"Start The Conversation" To Start In Texas High Schools

    The article Addressing Sexual Assault by Student Athletes from The Austin Chronicle describes an awesome new program that will be starting in the spring of the 2016-2017 school year. "Start The Conversation" was created by Resources in Learning and Texas High School Coaches Association to educate high school male athletes on sexual assault and domestic violence. This is a difficult topic to discuss, but is important considering "one in three adolescents nationwide falls victim to physical, sexual, emotional, or verbal abuse from a dating partner."  Texas is one of the first states in the country to implement this program, and I could not be more excited.
    I think this is an amazing program. As a 5 foot, 90 pound high school cheerleader, I was constantly being told how to keep myself safe from assault. I carried pepper spray, knew basic self defense, and avoided drunk boys at all costs. From the beginning, girls are taught not to be raped or abused, yet boys never seem to be taught to not rape or abuse women. I am so happy to see that is finally starting to change. Although I was lucky enough to avoid sexual assault, some of my peers were not so lucky. Seeing the way those girls were treated like "sluts" while the boys were high-fived was appalling. It is so important for young men to be taught that rape and sexual assault are never acceptable.
    I also love that they are teaching about domestic violence as well. I, unfortunately, dated a boy in high school who was verbally abusive and, for lack of a better word, an asshole. I know many girls who were in similar situations in high school, in fact I know more girls were victims of abuse than victims of sexual assault. I also know many boys who were abused by their girlfriends, but because of male gender roles, they never spoke up about it. Being educated on domestic abuse and how it affects men as well should help male victims understand their situation and take action. It should also teach other men to accept that male abuse is real and to support victims. Teenage domestic abuse is a serious problem that is often overlooked as "teen drama", but through education can be helped. I am confident this program will help and it comes at an important time when women seem to be losing respect. I am proud of my state for going through with this, and am hopeful for the future of my generation!

Reply to Classmate

Classmate's Post: I agree! The public deserves to know about this, especially women who want to have children. Plus, the more the public knows, the more they will push for something to change, because mothers dying is not acceptable!

Prop. 1 Mobility Bond

    Austin Mayor Steve Adler has proposed a plan to better Austin roads, sidewalks and trails. This plan, Proposition 1, would cost $1.5 billion; $720 million of that would be a bond payed for by taxpayers. The goal of Prop. 1 is to improve traffic on major roads such as Lamar and Guadalupe, decrease congestion, add more "travel options", add more sidewalks and crosswalks, add remotely controlled traffic lights, create new turn lanes and bays, consolidate driveways, and raise medians on the sides of roads. There is a general consensus in Austin that infrastructure must be fixed to accommodate the larger population, however, what needs to be fixed and how is where Austinites disagree. A survey done by Austin Monitor shows that 46% are in favor while 45% are opposed, and just 9% are undecided. Austin is truly split on this issue.
    Those in favor of Prop. 1 believe it is just what we need to make our roads safer. They like the ideas proposed by the city and do not mind the extra $5 a month is will cost them. Those who do not like the plan say that it is too much money for the wrong kind of work. They think the plan will cause more traffic, take way longer than projected, will end up costing taxpayers more money then promised, and will affect local business's ability to attract customers. They do not agree that our money should be going to trails and sidewalks. Some of the money will go towards "beautifying the streets" which has caused many to believe this is a redevelopment bond in hiding.
    I will be voting on this Proposition tomorrow and honestly, I am torn. I have lived in Austin my whole life and have watched it grow. Lamar has single-handedly ruined my tires and messed up my alignment. I know changes need to happen, but I do not know if Prop. 1 is the answer. There seems to be a lot of sketchiness and lack of information. The biggest question I have is; What does the timeline for this project look like? When will it start? When will it end? Will all these roads be under construction at the same time? Not a single source could answer this question. Having driven on the migraine that is Mopac under construction for many more years than I was promised, I know that Austin is not good at getting construction done on time.Now what about the rest of the $1.5 billion not coming from taxpayers? Only one source could somewhat answer that: " the city will then look beyond taxpayer dollars to fund the rest of the projects". Where is that money coming from? What happens if we cannot get it? I mean it is not guaranteed that we will get outside funding from what I have read. Also, the belief that this bill is secretly a redevelopment bill is concerning to me. I do not want my government lying to me about their intentions. Adler seems to have the right idea about what needs to change on Austin roads, but is Prop. 1 what we need? I know that come voting time tomorrow I will still be as conflicted and will need a nice, long, hot bath afterwards.

"The TRUTH about Islam": As If!!!

   As someone who identifies as an independent and sees the good and bad in each party, I think it is important and, honestly, entertaining to read posts written by extremists from either side. I get enough left-wing extremity just from scrolling down my Twitter and Tumblr feed (lot's of pro-communism and Bernie Sanders), so for this assignment I decided to choose a post from a staunch conservative, and I hit the jackpot with The TRUTH about Islam: The TexasFred Blog.

