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Porter 2007 - Diversity
Student Biographies
Tina S.
My major is in Human Services with an emphasis in Family and Youth.I have
been married twenty-five years in November to the love of my life. I am
the mother of three teenagers.I have two sons and a daughter. I was born
and raised in Oregon. I have lived in Alaska nine years. I have worked
as a CNA most of my working career and decided to make a change in my career
to Human Services. My desire is to work with abused women and children.
Stephen L.
I'm a 22 year old college freshman. Sounds like the first lines of an action
packed thriller novel, eh? Not quite. I moved to Alaska last September,
but consider myself a full-blooded Alaskan since 1.) I can't imagine any
place that I'd rather be, and 2.) Please refer to number one. My hobbies
are reading, writing (surprise!), learning new things, hiking, Scuba, and
music (more the listening than the actual creating.) I'm fluent in English
(duh!) and Japanese (lived in Ehime-ken (Shikoku) and Chugoku-chuhou (Honshu)
for about two and a half years), took four years of German in high school,
and am currently learning Arabic just for fun.
Jason M.
I graduated from high school in 1989 and is in now returning to College after
years outside the academic world. One of my big challenges is getting re-acquainted
with computers.
Gabe H.
I was born and raised in the wonderful Matanuska Valley here in Alaska. I
grew up with just my mom in my life. My academic history is the pretty
standard thing. I recently finished high school. I love and have certain
talent for reading/writing, or so they say.
Amanda R.
I live in Wasilla where I work full time while I am not attending classes.
I am a graduate of Palmer High School along with the rest of my siblings.
This is my first college English class.
Lindsey W.
As a student just out of high school, I am hungry to continue learning. During
my high school education I became very well aquainted with the arts as
well as keeping high enough grades to earn a UA Scholarship.
Samantha S.
I'm 18 years old and I have lived in Alaska for most of my life, excluding
three years spent in Florida. I am majoring in Psychology and plan on going
to Med School to become a Child –Psychiatry. I really enjoy writing.
Jayson A.
(proud father of Isabella Joycelynn Marie Abalos –Izzy for short- my
7 ½ month old daughter)
My academic history, up until now, has existed on Kodiak Island where I graduated
from Kodiak High School. My personal education is far more expansive than
my formal education. I am a very scattered individual with multiple facets
of interest on the academic level.
Kelly Anderson
I’m a 19 year old life-long Alaskan and since my parents are missionaries,
we’ve lived all around the state. Right now we’re living 50 miles
outside of Palmer by the Matanuska Glacier. The drive to school is long,
so I’m only taking a couple of classes this semester. This is my freshman
year
The First Class
Mat-Su College August, 2006
They appear through the door one by one
Swimmers gliding with the ebbing current
Surfacing to catch their bearings
They move with self conscious awareness
Eyes to the floor, most shy
Some smiling, direct contact
They locate seats at long tables
Looking for a comfort spot
A few close, most toward the back
They shuffle schedules silently
Question marks bubble over each head
What is to happen this semester?
They glance at me slyly, perplexed
What will she expect?
Who does she want me to be?
They search for allies in the sea of strangers
Ages forty-seven to seventeen
Hair blonde to darkest brown, one purple
They come from here, there, every where
Alaskan native, East coasters, Russian
First college class or returning after years
They bring it all into this one room
A microcosm of hope, fear, dreams, anxiety
A stirring to be awash in a less vulnerable space
By the end of a single semester
We all yearn to know much more
Not just about writing, but ourselves
Is America Becoming Diversity Exempt?
Instructor Sondra Porter
Methods of Written Communication, P34
September 19, 2006
Barely five years have past since September 11th, 2001, and yet we, as a nation, have changed nearly three centuries of established philosophy and perception toward ethnic diversity in roughly one-sixth the time it took us to indoctrinate their principles. Now we are questioning the very philosophies that bear the rights and freedoms of diversity for our nation’s people. It is seemingly impossible for any media to discusses national security without now focusing a portion of it’s content on ethnic diversity. The common questions range from concern about being too diverse to provide accurate security, to questioning the amount of security that is worth sacrificing our acceptance of other cultures into our nation. Has America become a nation that is exempting it’s diversity for the assurance of security?
