Animal Poaching - Killing the Animals We Should Love

Over the years, people get confused on what animal poaching is, and what animal hunting is.  Animal poaching is illegal animal hunting, in this case, they take elephant tusks and other things such as skin. They then sell these things for money, or even process them to make something else. There are multiple reasons why animals are hunted and killed by poachers. One of  them is religion, they think of some animals as pests, that they shouldn’t be on their land. So they hunt them out of the land. People get into fights about this because some religions see animals as sacred animals , almost as gods, so they try to protect them from the hunters or poachers.

A few days ago, I  interviewed a former hunter, he was easy to reach out to considering that he lives in my house. This person is named Matthew Ossowski, otherwise known as my dad. He started to hunt before I was born. This is how the interview went.

First I asked about his past, how he started, etc. He started with “I was 26 when i started hunting.” He continued to say that he started because he learned how to shoot a bow and arrow. His friends were into hunting and he wanted to try and see if he liked it. He said when he was there he didn’t see any other people or hunters other than the people he was with. I then asked him what he hunted during that time. He replied that he only hunted overpopulated animals such as deer and squirrel, but he wants to go to Australia to hunt kangaroo because they are really overpopulated there.He also said that he saw other animals when hunting such as bears, foxes, and hawks.  With his friends he hunted in the Poconos and only ever wanted to hunt there (in the US). He also explained that he only ever thought of legal hunting.

I then started to get into the topic of animal poaching, I asked him what the difference is between animal poaching and hunting. He replied with “ A lot of the time poaching is, your trespassing, you know, you would be hunting out of season. A lot of people, like people up in the mountains, they poach to pretty much eat. Not like say in places like Africa, where they poach to kill trophy animals, you know like elephants for their trunks or whatnot. Poaching is just people not following the rules.” I then proceeded to ask him if he thought poaching was wrong. He said “ 99.9% of the time yes, however if you're doing it to feed your family because you're poor, you know legally yeah it's wrong, if you're just doing it to eat, okay. But if you're doing it just to kill something or make money or something. I don't agree with that.

I then asked him a series of questions about animal poaching and his opinion on the topic, while answering these questions, he added on to his previous statement. “That's the other thing about poaching, sometimes with poaching their using weapons, that are, that I don't agree with, like machine guns and things like that. I don't agree with that at all.” I asked him if he ever thought about stopping poaching, he stated “ No because the poaching where I go, I agree with. However, if I had the resources and time, I might.”

Animal poaching is a very serious topic for me because I love all animals, I dont have the heart to kill something, but I do have the heart to stop something from being killed. I believe that poaching (the bad poaching, killing trophy animals) should stop. People kill animals only for price, for money, are disobeying the rules of hunting, they go and kill something out of season, they take their trunks, then leave the body there to rot.

 Rhinos in africa are being killed. There are things we can do to stop it, but there are things that this does to the environment also.Such as the food chain, animals being killed and become extinct. While this happens another animal dies because they can’t get food to eat.  All around the world there are organizations trying to stop this from happening. They go around the world to keep poachers away from the animals, although it is working, just not enough.

In my research, I have learned multiple things. I’ve learned about hunting, and poaching. I’ve learned that even though we use some of these things we take from the animals, we mainly hurt them. However I still question why we do it. We don’t need the horns or trunks of rhinos or trunks of elephants. I hope that in the future i find the answer to this question and maybe change other people's minds too.


For more information please visit my Annotated Bibliography.

Link to picture: https://www.pinterest.com/rizanatatlock/animal-poaching-research/
Link to picture: https://www.pinterest.com/rizanatatlock/animal-poaching-research/
Link to picture: https://www.emaze.com/@AFCIQTOW/ANimal-Poaching20th-copy1
Link to picture: https://www.emaze.com/@AFCIQTOW/ANimal-Poaching20th-copy1

Police Brutality Must Be Stopped

Police brutality must be stopped


My name is Adil Shamsuddin, and I will be taking you on a journey, allowing you to understand the abysmal situation called police brutality. Police Brutality Is something I feel deeply about, this is something that need to be stopped because, we are losing people who have a right to live. This incident usually appears throughout the whole world, but, it's commonly known throughout the areas of washington and new york. Police Brutality “is the use of any force exceeding that reasonably necessary to accomplish a lawful police purpose. Although no reliable measure of its incidence exists—let alone one charting change chronologically—its history is undeniably long”. A lot of people ask themselves this question, why is Police Brutality a thing. Police Brutality had started in the time period of 1874, in new york, when a local police force, started to beating protesters during the Tompkins Square riot.

this is a picture of Eric Garner, this is important because this allows us, to under the wrong of this situation. “NYPD  officers approached Garner on suspicion of selling cigarettes. “After Garner told the police that he was tired of being harassed and that he was not selling cigarettes, the officers went to arrest Garner. When officer Daniel Pantaleo tried to take Garner's wrist behind his back, Garner pulled his arms away”. The most outrageous thing is, the people who was around this situation, had either, record their camera out, or just stood there.



This topic is very outgoing towards the way i think because, I want to see a change in the world. I want to see people go outside and enjoy there day without thinking negative towards, if either they would be attacked by an officer who's having a bad day, or just killed by gunfire by a police force because they thought he or she had a gun. “Police killed at least 303 black people in the U.S. in 2016”. Through the board of justice, the supreme court has no approval of this. “The Supreme Court doesn’t decide a lot of police shooting cases, but when it does, it tends to side with the officers. And increasingly it does so in unsigned rulings for which it doesn’t bother to hold oral arguments”.


this rate is explaining to us how many african americans were killed, or face Police Brutality. This chart in between january 2013- september 2016. The numbers started to rise very high throughout the time period of 7/1/14, it drops done nearly at 1/1/15. Also not only it dropped down, it rose even higher around the months of 7/1/15.


these are rates of how much Police Brutality a city face. Not only people faced it around New York and etc, the highest rate of homicide are hialeah. This bar rate is on a average on how many homicides were faced on African Americans, by themselves. This is also rated by per million, so this statistics are pretty full of amount.  


this was a march that was specifically for Eric Garner, this shows that not only people want to make a difference, they went out there way to do it. The passings of Garner, Brown, and others on account of Police are not by any means the only purpose starting mass dissents. The day after the Garner shows began, low-wage specialists strolled off their employments in more than 190 urban communities, requesting a living compensation and the privilege to sort out. They, as well, droned, "I can't relax." Workers from fast-food eateries, for example, McDonald's were joined by those from low-wage retail and accommodation stores and carrier benefit occupations.


His PDA video of the last snapshots of Eric Garner's life set off a national discussion about policing and race, and gave the beginning Black Lives Matter development a motto: "I can't relax."


Presently Ramsey Orta will prison to serve a four-year sentence for offering heroin and unlawful ownership of a gun.


Orta, 25, saw the demise of Garner, who was limited in a strangle hold by New York City Police in Staten Island two years back. Police were keeping Garner for offering single cigarettes before a comfort store, and place him in a strangle hold to wrestle him to the ground.


Orta got the follow up on his wireless, including Garner's last words, "I can't relax." He then transferred the video to YouTube and enlivened others to get their mobile phones and record police activities the nation over. The officer required in the dangerous strangle hold — a move restricted under the New York Police Patrol Guide — was not arraigned for Garner's demise.


Here is my annotated bibliography


Enough With The Blaming

When the media talks about rape, what comes to mind for you? Do you think blame the rapist, or unknowingly blame the victim? Rape culture and victim blaming for women. It’s a huge part of our society, and is shyed away for being taboo. There are two parts to this unpopular topic. But before I discuss that, I want to tell you my own feelings for choosing this topic. My goal in learning about this topic is so I can inform others in my own life exactly what rape culture is, and what they can do to prevent it, as well as victim blaming. This topic matters to me because I see behavior of rape culture in my own community, and hear victim blaming on the news and in the media all the time. Also, I believe that it important for others to know about because it is a topic that people don’t really recognize that much.

