Interviewer: NaQuan Harding

Interviewee: Gerald

N.H: So, who motivated you to vote today?

Gerald: Not much really motivates me to vote, but I feel that if we’re going to have a say in who’s gonna run our country, I figured I may as well have a say in it.

N.H: Not many people seem to share that way of thinking. I mean, look at how many people showed up here today.

Gerald: Yeah, but this is only one polling place. I’m sure that there are more voters in other more public places.

N.H: Maybe, but I heard that voter turnout would be pretty low this year. In fact, aren’t you pretty worried that most Americans don’t care who runs the country. Turnout in and election is usually around 50%, and that’s on a good year.

Gerald: People are looking for a president that will solve America’s problems. Obama’s been making promises to fix things, but we’re still in debt, and workers are still out of jobs because of it.

N.H: So, I assume you’re not voting for Obama in the presidential election?

Gerald: Nope.

N.H: Who might it be, then?

Gerald: I don’t know. Maybe Rick Perry. I like that guy.

N.H: Any particular reason?

Gerald: Shouldn’t you be asking other questions, kid?

N.H: Right, sorry. Um, how do you feel about voting on Tuesdays? Do you find it inconvenient?

Gerald: Not really. I usually tell my boss a week before Election Day that I’ll be out voting. He’s pretty okay with it, and since I’m usually on time for work, he can trust that voting is all I’ll do.

N.H: So, your boss doesn’t trust everyone to miss work for voting?

Gerald: Some guys at my job only use voting as an excuse to miss work. They don’t even vote. They just spend the day doing whatever the hell they want.

N.H: Sounds like something I would do. I just have one more question. Where have you encountered the most ad campaigning? Was it on TV, the internet, anywhere?

Gerald: Well, I don’t watch much TV or spend that much time on the internet, but I definitely get my fill on ad campaigning from my neighborhood. I’m telling you, every telephone pole there has like ten different campaigning posters stapled to it. There are so many there, that I just don’t pay attention anymore.

N.H: Yeah, I hear you. Well, thanks for your time.

Gerald: No problem.

Rice (8-10 serving):

You Will Need:

3 cups of rice

3 tablespoons of olive oil

6 cups of water

2 teaspoons of salt

What To Do:

1. Place water in a kettle and put the fire on high until it boils

2. Start with 3 cups of rice

3. Wash the rice then put in pot (no water yet)

4. Take 3 tablespoons of olive oil and place it into the rice

5. Mix that up on low 

6. When water is at a boil, pour 6 cups of water into the rice

7. Add salt and stir

8. Place lid on it and put fire on high

9. When it comes to a boil turn it down low

10. Keep it on low with cover

11. In about 20 minutes check on rice and stir again

12. It should be ready to serve

13. If not let it sit for a couple more minutes and check it again until it is ready

Beans (8-10 serving): 

*90 calories in each Bean can

*20 calories in each tomato sauce can

You Will Need:

3 16oz cans of red Goya Beans

1 can of tomato sauce

adobo seasoning

From personal Garden

Half cup of diced green bell peppers

Half teaspoon of diced Habenero pepper

One tablespoon of ripe diced jalepeno's

Oregano leaves

Basil leaves

What to do:

1. Lightly Cover Pan with Olive oil (thin layer)

2. Heat oil on low until heated

3. Crush 1/2 clove of Garlic, and chop up 1/2 Onion,

4. Place all peppers, garlic, and onion into the olive oil. And stir

5. Sauté vegetables in oil (DO NOT BURN)

6. Add teaspoon of salt to the pan

7. Add 8 oz of the tomato sauce

8. After stirring for a bit add another 8 oz of tomato sauce

9. Add the 3 cans of red beans

10. Stir thoroughly 

11. Then add a quarter cup of water

12. Add a pinch of adobo seasoning

13. Stir again then place lid on beans

14. Put fire on low

15. When beans are tender it is done

Plantains (8-10 serving):

*40 calories in a bottle of olive oil (will be less because you will not use a whole bottle of olive oil)

You Will Need:

4 cups of water

2 cloves of garlic (peeled and crushed)

2 tablespoons of salt

some vegetable oil

a pan

a bowl big enough to soak plantains in

What To Do (Step By Step):

