Short Writing Assignment #11

Even though most of these articles come from the same source they do not hold the same level of credibility in a research paper because some are generally opinion based. The first two articles “Four Corners Best Answer on Homeless” and “Homeless situation Has No Easy Answers” are extremely short and provide only the opinion of the author. While they introduce they issue they are discussing they do not provide any detailed background information that could support a scholarly research paper to the fullest extent. With their minimal credibility these particular articles could be used to help convey the idea in the paper and give it a variety of source information. They cannot provide solid evidence to the topic. The last two “Opposition to Shelter Rises” and “What Did Not Work: Effort to Centralize Homeless Services” offer the reader an in depth analysis of the issue and what is being done and what has been done to resolve it. “Opposition to Shelter Rises” combines the use of quotes from locals explaining why they do not want the homeless shelter in their neighborhood and facts about the issue to become a credible source in a scholarly research paper. “One-Stop Homeless Center on Meeting Agenda Today” gives a thorough examination of the issue on homelessness and provides solid specifics as to why it has gotten worse and recommendation on how to improve it. The facts and use of City Council ideas and opinions makes this article very credible when writing a research paper. Credibility in an article can be found not only its origin but in its content. If they content is merely opinionated and does not give facts on the topic it is most likely not a credible source to use in a research paper unless using it to further a point.

In Class Writing

The first article, Columbia Council Should Support Mission, Homeless, is effective in anaylzing the situation in a rhetorical manner. It provides evidence and claims as to why the problem is ongoing. Its use of examples gives the reader insight into why there is a problem in City Council regarding the homeless. The editorial offers support to thier claims with personal opinions and evidence. While the other editorials are effective in thier rhetorical analysis of the homeless issue they use other groups of people to demonstrate thier point. The second article focuses on the treatment of the Somali Banutu's and the third concerns the productivity of local buisnesses and thier part in the homeless issue. I think the first is the most effective because of its clear focus on why Columbia City Council denied Oliver Gospel Mission's request to have property rezoned and its effect on the homeless. It focuses on the topic and paints a full picture of the problem to the reader.

Short Writing Assignment #10

The three editorials are all very similar in their approach. All three are focused on promoting a change in the city’s homeless shelters. Each employs a similar style of supporting their factual evidence with ways of furthering the audience’s emotional response to the subject. The articles all center on helping the homeless. They focus on the aspects of what has happened in the past and why city council men have not accepted the change.
The first article informs the audience about Columbia City Council’s denial of Oliver Gospel Mission’s request to have property rezoned in order to relocate. The issue in question is the neighbors’ complaints of the shelter moving to the warehouse on Barnwell Street. The first article also determines the judgment of visitors to the city of Columbia based on the treatment of the homeless. It identifies the city Council’s flaw of seeking perfection in a place for the homeless shelter.
The second article combines the well being of Columbia’s homeless as well as the 120 Somali Bantus. The city has placed emphasis on supporting the Bantus while many of the city’s own are not being given the same. There is more attention on Oliver Gospel Mission in the second article and its hope for revival.
The third article offers more hope for the treatment of the homeless. Other organizations in the city such as Four Corners and The Salvation Army are presented as alternative help in this article. There is more focus on the business aspect of the organizations other then responsibility of just the City Council. It discusses the businesses hope of coming together to fight the cause.
While all three articles share the same outlook on the situation they find subtle ways to approach it differently. The first article informs while the second brings in another group of people in need to encourage support and the third talks of the local business owners’ way of reaching out. The rhetorical aspects of each article are subtle yet relevant to the cause and the editorials.

Short Writing Assignment #9

Since Gail Williamson’s has a child with Down syndrome it is easy to assume that she believes the word “retard” to be hate speech. It is sad to know that people with Down syndrome can be hurt by a simple word that often people use in light context. Whether the word is used unknowingly by kids on the school yard or by adults who fully understand what they are saying and choose to say it anyway, the word is still hurtful to those with Down syndrome. People should take a stand and work to remove the word from the media. Like Williamson’s says people with these types of disabilities don’t belong to a certain type of culture such as homosexuals. There needs to be a public stand taken against the word. Society needs to come together to fight the use of the word in movies and television because its continual use in the media will only foster more usage of the word.
However, sometimes a word is just a word. When kids use the term in describing something they maybe don’t like or something they think is lame or goofy they aren’t coinciding the term with the actual disability. Like the author said fourth graders often use the word on the playground. Maybe young kids don’t even know that the term “retard” is associated with people with Down syndrome. Perhaps they have grown up hearing the word as an adjective rather than a derogatory expression for those with a disability. I often find myself using the word, and when I catch myself I sometimes feel a pang of guilt but then I remember, I don’t use the word with the intention of hurting those with Down syndrome. In fact, when I use the word I often don’t even associate it with those with a disability. In some cases a word truly is just a word and most people don’t use it with malicious intent.

