Standardized Testing

For the past two weeks, I have taken a multitude of standardized tests. These include the ACT, the Prarie State Exam, and the AP United States History test. The goals of these exams are to test proficiency in a certain subject. For example, the ACT and the PSAE both use a variety of subjects including reading and science, while the AP U.S. History test is limited exclusively to American history. These tests have become a vital role in the college admissions process because they claim to represent an objective score for colleges and universities to evaluate.

While many people believe that these tests are invaluable and not effective, I beg to differ. With so many different high school curricula across the country, it is almost impossible to compare grades from one to another; it is basically apples to oranges. Two students could be enrolled in the same course on paper, but in reality, one could be much more difficult than the other. In addition, a honors course at one school could equate to a college preperatory course at another. The truth is that these grades are subjective. While standardized tests are by no means perfect, in my opinion, they do a decent job of testing proficiency. Without these scores acting as a common requirement for all students, college admissions would be much more subjective than they already are now.

American Emotions

With the recent killing of Osama bin Laden by U.S. Navy Seals, there have been very mixed emotions towards the death of the terrorist leader. Right after the annoucement, hundreds of Washington D.C.-area students flooded the area in front of the White House in jubiliation of his death. On the other hand, many people have reacted at a near opposite; many have condemned the U.S. government for authorizing the mission.

Personally, I find myself in middle ground on my emotion towards it. Initally, like many other Americans, I felt relieved that this was successfully completed and a bit of excitement. However, as I really got to grasp the magnitude of this event, I began to take a more moderate position. I feel confident that our country's military was able to do their job. I feel a greater sense of trust with the people on Capital Hill now more than before the incident. This moment has reassured that whatever goal America sets its mind to, it will accomplished the feat. This goes back to the creation of the atomic bomb, the first moon landing, and all other things in between. However, I do not support critics of the mission. Many people have still yet to grasp the enormity of his planning to kill thousands of innocent Americans, not just on 9/11 but in other terrorist attacks against our contry. No matter how you look at in, bin Laden deserved to be killed and I believe that no opinion could sway me on this; he was a terrible man. Despite this, I do not believe that the killing of a human being should be celebrated at any time. It should be a time of reflection; something I continue to try to do.

True Loyalty?

"It's just who I am. I'm a redneck. It's a way of life."

This past week, a local Oregon school bus driver was fired by his school district for flying the Confederate Flag out of his own truck. He was dismissed after he refused an order from school officials to remove the flag, which is emblazoned with the word "Redneck". The school said that the flag violated a policy prohibiting symbols that "could be offensive to minorities". While multiple civil rights groups have applauded the decision, others have called for the removal of the school officials. 

Personally, I have to disagree with the decision made by the school board. First off, I do not think that his intentions are meant to be harmful to African-Americans. While slavery and black oppression will forever be associated with the Confederate Flag, it was absolutely not intended. As society and the southern identity has progressed, the meaning of the Confederate Flag shows southern loyalty. This is very similar with the Texas and the Colorado flags. The citizens of these states are attached to their heritage from this place, just like Southerns. Secondly, the school bus driver is flying the flag on his own private property and not on the school's property. Lastly, the word "redneck" across the flag again proves the point that the flag is simply the driver's way of showing pride in his upbringing. There is nothing wrong with that.

Scholarships for Athletes

This week, longtime consumer advocate Ralph Nader is calling for the elimination of college athletic scholarships, saying the move is necessary to "de-professionalize" college athletes. Nader says that this proposed move would be replaced with need-based financial aid for students and would restore academic integrity to collegiate sports.

While this appears to be a legitimate concept on paper, in reality, this idea would never actually work when it is implemented. First off, the plan would never be implemented because the colleges that would be affected would never agree to it. The biggest source of revenue for universities like Ohio State and Florida is in the athletic department, specifically football and men's basketball. The college culture that surrounds these "big money" sports has already been developed and is used by all of the power conferences. The way to get the most money from these sports is to assemble the best team possible, and the way to do this is to recruit the most talented kids to your program. A recruiting staple that all Division I colleges use is a full athletic scholarship to attract these student-athletes. Especially in the power sports, five-star recruits demand athletic scholarships and, for the most part, colleges will give one to them. With this already a vital part of collegiate sports, in is unfeasible to simply erase it from college culture.

