assignment 16: Luke Taylor

In 2006, the NBA altered the draft requirements that changed the age of eligibility from 18 to 19 creating the “one and done rule” that has drastically shaken up the landscape of basketball ever since.

The One and done rule takes away the next generation of basketball stars’ choice to go straight to the NBA from high school, forcing them to choose between three options: Option 1. Play professionally in another country outside the United States but no one would actually do this because there isn’t a lot of publicity overseas making it difficult to boost a prospect draft stock. Option 2. Train by themselves for a year, which doesn’t make a lot of sense because the top athletes want to play against elite competition. Finally, option 3. Play college basketball, which is the most logical because it offers good competition and enough exposure to boost one’s drafts stock. This is one of those situations where someone gives you different options just for the sake of choice, but only gives you one logical option.

The one and done rule was created because the NBA was afraid of drafting the wrong people that could possibly waste expensive contracts. Before the one and done rule, high school basketball was not as publicized as it is now, so it was difficult for NBA teams to evaluate players because they weren’t playing elite competition that would challenge them. So, the NBA wanted these high school athletes to go to a place where they can compete on a national stage with good competition so they can evaluate them properly (I.E. college).

The second purpose of the one and done rule was to allow high school athletes the chance to develop mentally and physically. Going from a broke, relatively unknown high school student to becoming a millionaire, star in the NBA is a huge transition to make, so the NBA wanted those athletes to go to college and develop into adults capable of handling the heavy load of the NBA. The solution, however, the one and done rule, solves none of these problems.

The one and done rule has lost its effectiveness over time as the game of basketball has changed at the high school level. High school basketball is now receiving more media attention than ever from the hype around Ball family to the dunks and crossovers that go viral all over social media, people now are starting to pay more and more attention.

Another factor into the publicity of high schoolers, is the AAU circuit. AAU basketball is made up of independent groups across the United States that form teams and participate in tournaments all around under the control of the AAU, or the amateur athletic union. This is now how high school athletes get exposure. The top teams with the top prospects get invited to tournaments all around, allowing athletes playing against the top competition from everywhere. This platform allows scouts to properly asses the skills of athletes from all around.

Now to address how the high school athletes of today are more mature and are ready for the mental aspects of the NBA. The top players of high school have more opportunities available to prepare themselves for the life of a NBA player. Most of the top players now opt out of regular high school and go to prep-schools. Prep-schools are private boarding schools that provide athletes a college-like setting in high school that prepares them to be more independent in a competitive basketball environment.

 For example, Montverde Academy in Florida is a high-profile school that the top high school athletes pursue. The likes of D’Angelo Russel, Ben Simmons, and Joel Embiid all of whom after graduating Montverde went on and became one and done players. Embiid missed a chunk of his college season and was selected 3^rd overall in the 2014, Ben Simmons was the 1^st pick overall in the 2016 draft and many scouts said he was “bored and college” and was ready to be a pro. For these players and many more, the college experience was not essential to their development.

So, these athletes who have been dreaming of the day they get drafted have little to no interest in getting a college degree and they only decide to go to college because of the one and done rule. The NCAA only requires a 1.8 GPA for academic eligibility for those athletes. This takes the student out of student athlete; any person could just waltz into a college class and breathe to get a 1.8 GPA and stay eligible. Ben Simmons got a 1.8 in the first semester and didn’t even bother showing up to the second semester classes because he didn’t need them and they were a waste of his time. Simmons had no time to study with all the work outs, practices, and games; frankly, he wasn’t interested because he was focused on being drafted by an NBA team.

This all benefits the schools that these athletes attend because the top-rated recruits allow institutions to gain publicity and national exposure, which can in turn lead to more cash through merchandise and ticket sales. This harms the lesser name student athletes who would actually use those scholarships because they want to earn a degree in college but still want to play basketball at a high division 1 level.

