Clifford Boggess

Clifford Boggess should have been executed. I do believe people can change, but I do not believe that Clifford Boggess is a changed man. Within hours of his death he still showed no emotion, never once did I see guilt in his eyes or sorrow in his words. The answers that Boggess gave were very detached of emotion. Clifford Boggess committed two murders in cold blood. He knew what he was doing at the time and he premeditated both murders, he carefully chose his victims by picking ones who could not defend themselves Boggess dehumanized himself by ignoring something he loved very much in life, his grandfather. Before his second murder he saw his victims granddaughter and heard her call him papa, and he said he even thought about his grandfather, but according to him it was too late. Boggess had no emotions then and still did not leading up to his final hours. . Boggess said, in rearguards to the second murder that it was overkill "just to be brutal". He even went as far to say that there are things that he enjoyed about the murdered and shows a sense of pride in his work. The video said that Boggess even bragged about the murders to his friends, that does not sound like a man with guilt. I believe that Boggess is using Christianity as a defense for his actions. When writing a letter or regret to one of his victims granddaughters, he showed little guilt but instead put in many Bible passages. I believe that if Clifford Boggess was truly sorry and was truly a changed man then he would not need to force his Christan ideas, but they would rather show through his guilt. Clifford Boggess had done too much damage to deserve a second chance, his murders were out of nothing except cold blood and what's to stop him from doing it again? The victims families had been haunted since the day that their loved ones were murdered by Clifford Boggess. They should not have to live in fear and anger everyday, Boggess has already taken enough from them. While the execution of Boggess does not bring their family member back, it does allow them to have a peace of mind that their is justice for their loved ones.

Bullying

Bullying is an issue that has existed all around the world, in all different age groups, for hundreds of years now. The issues has not gotten any better, but rather increasing worse. Which technology becoming more and more advanced and powerful there are new opportunities and ways to bully other people. I believe that to say a school does not have a bullying problem, is false. Every school has a bullying problem, but the level of severity varies from every school. While I believe that Deerfield does not really have a bullying problem, I could be very wrong. I do not think anyone really has a clue what it is like for someone else to go to school every day. I do not think that public bullying and harassment is an issue at Deerfield, but for all I know some student could be getting harassing text messages and threatening phone calls every night. The amount of bullying that goes on at a school is really unknown.
A young girl named Megan Meier was bullied through MySpace. She was relentlessly made fun of and picked on and no one ever really knew. The story ends with Megan taking her own life. The hurtful words became too much for her to handle. Megan's case was the first cyberbullying case that Missouri had ever seen, this left it in a difficult situation. The court could not charge her predator because there were no laws for cyberbullying, but afterwards the courts made cyberharassment illegal. While the law in continuing to catch up with technology, is it really even helping?
I do not believe that by increasing laws it will slow down bullying. It has always been illegal for teenagers to drink, yet it does not stop them from drinking. So how do we find a solution? In class we watched the show "If You Really Knew Me," it was a crew of people who went to a high school and challenged kids to get to know other students for who they truly are. While it is all tears and hugs on the show, does it really work? I believe it can work, but the question really is, is it going to affect the issue in a long term sense? Can a school really not fall back into its old habits from just talking with other classmates for one day? I don't believe so. In class while we were discussing this I remember someone saying that maybe something needs to happen in order to have a real impact. This meaning maybe there needs to be an incident so powerful that it stops the student body and makes them change. I disagree. In 2006 at Deerfield High School there was a tragic drinking and driving accident, that led to two student deaths. While I was not at the high school I had three brothers who were and I saw the terrible impact it had on them and their friends. I remember them saying that they hope it helps people learn, but does it? Has the drinking problem at Deerfield gotten better since then? No. So how do we create change in a situation that seems to have no solution? I believe the first step is wanting to change. Kids at schools around the country need to want bullying to stop in order for it to stop, and each and every person can make a difference. It is not only the students who need a change or attitude, but the administration as well. It is there job to protect each and every student, this includes the bully. By this I mean it is their job to try and help to bully get better. The administration cannot just give someone a detention for yelling something inappropriate, they must get to the root of the problem. By doing this and the school working with the students we can all make a difference.