Now most people don’t know what exactly rape culture. The true definition of rape culture is society normalizing or trivializing rape of sexual abuse. There are so many examples and instances of rape culture, but to cover all would take at least a week. However, to name a few, rape culture is when people trivialize rape, saying things like “boys will be boys,” defending manhood as dominant and sexually aggressive, as well as putting pressure on men to “score.” Furthermore, assuming that men that are raped are “weak,” teaching women how to not “get” raped, pop music promoted messages such as “she wanted it.” To go on, women being called liars if they report rape is another example of rape culture. Further examples of rape culture include asking a rape victim how short her outfit was, how much she was drinking, or if she was flirting. The list goes on and on. All of these examples are real instances of rape culture. Rape Victim Photo Series

This image depicts an example of a woman that was told this when she came forward about being raped. This another example of victim blaming in society.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/powerful-pictures-show-how-rape-8310169


On to part two, victim blaming. In society, there are two types of victim blaming. The people that intentionally blame the victim for the cause of the rape, and the people that don’t fully believe it was the victim's fault, but normalize her actions for being raped. For instance, victim blaming would count as the victim being flirtatious, wearing revealing clothing, making eye contact, and drinking. Sayings that are often associated with victim blaming include “she asked for it,” and “she didn’t say no.”

Rape Victim Photo Series

This picture is yet another example of victim blaming. Words like this is how society puts blame on the victim of rape. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/powerful-pictures-show-how-rape-8310169


There are ways to prevent victim blaming and rape culture within your community. Some examples include avoiding comments that degrades or objectifies women, let survivors know it is not their fault, not putting pressure on men to “score” with women, as well as supporting survivors. From learning about the topic, I know that I want to further educate my peers and community on the matter so they can educate others. Society has problems facing hard topics like this, because we all want to admit we would never trivialize such a horrible thing, but we do. Lastly, there are ways to prevent victim blaming and rape culture, as long as we are educated about it.

For more information, you can read all about rape culture and victim blaming here in my annotated bibliography!  

Cyberbullying Deadly Effects

Cyberbullying Deadly Effects


Hi, my name is Orlando Aguayo and my passion for the You and The World project is to try to stop cyberbullying. I have a strong voice for cyberbullying because I wouldn't like to be bullied or have threats thrown at me. It would make me feel so weak and disowned by the world. I'm also interested in cyberbullying because, as of 2017, cyberbullying is one of the biggest reasons why teens have committed or attempted suicide, according to the cyberbullying hotline. It is also the third leading reason why teen deaths occur, the first reasons being car accidents and the second is homicide. One reason why I started off talking about cyberbullying and suicide is because there are many reasons how cyberbullying connects with suicide. It connects to suicide negatively because cyberbullying can be very damaging to teens’ minds. It can lead to anxiety, depression, and suicide. Also, once things are circulated on the internet, they never really disappear, causing the pain to resurface at later times to renew the pain of cyber bullying.



Image result for cyberbully the movie

This image is from the movie and shows how cyber bullying affect victims “I feel like nothing”


I am interested in this topic because about a month ago, I watched a movie called Cyberbully, which was mostly showing how bullying can cause ripples in somebody’s reputation, and how cyberbullying can destroy the person (who is getting bullied online) mentally. Another reason I’m focusing on cyberbullying is because there isn't a reliable way to stop cyberbullying. For example, if I were to block the bully’s account, they can easily make a new one unless you stop the bully by controlling the hate. My goal for this project is for students to understand how things you say affect someone mentally and physically. My personal goal is to make someone who has been bullied feel valued by becoming their friend and showing them how important they are to me. My way of learning more about it is by researching more information on cyberbullying. I’ll also learn more by interviewing a victim of cyberbullying.


Image result for cyberbullying

In this picture it shows that the two girls uploaded a rumor or an inapporiate picture.


Cyberbullying has a connection to me because a friend of mine has very bad anxiety and depression because she was bullied and cyberbullied. It also a connection to me because my friends are the reasons why I am so happy, so when my friends are being hurt physically or emotionally, it also hurts me because they don't feel worth something or they feel weak. This topic is important to know about because over 25 percent of adolescents and teens have been bullied repeatedly through their cell phones or the internet. By cyberbullying someone, the victim might start to feel terrible about themselves, which the whole world can see.  



Image result for cyberbullying

            This pictures shows how cyberbullying is on social media



As you can see, cyberbullying is a dangerous thing that causes mental disorders and can even result in suicide. Did you know that 90% of teens who have seen social-media bullying said they ignored it. This is how bullying becomes out of control and why victims don’t speak up. They can't speak up because they have nobody to speak to. These victims need of cyberbullying need someone to lean on.  Also, for boys, they are most likely to be cyberbullied because the norms for a “normal” boy is to have a flat stomach, be heterosexual, and rude.



Fight The Power - Rahmir Powell

Fight The Power

Four years ago, one of the most controversial deaths of the decade kicked off the movement that we know today as Black Lives Matter movement. It all started with Florida teen, Trayvon Martin, when he was shot and killed by George Zimmerman on February 26th, 2012. George Zimmerman was acquitted (found not guilty) and many Black mothers in the state of Florida took to Instagram and twitter with the #BlackLivesMatter. This incident went viral after millions of people also shared their condolences to the Martin family. The rest was history.


This is a photo of an average Black Lives Matter Rally.

My name is Rahmir Powell, and this is my ‘You & The World’ Project. My topic is the history of the Black Lives Matter Movement. I would like to start by informing you with all of the statistics I’ve pulled from my research. Since 2015, 59 of the largest police departments have killed over 1,000 people. In 2015 and 2016, over 400 African Americans were killed by police. Over 50% of the 400 were between the ages of 18-29 and around 20% were unarmed. According to this site, 368 African Americans have been killed by police in this year alone. According to this site, blacks are 3 times more likely to die by police than whites. These numbers should not represent our nation.

In my more recent research, I read that the BLM Movement in Philadelphia has been recently banning whites from attending their rallies. The media did not like this decision and in a blog by BillyPenn, the coordinators of the Movement have responded by saying “You can help us in other ways.” I understand the decision of banning whites, but I don’t fully agree with it. This movement was brought together by compassion for one another. We should let people of all races and backgrounds come together because our Nation is ‘United’. I’ve also read that about 2,000 protesters meet in Philadelphia every Sunday, to honor Trayvon Martin, who died on a Sunday. Shall we proceed?


According to this photo, African Americans are nearly 5 times more likely to be killed by police than whites. 

Now that that's out of the way, I want to talk about my personal connection to this topic. Have you ever been hurt by something, but you can’t do anything to fix it? That’s how I feel every time I hear about another brother or sister being killed by shameless police officers. Trayvon Martin, Alton Sterling, Philando Castille, Tamir Rice, Mike Brown, Dontre Hamilton, Eric Garner, and many more. When the project was introduced to me, this was the first thing to come to mind. As an African American myself, I felt inclined to take on this redundant issue and run with it. I intend to get as much research as possible because knowledge is my weapon. The more I know, the more differences I can make.



This is Eric Garner. Hands Up. Don't Shoot.

These issues are significant because police should be protecting us, not killing us. Although this is a well-known topic, more people should be aware of how real Police Brutality is. It could happen to anyone and I know that there are good cops, but your straw could be pulled at any time. Hopefully those who follow me on this journey will be inspired to help raise awareness and support.

In conclusion, I’m glad that I have the opportunity to give back to my culture. Thank you for reading all the way to the end. If you have any questions you can email me: rpowell@scienceleadership.org. Before you go, ask yourself, ‘Am I a Bystander?’ If your answer was yes, then what are you waiting for?! Go out and make a difference.

If you want more information, check out my annotated bibliography here.



Domestic Violence

My name is Emily. The topic I chose is domestic violence. Every year too many people are victims of domestic violence. About 1 in 3 women and 1 in 14 men are physically abused by an intimate partner .

Image result for domestic violence

A common misconception for victims of domestic violence are that it is purely physical violence. In some relationships there are violent threats made. Also there are many relationships where one partner is basically imprisoned in their own home. Another common misconception is that only women are affected by domestic violence. Male domestic violence charity The ManKind Initiative say that for every three victims of partner abuse, two will be female and one will be male. Domestic violence against men is real but not as recognized as much as domestic abuse against women.

I’ve lived through domestic violence. I watched my father hit my mother for years. Then came along my stepfather. He was just as bad. He hit my mother just as bad as my father did. I remember from when I was as young as 3 my father getting angry and punching walls and doors then eventually my mother would try to calm him down and he would hit her. My mother grew up in a home with an abuser. Her father was extremely abusive towards her mother and her. This being all she knew she married my father who abused her as well. After he left when I was 3 my mother remarried in 2010. This time everything was fine for about a year. Then he began to get angry and hit the doors and walls. Then my mother didn’t want my siblings and I to see him like this. She would then try to calm him down. This bringing him to do the same thing my father did. He would hit her. He left numerous bruises in her arms and legs. He stayed for 4 years before he left. My sister spent 9 days at a mental hospital for suicidal thoughts. She was so depressed. After the first day she was there my stepfather left. As soon as things got hard he left us.

