Safe Driving?

This weekend, as I was driving to Ohio, we suddenly had to stop because of a lot of traffic. The traffic was caused by a large crash on the highway. As hundreds of cars stayed in one spot for hours people started to complain, so I decided to do some research and figure out what was happening. According to one report I read, the accident was believed to be caused by a driver that was also texting.

This massive accident is just one of many that has been a result of texting and driving. In fact, I learned many facts I didn't know previously about texting and driving from this awareness website.






So if texting and driving is extremely dangerous, then why haven't more laws been passed preventing people from doing it? In other countries many laws have already been passed like that. Do you think there should be harsher laws for texting and driving in the U.S, and if so, what should they be?

Racism and Violence

In one of Mr. OC's more recent posts' "Proclaiming Emancipation, Part II", he poses the question, "are we any closer to equality?" As I thought about this question more and more, a story appeared on the news that seemed very relatable to the question. On a recent Delta flight, a 60-year-old man slapped a 19-month-old baby across the face and told the mom to "shut that n-word baby up". The slur was then used again towards the infant. Click here to watch a video and read more about this incident. 

This action by this older man seems very relatable to some of the hate crimes committed during the late 50's and 60's. Slapping a baby across the face seems to be one of the most appalling, and offensive crimes someone could commit, and it was done within this last week. So in my opinion the answer to doc OC's question seems very apparent. If this type of hatred and violence is being committed, then I do not believe we are any closer to equality. It seems apparent that there are some very big gaps that still need to be fixed for racial equality to improve. Certainly this one man needs to learn a lesson, and face some punishments. What do you think? Are we any closer to racial equality? And what type of punishment does this older man who slapped the baby deserve? 

Dress Codes

In class a few days ago we held a discussion on dress codes, and whether New Trier had one or not. As a result, I began to pay extra-close attention towards focusing on what students tend to wear. A few years ago it used to be North Face jackets. Now, it seems to be more of a 'preppy' north-shore look. It seemed very obvious that everyone (for the most part) chose to wear similar clothing styles.

Although I did notice this trend at New Trier, I would still argue that there is no such thing as an 'unwritten' dress code. Every student has the choice to wear whatever they want each day, and no rules can stop them (within reason). Although they may not fit in as well, students can express themselves by wearing different types of clothing. Simply, for that reason, I believe there is no dress code at our school. What do you think? Does New Trier have a dress code?

Choice of Words

The book we are reading currently, "The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao", contains a lot of language that is very controversial. Today in class we had a discussion about what circumstances it is appropriate to use that type of language. One man that has suffered from the ambiguity of this situation is Lincoln Brown. Brown, a fifth grade teacher, said the 'N-word' in front of his class of students when showing them when it was inappropriate to use the word. At that time, the principal walked past and heard, and fired Brown immediately. As a result, Brown is suing the board of education. Click here to read more about the case.

It is tough to say whether Brown was in the right or wrong in this situation because there are no rules set up defining when certain words can be used. Personally, I believe it is fine to use the 'N-word' whenever quoting a book or any type of media. Other than that, there are very few other circumstances that seem to be appropriate to use the 'N-word'. In this case, since Brown was using the word for the purpose of education, and it wasn't used in a negative manner, I believe he should get his job back and win the case. What do you think? Does he deserve to win the case? Comment below.

The Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is a great time of the year for mainly two reasons: the football and the commercials. In class today we had a large discussion about the possible reasons certain commercials were made and the controversies behind those commercials. We talked a lot about a specific Audi commercial, but I saw another car commercial that caught my attention also. Watch below... 

This commercial for VW was very controversial because many people considered it racist. Critics specifically believe its offensive towards Jamaicans, as the man in this video acts and sounds like he may be a Jamaican, portrayed in a different body. I can understand why people may think this, but overall the commercial displays a positive image of being happy and, therefore, I believe should not be criticized. This commercial doesn't display any person in a negative way, and is very memorable for a viewer at the same time. And because this is an effective commercial that only has a good message, there should be no reason for the video to even be controversial. What do you think? Comment below.