Current Events Activity 2.2

1. An overheating shredder or an "intentionally set" burn pile are the two possible causes of the Hidden Pine Fires in Bastrop. Yesterday at 10:30 am, officials allowed residents who liv in the burn area to return to their properties. No cost estimates were yet released but Pape said "it would be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.". Reading about how the fire affected these people added pathos to the story and their emotion really helped me understand how severe the fire was. It also helps a reader realize that even though the flames may be out, the problem has not ended. This is important because many people just say "oh a fire happened here" and then move on thinking that's it, it's all over. 

2. Math and social studies textbooks are all digital for students this year and the print copies remain in the class. The digital textbooks provide teachers with more options for classroom instruction and have helped school districts cope with the loss of millions of state dollars for textbook purchases. The Robertson family said the online textbook was hard to work with because they couldn't flip back and forth between the pages. They resolved the problem by buying a print copy for $75 dollars instead. Teacher Melissa Prepster believes the digital textbooks are a versatile tool that provide students with a lot more contact such as videos and activities where one can interact. Unlike other school districts, the Eanes district does not make a laptop or tablet available for each student and has spent the least amount of money in that effort. At the beginning of the year I was surprised to find out our textbooks were digital. So far they have been beneficial. I haven't had to worry about forgetting my textbook because I can access it through any device. Carry heavy textbooks back and forth is a pain and most of the time we don't use the textbooks. The Shield  could include this story to help kids realize the benefits these digital textbooks provide us with. 

3. 

Observation Assignment

 There are little kids running around everywhere as their parents converse with one another. Every once in a while a new guest shows up and is greeted by the mother of the six year old. Some guests hand over a colorful bag while others just smile and then join the rest of the people. The rest of the kids have made their way down the dusty green hill to the slides and monkey bars. There the floor is covered in light sand to protect the children who trip and fall. This sand has turned their shoes a light brown, but none of them seem to care since they are too busy jumping with energy and laughing with one another. Up here there is a blue table full of different chips and foods. Next to the table sits a small red and white cooler full of ice, sodas, water bottles, and juice. This section is surrounded by bees that are buzzing for anything sweet. When people first see the bees they naturally jump away. Eventually people seem to realize they wont get stung if they don't annoy them. The mother of the sixth year old tells everyone to gather around the table. It takes a while to get all the kids to come up the hill and settle. Everyone is now surrounding the special sixth year old. Some parents take out their phones and get ready to record. The mother who is hosting this event begins to put blue candles on the cake. The cake is medium sized, rectangular and covered in green frosting. Once all six candles have been placed they are lit with an orange lighter. And then, everyone begins to sing a very well known song: "Happy Birthday". The special boy appears shy next to his cake and almost hides a smile. As the song comes to an end he closes his eyes and mutters something that cannot be heard. When he opens his eyes he quickly blows out the bright flames and everyone cheers. The mother takes off the candles and begins to cut the cake into small squares. Everyone else forms a line while they hold their empty blue paper plate. One by one people receive their portion of what they now know is chocolate flavored cake. Some people help distribute cake to those who aren't in line while others dig their white forks into their piece. A couple of kids go back down to the playground and continue to play, taking advantage of this warm weather. White bags full of candy are brought out for those who will soon leave. My family and I take three bags from the box and head toward the special family. We thank the mother and congratulate the boy once more. Finally, we make our way to the car leaving behind the magical scene.

Observation Practice

The sun is out and shining on the concrete floor. There are teens coming from left and right. Many of them are with another person, most of them are alone. Some are carrying lunch while others are looking at their phones. Everyone is going in different directions to different places. 