Around 20 people are physically abused by an intimate partner per minute. Many victims never speak up about their experiences for fear that their abuser may find them. Other people never even escape abusive homes. They are to scared of being further abused if they are found escaping. There are also some cases where people are in denial about the abuse they are going through. In these cases people see the situation as normal. My mother thought that everything was normal for years until my father made her wear long sleeves in the summer to cover the bruises. He wanted everyone to think we were a normal family. To the public most relationships are completely normal but behind closed doors too many relationships have an abuser who controls their partner's every move. Domestic violence is an act of control. All acts of abuse are about controlling. Weather or not your partner keeps you from going out or physically abuses you, all of it is about control.

A woman named Lovern Gordon shared her domestic violence story to the huffington post. In her story she explains that she was given the option of her abuser or her friends and family. Being “young” she said she chose him. She said that the first time he hit her she thought it was a one time thing. He apologized and she thought it was over. Over the next month he became more and more violent. He slapped and punched her in private. Behind closed doors was a whole different story to what was seen outside. There was an altercation between her abuser and her brother and he again asked her to choose between him or her family. She was in denial and she again chose him. Over the course of the remainder of their relationship he continuously told her that he loved her. He got even more violent he kicked and choked her. SH thought since he apologized and said he loved her it was okay. There was one particular night, the night she finally got the help she needed where he beat her so bad and threatened to kill her that she thought she may die that night. In this case she was lucky. She got the help she needed. She was lucky. Too many people die from not seeking the help they need.




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Annotated Bibliography


Children With An Incarcerated Parent: Behavioral Health, Actions, and Everyday Social Life

My name is Teyonna Little. I am a ninth grade student at Science Leadership Academy. For the fourth quarter project at SLA, the ninth grade class are researching and studying issues in the world that affects them personally or that they are deeply interested in. This project is called You and The World. After seeking multiple topics about youth and issues concerning North Philadelphia specifically, I came up with an idea that affects me personally and young children and teens all over the world. I chose to focus on “Children with Incarcerated Parents or a parent.” While doing this topic, my goal is to learn more about the way children respond to their parent being imprisoned and they everyday behavior concerning their social life and different environments. I am really interested in learning more about this topic because I currently go through the same issue, with my biological father being incarcerated for a long period of time. These behaviors and responses in this specific group of children matters today because it affects their future, their behaviors, and what they would be like, or who they would be throughout the rest of their lives. It is important to know this so that others who don’t struggle with the same issue will know how to respond to certain reactions and completely understand why someone is acting the way they are acting.

Children with a parent or parents in jail or in prison has a common symptom or sign that they are going through something specifically dealing with their behavioral health. You can see this in their social lifestyle; rather someone else is bringing up their missing parent at a school event or they are really withdrawn when other adults talk about it. They tend to become antisocial, and isn’t so comfortable around certain things and certain people. They are emotional and can struggle in school or just simply having a hard time being around other children. Research shows that children and teenagers with incarcerated parents or parent have 8 of 16 mental and physical health issues.  

As I am continuing with my research concerning this issue, my understanding becomes more open and more clear of behaviors I have experienced with myself in my past and in my present. There is so much more to be opened and shared, and I am determined to get others more aware of these children and their behaviors. As of now, I am wondering and more open to know about how these behaviors are dealt with, how the parent that is incarcerated feel, and how life and opportunities can be made easier and less stressful regarding a strong relationship with the wired fence between children and their parent.

Written by Daniel P. Mears and Sonja E. Siennick from Florida State University, they reflect on adult children and how having an incarcerated parent affects their future.


The Hidden Disorders

Hi, my name is Sara, and I’m going to be telling you about eating disorders. As you probably know, this is for the You & The World project, a project where ninth grade students in Ms. Giknis’ class take on an issue that we see in the world. We become the experts of our classes on our topics, researching them deeply until we completely understand them. Then, we will become an agent of change in the world, making an impact on this issue or someone who suffers at its hand. For my project, I’m going to delve into the world of eating disorders. My goal for this project is to learn as much as I can about eating disorders, then sharing that with the world to raise awareness for these issues.

First of all, an eating disorder is categorized as a disorder in which a person’s eating pattern changes dramatically, resulting in negative effects on the person’s health. There are four types of eating disorders: Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Binge-Eating Disorder, and Other Specified Feeding and Eating Disorders (OSFEDs). Anorexia Nervosa, usually known as simply anorexia, is when a person severely restricts their diet, even to the point of sometimes not eating at all, due to thinking that they are very overweight. Someone with anorexia will weigh themselves often, exercise excessively, and have a very strict diet that they hold themselves to almost religiously. This has a huge impact on the person’s health, causing brittle bones (osteoporosis), hair loss, severe dehydration that can manifest into kidney failure, and more. In 2011 it was discovered, by looking at fifty years of research, that “anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder”. A different study noted that “people with anorexia nervosa had a six-fold increase in mortality compared to the general population.”

This photo depicts how anorexia affects the body (in a woman). It causes a ton of problems. https://www.womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/anorexia-nervosa.html
This photo depicts how anorexia affects the body (in a woman). It causes a ton of problems. https://www.womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/anorexia-nervosa.html
Binge-Eating Disorder is like the opposite disorder of Anorexia Nervosa. A person with Binge-Eating Disorder will binge on food, meaning to eat a lot in a small time frame, often secretly. They will sometimes feel shame about their eating habits and diet frequently, sometimes with little to no effect. When a person with this disorder binges, it’s usually to cope with an emotional issue occurring in their life lately. Some people joke that they “stress eat”, but those with Binge-Eating Disorder actually do. When something bad happens or they are feeling upset, they use food as a way to cope, regretting it later. This cycle of pain and food is pretty much the opposite of good for these people’s bodies. It can cause high blood pressure and blood sugar levels, gallbladder disease, and even Type II Diabetes.
This image shows  some statistics about Binge-Eating Disorder in the United States. http://www.healthline.com/health/eating-disorders/binge-eating-disorder-statistics
This image shows some statistics about Binge-Eating Disorder in the United States. http://www.healthline.com/health/eating-disorders/binge-eating-disorder-statistics
Furthermore, Bulimia Nervosa also consists of binging on food, but a person with Bulimia will then either make themselves throw up or take laxatives to empty their system of this food quickly. Someone with Bulimia is also very concerned with their weight, dieting and exercising a lot, but unlike those with Anorexia, they keep a normal weight. This makes bulimia harder to see. However, over time symptoms and consequences arise, such as tooth decay, severe dehydration and electrolyte imbalance, inflamed intestines, and more. One study “found that the elevated mortality risks for bulimia nervosa and eating disorder not otherwise specified (now recognized as OSFED, other specified feeding or eating disorder) were similar to those for anorexia nervosa.”
This photo shows the cycle that someone with bulimia goes through, advancing their illness. http://www.healthline.com/diabetesmine/ask-dmine-how-bolus-bulimia
This photo shows the cycle that someone with bulimia goes through, advancing their illness. http://www.healthline.com/diabetesmine/ask-dmine-how-bolus-bulimia
Finally, there are OSFEDs, Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorders. These include atypical versions of standard eating disorders. For instance, atypical anorexia is like anorexia without some of the symptoms. Atypical bulimia is bulimia, but the binge-and-purge cycle is practiced less often. Another OSFED is purging disorder, where the person purges like with bulimia, but without binge eating. The final OSFED I’m going to talk about is night eating syndrome, where a person eats excessively eats at night.

You might be wondering why I chose this topic. I feel that eating disorders are a big problem, especially here in the U.S., because they seem to get no recognition as an actual disease. People pass it off as just a common thing, and something that only girls do. This problem relates to me, because I used to have bulimia. When I had told a friend, she didn’t feel the need to tell an adult until she noticed me throwing up after every meal. She thought it wasn’t a big deal. The reasons behind eating disorders are almost as complicated as the disorders themselves. One main reason is due to pressure from friends and the media. The media portrays all of its models as tall and unhealthily skinny, conditioning kids to want that body from a young age. Another reason is due to Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), a disorder that causes the person to believe that they are ugly and fat when looking in the mirror or at their body, even if they are the skinniest person in the world.

