Springfest is one event that most JMU students look forward to every year. It attracts college students from all over the country and is one of the biggest parties on the east coast. Personally, I had heard a lot about this event from my friends that attend JMU before I decided to come here. So, this day was marked on my calendar and even had a countdown going in my mind. I had told a lot of my friends about the springfest weekend and even had a friend from VCU come up to experience this ‘college experience’. We were sure JMU’s reputation as a party school wasn’t going to let us down. Ironically, there was never a lack of a party but too much of it. The whole country knows about how excessive the party was and how the whole thing got out of control. Just a few days after the event, the news went national and was even on the front page of CNN.
The moment my friend arrived from VCU, we all had one thing in mind. It was to get ready for the biggest party of the year. The moment we got there, it was obvious that it lived up to the hype. “…party usually sees between 1,000 and 2,000 people. This year an estimated crowd of 8,000 attended, and many partygoers involved were not James Madison students” (Cavalier Daily). We arrived there around 2 pm and people were already getting unruly. It was obvious that it was not just JMU kids there at the party. The cops were first at the scene making sure none of the students were on the street intoxicated. I was surprised to even see some of the students on the street with a beer in their hand just ignoring the cops. When the cops slowly began telling the students to move away from the streets, most of them paid no attention and kept on raving as if they were inside their private property.
My first reaction to seeing the cops was to get inside one of the houses. We got really lucky because my friend from VCU randomly knew the owner of the house we went into. When I look back at this event, I was shocked to see so many students just ignore the cop’s orders. When we got back out of the house, the number of cops increased and most of them had riot shields. The scene looked like something that happened at Kent State just last year. “An end-of-year college block party spiraled out of control as police fired pellets and used pepper spray to break up hundreds of rioting students who sparked a string of street fires at Kent State University” (Barr). This was the first thing in my mind when I saw what was happening at forest hills that day.
I was kind of ashamed to be a part of all this because this block party was never supposed to be like this. A couple of JMU students also created a group in facebook, raising money for all the damage that occurred that day. It was evident that day what alcohol can do to a person and how it takes control of your body. I am sure the student’s actions were all due to the fact that they were heavily intoxicated. JMU students are smart enough to respect the authorities. Most of the students must have pre-gamed before coming to Springfest because there were limited amounts of alcohol there when we arrived. In a recent study done by the Journal of American College Health, it was shown that two-thirds of the students pre-game before going out (Read). Pre-gaming before parties drastically increases their risk of getting in trouble or even getting arrested.
These kinds of events severely damage JMU’s reputation in a number of ways. JMU is already known as a party school and although this might bring more ‘party animals’ to JMU, it will hurt JMU’s standing when it comes to job opportunities. When employers look at two candidates from JMU and any other college, they will perceive JMU as a party school with no interest in education. I understand the fact that most of the students who got arrested at Springfest were not JMU students, but it does not take away the fact that this was a JMU party. After all, perception is always greater than reality. We had a talk about this in my GCom class and one of the seniors had recently sent his resume to a company. It turns out that he got denied from the job just because of what happened last weekend. He was not even there at Springfest, but the company perceived JMU to be a party school with a bunch of ignorant intoxicated students.
Harrisonburg cops need to be a little stricter when it comes to being drunk in public. I am not against having a little fun and partying on the weekends, but what happened last weekend should never happen at any academic institution. Underage students should not be able to walk around in public intoxicated like that springfest weekend. If they want to party, they should stay inside private property. Hopefully next year the cops would never let this thing get that big because the whole nation perceives JMU to be a party school with no interest in academics.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
Sentence variety exercise
The moment my friend arrived from VCU, we all had one thing in mind.
Medium - compound
It was to get ready for the biggest party of the year.
Short - simple
The moment we got there, it was obvious that it lived up to the hype.
Medium - compound
“…party usually sees between 1,000 and 2,000 people. This year an estimated crowd of 8,000 attended, and many partygoers involved were not James Madison students” (Cavalier Daily). We arrived there around 2 pm and people were already getting unruly.