“The Statue of Liberty is no longer saying, - Give me your poor, your tired, your huddled masses. - She's got a baseball bat and yelling, - You want a piece of me? - ”, so starts one of Robin Williams’ entertaining, yet poignant rhetoric's. The central reality of our time cannot be overlooked in this entertaining statement. America has closed it’s open doors fairly tight, just as England and Spain increased immigration security after the bombings in their countries. However, America is already attempting to answer the issue of how to open those doors back up. We are concerned for our safety, but also interested in remaining a welcome country.
The answer to just how we open those doors is unfamiliar territory. The debates regarding the manner and amount of ethnic diversity we import back into our nation versus the amount of risk that we take in doing so are widely ranged. This makes our social dynamic appear confused and lost. We are neither of these; instead we are a free nation indulging in our freedom to speak for and against every proposition to solving a problem that our nation faces. While we may not have the agreed upon answer for our immigration system yet, the issue is diverse in it’s representation and concern.
The concerns of a free and accepting nation, with incredible military might lashing out in anger and sudden paranoia are often found in foreign media. Considering that one of the principle foundations of America was the idea of peer reservation and questioning, it is healthy that these international media’s are concerned. On the other hand, while many may have their concerns it is truly difficult to imagine a nation of people from nearly every country idly watching as their military set’s out to conquest their very home-lands. More likely is the confusing reality that the world sees; one where the populous is constantly arguing over the direction of the military, but still standing behind the people that make up our voluntary military forces.
As Phil Collins wrote aptly, “This is the Land of Confusion”, but it shouldn’t be missed that it is also still the land of diversity. We may be in the process of understanding more deeply what it means to be diverse as a nation, and we may have to now decide how much of a price we are willing to pay for that same ethnic diversity. But with the freedoms that we have, it is certainly clear that in this “Land of Confusion” we will continue to fight for what we believe is right individually, as groups, but most importantly…we will fight for what we believe is right for our nation to do with itself as a multi-cultural, free, and diverse nation.
Diversity: Possibility or Futility?
Diversity. What is it? Where is it? Who is it? Webster’s Dictionary defines diversity as “the condition of being different” or “an instance or point of difference.” Diversity can apply to anything from liking separate styles of music or clothing, to having a different heritage or religion. Thinking about diversity brings to mind the one name that seems to sum up what, where and who diversity is: America. Historically, America has been very proud of her diversity. However, take a look beneath Lady Liberty’s smiling face and welcoming arms and we see people who are perhaps more afraid of diversity than they are accepting of it. The U.S. is collaboration of ethnicities, culture, language, religion and tradition, but for as tolerant as we’d like to portray America, we the people decide, debate and even vote on just how accepting we are.
Fear of change and diversity happens in every culture. Religious intolerance has long been a subject of confrontation. The Crusades of the 11th and 12th centuries demonstrate early rejection of other religions. Military campaigns consecrated by the Pope were sent to recapture Jerusalem and bring converts to Christendom. Throughout history and even today, radical Muslim groups have used the same mindset: convert or be killed.
In the 1940’s Hitler determined that the Aryan race was the only pure race, and ordered the obliteration of many others, especially Jews. Ethnic “cleansing” has been carried out all over the world in places such as Bosnia, Sudan, Chechnya and is even found in our own nation’s history books. After the Civil War, groups such as the Ku Klux Klan who believed African-Americans were not the equals of whites took action in protest. During World War II after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Americans became increasingly suspicious of Japanese-Americans to the point of setting up internment camps. Americans today still debate the acceptability or validity of racial profiling after the attack on the World Trade Centers.
Besides religion and ethnicity, people hold prejudices against others for differences in social standing, wealth, physical abilities or handicaps, places of residence, and just about anything that can make one human being diverse from another. People are predominantly comfortable with those most like themselves. Acceptance of diversity is a continuum from total tolerance to fanatic rejection. Throughout history, many cultures have shown fanatic rejection, but in our global society, survival of the human race will depend on everyone moving toward acceptance of all the diversities that make up our world.
Diversity is the one true thing we all have in common. Celebrate it every
day.
Anonymous
And like the tree of life, alone in the field of the universe, its branches; the different races of man and the leaves the different ethnicities.
The branches, tall and reaching but worn and smooth going in all different directions, reaching up to the peach fuzz soft and apricot orange sky, reflect the unique and original way that each race is living in the countries of the world, and where their roots lie.
