Author Archives: Sabrina

About Sabrina

My name is Sabrina Marie Villanueva, I'm 18 and I'm from Brownsville, Tx.

Blog Post 4: Yoga pants lead to dress code?

Cepeda, Esther. “Cepeda: There is a good reason for school dress codes.” The Salt Lake Tribune.com. The Washington Post, 09 Oct 2014. Web. 11 Aug 2015.

Esther Cepeda, a former high school teacher, published an article to The Washington Post regarding a good reason in her opinion why school uniforms and dress codes are extremely important. The author claims that dress code ends the “disrupted educational atmosphere and constituted threat to the health, safety and decency of all students” that wear inappropriate clothing (and she stresses yoga pants multiple times in the article). “Enforcing the dress code was a nightmare.” Cepeda continuously states how she hated having to put up with students that “put up a major fuss when you sent them to the dean’s office to cover up.” Although she did not enjoy enforcing the dress code, in her eyes, a strict dress code was a strong necessity in all schools because how else were gentlemen supposed to learn when there is a girl strutting her stuff wearing tight yoga pants around school (Cepeda)?

Cepeda mostly talks about how young female student’s bodies, that she experienced at the school she taught at, are the distraction to men and faculty that led to the need of enforcing a dress code. “Teachers have to play avert-the-eyes in order not to inappropriately eye students.” She speaks as an experienced teacher that found enforcing the dress code worth the hassle if it meant less of a distraction to people.
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I think Cepeda’s argument that a dress code stops the disruption and distraction of the learning environment is an overgeneralization fallacy because, based on what she points out about female distraction, school dress codes don’t get rid of the distraction but only cover it up. When Cepeda says inappropriate clothing disrupted peoples focus, it is evident that she believes a dress code or school uniform will solve the problem of the human body and public profanity as being seen as a distraction. I found it kind of ironic that she only mentioned how females caused a distraction to other students. Being a female herself, Cepeda should understand that dressing a certain way is not always meant to be set as a distraction. For example, woman nowadays dress nice because they are confident about themselves. As for yoga pants, what Cepeda said about women wearing “bun-baring yoga pants to school” as provocative clothing, was ridiculous on its own. Most people wear yoga pants either because they are comfortable or that is the first thing they find in the morning to wear, not because students are out to seek attention. lululemon-pants

Again, schools are set to prepare students for the real world and college. In the real world, there aren’t any dress codes or mandatory uniforms unless your job requires it. Cepeda’s article was humorous because of the way she put down woman. She makes it seem as though men do not violate any dress code by focusing so much on woman and her choice of words sham woman’s bodies such as “bun-baring” “strutting their stuff” and “provocative.” Even if a strict dress code or school uniform was enforced to every school, that would not get rid of men or women checking each other out in a sense (sad but true).

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RS4: Do School Uniforms Prevent Bullying?

Etolen, Nicole. “Do Public School Uniforms Prevent Bullying?” OurFamilyWorld.com. Our Family World, 05 May 2014. Web. 03 Aug. 2015.

Nicole Etolen, the Editor-In-Chief of OurFamilyWorld,shares her thoughts on the controversy of school uniforms preventing the situation of bullying. This source reflects my primary source as it continues to address the topic of school uniforms and their intended purpose. Etolen gives her personal experience in school and uses her son’s experience in school regarding uniforms.

Etolen notices that the supporters of public schools enforcing a strict dress code, are under the impression that by using school uniforms, children will prevent bullying. Instead of using statistics from another source, Etolen uses herself as a source in order to make this article credible. She had first hand experience with the school uniform vs. bullying situation and she also has her son as a credible source to make this article believable. She point out when she finished her last four years in high school wearing uniforms, she wore tights on a cold day to keep warn. When asked by peers where she purchased the tights, Etolen responded with “K-Mart.” Etolen goes on explaining that kids at her school teased her for purchasing “cheap clothing.” Etolen reminds her audience that although she was in uniform, that did not stop bullies from picking on her. Even if it was something as small as wearing discounted clothes, Etolen’s point remained that bullies will find any reason to put down someone regardless of a school uniform.

