker-a-diva-who-embraced-the-world/article_2f021e35-4c81-5388-a537-b4dcee3f3503.html>.
• Tikkun olam. (2016, February 18). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 19:15, March 19, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tikkun_olam&oldid=705653548
• WW1239. "Nina Simone - Mississippi Goddam." YouTube. YouTube, 24 Mar. 2013. Web. 19 Mar. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVQjGGJVSXc>.
• Biography.com Editors. "Josephine Baker Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2016. <http://www.biography.com/people/josephine-baker-9195959>.
• Harrison, Joyce. "Baker, Josephine." Contemporary Musicians. 1994. Retrieved March 19, 2016 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3492800011.html
• Josephine Baker. (2016, March 19). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 19:26, March 19, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Josephine_Baker&oldid=710884336
• Y.A Korff. "The Fallacy, Delusion and Myth of Tikkun Olam." Algemeinercom RSS. N.p., 7 June 2013. Web. 19 Mar. 2016. <http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/06/07/the-fallacy-delusion-and-myth-of-tikkun-olam/#>.
• Mississippi Goddam. (2016, February 1). In Wikipe
  dia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 20:16, March 19, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mississippi_Goddam&oldid=702716257
  "EXCLUSIVE: Watch a Clip from 'Free Angela and All Political Prisoners'"Essence.com. N.p., 28 Mar. 2013. Web. 19 Mar. 2016. <http://www.essence.com/2013/03/28/exclusive-watch-clip-free-angela-and-all-political-prisoners>.
• PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2016. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/race/interviews/davis.html>.
• BB, Interview. March 12, 2016.  

Invisible Man

In my Equality course, we explored the inequalities experienced by people based upon race, gender, and class. We examined theories that identified and try to explain the existence of inequality. The readings on these theories were done in order to gain knowledge necessary to engage in discussions and challenge each others' ideas. We looked at what actions have been taken in the past to promote gender, race, and class disparities and what we can do now to overthrow the institution that perpetuate them. For this Action Project, we were assigned to write and analytical essays applying key ideas of race, gender, or class theorist to Invisible Man. We were also assigned to accompany our essay with a corresponding page from invisible Man that utilized blackout/decorative design elements to illustrate key points of our analysis. The purpose of this action project was to demonstrate mastery of key concepts from racial, gender, or class theorist we discussed in class.

Below is my analytical essay and blackout/decorative image:

GN, Analysis 2015.

Age estimating

For my Systems and Models course, we were assigned to design and conduct a sociological experiment and write a research paper, which had a minimum of 2,500 words. We were instructed to ask ourselves a question, state a hypothesis, design an experiment, conduct an experiment, gather data, and draw a logical conclusion. The purpose of this action project was to demonstrate the scientific method. We had to prepare a plan, which we used as a schedule to hold ourselves accountable of who, when, and where we will observe? How we will measure our observations? I chose to look at which gender is better at age guessing. I struggled with the planning of my experiment. I am proud of completing this action project.

Below is my research paper:

"TouchByte: Smart Technology: Intergrated Solutions. Web. 01 Mar. 2016

Hugging a Porcupine

Systems and Models is a STEAM course, in which we analyze people, systems, groups, and organizations from the inside out, outside in, and their interactions. We studied the psychological architecture within groups and people through observations and data analysis. For our first action project, we were assigned to create a self-portrait and write an artist statement. The purpose of this action project was to combine all of the information we learned about ourselves through the various psychological assessment activities and create an artistic rendering of ourselves. Our artist statement will explain our self-rendering. I experienced an artistic block, and combated it by surrounding myself with inspiration. I am proud of my artistic rendering.

Title: Hugging a Porcupine
Medium: Paper, Pen, and Pencil
Size: “6.5” inches by “9.5” inches

GN, "The Porcupine" 2016

In our class, we took a series of psychological assessments. A psychological assessment refers to a process of testing to help arrive at some hypotheses about a person and their personality, behavior or capabilities. The Myers-Briggs 16 personalities test was a major influence because it reaffirmed my beliefs in how I perceive the world and make decisions. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is an introspective self-report questionnaire that has become the golden standard of psychological assessments and a multi million dollar business because of its concept that everyone can fit into one of 16 personality types.

The MBTI reports tells you your preference for each of four pairs: Judging or Perceiving, Thinking or Feeling, Sensing or Intuition, and Extraversion or Introversion, these four preferences together make up your type. My results concluded that I was an ENTP-A (extremely, extroverted, intuitive, prospective, and thinking) personality type. This means that I am knowledgeable, energetic, argumentative, and insensitive. I am the ultimate devil’s advocate. I thrive on the process of shredding arguments for the simple reason that it's fun. My personality type can be perceived as vexing and my quarrelsome fun oftentimes inadvertently burns bridges.

In addition to the MBTI, I took several psychological assessments which reaffirmed my beliefs that I am a very direct, assertive, logical, and analytical individual. Through the Enneagram, which assesses motivations, I learned that I was an Eight (The challenger). Eights enjoy taking on challenges that gives them opportunities to exceed themselves in some way. Some famous Eights are Martin Luther King, J.r, Lyndon Johnson, and Saddam Hussein. We are motivated to be self-reliant, to prove our strength and resist weakness, to be important in my world, and to be in control of situations.

I wanted my art piece to reflect all of the qualities I was assessed with having. I did not want a cliche self portrait. Keeping the results in mind, I decided to draw a picture of a porcupine. Porcupines are small rodents with an over-abundance of attitude. I am prickly like the porcupine. According to the DiSC, an assessment tool used to improve teamwork, I am directive, assertive, confrontation, and analytical. I pay attention to the meaning of pattern of information I receive, I look at logical explanation to almost anything, and I tend to devalue the "people" (emotional) parts of situation. Porcupines have a coat of quills used against predators. My quills are my words. In our defense, our spikes are preemptive attacks to protect our own feelings. Because of our fear of vulnerability we have developed this armor. We are resourceful and fearless in the face of danger. The traits listed above are oftentimes viewed negatively and I can personally regulate the degree in which they are expressed.