The multicolor leaves of this lonely tree are the different colors of skin, but the leaves themselves do not directly represent the different colors of the human being. The differing and shifting shades of dandelion yellow, ripe citrus orange, rich reds and mahogany veins are the beautiful mix of the human race that is on this earth. We wave in the soft wind of destiny next to each other, and can always see those who are different than us, right across the way. The leaves are falling all the time, but just as one leaf falls a fresh new leaf grows in. And such is the awe-inspiring circle of life.
The trees roots run deep into the hard soil, and are spread far and wide... So far in fact that we cannot fathom to which ends our beginnings were framed from. The tree is on top of a small hill, growing on a field of waist high grass. Looking over the diamond studded Blue Ocean during the day, and staring at the star-crossed black sheet of Night during the evening.
From this tree we are all grown. And perhaps the most beautiful thing to come to realize in life is that our roots are all the same, traced back to the first humans, or beings, or primordial goop that rose out of the tar pits. This is a common belief, if we stemmed from algae, we evolved, and bred and here we are. If you believe that we were placed here by God in human form, Adam and Eve had kids, they had children and so on, until here we are. We are all part of the same living tree, and the fact that we are all truly brothers and sisters of this life is the most divine idea that we, as the human race, can come to embrace.
Three friends, all grown, fresh out of school
visited one day together,
And together planned their futures,
and compared with one another.
“Friends we’ll always be,” said the first.
“Forever,” said another.
“Let’s meet again,” said the third,
“And see how fares we brothers.”
Separated they; their paths divulged,
and each to his own way.
Eyes bright, face beaming, eager, too,
each faced his bright new day.
But Life has a way of jading,
of clouding a fresh, new mind,
And the experiences that Life can give
can poison even the purest inside.
For twenty years had passed before
the three met once again,
And by the trials of life, each had
become the wiser man.
“My life is good, and I have grown,
and now it’s plain to see
that no longer we should have this bond;
No longer friends we should be.
“I have worked these years with fingers and mind
and have pressed far on ahead.
My competitors have I quelled
and have quashed their prospects dead.
“I live in a world of money and wealth;
I know I’ll never lack.
Because I must go on unhindered,
I can’t by you be held back.”
“You pompous fool,” said the second.
“You arrogant, ignorant man.
While you have been living the high life
would you like to know where I’ve been?
“One day from when we three last met
I from here I moved away.
I fought, I scrabbled, I scrimped and saved
for a home of my own to claim.
“I worked my whole life to better myself
and slowly I started to thrive.
And the more I grew, the better I felt;
Whole, complete, alive.
“But now it’s all gone, my hopes ground to dust,
and here is my picked bone:
My profession, my life, completely lost
by the company you call your own!”
“Hey,” said the third, “let’s not forget
that I am here as well.
Your lives, to mine by comparison
is doubly more than swell.
“While your life is money, and your life is hope,
fear is all I’ve known.
Fear for my life and for that of my brothers
and the fear which I have helped grow.
“To survive in this world, it’s, ‘Kill or be killed,’
and I’ve done a fair share of my own;
Of preying upon those far weaker than I;
Of growing through sticks and stones.
“Perhaps I would have turned out better
if someone who had would have helped.
It’s not my fault! Look! Here I am!
A product of the world you whelped!”
And thence began the ruckus,
the fighting amongst brothers that be,
Something more deadly than competition,
more poisonous than mere rivalry.
For together each blamed the other
for travesties both true and perceived.
Each one demanded recompense
for faults laid at the others’ feet.
For wealth which was lost, for hope which had fled,
for attention which was never gained;
For opportunities felt robbed by others.
With indifference each forced his claims.
Their accusations turned into anger
and threatened to tempest ‘til when
they all heard a voice, still and quiet,
which thundered over the din.
“My children, my sons, why do you fight?
Have you forgotten my cardinal rule?
That one of, ‘Do unto others
even as I have done unto you?’
“My side, was it not pierced as I
hung there battered and bruised?
Yet did I utter one revilement
against those who laughed and accused?
“I know of wealth far better than any,
of this I promise I do,
For thirty pieces of silver
who was sold: me or you?
“I know of hopes, I have my own.
They’re for each one of you.
