Has Society Made Progress?

If one thing has control over everyone's life today it's social media. I know social media is something I'm on everyday. I'm not even on social media for entertaining purposes anymore, its now how I get updates for groups, sports, and even academics that I'm involved in. People all over the world are on social media today, even my ten year old sister has a facebook, snapchat, etc. It's crazy how far and dependent people have become on social media.

Lately I've been seeing a lot having to do with the election all over social media, especially on facebook and twitter. I usually come across videos of Donald Trump's campaign or conversations of people attacking each other over social media. The things people say to each other on social media are not only repulsive but makes it seem like we have made no progress since the civil rights era. I read an article about a woman, a black woman who made a tweet about Donald Trump and the backlash she received was just absurd. Her tweet was "It scares me. Especially when I get hate mail alluding to how Trump will "fix" black people. Idk what that means and I am afraid to know." So many people responded to this tweet with racial slurs towards the woman. It made me sad that she was being attacked for expressing her opinion.
In almost every response tweet I read was people telling her to go back to Africa or to get used to living in a country with white power. One person actually said that when Donald Trump wins "to be fair he will give you the choice between slavery or deportation." This behavior makes me wonder if our country has made any progress at all since the civil rights error and even before then. Social makes it so easy for all of the ignorant people out there to attack anyone who is different from their narrow mindset. I hope one day the Internet won't be such a harsh place of people constantly attacking each other

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/i-tweeted-about-donald-trump_us_56cdd804e4b041136f18fc9a

Racism; a problem as old as time

Racism is still very apparent in the culture that we live in today. It's been around for so long . I can go back to my earliest memories as a child and remember adults making racial slurs at others or even children making racial slurs to other children. It's sad to think back on all the progress this country has made on racism but realize that it may never disappear and always be present in our lives.

As a Biology major I understand how genetics work and how you are passed down traits from your parents and for the most part that is where your appearance comes from. Skin color, eye color, hair color, they are all just traits. There is no trait that is better than the other. Variation is what is good and keeps us thriving. So to me, judging someone based on their appearance or skin just makes absolutely no sense. We are a modern society, we are developed, it really is a shame that we still have to deal with racism.

I really do feel as though racism is one of the biggest issues we are currently dealing with in our country. Every time I turn on the news or look on Facebook there is a new story about police brutality or Donald Trump blaming other races for issues in our country. Riots happen all the time over this issue and people die for this. I really hope one day that we can figure it out. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thomas-e-patterson/the-2016-race-is-deja-vu-_b_9293178.html

Can School Dress Code Violate First Amendment Rights ?

The clothes that people wear are one of the various ways in which an individual can express themselves. Ever since I was little I can remember the public school system always restricting what I wore. I remember instances where I, a twelve year old girl would be sent to the office on a hot day in June for wearing a tank top. My mother would be called and be asked to bring a t-shirt that would be less distracting or more appropriate to fit dress code standards. I recall this happening over the years in the public school system to virtually everyone. From girls to boys and even teachers, the public school system takes away the freedom of one's expression. I even recall the principal announcing that the school system could in fact do what they wanted because we lose our rights in school.

In the eighth grade I distinctly remember this one instance where a girl in my class liked to use clothing as a way to express her beliefs. She wore shirts, bracelets, and even hats supporting and raising awareness for lesbian and gay rights. My middle school especially targeted this girl for using clothing to express herself. Everyday she would come in and wear something to stand for what she believed in and everyday she would be given a plain t-shirt to cover what she was wearing or asked to remove her accessories and then sit in detention after school. This memory came back to me when I came across a dispute brought about in a Tennessee school. In Sequoayh High school was where a boy was told he could not wear a shirt for the GSA (gay-straight alliance) club. The school actually had to review their dress code and allow the boy to wear shirts like these because this act by the school was violating his first amendment right. The first amendment protects the right to express oneself through clothing among other things. Clothing everywhere is how people not only express their beliefs but show support for what they believe in. Government institutions can not tell one how to dress as long as it does not cause "substantial disruption" (ACLU) . Had I understood my rights under the first amendment when I attended public school, I would have felt much more comfortable expressing myself via my clothing.  

https://www.aclu.org/news/tennessee-high-school-affirms-students-first-amendment-rights-after-dispute-over-gay-straight