Essay 3 Topic and Questions

LGBT---------------people having trouble coming out about being homosexual-----LGBT teens afraid of coming out due to the "glamorization" of a homosexual lifestyle and the repercussions of how it actually is 

1. When is it healthy to "come out?"
2. Is being homosexual (or part of the community) genetic?
3. Is dating someone of the same sex harmful at an early age?
4. When does someone first realize that they have feelings for someone of the same sex?
5. Where do feelings for the same sex come from?
6. Is it worse holding in feelings if they are for same sex partners?
7. What are the suicide rates for LGBT teens due to fear?
8. How realistic are LGBT characters in film or television?
9. Do LGBT characters get equal representation in film/TV?
10. Is the LGBT community dramatized due to being "comedic relief"? 

Summary

Tori Sheffer

ENGW 1011

Prof. Young

April 4th, 2017

Summary

The first article I read was from The Guardian, and it talked about how President Trump wants to abolish the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). According to the article, “President Trump said during the campaign that he would like to abolish the EPA or ‘leave a little bit’,” (Nelsen). President Trump plans on abolishing the EPA and getting rid of all the work the Obama administration did to preserve it. A fortunate thing about the Environmental Protection Agency is that it is not an organization that can be destroyed via a “magic wand,” (Nelson). The EPA is too large of an agency to be taken down overnight. Myron Ebell, head of Trump’s EPA team, said that, “agency’s environmental research, reports and data would not be removed from its website, but climate education material might be changed or “withdrawn”,” (Nelson). Ebell believes the Obama administration did not draw accurate conclusions when arriving at their final decision, and he believes the “mid-term review” would be reopened by the Trump administration. Ebell also states that Trump could cut each state’s funding from the EPA by ten percent. Taking down the EPA, though, is a long term goal of Trump and his staff.

The second article entitled “We knew Trump wanted to gut the EPA. A leaked plan shows how it would be done,” talks more about the specifics of the plan devised by President Trump and his administration staff to reopen the review of the EPA and hopefully find evidence to successfully take it down. According to the second article, there have been documents leaked tracing back to Trump and his administration's plan to destroy the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The article reports of an estimated rise in staffing cuts of up to twenty-five percent. The article also touches on the importance of the number of programs within the EPA that are facing the threat of being cut; an estimated fifty programs are awaiting the Trump administration’s decisions. The article mentions a statement made by David Goldston, director of government affairs at the Natural Resources Defense Fund (NRDF). Goldston says that, “while the memo “doesn’t change the overall picture from what we already knew,” the new details demonstrate the Trump administration’s intention “to basically eviscerate the agency. It … is part of an ideological crusade against the EPA and its mission”” (Frostenson). Both articles seem to revolve around the same theme: Trump and his administration plan to eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as whole, slowly but surely. The article by Sarah Frostenson also mentions Scott Pruitt’s, EPA Administrator, thoughts on the EPA as a whole. Frostenson sheds light on statements made by Pruitt such as him repeatedly saying, “he wants states to take more ownership of enforcing environmental regulations.” However, he is not willing to give the states the funding they need to do so. In the new budget cut reports, out of the twenty seven percent of funding the EPA grants to the states, Trump plans to make an estimated forty-four percent cut from that portion of money. However, the president’s official budget plan for the agency isn’t scheduled to be reviewed by Congress until sometime this May. Until then, no-one will know for sure what the exact, final decisions are from President Trump and his staff.

The way Trump is trying to get rid of the Environmental Protection Agency is like how Mayor Wallen and Avery Taft disregarded the chemical dumping and poor treatment of the environment in Friendswood. The entire government throughout the novel did not pay any attention to Lee, the main character that was trying to stop it. When the reader is first introduced to Mayor Wallen the text says, “Apparently, property value trumped everything,” (Steinke 71).  In the case of the novel, Lee could be considered the Environmental Protection Agency and Avery Taft and Mayor Wallen are President Trump. Trump, Taft, and Wallen all find no relevance about the quality and protection of the earth or whom it may affect, they just care about the money and how much they could “save the U.S” or “save the town” in the case of Friendswood.

