blog 14

Overall, I enjoyed hearing most of the speeches because I learned many valid points on topics that I didn't even know existed. Yes, I had viewpoints right off the bat when someone mentioned their topic, but after hearing speeches, my opinions shifted just a bit or did completely. One speech that stood out to me was Grant's. I've heard before that people thought college athletes should be paid, but I never really thought deeply about the controversy. Because Grant had experienced being an athlete first semester, he knew all the details about what it is like and the benefits that are included. A college athlete gets plenty free benefits from food to text books (and others I cannot remember). When Grant explained what it was like, I realized that it would not be fair if they got paid on top of having all those benefits. Also, when Grant brought up the point that college athletes should be proud and feel privileged to play for their school, I really started to agree with him. Paying college athletes could ruin the passion and hard work that already takes place. Also, the point that their are so many other individuals who work as hard as they can to just attend a certain college. Athletes are on scholarships so they should appreciate the fact that they don't have to scramble as much for tuition. 

Post 15

Summer is definitely my favorite time of the year so by saying I am excited for summer is a definite understatement. If you don't like summer you need to reevaluate your life in my opinion. This summer is going to be a huge change for me because it is the first summer that I'm not going to be spending it at home but I will be staying in Iowa City. Its going to be weird but I am really looking forward to a new experience. My living situation is probably different than most because instead of living in at home with parents or living in an apartment downtown Iowa City, I am living in a fraternity house with 20 other guys. Living in a fraternity house has definitely been one of the most interesting/fun/frustrating/dirty/sleep depriving yet best experience that I have ever done, and I don't expect that to be any different this summer. Our house is located on the river so I expect my days to be consisting of waking up, going to work, and rushing home to play sand volleyball with the guys. Living at home is great but the way that I look at it is, yes my house may be a little messy and we may stay up a little too late and make a little bit too much noise... it happens. But when in my lifetime am I ever going to be able to live with 20 of my closest friends in the world under one roof? Probably never. I am excited for the warm weather, the Dave Matthews Concert I am going to see and numerous trips to Chicago I am going to make. Its going to be a great summer regardless. But when it comes down to it the thing that I am most excited for this summer is to simply be around my friends. Some of my best memories of college haven't been getting an A in a class, or going to Iowa football games, or even going downtown on a Friday night. Some of my best memories have come around a campfire in the backyard of our house talking and laughing while we watch the water in the river flow by. I am excited for the friendships that I know are going to be strengthened this summer all because we live under the same leaky roof and I couldn't be more excited.

Post #15

For an enigma such as myself, my summer plans must be as vague and mysterious as my true personality is. This summer is going to be a summer where I will try to save up the cash so that I can have one of those summers, the ones you hear about in the movies where a group of friends sneak out to go on some wild adventure in the Carribbean. I plan on working at probably the single most Iowan place in the entirety of this state. I will be working in a cornfield. Pollenating plants. The single most Iowan job out there, getting paid to work in a cornfield. But while I'm turning into a true Iowan, I'm planning on visiting Chicago and also spending some quality time with my grandmother, who came all the way to Iowa from her little apartment along the beach in India. (And before anyone asks, no, I don't get why she'd like to visit Iowa either). Hopefully, I can figure a way out of Iowa some time this summer.

Post 14

If there was one speech that from the very start got me sitting up in my seat where I felt that I needed to see where she was going with this has got to be Milicas. She definitely took a very taboo topic and made it conversational to where I was very compelled with her argument and viewpoints. The topic of porn and the sex industry is a very touchy one in our society which in almost all circles of society is almost always immediately torn as being a disgusting and disgraceful industry. Having my own viewpoints on the subject matter before Milica gave her speech, I was somewhat more opened to the subject matter. Did she change my view points completely? No and I will probably have my own. But did she open me up? Absolutely, and given the subject matter a very tough task to do. Most argue that the most degrading thing that a woman can do is have sex for money and having a very compelling argument that it is in fact the opposite was a very interesting view point.

Post #15

My summer plans are pretty boring compared to others. I will not be traveling, sitting on the beach, or doing very fun things. Instead, I will be taking two different summer classes, through Kirkwood community college. I am taking Spanish and calculus so that I can get them out of the way. I feel like everyone else is be going to enjoy their summers while I will be stuck in a boring classroom learning the different conjugations of the word “to be”, and they will be soaking up the sun. I’m trying not to sound like I am complaining too much, because I think it’s great that I am getting some classes done and out of the way. I just wish that I didn’t have them for a total of four hours a day, 5 days a week for a month.

            After those classes get done, I will definitely be by a pool the rest of the summer. Hopefully one month of summer can get relaxed enough to be ready to go back to school in August, but who ever really wants to go back to school? Atleast I will be headed to Colorado for a family wedding at the end of July so that I can have a little bit of a vacation. Those are my summer plans, so the first month will be pretty boring but after that, I will make sure to have as much fun as I can until it starts up again!

Post #13

Throughout this whole semester we have read a very wide array of literature. From an arguably too descriptive of a book that tended to put haunting images of animal cruelty into our minds to a somewhat boring cut and dry book of the shallows to the comic like style of maus. All of these book are very different in nature but all of which are definitely tied to one element of writing which is to gain resonance with an audience of readers. Reading Maus was interesting for me. I have read books on the Holocaust before and I have read graphic novels before but not one that uses such a real life and traumatic event personified by animals. It was a very interesting take, indeed. Some of it I liked and some I found less appealing for a few reasons. In my opinion, it lacked credibility with me. I kept having to remind myself that this is an actual true story of a catastrophic event of arguably the worst crime on humanity in history. Even though I wasnt a huge fan of Eating Animals, I felt that I had more of a connection with his writing because he allowed his words put an image in my mind instead of the author trying to do that on his own. I am not a vegan by any means because of the book but it definitely allowed me to make more of a connection. With all three of these novels they all had something in common in that they would try making a personal connection by sharing why writing this is important to them. With Maus he kept reverting back to present time or different situations with his father which backed up his story when his father was in the concentration camps. With Eating Animals he went to life experience of eating meet which was then reinforced with facts and different stories backing up his beliefs. In addition, Carr did the same with talking about his own personal experience and opinion on technology and used that to back up his facts and logistics trying to make a more stronger argument that he felt would resonate with his readers.

Blog Post #14

I thought that the speeches this week went really well and everyone did a great job presenting their arguments. They all had really good controversial topics that aren’t constantly talked about today. I think that Kellen’s speech over how punishment or reinforcement can affect a child’s life in school and other aspects was an interesting topic. Most of us don’t usually think about how our parents raised us or punished us has effected our learning. He even took it a step further by talking about how the lecture-based classes should let us decide if we should come to class or not. They should not be taking away points where we don’t even do anything in class. He also brought up the point that sometimes having to attend these classes doesn’t affect our grades at all. Like he is still getting an A in both classes, where one he goes to lecture, yet the other he doesn’t go and it does not affect him.  I also liked how he made it relevant to our lives. He did not talk about how punishing a child could have on their older adult life but their young adult life and schooling. It made me listen more because I knew the information had to do with me and where I am at in my life. He also talked about his personal experience which made me think that he knew what he was talking about when presenting the information.