It was obvious that it was not just JMU kids there at the party.
Medium - simple
The cops were first at the scene making sure none of the students were on the street intoxicated.
Medium - compound
I was surprised to even see some of the students on the street with a beer in their hand just ignoring the cops.
Long - complex
When the cops slowly began telling the students to move away from the streets, most of them paid no attention and kept on raving as if they were inside their private property.
Long - complex
Medium - compound
It was to get ready for the biggest party of the year.
Short - simple
The moment we got there, it was obvious that it lived up to the hype.
Medium - compound
“…party usually sees between 1,000 and 2,000 people. This year an estimated crowd of 8,000 attended, and many partygoers involved were not James Madison students” (Cavalier Daily). We arrived there around 2 pm and people were already getting unruly.
It was obvious that it was not just JMU kids there at the party.
Medium - simple
The cops were first at the scene making sure none of the students were on the street intoxicated.
Medium - compound
I was surprised to even see some of the students on the street with a beer in their hand just ignoring the cops.
Long - complex
When the cops slowly began telling the students to move away from the streets, most of them paid no attention and kept on raving as if they were inside their private property.
Long - complex
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Springfest 3.1
Springfest is one event that most JMU students look forward to every year. It attracts college students from all over the country and is one of the biggest parties on the east coast. Personally, I had heard a lot about this event from my friends that attend JMU before I decided to come here. So, this day was marked on my calendar and even had a countdown going in my mind. I had told a lot of my friends about the springfest weekend and even had a friend from VCU come up to experience this ‘college experience’. We were sure JMU’s reputation as a party school wasn’t going to let us down. Ironically, there was never a lack of a party but too much of it. The whole country knows about how excessive the party was and how the whole thing got out of control. Just a few days after the event, the news went national and was even on the front page of CNN.
The moment my friend arrived from VCU, we all had one thing in mind. It was to get ready for the biggest party of the year. The moment we got there, it was obvious that it lived up to the hype. “…party usually sees between 1,000 and 2,000 people. This year an estimated crowd of 8,000 attended, and many partygoers involved were not James Madison students” (Cavalier Daily). We arrived there around 2 pm and people were already getting unruly. It was obvious that it was not just JMU kids there at the party. The cops were first at the scene making sure none of the students were on the street intoxicated. I was surprised to even see some of the students on the street with a beer in their hand just ignoring the cops. When the cops slowly began telling the students to move away from the streets, most of them paid no attention and kept on raving as if they were inside their private property.
My first reaction to seeing the cops was to get inside one of the houses. We got really lucky because my friend from VCU randomly knew the owner of the house we went into. When I look back at this event, I was shocked to see so many students just ignore the cop’s orders. When we got back out of the house, the number of cops increased and most of them had riot shields. The scene looked like something that happened at Kent State just last year. “An end-of-year college block party spiraled out of control as police fired pellets and used pepper spray to break up hundreds of rioting students who sparked a string of street fires at Kent State University” (Barr). This was the first thing in my mind when I saw what was happening at forest hills that day.
I was kind of ashamed to be a part of all this because this block party was never supposed to be like this. A couple of JMU students also created a group in facebook, raising money for all the damage that occurred that day. It was evident that day what alcohol can do to a person and how it takes control of your body. I am sure the student’s actions were all due to the fact that they were heavily intoxicated. JMU students are smart enough to respect the authorities. Most of the students must have pre-gamed before coming to Springfest because there were limited amounts of alcohol there when we arrived. In a recent study done by the Journal of American College Health, it was shown that two-thirds of the students pre-game before going out (Read). Pre-gaming before parties drastically increases their risk of getting in trouble or even getting arrested.