Another issue that arose is the fact that without Lee warning the town, there was no chance of anyone else’s health being safe. If  Trump gets rid of the Environmental Protection Agency, the same could happen to the rest of the country not just the made up story in Friendswood, Texas. Like in Lee’s chapter on page 283, because no one is listening there are more and more people developing the illnesses and cancer that comes out of the contaminated water and ground. If President Trump gets rid of our Environmental Protection Agency chances are our whole nation is doomed and heading in that direction.

Though it is unlikely that the EPA will be fully cut, it’s only in the hands of our President and only time will tell if he can actually take away the nation's Environmental Protection but manage to keep our nation clean.

Friendswood/Real Life Ethics

Tori Sheffer
ENGW 1101
2-6-17
Prof Young

Ethics

  Friendswood, Texas, East Chicago, Illinois, and Newark, New Jersey, all have one common denominator; toxic water. In all three places the government has, unfortunately, put its residents in danger by not realizing there is lead in the water (or oil in the case of Friendswood). Though Friendswood is fictional, there are multiple similarities to the two real examples I also read about.

   In Friendswood, Mayor Wallen and the rest of the government haven't really been honest with the people that live in the town because although they know that the water and land are contaminated but they have never mentioned the fact that it is. There are some people in the town that don't believe them (Lee for example), but there were tests conducted, by the company that was to continue to dump on the land, saying that the water and everything is fine. This proving that the government doesn't care that much about the fact they're hurting people with the frivolous dumping. Proving that the mayor and the government isn't being ethical because they're putting all of their residents in danger Any government official that cares more about money instead of the lives of the hundreds or thousands they have to take care of they only care about money. 

In real life, the government has taken much better care of the people residing in the towns. In East Chicago the government, at the beginning, seemed to be like Friendswood, but as time progressed the mayor ended up realizing that the occupants were correct and the city was to blame. This resulted in the residents of this E Chicago's West Calumet Housing Complex were correct and they got free housing waved for them and have been able to live better with a closer look at their problems. In Newark, The school district realized there were high amounts of lead in the school going as far back as six years ago. Half of the city's schools were contaminated and as soon as the superintendent found out he insisted the water fountains be shut off and several labs test the water. As of now there is "no danger" according to Governor Christie, but the water is still being tested and there is a federal bill getting passed hopefully to get federal funding to get the water tested. Both of these places have had the government be a love/hate relationship with their funding, but at the end of the day they are being ethical in trying to help save the lives of thousands of people and children in both cities, which is more to say than Mayor Waller in Friendswood.  

Who Should Speak?

Tori Sheffer

ENGW 1101

2/1/17

Prof. Young

Who Should Speak?

            In Friendswood, every chapter is signified by a new character that speaks leaving the reader to think, “Who should be speaking right now?” The beginning of the book you learn about all the significant characters that will play a part in the story we’re reading, but it also confuses the reader as to know who should speak. Though they intertwine, there are several plots in Friendswood with the characters all being pivotal in each other’s lives. Though all the characters that have their own chapters are important I feel as if the only character that should speak is Lee.

            I feel Lee should speak because her story is the one that mainly revolves around the theme of chemical dumping as well as responsibility. Her back story is the fact that her daughter died from the chemical dumping happening in Rosemont Field, plus her husband left, and what does she do? She decides to dedicate the rest of her life to finding a cure to the “wrong doing,” in the town to try and find the cause of her daughter’s death. She doesn’t care about anyone or anything, she just wants to find a reason to her daughter’s death and hope it doesn’t affect anyone else.

            Lee’s story is the one that, so far, has impacted me the most as a reader. Her admirable “doesn’t care about anyone or anything” attitude really resonates with me because she’ll do anything for her family, even if they’re not living. She could have her own story and deserves to be the soul speaker.

