Stand Up Video Game Activists!

In the third and final Action Project for my Winter Term, my Humanities teacher asked me to create a fairly balanced argument of our choice. The point of choosing the argument was to look at it from the opposing point of view and not just focus on the logic in our own. Looking at the argument from an opposing point of view allows you to be at peace with both sides, while filling in the flaws and loop-holes of your own argument. The main thing we tried to achieve throughout this project was to synthesize and create a new agreement for the better; this was about as difficult as it was fun. Throughout my last two Humanities projects, I have been able to speak my mind and I am being taught different ways to do so. I find it awesome that our school is allowing us to change our community for the better, extremely cool!

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Thesis: Video Games are quite amazing in my eyes. There’s an onslaught of negative judgment against them, but I would like to propose that we give video games a chance. Video games have been quite a positive outlet in my life. Games allow time away from stress and everything else in the world that might alter your attitude negatively.

Support 1:

"In most video games people grab a controller and watch the screen, and act as fast as they possibly can according to what is happening on the screen. This helps people improve coordination, it improves dexterity, and in some cases, it even improves reflexes." - OCCUPYTHEORY. 17 January, 2015

Support 2:
"A lot of video games require the player to go through a determined puzzle to advance in the storyline or to get to the next phase of the game. This helps the development of problem solving abilities and logical thinking, which can be used in real life." - OCCUPYTHEORY. 17 January, 2015

Support 3:
"Multiplayer video games improve teamwork, cooperation, and in some cases are a great way for social interaction. While players need to work cooperatively and act as a team to win the game, they need to communicate with each other in order to achieve success. This type of teamwork can be used in real life to improve team activities and possibly facilitate employment." - OCCUPYTHEORY. 17 January, 2015

Antithesis: Video games are addictive and promote violence, poor health, and less physical activity. Video games corrupt the summer breaks, winter breaks, and spring breaks. Games have become a poison to the academic world. which leads to less performance in class and in overall mental ability. Jack Thompson is an American activist against video games. He stated once: "Many parents think that stores won’t sell an M-rated game to someone under 17. We know that's not true, and, in fact, kids roughly 50 percent of that time, all the studies show, are able to walk into any store and get any game regardless of the rating, no questions asked." This is a problem because although there can be an acceptance of violent games, that acceptance is if there's a limitation on the ages that are playing those games. If video game distributors aren't following this rule, then under-aged children will be exposed to violent content.

With every argument, there are questions. When there are questions in an argument, generally they come from both sides. Here is a simulation of a Q&A that I created between the opposing view points:

Questions for my side: Would you want your children playing games, endorsing killing and theft?
Answer: In all honesty, my children will be allowed to play any game they want by the age of 14. Obviously I'm not a father, but children are raised how you raise them. If your children will be influenced by video games and aren't mature enough for mature content, who's fault is that? The parent/guardian in that household.

Questions for opposing side: Would you rather our children be out on the streets with our free time?
Answer: Children are influenced by their household guardian as well in this situation and if your child is in the streets, maybe that's what he sees around him.

There's one golden question though. What can both sides agree on? Well this is how I synthesized the argument between both sides:

• Games are a worldwide phenomenon and our youth can be encouraged through other ways, not to resort to violence or profane behavior. Youth are motivated by the people in their household more than anyone or anything else. It’s almost unrealistic to take away all video games from children and teenagers across the world. We can continue to do what we can to motivate our youth to bring positive effects to our world.
• Knowledge is power and video games are expressive of expanding your mind. Whenever a video game is played, you learn something you didn’t know before, whether it’s the name of a defensive formation in basketball or a strategic plan to take down the Prime Minister. We can agree that video games can be quite informative.

Synthesis: Seeing as we can all agree on something, we should plan to move forward from this. By putting more limitations and restrictions on age, we can allow the playing of mature games. Maybe instead of ridding teenagers of video games that they love and video games that keep them from getting into trouble, we can teach them how to limit themselves and be good role models in their households. 

Below is a visual representation of my project:

Works Cited:

YouTube. SourceFed "7 Health Benefits Of Video Games," 11 March. 2013. Web. 14 March. 2016.

YouTube. AllTime 10s "10 Surprising Health Benefits Of Playing Video Games," 14 November. 2012. Web. 14 March. 2016.

OCCUPYTHEORY "Video Games Pros And Cons List," 17 January. 2015. Web. 14 March. 2016.