This picture shows how someone with Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) can see themselves, versus how they actually look. This disorder can encourage them to exercise and fast to the point of being too thin. https://breakingmuscle.com/learn/the-modern-male-an
This picture shows how someone with Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) can see themselves, versus how they actually look. This disorder can encourage them to exercise and fast to the point of being too thin. https://breakingmuscle.com/learn/the-modern-male-an
As you can see, eating disorders are a big and underestimated issue in the United States, and there needs to be more awareness for them. My research has given me so much more knowledge about eating disorders and the reasonings behind them. By my next blog post, I want to know more about how aware people are of eating disorders and their impact on people’s lives. I hope that I’ve been able to educate you all a bit on eating disorders, tune in next post to learn more.
This photo shows the standard treatment for an eating disorder. This is only the standard, because the treatment depends on the individual. https://www.akronchildrens.org/cms/kidshealth/b03f6b355bc60ea4/
This photo shows the standard treatment for an eating disorder. This is only the standard, because the treatment depends on the individual. https://www.akronchildrens.org/cms/kidshealth/b03f6b355bc60ea4/
For more information, see my Annotated Bibliography!

Overworked Public Defenders

Overworked Public Defenders

Hello, my name is Payton McQuilkin. This project I am working on is named “You & The World Project”. In this project we are opened to find something in the world that we, the freshmen, feel as though is an issues that needs attention. My topic I’ve chosen is the public defenders in the United States are doing people no justice due to the overload of work they have everyday.  In court people who have little income and don’t have enough money for an attorney are given a public defender in replacement. An attorney, which costs a pretty penny, has much time to investigate and prepare for their client. The public defender will just meet their client when arriving in the courtroom. Multiple studies shows that in the United States, the public defenders are overworked, often underpaid, and not given enough to defend a client.

The whole public defender system started in January 1962, when a man in Florida received 5 years in prison for representing himself. He stole some beer, change, and cokes. Now there is a required “defense attorney” for a client who can not afford an attorney. The public defenders defend any type of cases which can be; felonies, misdemeanors, juvenile, and appeals. When arriving in the courtroom they meet their clients each day. Every day they get a load of cases. Doesn’t that seem hard to keep track of? Even if the public defender was to try to turn down another case to handle, they aren’t allowed. Many states do not allow any public defenders to deny any cases. This picture is from the show called, “60 Minutes”. This episode shows the public defenders. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/inside-new-orleans-public-defenders-decision-to-refuse-felony-cases/

This is a link to watch is you would like!!

Normally because public defenders are so overloaded with the cases they are given, they end up encouraging the client to admit they’re guilty to get rid of the case. This seems pretty unfair to those clients, they are in a time of need of someone to help them. They need someone who cares about their case but all they're worried about is to get rid of their case. The percentage of cases with public defenders are 47%, while the assigned attorney is 12%.  The estimated time a public defender has with a client before appearing in front of the judge is 7 minutes. The public defender is said to work on a case for less than an hour. This shows how little the effort is for the client.  This shows how a public defender is not ready to defend their client. They have no time to look into the case to see if the client is actually guilty or innocent. This picture shows that on different types of cases, the public defender's does not get the time they need to defend their client properly.

I choose this topic because of my first experience with a public defender. My sister, who is in jail, doesn’t have enough money for an attorney, so received a public defender in replacement. My sister landed herself in jail for a year for having drugs on her. I think this is unfair not only because she’s my sister, but because she didn’t have the proper defense on her side. People who commit much more violent crimes get out faster than my sister who committed a nonviolent crime. I wanted to do this because before I had my first experience, I paid no mind to how unfair the justice system can be. I think this is relevant and it affects so many people in the world and this can’t go on forever because it’s unfair! The overload of cases on a public defender’s plate needs to come to an end.

The issue of the public defender's doesn’t stand out much if you don’t experience it. My hopes in this is to help people understand that the way the public defenders are being worked and the clients are suffering. I’ve learned how the system started and actual statics of the public defenders. I hope to find out the estimated cost of an attorney and the impact on the people in jail because their public defenders did them no justice.

You can go to my document on the websites I used here...

 


Looking Deeper Into Industries Harming Animals

Hello, my name is Nasya Ie. I am currently a freshmen at Science Leadership Academy. In my English class, we have a project called You & The World and in this project we get to choose a topic that interests us. For this project, I chose Industries Harming Animals. This topic matters to me dearly because I want to be a veterinarian and to be a vet you have to have passions animals to do your job. I want the world to know how animals are suffering because of companies are taking skin, fur, leather, wool, silk and more! Even pet stores that are selling animals are treating them like nothing.

All around the world people are keeping animals in captivity, they leave the animal in horrible environment and conditions. They leave them in small cramped spaces with no food or water, they get diseases without any vets to help them. Animals are getting diseases because they are in an environment that will make them unhealthy. These industries will harm them, not care for them, and treat them like they are nothing. They harm these animals, they can feel pain like we do. I want to open people's eyes that this is happening, that this need to stop this. Not a lot of people know what the history of the fur they are wearing, how the animal were treated to get the fur. Also, you shouldn’t always trust your pet store because they are not innocent, they are doing bad thing and still doing it now.

Petco is an industry that provides supplies for pets and sells pets. Little did you know, Pecto will put animals in cramped spaces and bad conditions. “The death toll was so high at the store I worked at that part of the closing procedure every day was to take out the dead ‘feeder fish’ who had been sucked into a filter, wrap them in a plastic bag, and place them in the ‘dead’ freezer, along with dead rats, mice, hamsters, birds, and other casualties.” If they see animals that are hurt or unhealthy, they will leave them to die, no vets to help the animals. Petco is not the only one that treats their animals like this many more, Petsmart, Pet Supplies Plus and many stores will keep animals in these conditions.

Clothing companies like Abercrombie and fitch, Guess, H&M, etc. most likely have fur factory farms, keep small animals like, foxes, bunnies, ferrets, raccoons, cats, big cats, birds, and more. “Each mink skinned by fur farmers produces about 44 pounds of feces in his or her lifetime.” Keeping them in captive then skinning them alive which is so gruesome, having no care for the animals and environment. But why would they skin animals? Because it is all “natural.” After they are skinned, they then will put it in chemicals so it won’t rot. There is a whole process to do this so people can wear their skin/ fur. This is crazy because not a lot of people know that animals had to have a gruesome death to have that fur coat, pom pom, leather, feathers. I want more people to see that fur, leather, feather is that representation of their death, their death being shown off on stores, on people. So, that people will be more careful on what they buy.

furfarms
furfarms

Image- One Person, One World

This is similar to puppy mills. Puppy mills are secret pet trade industries. They will have no concern for the animals, put them in cramped filthy cages, plus no proper care from vets. Puppy mills cages are usually wood and wired cages or they will chain then up outside in any type of weather. Puppy mills over breed and because of that they will have disorders. Since they over breed they will abandon dogs and cats, making them leave up in shelters.
HSUSAnimalShelterPercentages2014
HSUSAnimalShelterPercentages2014

Here is a map showing the percentage spending money on shelters.


All lot of industries are similar with harming animals. By doing this is making our ecosystem have more problems. I know it is going to be a great deal of effort to stop industries harming animals, but I think we can make these industries less greedy. For more information click here for my bibliography.


Litter, The Thing That is Killing us From The Inside out.

Littering


http://pixar.wikia.com/wiki/Earth_(WALL%E2%80%A2E)


Look at this concept of Earth. Try and name Differences between that planet and planet Earth.


This is planet Earth in the movie WALL-E. As you can see, it is showing North America but look at all the trash in the atmosphere and how there's no green anywhere on that planet. You can also notice how there is no polar ice cap in the north of the planet, Because of all the trash and pollution Global Warming took it's course and the ice caps most likely melted. As some of you probably know WALL-E is set in the future, and that future can be set in motion for us as well. Our Earth will look all but the same as WALL-E’s version, all because of us littering. The heaps of trash I see now will soon become the towers trash in our future. The pictures below are too compare the differences between a cartoon and a street in India. It isn’t right that people have to see that in our world. People having to clean YOUR trash. This is showing that if we keep going down the path we’re going down. I t will look the same as WALL-E’s


  


As of right now the earth isn’t where it should be with the trash problem. In india there is really bad places filled with trash and litter. Information about this street is here.


As you can see what this littering is doing to certain people and countries in this world.


How I Try as of Now to Prevent Littering


There is too much litter in the world for one person to clean themselves. So whenever I see someone drop litter onto the ground You’ll always see me pick it up no matter what. And once I pick it up I tell them the same speech I said above about WALL-E. Maybe not word for word but still. My mother always told me to never let go of trash and let it go in the streets. She always said, “Bad people make the world Ugly, there's lots of bad people here, which is why it's so dirty.” I guess when I was younger I saw that as, if I let the trash go I’m a bad person which is true.


What I am Going to do in the Future


For this project I’m gonna see how many people litter in my neighborhood in a park. I will see their age, and gender, and make a conclusion to see which type of people litter the most. Also see what they litter. Is it mainly small pieces of trash or larger things.


