My Social Venture

So my Social Venture Project (One of our 3 capstone projects) is starting to come along.

It's called ACT-Activism Consulting for Teens (big props to Noah Bopp for the name!) and it basically helps teens become effective advocates for causes that they care about. We do this through mentoring and offering resources.

It's still coming along and in the starting stages, and I've just launched the website: http://www.activismconsulting.org/. It's not done, but check it out if you have a chance! :)

to blog or not to blog...that is the question

I'm trying to decide whether or not I want to keep blogging now that I'm back. It really wouldn't be a "dance party in DC" anymore but still....I just don't know though. If you want to weigh in please let me know :)

P.S. I got to Puerto Rico today for our family vacation, 14 people. So excited to be with my family and where it's warm but I still miss SEGL so much :(

See ya later SEGL, I will miss you!

Today we, the Fall Class of 2010, graduated from SEGL. The graduation ceremony was really great, every faculty and student spoke for a little while, and it was really moving. My Mom, Grandpa, and his wife, Lorraine came, which meant alot to me.

While of course I'm happy to have graduated and have got to this point, I am more sad and nostalgic than I ever would have thought I would be. I want to go back to SEGL so bad. As I'm writing this, I'm sitting in my house in Needham, MA waiting to see my fellow SEGLettes run down the stairs being all crazy, but sadly I know I won't. It's so quiet without them and I feel empty in many ways without them. SEGL students and faculty are like my family, and I miss them so much already.

We have had so many amazing memories at SEGL, and we've been through so much together. I still remember meeting everyone the first day, and watching the footage of 9/11 the 2nd day. Instantly, I felt so at home and welcomed, and now I feel so grateful to have been able to share the experience with such amazing people.

As some people know, I found SEGL through a facebook ad a few days before I left for my summer program, Longacre, this summer. It seemed like fate. SEGL seemed like the perfect school for me, and I really needed a change in my life. I decided to apply one day, skyped with Noah Bopp the next, and had all my essays and the application done the next day. Clearly it was a really quick process, because I was leaving for the whole summer. It was one of the best decisions I ever made.

SEGL really was life-changing in so many ways. It really did change me for the better and I will never forget it. Our Class did the "most likely" thing and I got voted most likely to work at SEGL, and I hope I eventually do. I love it there so much.

As the saying goes, "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."

And as Noah would say, SEGL isn't about what we do there, but what we do when we're home. The point of SEGL is that we go home.

Again I really want to say,
I LOVE EVERYONE AT SEGL SO MUCH AND I WILL NEVER FORGET ANY OF YOU. THIS IS NOT A GOODBYE BUT A SEE YA LATER!

The final days

Today, Thursday, is one of the last days that we'll be here. I really can't even put into words how upset I am. I really really don't want to leave, I love it here.

But we've been having a fun-filled last couple of days.

Today, we met with the Southeast Asia and the Pacific Expert, Christine Chan-Downer, in the Office to Combat and Monitor Trafficking in Persons (G/TIP) at the State Dept. We presented out policy on combatting sex trafficking in Thailand to her, and it went really well. She seemed to really like the policy, and she had some great feedback. She knew so much because she's very active in the fight against human trafficking, and has alot of experience with Thailand. She goes there alot and had a bunch of stories to tell us that made the issue even more real. Meeting with her was really cool, and she gave us all copies of the State Dept. 2010 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, which is very legit, it's like a book. That was really really nice of her.

Some of us in front of the White House after the tour

After that, we rushed to the White House for a tour. I've gotten a tour of the more working-part of the White House earlier this semester from a family friend who works in the White House, but this was a different part, which was really cool to see.
             
THANKS TO MIRA AND HER MOM FOR GETTING US THE TOUR! :)


Then we went back to the School and got ready to present our credos.

Each person had 10 minutes to present their credo, any part of it that they wanted and in whatever way they wanted. The credos were so meaningful and I loved learning so much more about my friends that I've been living with for 4 months. The experience was amazing, and I loved every second of it.

After the final credo presentation, we went to a Board Member, Abigail's house for dinner. She invited us for dinner which was amazing, and I guess it's an SEGL tradition now :) Her house was amazing! Like definitely one of the coolest houses I've ever been in! She was SO nice and the food she made was unbelievable. I felt so at home there and it was a great bonding experience because alot of our SEGL community was there. We even played Apples to Apples (which I LOVE) but I fell asleep a few minutes  in because I was absolutely exhausted. I went to sleep at 2:30am last night (or this morning I guess) to work more on the credo, and that was surprisingly early for people in the house. Weird right?

Tomorrow we're packing in the morning to mid afternoon, and then going to the school for some secret stuff. I really hope it will be a good last night, and I know it will :)

I am officially an odd number.

So today is my birthday, and I am offically 17, an odd number. You may say I'm OCD or Superstitious, but odd numbers are evil. Please pray for me. With your help and prayers, I will survive the year. Overdramatic? Maybe.