Current Event Activity 1.3

1. Pope Francis delivered a message on many different topics such as immigration, environmental legislation, distribution of money, etc. The speech was delivered to congress along with the thousands of people who either attended these places or watched at home. The story includes many important points addressed by the pope and includes infer on the thousands of people who watched or were excited to have the pope here. Pope Francis was the first pope to address a joint meeting of Congress. He was invited by John Boehner.
2. Some people believe racial remarks were made while others claim they never heard any. Moreno and Rojas will not be able to return to the school until Jan. 15 and Breed resigned. Mike Motheral was frustrated because none of the central figures of the incident showed up at the hearing.
3. Sixth-grade teacher John Wetherold was moved parents and students protested outside of East Austin's Maplewood Elementary School. Teachers are being moved from campus to campus in order to comply with class-size limits. Now there is only one teacher handling 30 students. Its hard for kids to adapt to these changes and many classes are going slower for advanced kids since they now have to go at the same speed as the kids who have certain learning needs. Similar protest at Bryker Woods Elementary School were successful and the school allowed the teacher to stay.
4. John Whitmire asked whether the new open carry law will allow firearms to be carried on school properties. The law takes effect January 1st. Whitemire says the law will not be valid in areas that specifically ban firearms. So school's will be allowed to ban guns in outdoor areas but many state gun laws do not consider parking lots, sidewalks, and drive ways to be places where guns can be prohibited. The attorney general has 180 days to answer Whitmire. It may not matter because I believe the law will be in effect by then.
5. "Sheriff apologizes to lawyers asked to remove bras at jail" Two female lawyers wanted to talk to their incarcerated clients but were asked by deputies to remove their wired bras since it would set off the metal detector. The sheriff later apologized and took responsibility for the deputies actions. I thought it was an interesting topic and many people might find some humor in it yet, I wish they had included how the women felt in this situation. In my opinion this story brings up the topics of sexism and feminism so it could have been expanded more. I feel like it was just told and then shrugged off.

        An obituary resembles a biography. They include a lot of information about the person who passed away. Of course, its full of positive facts. For example, the include the person's childhood and successes. It informs people of the good that the person had or did. How the person died seems to not be included in an obituary although many would expect it to be. Although it's a lot of pressure to not mess up and include something offensive when writing an obituary, I think it's an easy task since you just write about the positive qualities of a person.

Quote

"I would be playing tennis right now. I've been playing for a long time and will probably continue to play in the future. With tennis things like height didn't matter, well not as much. I wouldn't trade it now, back then maybe, but now tennis is my life." - Steven

Current Event Quiz 1.2

1A. Mike Perrin knew that UT men's athletic director, Steve Patterson would be let go and that he would be taking his place. Steve Patterson's decisions had to many fans unhappy. The change in number of people who attend the games have many folks at UT unhappy. People are happy about Perrin's new job placement not just because he is one of their own but they now he has integrity and confidence to lead the athletic's department.

2. The CIA director was on the UT campus yesterday due to the release of of 2,500 daily briefs given to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon. The government is trying to be more open which is what lead to the announcement made at the Bass Lecture Hall. The documents can be accessed by the public through the CIA's website. A "PDB" aka President's Daily Brief is a top secret document tailored to the needs of each president and serves as a dairy of their challenges and offers insights on the paths they take.

3. Hungarian security forces completed a militarized razor-wire fence along it's border with Serbia. This has forced migrants to walk through not only cornfields but now areas littered with active land mines.

4. A 14-year old McCarthur High School student was handcuffed due to teachers deciding his homemade clock resembled a bomb. On Monday school officials defended their actions by saying in this time things like that cannot be taken to school and that they were concerned about student safety. Half a million people along with President Obama defended Ahmed and were on his side. Last spring the Irving City Council endorsed a bill that would forbid judges from rulings based on "foreign laws".

        I first heard the story of "the kid with the clock" through my younger brother. He, himself had learned about it through social media. I was disturbed to find out that this boy had been falsely accused of carrying a bomb due to his race. I knew this topic would appear all over my social media. Although the media can quickly spread the news, I do not think it is as reliable as a traditional newspaper. Online people are known to post things based on their opinions and many times write things in a more bias tone exaggerating the story. Social media almost resembles someone who spreads rumors. One can get the main idea of the issue but most of the time important facts are left out or made up in order to make the story more interesting. Not to mention all the trolls that exist out there on the web. Therefore, one cannot trust the media one hundred percent. 