We reviewed a couple of experiments such as the Marshmallow Experiment and the Stanford Prison Experiment. Me being goal-oriented was very instrumental when partaking in our class mini version of the Stanford Marshmallow Experiment. The Stanford Marshmallow Experiment was a series of studies on delayed gratification. We were offered a choice between one small, immediately reward of 1 marshmallow or 2 marshmallows if we waited for a approximately 20 minutes. I love challenging myself and waited for approximately 30 minutes.

The Stanford Prison Experiment was most intriguing to me because it showed that under certain circumstances people can be "evil". The Stanford Prison Experience was a study of the psychological implications of becoming a prisoner or prison guard. Based on the attributes accorded to me by the various assessment, if I was in a position of power such as the one designed in the Stanford Prison Experiment I would abuse such power. I am not an evil person. My characteristics are double-edge swords. As an Eight, I have to capacity to persuade others to follow in all kinds of endeavors from making peace to wagging war.

The last test we took in class was the TKI, which assesses how you deal with conflict. When dealing with conflict, my strongest strategies were competition and compromisation. My lowest score was an avoider, which means I never shy away from conflict. My results were competer (9), compromiser (8), problem solver (7), Avoider (5), and accommodator (1). I agree with these results because I have employed these conflict resolution styles in the past.

In order to glean an understanding on the art of writing artist statement, I interviewed my friend Linda, a local artist whose work has been featured in local coffee shops around the city. "An artist statement allows the artist to communicate their thought process to an audience. It is important to remember though that it isn't a space to dictate or sway your audience's viewpoint or feelings on the pieces." I kept her advice in mind during my writing process and creation of the piece. I want my piece to be left to interpretation. Everyone has a different perception of me but these perception are woven with a single thread; the Porcupine.


Work Cited:

• Lillian Cunningham. "Myers-Briggs: Does It Pay to Know Your Type?"Washington Post. The Washington Post, 14 Dec. 2012. Web. 08 Feb. 2016. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-leadership/myers-briggs-does-it-pay-to-know-your-type/2012/12/14/eaed51ae-3fcc-11e2-bca3-aadc9b7e29c5_story.html>.
•  "The Myers & Briggs Foundation - My MBTI® Results." The Myers & Briggs Foundation - My MBTI® Results. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Feb. 2016. <http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/my-mbti-results/>.
•  "Porcupines, Porcupine Pictures, Porcupine Facts - National Geographic."National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Feb. 2016. <http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/porcupine/>.
• "Home." Stanford Prison Experiment. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2016. <http://www.prisonexp.org/>.
•  "CPP - The People Development People." Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI). N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2016. <https://www.cpp.com/products/tki/index.aspx>.
•  JACOBA URIST. "What the Marshmallow Test Really Teaches About Self-Control." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 24 Sept. 2014. Web. 12 Feb. 2016. <http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/09/what-the-marshmallow-test-really-teaches-about-self-control/380673/>.

Capsule - Book Bound

Our action project for Book Bound was a digital portfolio that offers an overview of our learning and experience of the course. Book Bound is an humanities course, in which we explored the definition of reading, evaluated its importance, explored works that are considered "classics" and understand the criteria necessary to earn such stature. We read The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald as an example of a "classic". I was indifferent about The Great Gatsby. I thought the plot was a bit diluted, but very thought provoking. We investigated the literary canon, critique it, offer alternatives and additions. The literary canon is the Great book list. The idea of a literary canon implies "official status" and to be entered into the canon mean gain to certain privileges. Also, we research roles necessary to build a library. We visited two libraries (a public library and school library) to familiarize ourselves with the inner-workings of a library, to find inspiration and guidance for our vision of our school library. I envision our school library with tons of work space, infinite availability of books, recording booths, computers, art/cool posters plastered on the walls and comfortable chairs. I enjoyed our field experiences because I learned about the different search engines for academic research offered at the library. For this action project, we were assigned to put together a portfolio of our best work throughout the course. My favorite project was our choice for the canon slideshow.


Storyboard:

Before embarking on our Book Bound adventure of the importance and history of reading, we took some time to remember and contemplate who we are as readers. Through the use of StoryboardThat, an autobiographical web-tool we were able to tell the story of our lifespan as readers, specifically on learning to read. Our stories had to include at least 5 frames and captions. We considered plot point such as: when and where we were when we first began to read, who helped us learn to read, what struggles we faced as readers, and how we felt reading in school as we crafted our stories. Prior to completing this activity I talk to my mom who has been very instrumental in my development as a reader for specific details about my reading history. Moms played a huge role in my classmates' reading stories as well. This assignment allowed many of us to dive into ourselves and create connections between our reading patterns and our history with reading. I had lots of fun working on this assignment. I struggled with how to start, but my conversation with my mom helped clear the haze. I added more details to my story and proofread. I am proud that my reading story shows my progression.

Slideshow:

What is a classic? How does something acquire such status? What does such a title suggest about the thing itself? These were some the questions we were presented with in the beginning of the course. Classic "belonging to the standard authors of Greek and Roman antiquity" "of the highest class; approved as a model" from the french word classique (17c.) from Latin classicus is a term used to categories books of the highest caliber. Certain books receive this status and end up on required reading lists across the U.S. These grouped together, literary classics are referred to as "the canon". The literary canon is the great book lists. They are texts that have been deemed worthy to be read by anyone who considers themselves cultured. For this assignment, we chose a book we believed belong in the canon and created a slideshow justify our choice. Also, we presented and defended our book selection to our peers. I wanted to share my enthusiasm for the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan with everyone hence why I chose to publish this assignment. I struggled with finding images of scenes for theme illustration. I added more details to the lesson plan portion of the presentation, added an image, and proofread.