These kinds of events severely damage JMU’s reputation in a number of ways. JMU is already known as a party school and although this might bring more ‘party animals’ to JMU, it will hurt JMU’s standing when it comes to job opportunities. When employers look at two candidates from JMU and any other college, they will perceive JMU as a party school with no interest in education. I understand the fact that most of the students who got arrested at Springfest were not JMU students, but it does not take away the fact that this was a JMU party. After all, perception is always greater than reality. We had a talk about this in my GCom class and one of the seniors had recently sent his resume to a company. It turns out that he got denied from the job just because of what happened last weekend. He was not even there at Springfest, but the company perceived JMU to be a party school with a bunch of ignorant intoxicated students.
Harrisonburg cops need to be a little stricter when it comes to being drunk in public. I am not against having a little fun and partying on the weekends, but what happened last weekend should never happen at any academic institution. Underage students should not be able to walk around in public intoxicated like that springfest weekend. If they want to party, they should stay inside private property. Hopefully next year the cops would never let this thing get that big because the whole nation perceives JMU to be a party school with no interest in academics.
The moment my friend arrived from VCU, we all had one thing in mind. It was to get ready for the biggest party of the year. The moment we got there, it was obvious that it lived up to the hype. “…party usually sees between 1,000 and 2,000 people. This year an estimated crowd of 8,000 attended, and many partygoers involved were not James Madison students” (Cavalier Daily). We arrived there around 2 pm and people were already getting unruly. It was obvious that it was not just JMU kids there at the party. The cops were first at the scene making sure none of the students were on the street intoxicated. I was surprised to even see some of the students on the street with a beer in their hand just ignoring the cops. When the cops slowly began telling the students to move away from the streets, most of them paid no attention and kept on raving as if they were inside their private property.
My first reaction to seeing the cops was to get inside one of the houses. We got really lucky because my friend from VCU randomly knew the owner of the house we went into. When I look back at this event, I was shocked to see so many students just ignore the cop’s orders. When we got back out of the house, the number of cops increased and most of them had riot shields. The scene looked like something that happened at Kent State just last year. “An end-of-year college block party spiraled out of control as police fired pellets and used pepper spray to break up hundreds of rioting students who sparked a string of street fires at Kent State University” (Barr). This was the first thing in my mind when I saw what was happening at forest hills that day.
I was kind of ashamed to be a part of all this because this block party was never supposed to be like this. A couple of JMU students also created a group in facebook, raising money for all the damage that occurred that day. It was evident that day what alcohol can do to a person and how it takes control of your body. I am sure the student’s actions were all due to the fact that they were heavily intoxicated. JMU students are smart enough to respect the authorities. Most of the students must have pre-gamed before coming to Springfest because there were limited amounts of alcohol there when we arrived. In a recent study done by the Journal of American College Health, it was shown that two-thirds of the students pre-game before going out (Read). Pre-gaming before parties drastically increases their risk of getting in trouble or even getting arrested.
These kinds of events severely damage JMU’s reputation in a number of ways. JMU is already known as a party school and although this might bring more ‘party animals’ to JMU, it will hurt JMU’s standing when it comes to job opportunities. When employers look at two candidates from JMU and any other college, they will perceive JMU as a party school with no interest in education. I understand the fact that most of the students who got arrested at Springfest were not JMU students, but it does not take away the fact that this was a JMU party. After all, perception is always greater than reality. We had a talk about this in my GCom class and one of the seniors had recently sent his resume to a company. It turns out that he got denied from the job just because of what happened last weekend. He was not even there at Springfest, but the company perceived JMU to be a party school with a bunch of ignorant intoxicated students.