Etolen states, “A bully who wants to poke fun will find a way to do it. Unless every child is exactly the same right down to hair and eye color, there will be something to single out.” Although many may agree that wearing a uniform made them feel part of the group without having to focus on what outfit to wear the next day at school, Etolen agrees that school uniforms to prevent bullying sends a poor message to kids. “It sends a message to kids that being different is a bad thing.” Of course, Etolen shares her reason to go along with the idea public school uniform enforcement by saying that it saves money on clothes, but she is not eager that the uniforms are expensive on their own when you have to buy a certain shirt and pant; especially when certain schools require a certain brand of uniform, the cost is very pricey.

The author ends the article by reasoning with advocates of school dress codes by saying that some people like to wear uniforms for different reasons and others do not like to wear uniforms for other reasons. She then gives an open mind that perhaps “in your area, school uniforms really do help prevent bullying.”

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BP3: Volvo Ad

Volvo Ad

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RS 3: Uniform or Education?

Jacobs, Emma. “Wearing a school uniform doesn’t help us learn.” The Guardian.com. The Guardian, 7 Nov. 2014. Web. 29 July 2015.

imagesEmma Jacobs, writer for The Guardian, publishes this argument, regarding school uniforms being more of a priority than children’s education, to shed some light on the school uniforms situation in schools. Jacobs opens up the article with Bradford’s act of sending home around 200 students in one week just for uniform infringement. But, Jacobs argues, the clothes the sent home students were sent home for were not random clothing but simple things like “they were wearing trainers or the wrong cut of trousers.” But, was sending these children home for not having the pristine uniform worth depriving them of their education?

The reason for school uniforms was so that kids wouldn’t pick on other kids because of fashion or trends. Although, Jacobs points out that uniforms keep kids from expressing their individuality. She continues to say, “It takes more than stipulating the right shad of blue shirt to eradicate bullying from schools.” Jacobs stresses that teens are going to find any reason to bully other people if they really wanted to.

Uniforms are also used to “help set high academic standards,” but Jacob disagrees with that claim by giving an example of how Finland’s schools “top international league tables and don’t have school uniform.” The United Kingdom, unlike Finland’s schools, use uniforms but don’t share outstanding academic results as those of Finland.

Pertaining to education, Jacobs states how non-uniform schools are allowed to dress comfortably for major tests, yet schools that enforce strict dress codes still have to wear “a suffocating top button.” “Who knows? I might have got an A* in math if I’d been in my onesie,” jokes Jacobs.

Jacobs addresses the issue all students have with their teachers spending so much time enforcing the school’s dress code that they are taking time away from educating the students academically and put more time educating the students on how dyed hair is a major distraction in the learning field. “Uniforms may work for police officers, soldiers and neo-Nazis, but they have no place in schools,” Jacobs exclaims. She is quite passionate against the idea of students sense of style being a distraction to other students. She ends the post by paraphrasing her main point of the post with, “Kids should wear what they want, their schools should let them – and then everyone could get on with some actual learning.” Schools are meant for learning, and by the title that Jacobs provides, she believes that children should not be sent home for what they are wearing to school because that would defeat the purpose of learning at school.

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The Media Scene

I, like many others, find myself in a variety of different communities. Some of the communities that I’m involved in are obvious, like me being part of the Hispanic community. Although, I feel more connected to the music scene that also entwines with the social media community that I feel means the most to me. I know what you’re thinking. Typical teenager.

Music means the world to me! I love rock, alternative, country, oldies, you name it and there’s a high chance I might like it. I chose the music scene as a community that means the most to me because I feel at home whenever I listen to music just like anyone else. Whenever I was in Brownsville I tried to go to as many local gigs as I could and I even helped promote local bands via social media.

Festival goers enjoy the performance of the Spanish musicians of La Pegatina, on the second day of the Pinkpop festival, in Landgraaf, on June 15, 2013.  AFP PHOTO / ANP / PAUL BERGEN *** netherlands out ***        (Photo credit should read PAUL BERGEN/AFP/Getty Images)I know, I know. “Social media? Are you kidding me?” You’d be surprised how much social medias such as Facebook, Twitter, etc. helps bands get fans. I use Facebook to stay connected with different communities and that’s why I consider social media a community that means the most to me in general. Connected to the music scene, on Facebook I get to stay connected with street teams that I’m involved in to help get the word about small local bands from the valley or evolving bands such as “New Years Day.” But, I also use social media to stay connected with family I care so much about.

colleagues-on-facebook1Roughly around 10 years ago six of my cousins were taken to a foster home and eventually were adopted away to two other families in North Texas. My family lost connection with the children I stayed the most concerned about them for a very long time. It wasn’t until 2012 that I found at least 2 of the oldest cousins on Facebook (after a little stalking, ha!). I was thankful to hear they were doing well off with their new family and this is the reason that I am grateful for social media to keep in touch with people that mean so much to me.

