RCL

Deliberation Notes   People are guaranteed to have some debt   Trapped   Significant loans Price   Financial Aid is too little   Parents are the only safety net Free College   Level out the playing field between socio-economic classes Not having money as an inhibitor   How do plan on funding this?   Sanders: focus on public intuitions, wall-street tax 0.5% tax on stock trades   Worry about paying off debt   Vocational schools as an option   Increased competition   More of a focus on academics Half of the budget for education   The possibility of cutting back military spending just 20% Limited points on how this is subsidized Promote Alternatives   Awareness of vocational schools Decreasing the stigma around community colleges   Improving Financial Literacy   Exposure in high school Lower Tuition Capping or reducing tuition The expansion of choice Cuts the number of...

Practice Deliberation: On and off campus issues Higher than national average of food insecure Skepticism towards Penn State having a that large of a food insecurity Approach one: Penn State Meal plans Can change the levels or add donations  Never seen one of the kiosks for meal plan donations  Having a better place to purchase the food that is wanted to be cooked Cleanliness after cooking and theft (leaving college freshmen alone to cook) Having someone in change of the kitchens-student employment option Approach two: State College Current initiatives and past initiatives  Abba java coffee house and St. Andrews community cafe (current) Full meals (sunday night and thursday brunch) There is a take home option Community partners  Penn State can’t advertise due to risk If you don’t feel food insecure should you still feel able to go This has to to with breaking the stigma- includes the entire commun...

The Brightline is a railway system that takes its passengers to and from metropolitan areas of Florida such as West Palm Beach, Ft.Lauderdale, and Miami. The Brightline is the nation's deadliest railway, with more than one death per month. This is more than all of the 821 railways in the US. Many of these deaths are a result of suicide or reckless behavior (ie. trying to beat the train or playing drinking games too close to the tracks, etc.). Railway suicide does not only impact the families of the deceased but the passengers and staff on the train and the communities around the area of the incident. Brightline as a company has an inadequate way of addressing suicide prevention and preventing reckless behavior. Despite the clear need for effective change, Brightline has not yet found an efficient way to address this issue. Brightline has partnered with Operation Lifesaver non-profit focused on creating railway safety education. Operation Lifesaver has an abundance of resou...

Alexa Clayton Advocacy Project Memo: Suicide Prevention ( this is a basic idea of where I am going with this project) My advocacy project is a continuity of the idea from my policy paper. The Brightline Train is the nation’s deadliest railway. The majority of these deaths are the result of suicide. To reduce the amount of railway suicide it becomes important to create suitable ways to address the issue of suicide prevention. In terms of visibility, it is important to have a mode that can be easily be seen by those who are struggling with suicidal thoughts and those who are in immediate distress. The distribution will specifically take place in Brightline Train Stations and the communities surrounding train stations but with my partnership with the National Suicide Hotline, the posters can be displayed across the nation. Starting at local levels, such as Brightline Train Stations will be a starting point for addressing the issue of suicide prevention. My aim for this project is to s...

Solution The amount of railway related accidents has increased since 2005. The aim of this section is to propose plausible legislation that addresses the issue of suicide prevention and reckless behavior. This will be done through the evaluation of the proposed programs by Brightline. Furthermore, I will explain the Suicide Prevention and Public Safety Act (SPPSA). Suicide Hotlines Brightline's attempts to address suicide prevention includes a partnership with 211 Helpline. This is a hotline that connects people to the services that they need. Currently, Florida's House of Representatives has an appropriations bill that will allocate $650,000 to this hotline. Since Florida's House of Representatives deems this helpline an effective way of addressing suicide prevention it is important to evaluate what they do and how well they respond to this issue. The 211 Helpline connects people to various call centers based on the resources that they seek. The 211 Helpline has conne...

When I watched the lessons about the advocacy project, I immediately thought about this idea. I wanted to create something that addressed the issue of depression in a nuanced way.  Since I created this graphic for this issue before I had a clear idea about what I want to advocate for. I find myself working backwards. People can be and sometimes are displeased and dissatisfied with their situation or their lifestyle, and this is normal. When one lets their dissatisfaction fester can develop into mental illnesses such as depression. With regard to the pandemic, people are not spending as much time socializing as they would before the pandemic. This creates and can increase the feeling of loneliness and this holds true especially for the people that are already experiencing depression. The situation of depression becomes important to address because without intervention this issue can worsen.  I plan on partnering with the Anxiety and Depression Association of America...

THE FLORIDA BRIGHTLINE ROUGH DRAFT DEFINITIONS: The Brightline: The Brightline is a privately owned company high-speed railway system that runs from central Florida to South Florida. Bonds: The a loan usually given by the government that is paid back at a certain time Phase One: Phase One involved the construction of a railway that takes passengers to West Palm Beach, Miami, and Ft. Lauderdale.  Phase Two: the construction of the Orlando portion of the railway PROBLEM: The lack of barriers or fencing puts pedestrians at risk and inefficient suicide prevention efforts. The Florida Brightline has become the most deadly railroad in the country. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: The creation of the BrightLine is the result of a series of acquisitions. The Fortress Company acquires the company Florida East Coast Industries(FECI) for $3.5 billion dollars. FECI is Florida’s Largest and oldest Real estate and Transportation Company. It is an essential part of constructing the infras...

