Week 13 Response Saturday, Dec 10 2011

Now that this semester is over, I feel that I was somewhat unprepared for college. In High School everything came easy but, college is a challenge everyday because you’re basically on your own. For instance some of classes I thought were easy, were in fact just as time- consuming as other classes. In accordance to Xavier’s mission, I took on community service roles and I felt good about doing something “productive” for the community. I also took on a leadership role by enrolling in XU Leads for future leaders on Xavier’s campus. Given all of this, I feel as if I was a little overwhelmed with trying to do so many things, as well as focusing on my grade. However in regards to grades I felt that I was overwhelmed by the amount of work and my lack of time to give best at everything. I feel that next semester will be better in that I know what to expect and how to better deal with the stress that school puts on me. My toughest part of this semester was chemistry in which tried my hardest but still didn’t do as good as I wanted. Although this semester didn’t go the way I planned, I feel that Xavier still is the school for me because there are so many opportunities to succeed.

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Week 12 Resonse Saturday, Dec 10 2011

I thought the book Fast Food Nation was a good choice, because it showed that the fast food business isn’t really about the food but about money. For me I learned about various “ingredients” that are actually in most fast food products. The book is very informative but I don’t think it has the greatest impact on college students as it should. I feel this way because; most students are not able to cook their own meals. Instead they rely solely on what the cafeteria has to offer. Likewise even if a student wants to go out, its most likely going to be fast food because its inexpensive and because it easy to come by. I like that the author used a lot of background information and detailed history in order to make a simple point that eventually related to the fast food industry. For instance because of this book, it finally connected that most consumers don’t really make their own decisions about what food they buy and eat.  I think that students will only truly care about their food, when something directly affects their lives. In making the food mandatory for all freshmen, I feel that the university could have equally made it possible for other choices of food on campus besides what all ready exists. I also like that fact the book told stories of people in various careers that are/ were affected by one industry from farming all the way the meat packing.  Overall I feel that Fast Food Nation was a good choice because it makes people think beyond satisfying their own hunger cheaply and more about those who affect and are affected by a industry that is purely profit driven.

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Week 10 Response Saturday, Dec 10 2011

Dr. Kelley,

 

I just want to thank you for helping me this semester in lab whenever I needed, as well as always making class fun. Have good break!

 

Thanks,

 

Chelsea Thomas

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Week 9 Response Saturday, Dec 10 2011

Xavier’s mission states “…contribute to the promotion of a more just and humane society by preparing its students to assume roles of leadership and service in a global society. This preparation takes place in a diverse learning and teaching environment that incorporates all relevant educational means, including research and community service”. Although the mission statement mentions many things, I feel that some seniors really do “take it to heart.” I’m a work-study student, and through the program I have been able to meet a few seniors.  Overall most of the seniors I know seem to be somewhat happier than others students. This probably has to do with the fact that they will soon be graduating and moving forward in their lives. However in regards to the mission statement, I feel that over time they have grown to like and respect the mission of the university.  For instance, the two seniors that I know feel that giving to others through community service will forever be a part of them because of Xavier’s mission statement. This is a good thing, because it makes students want to continue to assume roles of service even after graduating. Likewise they also see the importance of continuing their education beyond just an undergraduate degree. In comparison, many freshmen don’t really see the importance behind Xavier’s mission statement. For instance when it comes to the sciences, there is a lot of work, pressure and stress added on students. However even if the work is hard and challenging, I feel that professors truly want students to succeed. I do feel that as time goes on and my class becomes seniors, some people may in fact change how the view Xavier’s mission statement. Nevertheless, I have noticed that some seniors still act is if they have not completely grown up, nor that they really care about the university’s mission statement.

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Week 8 Response Saturday, Dec 10 2011

I did some research on St. Katherine Drexel, and it was quite obvious that she was a very giving person. Through her dedication of serving others, St Katherine Drexel was able to establish schools for Native and African-Americans that would otherwise not been able to receive an education. Her contributes to others, is most likely why Xavier wants to give back to the community and help others. If she were to see Xavier today I feel that she would and would not be happy. For example she would probably like the fact that Xavier continues make community service a point. However I feel that most students do community service not because they want to help, but because it looks “good” we they apply for further education like medical school. With this I think that Katharine Drexel would not prove because it’s not heartfelt but instead opportunity driven. Given that Katharine Drexel was an advocate for education I feel that she would prove on Xavier’s academic “standings”. I feel this way because Xavier offers a number of programs that help students to move onto professional programs of their choice. I also feel that it would be better if, there was more emphasize put on majors outside of the science realm because they are equally important. In regards to the Catholic religion, I feel that St. Katherine Drexel would be somewhat disappointed to see that the religion isn’t a major/ significant presence on the campus, primarily because the University is a Catholic institution.  Lastly I feel the St. Katharine Drexel would be somewhat disappointed that there are not as many male students seeking an education at Xavier. This is because; males and females alike should pursue higher education at equal ratios of one another. . Given that it is 2011, it should be that more males would be attending college at the same rate.

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Week #11 Monday, Oct 24 2011

Automobiles and interstates have played a major role in spreading fast food around the country. The creation of interstates and highways led to more people traveling to see the rest of the country. Given this movement of people there came a need for easy/fast food “stops” for people to eat and get back on the road. Today when people are traveling via interstate/highway, almost every exit has a sign for some type of fast food. Likewise after WWII, buying became much easier to do, which made it easier for families to go out for meals at a very low cost. This idea continues today, in that people would rather just drive to a fast food place than to actually cook a meal. The easy accessibility of such food has created a non-mobile and largely unhealthy American society. Fast food is its own culture in that it has spread all over the world. Fast Food Nation even mentions that American fast food companies are a major cause of preventable health issues in countries that never had such illnesses before. The fast food industry is also like a culture in that, some companies make more profit than what an entire country may see in a year. This to me shows that fast food has in a way embedded itself into human society as a whole. Similarly, because accessibility of fast food by automobiles there has been an increase in pollution.  Since people don’t have to get out of their cars, they leave the engines running in line which just adds more to the preventable pollution of the world. Likewise the “farming” of animals produces a similar effect, in that massive trucks (automobiles0 have to be used in order to ship them to be slaughtered, which I would guess uses a lot of fuel.