ProCon "Do Violent Video Games Contribute To Youth Violence," 23 September. 2015. Web. 14 March. 2016.

Penn State University. Qian Chen “Video Games: Cause or Cure For ADHD,” 23 October. 2015. Web. 14 March. 2016.

ZME SCIENCE. TIBI PUIU “Do Violent Video Games Really Make Children More Aggressive,” 19 August. 2015. Web. 14 March. 2016.

Wikipedia “Jack Thompson (activist),” N.D. Web. 14 March. 2016.

My Amendment

For the second action project of my Winter Term course, Argument we very thoroughly discussed how our history used valid argument to get their point across more effectively. More specifically, we dove deeper into the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. We also discussed different forms and techniques of argument or fallacies, such as: Ad Hominem (addressing your dislike for the presenter of an argument, opposed to the argument itself), etc. Along with our studies regarding the U.S. Constitution, we also reviewed the amendments created in that document. You guessed it, our assignment was to review our school's Code of Conduct and choose a section in which we wanted to justify or "amend." Now this project was a problem for me at the beginning, as I found close to nothing wrong with the Code of Conduct. Fortunately, a couple hours past and I remembered that a younger student from my school suffered from a bad illness which then restricted him from being at school for a very long month and a half or so. This struck my mind when he told me that he had to drop one of his courses because the workload was petrifying. Below I will explain why I believe there should be some justification in these situations.

Her Campus. "The Busy Work Assigner," Web. 03/08/16

The Code of Conduct addresses truancy in at least 2 key places. First, it is defined as:

...tardiness or absence (s) without a valid excuse. A student out of school without a valid excuse is considered truant. Truant students must arrange with their teachers to make up missed work. Parents will be notified of unexcused tardiness or absence.

Later in the Attendance Procedures section of the CoC, the details about truancy are expressed in this way:

A parent or guardian is expected to communicate an absence with GCE Lab School as soon as possible when a student is going to be absent. Students are expected to contact their teachers as soon as they are able to address next steps for makeup work.

If a student is absent for more than 20% of classes during a term, the student and family will meet with the Disciplinary Council to address appropriate school placement and support systems.

Tardies

If a student acquires 4 tardies in a two week period, they will be expected to meet with the Disciplinary Council to create an action plan for improving their timeliness. The Co-Curricular Coordinator will communicate with students and families every two weeks regarding tardies.

A student will be considered absent from a class if they miss more than 25% of a class on a given day.

In either case of a tardy or an absence, it is the responsibility of the student to reach out to each of the instructors to figure out a way to complete/make up missing work.
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I chose to amend this section of the CoC simply because there’s not always a clear understanding on the part of the school of why students are absent. I argue that the school uses the term “unexcused absence” too loosely. There’s no say in who decides if an absence is unexcused. This rule is a bit corrupt, as it promotes students working in a non-working state. In other words, if the student is unable to complete work for whatever reason, there should be a compromise.

Simply put, the attendance rules section of the CoC has a clear argument, which is formally recorded below:

P1: Students are subject to illness at pretty much anytime.

P2: Students are expected to attend school whenever it is in session.

P3: Students are expected to complete each day's assignments and homework.

C: Students who are absent are 100% responsible for making up the work they missed.

My interpretation of the CoC’s argument on this topic is that natural and unnatural illness has a mind of its own, so according to the duration of time a student is not in school, I think we should be assigned work, justice. There should be a feasible workload for the students who suffer from illness!

I propose to amend this section of the CoC through a different syllogism:

P1: Students might get sick, temporarily physically impaired, etc…

P2: Students are not to blame for their illness.

P3: Students are responsible for their daily schoolwork, including homework assignments.

C: Students should, according to the amount of time they miss, communicate with Eric (the Director) and their teachers to obtain the necessary information to complete a REALISTIC amount of work to keep up with their peers and course content. This entails that the amount of work assigned to that student be realistic for him to complete in a feasible time period.

To spice it up for you guys, I would like to represent my argument with an interesting analogy. Imagine you lay down your laptop on a glass table, then go to the restroom. Upon going to the restroom, that glass collapses, along with your laptop. You pray to whoever that your laptop is still in top-notch shape, but frankly, it’s not. Now, it wasn’t your fault, but you still have to deal with the situation because it happened. It’s just reality, a reality that should, however, be adjusted for those too young to remedy the crisis 100%.