The Controversy behind Barbie

The issue in this exploratory paper is the controversy over Barbie. The controversy deals with what the Barbie doll represents. Over the years people have debated over whether or not Barbie is a suitable toy for young girls to play with because they feel it promotes poor body image. Since Barbie is a popular doll for children to play with and it has been since 1959. This leaves society with Barbie supporters and those who are anti-Barbie. The parts of the rhetorical situation that can be found in this paper are the three differing perspecitves. The author breaks the paper down into the perspectives of those who are anti-Barbie, Barbie supporters, and Barbie moderates. Those who are anti-Barbie argue feminism and the fact that Barbie promotes the importance of clothes and physical appearance. The supporters of Barbie say that Barbie is a fun part of growing up and a tradtion from the start. Those who are moderates on the issue believe Barbie is a scapegoat and that the doll cannot be blamed for all poor self esteem issues. The author explores all aspects of the controversy over the topic. The author is informing the audience, who is mainly anyone interested in the Barbie controversy, on the issue. Constraints of the paper could be the veiws of feminism and tradition. Barbie dolls have been around for a long time and have become part of the childhood experience for young girls. The author reveals herself to be a Barbie moderate. The author feels the issue is more complicated then good or bad.

In Class Writing

The most interesting thing I found while researching for my bibliography was an article I came across in current news. The article was a follow up on a previous editorial that recieved alot of feedback. The article was about safety in schools and the various forms of disciplines that administrators use. Many parents and local NYPD officials responded to the article because they were not pleased with the current handling of safety in schools. I found the editorial very interestnig because it showed many different sides to the issue of school safety. It showed teachers fearing violent students and therefore leaving an unstable atmosphere in the classroom. Much of school safety issues have to deal with violence among students such as the worry of students carrying guns, or threats. This article showed the view of teachers not knowing how to discipline students they fear because of potential law suits.