Taken at 12:01 pm, 1st minute of being 17 :)

Today we went to the White House for a tour, but were there on the wrong day, so we're going tomorrow. It was all good though, because it was an adventure!

Then we came home, played brown squirrel and another game (SEGL and Kat things) then ate lunch. For my birthday, my Mom order Potbelly's for all of us which was awesome because I LOVE Potbellys! I will miss it so much! For those of you non-DCers, potbelly's is a sandwich shop :)

Then at 2, we presented our non-profit ideas to a panel. We were split into 3 groups, 2 groups of 5, 1 group of 6, and each panel had one Ashoka Youth Venture Rep. They were all so nice though so it really wasn't that bad or intimidating. My panel had Ashoka Rep. Rachel, Lucy (Our RA) and Charlotte (SEGL Admissions Officer).We presented our ideas, they asked some questions, got some feedback and moved on to the next person. Not so bad right?

Ashoka Youth Venture is the organization that starts our non-profits off with seed funding, up to $1000, so if all goes well, we'll each get seed funding :)

Then we chilled out, worked on credos, came home, worked on credos, took a power nap, ate, and are still working on credos. We also have to prep because we're presenting our Policy on Sex trafficking in Thailand to the Thailand Expert in the Office to Combat and Monitor Trafficking at the State Dept. tomorrow. I'm excited but also really nervous.

After we present the policy, we're going on a tour of the White House, then going back to the school to present our credos :)

So that was my first day as 17 :)

1 final down....2 to go

Today I had part of my chemistry final, which really wasn't that bad. We had the first part of it over the weekend, and that wasn't too bad either :)

But tomorrow I have my history and Pre-Calc finals! Yikes right?

I spent about 4 hours today studying for the pre-calc final at the congressional (a chill study space a few buildings down) and I still feel ish about it. I think the pre-calc final is the one I'm most worried about. I'm not as worried about history, but still un poquito (a little).

But ya....after tomorrow we have no more academics, which is bittersweet.

And only 2 days to go until I'm 17...An odd number :(
Anyone who knows me will tell you that odd numbers and I don't mix well. Car ride to the corn maze anyone? Ya...That's kind of a SEGL inside joke, but basically because the music in the car on the way to the corn maze was on an odd number I was little off... But don't worry, I was fine :) lol

Finals

All day today I've been trying (key word.) to study for finals, but I keep getting so distracted! I am super intent on studying right now though, I am going into super focus mode.

I still can't believe we have finals!

Our last day of classes was Friday, and we have all of our finals on Monday and Tuesday. From there, there's no more academics which is good :) But at the same time really sad :(

Almost 17...Where have the years gone?!?!?!

So it's my 17th birthday next week, Dec. 15th. I am not looking forward to it. I HATE odd numbers and being 17 will pretty much be the bane of my existence!

Plus, 16 is such a pleasant age. I like it, and I want to stay 16!

I guess I just have to remember that years are only man-made ideas anyways, they're not real.... just like permanent records.


P.S. In the past 3 days, I have gotten attacked by 2 trees (not just 1). Fortunately I lived both times, but my green puffy jacket was not that lucky. But, that's why G-d invented ducktape!

Da Credo!

So we've just been introduced to our last Capstone... The Credo.

It's basically a personal reflection of what we've learned, where we are, and how we will live our lives based on what we've learned and where we stand.

It's really tough. I have so many things going through my head that I don't really know where to start.

And the criteria for the credo is that it must be:

• brilliant
• insightful
• true

Quite some criteria huh?

I'm really excited because this is a great opportunity to reflect, but at the same time I feel overwhelmed because we have so many things to do these last couple weeks.

But I'm mainly excited :)

OY VEY!

We have finals next week and we have less than 2 weeks left! I can't believe it!!!!

Pepper v. United States !!!!

So this morning we got to go to a Supreme Court Case!!!!! The case was Pepper v. United States

      HUGE THANKS TO ALEX YOUNG'S DAD FOR GETTING US IN !!!!!!!!!!!!! 




What's the case about you ask? This! (from http://www.scotusblog.com/)

Issue: (1) Whether a federal district judge can consider a defendant’s post-sentencing rehabilitation as a permissible factor supporting a downward sentencing variance under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a); (2) whether as a sentencing consideration under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), post-sentencing rehabilitation should be treated the same as post-offense rehabilitation; and (3) when a district court judge is removed from resentencing a defendant after remand, and a new judge is assigned, is the new judge obligated under the doctrine of the “law of the case” to follow sentencing findings issued by the original judge that had been previously affirmed on appeal.

Plain English Issue: May a court consider a defendant’s post-sentencing rehabilitation as a ground for reducing his sentence below the federal sentencing guideline range? When a sentence is vacated on appeal, and a new judge is assigned on remand, must the new judge follow the prior district judge’s sentencing findings? (Kagan, J., recused).

The case was really interesting but I think being able to see/hear the oral arguments was so amazing! The Justices are harsh, they completely grill the lawyers, which on the one hand is entertaining and on the other is like, "oooooooohhh party foul." 