The top recruits that are one and done material are put at risk because a lot can happen in a year to negatively affect their NBA opportunities.  Players have a chance of being injured and jeopardizing their NBA careers, and the sad thing about it is a lot of the players come from dirt poor homes so this is how they plan on taking care of their families. Consider the case of Inky Johnson who for his whole life was working toward being a player in the National Football league.  He saw how his mom had to work extra shifts and pick him up 1 to 2 hours late every night after his football practices and made up in his mind that he was going to use that time to work extra hard then and make it to the pros so he wouldn’t have to see his mother work like that anymore. Time passes and now he is playing at the university of Tennessee and he’s become one of the top prospects in the country, his dream of playing in the NFL is almost a reality when he gets hit too hard and a blood vessel in his arm is popped causing it to be paralyzed which caused him to quit football forever. The athletes who are forced into college are missing out on the cash they get when they get drafted.

The players aren’t getting enough out of the one and done situation, because these athletes aren’t getting paid. While people say the athletes are getting paid with the scholarship, the money there is not nearly as much as the money they could be earning in the NBA. The last pick in the 1^st round gets around a 3 million dollar contact while the first can make up to 15 million. If these athletes really wanted an education they could pay for it themselves so they can always go back to college and get a degree.

I think the situation could be fixed in two different ways. The first is to extend the requirement to two years in college because in a lot of cases, one year doesn’t really allow athletes to mature and develop in the way that NBA scouts want. For example, University of Kentucky Center Demarcus Cousins was drafted 5^th overall in the 2010 draft. However, He was completely out of control during his first couple years, seeming like he would fight anyone on the court that looked at him the wrong way. He needed an extra year in college to get his act together to save the League from embarrassment.

The second way to fix the problem is to get rid of the one and done rule all together and just let the high school athletes go straight to the pros, but have them take a class in the summer about time management and how to properly budget their money. I think this will be the best solution because it gives the kids more freedom and more choice.

Assignment 16: Eli Wrinn

At point guard: Tyler Ulis. at shooting guard: Devin Booker, also at guard: Jamal Murray, at power forward: Trey Lyles, and at center: Karl-Anthony Towns. Yes, this could be the starting lineup for the Kentucky Men’s Basketball Team this year if all players were forced to stay for all four years in college. For those of you who don’t know, this would be an incredibly good team. It would most likely roll to a national championship this year. Some people may even argue, myself included, that it would be an NBA playoff team. As a UK fan, I would love nothing more than for this to happen. However, as an objective lover of the sport and proponent of effective education, this would probably not be the best option for the players themselves.

            The dream team mentioned earlier wouldn’t be as dominant if that were the situation, given that other teams would be incredibly strong as well. For example, Duke could start Tyus Jones, Grayson Allen, Brandon Ingram, Justice Winslow, and Jahlil Okafor: another incredible team. But they are already helping NBA teams win games each night, and that is what is most important to them: earning money for their extreme talents. They were ready to play at the highest level without four years of experience. The other years would be a waste of time, and they would also risk injury, which could seriously affect their careers. Also, a requirement to stay in college would cause many players to play overseas before entering the draft. Examples of successful players like this are Kobe Bryant, Tony Parker, and Pau Gasol. This means that they went straight into the NBA and didn’t even have a chance to influence or experience college basketball.

            This is not to say that every player should be rushed to the NBA. In fact, I think players leaving too early is much more of a problem than staying in college too long. One of the things I dislike the most about the NBA today is young athletes playing undisciplined basketball and getting hurt or having their game fall off. Many failure stories of players rushed to the NBA from college exist. From the last few years of Kentucky basketball some examples are Archie Goodwin, Isaiah Briscoe, and Doron Lamb. All three of these players did not complete four years of college basketball and are currently not on an NBA team.

            The one and done rule requires American basketball players to be one year removed from high school or age 19 before entering the draft, usually causing them to attend one year of college before entering the NBA Draft. Before this rule, of course, the famous examples of high school players going straight to the NBA and dominating such as LeBron James and Tracy McGrady occurred.  However, I agree with the rule and do not believe that players should be allowed to enter the NBA straight out of high school. They are simply not prepared. Also college teaches valuable lessons to the kids that they can use their whole lives such as money management, hard work, and discipline, all which can be seen in a player’s character and play. Finally, the product of college basketball would be greatly damaged due to a loss of talent.

