Homework Assignment - Due Tuesday 12/20 by 10:30 AM

Hi folks,

Here's the assignment:

Answer the question below - which is an essential question and therefore intentionally broad and open-ended - in a paragraph that is detailed and through. This activity is intended to be a brainstorming exercise, so make sure you are offering up new ideas in your response and not simply repeating what others have already said. Also, do not feel like you need to respond directly to what others have said; in fact, for this assignment I prefer you read the other responses simply for the sake of making sure you are not repeating ideas and to get inspiration for you to come up with your own. My goal is to get the class to consider all the various elements we have studied in the unit, including politics and law (legislative acts, court cases, protests, and elections, for example), social issues (marriage and reproductive rights, for example) professional opportunities (hiring, promotion, and pay equity, for example) and problems such as gender violence, body image, and media representations. This is not an exhaustive list and I encourage you to use other evidence, including examples from the literature we have studied, what you learned during the multi-genre project fair, and materials from lectures.

Okay, here's the question:

What has been the changing role of women throughout American history?

You have until Tuesday 12/20 at 10:30 AM to complete this assignment.

Have a great weekend!

Mike's Current Event

My article was about an advocacy group in New York that accused Obama and his administration of making decisions based about politics instead of scientific studies. Obama's administration just recently vetoed the idea of having girls 16 and under to have access to emergency contraceptives without a prescription. In the past, the FDA did scientific research about this and decided that it is okay for girls 16 and under to purchase emergency contraceptives like Plan-B over the counter. Knowing this, Obama's administration still decided to veto this.


I found a source, (http://glassbooth.org/explore/index/barack-obama/11/abortion-and-birth-control/16/), that stated that Obama strongly supported keeping abortion legal, and also supports emergency contraceptives. If Obama supports emergency contraceptives, there would be no reason for him and his administration to veto this. In a related article, it said, "Critics assert that Sebelius' decision was intended to avert a bruising political battle over parental control and contraception during a presidential election season." (Sebelius is Obama's top health official who was also involved in the decision) This is the argument that the advocacy group is making; that if Obama's administration vetoed this, even though Obama strongly believes in emergency contraceptives and abortion, it must be because he is making his decision based on his own political benefits, instead of the scientific research that was done.


If Obama supports the right to an abortion and emergency contraceptives, do you think the decision by Obama's administration to veto the FDA's ruling to allow Plan-B was based strictly on political reasons? What do you think some other reasons could be for the veto?
In your opinion, should the Plan-B contraceptive be available over the counter to girls 16 and under? Why or Why not?


Sources:

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/ny_advocacy_group_slams_obama_on_40OLhA9PzY8OwB4o0c333O

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/bloomberg_criticizes_health_sec_fbbum2lW7EFYCV62vXsgkJ

http://glassbooth.org/explore/index/barack-obama/11/abortion-and-birth-control/16/

Kevin Downing's Current Event

Hello, I'm sorry I didn't post yesterday. I had planned to do it after my Chem lab, but by the time I finished it was after midnight.

As for my current event, domestic violence is a major problem in our society. Even though it was outlawed in the late 1800s, many men still beat their wife or girlfriend. It is not only unfair to women, but costs cities and towns a lot of money. In the town of Hartlepool, which is located on the coast of northern England, they get up to 8 calls of domestic violence a night. That totals almost 3000 a year.

According to recent calculations, it costs Hartlepool over 27 million British pounds, a little under 46 million dollars a year to deal with domestic violence. Only about one in four victims of domestic abuse come forward. Most are either scared of what will happen if they tell someone, or ashamed they let it happen to them.

What do you think needs to be done in order to get more victims to come forward and help reduce the amount of domestic abuse in all countries in the world?

For more information go to:
http://www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk/news/local/domestic_violence_costs_27m_a_year_1_4052374