Harrisonburg cops need to be a little stricter when it comes to being drunk in public. I am not against having a little fun and partying on the weekends, but what happened last weekend should never happen at any academic institution. Underage students should not be able to walk around in public intoxicated like that springfest weekend. If they want to party, they should stay inside private property. Hopefully next year the cops would never let this thing get that big because the whole nation perceives JMU to be a party school with no interest in academics.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Reflection 2.3
I feel very comfortable with the final draft of my rogerian argument. The one thing that I really stressed upon this time was research. Research is the only way to making sure that all of my claims are supported. The two scholarly sources I found on the JMU library database really helped me suggest a compromise with the opposing side. I felt as if this essay was a little more difficult than the last one just because we had to be empathetic.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Final Draft (Decriminalizing Marijuana)
Marijuana is known to be the most common illegal drug in the world. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, more than 100 million Americans have tried Marijuana and 25 million have smoked it in the past year. This fact alone summarizes the importance of this plant and its effect on our everyday society. Marijuana is a mixture of dried leaves, stems, seed, and flowers of the hemp plant called Cannabis Sativa. There are many nicknames for this drug such as weed, pot, and bud. Marijuana was first outlawed in the United States in 1905 in El Paso, Texas. The reason behind this was strictly motivated by racial prejudice against Mexican immigrants. These laws had nothing to do with the actual effects of the marijuana. Cannabis, in the form of hemp was a common plant in the states before this law enacted and was even used for medicine, clothing, and other goods. Although there are no proven health related effects from THC, the psychoactive substance present in marijuana, I can understand the government’s worries about decriminalizing this drug. The drug is perceived to make users very lazy and indolent, although it completely varies from person to person. Another theory is that decriminalizing it will likely lead more people to try marijuana due to the easy access of the drug. Another assumption the government has engraved onto the public is that there are no medicinal advantages to using Marijuana. There are many other reasons why the government is so uptight about decriminalizing this drug, but the only way to truly resolve this problem is by exchanging common beliefs and ideas.
The public’s feelings about marijuana are slowly changing. For years, the public has only known marijuana for its negative properties. With the proposal of many new laws, the public is slowly starting to understand the truth about marijuana. With that being said, I do understand where the anti-marijuana advocates are coming from. Although there are many health experts that say marijuana is harmless to the human body, there are many things we do not know about this plant. Is marijuana addicting and does it have long lasting effects in the brain? These are important questions that must be answered in order to fully decriminalize this drug. There have been some studies that prove that marijuana can adversely affect some users. Some effects that marijuana can have are increased risks of motor vehicle crashes, impaired respiratory function, cardiovascular disease, and psychotic symptoms. According to the study of cannabis use and schizophrenia in Sweden, it found that those who had tried cannabis by age 18 were 2.4 times more likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia than those who had not (Hall 13). There is also the theory of how decriminalizing the drug will not solve our drug control problems. Since distribution will still be illegal, the drug wars between dealers will not mitigate. Although this might be true, decriminalizing the drug will save the government huge amounts of money now being spent on the enforcement of such laws.
I believe that marijuana should be decriminalized because it has more advantages than disadvantages. One reason is that it will save the government so much money and time now being spent on the enforcement of such marijuana laws. “On a national level, a recent report by Jon Gettman estimated that national criminal justice expenditures for enforcing marijuana laws is $7.6 billion per year with $3.7 billion being allocated to police, $853 million to the courts, and $3.1 billion to corrections.” (Austin 5). If possession of this plant was not a criminal offense, the amount of work and money being put into enforcement and processing tasks will drastically reduce, saving the government tons of money. Many anti-marijuana advocates believe that decriminalization will result in greater use of the drug. One out of ten US residents use marijuana at least once a year and 47% of all adults have tried marijuana at least once (Duncan). If almost half the country has tried this illegal drug, greater use of this drug should be the least of concerns. Although there are no proven facts that decriminalizing it will reduce the use of this drug, there are also no proven facts that it will result in greater use of the drug.
One of the most controversial claims about marijuana is that although marijuana itself may not cause significant harm, it serves as a “gateway” drug. This means that using marijuana can lead to users abusing newer and stronger drugs. Although many anti-marijuana advocates support this claim, it has not been scientifically validated. “Moreover, the observations and data supporting the gateway hypothesis do not permit a distinction between marijuana as a direct cause of later drug use and a simple association of marijuana's use with later behavior” (Cohen). In conclusion, the philosophy of marijuana being a “gateway” drug is false and unproven.