I hope you find peace, joy, and love,
and hold to friendship, too.
“For when does the fire of hope die out?
When does despair sink in?
When men, in their hearts, turn inwards
and ignore their earthly kin.
“Of attention and comfort, be of good cheer:
I once was alone too.
Remember me in the garden alone
as I prayed for both he and you?
“Remember that in my own image
I created both all men alike,
That in their hearts and spirits,
Love would bloom and light.
“Though different in color and class
inside each are as same as the others.
Cease fighting, stop arguing, be of good cheer.
Remember: you three are brothers.”
How often through this voyage called life
we ignore the lives of others.
Though different outside, each equal we be.
After all, we’re sisters and brothers.
Two hands to hold our children with
when they fall and skid their knees,
Two eyes to watch the men and woman
they one day will grow to be.
Two ears to hear our children speak
about issues they have with self worth,
Two lips to speak the insights we have
about how they are gifts to this Earth.
Two feet to walk the millions of miles
it takes to help them reach their dreams,
Two lungs to fill with crisp clean air
to encourage them while facing defeat.
We help our youth when they have gone
and wandered out of sight,
We look for ways to bring them back
and help them make wrongs right.
We teach them to love and cherish their friends
and all who pass through their days,
We do not preach to them about anger and violence
We do not encourage hate or unkind ways.
They hear our words and make sense of them
but actions are easier to see,
If we turn our backs on differences and change
they see no value in diversity.
There is a man
On the corner,
He stands
By himself,
He asks for your change
As you pass him by.
People just stare,
Leaving him behind.
I walked by him
On my way to the door;
stopped so suddenly,
Because as I looked that
Bum in the eyes,
There was softness
I didn’t think I’d find.
His gray and wrinkled face
Gave a smile worth
One million stars.
A smile a man
Such as he
Should have lost
One hundred years ago.
I wanted to cry
As I was lost in his whirl of
Sad innocence.
I saw more than a loser,
More than a bum;
I saw the man
Inside the heavy coat;
The man beyond
The tattered gloves.
Questions rose inside
My mind
As I watched the next
Deny a simple dollar.
I wondered
When he sleeps
On park benches,
Do people pass him
In disgust,
Or can they see
The man that I do?
When he dreams
Does he see
The faces
Of the children he will
Never hold?
Does he dream
Of them
With smiles
Printed on
Their small faces?
I wanted to
Shake his hand,
Tell him
I see more than
Just his dirty clothes.
I wanted to sit
And talk
The world away,
But all I could do
Was return a smile
While walking
The other way.
I wonder where he is;
On some cold sidewalk,
Or in a parking lot?
I respect him
For his smile,
The one he|
Gave to me,
The smile
He shouldn’t own,
The one of triumph,
The one of winners.
Diversity is like a large pot of soup. You can just have broth based soup,
but would that really fill you up? A person wants a little meat to
strengthen the body. Would just broth and meat make a good pot of soup? A
healthy pot of soup is a wonderful full-flavored broth with your favorite
stew meat and all the fresh vegetables, adding color and flavor. Diversity
is like a pot of soup that makes your taste buds scream.
Diverse America is that big tasty pot of soup. We are full of different
people of
all cultures. We have freedom to honor other cultures, customs, and religious
beliefs from other homelands. We all call America our home just like a
full-flavored broth in a pot of soup. The different cultures and races make
up our meat. All the different cultures, religions, and customs make up our
vegetables, inviting to our eye and savory to our taste buds with
rich variety.
In America, we are all a melting pot of diversity.
You could settle for plain broth, but that leaves your taste buds feeling
empty wanting more. America leaves you feeling full because of all kinds
of variety
in race, culture, and religious beliefs.
If we embrace this country as America full of diversity as we would a fresh
hot
pot of soup, we will be full and satisfied. This is totally each American’s
own
choice to embrace the taste of America's melting pot and be changed by the
rich experience
or to deny the diversity and leave empty. What will you do
with our diversity?
A Road Unknown and a Hand to Hold
My world was small,
Confined in that town I was born.
I grew up here in this tiny world,
But all I that I loved felt forlorn.
When I came to age I ran far away,
To sail the sea deep and wide.
I traveled the plains of wheat and grain,
And climbed the mountains high
My old name was lost in that sea of blue,
The wind of the plains gripped me tight.
