Honors 102-Fall 2022-Persuasive Blog Posts

The Preservation of American History Charlottesville Confederate Statue, Economist     You may be asking yourself, "What are confederate monuments? Why are they so important?"  Confederate monuments are statues that commemorate a person or event and serve to display influential moments or people in American History. In America, there has been an ongoing debate over whether or not our country should remove confederate monuments because some people find them offensive. But if we take down these confederate monuments, are we putting our understanding of American history in danger? The short answer-yes.        One might argue that confederate monuments are offensive and unnecessary. But, by taking these monuments down, we are erasing parts of our American History and, therefore, putting both our and future generations’ understanding and awareness of significant historical events at risk. Protestors arguing,   The Washington Post      The debate to remove confederate statue

Annual average monthly blue water scarcity, provided by ScienceAdvances According to a report made by ScienceAdvances, "two-thirds of the global population (4.0 billion people) live under conditions of severe water scarcity at least 1 month out of the year. Nearly half of those people live in India and China." The number who face water scarcity in first-world countries like the United States and the United Kingdom is exceedingly disproportionate to the previous metric. Citizens of first-world countries hardly find themselves facing water scarcity any month of the year. But according to research done by the Guardian , water bills in America rose by at least 27% between 2010 and 2018. Evidence shows that we are on a dangerous trend towards a world without access to clean, affordable water. As previously stated, there is already a part of the world where water scarcity has become a great issue. What is clear is that third-world countries are affected much more severely than fir

An image from the United States Department of Health and Human Services     History has shown that health equity is not guaranteed to every citizen in the United States. According to the CDC ,   Health equity  is the state in which everyone has a fair and just to attain their highest level of health. The health system in the United States should not discriminate against people based on one's race or color. Even though health equity is a constitutional right in the United States, minority groups in the United States do not get the same fairness as others. Well, everyone knows who are considered minority groups: Latinos, immigrants, and black people.        We all know that health equity is a right, but the health system is failing the minority communities in the United States every day, we can see news about racism in the United States, but people still believe that minority groups are just exaggerating.        Alexander N. Ortega and Dylan H. Roby, two professors from the Departme

Mental Health Days: One Way We Can Support Students By: Julianne Emberger October 31, 2022 As time goes by, expectations on students of all ages continually increase. The demands rise and the assignments pile up each new year of schooling. With this increased pressure, it takes a toll on students mental health especially when they are not getting the proper support from schools.  According to Supporting Student Mental Health in Higher Education ,  "Mental Health is defined as a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community." Achieving this state for students can be challenging when the schools are not set up accommodate to their mental health needs.  One way schools can support students mental health is by offering mental health days. Mental health days  are days that students can take to rest and rechar

Cover photo,  Labrador Training HQ   According to the  ASPCA , 3.1 million dogs enter animal shelters each year in the United States, but only 2 million dogs are adopted each year from those shelters. So what happens to the other 1 million? Most of them are euthanized, meaning they are humanely killed. This is awful, but there is a solution to this problem- Adopt don’t shop!   Adopt don’t shop means that when looking to bring a dog into your family, adopt a dog from a local shelter, instead of buying one from a breeder or a puppy mill.    According to  Paws , puppy mills are defined as “commercial breeding facilities that mass-produce dogs (and cats in cat mills) for sale through pet stores, or directly to consumers through classified ads or the Internet”.    In 2019, about 23% of dogs purchased by families were adopted through shelters, whereas 34% were bought from breeders and pet stores, according to the  ASPCA .    34%, wow! That is a lot of dogs! Imagine how many more dogs could

The Safety of LGBTQ+ Students Needs to be a Priority, and it Needs to Happen Now. By Daniela Pena.   November 1st, 2022.   The Harsh Reality Every 45 seconds, at least one LGBTQ youth attempts to take their life. This may be due to the burden of not being 'normal'; not having a healthy support system; harassment both online and in schools, or perhaps a combination of these. Nearly 2 million LGBTQ+ youth have seriously considered ending their lives in a single year ( The Trevor Project) . See, the concept of 'normal' has been engraved into our minds since childhood. From Disney movies like Tangled to our parents telling us to grow up, get married, and have many children. Heterosexuality has become the norm in our society, and it is harming teens in different ways.                           Flint caressing Rapunzel's face, portraying heterosexuality   Disney's Tangled   2010                As teens spend the majority of their time in schools, it is crucial for sch

                                                      Abortion rights demonstrators protest following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade Abortion   is a contentious issue that frequently divides people. We all know that abortion is the termination of a fetus that usually occurs within the first 28 weeks of pregnancy. The thought of aborting an unborn fetus is revolting.  Abortion should be legal,   but it should not be the first option .  Legal because it provides women with a choice, not a first option, because there are many more effective ways to prevent pregnancy than abortion. Abortion is morality and should be legal. Abortion is all about allowing a woman to make her own choices. Abortion should be legal because it is a woman's right to determine what happens to her body. The government should not take away that right simply because a woman chooses to engage in sexual intercourse or is forced into doing so, causing her to decide to have an abortion. Ill