1. Take three green plantains and peel them (if you prefer sweet plantains then you have to get 3 yellow plantains)

2. After you peel them place them in a bowl full of 4 cups of water

3. Add the salt and garlic to the water

4. Let plantains soak for 15 minutes

5. When done drain them well

6. Take the oil and cover the bottom of the pan at least an half of inch thick

7. Place plantains in pan and fry, flipping over when needed

8. Place paper towel on plate 

9. Take the plantains that are done and put them on the plate

10. Take a paper towel and place over plantains 

11. Hit the paper toweled covered plantains with palm to flatten them

dip them in the salt water and take out IMMEDIATELY

11. place on plate and enjoy

_______________________________________________________

Analysis 

During this project, Anna and I had to make a dish that was not only healthy, but we had to make a dish with natural foods. Our goal was to prove that food can be healthy and taste good. Anna and I made Plantains, Rice, and Beans with freshly grown peppers. Our dish was more natural than organic, because we had freshly grown peppers, and unprocessed beans. The only thing we used that was organic was the tomato paste hat we mixed in with the beans and peppers. Rice, beans, and plantains are kinds of food that depending on how you make them is how much fat and or calories will be in it. We tried to make them with little processed ingredients as we could. But depending on how someone makes these that is how healthy it will be for you. If they add a lot of fatty ingredients to each then eating it every day would not be good. But if you use a lot of natural ingredients and stuff that you have grown from the garden and such then eating this everyday wouldn't be to much of a problem. Especially if you are spanish, rice and beans and sometimes plantains are eaten everyday so they find a lot of ways to make them better so it doesn't make them sick or too fat. So it all depends on what you add. We read the labels and packaging to see where our foods came from, and we learned the rice was grown in Japan, the beans we're grown in texas, and the plantains were originated in Southern Asia. The food that traveled the furthest was the beans from Southern Asia in the Bangladesh area, which was 8260 Miles away. The second longest was Japan at 6762 miles for the imported rice. The processing of these foods are fresh grown, picked, and sent out. None of them are organic, or have any added chemicals except for the tomato paste which was made from organically grown tomatoes. In a regular restaurant setting, the meal we made would cost roughly between $4.99 - $7.99. Compared to fast food, our dish is actually healthy, because it has no added transfat, it wasn't made in grease or a fryer, and it didn't have any unnatural ingredients. The companies that make money from our dish are the Goya Co. (Making the Plantains, and the beans), and Canilla rice, (which gets their rice from 4 different countries, but most commonly, latin america). When growing rice, they usually plow it to collect it and fertilize it and ship it out to factories so they can bag and distribute to the large grocers who produce and send it out. Next, Beans are grown from seeds, and are harvested, picked out of their pods, and packaged to be sent to the grocers who sell them. Plantains are grown exactly like yellow bananas. They are grown on large tree's or tree-like plants, and picked off to be sent to factories in their cells, grown in groups of 5-6 bananas, which are labeled and sent to supermarkets and grocery stores. Chefs and domestic cooks make or use original recipes that involve some of these products which helps make a lot of mixtures and blends form these basic foods. When it comes to a lot of the ingredients it is better to grow them yourself then buy them because you don't have to worry about any of the pesticides and such. But when you are growing stuff yourself you have to know how like you have to make a lot of the crop depending on what you want since weather, and animals effect how many of the crops actually last until you pick them. So for tomatoes and peppers, which were two ingredients we used, I believe these are better and easy to just grow yourself. Now when it comes to plantains I think they have to be in a certain environment so unless you have some top notch garden shizzle going on than that would most likely be better just to buy.