Better Treatment of the Elderly

Hello, my name is Micah Isaiah Carrera. I am a Freshmen at Science Leadership Academy We have been assigned a You and the World Project(YATW) The project allows us to choose a problem in the world that we think should get more

Image Source

attention and be acknowledged. The issue that I was interested in is Better Treatment of the Elderly. There are many problems that are invisible to us. Many problems that we need to acknowledge and solve. We have lost the courtesy and respect that the Elders deserve. A blog about this statement can be found Here. These problems occur in the streets and in nursing homes. I chose this because I have many Elders in my family who I love to death. I believe that the respect that I have for my elders is the respect we all should have.

The first issue that needs to be acknowledged is nursing home abuse. This is a subject that truly breaks my heart because one day I know that my Grandparents that I love so much, might have to be taken to a nursing home.  Many Elderly have suffered from these different types of abuses. Poor hygiene is something that can really affect an elder in a negative way.  Something simple as giving them unclean clothes and not giving enough baths can lead to terrible diseases, or even death. Elderly are also physically

(This image can be found Here)

abused. Physical abuse is an occurring problem that has been seen across many nursing homes. I couldn’t believe that people would actually physically abuse Elderly in some nursing homes. There are some organizations that specialize in shutting down nursing homes that do abuse their Elderly. The link to one of these organizations is Here. Elderly cannot do anything about these issues because they are usually blackmailed to not tell anyone. Since they are so vulnerable, it is very tough.



(This image can be found on Here)

Another issue that we needs to be acknowledged is Elderly drug abuse rehabilitation. This is an issue that is a little odd because most of us would think of younger people when you say drug rehab. You may see many homeless Elders on the streets when you go into the city. These Elders are mostly in that position because of drugs. There are some organizations that specialize in bringing these elderly into rehabilitation. They specialize in turning these Elderly people's lives around and giving them the attention they deserve. The link to one of these organizations is Here.

Lastly, an issue that I have witnessed is that American elders are treated worse that 3rd world countries elders. In my 15 years of life, I have been on many trips around the world. For example, in my missions trip to Honduras, we arrived at their airport. The airport had an entire separate way for elders to be escorted in wheelchairs. They had their own line and own way to get to the plane. I asked my Father why they did this. He simply answered that these foreign countries have way more respect for their Elders than America does and that the elders in America don’t receive the respect they deserve. This is one of the main reasons I chose this topic. The link to this issue is Here.

In conclusion, we have lost the courtesy and respect that our elders deserve. The three main issues that stand out to me is nursing home abuse, elderly drug rehabilitation, and respecting our Elders like we should be.


Annotated Bibliography  

Autistic people are different but not less

Hello, My name is Amira Gouri. I am a freshmen at Science leadership Academy. My topic is about Autism. Autism also known as ASD (autistic spectrum disorder) is a disorder that can be noticed on children on early age, generally between two and three years old. It’s when the child has trouble of communicating with others and/or difficulty of learning. Most of the time, autistic people don’t have friends because they have difficulties building friendships. Autistic children need special treatment.
Screenshot 2017-04-26 at 6.54.44 PM.png
This is an image of the autism awareness symbol. It’s a symbol of a puzzle piece with different colors which represents the mystery and the complexity of autism. The different colors represent the diversity symptoms of the autistic individuals.

Over the last decade, scientists have identified a number of rare gene changes associated with autism in around 15 percent of cases. However, in most cases autism can be caused by a combination of genetic risk and environmental factors such as advanced both parents age at time of the conception, illness during pregnancy, difficulties during delivery, prematurity and low birth weight, all these can cause difficulties in the oxygen deprivation to the baby’s brain which can lead to damaging the brain cells. All the nongenetic factors, by themselves are not enough to cause autism unless they are combined with genetic risk factors. There is a crucial debate about vaccines that many believe that it is the cause of autism because many kids suffer from high fever and severe diarrhea after taking it, then their mood and behavior started changing. On the other hand, others argue that vaccines can’t be a cause of autism because every child takes it but just few who have those reactions. It is important to keep in mind that these studies were done on some cases, and the exact cause for autism is still a mystery.

The statistics showed that boys are four times more likely to have autism than girls.There are some autistic people that have a strength in some things and a weakness in others. For example, my brother really excels in math and has a strength in memorizing and learning quickly, but he has a weakness in social communication.

No two people with autism have the same symptoms, some of them have few symptoms which means their autism is mild, but others may have all the symptoms and suffer from severe autism.

The most common symptoms among people with autism are: poor social skills, which includes showing very little or no eye contact, lack of relationships, having difficulty with back and forth conversations, they also have difficulty with controlling their emotions, and understanding others emotions such as pain, and sadness. They also could be very obsessed with certain topics or objects such as numbers, places, toys and facts such as science topics. Hyperlexia (knows how to read but doesn’t understand it) is also common in individuals with autism. Secondary symptoms may include using unusual gestures (and some could also be repetitive) such as clapping, walking on their tippy toes, hand flapping, and closing their ears, some require having repetitive behavior such as rocking, twirling, rearranging objects, and repeating words or phrases that they hear which is called echolalia. taca-autism-stats-2014.jpg

This is an image of a line graph that shows autism increasing between the years 1970 to 2014. Autism is dramatically increasing, statistics from 2014 showed that 1 in 68 children in the US has an ASD, which is a 30% increase from 2012. Imagine to where it increased in 2017. Although the U.S is spending at least 90 billion dollars on autistic support which includes insurance, research, therapy, education... etc, it is still a deficiency in classes with autistic support, different kind of therapy and programs, and even support for parents with autistic children. I believe that is important to spread awareness with posters, events and conferences, so more people will understand the true meaning of autism. Even though early intervention may help children with autism to progress over time, parents still wish there will be a medicine that help their children accrue really fast which bring joy and happiness to their lives again.

Annotated Bibliography

Siarra Cummings


“Children are starving in other Countries of the World!”


Hello my name is Siarra Cummings the topic I have decided to focus on for this project is feeding starving children. Feeding starving children is a serious thing in the world and is still continuing on till this day. Only groups of people work to make sure starvation  isn’t big in the future. More groups have to made because of the thousands of children all over are malnourished and not fed properly together we can end this hunger. This topic interests me because I can’t imagine not having access to food everyday. We waste food almost everyday and take it for granted when some kids don’t even have food.  I  want to create awareness so we can appreciate what we have. Which is why I made my title the way it is because we hear this from our parents almost all of the time, right?

In part of my research I looked up “feeding starving children.” I looked to see if this was a big topic. Were people  really interested in it? The first website that appeared was a feeding children organization, who packaged meals for kids in need of food. This organization is Christian based and they go around recruiting churches to help them out. The organization is  called Feed My Starving Children . I found a connection with the Feeding Starving Children organization, and decided I want to help. A few weeks ago this organization came to my church and presented  the idea of feeding starving children and helping them physically grow. I was so intrigued because I never knew how serious this topic was. The lady presenting gave empowering stories about different children they fed back to a healthy body. There are numerous amount of success stories (link to photos as well) that really just amazes me at what this organization does.

From Miserable Pain to Radiant Joy                                      

In this photo this one of the little boys they nursed this boy back to health, his success story is actually on the website too. He is sitting next to the a box filled with the food that feed my starving children send to his village.

rice and mike

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This is the pack of food they send to these children and it is scientifically tested to nurse them back to a healthy body. This food contains rice, soy, vitamins and vegetables. It may not seem like a lot but since these children are so malnourished they can’t stomach regular food (especially large amounts) and it will make them sick. So they needed something that could be manageable for them to eat.

For my second part of research I really wanted to find out different facts about malnourished children in the world. To reach this information I had to go onto a world hunger organization website to find out the facts. What I read was real heart breaking information and I realize again we Americans take food for granted. Not only does this site talk about world hunger for kids but it talks about how much food we waste a year. I think the numbers are absurd! About 3.1 million children die a year from being malnourished and not receiving the right amount of food. What we don’t know is how it’s affecting where we live right now. Most of us have the easiest access to food and it’s not hard to get what we want.

I wanted to see how much Philadelphians had children who were starving and see how much damage we are doing to ourselves. 30% of children in Philadelphia are starving. We don’t contribute as much to the starving children counts they take every year but since we are one of the poorest cities in the United States we have almost the highest count of starving children. I think starting small and working our way up to help this situation is a good thing! If we start small in Philadelphia and make sure this problem diminishes we could help others.  I feel really passionate about this topic and I hope that it really opens up other people’s eyes in this growing problem.

