Assignment #4 (blog entry 1)

The USC masterplan is a great idea that I believe overall is a very beneficial adjustment that would improve the school. Currently, USC is a very prestigious school located in an area that is not as "nice" as the school itself. USC is located in an inner city where there are a lot of homeless people and poverty. Many excellent students choose other schools over USC because they do not like the area that USC is located in. I know for a fact that many of my friends chose other schools merely because the location of USC was not what they were looking for in a college. This master plan is a great idea because it strives to develop the area around USC to make it a nicer place. The council plans to make the surrounding area more aesthetically pleasing and also bringing in more store, restaurants, etc. that will be more appealing to those attending USC. Another positive element of this master plan is that it will open up many new job opportunities for the locals who are struggling financially. We are in an economic crisis, and with more job opportunities, more people will be able to make money.

The one thing that may be more of an ideal goal is the Jefferson Avenue plan. It appears they want to create a "Third Street Promenade" feel to it, but they must take into account the only people who will be utilizing this area would be USC students and faculty-- the stores they plan on putting in are probably fairly pricey and would not appeal at all to the locals who live around USC. The council may be putting in too much money to redo Jefferson Blvd because that area will not be used by all of the people around it, only USC students in which case it may actually LOSE some money.

Logical Fallacy: Generalization

This particular video is a political advertisement for Carly Fiorina.  The commercial first shows a clip of Barbara Boxer telling a general in court to call her “Senator instead of ma’am” because she “worked so hard for that title.”  Fiorina then comes on screen and explains how this was an arrogant comment made by Boxer.  Fiorina then takes this to the next level and says that Boxer worked for 28 years in Washington for a title, but Fionrina will “really go to work to end the arrogance in Washington.”  This is an extreme generalization.  She is using this example to imply that because Boxer made an arrogant comment, that Washington is an arrogant place.  There is no proof that because one Senator made one arrogant comment, that Washington is full of arrogance.  

President Obama!!

Here is a picture I got from the President of the United States on our very own McCarthy quad at USC!!

 

Sonia Nazario

This speaker that we had was quite a treat.  To be honest, when I thought of immigrants coming to America, all I thought about was them crossing the Mexico-America border.  I had no idea about the grand journey of trying to make it through Mexico and all of the other Central American countries.  It was incredible to hear about the dangerous journeys on top of trains.  What was the most heart-wrenching was listening to her talk about how desperate the little kids were to find their mothers who had left them.  It was tragic that a mother had to chose between leaving her kids behind to make money to support them, or to stay with them and have her family suffer from starvation.  It was so moving when Nazario explained how she went on the journey herself.  It showed true dedication toward her passion.  I couldn't even imagine putting myself in her shoes, riding on top of trains with her life constantly in danger.  It gave me a totally new appreciation and understanding for immigration.  It is a fight and a struggle for freedom, and also reuniting with loved ones.  I think it would be an awesome project to do some sort of a documentary on this-- being able to visually see the struggles and talk to the immigrants would be awesome. 

Engaging Clio Blog Entry #2

I wanted to do my paper on the particular topic of  Lincoln being the "Great Emancipator" because my teacher in high school was really in to trying to debunk myths in history.  When I was young, I learned that Lincoln was this highly revered president because he freed the slaves.  It is true that he freed the slaves, but teachers always put it in a very positive light, making him seem like this idealized extremely moral person.  It was a shock to me when my teacher Junior year had do a detailed case study on Lincoln's life, and we learned that he actually had racist feelings as well.  My perceptions of this topic haven't necessarily changed, but before I started writing this paper, i couldn't really articulate WHY I thought this should be taught in all high schools.  Why would I want to shatter a positive view on one of the great American heroes?  The more I thought about it and researched the topic, I realized that our nation cannot be founded on lies.  Lincoln is not the only figure or event that is portrayed in an idealized light.  Having our hero figures being falsely portrayed as idealized, it gives us as citizens a feeling of inferiority, and when we want change, we might feel like we have to wait on a "messiah" type figure.  It is not a good mentality to have.

Engaging Clio Blog Entry #1

I am choosing the topic of Abraham Lincoln and how he is not the "Great Emancipator" like many people learn.  I know a lot of my friends have been taught about this idealized figure of Lincoln as the slave freer because he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed the slaves in the southern states.  However, I think that his situation needs to be reevaluated.  Lincoln issue the EP for political reasons, and not because he was an abolitionist.  In fact, Lincoln had many racist tendencies.  I think that it is important that people do not have a false perception of Lincoln.  Though he may have been a racist, he has many other qualities that people can still respect.  His ultimate goal was to preserve the union, and he would do whatever it took-- and he issued the EP to attempt to preserve the union.  I think people need to be aware of the REAL  Lincoln, and not the ideal Lincoln.