More comments on projects
2505 words by glholiday
I did my comments for week 10 on the following people:
Itta Aswad
Brittany Brown
Jami\’l Ruie
Yolanda Ruffin
Tonica Herron
Lisa Johnson
Kamilah Jones
Krystal Russell
Trung Quang
Patrish Lewis
Itta Aswad
Itta, I agree with you on some levels that greed is an issue in this society. I would like to think that everyone hopes that they have exciting fulfilling lives with good/great jobs, also, to provide for themselves and their families but this as you know is not the case all the time. So many circumstances come in to play like one could be too laziness to do what it takes to live a nice life or what have you, one may have mad bad choices along the way and can not seem to get their head above water so it always seems as if they can never get ahead no matter how hard they try. I think greed is an issue when someone acquires material things and/ or money by any means necessary that are not necessarily legitimate. One example that comes to mind are drug dealers. These individuals not only earn money illegally but also, sell product that poisons children, mothers, fathers, uncles, aunts, cousins, friends, neighbors, basically anyone they sell to. Another example that comes to mind are dirty politicians who take money under the table from companies that benefit from the legislative laws that have helped put into action for their benefit. This list could go on and on and on but I will stop here. I agree that families that can afford to give their children material goodies is great because I give them the benefit of the doubt and say that they work hard for their money and it is possibly a goal of their to do this for their child or children. I must say that when and if I had children, I would do the same. The problem I believe that the problems arises when the parents do not teach their children any moral or values while they are showering them with things from their hard earned money. I truly believe that it all starts here. Materialism can be a beautiful thing. It all depends on the person that has it and how they arrived at it and the person looking in that only sees what the other has and wishes it were them. There is a lot I left out of this statement but in short, one should never envy or be jealous of what another has because you never know what the other person did to obtain it. I think that if it were possible, everyone would want to indulge in the finer things in life but if you had to turn this into a problem in the world to address, I would say turn your focus on how can we get out to the world having morals and values are more valuable than any amount of money they could ever earn or any material object they could ever obtain.
Brittany Brown
Brittany this sounds like a very good project to pursue. These efforts will definitely be beneficial to improving the environment and every little bit helps. How about maybe expanding these efforts to other surrounding schools, colleges and/ or universities? It could be called something like U. N. O. Recycle (Universities of New Orleans Recycle). You could get together with other sponsors from the other universities and they could also put out the paper and can bins around their campus and in their class and dorm rooms. This is just a suggestion that could expand your efforts and gain greater recognition. Good luck in with your recycle campaign.
Jami’l Ruie
Jami’l, you have some very good points for your project. I agree that the number of youth today that are not attending class regularly are one too many. Somewhere the lines of control and communication have been broken between the parent or parents and the child. I do agree that teachers should be allowed some leniency in being able to discipline students that misbehave in the classroom. I believe that the ultimate responsibility lies with the parent or parents. Along with having truancy officers, you may also want to incorporate parenting/ counseling classes for the parent or parents of the child cutting class. This would allow the parent or parents who have trouble parenting/ disciplining their child to be forced to confront the issues of their child head on until progress is made from both ends. The truancy officer implementation is also a great idea because most times the parent or parents are not able to leave work and go to the school every time the school calls when their child has cut class or missed school altogether. You are right in that once we get the kids back into the classroom that we have to somehow instill in them the importance of gaining an education. One way to get the kids interested in gaining an education is having some form of mentor come in to shed light on the importance of education in an informal possibly fun way. Your project is a good but tough one because it is almost like a cycle that can sometimes carry on from generation after generation. You almost do not know where to start in this cycle to start making a change with either the parent, the child or the school system. I guess what is most important is to just start somewhere. Gook luck.
Yoland Ruffin
Yolanda, racism still is a major issue in this country. I do not foresee that changing soon. People will continue to teach hate and continue to believe that their race is superior to another. There is a race in this country that refuses to acknowledge their wrongdoing and will never admit that their wealth was only gained by the abuse, sweat and tears of another. This race would rather forget that this wrong doing ever happened and go on living as if everything is equal and always has been. This country will always concern themselves when the rights of another are at stake, like gay rights, when equal rights are what African-Americans have been fighting for since it seems the beginning of time. This country never ceases to amaze me. The majority seems to only go along with things that benefit them and if it by chance happens to benefit others of the minority then so be it but it definitely was not the initial intention. Racism is definitely learned. So many are not willing to learn or understand the differences of others and are quick to group a particular race into one category as if they all are the same. I think that one way to combat racism and teach that it is wrong is to continue to raise awareness through ads especially ads where the audience is mainly youth. Also, one could campaign by going to area schools to address this issue to students. Good luck with your project.