My goal moving forward is to become a regular volunteer with feed my starving children I think I would enjoy working with this organization!

Check out my sources!

Palm Oil: Who Knew?

Hi! My name is Ruby and I’m a 9th grader from Philadelphia. This is the beginning of a project I am doing about palm oil. Palm oil is found in many common products including Nutella, Oreos, lipstick, detergent, and more. It has useful benefits, as well as highly destructive down-sides. The issue with palm oil is in the way it is produced. It is typically produced by cutting down palm trees located primarily in Indonesia. These trees provide habitats for many animals, and because the trees are being cut down, these animals are becoming endangered.

My intention for this project is to raise awareness about the issue. I believe it is important that people learn about palm oil because in some ways, the wellbeing of the world is at stake. I also think people need to know about this issue so that they can help to repair what damage has been done. My goal is not to discourage the use of palm oil altogether. Instead, I want to promote the use of sustainably produced palm oil, which I will elaborate on later.

My personal connection to this issue has to do with Girl Scouts. I was a Girl Scout for six years. I sold hundreds of boxes of Girl Scout cookies, all of which contain palm oil. Looking back, I regret my decision to sell the cookies and to support the effort because of how negatively it affects the world. Girl Scouts of the USA defends their use of palm oil by stating, “It is necessary to use palm oil in our cookies because palm oil is unique in its ability to provide volume and texture in baked goods, usually without adding trans fats.” This is a good point, however, it does not exactly justify the way palm oil is produced.

Like I said, I want to promote the use of sustainable palm oil because it is an adequate solution to this issue. It is produced in a way that does not have a negative impact on the environment. In 2008, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil created a set of criteria for producing sustainable palm oil. One of the most important of these criteria states, “No primary forests or areas which contain significant concentrations of biodiversity (e.g. endangered species) or fragile ecosystems, or areas which are fundamental to meeting basic or traditional cultural needs of local communities (high conservation value areas), can be cleared.” This is key because (if followed) these criteria could potentially eradicate the issue of palm oil-related deforestation. Keep in mind though, this does not erase the damage that has already been done.


Here are two examples of what sustainable palm oil food labels look like from the WWF. Keep an eye out for them next time you go to the grocery store.

There are several organizations that are hard at work trying to fix this issue. The World Wildlife Fund is a major non-profit that works to improve the environment. This article from their website talks about how they protest the use of palm oil. It also discusses the alarming fact that the production of palm oil, as well as how it is sometimes burned, can create greenhouse gases and contribute to global warming.
This picture from the Union of Concerned Scientists shows the deforestation that is a result of palm oil production.

Overall, palm oil is a big problem. However, there is a known solution, which is certainly a step in the right direction. Still, I wonder if there are any downsides to producing sustainable palm oil. My guess is that it is more expensive, otherwise I assume manufacturers would simply use it without a thought. Stay tuned for my next blog post!

If you’re interested in learning more about palm oil, visit my Annotated Bibliography for extra information.


The Importance of Printmaking

PRINTMAKING
Printmaking is the process of transferring an image from a printing block to another surface. The importance of printmaking lies mainly in its ability to duplicate an image an infinite amount of times with relative ease. This is precisely the reason why the invention of printmaking was so revolutionary. Printmaking has existed for such a long time that it was even a practice utilized by the Mesopotamians, who used cylindrical seals to transfer images onto clay tablets. Over the years, various forms of technology have assisted printmaking in becoming widely used. For instance, there was Gutemburg, who made the very first printing machine. It was a wooden press with movable metal type, and it took him approximately four years to complete. Much later on, there was (and still is) the inkjet printer.

Mackley-Church+path+9
Mackley-Church+path+9
This print is Church Path, a wood engraving created by George Mackley in 1956. I specifically enjoy this print, as it is vaguely eerie, yet has a calming atmosphere. This seems to mainly be the result of the use of light and shadow present in this image (not that there is much use of light! :D ) Additionally, the attention to detail is striking, and immediately catches the viewer's eye.

Week 3 - Day 2 - Little

In art, negative space is the space around a subject or subjects of the picture. In my cut out, I found negative space by overlapping my construction papers and getting a clear visual of what the subject was and what was around it and between it. It helps an artist to see in negative space so that they can see from different perspectives. I think seeing in negative space enhances drawings because there is so little going on in the picture, but negative space seems like it is way more to the picture. I think negative space makes an image or a subject alive when something so simple is happening.

FullSizeRender
FullSizeRender

The Behind Deep Poverty In Philadelphia

The Truth Behind Deep Poverty In Philadelphia

My name is Kyla Gladney-Enos and I’m going to talk about an important topic for my You And The World project that some people are ignorant to, or that some people don’t like talking about. The topic that interests me the most is deep poverty in Philadelphia. More specifically, hunger as a result of deep poverty. Deep poverty means that the person or family is living under the average poverty rate of $20,000. This is a problem because when you’re impoverished, you may not have the things you need to survive like drinkable (running) water, electricity, heat, etc. The current population in Philadelphia is nearly 1.56 million. The population in Philadelphia who are impoverished is about 200,000 people. I plan on raising awareness by grabbing people's attention with actual facts instead of trying to make poverty seem not as bad as it actually is.

Image result for north philadelphia poorThis is a picture of the nation’s 10 most populous cities. As you can see, Philadelphia has the highest rate of poverty and deep poverty within the nation’s most populous cities. About half the people who are living in poverty are living in deep poverty in Philadelphia.


I’m interested in this topic because it’s an issue that is inevitable to terminate due to the number of children being born each year. About four million children are being born in the United States each year. 14.5 percent of those babies are going to poor families. When I was a little girl, I didn’t know what poverty was, so how could I have known what deep poverty was? My mother was so good at hiding the fact that we were living in public housing, didn’t have a lot of money, and got most of our food from food banks.




children-school lunchThis is a picture of kids in the lunch line getting food. This is important because in order for children to be healthy, they need the proper nutrients and protein from healthy food.

The official definition of hunger is feeling or displaying the need for food. In Philadelphia, 1 of 5 people are considered a risk for hunger. That’s about 260,000 people in Philadelphia who might be starving. This number has been increased 65% in the last eight years. The people who are hungry in Philadelphia are mostly children. 30% of Philadelphia’s children are hungry and 6% are senior citizens. 14% of the people who are hungry in Philadelphia are white, 18% are black, and 24% are Latino. 60% of hungry children are most likely to miss school than children who are not hungry. This is a serious problem because if these kids who are starving miss too much school, they’ll have to repeat the grade over.

IMG_7423.JPG                  IMG_7421.JPG

These are pictures that I took on April 25, 2017 at 4:07 PM on 20th and Arch. This is a pretty popular avenue in Philadelphia that’s located in the city near a lot of museums. In the pictures, there doesn’t appear to be a lot of trash on the ground, the sidewalks aren’t cracked, and the streets look nice.

My goal moving forward is to volunteer at a food bank every once and awhile. When I started researching deep poverty in Philadelphia, I didn’t expect Philadelphia to be the poorest big city in the nation. I feel like the government is good at hiding this stuff. The other day I was talking to my friend who has never lived in poverty. She’s lives in a primarily white neighborhood with her white mom and sister. When I was explaining what deep poverty was and showing her pictures of North Philadelphia, she said those pictures make the city look bad and that Philadelphia doesn’t look like that. I started thinking how could she not know this? Why doesn’t she know this? But it’s not her fault. It’s the media’s fault. Even in school they don’t teach us that Philadelphia is the most poorest big city nation wide. I want to inform people (who haven’t experienced what the conditions of poverty are like) about what’s really going on in the real world. I want to learn more about why we don’t get educated about important things that’s going on in our city.

IMG_7425.JPGIMG_7427.JPG

These are pictures I took on April 25, 2017 at 7:02 PM. This block is also a popular avenue in Southwest Philadelphia. In this picture, there appears to be trash in the street, cracked trolley tracks, and cracked sidewalks.


Here’s my annotated bibliography!


Anxiety

Hi, my name is Briannie Matos, a freshman at Science Leadership Academy. For my english class, we were assigned a You & The World project where you choose a topic you feel is important and you become an agent of change. I decided to do my project on Anxiety because it is apart of my life and I want to help others with it too.