I do agree, however, that academics in collegiate sports need to be much more important. After all, they don't call them student-athletes for nothing.

Junior Theme Issues

As I started Junior Theme last week, I already knew exactly what topic I wanted to discuss in my paper. Since I am a high school male athlete, I am very interested in Title IX and its side-effects on collegiate sports, specifically on men's sports. In addition, because of the fanfare that surrounds the essay, I had heard that the junior theme was a persuasive research paper, and this really cemented the topic that I wanted to do. But, as I should have known, this American Studies class is much different than other classes.


As I soon figured out, going into the junior theme with this mindset is completely wrong. Because I already had an opinion on my topic, I could not research Title IX with an open mind. Instead, I had a very narrow viewpoint that did not grasp the other side of the arguments. When I decided to change topics to something that I had not learned as much about, capital punishment, it was much easier to think of the junior theme as an inquiry and not something that it shouldn't be.

Democracy = Participation

For roughly the past month now, there have been many protests in the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison over Governor Scott Walker's controversial move to suspend unions' rights to a collective bargaining agreement, among other things. Because of these actions, fourteen of the Wisconsin Senate Democrats have fled the state in an attempt to change Governor Walker's opinion. Despite many protesters currently working to stop this from happening, Governor Walker appears to be winning and has shown no indication of revoking this movement.

More recently, Governor Walker issued an ultimatum, saying that if the Democratic senators do not return to work soon, there will be many job firings of state employees. This firm statement makes many people believe that Governor Walker is not being tolerant enough and should attempt to compromise. Many have even called Walker's action "dictatorial". I have disagree with these statements. Governor Walker's response is justified because of the actions by the Wisconsin state representatives that precipitated it. The purpose of a democratic government is for full representation by the people. So when these elected officials leave the state in order to not fulfill their duty, they are completely disobeying their job.

I have heard many liberals who do not support Walker claim that because of his supposed iron-fist on the matter of trimming the budget, it has shown that he is not willing to move from his position. The opposite is actually true, as Walker has made it clear that he is willing to have civil discussions about improving his plans reduce the state deficit. Despite this, these state senators whom people elected are being ignorant and are actually the ones not being reasonable.

I want to remind the democratic senators that it is their job to participate in their government. After all, the people of Wisconsin entrusted them with the duty to fulfill what they want from their government. By running away from the problem instead of facing it head on, they are failing in their job and are not representing their people. They will not fix the problem if they do not participate in the government for their people.

Protecting Freedom or Our Interests?

After 30 years of control over Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak has decided to step down and give power of the country over to the military after millions had protested in the country's major cities demanding his oust. Mubarak has been outlined for his one-party rule and his oppression over many of the Egyptian citizens. However, Mubarak and his regime had become a major ally of the United States, as during this time Egypt supported Israel. In return, America has provided financial resources to them and has supported them vocally.

This week, as the protests were in full-swing, President Obama issued a statement, saying that he hopes Mubarak "will end up making the right decision", also known as urging him to step down. I believe President Obama should not have acted so quickly towards this turn of events across the Atlantic. While I realize that by promoting the actions of the protestors in Egypt, Obama is making a stand that certain oppression will not be tolerated and that freedom should always reign supreme wherever it can. But I caution Obama to take any part of this conflict, let alone the stance that he is taking. First off, President Obama must realize that by supporting the Egyptian protests, he is basically attempting to cut all ties with U.S.-Mubarak relations in one blow. By trying to do this, he is failing to recognize the support that we have given him in the past and that he is an essential ally to Iraeli relations in the Middle East. Secondly, I do not suggest the President to interject his views about the civil unrest in the nation because he follows an eerily-similar path that his predecessor took in Iraq. Obamaa should try to stay neutral on the topic and not make any remarks towards the country and their citizens, since the United States has a lot of merit between freedom and our own interests.