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SP2

Before engaging in the SP assignments, I wasn’t too sure on what to do. When I attended class and listened to Professor Duque about the available resources to all students of MDC, I realized that things will be easier for me. Through her guidance, I was able to conduct a quick search on the amount of homelessness and overpopulation in Miami, specifically about the increased rate of rent price and rate of tourists and new citizens. As a result of COVID-19, there was more unemployment, which in turn caused people to be unable to afford rent. I realized that this was a major problem, and now advocate more for affordable rent and aid for those in low-income households. I am now more thankful for what I have and what is available to me.

CAS2

The CAS assignments were a little challenging for me, as it was a little hard to find something that I genuinely wanted to talk about. In CAS2, I was able to talk about one of the few topics that I am very big advocate of due to the fact that I have experienced racism first-hand and seen it affect my friends. After the big spark in the Black Lives Matter Movement, I noticed that more and more activists, especially teen activists, were becoming more present. Through this, I was able to see how two different groups of people combat racism. The first article I chose was how the teenagers at the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center handled the racism against Asians and other people of color. This showed me that not only will kids say something online, they will also do something in-person, pushing for change. The second article I read was about the murder of Ahmaud Arbery and how it sparked a nationwide rage, causing more and more people to be aware of the racism against people of color and how it is happening right under our noses. This made me so enraged in the fact that there is so much racism, but relieved in the fact that now people are more aware and actively fighting against it.

My experience with this assignment caused me to open my eyes to the fact that it is not just our nation that has to deal with racism, but also the entire world. Essentially, it was a known fact, but now it’s something more prevalent in today’s society, that if you aren’t aware, some may even be upset with you. Though, now I know that it is easy to find something to research and explain throughout this assignment. Each activity and assignment caused me to be more knowledgeable of every article I researched and explained.

SP3

Based of SP2, I was able to complete SP3, which was regarding the homelessness and overpopulation in Miami. I was able to see how even politics is aware of the problem, yet many politicians choose to ignore and turn a blind eye to the problem. It’s a talking point during elections, yet leads to nothing, so the problem continues nationwide, but even so in Miami.

This assignment led me to be more aware of the fact that there is so much more homelessness than I was aware of previously, and it made me realize how these issues and problems impact all of the United States and Miami, not just those at risk of homelessness.

This course led me to be more and more aware of problems that affect the world and how we can do something to change the world and be more aware of all problems in the world, and how many people are currently dealing with it.

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My name is Naomi Zahid, and I attend the School for Advanced Studies at Homestead Campus. I am 17 years old, and I am a high school senior. I was born in Atlanta, GA, and then moved to Florida when I was 4 years old, where I grew up in the general Miami area. I used to live in Kendall and then moved to Homestead, and now I live in the Cutler Bay/Palmetto Bay area. I’ve always loved the South Florida areas, but I do want to move out of state and see the world. It’s so big yet so small, and I want to make the most of my time before I commit myself to a lifetime of work.

For as long as I can remember, I have always been interested in psychology and how people think and interact, which drives my goal to become a clinical therapist. By being a therapist, I’ll have the chance to make a change in the world, one person at a time. This is tied to my passion, which is to help others, no matter the differences that may stand between us. Because of where I am going to school, I believe that I will be working hard in the future and being able to sustain and provide for myself and my future family. I look forward to future and what life has planned out for me.

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Prior to the session I attended today, I was aware of the library resources like Kanopy and Swank, but it was a good refresher and reminder of what is available to me as an MDC student. Specifically, the MDC library resources have been an aid for me in the past, so I am sure that it will help me in this course as well. It was good to listen to Prof. Duque discuss these tools again because it helps me get familiar with what is accessible to me and how to navigate these systems. It can help me with assignments such as researching topics just like this one.