Anxiety is a mental health disorder characterized by feelings of worry or fear. Many of my family members and friends have anxiety, including myself. My Aunt is one of the only people I know that actually takes medication for anxiety. Sometimes I see how bad it affects her because if she is anxious or nervous about something her hands would start to shake and she would at times start to cry.  Seeing people deal with anxiety is pretty overwhelming because I can see how tough it is for them to get through the day. I want to help find a way for people to cope with anxiety. Having a specific routine and habit can help with anxiety. For example, the way I get through the day is with my chain that has cross on it. I simply rub on the cross and it tends to calm me down and keep me relaxed. For others, stress balls could help or exercising daily. It’s a big issue because some people have to take medication and have treatment. It can interfere with daily activities and it can also affect children.

Anxiety can interfere with someone’s daily life and it depends on how bad you have anxiety. People need medication and some don’t. Anxiety affects 40 million people in the United States, ages 18 and older. Those with anxiety are most likely to be hospitalized for psychiatric disorder than people who don’t have anxiety. Only one-third of people suffering from anxiety receive treatment. When having anxiety, it is likely to have depression as well. Symptoms and signs of anxiety are:

  • Feeling on edge

  • Difficulty concentrating

  • Mind tends to go blank

  • Sleeping problems

  • Muscle tension

Anxiety affects one in every eight children in the U.S. According to what the ADAA says, Anxiety disorders cost the U.S. more than $42 billion a year, almost one-third of the country's $148 billion total mental health bill.

Image result for graph showing population in U.S. with anxiety

This line graph shows college students percentage of anxiety, depression, and relationship problem. Anxiety increased throughout the years 2010-2013. Being under the pressure of anxiety as a student can be very overwhelming. Especially when trying to concentrate on your work and studies. Two anxiety disorders are Panic Disorder and Social Anxiety Disorder. Panic Disorder is when having unexpected panic attacks. Panic disorders are most likely for women than men and 6 million people in the U.S., which is 2.7% of the U.S. population, have panic disorder. Social Anxiety Disorder is when a person has an unreasonable fear of social situations, this is also called social phobia. Social Anxiety Disorder are common for both men and women around the age of 13. 15 million people in the U.S. have Social Anxiety Disorder, which is 6.8% of the U.S. population.

Overall, anxiety will always be apart of my life and I’m excited to see what I can do to help others with anxiety. You can visit my annotated bibliography for more information.



Image result for graph showing anxiety in the us

Suicide

Hello my name is Kishara Erwin. I am currently in the 9th grade at Science Leadership academy. My english teacher has assigned us to our 4th quarter benchmark titled You & The world project. My project is based on suicide between teens through adults. This topic is important because people need to be aware of how many people take their own life because they could not receive any help from the struggles they were going through. My topic is important because I almost lost my friend when she tried to take her own life. Luckily, I was able to convince her that her life was worth living and not to throw it away over a bunch of lies and people that have no power.

Furthermore, in the U.S. suicide is the 10th leading cause of death. Every year 44,193 americans die because they committed suicide. There are 25 attempts for every suicide committed. The U.S gains 44 billion dollars annually because of suicide. Overall, there is an average of 121 suicides per day. In the year of 2015 the highest suicide rate was 19.6. Here is a link to the graph showing all of the data about the number of suicides committed.

   

People come to the decision of suicide due to various reasons in life.  Some reasons are because they have a mental disorder. Also, the broad reason which is bullying. Lots of times for kids bullying is the main reason they decide to throw their life away.  In life things can pile on top of another and a person cannot handle it so they kill themselves. Sometimes, people hold everything inside and it causes them to end their life as well.  Not telling your family what you are going through, causes you to end you life too. Keeping quiet may make you feel alone so you don't receive any help and you kill yourself.  

People come to the decision of suicide due to various reasons in life.  Some reasons are because they have a mental disorder. Also, the broad reason which is bullying. Lots of times for kids bullying is the main reason they decide to throw their life away.  In life things can pile on top of another and a person cannot handle it so they kill themselves. Sometimes, people hold everything inside and it causes them to end their life as well.  Not telling your family what you are going through, causes you to end you life too. Keeping quiet may make you feel alone so you don't receive any help and you kill yourself.  

Unfortunately, there are various ways to end your life. People decide to end their life faster by stepping in front of a moving vehicle. People step in front of subways, trains, buses, and cars. When people commit suicide by stepping in front of a suicide that is called straphanger deaths. From the year 2010-2012 there were a total of 153 deaths by subway trains. For over three years 118 people tried to kill themselves but they did not succeed.  It is very rare to commit suicide by jumping in front of a train.

Lastly, there are ways to prevent people from committing suicide. For instance, here's a link to the national prevention lifeline: . People can receive help from using this website.  Another way to prevent suicide is to stop the bullying going on in all the schools. People should stop judging one another and then less people would stop throwing their lives away. We should compliment each other more. Supporting people through their troubles, helps them inside. They know they have someone to count on to look out for them. More importantly, they feel safe. For more information you can check out my annotated bibliography

graph of how many people committed suicide over the years.
graph of how many people committed suicide over the years.
Believe your someone who is worth living for
Believe your someone who is worth living for

Environmental Pollution in Philadelphia: Your Worst Enemy

Hello! My name is Asnain Khan and I am currently a freshman at Science Leadership Academy. We are doing a project in my English class called, “You And The World” (Y&TW). What is a “You And The World” project? Well, it’s when we choose an issue in the United States, the world, or in our community, and do research on it. After that, we go out into the world and try to make a change on the issue we chose. The issue you choose isn’t just random, you choose an issue you are interested in and can probably relate to. I chose the issue of environmental pollution in Philadelphia. I chose this topic because I am very interested in pollution, and I believe that it affects everyone in Philadelphia, including me. I hope to make a change occur and let people know more about this topic. I am going to try to bring awareness and interview a person that suffers because of environmental pollution in Philadelphia.

One of the major problems that Philadelphia is facing today is that of environmental pollution. It’s increasing with every passing year and causing grave and irreparable damage to the environment. Environmental pollution refers to the introduction of harmful pollutants into the environment. It has a hazardous effect on the natural world and on the activities of living beings. According to Phillymag, Philadelphia is the 10th most polluted city in the United States. Because Philadelphia is so polluted, many people are affected by it. “Each year in Philadelphia, an estimated 126 lives are cut short and 284 people are hospitalized due to excess air pollution,” according to a report by the American Thoracic Society and New York University.


According to Environmental Pollution and Its Effects, “environmental pollution consists of five basic types of pollution, namely, air, water, soil, noise, and light.” Air pollution is the contamination of any environment by any chemical, a physical or biological agent that modifies the natural characteristics of that atmosphere. Driving cars and trucks, burning coal, oil, other fossil fuels, and even such everyday activities as dry cleaning, painting, and filling your car with gas are some main sources of air pollution. Water pollution is the contamination of different water bodies. Humans pollute water with large scale disposal of garbage, flowers, ashes, and other household waste. Soil pollution, which can also be called soil contamination, is a result of acid rain, polluted water, fertilizers etc., which leads to bad crops. Noise pollution is the excessive sound that may cause harm to the humanity. Noise pollution mainly includes machines and transportation systems, motor vehicles, aircraft, and trains. Last but not least, light pollution is excessive, misdirected or misused light that can harm human health, wildlife, ecosystems and astronomy. Although light pollution is one of the least known types of pollution, its effects on human health and ecosystems can be just as serious as some of the better-known forms of pollution. Light Pollution includes light trespass, over-illumination and astronomical interference.

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This picture shows what light pollution looks like.

         

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This picture conveys what soil pollution looks like.  


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This picture express what noise pollution looks like.


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  This picture proclaim what water pollution looks like.  


Air pollution is by far the most harmful form of pollution in Philadelphia. As I stated before, air pollution occurs when gases, dust particles, smoke or odor are introduced into the atmosphere in a way that makes it harmful to humans, animals, and plants. This is because the air becomes contaminated. Dust, dirt, harmful gases, and industrial emissions all form a part of air pollution. These pollutants cause a deterioration in air quality and are capable of harming life forms. Air pollution is a serious problem. Air pollution can cause harm to the lungs. Phillymag states, “air pollution poses a risk to children under 18, too, because their lungs are still developing; it can cause bronchitis or infection and puts them at a greater risk for lung disease later in life.” Not only does air pollution pose a risk to children under 18, but it also poses a risk to adults 65 and over. Phillymag states, “studies show that breathing in ozone and particle pollution puts older adults at a higher risk of respiratory and cardiovascular problems. This is bad news for the 185,309 people over 65 living in Philadelphia County.” As stated by Philly.com, “ozone and particulates also exacerbate chronic obstructive lung disease, requiring more than 280 Philadelphians each year to seek hospitalization or treatment in an emergency room, according to the study.” Air pollution can cause asthma as well. According to Phillymag, “out of the 1,526,006 people living in Philadelphia, 32,761 have pediatric asthma, 117,594 have adult asthma, 49,215 have chronic bronchitis and 20,494 have emphysema.” Because air pollution can cause different types of serious health problems, many people die and are hospitalized because of those conditions.

