News For the Week of 4/19

Hillary for President

Lerer, Lisa.  "Clinton Patches Up Relations With Liberals During Beginning Of Campaign".  19 April, 2015.  Web.  19 April, 2015.

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Hillary Clinton’s run for president this year is quite different from last year.  Hillary’s views have shifted to the left, aligning with the liberal ideals.  Hillary has become the change that the liberal wing has been waiting for.  Hillary has now stated her support for same-sex marriage, and her support of immigrants with legal registrations.  Hillary has received some skepticism of how committed she is to her promises, due to her old views and opinions.  For the most part, Hillary has received praise for her campaigns and speeches from democratic politicians.  Hillary is still facing setbacks from her gender and old statements, and some doubt that she really believes in the majority of liberal values.

I think that having a woman president is a monumental step in history that absolutely needs to happen now.  I think that there is some risk that she may not be as liberal as she says she is, but I believe the possibility of having a female president is worth the risk.  If Hillary is elected, it will set off a chain reaction in the feminist movement.  I believe Hillary’s victory is very much a possibility, seeing as she will most likely receive a considerably large percentage of the vote of female voters.  I believe that it is imperative that Hillary wins the election, as she will be the first female president in American history, and she has already served as secretary of the state.  I am pleased with her progress in her campaign, and I support her in her run for presidency.

Standardized Testing in NYS

Thompson, Carolyn. "Thousands Likely To Sit Out New York English, Math Tests". 13 April, 2015. Web. 19 April, 2014.

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New York’s standardized testing has become a hot topic lately, due to the increasing numbers of students being opted out.  In Buffalo, a growing group of concerned parents have been organizing mass numbers of opt outs, in the hopes that it will force the state to deem them inefficient.  Tens of thousands of students are being opted out of the ELA and math exams state-wide.  The standardized test not only affect the students, but the teachers as well.  Teachers are being evaluated based on the performance of their students.  This has raised many complaints from parents, students, and teachers alike.  The number of standardized tests have increased over the last few years, and have become even more strict.

I am very excited by this movement, and I hope it succeeds.  The principal concept of standardized tests is horribly flawed and incredibly stupid.  No two brains are alike, and no two people learn the same way, and expecting children to only learn one way is ridiculous.  The weight of these tests are just as ludicrous.  Students are judged on how well they can study, and not how much they know, and their entire lives are based off of a number.  Too much emphasis is being placed on grades.  Some students have straight A’s yet are unable to pass a standard test.

Beauty Standards

Bahadur, Nina. "Kelsey Higley's 'Manipulated' Shows What It Would Be Like If You Could Mold Your Body Like Clay". 17 April, 2015. Web. 19 April, 2015.

Link to Article

Art student Kelsey Higley has made an insightful video demonstrating beauty standards for women.  In Kelsey’s video she is made of clay, and sculpts her body to match the beauty standards that society has set.  The goal of her video is to show how ridiculous it is to try and make yourself look how others want you to.  Kelsey’s art project also includes other representations of society and it’s standards.  Kelsey includes paintings of what was considered beautiful throughout history.  Her project shows how much image changes over time, and helps people accept themselves.

I love this video, it is well-done and has great editing.  I think too much pressure is placed on women to please men.  Men expect women to look appealing for them, when women should only be dressing and acting for themselves.  The media’s use of photoshop is unacceptable.  The media has gone so far as to manipulate pictures of women so much that the proportions are physically impossible to achieve, causing a rise in eating disorders, and low self-esteem among girls and women.  This is extremely important because young girls are being exposed to these behaviors from birth, and are brainwashed into thinking that they are normal things to do.