Racial Diversity in Public Schools
This article is about racial discrimination within schools. Just six weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled that Jefferson County Public Schools were violating the Constitution by assigning students to schools on the basis of their race, Hannah MacNeal was denied admission into a school due to the fact that she was white. Her mother found out that if she had been of a different skin color, such as black, she would have been allowed to go to that school. The definition of racism is "prejudice or discrimination directed against someone of a different race based on such a belief." A general misconception is that racism is derogatory towards only blacks. However, here we see racism go the other way, which does not mean its any less severe.  The case was fought out and served in its proper justice as she was soon allowed admittance. 

Jost, Kenneth. "Racial Diversity in Public Schools." CQ Researcher 14 Sept. 2007: 745-68. Web. 27 Oct. 2011.


Hazing
This articles summarizes the extreme consequences of hazing whether its for a sports team, a fraternity or even just a high school group.  One example given as a chronic case was Walter Dean Jennings, 18, who died of hyponatremia, a rare disorder marked by low sodium levels in the blood. “He was ordered to [drink] very large quantities of water until he vomited,” said Police Chief Desmond Racicot. “He died from brain swelling due to water intoxication.”  One thing that many hazers seem to forget is that they are breaking the law; hazing is illegal, not to diminish your 'fun', but to keep people safe. People are enforcing other people to do ridiculous things when they do not even realize what the severe outcome could lead to. Hazing is a serious matter that is taken lightly too often and until the reality of someones death, or hospitalization, people remain unaware and naive to it.

Hansen, Brian. "Hazing." CQ Researcher 9 Jan. 2004: 1-24. Web. 27 Oct. 2011.

Teenage Pregnancy
 This articles summarizes the dreadful epidemic of pregnancy amongst teenagers today. For teenagers, pregnancy can usher a dismal future- with little to few choices and a set path for what her life is going to look like. With birth rates declining for women over 20, teenagers now account for nearly one in every five births in the country.  According to one expert on the problem of child abuse, Dr. Vincent J.Fontana, medical director of the New York Foundling Hospital, “Troubled parents, particularly single adolescent mothers, become saturated with a sense of desperation, alienation and anger that during stressful situations leads them to lose control and strike out at what is closest to them — their child.” This means that a teenager is not capable of bearing a child as they themselves, have a lot of growing up to do.  How can someone raise a child when they can barely take on responsibilities themselves. The disadvantages far outweigh the advantages of being a teen mom.

Stencel, Sandra. "Teenage Pregnancy." Editorial Research Reports 1979. Vol. I. Washington: CQ Press, 1979. 205-24. CQ Researcher. Web. 27 Oct. 2011.

Do illegal immigrants now have equal rights?

Immigration has been a relatively dead issue for a good while until recently when OP field’s most controversial candidates, Texas Gov. Rick Perry brought it back into the headlines. perry has a extremely good background knowledge on immigration because he runs a state with a 1,200-mile border with Mexico. Perrys main concern, and the issue that i am going to be evaluating, is the fact that he feels immigrants should pay in-state tuition at public colleges and universities in Texas. The reason i find merit in writing this evaluation is because it has brought forth a lot of controversy amongst civilians.
The issue here is,   he supports education for illegal immigrants because 'he has a heart' and the children have been brought to this country "by no fault of their own". However, there has been heated back-and-forth between him and his rivals. Republican front-runner Mitt Romney continued to fan the flames of the issue, arguing that it made no sense to give illegal immigrants a discount of nearly $100,000 to attend Texas state schools.  As i am currently paying out of state tuition to attend Penn State University, its hard to side with perry as I have been a loyal citizen to America my whole life and now I am going to pay more for an education then someone who is in America legally. However, I see where he is coming from- being brought over as a youth, is really not their fault but as Romney stated, it doesn't mean you don't have a heart, but you still need to use your brain too.  There is not much to be done about illegal immigration, the idea of building a fence along the border is too extreme but giving them in state tuition is almost completely accepting and almost rewarding the fact they came here illegally.  The dabate continues, some people agree with Perry: "Daniel Griswold, an immigration expert at Cato Institute, writes, "In l997, the National Research Council published a major study on immigration. It found that an immigrant with a college education is a huge net plus for the United States."- So therefore, giving the immigrants a chance to educate themselves would be beneficial in the long run for America- "Immigrants and their descendants represent a net fiscal gain for the United States. The typical immigrant and all of his or her descendants represent a positive $80,000 fiscal gain to the government. An immigrant with more than a high school education (plus descendants) represents a $198,000 fiscal gain, one with a high school diploma a $51,000 gain, and one with less than a high school education a $13,000 loss." As the fence could not be built logically, another often heard suggestion is to have ICE find and deport all illegal immigrants- would this be beneficial to America? Is that even a possible solution as there are 12 million such immigrants in America.
The immigration problem is withstanding and causing many issues amongst citizens of America.

Simple vs Complex

In my blog, i always use a title that relates to the topic i am trying to discuss. It is always visible to the reader and I make the title short, concise and to the point.  I like to use a conversational tone when writing my blogs as they are normally my point of view on things, therefore i write as i would say and also because its easy for the reader to read.  I feel writing this way helps me express who I am as a writer because all my thoughts are just getting put down in the blog; i don't feel like i have to edit things to make it sound  appropriate for another audience. Originally, i was new to the blog and therefore i just chose a set layout already made by the website.  I chose the one I did as it related to the first book we read in class, Bird by Bird.  It had neutral tones and colors as, i felt that was the vibe of my blog. 

There are also other elements in the NFG that I use when writing my blogs. One of these elements is changing the tone to cooperate with the context of what I am saying.  This persuades people to trust my writing more then if i were to write in a tone not relating to the context.  Also mentioned in NFG, i don't stray off from the topic originally discussing, i stay in focus and on point which keeps my reader attentive and knowing what the point of my writing is. 

Personally, after reading what is 'correct' for a blog, I feel that my original layout and design was on par and that i do not need to really edit anything. My headings are clear, related and foreshadow what is to come in the rest of my blog. I chose the color red to make it stand out. The background colors (brown, white, black and red) are neutral and easy to look at; they all mesh well nicely.  I didn't chose to have any pictures as i felt that would crowd my blog and I also just want people to concentrate on what i had to say, rather then other things. Everything on my blog is relatable, as the birds in the corner represent Bird by Bird.  The simple layout emphasizes what i write, rather then the background.  For example, movies that are all based around special effects and visuals, normally have a bleak plot line.  Whereas, i have a concrete layout to try and make readers focus on the importance of what is being written.