What are your thoughts about Xavier and its mission after your first semester? Monday, Nov 7 2011

My thoughts about Xavier University at this point are pretty scattered. I’m kinda in the middle of my emotions. I’m having mixed feelings. This school, for the most part, is pretty boring if you ask me. The atmosphere on campus is dead, there is not much to do if you don’t have a car, and the school spirit sucks. My college experience from the social aspect of things completely sucks right now. I’m not having fun here at all. In fact, if it wasn’t for the friends I’ve made here , I would’ve probably pulled my hair out with boredom by now. Not to mention that the food in the cafeteria stinks the majority of the time.  The academic aspect of Xavier however, is well above satisfactory. The teachers that I have met are all nice, understanding, considering and enthusiastic about their job and about us learning. Help is always available if I’m struggling in a class and I rarely get behind. It’s a great school academically which is the most important thing but one still wants to enjoy the college undergraduate experience. We only get it once. These are supposed to be the best years of our lives but instead the only thing I do for fun is write blogs for freshmen seminar and do homework. Xavier’s mission, however, is a good representation of the school. Everyone can tell that the school as a whole takes pride in the mission and does things in order to satisfy it. Service learning as well as community service is a big thing here and opportunities for both are readily available on various occasions. Xavier is all about becoming good leaders and making the world a more human society and I respect that a great deal. I would say that that is probably my favorite thing about this school so far.

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What did you think of the book Fast Food Nation? Monday, Nov 7 2011

The book FAST FOOD NATION was an excellent informative read. It open my eyes up to a lot of things that I was previously blinded to. The fast food industry is a filthy, corrupt system that extorts people and does anything necessary in order get money. In the book, Eric Schlosser goes behind the scenes and deep into the treacherous world of fast food restaurants. He reveals an ample amount of things; from the horrific working conditions, to the processed foods, to how many people are suffering from the affect that these companies have on the world. I think that more people should read this book and I also believe that more people should write more books like this–the more the better. The world needs to have its eyes opened to the major issues that people try so desperately to disguise.   Thing should be done to change not only the fast food industry, but the health insurance industry and other industries as well. I applaud Eric Schlosser for having a voice. I commend him for having the courage to research and speak out against the injustices citizens face at the hand of the fast food moguls. I felt really inspired by him reading this book. It makes me want to become an activist for self knowledge. It makes me want to go out and do research about things that bothers me in the world that everyone else is turning the other cheek to like human trafficking in third world countries as well as in America. It inspired me and gave me hope that maybe there are people in the world who actually cares about the well being of human beings. It makes me smile to know that money, the root of all evil, doesn’t have the ENTIRE world at its mercy. Overall, I think that Eric Schlossser is a phenomenal author as well as person and I enjoyed reading his book.

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How do automobiles and interstates play a role in spreading the fast food culture? Monday, Nov 7 2011

The fast food culture is showing no signs of decreasing. In fact, it is increasing as time progresses.  Eric Schlosser says that over the last three decades, fast food has infiltrated every nook and cranny of American society. An industry that began with a handful of modest hot dog and hamburger stands in southern California has spread to every corner of the nation, selling a broad range of foods wherever paying customers may be found. Fast food is now served at restaurants and drive-throughs, at stadiums, airports, zoos, high schools, elementary schools, and universities, on cruise ships, trains, and airplanes, at K- Marts, Wal-Marts, gas stations, and even at hospital cafeterias. In 1970, Americans spent about $6 billion on fast food; in 2000, they spent more than $110 billion. Americans now spend more money on fast food than on higher education, personal computers, computer software, or new cars. They spend more on fast food than on movies, books, magazines, newspapers, videos, and recorded music — combined. Automobiles and interstates play a monumental role in the spreading of the fast food culture. I mean just think about it. What is one thing that most, if not ALL, fast food restaurants have? Just think ! …………. DRIVE-THRUS! All of them have drive-thrus. Without cars, what purpose would fast food restaurants serve? They wouldn’t be as relevant as they are now. People on road trips that have to take the interstate are going to of course stop to get something to eat. They don’t want to waste much time however, b/c they want to get to their destination. Where are they going to MORE THAN LIKELY stop? at a fast food restaurant. Without cars and interstates, the fast food culture wouldn’t be as dominant as it is today. It wouldn’t spread so far and so fast. Cars and interstates have a direct link to the spread of the fast food culture.

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Send an email to your favorite teacher at Xavier thanking them for their work, and post the text of the email in your blog. Sunday, Oct 23 2011

Hi Dr. Daquir,

I just wanted to thank you for everything that you do in class. You are a wonderful teacher and I really enjoy the material as well as how the class is orchestrated. You are always extremely understanding and always there whenever help is needed. Keep it up !