   In his article, Texas Fred explains what he believes to be the real, scientific, actual, no doubt TRUTH about Muslims. He calls them terrorists and murderers. He claims that Muslims live for beheading and mutilating and that the religion is actually a terrorist organization. Texas Fred then shares passages from the Quran that describe violence, beheading, and torture for nonbelievers. I do not know if these passages are completely accurate , but I will admit they were shocking and I can understand how non-Muslims could find them scary. After the terrifying passages, Mr. Fred encourages (in his words) "*peaceful* Muslims" to point out his mistakes, if he made any. Immediately after he insults Muslims for not standing up against ISIS and claims "a moderate Muslim doesn't want to behead you, a moderate Muslim wants a radical Muslim to behead you for him." WOW.

   I do not even know where to begin with this post. Clearly Texas Fred wrote this article for people who already believe Muslims are terrorists because it was overflowing with opinion and had only a drop of information from the direct quotes. I believe Texas Fred makes these claims out of fear which manifested in him as anger, a secondary emotion. This would explain why he is so emotional. I think this fear has caused him to push away every Muslim he has ever come in contact with because it is clear he has never met one. Every Muslim person I have ever personally met has been so kind and graceful. I highly doubt my Muslim friend was secretly hoping for me to be beheaded while we were gossiping about cute guys in our classes. Aside from the few quotes, this post had no other factual evidence making it non-credible. I will give him props, though, for building such a long post on a limited amount of evidence. It is also important to point out that the Christian Old Testament is filled with horrible, violent passages, similar to the Quran, and it is wrong to assume the mentality of every person belonging to the religion. Sure there are Muslim extremists who do follow the violence in the Quran, but there are also Christian extremists who murder gays and non-white people, shoot up schools, burn crosses, and commit other acts of violence. Groups such as the KKK, Westbro Baptist Church, the Lord's Resistance Army, the Army of God, Eastern Lightning, the Phineas Priesthood, the Concerned Christians...need I continue? Because I can. Clearly we don't let these extremist groups define all Christians, so why do it with Muslims? I also do not think Mr. Texas Fred realizes his intolerance and hatred for a different religion mirrors that of ISIS extremists.  

   I really don't know what else to say about Texas Fred's post, I mean, his credibility? Whack. His claim? Whack. His evidence? Whack. His logic? WHACK. This guy is afraid of ISIS so he word-vomited a bunch of Islamiphobia onto a blog followed only by other Islamiphobes then high-fived himself. This post was as entertaining and made me as mad as a pro-communism, left-wing extremist, 16 year old's post on Tumblr. 

    The article, Protests push all of us to face dilemma of racial injustice , describes how NFL star Colin Kaepernick's protest of the national anthem allows American's to realize the racial injustices non-white people continue to face everyday. During the national anthem, Kaepernick chooses to take a knee as protest of the violation of rights towards people of color, and also speaks out about the issue as much as possible. This protest has caused a huge stir; many people support his right to do this while others go as far as sending him death threats for expressing his right to freedom of speech.
    Tim Wendel, author of the article, wrote in favor of Kaepernick's actions. His shocking headline catches the attention of anyone aware of Kaepernick's protest, as well as those who have not heard. Wendel does not stall, and begins his article immediately giving examples of those in support of Kaepernick. He gives quotes from multiple sports coaches who approve of Kaepernick's actions, then gives examples of other athletes of color who have spoken out about racial discrimination.  He then delves into the history of athletes using their fame to shed light on racism. By using this technique, Wendel gives a compelling argument. Those who do not understand the importance of Kaepernick's actions or the right's he has to do so can read this article and understand a new perspective. They will be educated and most likely persuaded. Unfortunately, however, this article will not persuade racists who hate Kaepernick because racism is an ignorance often chosen to be ignored. No matter how compelling an argument, and ignorant racist will not be able to comprehend because they have suppressed their institutionalized racism without realizing it and will ironically view logical arguments as ignorant.
    Wendel's article is informative and persuasive to those unsure of the impact of Kaepernick's protest, however it is hard to say how successful this article is at persuading racist people to stop viewing protest through white-colored lenses.

Rice University Band Mocks Baylor Sexual Assault Scandal: Thoughts

Rice University Band Mocks Baylor Sexual Assault Scandal

Recently, Baylor University has been accused of covering up years of rape cases involving football players. The scandal has caused multiple staff-members to step down, including the chancellor and university president, Ken Starr. During their recent football game, Rice University's marching band mocked Baylor by forming the Roman numeral IX to reference the Title IX in which Baylor has been discovered of not following; Title IX being the law against sexual discrimination.

I personally find this hilarious. Rice is not known for their football skills, and were defeated in the recent game, however they are known to be sassy to the teams that will easily defeat them. Forming the number IX on the field for every viewer to see was a sly dig that upset Baylor fans. There is little Rice can do in the case against Baylor, but a team that is known for their sass is almost expected to call out their rivals for the awful crimes they have committed. This was quite the political statement on Rice's behalf, because it shows that they do not support Baylor's actions, yet they did not have to physically involve themselves in the investigations. Rice's actions were petty and mischievous and I loved it.

What's up dudes.