Abby Robinson-Source 4

Question: "Does putting an animal in captivity against animal rights?"
Source: Diamond, Randy. "Zoos Discuss Ways to Counter Animal Activists." Tampa Tribune 30 Sept. 2006: n. pag. Ebsco Host. Web. 9 Oct. 2015.

• Summary: In this news article, it is discussed how Tampa zoos will react to criticism from animal rights activists after attending a campaign. The goal of the campaign is to highlight the acts of conservation at the zoos. The campaign allows for zoos to have solid evidence in arguments against animal rights activists on whether animals should be kept in captivity. It was also discussed how to handle the natural deaths of animals living in captivity, so the need for an investigation is not sparked. It is also explained how a zoo's purpose as a conservation center can be misunderstood as a place merely for entertainment, when attractions are added. PETA has responded to the campaign by attempting to push zoos to release animals not meant to live in captivity such as animals. 
• Think: This source changes my thinking, but causing me to realize that zoos are not purely for entertainment purposes. It brings about the new ideas of the practical purposes of a zoo, and what those might be. I agree with the source when it discusses that the best way to handle negative opinions on the idea of a zoo, is to explain its conservation purposes. I disagree with the article when it talks about how PETA believes that referring too a zoo as a conservation center is just lying to the public. This source does give me an answer to my research question, it discusses both sides of the argument from both the perspective of the zoos and the animal rights activists. 
• Synthesize: This source could respond to the article "Activists, circus square off over use of elephants". It could be discussed whether animals should be kept in captivity and whether they are treated properly. It can also take into account the similar perspectives of activists in both articles. I tend to agree with the circus/zoo in this argument in that there is purpose to having these animals in these particular settings. 
• Question and Plan: This source has lead me to ask several new questions. What are the specific conservation purposes of the zoo? what kind of treatment/care are these animals receiving? what animals do activists feel do not belong in a zoo setting? what other purposes did the campaign serve? The answers I have so far, are the similarities between humans and animals, that zoos serve conservation purposes, elephants are protected in circus settings and saved from extinction, and what factors make a human more likely to fight for animal rights. This all ties together to discuss what drives one to fight for animal rights, and whether animals are being maltreated in settings that are frowned upon for having animals. 

Jonathan Broce Source 4

Question: What is the legality of the issue, and has anyone attempted to challenge it?

Citation:
McCann, Michael A., and Joseph S. Rosen. "Legality Of Age Restrictions In The Nba And The Nfl."Case Western Reserve 
Law Review 56.3 (2006): 731-768. Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 Oct. 2015.

This article talks about the legal issues associated with this issue. Throughout the entire article, the author supplies meaningful points and repeatedly expresses his bias towards the issue being illegal. An example of the rule being challenged is exhibited by the author telling us about Hayward Vs. NBA. This was one of the first times anyone tried challenging the rule. Back then, the rule stated you had to attend college for four years, not just one. He claimed the rule was unethically illegal, and the court agreed. He provides clear examples of players that attended college, but still couldnt handle the pressure of the NBA. By doing this, he weakens the argument that players who come straight from high school are less likely to be successful. 

This article re-visited my original thinking of the eligibility issue being unfair and illegal. The last article I read, opened up my eyes to the other side of the argument, but after reading this I strongly disfavor this rule. This article showed the true unfairness of the issue, and the loopholes used in the court system to make it "legal".

This article coincides well with the rest of my topic, and will be a body paragraph for the main paper. The legality of the whole issue is a major topic point to show that these prospective athletes are being illegally restricted from doing what they want. Knowing this bit of information, I believe, can change your perspective on the issue.

The only research information I would still like to find, is how this issue effects the league as a whole? I still have yet to find a scholarly article on the topic. For the most part, the rest of my research is thoroughly covered with enough supporting evidence to write a good paper.

Kersten Brown Source 4

How will Gen Z impact the United States? Where does Gen Z stand right now?