There is also this theory about how decriminalizing this drug will result in higher crime rates. I can see where the anti-marijuana advocates are coming from on this but this can also work both ways. It is a well known fact that most criminals have tried an illegal drug. Their logic for ‘the drug use will cause crime’ argument is that since there are so many criminals that have tried illegal drugs; they believe that the crimes they committed were due to those illegal drugs. Their argument is like saying water must be the reason for their crimes because all criminals have consumed water in their lifetime. Marijuana should not be related to any kind of committed crimes because it is neither a gateway drug nor one that necessarily propels one to criminal activity. The number of marijuana related arrests has grown significantly in the past decade. “In 1970 there was an estimated 188,682 arrests for the drug – by 2003 the number had increased to 755,000” (De La Mater). Although, it is clear that marijuana arrests have risen in the 30 years, vast majority of these arrests are for possession. These kinds of arrests are just a waste of time and money. Many prisons are slowly letting inmates get out early because prisons are becoming too crowded. Decriminalizing marijuana will drastically reduce all of this, which will save the government billions of dollars.
It is quite evident that decriminalizing marijuana will have an overall positive impact on the country. Hopefully the anti-marijuana advocates will understand and accept this compromise until we learn more about this plant and its side effects. Decriminalization is the first step to the government making billions of dollars, which they could be using for other productive things. I believe now is the best time for decriminalization of marijuana because of the recession this country is already facing. There are also no proven health effects from marijuana, which only makes decriminalization make more sense. Doctors are already giving out medical marijuana cards to help patients with different kinds of diseases. It is time to open our eyes and realize the benefits of decriminalizing marijuana.
Austin, James. "Rethinking the Consequences of Decriminalizing Marijuana." NORML.org. 2 Nov. 2005. Web. 18 Mar. 2010.
Cohen, Peter. "Medical Marijuana: The Conflict Between Scientific Evidence and Political Ideology." Academic Search Complete. EBSCO, 2009. Web. 7 Apr. 2010..
De La Mater, Benning. "US MA: Use of Marijuana a Hot Topic, With Ballot Question Possible." Media Awareness Project. Jan. 2008. Web. 18 Mar. 2010.
Duncan, Cynthia. "The Need for Change: An Economic Analysis of Marijuana Policy." Wilson Web. Wilson Web, 2009. Web. 18 Mar. 2010.
Hall, Wayne. "The Adverse Health Effects of Cannabis Use: What Are They, and What Are Their Implications for Policy?" Academic Search Complete. EBSCO, Nov. 2009. Web. 3 Apr. 2010..
The public’s feelings about marijuana are slowly changing. For years, the public has only known marijuana for its negative properties. With the proposal of many new laws, the public is slowly starting to understand the truth about marijuana. With that being said, I do understand where the anti-marijuana advocates are coming from. Although there are many health experts that say marijuana is harmless to the human body, there are many things we do not know about this plant. Is marijuana addicting and does it have long lasting effects in the brain? These are important questions that must be answered in order to fully decriminalize this drug. There have been some studies that prove that marijuana can adversely affect some users. Some effects that marijuana can have are increased risks of motor vehicle crashes, impaired respiratory function, cardiovascular disease, and psychotic symptoms. According to the study of cannabis use and schizophrenia in Sweden, it found that those who had tried cannabis by age 18 were 2.4 times more likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia than those who had not (Hall 13). There is also the theory of how decriminalizing the drug will not solve our drug control problems. Since distribution will still be illegal, the drug wars between dealers will not mitigate. Although this might be true, decriminalizing the drug will save the government huge amounts of money now being spent on the enforcement of such laws.
I believe that marijuana should be decriminalized because it has more advantages than disadvantages. One reason is that it will save the government so much money and time now being spent on the enforcement of such marijuana laws. “On a national level, a recent report by Jon Gettman estimated that national criminal justice expenditures for enforcing marijuana laws is $7.6 billion per year with $3.7 billion being allocated to police, $853 million to the courts, and $3.1 billion to corrections.” (Austin 5). If possession of this plant was not a criminal offense, the amount of work and money being put into enforcement and processing tasks will drastically reduce, saving the government tons of money. Many anti-marijuana advocates believe that decriminalization will result in greater use of the drug. One out of ten US residents use marijuana at least once a year and 47% of all adults have tried marijuana at least once (Duncan). If almost half the country has tried this illegal drug, greater use of this drug should be the least of concerns. Although there are no proven facts that decriminalizing it will reduce the use of this drug, there are also no proven facts that it will result in greater use of the drug.