Literary Journal:

We were assigned to create our own literary magazine/journal in team of 4s. Literary magazine is a periodical magazine/journal dedicated to literature. Literary magazines publish short stories, poetry, literary criticism, letters, interviews, essays, and many more. Our literary magazine consisted of external submission, pieces from all group members, and images. This assignment showcased different types of literature. I really proud of the pieces in the magazine. We split up different tasks among ourselves. Miscommunication impacted our quite a bit, but in the end we pulled through. I fixed the page set-up.

Literature Poster:

We created propaganda literary posters based upon a guiding question about literacy. We research the answer to our guiding question using reliable sources. My guiding question was "How many books does the average american read yearly?" The average American read 12 books in the past 12 months according to the Pew research center. The purpose of this poster and course is to promote literacy. I want to encourage literacy in the most effective way as possible and this assignment allows me to do so. I was difficult to come up with a concept for my drawing. I used paper and pencil. I am proud to have persevered.

GN, Literature poster 2015. 

  

Face2Face

For our final Action Project in If These Walls Could talk course, we were assigned to carry out our mural from unit 2 into a large-scale mural. Using alternative materials and artistic technique chosen from our group, we proceeded to bring the mural to life by scaling up the image to fit the mural space, create a timeline and budget to successfully carry out the mural, and installed the mural. We also documented the process and edited the content into a 2-3 minutes video. We also wrote an artist statement explaining the intended purpose of the mural and the experience of creating the mural. I enjoyed working on the stencils and stamps.




Name: GN, DC, RD, MV, JV
Title: Face 2 Face
Date: 12/2015
Measurements:
Media & Techniques: Paper, ink, spray-paint, stencilling, wheat-pasting, wheat-paste, collage and block-printing.

For this action project, we installed the mural my group members and I proposed in Unit 2. In Unit 2, we experimented with different media and artistic techniques. We created a series of 5 swatches which allowed us to visualize our mural through a variety of media and artistic techniques. Our final mural is a tribute mural to GCE’s student body. The mural is a collage of faces made from GCE students’ facial features. Each facial feature highlights individuality and the collective faces represents us communally.

The techniques and materials our group previously chose to be most effective to carrying out the final mural were mosaic and wheat-pasting. We felt that the mosaic added texture and eccentricity, and wheat-pasting helped create a realistic collage image. After much deliberation, my team and I decided to proceed to bring the mural to life through stencilling, wheat-pasting, and block-printing.

Stenciling is an artistic technique which produces an image by applying pigment to a flat surface over an object with designs in it which creates the image. Stenciling allows the pigments to reach certain parts of the surface. A stencil is the resulting image and the object used. Stenciling is cost effective, it can be reused to rapidly reproduce the same design or image, it gives the piece a simplistic look, and allows the addition of details. This technique enhances our mural by making it simplistic and sleek. The mural consists of 5 walls. Three of those walls have white, red, black and gold spray-painted lotus flowers. We were inspired by Shepard Fairey’s signature lotus designs and artistic techniques. Frank Shepard Fairey is an American contemporary street artist, activist, and graphic designers. The other two walls have a checkered pattern of white and grey wallpaper block-print.

Block-printing is one of the oldest printmaking techniques. Block-printing is essentially using a carved material covered in ink to transfer an image on to a surface. It can be done with rubber, wood and linoleum. We chose to use linoleum. We printed out our wallpaper-looking design, traced it into the linoleum, then carved the design. We carved away the parts that we didn't want to print, as the ink will be applied to the raised surfaces to print the design.

We coated the walls silver grey. Our color scheme was grey, white, black, red, orange, and gold. We wanted neutral color with pops of color and coolness hence gold. After applying the wall background to our mural, we wheat-pasted our collaged faces. Wheat-pasting is a liquid adhesive made from flour and water. It is used for arts and crafts. Our mural transforms the space into an arena. It gives the space a sense of activity.

I enjoyed my experience working on the mural. I struggled with compromising with my team mates and being under time constraints. I was the documenter, artistic director, director of operation, and mule in addition to helping my team prep for the mural. I recorded every milestone achieved by my team and made sure that my group members had all the materials needed. I also took part in the decision making processes. My favorite role was documenting. I enjoyed recording our progress which allowed me to take pride in our hard work. I have a good camera which allowed me to take clear pictures. My least favorite role was being the artist director. I didn't feel comfortable making some of the executive decision I made. I unable to visualize concepts and as an artistic director you need such a skill. I wish we had more time to work on the mural. Due to last minutes changes the mural does not look as our group had envisioned, it is much more than we had envisioned. It's so RAW!

Swatch - Up

By the end of this term GCE (Global Citizenship Experience) will be relocating to a new community space that has just been built. For my If These Walls Could Talk course, we were assigned to create and finalized a mural in small groups that will be living in the new community space. We experimented with different mediums and artistic techniques. My peers and I created a series of 5 swatches, and individually reflected on our intentions and experience in choosing the material and or technique that we did. The purpose of this action project was to master the manipulation of different media and techniques and create material swatches for a mural, so that we know exactly what it would look like if it were carried out. In this unit, we examined the stories told through murals and how they were represented through the materials used to create them. We focused on murals from the 1920s (Los Tres Grandes), 1960s, and 1980s. The artistic techniques evolved overtime, from frescoes to stenciling and to xerox transfer. I enjoyed creating my stencil and I am looking forward to making our mural in the new community space.


Name: GN
Title: Global collaboration
Date/Year: 12/10/2015
Measurement: Swatch #1 - “4 inches” by “12 inches”.
Swatch #2 - “5.25 inches” by “12 inches”.
Technique/Medium: Stencil, spray paint (aerosol paint), canvas paper, cutting knife, glue, laser ink printed image, and a sharpie.