-Marchana

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Interview a Xavier senior about his/her thoughts on Xavier’s mission and blog about what they say. Tuesday, Oct 18 2011

Xavier University of Louisiana is a Catholic and historically Black institution. The ultimate purpose of the University is the promotion of a more just and humane society. To this end, Xavier prepares its students to assume roles of leadership and service in society. This preparation takes place in a pluralistic teaching and learning environment that incorporates all relevant educational means, including research and community service. So that they will be able to assume roles of leadership and service, Xavier graduates will be:prepared for continual spiritual, moral, and intellectual development; liberally educated in the knowledge and skills required for leadership and service; and educated in a major field so that they are prepared to complete graduate or professional school and to succeed in a career and in life. The Xavier senior that I interviewed was Taylor Rice. She is majoring in Psychology pre-med.  When I asked her how she felt about Xavier’s mission, her response was one that I was definitely not expecting. She made me see the mission statement in an entirely different light. Me personally, I felt that the mission was pretty good and pure. It seemed to fit the credibility of the school and also was a good representation because of all the medical school recognition that it has. Doctors are supposed to be the epitome of humane and just. However, Taylor didn’t feel the same. She sees the mission statement as controversial. She said “The mission statement says the goal is for us to become more just and human citizens, but what is the school itself doing to become more just and humane? Think about it, they make us pay ridiculous prices with no sympathy of people’s financial issues. It all goes back to money. Everything anyone does, even the things that are supposed to be “just” and “inhumane” are only done for show. To make themselves look better so that they may continue to make more money. In  today’s society, being humane and just is going to do nothing but put you behind. The nice guys never finish first.”

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Do some research on Katherine Drexel. Do you think she would be happy with Xavier today? Why or why not? Tuesday, Oct 18 2011

Katharine Mary Drexel was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on November 26, 1858 to Francis Anthony Drexel and Hannah Langstroth. Her family owned a huge banking fortune. She isn’t the only one who is famous for founding a university. her  uncle Anthony Joesph Drexel was the founder of Drexel University in Philadelphia. She had two natural sisters,  whose names were Louise and Elizabeth.  When she became a nun, she took the name Sister Katherine. After that , she began dedicating herself and the money that she had inherited from her family’s bank fortune to Native Americans and African Americans in the western and southwestern United States. She believed that it was her duty to cater to the needs to of these two ethnic groups because of the distinct  state of oppression they were in. She also served as a vocal advocate of racial tolerance. The Sister of the Blessed Sacrament is a religious order that she inaugurated  for Indians and Colored People. In addition to that, she financed more than 60 missions and schools around the United States. Her most famous achievement however was the founding  Xavier University of Louisiana. To do this day, it remains the only historically Black, Roman Catholic university in the United States. I honestly think that if Katherine Drexel was still on this earth, she would be more than content with the status of the university she commenced. Xavier is known as one of the most astute colleges in the country. It is famous and nationally recognized as being the best at putting Africans Americans in medical school; am achievement that can lead to obtaining one of the highest paid jobs in the world. Also, they are currently building a bigger chapel. I think she would be extremely happy about that, being that being that Catholicism is what she based her life on.

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Does the author have a political agenda? Give examples to support your claim. Monday, Oct 3 2011

I believe that the author Eric Schlosser does have a bit of a political agenda.  He made a point about many topics that had to do with politics and the government. He goes on to explain how many of the fast food industries are controlled and regulated by Republicans.  He does this to help reveal the corruption that the industry creates. He goes on further to name some of these Republicans as well as the companies that they are in control of.  Eric Schlosser helps us to remember that these people aren’t just politicians. They are wealthy moguls as well, with their own financial interest in mind.  You really think they care about the health status of the food that their people (who was responsible for voting them into office) are consuming? As a matter of fact, they are promoting cheaper prices for fast food and guess what? These cheaper prices means that the food will be that much more unhealthy. The cheaper the food, the more unhealthy it is. This can prove to be a real problem and can be pernicious to American citizens’ health. Many people have gotten sick with E coli and other bacteria as a result of eating and working at some of these fast food companies. The politicians are going to support the company that costs them the least amount of money. They certainly don’t abide by the saying “quality over quantity” because they are more willing to support a facility that is cheap but not healthy than they are to support a facility that costs more money to maintain but is health safe. What it all boils down to is this: It costs less money to properly maintain the health status of a fast food industry or company. Schlosser is suggesting that politicians  do not really have the people’s best interests in mind. They are mostly worried about the interests of their own pockets.