The typical stereotypes I get when I tell people the groups I connect with the most (music scene and social media) are “typical teenager” and “You’re never going to get anywhere in life, my dear.” Even when I tell people that my personal favorite music genre is rock and metalcore, I always get “Oh she must be atheist” and “she’s going through a scene phase.” First off, I’d like to point out that I am catholic and no I’m not “scene” or any other outrageous labels that I have no affiliation with. Second, I feel that I connect with these communities most because in the future, I want to open up my own promotions agency and help manage local and evolving bands of any genre.

40062631_bb26c28610I have searched through Hornslink for a while even and just recently came across an organization that I feel that I’d love so much. It is the KVRX Student Radio org at UT where students run the UT radio station and even host and sponsor concerts which is exactly what I want to be involved with this fall. I have a meeting the first week of August and I’m super excited! Here is a link if you are interested:
https://utexas.collegiatelink.net/organization/KVRX

 

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Research Summary 2

“Legal Marijuana: Should You be very Afraid?” ProQuest.com. Northwest Asian Weekly, 29 Mar 2014. Web. 19 July 2015.
An anonymous author of an Asian American newspaper called Northwest Asian Weekly, argues the question “Is legal marijuana a good thing or a bad thing?” The author’s stance is all for medical marijuana but he’s a bit iffy about marijuana being used for recreational purposes. His argument for why marijuana should be legalized for certain reasons seems to be promising.

The author begins the article, which is the main concern of the community, with the fear of “marijuana being addictive or becoming a gateway drug to harder and more damaging drugs, such as cocaine, meth, or heroin.” He continues to provide facts from his research from science journals that prove that “the addiction rate [for marijuana] is about 9 percent amongst those who’ve tried it.” Of course that is still a big number for those who oppose the legalization of marijuana but the article writer argues that the overall addiction potential for cannabis is less than that of caffeine, tobacco, cocaine, or heroin. The author also suggests pot will most likely be addictive not because it’s addictive, but because the people whom get addicted are “simply addictive people.”

The anonymous writer continues with the subject of marijuana being claimed as a gateway drug and points out that marijuana users whom moved on to harder drugs were assisted by their drug supplier. If marijuana were to become legal, it should be sold in a controlled environment to remove the criminal element involved with buying pot, says the author. He goes on with a scenario of how store clerks wouldn’t be trying to upgrade customers to drugs like cocaine if marijuana were to become legalized, and there’s no question that it will most definitely become legalized in the near future.

The author will agree that inhaling smoke on its own is harmful but so is eating junk food and consuming alcohol. What he’s aiming to inform the world is: it doesn’t make sense that marijuana is illegal but tobacco, alcohol, unprotected sex, potato chips, soda, driving, and a bunch of other stuff are legal and bad for you. At this point of the article, it is evident the author is accepting the idea that marijuana will eventually be legalized for recreational use and it will be in the hands of the user to use it responsibly the way they should with alcohol or any mind-altering substance.

Of course, the author has some concerns about marijuana being legalized for one reason mainly. “Like alcohol, [marijuana] (would be) very easy for adolescents to acquire.” He agrees with the idea that it legal marijuana wouldn’t be much different than alcohol, but he wants children to focus on school rather than have fun getting stoned; even then marijuana would be illegal for adolescents given their age. The author ends the article with the feel of a storm a brewing with the quote referring to the legalization of marijuana, “It’s coming.”

I have been concerned with whether or not marijuana was a gateway drug and have seen many articles that just said “it is” or “it isn’t” just in plain text, but this article actually went in debt with percentages which was helpful to understand and further my research. This article is also very helpful for those who are still indecisive on the subject of why marijuana legalization would be a good idea by telling people that they need to be more educated about marijuana because it is going to be legal and that they should quite fearing the inevitable truth.

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