FRUITS: WE WANT YOU TOO

• How did you group go about making a decision for what to focus on for the project?
  The group talked about our strengths and we then decided who should do what in the benchmark. We came to a conclusion without a problem. Then we all talked about what we think is the most effective way to get people to come out and vote, and we all came to an agreement that making voting mandatory would be the best possible option. 
• 11th grade Essential ? - What is the role of the individual in creating and sustaining change? 
  The role of an individual in creating a sustaining change is by making themselves heard and enforcing something to change something. 
• How has your understanding of the electoral process and whether or not the US is a democracy evolved during this unit?
  My understanding about the electoral process has allowed me to see that the US is losing it's right to really be called a democracy. By taking away the ability for people to vote you are keeping out important votes that could make the vote as best it can be. If there are voices unheard, then they can't make a difference. Having voting day on a day in which some people can't make it too and restricting it to one day makes it nearly impossible for some to vote. It is against the rights of a US citizen if you ask me. 
• How did you decide to best relay a message to a national audience with your marketing campaign?
  Well, my job was to make a video and advertise mandatory voting. I went about my process by thinking about what people like to see. I made a flashy and cool intro that would grab the attention of anybody watching. Then i showed a graphic that showed how unemployment has changed over the last decade or so. My goal was to have the viewer see that we have gone down the wrong road and the only way to change that is by voting and making a change, and having those unheard voices heard. 

            I think the role of the individual is to realize that they need to change, and then do it. Change is much better if the individual is the one who realizes that they need to change. Change is much less effective when someone is told to do it, because that is much different than coming to a realization that something is wrong.

            I used to know that voting wasn’t exactly majority, but I didn’t realize how unfair the Electoral College is.  It makes me think that voting should be a majority for it to be a democratic government. It also made me realize that we have the choice to vote, but if we don’t take advantage of that freedom it be a lot worse for the country.

We tried to show that there have been very small voting percentages in the past few years, capping at 61%. We said that with mandatory voting that if a person didn’t vote, then they would be charged a 100$ fine. We capitalized on this point, because a lot of people will choose to go out and take the time to go to the polls, rather than paying the fine. 

My group was Stephen Holts, Tenzin Ngawang, and Sasha Sapp, and myself. We picked our topic by saying the first thing that came to our heads. We did this because we didn't want to spend time arguing over the subject and wanted to get right on to doing the work. I personally decided to do one of the papers because I'm good at writing. This project was in accordance to one of our 11th grade Spanish "What is the role of an individual in creating and sustaining change?". This project to me was about educating the future voters and politicians of America. We did research to understand what changes could be made and why the general public might or might not support. We were making the core of a campaign and if we actually wanted to fight to let 16 year olds vote this is where we would start. My previous idea of how America worked was that they counted every vote that came from every citizen. That idea changed after I learned about the Electoral College and how it works. I think that America is still a Democracy it’s just “The lives of a lot are in the hands of a few” kind of democracy. One thing we did to try to make it more relatable to a general audience is by having a spokesperson or a face of our campaign “Kathleen”. Kathleen is a 16 year old and represents a mature educated portion of 16 year olds that want to vote. Other then that we did all four of the core parts and made a good functioning website.  

          

• My group and I  kind of collaborated our ideas, until we all agreed on one topic. This focus seems to be our main focus because I think we could of relate to it. 
  
  
• 11th grade Essential ? - What is the role of the individual in creating and sustaining change? 
  Everyone was given a responsible to get their part of the project done effectively, and the SLA core values seemed to fit will into the process of our individual work that we all provided into a finished completed project.
  
  
• How has your understanding of the electoral process and whether or not the US is a democracy evolved during this unit?
  My understanding has grown better about the whole electoral process. I have learned many things with this benchmark such as how the process of voting is done and how candidates are elected. 
  
  
• How did you decide to best relay a message to a national audience with your marketing campaign?
  My message to make to the audience was done through my campaign ad. Through my AD I tried to get the message out with a simple message and with creative colors and pictures to grab the attention of the audience.

• How did you group go about making a decision for what to focus on for the project?
  Our group focused on several of the points highlighted in the information on voter turnout. We found that several people of lower income and status chose not to vote. Their reasons for choosing not too were unknown but what was known is that voting is extremely important. We saw reports that other countries who had administered compulsory voting had a higher voting percentage then ours. That's why we decided to focus on compulsory voting. 
• 11th grade Essential ? - What is the role of the individual in creating and sustaining change?  The role of the individual is to create a successful environment which many can agree with and believe in. When creating change it is also important that the person is passionate and believes in their ideal. To sustain change the person must be persisten in their ventures for change. 
• How has your understanding of the electoral process and whether or not the US is a democracy evolved during this unit?
  It has changed because in my opinion, I feel that America is still a democracy but in a way these restrictions go back to civil rights times in the 60's. The government says that they're trying to prevent vouter fraud but there has been very few cases of voter fraud. It seems to me that they are attempting to keep certain groups from voting.  
• How did you decide to best relay a message to a national audience with your marketing campaign?
  We decided it would be best to make our video as interactive as possible and to engage people with our print-ad. We felt that it was best to try and make them as interesting as possible because it is important.