Those tall mountains tested every inch of my body,
And the stars calmed my mind every night.
Years passed from the day I left,
When I ran from my home to the sea.
Over those mountains, and plains,
I have lost and found all of me.
Before my travels ended,
I wandered back over that sea.
Through those plains and over the mountains,
To find a place just for me.
I found myself in a little town,
Much like the one I ran from,
But there was something different here,
No one questioned why I had come.
The children all were special
Each different in how they could think
But when I heard most were dumb
I could hear my very heart sink
These young minds were just that
Young and so eager to learn
How could someone say they are dumb?
And a simple cheek they would turn
I decided that day I would stay behind
To help those unlike the rest
With parents on our side, we now have a school
Where every person can be their best
“I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows
to be stifled. I want all the cultures of all the lands to be blown about
my house as freely as possible.”
–Mohandas K. Ghandi
America is considered the so-called “melting pot” of the planet. We are surrounded by an exorbitant mixture of races, cultures, and beliefs. These very features of our country are what make us a place like no other. Americans tend to believe that they are “better off” living here compared to the way some people exist. More educational opportunities, better paying jobs, freedom of choice, and abundance of food are just a few of the things that allow such a belief. Open-mindedness and choice are virtues that the citizens of this country value. Even though these much sought after qualities of life exist in one place, why does so much racism and hate exist here as well? Shouldn’t people who live in such a great place be able to co-exist with each other peacefully?
Quite ironic this great nation has been formed by people the world over who could not better accept the differences in others. “But I don’t hate anyone and I certainly am not a racist”, you may say. Of course this statement is not true of everyone. But many people, sometimes unknowingly, contribute to behavior or actions that could question such a response.
I was raised in a religious home, and my parents had many friends of different race and culture. Their very belief was that all people, no matter where they were from, were equals. Never were people to be looked down upon because they did not look the same as you or spoke differently. To this day that is something I strongly believe, as do many people. Peacefulness was a trait they cultivated in me, and one they abided by. To this very day I enjoy meeting people who are not the same as I am. Traveling to unfamiliar places, seeing new types of creatures and vegetation, tasting new foods, and just listening to the tales of other people have always intrigued me. This is was makes life exciting.. I’m quite sure the same is true of most people.
But even though I was raised well in this regard, some things I saw people do, including myself, just undermined the very idea of being a person who accepted everyone for who they were. You may be the same. For example, even though I was raised in such a tolerant way, when we would drive through the “bad” part of town, the car doors always had to be locked. This gave the impression that the people who lived in this area were all criminals. Was that just because they were not as well off or a different color? Another thing I recall is driving in New York City and seeing several people on the sidewalk shooting up drugs. I heard comments like “Those people are bad”, and, “They are a waste of life”.
How could anyone pre-judge another persons actions based on what they look like on the outside or even what they may do? Not that doing drugs is something good for you. But the point is that you can’t judge people. Everyone is different. Everyone has had different experiences in life that make them who they are. Just because you don’t have a good job, or you are a different color, or you are from a place I may know nothing about, or you do
things I would never do, doesn’t make you bad. These differences are what make our planet an interesting place. Some of the things people do are not good for themselves or even for others. Our love for each other shouldn’t cause us to shun people for who they are or what they do, rather it should make us want to understand and if need be, help them. No one and nothing on this Earth is the same. We should take the time to realize this and make sure not to ever consider that what we have, what we do, or the way we look makes us better than someone else. If everything was the same, life would not be very good. Imagine eating one kind of food your whole life, wearing one kind of clothing, seeing one color. How horrible!
During my life, I have made it my goal to see and do the unusual. I have traveled to new places, been rich, and poor. I have associated with people of every color and race. I have spent time with educated and uneducated people. I have befriended people who were addicts. Through this I have learned that no matter what you do, or where you are from, people are going to be a little bit different from you. This isn’t bad; rather it is an open door to learn what you otherwise may never have known. The things that anger, confuse, or divide some, I have used to try and make me a stronger more knowledgeable person.
I suppose a lack of understanding, or not wanting to understand, can cause people to not accept the beauty of variety in life. How horrible life must be for them. So the next time you see something you are unaccustomed to, why not learn about it? Instead of being boring or full of suspicion, your life will surely become more exciting and filled with joy.