Drug Testing

Drug testing in public schools in unconstitutional. Public schools use the terms "reasonable" to justify searches of students. Drug testing is a search of students, through an invasive process schools take and examine the students urine. Random drug testing does not fall under the term "reasonable" because it is unreasonable to believe that all students are under the influence of drugs. Public schools have no right to "parent" students by checking up on them, especially if the parents do not approve. In the case of Vernonia School District v. Acton, James Acton's parents did not approve of the school drug testing their son, so they said no and for that he was not allowed to participate in sports at his school. The school is not James Acton's parent, his parents are and it is up to them to make decisions for their child. If James Acton gets into trouble with the law, his parents are held responsible not the school, and for that it is not up to the school to make decisions and check up on him. While it is true that in order for James Acton to play a sport for his school, he had to get a physical with his doctor which included a urine test, there is a difference between his doctor testing his urine and his school testing his urine. This is an invasion of his privacy. James Acton's doctor knows the medication that he is on, because his job to watch over his health, this is not the schools job. In a drug test, the person being tested must enclose all the medication that they are currently taking, this in itself is an invasion of privacy because the school does not have the right to make kids tell them the medication that they are on. Students have a right to the fourth amendment while at school and without probable cause drug testing is unconstitutional.

Using the standard of "reasonableness" in schools allows for an search to be valid. School administrators can easily say that a search is reasonable for any reason. It is important for the education system to show students that when they walk through the doors of the school their rights do not go away. They cannot force any unnecessary search on students which, through drug testing and reasonableness, is what they are doing. In a 'sexting' suit that took place in Pennsylvania, a public school took away a students cell phone, searched it, and then handed the student a punishment for her nude pictures. This public school, took a students private property that contained private messages, as the suit said like U.S. mail, and searched them. The principal defended the search as being "reasonable" while in reality it is a huge violation of this students forth amendment rights. She violated the cell phone policy at her school, so school officials took away her personal property but for them to take it a step further by looking through her phone and reading her messages and looking at her pictures is stripping her of her freedoms. Public schools are there for the purpose of educating students and providing a safe learning environment if those two things are not in danger, by the standards of the forth amendment and not by "reasonableness", then school has no reason to play a parent's role in their students lives.

Student Religious Practices

"Nothing in the First Amendment converts our public schools into religious-free zones, or requires all religious expressions to be left behind at the schoolhouse doors." While this statement is true there needs to be a fine line between the separation of church and state. If the laws set in the constitution separate church and state, schools must as well. Religion should not be kept out of school completely, but in public schools there should be no religious requirements. As the article states, religion is not a problem is at school if the individual does not disturb their learning process. Another article about school prayer states "This idea that government is forbidden from instructing, guiding or even encouraging people towards any particular form of religious worship is at the core of modern establishment-clause jurisprudence. It is important to note that the violation of the establishment clause is not based on someone’s being offended or being able to avoid the prayers, but instead on the government’s involvement in and active promotion of a religious activity." Ultimately it is up to the students and their parents to practice whatever religion in whatever manner they want, but the school should not have to acknowledge private or individual religion. Public schools already allow time to pray during lunch or free periods, but just as people have the freedom of religion people also have to freedom to not be religious. It is important for public schools to acknowledge all different types of religion and to make sure that their students are educated because as the First Amendment Center states "Nowhere is it more important — or more difficult — to address our growing ideological and religious diversity than in the public schools." Also as stated in the article this issue has been around for hundreds of years and it is very complex. There is no right answer, it is just essential to not only not deny students their freedom to religion but also not force students to practice or to have a religion.