This revised version of the section I chose will change things at our school for the better. If it be extremely necessary, students should be excused from work and “truancy.” Not everything is excusable, but excuses are necessary sometimes. know a student who was out for approximately 2 months and he legitimately dropped a whole course! This student is a freshman and he already has to make up an entire course. That is definitely cruel and unusual! I propose a medicine for this.

In a larger legislative context, my new amendment is connected to the 8th amendment 8 of the U.S. Constitution, which focuses on citizens rights to be protected from cruel and unusual punishment. Is it not extreme for a freshman to have to drop a course because he was sick for an amount of time that was not in his power to change? Sure, my proposal isn’t as serious as the Constitutional amendment itself, but who’s to say it’s not unjust or unusual punishment? As it is a school rule affecting all students that is still far from fair.

The impact of this revision will be nothing but positive for the community. I would say that based upon the motive behind my amendment proposal, my argument will benefit all of the “citizens” of my school and help protect them from excessive punishment in situations beyond their control.

An actual student, MO, inspired me to address the attendance section of the CoC, in the first place. He supports my argument and stated “The workload they tried to give me was ridiculous. I had to drop the class. A little stressful, but I’ll be alright.” That quote represents the core of my argument. This student is subject to unfair punishment because he was sick, which doesn’t make much sense at all.

In conclusion, MO at my school suffers from this corrupt system that my school has put in place where the student is almost “too accountable” for his absence. In doing so, the school has expressed beliefs of carelessness for their students by assigning an overload of work which is situationally unrealistic depending on the state of the student. I fight for fair conditions concerning the sick students at my school. I hope you believe in my amendment as much as I do!

Declaration of Driver's Ed

In the first unit of my Spring Term Humanities course, "A Nation's Argument," we dove down deep into why an argument is effective. We have discussed political issues that would further influence us to create stronger arguments for our action projects. For our action project, we were assigned to almost re-write and recite the Declaration of Independence, but for a class that we feel can benefit the school we reside in. I personally believe that EVERY high school should provide Driver's Education. I feel like Driver's Ed is so essential to young people because knowing the rules of the road, driving a vehicle or not, will be beneficial to your safety and who doesn't want their license after all? I know I want my license!
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I believe that it is mandatory for the teenagers of America to learn early, how to drive in order for them to be comfortable with it in the future! So therefore, it is extremely necessary that I propose this class. I feel the need to make this class official because I know how it feels to be deprived of Driver's Education. I also feel as if obtaining your Drivers License goes hand-in-hand with growing up as a teenager and adult.

Why does GCE Lab School not allow access to Driver’s Ed class? The purpose of my Driver’s Ed course is to allow my fellow peers to take a journey that we are currently missing out on because of unjust restrictions. I want to learn to drive so bad and I know my peers wouldn’t mind it, as well.

Well, there’s the right to have access to your permit at the age of 16 or Sophomore year. There’s also the right of getting your license at 18. Other schools allow Driver's Ed, so why not us? Doesn’t seem to me, that this course would be harmful to the alumni. After months and months of professional training and partnership, we should be able to hold our own on the road!

As sophomores (and upperclassmen) we are almost entitled to learning enough about driving to obtain, at least a permit. After completing this course, I would like for there to be GCE students exploring the world with their very own license and auto-mobile.

This program/class will require access to a number of resources:

• Driver’s Ed (Lane Tech Program, 30-40 minutes by train)
• Student Ventra cards issued by school
• GCE teacher (advisor)

P1: Declaring Driver's Ed is essential for teenagers.
P2: Due to restrictions, I am not allowed to take this class.
P3: Other schools allow access to Driver's Ed, what's the harm in implementing one at GCE.
P4: Being 16+ without a permit, is bologna!
C: There should be a Driver's Ed class in the GCE system!

DNR Diagram N.D. Web. 16 February. 2016.

My official declaration is that there be a Driver’s Ed class issued ASAP (preferably before I leave). I believe that Driver’s Ed is very important because of the simple fact that driving is important!

Is It Because I'm Black?

