6. December 2009 by student.

Underage fans, especially at college football games, are drinking illegally. I believe at sporting events everything is hectic, so its my premise that its easier for underage drinking to happen at a sporting event than a more civilized environment. Federal law prohibits selling alcohol to people under the age of 21. However, “underage fans are able to purchase a drink 18% of the time and intoxicated fans are able to purchase a drink 74% of the time at pro sports stadiums” (Wilbert, 2008).

Its understandable that beer vendors in the stand can’t do anything about underage drinkers coming to the game drunk, but they do have control over who they sell beer to. The vendor needs to use personal judgement to determine whether or not to sell beer to someone, the vendor has the right to turn down a buyer of alcohol. There needs to be a thorough check of identification by the vendor to eliminate underage drinking at sporting events. If a vendor sells to a person that’s underage the vendor can be thrown in jail. The vendor would also contribute to a bad environment for any children at the game. It’s my proposal that beer should stop being served at sporting events, this also eliminates anyone from driving home drunk.

Wilbert, Caroline. “Underage, Drunken Fans Buy Stadium Alcohol.” WebMD Health News.20 Aug. 2008. 7 Dec. 2008. <http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/alcohol-abuse/>.

Posted in Social Problems | 3 Comments »

6. December 2009 by student.

When you turn 18 you are now old enough to smoke(in most states), vote, and join the military.  You can know buy cigarettes, the state says that you are  now old enough to decide if putting the toxic effects of smoking into your body is worth it.  Our country thinks that we are mature enough to be able to go into war and fight for our country risking our lives.  They also belive us knowledgeable enough to vote for the future rulers of our country.  Even though we can make all these decisions we are not allowed to drink alcohol until three years later when were 21.  Teenagers in America abuse alcohol way more than teenagers in any other country.  The difference between us and them is that their drinking age is lower and not as strict.  Since it’s not a big deal to drink and you’re not going to get in a lot of trouble for it, it becomes less appealing.  The most exciting part about drinking is the fact that you’re not allowed to do it and the thrill that at any moment you could get caught.  Lowering the drinking age would most likely only have positive effects for our society. 

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

6. December 2009 by student.

Stereotypes are generalizations, or assumptions that are made by people about another group or persons characteristics. Stereotypes are based on what a group of people look like, or how they act. These stereotypes are usually negative in connotation. The media is a primary example of how stereotypes are formed. Mass media plays a big role in gender role socialization. Advertisements, books, television shows, and music affect how we think and act. For example, gender stereotypes are reinforced by many alcoholic beverage commercials. Other forms of advertisement like newspapers and magazines imply males are superior to females. In magazines you will see males in more dominant positions, while females are pictured lying on a bed, or couch.

Males and females are forced to embrace the roles portrayed by the media. Females must embrace “feminine” roles, while men embrace “masculine” roles. If they don’t embrace their gender specific roles they will be scorned. However, embracing these gender roles can limit success for an individual.

This leads into the concept of gender identity. Gender identity is labeled on us at birth, and we train from a young age what it means to be male or female. This is why I believe stereotypes form at birth. Parents establish these roles that their children are supposed to follow to be “normal.”

Posted in Social Problems | 2 Comments »

6. December 2009 by student.

Claim: would you rather control your child’s life and always tell them what to do , or  allow your child to be independent and allwo them to make their own decisions.

Releigion is a very big issue in our society today.I believe that Childern should not be told what religion to be, they should be allowed to explore  every religion before actually making their decision.
I think that when growing up, childern should not be told what religion they have to follow. I believe childern  should not be baptized. What if one they decide to change their  mind and don’t want to be that one religion. Nowadays , childern of the christian religion are being baptized at a very young age. By baptizing you’re child you are kind of making them be that one religion for the rest of their lives. There is no changing your mind . why would you change your mind ? If you decided to change your mind you could make so many people in your life and your church mad . You would probaly never be invited back to your church ever. I think parents should not make their child one religion because , no child should feel like they are being controlled. I know you might say that well if by controlling my child  then they might become out of control , but you don’t have to control your child by relgion. There are so many factors that go into this topic , but I guess what I am trying to just say is Parents just not tell  their childern what religion to choose because if they try to control them too much then they could lose them.

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

6. December 2009 by student.

Facebook is a social networking site that helps us connect with people.  Is it ok that people are using this website to meet new people.  Behind your computer screen you can be someone completly different.  With things like photoshop and the fact that its easier to say things to people when your not face to face we are not getting to kow the real person.  In some cases it goes beyond having false courage and retouching the acne on your face.  Some people are getting fake pictures and pretending to be people  they are not.  Forty year old men can pretend to be twenty to get hot college girl.  The girl thinks she kows this person that she met on the computer so she goes to met him somewhere.  Everyon has seen in the news the outcome of most of these situations.  The girl end up having something exdtremly bas to her.  So even though we can keep in touch with our friends on facebook is it really doing more bad than good?  I think that if you wanna speak and connect with someone you shouldn’t have to hide behind a computer screen to do it. 