*Not entirely sure how to cite social media*

The other primary source I will be using is social media. Since this is a fairly new topic and a popular one among all generations this is a good source to use. There are very opinionated people on social media networks and some of them are pretty interesting. It makes it easy to find argumentative pieces because that is what I was struggling with before. This is a good source to use because my topic deals with everyone and not just a certain group like teachers and students, or the church. Many people want to voice their opinion on Gen Z, some very interesting, and they do it through social media. I will be using Twitter, Tumblr, and Whisper to look at both sides of this issue.

·      Whisper
Whisper is a social media app that allows you to post, or reply to posts, anonymously. In other words, you can say whatever you want and nobody will know that it was you. People will confess things that they have never told anyone, ask for advice, complain, give advice and, of course, be complete pricks. I was scrolling through posts one day (I don’t know why I have this app. Most of the posts or replies usually make me mad…) and came across a post about Bernie Sanders. I haven’t found many things about political views online. I have heard about them through friends and family but have never really heard any other opinions. This post simply stated, “I have never voted in my life. I never felt a candidate was worth it. Until Bernie Sanders”. There were many replies to this post some saying “Yeah! Go Bernie!” or “#FeelTheBern”. And then there are the posts that say, “Empty promises don’t get anything done. He’s a lying, corrupt man able to pull the wool over the sheep’s eyes”. My political views and whom I want to vote for are irrelevant here but I would like to say that I am not voting for Bernie Sanders. Our generation tends to put socialism above all else whereas generations before us look at the bigger problems affecting our country. I don’t disagree that it should be a focus on the long list of things that need to get fixed in this country but it is not at the top of the totem pole of most importance. I’m not saying that this isn’t a problem because social inequality is a big deal and it should be fixed but we’re not going to be able to fix it unless everyone in America suddenly realizes that they should just be accepting of everyone. That is something that takes time; it is a process. So I can’t say that I disagree with the people voting for Sanders because social inequality is a thing that needs to be fixed but it shouldn’t be the main focus. I also can’t say that I disagree with people voting for Trump. Trump knows money he just doesn’t know equality or really how to run the country.

·      Twitter
I was scrolling through posts on Twitter to see what I could find on Gen Z. I came across this girl named Jessica Cassidy, a millennial (or the generation before Gen Z). She had written a letter to us Gen Z-ers telling us how much she dislikes us and some of her points make sense. She mentioned how much “power and influence” we have than any other generation. And she says, so far, we are using it wrong but that we can change that and use our power to make a difference instead of just posting selfies and pointless videos. We could post a video that can make a change or “make becoming ”unplugged”, even for a short while, trendy.” I agree with her. Many of us Gen Z-ers don’t use technology to its full potential. We could make a change with the power that we hold right in our hands or, at least, we can try. We could post pictures of the amazing places we’ve been or an act of kindness instead of pointless selfies with a pointless description or no description at all. Cassidy called out generation narcissistic and entitled. I mostly agree with that. We are a very narcissistic generation but I don’t necessarily think that we are entitled. We may be selfish and want a lot of things but we sure as hell work to get those things. Many kids these days are on their own completely separate from their parents, having to pay for their own things. I know friends who are paying for their insurance and for college right now.

·      Tumblr
Tumblr is slowly getting more popular. It is the social media network that actually has people on it that care about the world and not just selfies so getting opinions from tumblr wasn’t too hard. Pretty much every post was from someone within the population of Generation Z, defending their generation. Someone with the name scarletwitches posted on Tumbl, specifically about how unfairly older generations are looking at Gen Z. She/ He says, “This is different because unlike other generations before us, we are not at one, but at many turning points in history.” He/ She then goes into the use of technology and how our world has never been such a globalized community. He/ She then mentions how our generation will be facing more threats to humankind than have ever existed in one time period before; environmental issues, terrorism, and the global economy. I agree with all of this. We are a generation that has many problems we will have to face in the future. We are a completely new generation even though some label Gen Z as “The Millennials 2.0”, we are far from similar to the Millennials.