Our mural is a tribute mural to GCE’s(Global citizenship experience) student body. The mural is a collage of all of my group members’ facial features. Our collective facial features makeup 3 faces, a smiley, silly, and sad face. These faces represent the student body as a collective. Our mural celebrates the student body, but also calls attention to individuals within it. This concept coincides with that of my unit 1 action project. Each facial feature highlights individuality and the collective faces represents us (GCE student body) communally. The faces are encircled by Earth. The Earth represents students striving to become global citizens. The faces secures the space as ours.

We were inspired by two murals we saw, JR’s “Face2Face” project and the Cutup Collective projects. The Cutup collective is a group of artists, whose work mainly revolves around the manipulation of billboard advertisements. JR is a french artist who takes close up portraits of people who are misrepresented in the media. Our Field Experience to Pilsen also inspired us a lot. We were able to see how mosaics could add depth and texture to a piece. During our brainstorming process, we had a plethora of ideas. The reoccurring idea was collaging. Since we wanted to add a level of complexity, we settled on having the background be Earth.

DR. "Sketch" 2015 

Stenciling is an artistic technique which produces an image by applying pigment to a flat surface over an object with designs in it which creates the image. Stenciling allows the pigments to reach certain parts of the surface. A stencil is the resulting image and the object used. Stenciling dates back over 35,000 years ago, hand stencils were made by blowing pigment through bones over a hand held against a wall. Stenciling has many key advantages.

I chose stenciling because it is cost effective, it can be reused to rapidly reproduce the same design or image, it gives the piece a simplistic look, and allows the addition of details. This technique enhances the sketch by making it simplistic and sleek. Creating a stencil is a tedious process. We used Pixlr, a software program that adjusts the contrast and brightness of the final collaged images so that we had defined dark and light areas. We printed the image, pasted it onto a cardboard paper, and clearly outlined the areas of the image that will be cut out for the stencil. Then, I cut out the areas of the image where I wanted paint to appear, attached the stencil to canvas paper, applied the spray paint, and removed the stencil and inspected my work.

The final look had sleek lines and looked simplistic, which was what I intended. Unfortunately, we would not be using this technique in our final mural. Majority rules!

GN, "Stencil" 2015

Our final materials and techniques that our group chose to be the most effective to carrying out the final mural were mosaic and wheat-pasting. We felt that the mosaic added texture and eccentricity, and wheat-pasting helped create a realistic collage image.

JV. “Wheat Paste Swatch”. (2015)

The mosaic will consist of miscellaneous tiles and grout to fill in the spaces between the tiles. The mosaic adds depth and makes our piece pop out more. Mosaics are long-lasting and retains color. Wheat-pasting is simple paste mixture made of water and flour and creates a realistic image.

MV, “Happy Face Swatch”. (2015)

Little Indi-Paki

For my If these walls could talk course, we were assigned to choose a neighborhood in Chicago, examined its history and the needs of its community, illustrate an image that forfilled those needs, and write an artist statement to defend our design. If these walls could talk is an art and history elective course that explores the history of murals. I chose the 50th ward, also known as West Ridge but focused on "Little India" for this project. The purpose of this action project was to illustrate an image that could be used to create a large-scale mural. I learned about the evolution of the techniques used to show perspective. I enjoyed learning about the Medici family and their influence in the Renaissance in Florence, Italy. I struggled with writing my artist statement, but meeting with my teacher helped clear the haze.

Below is my image and my artist statement!

GN, In Harmony 2015 

GN
11/2015
In Harmony 11” x 14”
Pencil on paper

For as long as I could remember I have been infatuated with India. My obsession is not just related to the Bollywood industry, the rich and spicy food, or the colorful ornate clothing. Although, I should mention that my closet is better suited to Punjab than Chicago and that I hanker over Barun Sobti rather than Zac Efron.

Little India is a ten-block stretch on Devon Avenue on Chicago’s north side. Little India is one of the most vibrant neighborhoods in Chicago. The culture, markets, and savor of this ten-block stretch on Devon Avenue help keep my addiction at arm’s length until I have an opportunity to disembark at Pathankot Airport. Being hit by a heady aroma of spices from a nearby restaurant or being drawn by a saris to a storefront are what keep attracting me to Little India. Skipping to Devon is a lot easier than trudging to Mumbai or Punjab. Devon is the most diverse street in the city. Although mainly Indian-focused, according to the Executive Director of West Ridge Chamber of Commerce, 75% of the area’s residential population is Jewish. Devon is home to Indian-Americans, Pakistani-Americans, Jews, Eastern-Europeans, and Assyrian-Americans and this melting pot gets along just great.

I’m proposing a mural that celebrates Little India, but also one that calls attention to the individual cultures within it. Although Little India is mainly focused on India, a lot of businesses are also owned by Pakistanis, Russians, Iraqis among others. My piece is both a tribute mural to make Little India even more beautiful and to bring to attention the plethora of cultures residing in Little India especially Pakistan that are often overlooked.

My sketch is of an Indian woman and a Pakistani man marrying. The motifs in the background are prominent symbols in both cultures. My sketch mimics the complex, more detailed style of Ancient Greeks and Ancient Egyptian paintings. This more complex and detailed style of paintings showcase the relations between Indian and Pakistani in there land of origin. Though Indians and Pakistanis don’t get along in their land of origin, I find it fascinating how they coexist in harmony in Little India. I was inspired by the use color and the simple yet intricate forms in the Ajanta cave Frescoes in India. I utilized the Hindi and Urdu both the official languages in each country to represent each culture’s individualism while also accentuating their cohesion and harmony. With the motifs receding in the background and telling its own story, I’ve utilized the use of vignettes to create meaning, fluidity, cohesion and uniformity in the painting. In order to represent the vibrancy of each culture, I used such colors as red, blue, yellow, pink, orange, and brown.

When installed, the mural will span the wall in the center of Little India and Pakistan. I hope that this mural transcends its audience to a state of joy, uniformity. and inclusion.

What are you saying?