            The answer to this issue is quite simple: keep the rule intact, and maintain a more “players first” approach to the developing of talent. Another problem that many people see in the nature players leaving their teams constantly is that a lack of continuity exists in college basketball. It seems like with every year a new team arrives which has to learn the school’s system and learn to play together. No solution exists to this under the current one-and-done rule for the heavy recruiters such as John Calipari, head coach of the Kentucky Basketball Team. Coaches can’t simply start to recruit worse players so they will stay for four years. The only solution is to embrace this discontinuity. The coaches must treat college basketball as a training system for future professionals. This is what the high-caliber programs such as Kentucky, Kansas, and Duke have done recently and they have experienced no lack of success or level of play. Think of college basketball in terms of a college class. What is a college class but heavy preparation for the professional level of the subject? What makes college basketball any different?

            How is this done? It requires a heavy focus on player development and possible success at the next level. Enduring through a long season and many hard-fought games is great preparation for the NBA, and it is already provided for all college athletes. This is not provided at such a level for high school or AAU players. Additionally, the NBA draft should help with this process. The NBA should provide players with more information on how their career would pan out if they were to enter the draft. They should also get feedback and tips from scouts to work on in college games. Finally, in my opinion, college coaches should encourage their players, that “when in doubt, stay in college.” This would not only improve the players’ game when they got to the NBA, the college game would retain more talent.

            Many people believe that college basketball is a waste of time for extremely talented players. They believe the one-and-done rule should be eliminated and that the players should be able to choose when they want to become professional and begin earning money as soon as possible. After all, it is a free market. However, leaving the rule in place would not only improve the college and professional games, but also having just one year of the college experience would greatly help the players develop for long term success on and off the court.  

Assignment 16: Sam Underwood

What comes to mind when you first think of the word “feminist”? Angry? Argumentative? The list goes on. Feminism was a foreign word to me until recently. That being a topic relating closely to the equality in treatment of women socially and economically. I have always been aware of the issue of sexual harassment, but it felt like it was something that could never actually affect the lives of those around me. As I’ve grown into being a young adult,  I’ve been exploring the liberties and freedoms that come with it. Having a job, driving, staying out late. As much fun as these are I’ve come to realize the dangers that come with them. I never dreamed that at  my job i would receive the advice to carry a pocket knife on me for the walk to the parking lot. That while exploring the liberty of driving, I’d be catcalled at a gas station at 8:00am in the morning by seemingly drunk older men. And that I would find myself in the scenario of while walking to my car, out late, and finding a man blatantly following me to it. These instances scary as they may be are only glimpses at what it is like to be a woman in today’s society.

Victim Blaming is when the victim of a crime or any wrongful act is held entirely or partially responsible for the harm of that crime against them. Time after time again, Americans victim blame those who have been sexually harassed or raped. In 2011, The rape case of a young girl in texas became a famous example of this. The 11 year old girl, unnamed , was repeatedly and violently raped. The defense lawyer and several news sources took the stance of describing her to be a “seductress who lured men to their doom.” The New York Times posted an article comparing her to a spider luring a fly into its’ trap it says “Like the spider and the fly. Wasn't she saying, 'Come into my parlor'” This not only relieves blame from the rapist but places it on the victim. This is obviously damaging because it can prevent justice from being done.

What were they wearing?

This is a question often asked of sexual violence victims. Often the blame of the crime gets put upon how revealing or scandalous the victim’s clothing may be. The University of Kansas’s recent art exhibit published victim’s stories and the clothing they were wearing to shed light on how harmful victim blaming can be. The exhibit showcase ranges from bikinis, work clothes, hoodies, business attire, to even children’s clothing. This highlights that anyone can fall victim to this crime.

Sexual Violence affects people of all ages and gender. Of those with developmental disabilites, 83% of women and 32% of men have experienced sexual violence   often from a caregiver or family member. Sexual Violence can cause a multitude of negative effects ranging from depression, ptsd, stds, unwanted pregnancies. It’s clear to see how harmful of an issue this is.