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Reply week #7 Thursday, Oct 6 2011

I personally feel that the author of Fast Food Nation does have a political agenda. However unlike most this agenda is actually for the bettering of society. The book clearly wasn’t just about food or fast food. It showed how “powerful” corporations assert their power through the government. This is done by many politicians taking money from these corporations in order that there aren’t any sever consequences for the “products” they put on the market. Even though the author may have a political point to get across, I don’t believe it will go through because politicians I feel for the most part care more about what’s in the bank than, what Americans are consuming. For instance, when people get bad food they get sick and the pharmaceutical companies make money. It’s in many ways like a change reaction of big companies making money off of the public. Some of these companies likewise are lobbying for support of politicians. The author hints at his agenda in many ways. First he talks about how companies treat workers, which to me shows that he cares about the rights of workers. Another way Schlosser shows an agenda is bringing up the “incentives” that higher ups in corporations get. Such perks include insanely high salaries, bonuses and leniency with company funds. It is clearly profit driven and not quality driven. I also think that Schlosser may have picked the food industry for this book, to be a platform for his agenda. Basically the fast food industry serves the interests of the company not the public. For example in the book he talks about how the companies may not even eat their own product. I feel that Schlosser put these things in the book to show that the fast food industry is much more than a food business.

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Reply to week#6 Wednesday, Sep 14 2011

In Fast Food Nation, Kenny was a worker of Monfort who was deeply loyal to his company. Unfortunately however Monfort didn’t feel this way at all about Kenny. Instead the company essentially used him, as if he was another piece of cattle. The ‘use’ almost used up all of Kenny in that he could have very well died many of times from the company being negligent. By being an Monfort employee, Kenny was subjected to blood tanks, gut bins and hazardous chemicals to name a few. I personally don’t know anyone that has gone through what Kenny did, but I do know many people who have in a sense been taken advantage of by their job. My Mother for instance worked as an accountant for a very well-known company Fortune 100 company. In the beginning of this job my Mother was happy to be given this better opportunity than what she had before. However as time went on I would see her come home stressed, over-worked and unable to sleep at night. This was for the most part due to the fact that my Mother’s boss put more pressure and work on her than other employees. For example when bad weather would hit, the company would allow employees to work from home. However when my Mother would put in her request she was 90% of the time rejected. I found this incredibly unfair given that her boss would deny her request when they would work from home multiple times a week. My mother was later un-expectantly laid-off, after having to go on a business trip and miss our “ritual” of the first day back to school (Grade School). Given situations like Kenny’s, I feel that more needs to be done in order to improve the conditions of workers from; safety to fairness at all levels of the work force.

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Reply to Question#5 Monday, Sep 12 2011

So far I have two favorite classes at Xavier,  General Biology and Global Social Change.  Firstly I enjoy biology because be simple concepts can be related to a much big picture. For example when learning about carbohydrates I found out that most of the ingredients on foods are a form of a carbohydrate. From lactose (the sugar milk) to fructose which is used a lot to sweeten products. Another example of a simple concept involves hydrogen bonds. Hydrogen bonds are everywhere and most surprisingly to me, in our hair. Everyone’s hair is made up of hydrogen and the stronger that bond happens to, then the more curly/thick someone’s hair is.  Biology is everywhere and that is the main reason why I enjoy it so much. This is also my favorite class because I feel that I’m never bored because there is always something new learn. My another favorite class is a Sociology class; Global Social Change. I enjoy this class because it makes you think of the rest of world beside just The United States. This is important because I feel that a lot of Americans tend to care only about this country as more so only about themselves. In this class I have learned a lot as to why many countries in modern times continue to struggle. This being in part from being colonized and then when then being “tossed” to their own means. This also plays a major part into why there unfortunately continues to be hunger, sickness, low literary and violence in many parts of the world today. Currently I feel that given our world’s history, countries will only help others if it will in turn benefit them. Which has been seen throughout American history many times. As my Xavier career continues I hope to have many classes like these that go beyond our normal/default way of thinking.

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Reply to Question #4 Sunday, Sep 11 2011

 Sinclair’s The Jungle (1906) changed the food industry in many ways. It can be said that this novel brought about the establishment of what is now known as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). On a smaller level however I feel that what this book mostly did was bring awareness. Before this novel most people had no clue as to what went into their food. This is similar to today in most Americans still don’t what their eating, especially when it comes to processed foods. When it comes to Fast Food Nation, I feel that the book is at an in-between point. First it similarly brings forth an aspect of awareness to the public. Just like The Jungle, Fast Food Nation also in a way questions the politics that seemingly control the major food industries. Fast Food Nation personally impacted me, in that I’m more aware about the food that I eat. The book also left me feeling somewhat outraged by the conditions workers go through and by the fact of food safety. However I also feel that this book will not impact everyone. For instance in our society we tend to ignore things that we don’t want to hear. Most everyone has some idea that fast food isn’t healthy but yet they still eat it for various reasons. Also I feel with the economic problems of today choose fast food because of the low cost and availability. In order for this book to have a profound impact I feel that our government needs to make food safety and health a bigger issue.  Schlosser and Sinclair, I feel were each trying to do something similar. That being to educate and hopefully change the practices of all of the food industries in our country and in doing so making the health of every citizen thrive.

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