Rebuttal Paper - http://dl.dropbox.com/u/13041242/Final%20Rebuttal.pages

Group Page - https://sites.google.com/a/scienceleadership.org/weekendvotingact/

• How did you group go about making a decision for what to focus on for the project?
  - Well after coming up with a few options (all equally good), we cut the ones we felt were reoccurring around the class, and went with the least popular option. That being extending the voting days to one day during the weekdays, to the weekend. After deciding, everything else went pretty smoothly. 
• 11th grade Essential ? - What is the role of the individual in creating and sustaining change? 
  - In regards to the project, we all wanted to change the voting turnout to have more people in the United States. My position in this process was taking a good idea, and finding the flaws within it. Because if I didn't, other people would exploit it during conversations. With proper knowledge about the flaws with voting on the weekend, when someone else tries to find a flaw, we've already found a response for it.
• How has your understanding of the electoral process and whether or not the US is a democracy evolved during this unit?
  - Absolutely. For my portion of the paper, I had a lot of percentage rates and population counts. And after finding exact numbers for voting turnouts for the past few years, I'm really disappointed with how we've been doing things. Where other countries have 98% turnouts, the United States is still struggling with a measly 29%. And after seeing that only 1/3 of the United States votes, it was pretty shocking.
• How did you decide to best relay a message to a national audience with your marketing campaign?
  - I'm not necessarily sure if I'm answering this correctly, but within the final project we made it very "cheesy." It's still professional nonetheless, but the cheesy factor is clear. With information easy to understand with a funny little slogan, I have a feeling people would be interested after hearing about what we want changed.

Position Paper - Winston Wright.

    One problem in American society today is that the opinion of young minds are truly undervalued. Interestingly enough it is experiences as young children that help mold mature adults, making decisions that will affect the rest of their lives as adults. In the United States Constitution, the 26th amendment states that persons of eighteen (18) years of age or higher are pretty much allowed to vote. Now the age eighteen in the U.S is the age that citizens are branded “Adult.” Being dependent upon themselves and no one else. Many politicians across the country put on a “front” like education comes first. The motto is that we (as in adults in the United States) need to help the future generation figure out a way to effectively lead themselves. “By educating young people, they will be able to make the same successful choices that past Americans have made, resulting in a continuous Utopia!” Still when presented with some of the liberty that few have, young people do not vote compared to other demographic groups in the U.S. The voting age should be changed. If we are the future, Let Us Vote! It is a generalization that most young adults/teenagers are lazy, or unfocused. Despite the fact that this is true in many cases there is a percentage of young people in this country who want change for their own future. Now today there are many programs/associations that promote youth leadership, and assist young people in helping the world. In only makes sense, to give the responsibility to those who are working so hard towards the future. Sixteen (16) is the perfect age to begin to vote. Young adults are usually in the 10th/11th grade during this time in their lives, and are just discovering their own intellectual interest. By the time they become eighteen they have applied to college, obtained the right to drive, other things that come along with being an adult. Most 16 years old are prepared to take on the world, prepping themselves to become adults, functioning members of society. Negative imagery can commonly be associated with young adults in the United States from drugs, violence and other types of reckless behavior. It is only in making becoming more older more appealing will the actions start to change. The only thing 16 year olds have forward to look to in most part of this country is their permit. This must change. When granted the privilege to vote, young people will have a better understanding of how and what is going on in the country. In addition to this, it would only make sense to grant the privilege of voting among young people. So many transitions are happening in their lives, as most are finishing some type of academic career. In the U.S there are many problems with education, and certainly putting the young people in the battle will help form solutions. It is a challenge to say that every single citizen of the union, should be granted the right to vote, but limiting the parameters of the freedom to vote to a certain demographic, defies the purpose of America. This is a place of progression, change, and liberty, therefore it’s future shall be endowed/dependent upon the children it births. The experience of life in America is a significant one, and all participants should be have a say in how they live their life. Lowering the voting age to sixteen (16) will give more responsibility to young people of the country. One of the biggest benefits from lowering the voting age will not only be a wider audience to appeal to, but it will encourage more of the older voters in the demographic to vote. Political, Economical, and Social consciousness can be built from the change of this amendment. A positive uprising will be the most beneficial result from change. It is because the youth are looked down upon in regards to responsibility that they act out. Compared to other nations of the world, the United States has system of the older a citizen gets, the more valuable they are to society. Everyone has a thought of value, and everyone posses the ability to contribute in a positive way. These natural rights should never be taken away no matter age, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.

