Equality is Important

Racial Equality is the most recent issue on campus. I'd like to share some links for you to take a look at and think about.
Students demand immediate formal action to combat bigotry
"Purdue Anti-Racism Coalition's Demands to Daniels

1. Public statements by Daniels that address the biased acts that have occurred on campus in print, video and email form.
2. The number of minority faculty and students to double in the next 10 years.
3. A required undergraduate course on race/racism.
4. A required workshop on racial bias for all BGR (Welcome Week) attendees.
5. A strict policy in the Purdue Code of Conduct that results in expulsion from the University for people who commit prejudice acts.
6. Required workshops for faculty and staff regarding racial policies.
7. Immediate reporting of hate crimes via Purdue news and alert systems."

Hate Crime Following Race Equality March

Please watch the video if you aren't interested in reading the news articles. The monkeys are comical, but the study also has significance: equality is important.

Things I'd Like To Do (again)

Finish this 5lbs bag of Gummy Worms.

Make a better 3D hand

Grow more crystal trees. Or rock candy.

Run another 5k!

Attempt to make another giant cookie.

Make this as a gift for a friend

Make more soda can bracelets

Do more beadwork. I haven't had the time or supplies in a while.

Buy this Simon's Cat sticker for my car!

Do something really cute for my friends

At Least He Didn't Try

Favorite page from today's reading: 

 

She is talking to Bree (herself) about a guy she just sold drugs to. Her first time as the dealer.

I feel like I can connect with this character, even though I am not involved with drugs and I'm not a mother. I think I feel connected to her in a way because, like her, when I feel lonely from being cooped up in the same 4-walled room all day for several days, I start to act whiny and desperate to the few people who will actually pay attention to me. I feel slightly crazy when I'm secluded from the world.

As with every great book, the reader needs to feel connected to the characters, even if you only feel sympathy for him/her. Kristina is spiraling out of control. She started using meth again and became addicted again. Her mother kicked her out of the house and won't let her see her baby. She fell in love with a guy who calls infrequently and she lives with his cousin. She lost her job and became a nanny for her boyfriend's cousin's daughters until their mother decided to come home after being away for months. Now Kristina lives in an apartment with her drugged out boyfriend and is a dealer for a Mexican mafia.

I'm nearly done with this 681 page book and I just bought it Monday. It is very engaging.

Reading Today

 Favorite pages from today's reading of Glass by  Ellen Hopkins.

Technology makes us DUMBER

Okay, so I normally post about the books I'm reading, but today I feel like branching out a little bit. Plus, it's not like anybody reads my posts. If you don't want to read this, please click on the video link anyways.

Allons-y:
Today in my social psychology class we talked about how technology is affecting our daily lives. We watched a video about it and the video made me realize how technology is not actually helping us become more efficient, but making us, as a human race, dumber.
Think about it a little: to my fellow students, which website do you go to for quick answers to homework? Probably Google which then leads you to Wikipedia, am I right? (Go ahead, admit it.) By searching on Google for every little answer, you are giving your brain an excuse to not remember as much information.
And how focused are you when you do happen to study? I bet you have your phone next to you and at least one social media site up in case you get a message while studying. I certainly do! I'm so distracted when I have my computer open. And I think I checked my phone at least 3 times while writing this post, and I haven't received a text message.

So please watch this video, I hope it will inspire you to look at technology differently:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzpX0TLKS9Q

This video helped me appreciate having a "dumb phone."

Glass

I have started to read Glass by Ellen Hopkins. It is the second book of the CRANK series, and even though I have not read the first book, I am enjoying this one and it informs you about what you've missed.
The story is told like a series of poems. I like how the lines are shaped on the pages. I have seen the lines spell the word "lie," a dollar symbol ($) and triangles. It is very interesting. I read the book Tweak by Nic Sheff, and this is along the same idea: a personal narrative about drug addictions and how badly one can lose control.