Reading Log 1

Tori Sheffer
ENGW 1101
1/29/17
Prof. Young

Reading Log 1

1. Willa Lambert is a student at Friendswood High School who has big dreams. She's in love with the football stud, Cully, whom the very thought of "Knocked the breath out of her" (Stienke 21). She keeps to herself mostly, but if there is important information she'll tell her best friend. Her and her parents have a good relationship but it could be better. Her parents are very Type A people that say everything has to go a certain way and with their specific beliefs. Their relationship is good but not a stable one. Willa, "in a spiral notebook, wrote down a list of the visions that have appeared so far," (21) which are certain symbols she sees such as a little girl wanting to be held by Willa, a naked man with thick thighs and a beard, and sugar dusted cookies, I believe she has these visions because of the chemical dumping that's been happening in Friendswood.

2. Dex is another student that attends Friendswood High, but no one really knows he's there. His dad skipped town on them, but writes Dex and his mother and sister checks with notes inside. Dex respects is mother because before his father left, he told Dex, She's a good person, and you respect that. Always." (37). Dex also has a sister named Leah whom his mother loves by always praising her on her whit and charm, which makes Dex resent her and become more distant from her. He also hates the fact that she is more popular than him. Dex is a water boy for the school football team, so his "friends" tolerate him, but they only really acknowledge him if he's there, when he gets that attention from them he becomes a different person a little bit, letting the team have a certain power over him.

3. Hal is Cully, the football star's father who has a job as a real estate agent. He hates his job which leads me as a reader to think it's mundane and that if he could do anything else with his life, he would. This effects his everyday life and how he hates the rest of his life. Hal has a wife named Darlene, whom he cheated on for seven weeks. Though it isn't stated Darlene seems to know that he's cheating on her leaving her and their son, Cully in an awkward family life. Hal and Cully seem to be very distant with each other not really speaking, but, he lives vicariously through his son, so there is some layer of closness in Hal's eyes. Another big thing that is a road block in their household is the fact that Hal used to be an alcoholic but has been slowly and surely becoming more sober, but because of this he just broods and is miserable only really caring about his faith with the Lord and using that as a scapegoat pretty much. "It had been [Darlene's] idea for Hal to wind his way back to sobriety by learning to do something," (56) so Hal is trying to overcome his addiction, but hasn't really been succeeding.

4. Lee is Jess's mother and the wife of Jack. The big tragedy that happened to her was that her daughter, Jess died due to the chemical dumping in Friendswood, Texas. Since then, her husband has left her, and she's devastated. She, "dreamed of Jack and Jess, as she often did," (67) and she  carries mementos of her daughter and wears her husbands old T-shirts to have a feeling of them still with her. She knows that something is wrong with something in their town but cant quite put her finger on it. All she wants to do is try and help her community to fix this problem because she doesn't want anyone else to be effected by it like she has been; this leaving some of the community (Doc, her saving grace) to love her and others (Willa's parents) to hate her. 

5. There has been chemical dumping in the town of Friendswood, Texas. The oil company of the town has been dumping oil without anyone knowing. The general community doesn't realize that there is anything wrong with their little town, but certain few people (Lee and Willa). The big thing that's been happening from the oil dumping is the fact the oil has been seeping up through the ground and making the ground black and also contaminating the water to a certain extent.

6. Reading this first section of Friendswood it had made me think of what has been happening in Flint, Michigan. There has been a water contamination crisis in Flint since 2014. The city of Flint changed its main water source from the treated Water and Sewage Department to the Flint River. They found lead in the water causing the untreated water to get lead from the aging pipes causing thousands of people (mainly children) to be exposed to it. It's killed 10 people and affected 77 others. This is like the fact that the similar thing has been happening in Friendswood. 

About Me

Tori Sheffer
English 1101
1/28/17
Prof. Young

Introducing Me

Hi! I'm Tori Sheffer, a freshman Musical Theatre and Education major here at FDU. I've been trying to get involved as much as I can on campus, so I work in the Office of Campus Life, Office of Admissions, and I host the FDU "Tori on the Street" webisodes. I love it here at school and can't wait to be in an English class with such a great group of people!