So why is it that I still hear rape jokes? One in every four women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime and one in every six will experience rape.  that doesn’t seem very funny to me.

The answer is society doesn’t take issues of sexual violence seriously enough. They are more often seen as debate topics as to who’s to blame than crimes. A campaign done by the National Women’s Organization called “Take Rape Seriously” has the goal to use the media coverage that sexual violence has gained in the past years to educate people on the harmful effects of victim blaming and how it normalizes the issue of sexual harassment and rape.

So what do we do moving forward? American Society must see sexual violence for the issue it is. Correct sexual education and media coverage, and longer and harsher prison sentences for those who have committed acts of sexual violence would aid this. All in all, Americans need to realize sexual violence for what it is and who is to blame for it.

Bibliography:

Vagianos, Alanna. “Art Exhibit Powerfully Answers The Question 'What Were You Wearing?'.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 15 Sept. 2017, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/powerful-art-exhibit-powerfully-answers-the-question-what-were-you-wearing_us_59baddd2e4b02da0e1405d2a.

“It's Time To Take Rape Seriously.” NOW-NYC |, 9 Nov. 2016, nownyc.org/violence-against-women/take-rape-seriously/.

“Effects of Sexual Violence.” Effects of Sexual Violence | RAINN, www.rainn.org/effects-sexual-violence.

“Did The New York Times Blame the 11-Year-Old Victim of a Texas Gang Rape?” Ms. Magazine Blog, 9 Mar. 2011, msmagazine.com/blog/2011/03/09/did-the-new-york-times-blame-the-11-year-old-victim-of-a-texas-gang-rape/.

Assignment 16: Megan Meadors

Si je parle en français, c’est possible que tu n’as pas aucune idée qu’est-ce que je dis. Mais si je parle en anglais, tu peux comprendre.

Now, if you didn’t understand what I just said, that’s okay. Most people in this room probably don’t. To clarify, what I just said was “If I speak in French, it’s possible that you have no idea what I’m saying. But if I speak in English, you can understand. Though it wasn’t perfect, it’s a start, and learning the language is half the struggle.

That struggle is faced by high school students every day who fight their way through passing two years of a foreign language. But why is this the end goal? There’s so many things you can do with a foreign language. First of all, it allows you to communicate with other people who don’t speak English but that’s the obvious reason. Why not strive to succeed in today’s global society? And that brings me to the matter at hand. Why don’t we put more emphasis on bilingualism? Today I am going to explain how speaking multiple languages is important to society, how we can learn languages better at a younger age, and why we should foster the ability to speak multiple languages.

First, the importance of bilingualism. Now, just so everyone is on the same page, a person who is bilingual is a person who can speak two languages. And no, I’m not bilingual exactly, but I am working on learning French. I’m currently in Francais Avance (or AP French) meaning I am at the highest level of French offered at Henry Clay. This is crazy! Not only that I’m in the highest level of French but that this is the highest level of French offered in High school. This can be compared to a French 301 college course, which are typically aimed towards learning about society and culture through events, figures, monuments, laws, texts, religion, marriage, sexuality, and identities.

But this being the highest level shows just how little we learn of a language before we graduate. This isn’t exactly a good thing though. It is projected that by the year 2025, 1/3 of our public school kids won’t speak English when they start kindergarten. With most children not beginning to learn a foreign language until late middle school or early high school, there is an emphasis on learning all in English. But that only makes it harder for students who don’t speak English when they start school. They then must learn English quickly and catch up to their peers through ESL or English Second Language programs. Though it is difficult, these students will eventually catch up and they often perform better in English than in their native or home language.

That might sound weird, being better at a language you learn through school than the language you speak at home, but this a reality for some children. Though they are fluent in speaking their native tongue, some lack the ability to read or write in this language. But there are more ways to learn a language than just sitting in a classroom.