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This photo betray what air pollution in Philadelphia looks like.  


Overall, you can see that environmental pollution is a very important and effective issue. Due the research I did on this issue, I learned a lot about all types of environmental pollution. There were so many things I didn’t know before, that I know now. Such as, Philadelphia is the 10th most polluted cities in the United States. My research has given me so much knowledge about the air pollution in Philadelphia and the effects it has on people and the environment. I wonder if students are educated about pollution in Philadelphia? I say this because I was never taught about pollution in Philadelphia and how impactful it is. I want to know more about what people in Philadelphia do about the air pollution and if there have been improvement. I hope after reading this blog you were able to take something away from it. The next blog is on it’s way!


Check out my annotated bibliography for more information!



Don’t Keep Calm, Animals are Being Hurt

Hello! I am Sarah Son and I am a freshmen at Science Leadership Academy. In our English class, we were assigned a project that requires us to choose a specific topic that pulls our interest. I chose animal cruelty for my topic. This topic really stood out to me and spoke to me because I have a connection to this and I think that it is an interesting topic to research. Animals do not have voices, we should speak up for them so that we can make a change and help them since they can’t always defend themselves. The change may be small, but it will mean a lot. I want more people to help and be more aware of this problem!

Did you know that most cases of animal abuse are not reported? Animal cruelty happens in all different kinds of places in the world. Animals, especially dogs, are being hurt in a lot of harsh ways. Animal hoarding is said to be more likely with women who are 60-years-older or older. Men who intentionally abuse animals are most likely under 30, according to this.  As mentioned before, dogs are the most common animal to be mistreated. According to this graph, dogs has the most number of cases, cats being the other.
     
Animal_Abuse_chart
Animal_Abuse_chart
This pie chart shows the percentage of animals who are often abused. As you can see, dogs are shown to have the highest percentage between the others.

There isn’t one way of hurting these poor, innocent animals. That is the scary part, there are tons of ways animal abusers abuse animals. The most common abuse is neglect or abandonment. Another common abuse is hoarding, as mentioned before. Neglect, by definition, is the act of failing to care for something properly. The owner must have failed to provide the animal with requirements such as food, water, healthcare, and most importantly a proper home.

classification_pie
classification_pie
This is another pie chart that shows the different kinds of animal in the U.S. According to this graph, neglect/ abandonment seems to be the one with the highest percentages with 32.4%.

Animal cruelty not only physically and mentally hurt the animal but it hurts people like me, people who care about animals. I asked my mom about our dog that died and she told me, “I remembered the day that she passed. Kina (our dog) was poisoned. The terrible thing was that she was pregnant, too. We didn’t have enough money to do much for her.” There are many people in the world that cares about animals. On the other hand, we have many other people who abuses the animals. I want more people to be aware of this and help out. Little help can be big help to an animal in need.

While doing this research, I learned a lot from these sources. It makes me think harder about what kind of world we live in and it is sad that things like this, animal cruelty, happens every single day. I learned that animal abusers do not even realise that what they are doing is terrible and it is causing pain to animals and people. I also found out that animal abusers are, “five times likely to commit violent crimes against people,” according to this. I hope to figure out what goes inside of an animal abuser’s mind. Why are they doing that? I am hoping to learn more as we go on! Let's make a change.


Annotated Bibliography


Print Making 1 on 1

​What Is Print Making ? 
The activity or occupation of making pictures or designs by printing them from specially prepared plates or blocks. Print making allows for another form of creativity. When printmaking one  may use material such as metal plates, copper, zinc or polymer plates for engraving or etching . There are any different styles of printmaking such as Relief printing, lithography, and etc. The idea of printmaking is important because in allowed for new types of art in the future.

Why is it important ?

Printmaking originated in China after paper was invented around AD 105. It was said Relief printing appeared in Europe in the 15th Century.The process is believed to have been invented by Daniel Hopfer. The printing press was a factor in the establishment of a community of scientists who could easily communicate their discoveries through widely disseminated scholarly journals, helping to bring on the scientific revolution.  It also Led to the spread of mass communication across Europe in only a few decades. Allowed precise molding of new type blocks from a uniform template and allowed for the creation of high-quality printed books.




printmaking-8-638
printmaking-8-638
Example of Print Making : 

As one can tell from looking at the image it is an elephant. The fact that the artist choose black and white stood out to me and show much contrast making this one of the resons my eyes drew towards it.With this visual presentation of printmaking it shows the depth of the black and white contrast.There is also much diversity among the draws on the elephant. In notice that something along the body are more bonded meaning he wanted those to pop out more, which reveals something about artist.The different patterns shows a sense of uniqueness which is what made me fall in love with it.

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2nd Combined No-Hitter of Season & Avery's Hot Bat Has Rockets On Top in Division A

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Screen Shot 2017-04-25 at 3.26.41 PM

Book-end Spring Break wins over Swenson (8-4) and Esperanza (9-3) had the Rockets rolling into Lincoln tied with Frankford at 5-0 atop Division A. Lincoln, who had just lost to Frankford (4-3) were looking to get back on their previous hot streak to keep pace. But SLA’s pitchers had other plans. In a busy week for the upstart Rockets, who face Lincoln, Frankford and North East within 5 days, efficient pitching was critical.

Senior Ben Simon, who shut down the dangerous 2016 Champions Olney Charter, was on his A game again, striking out 4 and holding Lincoln hitless over 4 innings. Most importantly he was efficient, keeping his pitch count below 50 to maintain availability for a relief appearance on Wednesday. Sophomore Leo Cassel-Siskind, who shut down Swenson for his first Varsity start and win, came in and baffled Lincoln hitters with his quirky side-arm delivery and freakish defense. Meanwhile, Junior Ijustice Avery literally put the team on his back, going 3-4 with a Double, one run scored and 3 huge RBIs.

Although not needed, Senior Leon Finney came in to close the game, blowing six consecutive strikes past two overmatched Lincoln hitters, sealing the 2nd combined No-Hitter of the season for the Rockets. Simon, having thrown one all by himself last season, a dominant 17K silencing of Roxborough, has now factored into all 3 No-Hitters in Rockets team history.

The Rockets (6-0) take on Frankford (5-0) in a battle of the undefeated for primacy in Div A Public League on Wed, 4/26. First Pitch 315pm.

Be Patience

I am doing a project where we choose a problem and find a way to let everyone hear about it. I hear many people have chose to do things that affect an area or an event. I wanted to do something else and talk about something that affects people all around the world. I chose Autism because it's something very important and need a lot more support, and people talking about it spread for help. I hope I can help spread the word and have people show their support and love towards kids with Autism so we can embrace it, not run away from it or shun it because it's “weird”.    


I feel very strongly towards this topic because I have Autism and I want people to know about it and help to support it. It something that can really hold children back their whole life because of it’s effect it has on people. A fact I found on a very reliable source called Autism speaks which says Autism is one of the fastest-growing developmental disorders in the U.S. How it works is Autism impacts the normal development of the brain in the areas of social interaction, communication skills, and cognitive function. Individuals with autism typically have difficulties in verbal and nonverbal communication, social interactions, and leisure or play activities and I found this at the national Autism association. A fact I found in Autism society is More than 3.5 million Americans live with an autism spectrum disorder. This is something that hasn’t found a cure as of yet and many have tried to get rid of it in different. Some crazy mothers have tried bleach pills because a long time ago someone said that it worked..which it didn’t it only damaged the baby more and possibly killed a few as well. A very interesting fact I found on quick Autism facts is if one identical twin has autism then there is an 80-90% chance that the other twin will also be diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. Autism was originally believed to be a form of schizophrenia brought on by a traumatic experience or bad parenting this is not the case. It also costs more than $8,600 extra per year to educate a student with autism. Between 30-50% of people with autism have seizures and this is scary to know about. Scientists are unsure what, if any, environmental triggers may be involved in autism. Beliefs in the late 1990s and early 2000s that vaccines may cause autism have since been disproven through numerous studies. Boys are nearly five times more likely than girls to have autism (And seems fair right?). Autism costs a family $60,000 a year on average that is pretty hard to find that out. I hope my facts help show you how Autism works, how it affects people and how they react to it without understanding it. I plan to use my research to help express my project and what I’m trying to tell about Autism and Autistics.