Works Cited 

Baker, Marge. "On Capitol: Student Voting Rights." youngpeoplefor. Blogger, 9/28/09. Web. 4 Nov. 2011. . "Disenfranchising Young People." feministsforchioce. 3/18/11. Web. 4 Nov. 2011. .

• How did you group go about making a decision for what to focus on for the project?
  Well we waited until we were together in class and then we split up. We worked on our parts separately, but  we did come together when we had to review our stuff.
• 11th grade Essential ? - What is the role of the individual in creating and sustaining change? 
  It is there role to vote and that helps create change because they are picking the future and how it will change good or bad.
• How has your understanding of the electoral process and whether or not the US is a democracy evolved during this unit?
  Well i didn't know anything about the election because it didn't really apply to me. I found it interesting that hardly anyone votes and that it is actually difficult to vote. 
• How did you decide to best relay a message to a national audience with your marketing campaign?
  Well we wanted to make it appealing to everyone. Like we made a song that would appeal to the younger voters and then the print ad was more serious and that was supposed to appeal to the older voters.

In our campaign to propose this new amendment, we do see where those against it might rebuttal. These arguments directly challenging the mental capabilities of many 16 year olds. Let’s look at the logistics of it. A great majority, if not all, 16 year olds live with their parents. In fact they’re mostly still dependent on their parents. Sure 16 year olds may be able to think for themselves, but don’t have the abilities to be truly self-sufficient. There’s also the responsibility of 16 years olds. While their parents may trust them smaller tasks like watch a their sibling or taking out the trash, one would never give a space of power to a child. They wouldn’t even know where to begin. Voting is a prime example of that; children don’t know the first thing about voting and all that goes on behind the scenes. Also, 16 year olds have many other rights such as the right to drop out of school or in some other states, the right to marry and have sex. (Debate: Lowering the Voting Age to 16). While these are freedoms they can choose express at any time, people against lowering the voting age would response to this: “Just because they have those rights doesn’t mean they should express them.” Debatepedia’s article – “Debate: Lowering the voting age to 16” states: “If all 16 year olds left home at 16 and started families it would be considered a disaster.” Countries much like America save things like drinking alcohol, serving in a military, and especially voting too much higher ages. The streets would be full of drunk and pregnant teens. In fact in the article: “Lower the Voting Age to 16: Pros and Cons” from International Business Times talking about the effects of lowering in voting in other countries. While countries such as Austria, Nicaragua, Brazil, and Ecuador have been successful in lowering the voting age, The U.S. and the U.K. alike have failed in such a process. Now let’s look into other things that could occur if America were to lowering its voting age. If we are to lowering the voting to 16, many states could also advocate lowering the criminal responsibility and consent ages to fit with the lowering voting age. What this basically boils down to is since you have to power to vote like the adults before you, one should be considered an adult as well. So, when you are convicted of a crime, even a smaller crime (theft) for example, instead of being tried a minor you immediately be tried as an adult. What the article states about age of consent is: “The issue of consent is particularly important because it extends beyond consensual sex; in prostitution and rape allegations, if sexual contact is proven and the victim is a minor, the perpetrator is automatically guilty on statutory rape.” ("Lower the Voting Age to 16: Pros and Cons). What this means is if the age were to be lower, the said perpetrator would have to go through a full rape trial instead. Another reason people are against lowering the voting age is because they believe that it won’t solve the problem of voter turnout. A plus of lowering the age is the possibility of increasing current voter turnout. But that’s all it really is, a possibility. ("Voting Age, Lowering: Debatabase”). As it stands, in America, voting is a choice. If you don’t want to vote, you don’t have to. Now considering 16 year olds tend to be more involved in their own problems rather than what is occurring across the country, they would most likely be the tiny percentage of people who would attend the polls. In regards to voter turnout is the political knowledge that many 16 year olds have. For the most part, that knowledge is little to nonexistent on a deeper level. Idebate.org shows how lowering the voting age can be very dangerous. It states that 16 year olds could use their voting power very naively, only voting for the candidate they think is cool or that supports a single issue that care about, not looking at the full picture. ("Debate: Lowering the Voting Age to 16"). The 16 year olds of the present are more concerned with things like instant gratification and getting/fixing something with the least amount of effort. The problem with that is it can create the younger voters into very big swing voters. Say one candidate offers to greatly increase curfew for those 16-17, but another offers to clean up the streets, teens may most likely vote for the first guy because they feel that issue he’s addressing directly effects them, so they care more. But say the second candidate offers to give free cars to all 16-17 year olds with permits; they instantly change their opinion to the second candidate because they’re getting free stuff. This can prove extremely dangerous in America. If this were to happen, America as a whole could potentially be electing unfit people to run our country. This is because the demographic of 16-18 years old is just so huge, if they all vote it could easily outclass all the adults voting, leaving the opinions nearly nullified. The adults of America already have a hard enough time deciding whom to vote for and don’t need ignorant teenagers possibly skewing the polls to an inadequate candidate. Also many teenagers tend to go against the popular consensus just for the sake of being rebellious. Something like is the very last we need at the polls. For example, there are two candidates: one obviously for the job and one obviously not for the job. Where vast majorities of people agree with the first candidate and they see that he/she is out best interests, there’s always going to those teenagers who are against the “status quo”. They’ll simply vote for the second candidate really just because, completely and utterly ignorant to their politics. And finally there’s the viewpoint of not all ages groups are affected by things the government tries to pass. Things like healthcare and social security are things that children should know about but it’s certainly not something that they should be worrying about. Things like that are handled by the parents or guardians, and for the most past when parents vote, they take their entire family into consideration. ("Voting Age, Lowering: Debatabase”)