Tonica Herron
Tonica, voting is an issue today. I think awareness and the consequences of not voting are being addressed in a major way these days through many outlets costing many dollars. To put more emphasis on STD education is a good choice. I would suggest that you and others partner with organization like Planned Parenthood or the Department of Health. These places would have important statistical information that would backup the seriousness of your cause and also be able to give some insight on how to address these issues to youths in school. These organizations would more than likely be able to donate pamphlets with information on the causes and seriousness of STDs. I hope this suggestion helps you and good luck on your project.
Lisa Johnson
Lisa, the project you chose to pursue is a very good one. I like that you are very knowledgeable about the subject and have experience as well. Another source you may tap into is Legal Aid. They may know of cases where inmates are claiming to be innocent and need to have their evidence further explored to prove their innocence. This may also be a way to connect with inmates and make sure that their claims are legitimate before wasting resources on someone who may just want some attention and before actually having to come in contact with the inmate. I wish you well with your project and employment with N. O. Crime Lab.
Kamilah Jones
Kamilah, you pose some very good points for your project. Helping the youth of New Orleans that need to know there is more to life than violence is definitely worth the effort. Along with football and basketball, you may also try to incorporate some other activities like bowling, tennis, track, poetry readings, rap sessions (not in the musical sense but in the communication sense) and other things of this nature. Another thing you may want to incorporate is having someone come speak to these kids that have lived their same situation and was able to rise above it and possible some that did not but after spouts with the legal system, did come to a point where they made a change for the better. This would allow the youth to see both sides of the spectrum. You are right that most troubled youth do not have someone they can turn to when they need to and the mentoring would definitely help in this area. These youth are lacking so much sometimes it is hard to know where to begin to start making a change. I think that if you begin with love, respect and trust, the hearts of these youth will start to unharden and let someone in to help them with their problems. I know I mentioned activities that cost money but I was thinking that donations could be made to your project from sources like churches, politicians, and other organizations that are all for helping the youth of today have better and brighter futures. Good luck with your project.
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Krystal Russell
Krystal, your project topic is a very serious one. One can get very emotional just reading over the statistics of this deadly disease. I would suggest that you and others partner with organization like Planned Parenthood or the Department of Health. These places would have important statistical information that would backup the seriousness of your cause and also be able to give some insight on how to address these issues in a way to get people to take heed. These organizations would more than likely be able to donate pamphlets with information on the causes and seriousness of AIDS. You may also want to present this information in a way to reach people who may already be HIV positive so that they are aware how to take care of and protect themselves and others they come in contact with. This would also be a way of letting them know that they are able to still live active lives if they take care of their health. I hope this suggestion helps you and good luck on your project.
Trung Quang
Trung, hunger in this country and third world countries are a serious problem. As I read your blog, it seemed as if at times you were not sympathetic to people that are hungry or poor. Hopefully I have misinterpreted your statements here in the way you view people in this situation. I am sure that no one chooses to be poor, hungry and homeless; it is just that certain circumstances have brought them to that point. It seems to me that you were more judgmental about their circumstance rather than thinking of ways to address the issue. I also have had many privileges and have never had to worry about shelter or being hungry but I am totally sympathetic to these people because at any moment any one of us could loose everything we have and have to depend on our next meal, clothing and housing through the aid of others. From the few suggestions you did offer, I think were good ideas. Helping out in shelters and soup kitchens would give you not only the chance to assist, but also get to meet some of these people and to see other than their circumstance, they are just like you and me. I am also doing my project on hunger but have chosen to campaign for food donations and volunteer at a major food bank in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I have solicited the help of four religious organizations to help out with my project and so far they have been very cooperative. I have place food bins at each of their locations for the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank to pick up donations at schedule times. My project has not taken the turn I hoped it would but at least I have raised awareness that hunger is still an issue and donations are being made each week. I hope your project does well.
Patrish Lewis
Patrish, I totally agree with your view point of blogging as stated in your week two blog. I will be so so so glad when I have blogged my last blog of the semester. That day can not come soon enough for me. But in response to your project, I agree that selfless acts of love and kindness is what the world needs more of. You were speaking of showing acts of love and kindness aside from when a person or family is in need but showing these acts just because. I think a good way to incorporate this is possibly volunteer for the Meals on Wheels program. I am not sure if this still exist but this program would deliver meals to the elderly who lived alone and pretty much had no family and most times would not be able to cook for themselves. The deliverers of this meals would sometimes be the only human contact that these elders would have. The deliverers would often times not just deliver the meals but sit a while with them as company. Another idea that comes to mind is volunteering time to visit the sick and shut-in. These are also people who have taken ill and may not have family to come and check on them or tack care of them from time to time. I know that most churches always print the names of their sick and shut-in members and ask that we not forget about them. I have done this a time or two myself and it can be depressing but it is also very rewarding knowing that you made someone’s day a little better by simple paying them a visit and showing concern and care. These are just a few suggestions that came to mind that could be done in the short-term. I hope that your project comes together soon because the world surely is in need of as much love as it can get. Good luck with your project.