     These are only a few examples from social media. I will pull much more once I’ve furthered my research. As for whether or not the other articles will agree, I think Williams and Elmore will certainly agree with the Tumblr post but disagree with parts from Jessica Cassidy’s letter on Twitter. I don’t know how these two would feel about the Whisper post though. They don’t put much in either of their articles about politics. As for Lance Looper, I think he’d agree with both the Tumblr post and the Twitter post. Probably more the twitter post from Cassidy because he, too, believes that Gen Z has a lot of power and the resources to make a change. But Looper also realizes all the challenges Gen Z will face in the future so, in this way, he agrees with the Tumblr post.

New Questions:

·      What are more political views from all generations?

·      What do older generations think of Gen Z?

·      What does Gen Z think of Gen Z?

·      What is the more prominent issue with Gen Z right now: social, technological, political, or economic?

I am going to look at more posts on social media about Gen Z and try to find a book on Gen Z. And then I’m going to begin writing my paper and see where that takes me.

Answers:

·      Gen Z is slowly making their way in the world.

·      Gen Z is very intelligent but also very opinionated and that can be blinding sometimes.

·      Gen Z is going to have a lot of problems to face in the near future.

Asha Hopton Source 4

Question: How society can change this negative influence on reality tv and it's affect on women. What steps are necessary to really change the way we expect reality shows to be? 

Citation: Jost, Kenneth. "Indecency on Television." CQ Researcher 9 Nov. 2012: 965-88. Web. 9 Oct. 2015.

My next question is how can society change this negative influence on reality tv and it's affect on women and what steps are necessary to really change the way we expect reality shows to be? My first thoughts on this question were that we as a generation need to start expecting more out of what we encounter. I feel that we need to conscious of what programs have substance and can make a positive influence on our behavior, and to be able to recognize what is bad for us. Women in particulate seem to be so easily influenced as well as one to let media have such an impact on their behavior, they really need to be able to differentiate between what is real in reality TV and what harms them. 

This source I picked out talks about the change in cable television. It doesn't really focus on reality television in particular. It says how television is becoming more censored and how it is changing it's dynamic, escaping extreme vulgarity and too much sex display (Jost). This source makes me want to really rework my question because it's not really being answered, even compared to the other sources I've searched. 

Compared to my other source, I feel the previous one would have answered this question a lot better. I think implementing shows such as "I Am Cait" and also shows that are very positive and uplifting like "Extreme Makeover" would change the outlook on reality television a lot. If shows were created for entertainment why not be a positive entertainment. A step to change the negative influence would be to stop creating shows that have unrealistic image of women, and that stops over glamorizing and sexualizing them.

After researching these sources, I feel as though I need to change my initial thesis statements. This is because I continue to veer away from the question at hand and my tends to look subpar of what it could be. 

Madison Daniels Source 4

How is racism handled on college campuses? How is peer intervention done and is it effective?

Dalton, Jon C. Racism on Campus: Confronting Racial Bias through Peer Interventions. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1991. Print.

Racial bias and ethnic hostility on college campuses is at an all time high since the 1980s. Bias related events occur very often on college campuses and they receive widespread attention from the media. These events are not new historically, and are influenced by a number of factors. Each college campus has its own culture in which whites are almost always the majority compared to other ethnicities. Different racial groups organize themselves, creating a space for them to discuss, vent, and share things about the culture that they share. Racial interaction occurs, but the racial groups are "voluntary separate." It was discussed that some of the college programs could use more diversity. A theoretical model was used to analyze student's behaviors and experiences in relation to their background and entrance into college. This is significant because "differences in students experiences may contribute to conflict and misunderstanding..." Ways to promote diversity on campus like peer training strategies, were stated with their theories and methodologies. Campus diversity models and racial identity models are key in the conversation of diversity at universities. Evaluating peer interventions is also important to see if the methodologies practiced and the diversity training were in any way successful. 