For this action project, we were assigned to write a spot story. We couldn't cover a spot story from seating from our desk, so we had to attend a local events. Once we attended the, we had to  craft a spot story worth publishing. Spot news are news reports of events as they occur. The purpose of this action project was to report on an event. I learned about the nut graph, which is a paragraph that explains the news value of the story. Also, I learned about the inverted pyramid, a metaphor used by journalists to illustrate how information should be structures or prioritized (lead, body, and tail).

What are the dynamics that can creates failure in a STEM class? "I have no idea of what's going during most of the lectures. He is very knowledgeable on the topic, but I don't understand him. It's a double edged sword. I am majoring in Biology and everyone's always talking about how in the Science department, there's so many foreign teachers and it's so hard to understand them. A lot of people disappeared after the first class," said a student in my Biology 121 course, which took place on Tuesday at Harold Washington City College in Chicago. Complaints such as the one above are common among undergraduates students who encounter international instructors in their classes. "Did you hear what he just said," is commonly whispered during my Biology class. Remarks such as the ones above have attracted ire of media, students and lawmakers for years.

The preponderance of Non-Native English speakers, with "thick " accents in STEM courses leads to some undergraduates to drop these subjects altogether. Thks trend is especially worrisome given the U.S's dire need to produce more STEM employees in order to secure its economic vitality in the future.

In 2001, according to the Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology, 38.0% of engineering faculty members in U.S. institution of higher education were foreign born, as were 35% of medical scientists, including faculty, and 29% of mathematics science faculty. These facts shouldn't be surprising because foreign-born scientists receive more advanced degrees than their native counterparts.

This is a multifaceted issue and this story is trying to offers a multifaceted approach to exploring the linguistic and social foundations of the problem. "He doesn't understand our rights to ask questions. I think it's also a cultural issue," said another of my classmates. Under students analysis, the problem stems from a linguistic factor (accent misunderstanding), which is a legitimate concern. If students were more exposed to nonstandard English accents. this problem have never existed, but faculties are of course also at fault. "If only he could lose the accent, that would make class a lot easier," this quote was said by everyone interviewed. This "make the accent" go away attitude/mentality fails to account students' role in creating the issue. Being a Non-Native English speaker myself, I can testify that losing an accent is hard work and that my fellow Non-Native English speakers and I would love to do so in order for the "where are you from?" questions would stop, but we it's a struggle. Several studies of student's attitudes have suggested that student renounce responsibility in their participation for poor classroom communication.

"In an especially revealing study, Rubin (1992) played a lecture audiotape for two groups of students, with one group viewing a photograph of a Caucasian lecturer and another viewing an Asian lecturer (both being told that their lecturer was the one pictured). The “Asian” group rated the lecturer as significantly more accented and performed significantly worse on comprehension tasks, despite the fact that both groups heard the same lecture, recorded by a native English speaker from Ohio. In other words, the visual cue to ethnicity was sufficient to make students hear a native speaker as nonnative, and this misconception alone was sufficient to undermine students’ listening comprehension," (Closing the Communication gap between Undergraduates and international Faculty).

An accent is a distinctive mode of pronunciation of a language, especially one associated with a particular nation, locality, or social class. Since the textbooks are written in English, reading them and emailing your professors would be extremely helpful. If you email your professor, his response will not have an accent. After all America is a melting pot, so we should all be willing to listen to anyone who sounds different from what we are used to.

Side notes-Observations:

• As I look around the room, a cluster of students are imitating the professors accents.

Works Cited:

• Elizabeth Redden. "New Report Shows Dependence of U.S. Graduate Programs on Foreign Students. Inside Higher Ed." New Report Shows Dependence of U.S. Graduate Programs on Foreign Students. Inside Higher Ed. N.p., 12 July 2013. Web. 25 Oct. 2015. <https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/07/12/new-report-shows-dependence-us-graduate-programs-foreign-students>. 
• - Villarreal, Dan. Closing the Communication Gap Between Undergraduates and International Faculty (n.d.): n. pag. 24 Jan. 2012/2013. Web. 25 Oct. 2015. 

Investing

For my STEAM course, Economics we were assigned to create an investment report that matched our investment objectives, risk tolerance, time horizon, and ethics. Our report was to be accompanied with explanations illustrating our investment decision-making reasoning, company research, data analysis (stocks, P/E, and our return on investments (RIO)), and understanding of the free market economy and its impact. The purpose of this action project was to reflect our understanding of the free market as indicated by the building of personal investment portfolio. I researched publicly-traded companies, created an investment portfolio, analyzed my investment decisions, tested my values and ethics when money is in the equation, and explained my decision making process and its intended and unintended consequences

I was gifted $50,556.80 by my guardian angel. Below is how I chose to invest the money.

An investment philosophy is a set of guiding principles that inform and shape an individual’s investment decision-making process. My investment philosophy is seeking relatively undervalued stocks and believing they will eventually produce strong returns, this is not to say I won’t invest in stocks that are already producing strong returns. I believe that looking at small changes in the market, diversifying and calculating systematically risk are the main predictors of my success of my investments.

Risk tolerance is an individual or investor's willingness to accept more risk in exchange for possibility of higher return. According to the Rutgers University’s Risk Tolerance Quiz, I have an above tolerance for risk. Investors with an above-average tolerance for risk are more likely to invest in securities, such as stocks in startup companies. An individual’s risk tolerance may vary according to goals, age, and needs. We were assigned to take an online risk tolerance survey, below are my results.

Below are my three theoretical financial goals I chose to work with for this project.

• 1-year goal: Have a saving balance of $5,000 of spending money for my freshman year in college.
• 5-year goal: I would like be away on a sabbatical, but have a saving balance of $35,000 of spending money to be able to leave comfortably for 1.5 year while backpacking through Europe. 
• 25-year goal: I hope to own a house in San Francisco for about $1,895,000.