        Of course, that does not mean the traditional newspaper will be clear of any bias, favoritism, prejudice, etc. I feel as though this story should have definitely been placed more near the front. After all it brings up many controversial topics. Racism, discrimination, and stereotypes seem to be at their peak in our society when supposedly these issues had been resolved a long time ago. By placing this story on B1, it's almost implying it's not as important, when in reality it's definitely much more important than a story about an athletic's director. The nation needs to bring more attention to these issues before things become more worse than they already are. Social media will end up taking care of it and the right facts may not be provided which is crucial for the fairness of all parties. 

Current Event Quiz 1

1. The University of Texas is under fire because they hired two student graduate assistants 10 months after having finished their parol for having violently attacked a gay man back in 2004. The university cannot explain the hiring publicly due to federal laws that protect confidential student information. I don't think the university knew the whole story before hiring these two men because volunteer research assistants arent subject to background checks. They also mentioned that anyone who has served prison time for violent, sex, or drug crimes for the past seven years is "generally not allowed to work at UT.". I'm sure if UT had known the full story they wouldn't have taken the risk to hire these two men knowing how much conflict it would cost.
2. The city of Baltimore made a $6.4 million settlement with the parents of Freddie Gray. The major supported the the deal because it is in the best interest of the city and will save taxpayers many millions more in damages. The trial for the six offers charged is still pending. 
3. The top German official announced yesterday that his country could take 500k refugees a year. The policy has been criticized by observes due to the fact that it is tempting migrants to make the long and dangerous journey to West. German leaders said their country should be proud and announced a reduction of cash handouts for asylum seekers during would allow for more food stamps and in-kind aid. Thousands of migrants and refugees are crowded in places with squalid conditions and are desperately looking for sanctuary in Europe, which is what led to Germany's actions. Germany is not only taking a lot amount of share but they took action to hire more police officers and pledged to spend $6.7 billon more to address the crisis including providing emergency housing. 
4. Texas Senator Ted Cruz invited Donald Trump to his anti-iran nuclear deal rally. Many of the other republic candidates dislike Donald Trump yet Senator Cruz is getting friendly with him. He claims he invited Donald Trump to bring more attention to the matter since Donald Trump is well followed by the media. Donald Trump is not one of Cruz's standard targets because he has never held office and doesn't say one thing then do another.
5. Hillary Clinton apologized on Tuesday for having used a private email account. This issue will continue in the news because two Republicans in congress are seeking immunity order for Brian Pagliano who was in charge of Hillary's private account. Co-mingle is when you mix two things together and Hilary Clinton co-mingled her personal and public business. Hillary had erred in voting to support the invasion of Iraq in 2002, which was the other "mistake".
6. The two student athletes were suspended for violently attacking a game official. An assistant coach of the team was also suspended due to haven told the players "This guy needs to pay for cheating us.". Supposedly the game official used a racial slur towards the students causing their controversial actions.

        A year ago in Kansas Frazier Glenn Miller, a "white supremacist", shot three people at different jewish sites. Miller claimed "he did not care what sentence they handed down." and that he is "suffering from chronic emphysema and wanted to kill jewish people before he died.". The jury wishes to sentence Glen to the death penalty, his reason being these are the types of cases the death penalty was invented for. Still, because of Glenn's health conditions and the fact that Kansas does not have the right materials to perform the lethal, the punishment may not be completed.

        Although many different news values are evident in this article, human interest seems to be the one to stick out the most considering the death penalty always seems to grab people's attention. This article does a good job mentioning vital facts of the case. The author includes important quotes said by the killer and whitenesses. The full story on how the victims were killed along with the murderer's reason behind it all are given. And the readers are even informed that the punishment may not be carried out due to some issues. All the necessary facts are mentioned and are deemed credible in this article. Unfortunately, that is all this article has to offer. In my opinion, the article could have been expanded more due to the topic. The death penalty has always been controversial therefore, the author could have gone deeper and further explored that area. Instead, they just told a story and that was it. If the author had explained the conflict of the death penalty and maybe researched if the chance of it not being carried out in this particular case caused any commotion, the article would have definitely been much stronger and other news values such as conflict would have been magnified. It wasn't a terrible article, but it definitely had more potential.