7 Days in September

The images in the documentary "7 Days in September" were devastating to say the least. I have seen a lot of footage from September 11th, but not ones like in the documentary. I have never seen footage so terrible on American soil, it was shocking. I was trying to picture what it would be like to live there, or what it would be like if that happened in Chicago and for me it is hard to see how the citizens of New York were not cowarding in fear all night and day. It amazed me how the city even six months later came together for support and for help. When they showed the cars that were lined up waiting to drop of donated supplies is when the courage of the city really hit me. New York did not let the extremest take anything important from them. Yes, they put their city in ruins but they did not break, instead they stood strong together. It amazes me how people change within a community in times of trouble. While patriotism seems at a loss sometimes it is good to know that there are always people there for support.

20th Century

We are writing to ask you to reconsider the decision not to run 20th Century Literature next year. As students that have had firsthand experience with the benefits of an integrated curriculum, we would like to share with you three main reasons why 20th Century would improve our learning. Those reasons are: the significance of an integrated curriculum in the world we will be living in, how the integrated environment supports our learning styles, and how integrated classes in the past have built a strong community that has influenced constructive learning within class and the school.
No one knows what the world will look like in twenty years, but what we know is that we will be in our late thirties with jobs of all sorts. We do not know where we will be, but we do know that the wave of global connections and the need to integrate different perspectives is already present in the jobs of today. American Studies and Perspectives (for those who took it) have provided us with a new way of thinking. It has showed us how to look at two different subjects and make them one. This is an essential skill for our future.
We believe that in the past, Deerfield High School has done an exceptional job at providing different environments to suit students’ learning. We, as students in American Studies, have been able to understand our learning styles. We took American Studies for the purpose of finding success within that environment, and those of us who signed up for 20th Century did so because we know this type of environment is where we can find the most success. Through the double periods, the ability for class discussions, and the two subjects brought together as one we have all come to know that this is where we learn best. There are different levels of senior English in order to provide a variety of learning environments for students. The lack of an integrated senior English course leaves a large number of students with options of senior English that do not best suit their learning. These integrated courses that Deerfield High School provides are great examples of how our school shows that it values how we learn best.
We have become better-quality thinkers through the environment of American Studies. The environment of the class has caused us to be self-reliant and have a positive connection with each other. We believe that an integrated class gives us a new way to think, it forces us to go beyond just facts and think at a deeper level. The two hours we spend with our class four days a week has provided us with surroundings comfortable to us. Our class has created a strong bond that has allowed our thinking to improve through trust and encouragement of our classmates and teachers. In our opinion we do not get that same feel in other classes. This bond has extended to other times and places throughout the school which has helped each of us broaden our learning.
We understand that schools face budget constraints. In your decisions of balancing finances and options for students, we felt it was important for you to understand the impact this decision has on our learning. We would be happy to talk with you further if you would like. We are looking forward to an exciting senior year and we hope 20th Century Literature is a part of it.

Respectfully,
Members of Students Requesting 2010-2011 20th Century Literature

Response to Pudys Blog

Before reading Stewart’s blog, I had little to no knowledge at all about the true effects of urbanization. I believe that he did a very good job with laying out the positives and negatives. This gave me a better understanding. For example I did not know that urbanization has affected crime in this country, just knowing that fact makes me think about the reasons behind that and how to find solutions. After reading the list of pros and cons though I am still left wondering why, why was wealth created or how was it? How did it give people opportunity that was not previously given and how did it increase organized crime? When Stewart talks about the Chicago fire, it helped me understand what could go wrong and why some people may be against urbanization. I now can see that urbanization could be dangerous and when I always thought of the Chicago fire I never thought of how it may have affected society. It probably discouraged them, many people lost so much. I believe urbanization is all about the next step, in terms of the Chicago fire it became all about how Chicago could improve. I was a little confused how his short story / poem connected with urbanization in America. I believe when Stewart talked about pollution it helps provide more information on negative effects of urbanization. After giving the information about pollution I was able to think about the benefits and negative side effects and think about, is it worth it? I thought that Stewarts connection to what it means to be an American was very good and after reading it I was able to think about how that affects America today in a lot of different issues. I was able to think about how urbanization creates the American idea of wealth and power. Overall, I was left with a few questions but I really got some good information about how urbanization plays a role in America.