And this brings me to my second topic: How we can teach languages better starting at a younger age. Having French for one hour each day starting in high school isn’t as effective as other methods. Immersion programs are an amazing way to introduce children to a language. Imagine this: Walking into a classroom on your first day of kindergarten and your teacher welcomes the class. « Bonjour à tous! Bienvenue à votre premier jour en ma classe! Je m’appelle Madame Meadors. J’espère que vous passez bien l’été ! Cette année, vous commencez avec votre éducation en français! » Now, you’re six years old and you’re already terrified of your first day of school. You look around at all the other kids in your class wondering what you’ve gotten yourself into.

          For anyone who doesn’t speak French, you’re in the same situation as this child. But for those of us who do, it’s possible that you can understand what I said but maybe you’re not able to reply, and that’s okay. And this brings me to my next point: Why we should foster speaking two languages. In today’s global society, there are more interactions between companies and different countries. This means that a language barrier would be even more prevalent than just in normal day to day life. With the rest of the world learning multiple languages, the likelihood of the other party speaking English is fairly high, but why are we depending upon that?

Back in the classroom of confused six year olds, the teacher continues: « Je vais expliquer les règles de ma classe. Quand vous entrez la salle de classe, vous mettez les sacs à dos a cote de la mur. » The next thing you know, your teacher who is speaking a completely different language is pointing at you and you have no idea what she just said. She says your name and gestures for you to come to her. You stand and then she points at your backpack. Confused, you just stand there staring blankly at your teacher and looking to your classmates for help. Your teacher then walks over, points at your backpack and says something. You then nod, because we all know that’s what you do in a situation where you didn’t understand someone. She then picks up your backpack and hands it to you.

Wait! She just asked if that’s your backpack! Beaming with happiness that you might have understood something she said, you end up following the teacher because she gestured for you to follow her. The aha moment quickly passes when she starts talking and you’re confused all over again, but you finally learned something!

Even though this style of learning is becoming more prevalent in society, some parents and teachers believe that learning two languages at the same time will lengthen the amount of time it will take for a child to master each language. But this is actually one of the best ways to learn a language – as long as you start young. Just like when you are a baby, learning languages comes naturally. Your brain begins to associate sounds and words with different objects as you learn them. In a study of monolingual versus bilingual babies, it was found that when listening to a string of syllables specific to both English and Spanish, the monolingual baby who was surrounded by English specialized in processing syllables in English while the bilingual baby was specialized in processing both English and Spanish syllables. Using these skills starting when you’re younger is extremely beneficial. In a study by Monika Schmid, a Professor of Linguistics at the University of Essex, she found that adults who are learning a second language often pick up on complex grammar rules while forgetting the simple and more common rules while children often have a much easier time picking up on these grammar rules, showing just how important it is to start early when learning a foreign language.             

          In conclusion, it is important to our society that we place a heightened importance on learning foreign languages, begin learning foreign languages at a younger age, and foster the ability to speak multiple languages. If we start learning languages young and implement more programs, such as the immersion program I discussed earlier, then we can become better global citizens. With the youth in today’s society starting young and learning more languages then we as a country can become more competitive in today’s global society. 

Bibliography

“AP French Course and Exam Description.” The College Board, 2013.

         United Nations. “U.S. Population (LIVE).” U.S. Population (2017, 2018), Worldometers, 2017, www.worldometers.info/world-population/us-population/.

“Bilingualism and Multilingualism”. Performance by Samuel Aguirre, Bilingualism and Multilingualism, TEDx, 15 Apr. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr_ekwQyt2k.

Burton, James. “The Most Spoken Languages In America.” WorldAtlas, 25 Apr. 2017, www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-most-spoken-languages-in-america.html.

“Creating Bilingual Minds.” Performance by Naja Ferjan Ramirez, Creating Bilingual Minds, TEDx, 8 Feb. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp2Fvkt-TRM.

“Don't Insist on English.” Performance by Patricia Ryan, Don't Insist on English, TED, 25 July 2013, www.ted.com/talks/patricia_ryan_ideas_in_all_languages_not_just_english/up-next.

Hidasi, Judit. “Early Childhood Foreign Language Education in Hungary.” Child Research Net, Benesse Educational Research and Development Institute, 25 Sept. 2009, www.childresearch.net/projects/ecec/2009_01.html.