This project required me to test my values and ethics when money in the equation and to be able to explain my decision making and its intended and unintended consequences. In a narrow point of view the sole purpose of a business is to make money, the more the better. This viewpoint is conveniently embedded in our capitalist world. My only purpose in investing in these companies is to make a profit. I am well-aware that this may seem mercenary, but we are a money-oriented society. Contrary to popular beliefs, money is not the source of all evil. "Money is a ratio created in proportion to other things " said Nathan Aldinger, an ex-financial planner and Mubex (Mutually Beneficial Exchange startup company) CEO. Money is amoral, It doesn’t have guiding principles of its own, therefore it’s not evil. I will be investing in Google (Alphabet), Walt Disney, and Amazon. These corporations create profit and also builds social institutions.

PE ratio is the ratio of Principal to Earnings. So, what you invest is the numerator and what you get out is the denominator. The number is essentially how much you would have to invest to make $1.

Alphabet Inc class C. 2015. Via Google.

- Google

Technology has revolutionized the way people work, communicate, and socialize with each other. It's only logical that I invest in Google stocks. Google has the cool factor working for it (driver-less cars, which have been spotted around California), and its very profitable YouTube business. Google stocks is a safe investment due to its dominance in the search and internet business. As of 2015, Google is worth $364.99 billion. Google is a formidable moat. A moat refers to how likely a company is to keep competitors away for an extended period. Google's continued popularity and relevance is particularly impressive given the rate of change and competition on the internet. Alphabet, google's parent corporation has a P/E of 34.86, compared to the industry which averages 20.24. Google is relatively a new in its field. Google does not pay dividends to its shareholders; it reinvest funds which increase the value of the corporation as a whole thus increasing the market value of the stock. I am willing to ride to ride out Google’s high P/E until it gets better.

Amazon.com, Inc. 2015. Via Google.

- Amazon

Amazon is the Walmart online. Amazon is the online retailing king. In the past five years, the online retailer has seen iconic shares soar. Amazon's stock is up a staggering 460%, making it one of the best-performing widely held stocks available. Amazon has a huge growth, unequaled innovation, and Prime Revenue. The company's Amazon Prime membership service has helped propel sales. Amazon Prime is a service which I admittedly use that offers free two-day shipping, unlimited movie streaming, over 800,000 free eBooks, unlimited photo storage, and unlimited music streaming all at the cost of $99 a year. According to a report by Re/code, Mahaney estimated that the company has between 30 million and 40 million Prime subscribers in the U.S., and a total of 40 million to 50 million worldwide. Amazon's P/E ratio is 511.06 and doesn't pay any dividends.

Walt Disney Co. 2015. Via Google.

- Walt Disney

I grew up loving Disney. Disney is a superpower in the entertainment industry, and has been on an impressive climb for the last years. Unlike some entertainment companies, Walt Disney has built a long-term viability. Much of this should be accredited to its aggressively strong branding. Disney's subsidiaries such as Pixar and Marvel also have powerful branding. Disney's ability to milk success, diversify revenue streams, cross-sell products are some of the reasons I decided to invest in its stocks. The recent dip in stock price have created a buying opportunity for me. Disney has a P/E ratio of 22.4 compared to its stock sector (entertainment) average of over 100. One area in which Disney isn't entertaining is in its dividends. Each stock share yields $0.66 per share. Disney's upcoming release schedule of Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens is predicted to be a very profitable event for the company.

A stock sector is the industry in which a business deals with. For my investments, I have branched into various different sectors. I diversified into different sectors to protect myself from shifts in particular industry that are possibly detrimental to my investments.

The time horizon is the time in which an investment is made or held before it is liquidated. It can range from seconds to decades. The time horizon depends on the investor’s individual objectives. The longer I wait the more profit I make. There isn’t a “right or wrong” time horizon. I have broken my investment into three portfolios, with additional details for each:

Portfolio I - 1 Year Goal

$3,000

2 shares of Google @ 693.34 (33% of portfolio)

9 shares of Disney @ 108.05 (66% of portfolio)

This grouping of Google and Disney has an expected ROI of 28.7%. After a year I should be able to have $5,000.

Portfolio II - 5 Years Goals


$20,000

26 shares of Amazon @ 560.31 (75% of portfolio)
46 shares of Disney @ 108.05 (25% of portfolio)

This grouping of Amazon and Disney has an expected ROI of 225.89%. I should be able to attain my goal of $35,000 for my trip.

Portfolio III - 25 Years Goals

$27,556.80

120 shares of Disney @ 108.05 (47% of the portfolio)
25 shares of Amazon @ 560.31 (52% of the portfolio)

This grouping of Amazon and Disney has an expected RIO of (340.6%. This gets me closer to achieving my goal of owning a house in San Francisco, the most expensive city in the United States as of now. San Francisco also gets me closer to my investments.

There are two main types of stock, common stocks and preferred stocks. Common stock or shares represent ownership in a company. The majority of stock is issued in this form. Not only do investors own a portion of the company, investors get 1 vote per share during the selection of the board members, the overseer of the major decision made. Preferred stocks is in some degrees a form of ownership, but this ownership is not accompanied with voting rights. Unlike like common stocks, which has variable dividends that are never guaranteed, with Preferred stocks, investors have a fixed dividend. All of the companies I will be investing in are common stocks. I prefer common stocks because they offer two ways for their owners to benefits, by capital gains and/or with dividends, and as the company becomes more valuable, so will the ownership interest represented by each shares of stock (this is the reason why don’t mind not getting dividends from Google or Amazon). 

I chose all of these companies because all of these companies in the long run would yield a profit.

Throughout my analysis, I have made numerous assumptions, which are:

• - I assumed that Google, Disney,and Amazon will continue to be relevant. I believe that these companies are the driver of change in their industries creating a profit for its investors in the process. 
• - Even after researching these companies, my entire strategy can fall apart if I sell at the wrong time. In the crisis of 2008, panic selling was a huge contributor to an already building crisis. Panic selling is a wide-scale selling of an investment which causes a sharp decline in prices. The ideal time to sell stock is when shares are overpriced relative to the value of the company. I am assuming that I will be able to ride out any obstacles. 
• - I assume that the goals listed above hopefully would not change. 