Works Cited

"Debate: Lowering the Voting Age to 16." Debatepedia.com. Debatepedia, 04 Dec. 2009. Web. 02 Nov. 2011. <http://debatepedia.idebate.org/en/index.php/Debate:_Lowering_the_voting_age_to_16>.

"Lower the Voting Age to 16: Pros and Cons - International Business Times."International Business News, Financial News, Market News, Politics, Forex, Commodities - International Business Times - IBTimes.com. International Business Times, 19 May 2011. Web. 04 Nov. 2011. <http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/148691/20110519/lower-the-voting-age-to-16-pros-and-cons.htm>.

"Voting Age, Lowering: Debatabase - Debate Topics and Debate Motions." IDEA: International Debate Education Association - Debate Resources & Debate Tools. IDEA Inc., 22 Feb. 2007. Web. 04 Nov. 2011. <http://www.idebate.org/debatabase/topic_details.php?topicID=588>.

Reflection Questions:

·       How did you group go about making a decision for what to focus on for the project?

- We figured we should attack a subject that would directly affect us, that being letting 16 year-olds vote. While the object topics are just as important, we felt(or least I did) a more personal connection to the project.

·       11th grade Essential ? - What is the role of the individual in creating and sustaining change? 

- The role of the individual can be two things in my opinion: either create change or deter it. For nearly ever individual trying to make change for the better, there are most likely just as many individuals trying to stop that change.

·       How has your understanding of the electoral process and whether or not the US is a democracy evolved during this unit?

-  I know so much more than I did before. I never knew that this is so involved with more than just the presidential candidates on the ballot. I feel like if I’m ever going to vote I’ve got to know my stuff.

·       How did you decide to best relay a message to a national audience with your marketing campaign?

- We decided to go to the audience we are trying to help, teenagers like us. Rather just saying all the positives of letting us vote, let’s see how they’d feel about it.