The last unit for my Rhetoric class, "Unite," had the guiding question: how does rhetoric inspire and mobilize? We discussed how to use rhetoric to inspire others to take action by looking at some early attempts at uniting different groups around a specific cause in America. For our action project, we had to create some form of art that "speaks" on an idea and I chose the medium of literature. I've created a poem, titled, “Is it Because I’m Black”, speaking directly to the issue of racial profiling. Upon creating my piece, I had to dig deeply and remember what I love about my African American heritage! I was reminded, unfortunately, that racial profiling is still a problem, not only originating from policemen, but from African Americans, too. It’s my personal belief that there would be no such thing as racial profiling if some African Americans got their lives together! (I’ll explain exactly what I mean by this in my Artist’s Statement following my poem) Many are scared to say that, though. I must say, it wasn't easy to create my poem or even articulate explanation for my artistic choices, but of course, I feel like the message that I got across was worth it! I really love this poem and I hope you love it, too. It's one of my strongest pieces!

"Malcolm X/MLK." Wikipedia. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.

Is it because I'm black?

Man, I hate that crap

Blacks suspicious like water when it's tap

When you're black, and see a policemen, just assume it's a trap

Is it because I'm black?

I'm not really sure if I understand

Do you think discriminating against blacks makes you the man?

Or... Or is it because I'm black?

Am I supposed to be out on a corner sellin' crack?

Or breakin' my back

Running from police?

This ain't track,

Man, that's whack!

I think it's 'cuz I'm black.

You know, It never made sense to me...

I bet you they would arrest a blind black man...

Like, "why are you cuffing me, I can't even see!?"

It's definitely because I'm black

Or maybe it's because they don't wanna see

Any Productivity

Out the black race

Or... Or maybe they wanna see us eat without saying grace

Or.. Maybe they wanna see all blacks get a lil penitentiary taste

Yea, these are all horrible things,

But do my eyes deceive me?

Are things not what they seem to be?

Or what we see on tv?

Oh, it's DEFINITELY because I'm black

But lemme take you back

Back when everybody was pro-black

When Martin had a dream,

Remember that?

And you could hear Malcolm X scream... "by any means"

Remember that?

They say it's because I'm black

I say compassion's what they lack

I say slavery... is equivalent to "enslaving me"

And as a young black man I just wanna be free.

(Thank you)

This poem was inspired by the discrimination of African Americans around the US. This issue is so important to me because whenever I decide to have children, I don't want to have to worry about them being racially profiled. Why would that even be a concern of mine? It doesn't make sense for me, as a young black man, to fear for my life as a police car rolls by.

I looked up the definition of "police" and what I found online was: “the civil force of a national or local government, responsible for the prevention and detection of crime and the maintenance of public order.” When you think the phrases, "public order" and "detection of crime," do you think of policemen or do you think of police brutality? Crazy, right? My artwork's message is to bring more awareness and contribute my own personal perspective on the wrong-doings of some of the policemen in this nation.

I feel like this is important and I'm sure many would agree with me. Those people would also understand the emotional appeal of my topic. Even if you don’t understand or feel the need to care about this issue, you still have to have a heart. I’ve had family members beat in front of me just because something went down in the area and we’re all black. I know you have heard a story or two about a white cop killing or cuffing a black man for no legitimate reason and it concerns me to know that we can't even trust policemen to keep us safe. Look at Trayvon Martin who was killed for simply walking home while wearing a hoodie, because he was black. Look at Walter Lamer Scott who was shot down and then wrongfully accused of stealing a policeman’s stun gun, because he was black.

Some specific reasons why this topic concerns me may just blow your mind. Here are some mind blowing statistics (from Wikipedia):

1. Racial profiling un-officially began in 1693, when Philadelphia's court officials gave police legal authority to stop and detain any "negro" (freed or enslaved) seen wandering around on the streets!
2. June 2003, the Department of Justice issued its Guidance Regarding the Use of Race by Federal Law Enforcement Agencies forbidding racial profiling by federal law enforcement officials.
3. As of 2000, fewer African American men were in college than were in prison.
4. The average black kid is nine times as likely to have one parent in jail than the average white kid.

I chose to express my feelings about this issue through a thoughtful poem. This literary medium requires using a pen, of course, and a piece of paper. The medium of my choosing also requires the mental intelligence of what’s going on in the world. My preferred writing device is my phone, which is where I keep most of my spoken pieces. I feel like talking through my poems is a powerful form of expressing myself to others, and I hope you enjoyed my poem as much as I enjoyed crafting it for you and more importantly, speaking out on the issue of police brutality and profiling!

My poem has quite a lot of strong ethical appeal. I allude to my African American heritage a lot, which ties into my credibility as a writer and speaker on this top. I use Allusion to tie my poem back into the history of African American greatness, such as: Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. I use Hypophora to add pizzazz and present rhetorical questions, such as: “is it because I’m black?” and “but do my eyes deceive me?”. I seem to use Similes and Metaphors as well, such as comparing track to running from police or when I referenced blacks to being suspicious like tap water.