Annotated Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography
Classroom Killers? Hallway Hostages?
After a string of school tragedies in the late 1990’s Kenneth S. Trump decided to evaluate the meaning of these tragedies and examine what was being done to prevent future ones from occurring. The author is President and CEO of Natinoal School Safety and Security Services, therefore he can approach the issue of school safety with particular skills in the area. He explores the many ways in which schools can manage and prevent crisis’s from happening in the first place. Trump provides specific examples and precautions that can be taken in order to do this. This book is a guideline for school administrations that educates in an attempt to prevent crisis in schools.
I see Trump’s proposals to school safety as educated and informative. I feel he concluded with a well written how to guide that has the potential to change the safety issue in schools. I will use this book in my paper to show the specific approaches that can be taken. It will be helpful in presenting all aspects of the effects of school safety procedures. I will use this to further examine all the possible outcomes that can be avoided and helped in regards to student protection.
What Schools Ban and Why
Schools ban certain things for the well being of their students. Whether it is religion, websites, music, weapons, or books schools have their reasons for banning certain items on campus. School administrations do this to protect their students and insure that they receive the quality education they will need to survive in life. Proposal to ban things usually leads to controversy from the student body and even parents alike. The purpose of this book is to examine the ways in which particular bans spark controversy despite their intention of well being for the students. As the title suggests the author attempts to answer two questions. What is being banned and what kind of controversy will unfold surrounding the ban?
In researching school safety and the controversy that follows it I have noticed similar findings. The author attempts to provide a reason for the arguments that follow bans in schools. It is interesting to explore the other side of school safety. The side that hinders its existence in the form of protest and students rights. The book shows the reasoning behind some of the most common safety bans. I will use this in my paper to show the other side of school safety and the forces that make it somewhat difficult to fully advance. This book can be used to show the contrasting views in school safety circumstances.
Safe and Secure Schools: 27 Strategies for Prevention and Intervention
This book is directed towards School administrations in need of safer programs. It provides cost efficient ways that can help schools form a safer environment for its students. Brunner and Lewis use their combined experience in School administrations and law enforcements to inform schools how to make a friendly, welcoming environment that is secure for its students. This handbook provides practical strategies to help in forming safety committees, and creating security checklists and visitor screening procedures. It includes separate sections on staff training in areas that will help foster healthy mindsets for students.
This book offers relatable exercises that are doable by almost all types of school administrations. The fact that the authors come from law enforcement and school administration backgrounds makes the methods they suggest seem more accessible. This book will be useful in writing my paper because it will provide certain strategies that can be used in furthering safety in schools. The foreword of the book explains the unfortunate happenings such as the Columbine tragedy which shows the cause and effect aspect of this particular book.
School Crisis Prevention and Intervention
Mary Margaret Kerr answers the question “What can you do to prepare for potential crisis in your school?” While this book offers prevention strategies it also focuses on what to do if an actual tragedy strikes your school. The author decided to write this book after working at a school where as many as three death threats in surfaced in one week. While she writes to help schools avoid these types of incidents, she also writes to make sure that schools are prepared pending an actual crisis. She researches ways to help students get through these tragedies in the aftermath and help direct them back on the right education track. The book features case studies and discussion and application questions that offer reflection. The author provides a different type of help then just prevention; she provides preparation help which is equally as important in the face of school safety.
This book will be supportive in my paper because it will research the question of why school safety is so important. This is a main factor in the issue of school safety because it is the tragedies that unfold that raise the need for safety laws and regulations in schools. The question why is the beginning stage of the papers exploration into the realm of school safety.
Campus Security Situation Crime Prevention in High-Density Environment
This book was written in response to the United States public concern over violence on college campuses. It is mainly a survey of the campus safety at Temple University. Topics covered in this book are the level of crime on campuses, campus community within its setting, development of campus security systems. It also includes preventative measures, victimization surveys, perception of crime on campus and high definition geographic information systems. The authors of the book research the areas of where and when crime happens on campus. It studies numerous different colleges throughout the nation and researches their individual crime statistics. It studies campuses within its settings and other situational circumstances that surround certain crimes.
I will use this book to show statistics around national college campuses regarding campus safety and crime prevention. This book helps provide concrete evidence of the escalating violence surrounding schools. The points of view represented by the authors will support variety of the subject. The title insists upon situational crime prevention, therefore the use of this book will be to verify whether some school violence is situational or thought provoked.
Safe Schools: Crisis Prevention and Response
Written by a principal whose school and community went through several tragedies in one year this book offers advice on how to handle school violence. The book is created to teach administrators how to be prepared for crisis. It handles a step-by-step preparedness evaluation for school leaders so they know just how prepared their schools are. The author, Wanko, is a proactive leader who shares support and insight into the area of safety in schools. The book is designed to supply administrators with enough information to develop safety plans of their own. The author uses this book as an outlet for his own personal feelings towards the crimes that underwent his school. It is a helpful tool in establishing a safer environment for education.
This book handles the different forms of school crimes and what to do in the event of them. It is useful in seeking out particular forms of school safety and the effects of each type of crime that can plague a school. I will use this in my paper to show the various forms of safety precautions taken, or not taken by schools and what their impact is on the student body.
School safety debate hits a nerve - and demands action
In this editorial Errol Lewis writes a follow up to a previous article regarding safety in schools. Many readers, such as parents and teachers wrote to him with concerns for the issue. Most parents wrote in and said they felt the school systems were failing the students in safety and nothing was being done about it. Even former deputy chiefs in NYPD weighed in to advertise the problem of teachers in fear of disciplining their students because they are scared of their students. This brings about another aspect of school safety. When the teacher is afraid of his or her students how can they discipline and teach? It becomes the fear of law suits that stop some teachers from disciplining in ways children may need. The article explores different aspects of school safety that are sometimes taboo.
This article is important to my paper because it contributes another aspect of school safety. It shows the side of teachers fearing their students. For instance, when students become out of control not necessarily to harm others but to gain control in the educational environment. This brings another point to my paper. It shows the side of school safety often unseen in suburban settings but a vital part of school safety. A new view of school safety is seen in this article.

NASP Resources
This is a free website that helps children deal with unsettling events. A major topic presented is school safety and violence prevention. The website narrows down the topic into subcategories that deal specifically with the issue at hand. It provides tips for parents and teachers on how to talk to children on such traumatic events. It supports early warning signs and safeguarding the children. There is information on bullying due to the fact that bullying often leads to some form of school violence. There are tips on creating a safer school building and threat assessments. The website offers fact sheets, book reviews, links to school psychology centers and professional training.
This website will provide my paper with a parent’s view of school violence and safety precautions. The helpful resources provided by the website will inform my paper of specific facts and safety measures that can be taken in order to develop a safer place to learn.