Jarmel, Marcia, and Ken Schneider. Speaking in Tongues. Speaking in Tongues, Independent Filmmaker Project, 2 Aug. 2010, www.speakingintonguesfilm.info/.

Jones, Paul Anthony. “The World's Top 20 Languages.” Mental Floss, 25 Aug. 2015, mentalfloss.com/article/67766/worlds-top-20-languages-and-words-english-has-borrowed-them.

Ramirez, Naja Ferjan. “Why the Baby Brain Can Learn Two Languages at the Same Time.” The Conversation, 15 Apr. 2016, theconversation.com/why-the-baby-brain-can-learn-two-languages-at-the-same-time-57470.

Schmid, Monika. “The Best Age to Learn a Second Language.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 8 Feb. 2016, www.independent.co.uk/news/education/the-best-age-to-learn-a-second-language-a6860886.html.

 “The Benefits of a Bilingual Brain”. Performance by Mia Nacamuili, The Benefits of a Bilingual Brain, TEDEd, 23 June 2017, ed.ted.com/lessons/how-speaking-multiple-languages-benefits-the-brain-mia-nacamulli#review.

Assignment 16: Elizabeth Piper

Brett Favre. A legend in the football world. He will forever be known as one of the best quarterbacks and will be immortalized in the pro football hall of fame. But there is much more to the story than just his fame and success as a football star. As many of you know football is a very rough sport that results in many injuries. Favre was no stranger to this, throughout his career he had a plethora surgeries and injuries and was almost always in pain. To cope with this, he was prescribed opioids like Vicodin. This drug gives off a sensation of pure pleasure and you feel warm and tingly after taking it. In one word it is addicting. After a while taking just one pill doesn’t give off the same euphoric effect because you become immune. You start taking more and more. This is exactly what Brett Favre did. At one point he was taking up to 15 pills a day. A bottle that was supposed to last a month was 30 pills and he was going through this in 2 days. The final straw was when he was in the hospital for surgery and he had a seizure due to all of the painkillers in his system. Luckily, he survived but others have not been so lucky. It is an epidemic.

          Today prescription drugs are handed out like candy, some doctors will willingly just prescribe pain killers to a patient if they just simply ask. Professional athletes are also just being handed these drugs so they can play for longer and organizations such as the NFL and NBA can continue to make money. As well as athletes, the younger generation are taking these prescription drugs as a fun activity to do with friends. As you can clearly see this wave of prescription drug abuse is affecting everyone in the country.

          From 1999 to 2001 the number of prescriptions pertaining to opioids and pain killers rose by 20 million and in 2003 nearly 200 million prescriptions for opioids were filled. This is a staggering number and it is still increasing today. In the early 1900s there used to be legislation that made it illegal to give opioid medications to patients who claim they suffer from chronic pain.

          In the 1980s there was a call for change and opioids were becoming more mainstream and accepted in the medical field. Dr. William Hurwitz is a prime example of a doctor who abused his power of giving out prescriptions. In 2004 he was convicted by the government for excessively prescribing addictive opioid pain medication. Some of his patients ended up abusing the medication and became addicted or they sold the pills on the black market.

          Now this doctor claims that his patients had chronic pain and he just took them all at their word and just openly gave them medicine. His method was to just give them a bigger dosage whenever they said that the medicine started to not work and the pain was still constant. Now this was a big mistake. Hurwitz shouldn’t have just given every patient what they wanted just if they asked. Now the real problem is that there is no way to measure pain. We do not have any special machines to tell us how much pain someone is in. This means that doctors just had to go at the word of the people. But if your patient was to tell you they were in pain you should do some digging. Ask them questions to try to verify whether their claims are true. Rather than just openly asking about the pain. This would hopefully drop the number of patients who have access to opioids just for the purpose of misusing them.