This source is going to be crucial to my overall thesis question (Why does racism persist on college campuses?) because it addresses how racial issues have been addressed in the past and how it needs to be handled now. This source changed my thinking because I wasn't aware of specific issues that cause racism and how these issues can be addressed. It gave me a bigger picture of what's actually going on socially on college campuses. I agree with the source on its explanations for how racial issues exist among groups of students, but I don't agree that peer interventions can fix everything. Since this book was written in the 90s, some of the info of how to approach racial situations may need to be updated, especially after significant race-based events that occurred in 2014. This source does answer most of the components of the questions for this blog post. 

This source can ultimately respond to all of the other sources because the sources are very related in nature. It can be in discussion with "The Impact of "Colorblind" Ideologies on Students of Color: Intergroup Relations at a Predominantly White University," (Source 3)  because they both touch on the topics of how racial groups interact with each other when attending universities where they are the minority. This source can also converse with "College Students' Perceptions of Equal Opportunity for African Americans and Race-Based Policy: Do Diversity Requirements Make a Difference." (Source 1) because the topic of diversity education is truly positive for both professors and students. 

This source has led me towards a list of a lot information relates to race relations. My research question may change to focus on how racism persists on college campuses, rather than why, since statistical information can't always prove the truth. As far as looking at Mizzou specifically, the incident that happened with MSA President Payton Head and the other recent racially motivated protests could be used as examining a case study of racism that is very much present at a university like ours. My research needs now to gather all the information that was from news articles  today. 

-Do I still think that racism is persistent on college campuses today in this way? 

-How do school leaders deal with such racism if it breaks out?

-How is racism handled by modern media? 

-How does social media fuel the conversations about race?

Jovon Harrison source 4

Question: Do the benefits of social media out weigh the negatives? and vice versa?

 Permalink: http://laurel.lso.missouri.edu/record=b10793825~S1

This book gives various perspectives on social media and how it has changed the way we communicate. It also gives reasons of how social media makes our lives better by improving our network connections, expanding our horizons, making communication more simple, and etc. It also gives ways to which social media can negatively impact our society. It explains how it has changed our way of thinking and viewing certain things, violates our privacy and trust, and how it can lead to physical and mental harm. It gives touches on the benefits and also the negatives.

Daniel Holmes - Source 4

Question I am researching for this journal entry: Is Political Correctness effective on college campuses in the U.S.?

Works Cited:

Lawler, Peter Augustine. "Political Correctness And The End Of History." College Teaching 44.1 (1996): 20. Teacher Reference Center. Web. 8 Oct. 2015.

• This article states that the politically correct believe that they know everything in regards to justice, and that what they know is the entirety of higher education. Education at the higher level is concerned with issues of race, class, and gender. The study of history is based on bringing up all of these issues and applying them to today’s life. The politically correct think they’re trying to perfect societies’ universality and homogeneity. There is a large intolerance for criticism in regards to political correctness. Any attempt to challenge or criticize a view or belief is met with claims of racism, sexism, or homophobia. They are not open in any way to any kinds of criticism.
• This source has helped me look deeper into the ideology of political correctness and get a better feel for it. I do feel like there is some truth to this source in regards to the opposition being slapped with certain labels based on their views, because there absolutely are racist/sexist/homophobic people out there as well. This source has helped me think about my question a little more, and potentially lead to a change in the research question. 
•  In response to my other sources, this source will be the backbone in explaining the political correct ideology. There is a lot of good information to be found in this source that will spark a good conversation between the other sources. There all still a lot of differences in these sources that can bring different facts to the table and introduce new points of discussion.
•    This source has prompted me to research further into how the politically correct ideology is actually represented on college campuses in the U.S. I will also look to see if there are regional differences in regards to the amount of influence political correctness has on different campuses. I have yet to form any new questions for this research, but I do believe there are still better questions to be asking.