One of the most controversial claims about marijuana is that although marijuana itself may not cause significant harm, it serves as a “gateway” drug. This means that using marijuana can lead to users abusing newer and stronger drugs. Although many anti-marijuana advocates support this claim, it has not been scientifically validated. “Moreover, the observations and data supporting the gateway hypothesis do not permit a distinction between marijuana as a direct cause of later drug use and a simple association of marijuana's use with later behavior” (Cohen). In conclusion, the philosophy of marijuana being a “gateway” drug is false and unproven.
There is also this theory about how decriminalizing this drug will result in higher crime rates. I can see where the anti-marijuana advocates are coming from on this but this can also work both ways. It is a well known fact that most criminals have tried an illegal drug. Their logic for ‘the drug use will cause crime’ argument is that since there are so many criminals that have tried illegal drugs; they believe that the crimes they committed were due to those illegal drugs. Their argument is like saying water must be the reason for their crimes because all criminals have consumed water in their lifetime. Marijuana should not be related to any kind of committed crimes because it is neither a gateway drug nor one that necessarily propels one to criminal activity. The number of marijuana related arrests has grown significantly in the past decade. “In 1970 there was an estimated 188,682 arrests for the drug – by 2003 the number had increased to 755,000” (De La Mater). Although, it is clear that marijuana arrests have risen in the 30 years, vast majority of these arrests are for possession. These kinds of arrests are just a waste of time and money. Many prisons are slowly letting inmates get out early because prisons are becoming too crowded. Decriminalizing marijuana will drastically reduce all of this, which will save the government billions of dollars.
It is quite evident that decriminalizing marijuana will have an overall positive impact on the country. Hopefully the anti-marijuana advocates will understand and accept this compromise until we learn more about this plant and its side effects. Decriminalization is the first step to the government making billions of dollars, which they could be using for other productive things. I believe now is the best time for decriminalization of marijuana because of the recession this country is already facing. There are also no proven health effects from marijuana, which only makes decriminalization make more sense. Doctors are already giving out medical marijuana cards to help patients with different kinds of diseases. It is time to open our eyes and realize the benefits of decriminalizing marijuana.
Austin, James. "Rethinking the Consequences of Decriminalizing Marijuana." NORML.org. 2 Nov. 2005. Web. 18 Mar. 2010.
Cohen, Peter. "Medical Marijuana: The Conflict Between Scientific Evidence and Political Ideology." Academic Search Complete. EBSCO, 2009. Web. 7 Apr. 2010.
De La Mater, Benning. "US MA: Use of Marijuana a Hot Topic, With Ballot Question Possible." Media Awareness Project. Jan. 2008. Web. 18 Mar. 2010.
Duncan, Cynthia. "The Need for Change: An Economic Analysis of Marijuana Policy." Wilson Web. Wilson Web, 2009. Web. 18 Mar. 2010.
Hall, Wayne. "The Adverse Health Effects of Cannabis Use: What Are They, and What Are Their Implications for Policy?" Academic Search Complete. EBSCO, Nov. 2009. Web. 3 Apr. 2010.
Friday, April 9, 2010
My first childhood room was painted blue. The room wasn't very big but it had a very childish aroma. I am sure if i ever go back to that room i will have so many memories of my childhood. The room was mostly a mess, but it was always comfortable for me. This room had two windows and a very good view of the lake.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Narrative pre writing
The last time i cried watching TV was when i watched Lion king when i was little. This movie really makes it easy for their viewers to relate to the story. This was one of the key components that made the movie what it is today.
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