          From the normal everyday citizen to famous athletes and celebrities abuse of prescription pain killers is everywhere. Especially in the NFL, many athletes get hurt during the season, this causes the NFL to lose money. So, to cope with this, the NFL has been known to give its athletes bottle upon bottles of opioids. Their thought process is if they are constantly on pain killers then they won’t feel pain and then they can play even longer therefore making more revenue. In a study done by ESPN, it was found that 63% of players who was on prescription medication said they got it from a non-medical source. Players said they would often get them outside the locker room or even in it at times by other players and members of the NFL. It is now the norm just to take these pills that no one really finds fault in it till later when these retired players become addicted and start to have mental health issues and their quality of life is deteriorating.

          These athletes’ lives are publicized in the news and you often hear stories of athletes and celebrities who have overdosed or got seriously hurt through misusing prescription drugs. Everyone can see these stories and it is affecting our children today. Many adolescents today find it “cool” to misuse prescription drugs.  They enjoy the high they get when taking it and it is relatively easy to get. They view these drugs as safe and perfectly legal. Their thought process is that the medication comes from a doctor so how could it be bad for you. Most students never consider using heroin because it is perceived as dangerous but these prescription drugs are perfectly okay.

          This shows a lack in education. Adolescents have not been properly informed of the impact of becoming addicted to pain killers. One of the biggest aids to in students getting a hold of medicine is parents. They often leave the medicine cabinet unguarded which leaves it open for kids to take what they please. Parents are not aware of the epidemic and they just openly leave unused medications around. We need to raise their awareness. They will openly give their kids different medication and they will not closely monitor them taking their medicine so it is easy for them to abuse it or sell it to their friends and other students.

          In my school experience we have always had assemblies about saying no to drugs. But never once have they mentioned prescription drugs. Yes, we learn not to use heroin or cocaine among other illegal drugs but what about the legal ones. It is so much easier to get ahold of these and they can have detrimental effects.

          We need to stop the spread of opioid addiction. We need to inform the population of the harm that misusing these medications cause. Everywhere today we see commercials and advertisement about how harmful tobacco products are. You can never escape these. This is what we need to do for misusing prescription drugs. Today, people are so willing to just openly take prescription drugs and abusing them. We need to just say no.

Works Cited

Barr, John. “OTL: Painkiller misuse numbs NFL pain.” ESPN, http://www.espn.com/espn/eticket/story?page=110128/painkillersnews. Accessed 25 July 2017

“Brett Favre Opens Up About Painkiller Addiction | Promises.” Drug and Addiction Treatment Centers | Promises, Promises Treatment Centers, 5 Aug. 2016, www.promises.com/articles/brett-favre-opens-up-about-painkiller-addiction-on-eve-of-hall-of-fame-ceremony/.

Kelley, Steve. NFL Prescription Drug Abuse. 22 May 2014. http://www.gocomics.com/stevekelley/2014/5/22. Accessed 25 July 2017

Marson, Eve, director. Dr. Feelgood. Asylum Entertainment, 2016.

Schachter, Ron. “A New Prescription for Fighting Drug Abuse.” District Administration, vol. 48, no. 2, Feb. 2012, pp. 41-46. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=7140197&site=ehost-live. Accessed 25 July 2017

Taylor, Trusandra. "Targeting Prescription Drug Abuse--A New Federal Initiative." Behavioral Health Management, vol. 24, no. 4, Jul/Aug2004, pp. 37-40. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=15027162&site=ehost-live. Accessed 25 July 2017.

Assignment 16: Katie Chen

When I was kid, my friends and I liked to play pretend as Disney Princesses. At the beginning of the game, we would go around and pick which princess we wanted to be. Jenny wanted to be Cinderella because she was blonde and liked shoes, Brittany wanted to be Ariel because she liked to swim, and I wanted to be Snow White because animals liked her. But before I could say who I wanted to be, my friends turned to me and said “You can be Mulan”. Needless to say, these people are no longer my friends.

Now this wasn’t necessarily Jenny and Brittany’s fault, a large chunk of the blame does go to the princesses themselves. A study done by the Brigham Young University revealed how engaging with Disney princess culture could affect young children’s perception of the world around them. Today, we’ll discuss how Disney princesses perpetuate gender stereotypes, feed body image and self-esteem issues, and enforce racial stereotypes to young children.