I would still make the decisions I did in this project even I was given an opportunity to do otherwise. Investing is a great opportunity to make money.


Works Cited:

• Jeff Reeves. "7 Reasons to Buy Google Stock." MarketWatch. N.p., 25 Mar. 2015. Web. 20 Oct. 2015. <http://www.marketwatch.com/story/7-reasons-to-buy-google-stock-2015-03-25>.
• Technology. (2015, October 4). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 03:42, October 21, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Technology&oldid=684144019
• Amazon.com. (2015, October 16). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 15:35, October 16, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Amazon.com&oldid=686025228
• Douglas Satterfield. "Core Values: Amazon.com." Theleadermaker.com. N.p., 15 June 2014. Web. 16 Oct. 2015. <http://www.theleadermaker.com/core-values-amazon-com/>.
• Investopedia. "Who Are Amazon's (AMZN) Main Competitors?"Investopedia.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2015.<http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/120314/who-are-amazons-amzn-main-competitors.asp>.
• Peter Roff. "The Man, the Medium and Message." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 06 Aug. 2013. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.<http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/peter-roff/2013/08/06/journalists-should-cheer-washington-post-sale-to-amazons-jeff-bezos>.
• Risk Tolerance Quiz Source: Grable, J. E., & Lytton, R. H. (1999). Financial risk tolerance revisited: The development of a risk assessment instrument. Financial Services Review, 8, 163-181. <http://njaes.rutgers.edu:8080/money/riskquiz/>

The Ghost of Coco Chanel

For my Journalism course, we were assigned to create a podcast about a voice important to the 21st century. The purpose of this action project was to produce a podcast that told a story of an important voice, using the concepts and skills of radio-journalism. For this action project, I chose to represent Coco Chanel's voice. I have always loved fashion and wanted to know more about its history. We were asked to create a mini-biography of "this voice". I drafted a script, researched her story, collected/recorded interviews, and selected sound-effects and soundtracks to create a podcast. I enjoyed preparing my voice using various warm up activities. I am proud of how the project came all together. I used a software called audacity to edit my podcast. I was very nervous going diving into the project because I am not very good at editing, but after scheduling multiple meetings with tech savvy teachers, I was able to get a better handle on it. I struggle with completing my reverse transcript. Below is my podcast and reverse transcript.


 

"Just" War

CNN. "Special Report: Who Are The Yazidis, And Why Does ISIS Want To Kill Them? (PHOTOS) - The Trent." The Trent. N.p., 12 Aug. 2014. Web. 13 May 2015. 

For my Policy course, we were assigned to select a war to focus on, research policies and (executive) orders related to that war, and write an analytical essay arguing whether that war was “right” or “wrong”. The purpose of this action project was to take a specific position on whether the U.S involvement in a specific war was justified or not. This action project is particularly difficult on an ethical ground because Is there a difference between a “right” war and a “wrong” war? How do we distinguish between the two? Is there such a thing as a “just” war? The merriam-webster defines just as having a basis in or conforming to fact or reason, acting or being in conformity with what is morally upright or good, righteous, and legally correct.

The majority of people believe that killing, fighting, and war is wrong, but might agree that in some situations it is necessary. When is war just? Philosophers, statesmen, and justices have grappled with this question for centuries, beginning with the first Mesopotamians to the Greeks (History of the world, Wiki). “The just war theory or the jus ad bellum is a doctrine, also referred to as a tradition, of military ethics studied by theologians, ethicists, policymakers, and military leaders (just war theory, Wiki). The just war theory has become basis for international agreements like the Geneva Convention and modern humanitarian laws. The Geneva Convention of 1864 was the first treaty concerning humanitarian aid in wartime. It extensively defined the basic rights of wartime prisoners, established protection for the wounded, and established protections for civilians in and around a war-zone (Wiki).

According to the “just war theory”, was America justified in declaring war on Japan and subsequently on Germany and Italy? This essay will attempt to prove that the U.S involvement in World War 2 was a just one. On Friday September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland which marked the start of World war 2. The global war lasted from 1939 to 1945, it involved the majority of the world’s nations, including all the great powers. WW2 formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. Germany, Italy, Japan were the Axis. The U.S, Britain, France, Australia, China, and the Soviet Union were the Allies.

The jus ad bellum sets forth 6 requirements, all of which must be met for a war to be considered “just”. Using 2 requirements set forth by jus ad bellum, I will attempt to prove that the U.S. involvement in World War 2 war just.

• Just cause. “Just cause is first and foremost the self-defense of a nation that is physically and aggressively attacked by another nation”(). “Although the war began with Nazi Germany’s attack on Poland in September 1939, the United states did not enter the war until after the Japanese bombed the American fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941” (World war 2). Almost at the same time, Japanese airplanes attack two U.S islands: Wake and Guam, which were later occupied. In December 08, 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared war on Japan. The United States exhausted all plausible and peaceful alternatives to resolve the conflict in question. In an effort to remain neutral, In July 1940 the U.S cuts off oil exports to Japan after Japanese troops began to occupy the French colony of Indochina (National Geographic). In September 1940, Germany, Italy, and Japan signed a treaty (the Tripartite Pact) that made the three countries allies against England and France (National Geographic). The treaty is seen as a warning to the U.S to stop helping England and France, because the U.S had traded 50 old destroyers to England in exchange for naval and air bases in the Western Hemisphere (National Geographic). By July 1940, Germany had invaded Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and conquered France. The United States was physically and aggressively attacked by Japan, thus abiding to the just cause requirements of the jus ad bellum. 