For example, I researched the effects of homelessness and overpopulation in Miami. As the population increases, so does the amount of people who need housing and the amount of people who need jobs. Many people come from low-income background, especially teens who are going into college, which results in homelessness, and as the population increases, there are more people being put on streets and in homesless shelters, rather than having a permanent home (Miami Herald, 2022). Because many people are coming to Florida, more specifically Miami, and because of this the price of housing increases. We see this as many people have become homeless due to higher rent and unemployment. After COVID-19, many jobs had to fire people, and the rate of unemployment increased.

Works Cited:

Miami Herald, The (FL), 2022, p. 10. America's News, https://infoweb-newsbank-com.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/apps/news/document-view?p=NewsBank&docref=image/v2%3A1690E1A42FA5EFE0%40NewsBank-187CAF5896B3AAC0%402459608-187CD5F62686B8BE%409-187CD5F62686B8BE%40. Accessed 28 Jan. 2022.

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Article 1 - How teens are using online platforms to call out racism in high school by Umme Hoque

The Internet is now being used as a platform to target and call out racists. Children and teens are publishing open letters, creating Change.org petitions and Google Docs “with lists of racist people in their classes, and using online platforms to organize protests.” In Boston, teens from the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center wrote an open letter asking school officials to address the wave of anti-asian hate crimes. After the letter, officials issued a resolution. Although, in some instances these actions do result in change, sometimes it can result in censorship towards students of color. The point of the article is to highlight the fact that people of color refuse to put up with any discrimination or unjust actions any longer, thus causing even students to call out grown adults and their peers for their negative choices. It is an important step to make noise regarding racism because silence will only take you so far, and make room for more violence.

Article 2 - 'It seemed like our lives didn't matter.' by Margaret Coker

The murder of Ahmaud Arbery sparked nationwide rage, but the people most affected by local racism felt it most keenly. The community activism group, A Better Glynn, formed to seek reforms in Glynn County law enforcement after years of status-quo racism and resistance to change. The group worked with an existing group of Black pastors and other leaders and found success in the firing of the police chief, his replacement by the county's first Black chief, the district attorney's reelection defeat, and the beginnings of police reforms.The article follows A Better Glynn and Elijah Bobby Henderson in the journey to make those part of the Ahmed Arbery murder and investigation accountable for their mistakes and the lack of proper justice in the criminal justice system, especially in a white-dominant state like Georgia, where people of color are focused on by cops. This article shows the injustices of the criminial justice system of Glynn County and what Elijah Henderson does to make them take accountability for misrulings.

Reflection

In both articles, the authors discuss how various groups deal with racism and what they do to expose racist acts. The point of the teens in Boston coming together to make it known that other students or teachers are committing acts of racism is to make it known that they cannot go without punishment, especially by using social media platforms like TikTok (Hoque, 2021). From Umme Hoque's article, I was able to gather that many students who face racial discrimination in schools are often met with little to no aid or defense. It's sad that children have to deal with these situations, and while it is generally common that adults have to deal with racism, it's a horrible discrimination that they face, which can cause many people to feel inadequate and cause trauma in those of younger ages. In Margaret Coker's article, she discusses A Better Glynn, a community activist group, and their intentions to hold racists accountable for their actions and make it more known that those of Black descent and other people of color are visible and their lives matter (Coker, 2021). There is no excuse for racism and both of these articles prove that, as society progresses, acts of discrimination are not being tolerated. Through journalism, both of these articles portrayed the topic of anti-racism in a similar manner, describing the steps and effects of these actions that are taken to punish racists. Both articles tried to remain unbiased and provide with the reader with an informative reading, unlike more popular and prominent news sources like CNN and Fox News.