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

6. December 2009 by student.

Every year 750,000 teenagers get pregnant.  The media makes it seem like everyone should be having sex before marriage.  Tv shows show couples having sex, and even people that have just met.  Sometimes it seems that relationships are based on getting to like each other a lot so you can have sex.  With sex being a norm it is no suprise how many teenagers get pregnant every year.  Children are obviously a big responsibility that people that young cannot handle.  The most likely outcome is that the two or at loeast oe of the parents will have to drop out of school and get a job to support the new family.  Without a college education there are not very many jobs that will be offered to you.  Your future just had so many doors slammed in it’s face.  Billions of dollars are spent taking care of teenage mothers and their children and they are more likely to be in the poverty bracket.  It only costs millions to create pervention programs so why don’t we try stopping this from happening because there will only be poitive effects.

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6. December 2009 by student.

While writing an English paper the other night I began to see how many spelling errors I had in my writing.  What had turned in wut, going to was gonna and none of my I’s were capatalized.  Between texting, instant messaging and facebook I am always trying to find ways to write things shorter.  Spelling simple words may be ok becasue if I actaully took the time to think about it know how to spell them.  However, bigger words people have no need to know how to spell anymore.  with things like spell check you don’t even have to learn most proper grammar becasue the computer will change it for you.  Society needs to figure out a way to stop this fro continuing before the literacy levels drop even more.  Not only do people not know how to write but they do not know how to read or should i say they don’t want to read.  With the interent at our fingertips most people can do without ever stepping in a library.  Instead when we need to do research we use websites that are not always reliable.  A favorite of everyone’s is wikipedia, a website that anyone can go on and change the information listed on a page.  It would be much more acurate to go to the library and check out books on your topic.  Schools should try to gear it more so we an do things on our own without the sometime negatie effects of technology and the interenet. 

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 3 Comments »

6. December 2009 by student.

Abortion is a complex, ethical, moral, biological issue related to a persons value system. The debate over abortion seems to heat up around presidential elections when the parties share their beliefs on the issue. To some, this is a key issue when it comes to who gets their vote. I believe that the decision should be up to the mother, provided she is given all the facts. If the mother of the baby doesn’t even want him or her than there’s the possibility that the child would become a burden on society. Of course you would have to find out the specific reasons as to why they are considering abortion. If the mother were to have the child and simply cannot provide for it, then the family will likely be collecting welfare which costs the government, aka everybody. There’s also the chance that living in poverty will introduce the kid to drugs and violence which are two separate social problems. And lets face it, some people just aren’t cut out to be parents. On the other hand, abortions can be induced  for the health of the mother or happen through a miscarriage. A recent poll conducted in the U.S. showed roughly 46% of those surveyed said that “abortion should be legal in most cases”. It’s surprising to learn that 1 out of 3 women in the U.S. has had an abortion by age 45, according to the planned parenthood website. Ultimately it is the women’s decision and they should be given the option when it comes to abortion.

Posted in Social Problems | 1 Comment »

6. December 2009 by student.

Should cloning humans be allowed? The first sheep was cloned in 1997, then the first mice in 1998. This path has led many to believe That one day cloning humans will be very possible, especially since humans have similar genetics as mice (that’s why mice are frequently used in experiments). There always has to be a first though. There was a first heart transplant. Who is going to be the first experiment of being cloned? Research is trying to reduce risks but there is always the unknown of the effects. How will the cloning of humans change our world? Will it be better or worse? Cloning may be used for treating neurological disorders, spinal injuries or many other medical issues. Cloning may also be used for “designer babies” in which the parents chose the traits of the baby. Many of these new ideas can greatly affect society and the Human race for both good and bad. It will be very interesting to see how the laws on this developing science play out.

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6. December 2009 by student.

When I first learned about eating disorders, all I thought about was Anorexia Nervosa because that was the most common one I heard of and I thought it meant you just stop eating to become skinnier. You can really have the Anorexia Nervosa disorder for many reasons. For example, you may be abnormally sensitive about being perceived as fat, have a massive fear of becoming fat, or you may be afraid of losing control over the amount of food you eat. Some other eating disorders are Bulimia Nervosa, compulsive overeating, and binge eating disorder. Bulimia Nervosa is when you eat a large quantity of food in a relatively short period of time and then use behaviors such as, laxatives, or self-induced vomiting. Compulsive overeating is an “addiction” to food, using food and eating as a way to hide from their emotions. Binge eating disorder is a combination of symptoms similar to those of compulsive overeaters and bulimia. I thought  an eating disorder is something you chose to have, but it is a disorder. You are addicted to it, just like alcoholics, sex addicts, and drug addicts. It is something you cannot control and we need to really try and help these people instead of blaming them for something they cannot control.

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