• Right intentions. The nation that wages war must do so for the right motives, that is, just to ensure that the just cause is attained by war’s end. The U.S entrance in World war 2 was motivated by morally rational motives. “Hitler's germany was extending totalitarianism, racism, militarism, and overt aggressive warfare beyond what an already cynical world had experienced,” (World War II: A People's War? - Howard Zinn). World war 2 was a war against an enemy of unspeakable evil. Universal goods expected to result from of the war was proportional to the cost the war proceeded. 

Though, the U.S entrance in the war and the WW2 itself was just, our country’s wartime policies, and treatment of minorities at home casted shadows on that principle. Franklin D. Roosevelt converted America’s economy into a military economy and the unemployment problem ended with the mobilization for war. FDR took part in the Atlantic Charter, and executive actions, but Congress had it’s own agenda. Congress passed the Lend-Leases Act. “The act authorized the president to transfer arms or any other defense materials for which Congress appropriated money to “the government of any country whose defense the President deems vital to the defense of the United States” (History).

In a WW2 espionage scare frenzy, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, encouraged by officials at all levels of the federal government authorized the internment American citizens of Japanese ancestry and resident aliens from Japan (Historymatters). Roosevelt’s executive order 9066, ‘“authorized the evacuation of all persons deemed a threat to national security from the West Coast to relocation centers further inland,” (Archives.gov). Executive order 9066 was unconstitutional and discriminative. Executive order 9066 went against the Bills of rights and violated a U.S law: the incarceration of U.S citizens without due process of the law. The executive order fueled hatred and prejudice towards Japanese Americans and went against the law. In 1988, President Jimmy Carter issued a $20,000 reparation to each surviving internee.

War’s controversial social effects raises troubling ethical/moral question for any thoughtful person, yet it remains central to social changes and human history which seems extremely paradoxical. I am not certain if anything makes a war "just" but the just war theory is a way in which we can make sure that a war is justified.


Works Cited:

• Daniel J. Flynn. "Howard Zinn's Biased History." History News Network. N.p., 9 June 2003. Web. 07 May 2015. 
• DORIS GOODWIN. "The Way We Won: America&#039;s Economic Breakthrough During World War II." The American Prospect. Prospect.org, 19 Dec. 2001. Web. 07 May 2015. 
• "World War II Timeline - Remembering Pearl Harbor @ Nationalgeographic.com." World War II Timeline - Remembering Pearl Harbor @ Nationalgeographic.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2015.
• History of the world. (2015, May 4). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 03:32, May 12, 2015.
• Just war theory. (2015, May 10). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 03:48, May 12, 2015.
• Geneva Conventions. (2015, May 1). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 03:55, May 12, 2015. 
• "World War II (1939-1945)." World War II (1939-1945). N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2015.
• Steven. "World War II: A People's War? - Howard Zinn." World War II: A People's War? N.p., 09 June 2009. Web. 13 May 2015.
• "Lend-Lease Act." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 13 May 2015. 
• "Document for February 19th: Executive Order 9066: Resulting in the Relocation of Japanese." Archives.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2015.
• http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/war/
• https://www.pbs.org/thewar/downloads/just_war.pdf
• CNN. "Special Report: Who Are The Yazidis, And Why Does ISIS Want To Kill Them? (PHOTOS) - The Trent." The Trent. N.p., 12 Aug. 2014. Web. 13 May 2015. 

Triangular Bridge

For my Urban Planning course, we were assigned to build a functional bridge using Popsicle sticks, test our bridge against increasing loads, and analyze the results of the tests. In this unit we learned about the law of sines and cosines, vectors, and Newton's laws of motion. The purpose of this action project was to build a functional truss bridge that can sustain dynamic loads. I’m proud of the work I put into the bridge. I learned about the different types of bridges, such as the truss bridge and suspension bridge.

We were inspired by the Pratt Truss bridge design, which is a subcategory of a truss bridge. “A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements forming triangular units” (WIKIPEDIA). The connected elements may experience stress from tension (the pulling force exerted by each end of a string/rod/cable etc) or/and compression (the pushing forces to different points on a structure or material).

The Standard Pratt Truss design uses right triangles, specifically with 90-45-45 degree angles. The Pratt Truss bridge is similar to the bridge below (90-45-45 degree angles):

Kgbo. "File:Gatton Railway Bridge.JPG." Commons.wikimedia. WikiMedia Commos, n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

After finding out that every group would be using equal amounts of materials to build a bridge, my teammate and I researched specific bridge designs already in use and common problems associated with bridges. Then, we drafted an accurate and well-thought-out plan before we started building our bridge. We decided to build a Pratt bridge because it had the most triangles. Triangles are the strongest geometrical shape because they spread the weight load to each of the sides. We started by putting the triangular truss system sides of the bridge together, then attaching the triangular truss system beam across so that we had the base. It was difficult to glue all the pieces together and the drying period was extremely long. We used clamps to hold the different pieces and glued them together. Our last step was attaching a few more Popsicle sticks across the trusses to add stability.

GN, Tension and compression diagram 2015.

TC, Bridge 2015.

TC, The blueprint of the Bridge 2015.

TC, Bridge 2015.

All of our Popsicle sticks were 4.5 inches long, and all of our triangles were 90-45-45 degree angles. “A Pratt truss is a simple truss structure with vertical compression (pushing together) members and diagonal tension (pulling apart) members” (The Balsawood Bridge). Our scale is 1 inch on the drawing = 3.5 inches in real life. The length of the blueprint bridge is 4 inches across (3.5 X 4 = 14 inches in real life). Our bridge was 5 inches tall and 4.5 inches wide. 

GN, Free Body diagram 2015

The Force of Gravity (mass x acceleration due to gravity) is pulling down, while the Normal Force is what counteracts that by pushing the bridge up.

Works Cited: 

Truss bridge. (2015, April 6). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 01:27, April 20, 2015.

"The Balsawood Bridge." The Balsawood Bridge. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.