Works Cited

Coker, M. (2021, November 30). 'It seemed like our lives didn't matter.'. The Current. Retrieved February 2, 2022, from https://thecurrentga.org/2021/11/30/it-seemed-like-our-lives-didnt-matter/?utm_source=Solutions%2BStory%2BTracker

Hoque, U. (2021, October 26). How teens are using online platforms to call out racism in high school. Prism. Retrieved February 2, 2022, from https://prismreports.org/2021/06/16/how-teens-are-using-online-platforms-to-call-out-racism-in-high-school/?utm_source=Solutions%2BStory%2BTracker

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1. Conklin, Audrey. “Miami Commissioners Pass Controversial New Rule Banning Homeless Encampments on Public Property.” Fox News, FOX News Network, 29 Oct. 2021, https://www.foxnews.com/us/miami-rule-banning-homeless-encampments

My first article talks about the ordinance that Miami commissioners have placed that will criminalize homeless people. Based on the article, homelessness has caused a rise in drug addicts and mental health problems in those people. Because of this, it has caused Miami commissioners to push for an ordinance that arrests homeless people if they refuse to live in a shelter. This has caused major political issues between the citizens of Miami and their commissioners. An increase in addicts in homelessness only shifts the amount of drugs being distributed around Miami, stimulating drug circles.

2. Writer, Erik BojnanskyMiami Times Senior, et al. “The Politics of Homelessness in Miami.” The Miami Times, 3 Mar. 2021, https://www.miamitimesonline.com/news/the-politics-of-homelessness-in-miami/article_66e2bb08-7c2f-11eb-959e-ef743d6c9d46.html

My second article talks about how Miami is handling the homeless crisis, and the policies that discriminates against them. Because of the general view that homeless people are criminals, Miami has started to remove homeless encampments, displacing those people and criminalizing living on the streets in areas such as Overtown, Wynwood, and Downtown. The city of Miami has caused a violation of the civil liberties of homeless, removed them from their encampments, and caused the availability of shelter ebds to reduce. Thus, the amount of homeless only increases because of the choices of Miami's government and commissioners.

3. “The Causes of Homelessness.” Camillus House, Camillus House, https://www.camillus.org/aboutus/causes-of-homelessness/#.Yg2_1t9Om_I.

The last article talks about the causes of homelessness. It also shows how these causes affects the homeless population. Homelessness has caused mental illnesses to spike, deriving from addiction disorders. Without proper help, those living on the streets are met with nothing but more discrimination and disgust. With the rise in COVID-19, there is an increase in poverty, thus an increase in homelessness, which in turn causes more job loss as those who could work that are homeless are highly likely to be turned away without having a home address.

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Where does all the carbon we release go?

In the video, Kristen Bell describes the natural cycle of carbon. She talks about how it is present in all living things, such as soil, water, plants, and people. The carbon stored in living things are released back into the atmosphere when they die, therefore the carbon will be absorbed again by plants. However, the living things that are very old and ancient have stored carbon for thousands of years, producing fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas. Due to humans, some of that carbon is released back into the air, offsetting the planet’s carbon cycle, and hastening global warming. The only way to fix this is to plant more trees, which will produce more oxygen, but also reduce the amount of carbon that we release into the air.

Citation:

Bell, K., & Ant, G. (n.d.). Where does all the carbon we release go? TED Talk. Retrieved March 3, 2022, from https://www.ted.com/talks/kristen_bell_giant_ant_where_does_all_the_carbon_we_release_go

Smart solutions to decarbonize buildings

In order to reduce carbon pollution in the world, Katie McGinty recommends that big corporations and large company buildings begin to switch from old, power-sucking energy sources and users to more efficient items. An example used was switching from incandescent light bulbs to LED ones. These small changes reduce the amount of energy being used by large buildings and pushes corporations towards greener use, and potentially finding alternative sources of energy that will not pollute the atmosphere with carbon emissions.