When you ask most young girls what they want to dress up as for Halloween, their response is most likely something along the lines of “fairy” or “princess” or maybe even the word “glitter”. You rarely ever hear of a little girl saying she wants to dress up as Captain America or Iron Man. Why is this? BYU family life professor Sarah Coyne shows how Disney princesses can influence preschoolers to be more susceptible to potentially damaging stereotypes. She conducted a study in which 198 preschoolers were asked if they had interacted with Disney princess culture in any way. The study found that 96 percent of girls and 87 percent of boys had been exposed to Disney princess media. The assessment also included the children to rank their favorite toys, ranging from traditional “girl” toys (such as dolls and tea sets) all the way to traditional “boy” toys (such as action figures and nerf guns). For both boys and girls “more interactions with the princesses predicted more female gender-stereotypical behavior a year later.” Those that had more exposure to Disney princesses, consistently ranked the traditional “girl” toys at the top, solidifying this correlation between Disney and gender stereotypes.

The cause of this increase in gender stereotyping isn’t that obscure. We’re all familiar with the common fairy tale plot line: a pretty princess gets rescued by a Prince Charming who has slain the evil, ugly wicked witch. With clear archetypes such as the “damsel in distress” and the “evil villain” prevalent throughout childhood, traditional princess movies generally end in the girl needing to be saved by a man and them falling in love. Sounds pretty ridiculous if you ask me. Whatever happened to the strong, independent, badass women we see in our world every single day? Because of this lack of empowering female role models in the Disney universe, most young girls tend to lose their confidence as they get older.

Not only is this shortage of strong female characters causing self-confidence to plummet, but the impossible body standards of princesses also contribute to lower and lower body-esteem issues in young girls. In the Brigham Young study, it was found those who interacted most with Disney princesses showed worse self-esteem about their bodies as time went on. As women, we often hear of the “ideal thin” that’s seen in magazines and movies our whole lives. Some of the first exposure we get of this beauty standard is from Disney princesses themselves.

And it’s not just the incredibly small waistlines of the princesses that set the impossible standard for women- it’s the anatomically unattainable proportions. Artist Meredith Viguet created a series showing her audience how to illustrate Disney princess-esque characters. Viguet starts with the body type, in which the average body of a princess is “toothpick thin and waistless with feet that are absolutely tiny” in comparison with a regular woman’s figure. After bodies, she moves on to faces and starts with what she calls the “Sugar Cookie Style.” Most notable for the massive, bulbous eyes and full, womanly lips (regardless of one’s age), the “Sugar Cookie Style” produces a more child-like and feminine aura to the character.

Author Peggy Orenstein writes that an obsession with beauty and these impractical proportions increase girls’ “vulnerability to issues including eating disorders, depression, and risky sexual behavior.” The Barbie thin, perfectly proportioned, flawless, predominantly white characters often contribute to a harmful idea of beauty.

Which brings me to my next point, as a Disney fanatic throughout pretty much my entire childhood, I constantly tried to find a princess, or even just a character, who looked like me. You can imagine my disappointment when the only Asian character I could find was Mulan. So I really couldn’t blame Jenny and Brittany that much because there was only one option for me racially. I remember feeling upset and confused as to why there were mostly white princesses but only one Chinese princess. As of 2016, Disney named 11 official princesses, yet only 4 of them are non-white, with them emerging just in the past 30 years. Let’s put that into perspective. Founded in 1923, it took Disney 70 years to have its first non-white character appear in a film.  This absence of diversity among Disney characters only further enforces racial stereotypes at such a young age.

However, in the recent years, Disney has since improved from its age of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. We’re starting to see more strong, female characters rise up such as Merida and Tiana. The addition of Moana into the Disney clan not only increases Disney’s racial diversity, but the Disney body type as well. Unlike most princesses, Moana isn’t impossibly thin with demure, feminine shoulders, but rather athletic with strong, broad shoulders. She’s independent, fierce, and doesn't rely on a man to save her. As for exposing children to the world of Disney and everything that comes with it, researcher Alvin Poussant suggests “everything in moderation”. It’s only taken them 79 years, but Disney’s finally headed in the right direction and hopefully they will continue to do so.