The Brightline is a high-speed railway system that connects Central and South Florida.  What would take three to four hours in a car ride would take only an hour on the Brightline. According to the Tri-Rail Commuter Service, the national amount of fatalities is 1 for every 100, 000 miles. The Brightline's average is 1 every 29,000 miles. That is about one or more deaths a month. It is important to note that many of the deaths are a result of suicides or reckless behavior. The problem that arises is the lack of regard for suicide prevention and reckless behavior. There are several plausible solutions to this problem. One inadvertent cause is the issue of reckless behavior. Reckless behavior in this sense is a fatality that is the result of a person ( a driver, cyclist, or a runner) tries to beat the train. A solution that came to mind is the patrol of intersections between streets and railroads. This would prevent people from attempting this type of behavior. More specifical...

I find this whole situation strange. When I wake up, I realize that I am not in my dorm and I think I have all the time in the world. This fuels my procrastination. When I'm at home, I am not motivated to do work and when I am at school I find it easier to say focused. I love my family but they can be distracting at some points. My twin sister usually asks me to check her essays Art History or help her take pictures of her art projects. Sometimes, I'll be studying or trying to do homework and my Dad will turn on the news or watch a movie at full volume, and then I can't focus. I have also started to notice that I have easily irritable. I get annoyed or small things like when my mom touches my hair or when I have to get groceries from the supermarket. When I watch Netflix,  I think "oh my gosh they are not social distancing" but then I realize that there was a time in which this pandemic didn't exist. This helps me realize that I won't spend my whole...

1.  I believe in having my own space: I have always had to share basically everything with my twin sister. We shared the same bedroom, the same bathroom, the same clothes, and the same interest. I felt like my identity as a person was rooted in being a twin so when I started college began to experience what it is like to develop my own interests separate from my twin sister. 2.  I believe in creating art for myself: I remember my cousin and were drawing butterflies. I remember being so proud of my rainbow-colored butterfly and thinking that it was far more superior to my cousin's plain orange butterfly. Although her butterfly was symmetrical, my butterfly was colorful and prettier so you can imagine how excited I was to show off my masterpiece to my grandfather. My cousin and I went to show off to my grandfather. We pressed our drawings in the face of our grandfather so that he could clearly see through his coke bottle glasses. He adjusted his fr...

1. Abortion  I would review begin by giving a brief review of the history of abortions centered around the Roe v. Wade case. I also hope to review the points of view from Christians, Conservatives, mothers (that receive abortions). Furthermore, I would like to review the current issue of overturning Roe v. Wade and what it takes to overturn this decision 2. Art Forgeries  Have you ever want your own "Van Gough Original"? Art forgeries are imitations of pieces from a famous artist. In my Civic Issues Blog would talk about the science of forgery in art, would also review the process of forging and selling art, and I will also mention the ethics associated with this issue.

The rise of Internet Radio. Today, when we listen to music it usually comes from a streaming app such as  Spotify, Pandora, or Tidal, but how did we get here? In my essay, I will review how the rise of the smartphone and the fall of music players such as the iPod or MP3 contributed to the creation of Internet Radio. I will review what made the iPod popular in the first place and how the integration of capabilities smartphones contributed to the fall of the handheld music player. Furthermore, I will discuss what made the smartphone so revolutionary and how did this contribute to the rise of Internet Radio.  I will also discuss how the accessibility of apps publicized Internet Radio. The Origin of Modern and Contemporary Art I also thought about writing about the shift from realism to modern art starting with the creation of the daguerreotype. A daguerreotype is an early version of a photograph.  This created a dilemma amongst artists of the 19th century....

The clean water crisis in Mozambique This presentation raised awareness about the lack of accessto potable water in Mozambique. The presenters spoke about how hard it is for the people of Mozambique to attain clean water. They also spoke abou the lack of sanitation systems and bathrooms. This leads the people of Mozambique to deficate where they please. Having a bathroom is simply not a luxury that all the people of Mozambique have.  On average it takes about 30 minutes to walk to the nearest well to get clean water. Access to clean water in some cases surpasses the need for education for the children of Mozambique.  Transnational Organizations such as the UN and UNICEF aim to eliminate and mitigate the effects of this water crisis. The UN has a sustainibility goal to provide water to all of Mozambique by 2030.  Moreover, UNICEF  is currently working on constructing wells and bathrooms for the people of Mozambique. After the formal presentation, the speakers lai...

The need to know how to discern facts from fiction. President Trump collaborated with Ukraine in order to gain "dirt" on his opponent Joe Biden for personal gain. In the transcript from Ukrainian President Zelensky, Trump states " Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you ·can look into it ... " Here President Trump asks Zelensky to "look into it." This brings about the question: "What does the president mean when he asks President Zelensky to "look into it".  Looking into something means to find out more information on something whether it be an issue or situation.  Moreover, it is important to note that Biden is referred to as the "prosecutor"  Furthermore,  Zelensky states "He or she will look into the situation, specifically to the company that you -mentioned in this issue." This company that is mention is Joe Biden or as previously mentioned the "prosecutor".  He/ She is r...

Kairos finding the most opportune time to react to an event. The people of Hong Kong argue that they are separate from China's laws and regulations. The extradition bill sends those who are accused of crimes to China or Taiwan, where they will likely face harsher punishment. Furthermore, this not only puts those who are accused of a heinous crime at risk but it also puts protestors in danger hence, the protests. According to VICE News, the protestors and the police believe that the protest will end when someone dies. These anti-government protests have been going on for sixteen weeks and show no signs of ceasing. This has lead to the escalation of tension between the pro-democratic protestors, the counter-protestors, and the police. The kairos of this situation provokes the parties involved to react with violence and brutality. The pro-democratic protestors have five demands of Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam.  The termination of the extradition bill An independen...