Citation:

McGinty, K. (n.d.). Smart solutions to decarbonize buildings. TED Talk. Retrieved March 3, 2022, from https://www.ted.com/talks/katie_mcginty_smart_solutions_to_decarbonize_buildings/transcript

Reflection:

In relation to my own actions, my community, and my experiences, my carbon footprint is important to me. At home, my family tries to use as much green electrical items and is moving in the direction of solar energy. On top of that, I am aware of the amount of driving that is done by my family and at any chance we get, we try to carpool or take alternative modes of transportation. Since I moved farther from the school I attend, I don’t drive to say gas and money, and utilize the public transportation provided to me. Instead of constantly having electricity on, we unplug unused items. However, carbon usage, I believe will barely change if no one tries to push for that change. It takes more than one, and sometimes one is not enough. The climate crisis is a fast-approaching problem that many still refuse to acknowledge, a problem that is already greatly affecting the planet. To reduce carbon emissions, I agree with McGinty in using reusable sources of energy and greener products. The more and more we use the resources on the planet, the more carbon we release into the air. Essentially, the problem is the mass usage technology, and we should start looking into more alternatives to decrease carbon release.

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The Story of Cosmetics https://youtu.be/pfq000AF1i8

In this video, Annie Leonard talks about the problem with personal care products like shampoo, makeup, and other things like that. Essentially, it highlights the amount of toxic chemicals in these products that we tend to use on a large scale. These products will have harmful toxins in them that will affect us and the environment, as big corporations do not care for their users or the environment, only caring for the money. There's a problem with this in the fact that they will falsely advertise "safe, organic" products, and then continue to sell items that will negatively impact the things around them. There are no proper FDA regulations on items like these since they are cosmetics, so it's hard to properly change this problem.

The Story of Electronics https://youtu.be/sW_7i6T_H78

The problem with electronics is that they are "made for the dump" and cannot be easily repaired, so once it is broken, it is broken. E-waste is a global problem and as there are toxic materials in them and will cause major pollution. Many wires and old chargers are made of plastic which will add up in waste that can't be recycled and just turn into a problem for the planet due to the fact that plastic materials take much longer than paper and other materials to deteriorate and decompose. A problem with these products is that some of these products use things like PVC or mercury, which is detrimental to consumers' and producers' health, which makes these a problem all around.

Reflection

Consumption relates to my role as a global citizen as what I consume will eventually be added to the major pollution problem that is present in our world. For example, I use many electronics and, as a regular person, consume cosmetic products like shampoo and conditioner. For me, I am like most others, and want material things and go out to buy and consume, so I am another addition to the global problem of pollution and waste. However, I like to take pride in the fact that I do not consume as much as others, and refuse to massively consume trivial items. Consumerism causes more pollution.

After watching The Story of Stuff, I am now inspired to start taking more reusable bags to reduce the amount of plastic bags that are being used in the world. I will plant more plants in my backyard to combat the problem of air pollution from cars. I will extend the lifetime of my cosmetic products and other items like that can be reused. I will do my best to make sure that anything I have will not be easily turned into waste that will end up on the shores of another country.I felt for the world after seeing how much of an impact that plastic waste has on it, and the amount of waste that has caused the world to experience the drastic effects of global warming.

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Video: How to make "plastic" out of algae and mushrooms

Reflection

The video I chose to watch provides a solution to a major problem that the entire world has to deal with: pollution. The major problem with plastic is the fact that it will take hundreds of years to even begin to degrade.

In order to fix the problem of pollution, multiple companies choose to take it upon themselves to start to creating a more sustainable replacement for plastic, through the use of algae, fungi, mushrooms, and even wood. Company NotPla takes seaweed to replace plastic packaging, and as the plant consistently grows without any problems from the environment. Another company called Grown Bio utilizes mushrooms called mycelium, takes its roots, and turns it into packaging. And lastly, the company called Spinnova uses wood and turns it into thin, soft microfibers that are easy to biodegrade and plan to partner up with big brands. However, the problem that hinders the use of sustainable resources such as these is the fact that they are not as affordable as products like styrofoam and plastic.

It is innovative in the way that it provides a solution to the problem we have with plastic and the lack of being biodegradable. To go towards a society that can use packaging without harming the environment, major corporations and companies should start to utilize the resources of biodegradable packaging.

Works Cited

How to make "plastic" out of algae and mushrooms - YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVOG-fG5bD4