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In the readings for last week, Schlosser writes about a man named Kenny. Write about someone you know who has suffered parallel misfortunes. Thursday, Sep 22 2011

In the novel Fast Food Novel, Eric Schollssaar tells of a man named Kenny Dobbins. He explains of the humiliation and abuse he has to deal with everyday in the meatpacking plant. Kenny Dobbins worked for a meatpacking company/slaughterhouse called Monfort for roughly sixteen years. He had a unfortunate childhood in  Keokuk, Iowa where he was subjected to abuse by his step father as well as poverty. He ran away from home at the age of thirteen and went in and out of various schools. He never, however, learned to read or right. He made money by doing different jobs until he ended up working at Monfort slaughterhouse in Grand Island, Nebraska in 1979. He was, at that time, twenty four, full of vibrant life and youth. While working on the job one day, Kenny heard someone yell, “Watch out!” then turned around and saw a ninety-pound box falling from an upper level of the shipping department. Kenny caught the box with one arm, but the momentum threw him against a conveyer belt, and the metal rim of the belt pierced his lower back. The company doctor bandaged Kenny’s back and said the pain was just a pulled muscle. Kenny never filed for workers’ comp, stayed home for a few days, then returned to work. He had a wife and three children to support. The pain continued so he decided to go to another doctor for a second opinion and it turned out that the so called “muscle pain” that the company doctor had diagnosed him with was much more serious. He had to have back surgery and spent a month in the hospital. The surgery was not successful so he went to a clinic. Everything fell apart. He lost his marriage and he couldn’t work . He was stuck and after all that, He still went back to work for the slaughterhouse. A person I immediately think about when I heard of this story was my cousin Dooney. He went to work in a warehouse in Memphis immediately after high school. He was working there for three years when he got seriously hurt on the job. He had a three year old child to support who was autistic and had special needs that called for extra money. He was out of work for over a year and they offered him no compensation for getting hurt while doing his job.

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What is your favorite class at Xavier and why? Saturday, Sep 17 2011

The classes that I take are all extremely intriguing in their own way. There is, although, one class that I would have to say is at the top of the list. If I had to choose one class however, I would have to say that my favorite class at Xavier this semester is my Computer Science class taught by the chair of my department, who also happens to be my adviser, Dr. Andrea Edwards. There are a couple of reasons why I would have to say that this class is my number one out of the six that I am currently enrolled in. One is that it is at the perfect time on the perfect days. I take this class on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays from ten to ten fifty. I hate the morning with a passion. I’m not an early morning person at all but I’m not much of a late afternoon person at all. Yeah, I’m weird like that. So to sum all that up , I don’t like getting up too early, and I don’t like being done with all my classes too late. This class is perfectly positioned. Another reason why I prefer this class to all my other ones is because the considerable amount of thinking that we are required to do. I like to consider myself a bit of a deep thinker and this attribute is something that has the potential to help you out a lot in this class. It kind of puts you ahead. It is challenging and I am the type of person who loves a challenge because the feeling you have when you overcome is so exhilarating. Also, math is a bit of a weak point of mine. Math is a big component of this course and it helps motivate me to become more competent in math because I want to be good at it. Since I am a computer science major, of course this class would be of great interest to me.

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How did Sinclair’s The Jungle (1906) dramatically change the food industry? Will this book fast food nation do the same? Why or why not? Saturday, Sep 17 2011

The journalist Upton Sinclair wrote the novel The Jungle in 1906. The initial purpose of the book was to portray the life of an American immigrant. Readers, however, were more concerned with the noticeable large portion pertaining to the corruption of the American meatpacking industry that took place in the early 20th century. Therefore, it is no surprise that The Jungle if often taught solely as an eye opener to the exposure of the American meat packing industry. It changed the food industry in a couple of ways. As I stated earlier, it became in eye opener for Americans who were virtually clueless about the things that were taking place in the food industry in their country. The novel illustrates the poverty, the unsatisfactory working and living conditions of employees, as well the deficiency of social programs. This corresponds with the employment of those who are in power over these lesser beings. Sinclair described this time as “wage slavery” and suggests that actions needed to be put into affect in order to change this. Sinclair went incognito working in Chicago’s stockyards and spent a considerable amount of weeks gathering information that was publicized for all of America to see. It told and described the lives of a few of the people that were trapped in their employment. I believe that the book Fast Food Nation will not have the same dramatic affect Americans as The Jungle had on Americans. There is a lot more access to information today than there was back then. For the most part, Americans are already aware of the things that are taking place in the fast food industry today. At least, those who actually WANT to know about it. The majority of United States citizens just choose to turn a blind eye to these issues. Many probably feel like its too late for anything to be changed. The fast food industry is already too deeply rooted in our society for any notable changes to be made.

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