Due to the rhetoric and influence of my poem, I believe that anyone who is concerned about the same things I'm concerned about will help me in abolishing the discrimination against African Americans!

References:

"Racial Profiling." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.

What Every Black Woman Should "Aspire to Be"

In Unit 2, Challenge, we discussed how the use of Rhetoric can inspire or pressure others. One of the guiding questions for this Unit was, "who has used Rhetoric to challenge the status quo?" This goes hand and hand with the video I have chosen below. The purpose of our Action Project is to generally use our brain to find out why a text is effective or not. The video I have chosen is a performance by "Ernestine Johnson," where she glorifies feministic power and redefines what/ or who the "Average Black Girl" is. The moment I found out about Ms. Johnson, I couldn't help but to follow her work. The task at hand (annotating the text) isn't easy, but I HAVE to give credit where it's due. Overall, although the text was hard to annotate, and the message itself was so rigorous, I had an excellent time conducting this project.

For Free?

The first Humanities course of my Junior year, Rhetoric, is about the art of persuasion. In Unit 1, Suppose, we discussed how to use Rhetoric in our speeches and language. We looked into the meaning of "persuasive and effective writing." The purpose of our Action Project is to put these techniques to good use, by creating an effective, attention-grabbing speech about a selected topic. My topic is, "Why should we have to pay to get to and from school?" I have thought about this very frequently and decided to dive deeper into it with this speech. The video below, is of me performing this speech and it was not easy. Along with all the research required to complete my essay, I have learned that this issue may be more of a problem than I even thought before.

For Free? from GCE Student on Vimeo.

Running late for school, but hey, who cares? I’m gonna be late anyway. But man, this old thing? (tosses Ventra) Let me tell you guys something. WHAT IS WRONG WITH CTA, and the government as a whole? Why do STUDENTS have to pay to go to school?? In what universe does this make sense? I wanna be successful like anyone else, but why is it necessary that I, as a child, have to pay? Sure, the government may have its reasons, but why should I have to go through this as a scholar? Instead of focusing on my ACT scores and grades 2015(the things that I've been told since I was even younger that will help me ACHIEVE SUCCESS), I have to scramble to get the necessary currency just to "get to school". WHY SHOULD THIS BE A PROBLEM ON A YOUNG SCHOLAR'S MIND?

I could appeal to you guys logically and tell you all that I spend approximately $294.08 every term or every 4 months just getting to and from school. Or that some CTA conductors aren't even "in the mood" to reduce the fare you have to pay or they give you attitude, when they should be supporting us. But there's a simple way to solve this. Why are we paying in THE FIRST PLACE?

I could cry to you guys about how some days I was stuck trying to find a ride or beg someone with a dollar or two to put me on the train. Or that I couldn't buy my little brother that birthday present that I wanted to get him because saving up is so hard. Or how hard it is for my family to cough up $294 every 4 months just for me to get to school and back home. Not to mention the extra money to put food in my system during my school's off-campus lunch.

However, I could also just say that because I am a student, you have to listen to me. Or...rr that my voice is stronger because of that. Maybe it is, but this doesn't change the fact that this morning I went through a crisis. I had no idea if I had money on my card and I was broke. Walking out of the house, this became a problem because I'm not rich like Bill Gates, I'm broke. This prohibits me from pulling out a couple hundreds and saving the day with my magical money tree’s ability. I bet if you listen closely, you can hear my wallet screeching.

Furthermore, it is almost inevitable that this topic is extremely important. I hope I've inspired others to speak up. Why do us, as students, have to pay to GET TO SCHOOL. We're butterflies trying to flap our wings, but can't because we're caught in a web and the government is the spider. That same spider is the one telling us that if we don't go school, we won't be successful. But that SAME SPIDER makes us pay to get there. Whats wrong with this crazy spider? It's all a bit too much.

But to conclude, why are the adults, we someday look to be as successful as, putting us through unnecessary obstacles that could very well reduce our performance in school? Think on that. I'm DR and I'm out.


References:

"CTA Fare Information." Transit Chicago. CTA, 2013. Web. 22 Sept. 2015.
"Gov. Rauner's Budget Cuts Could Mean CTA Fare Hike; Let the Class War Begin." Chicago Now. 19 Feb. 2015. Web. 19 Sept. 2015.