We recently wrote a paper for US history on a Supreme Court Case of our choosing, and mine was United States v. Stevens, a recent case, so it was interesting to see all of the people who I've researched alot about. Elana Kagan, the newest Justice, recused herself though because she was involved with this case in the Dept. of Justice before she was a Supreme Court Justice. But we got to see Sotomayor and everybody else! :)

Being there was honestly just the coolest feeling ever. The room was amazing and just everything was so cool.

One thing that was really funny though is that Justice Clarence Thomas, known for not asking any questions ever, was pretty much asleep laying down on his basically reclining chair the whole time, occasionally blowing bubbles with his gum. He seemed pretty chill....

OUR AMAZING WEEKEND: Part 2: AU, Talent Show, Hide/Seek and Ice Skating!

Saturday:
On Saturday a few of us went to American University for a tour. It seemed really cool. I'm not sure if I'd want to go there personally but the campus is amazing and it seems like a really cool school.

Then we came home and prepped for the Talent Show!

Then we actually went to the Talent Show!!! Which was at the school

The Talent Show was so much fun! Everyone did at least one thing and there were such amazing and funny acts. I had to do a skit/play with my spanish class called "El Delantal Blanco" and I also dougied to "Teach me how to factor" and sang a few Jewish Songs and a Christmas song with the other SEGL Jews! :)

After the actual talent show we had a giant dance party and it was amazing! We were at the school til like midnight :)

Sunday:
On Sunday, a few other people and I went to an exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery called "Hide/Seek" about how different artists in history portray different sexualities and how Homosexuality, Bisexuality etc. have been portrayed by different artists. It was a really amazing exhibit and the pictures were really powerful.

After the exhibit, we met the other SEGLets at an ice skating rink and went ice skating! Well....I watched, but it was still alot of fun! Ice skating's just not for me, but watching it is I guess! :)

On Sunday night, Arielle and Shayna's Moms came over and made Latkes! I was so happy about that because I missed Latkes so much and Sunday was my family's Chanukah party which I couldn't go to so I was really glad I still eat Latkes!


So basically it was an unbelievable weekend :)

OUR AMAZING WEEKEND: Part 1. Friday-Grand Strategy

Friday: Grand Strategy with Henry Pederson




Our Academic Dean/History Teacher/ coolest person ever's son, Henry, came in to do a presentation about Grand Strategy. Henry worked at SEGL last year. The issues that we talked about don't usually come up until Grad School, he said.

He talked to us about strategy, especially Grand Strategy for the U.S with the question in mind, "Should the US have a grand strategy, and if so, what should it be?"

We talked about the Social Contract (a philosophical sort of thing that we've talked about before) and how the ethical job of a state is to protect the rights from which the social contract is based, and basically, protect the social contract.

With a Social Contract, you have to give up certain rights to gain certain rights. For example, you have to give up the right to murder in order to have the right to not be murdered. Being a part of the US, we are part of a Social Contract.

We talked about how it's not always what's ethical, but what's less wrong, and what is part of our social contract. For example, something he said that was really interesting is that he would submit to us that the US not getting involved with the Rwandan Genocide was the ethical thing to do. Rwanda's not in our social contract, but getting involved risks American lives, which are the ethical responsibility for the US to protect. I thought that was really interesting. Maybe it's ethical to not get involved based on the Social Contract, but is it right not to get involved? Which one's less wrong? Those are questions that went through my head.

We talked about the different theories of international relations, such as Idealism/liberalism, Constructivism, and Realism. I feel like I'm an Idealist by nature, but in reality I'm more of a constructivist.

Game:
We played this really cool game that taught me alot, even in the first couple of minutes.
It was a kind of war simulation game, and playing it made me understand war so much better. I'm not going to explain the details of it, but it was a great simulation game. Henry told us that for every $1.50 we made in the game, he would pay us twice that (or something like that). The last round we agreed to not kill anyone else (for the game) but the second round, something killed someone (I was the one who got killed actually :( ) That person started a chain of aggression, and only 3 out of the 16 of us got any money, as opposed to if we actually kept peace, we all would've got money.

The simulation made me think alot about Israel. and how The fear of being the victim turns you into the perpetrator ( I am definitely coining that). This was demonstrated by the last round of the game. One girl got "tanks" to protect herself because she thought she was going to be killed, but because of that fear she ended up being the perpetrator who started the aggression.

Again, The fear of being the victim turns you into the perpetrator. 


We were faced with questions like, should the US:
torture, if only one hour of torture could save 100,000 people?
use nukes?
intervene in a conflict?
give foreign aid?
Support a dictator?
Hunt down Julian Assange?
etc. etc.

While ethical, these questions can only be answered accurately if we have a clear grand strategy.


This week we'll be continuing out discussion about the US' grand Strategy, and we'll be doing some cool things to figure it out :)

Math Lab!

So we're doing this really cool lab for math about Social Security!

I can't believe I'm excited about something that has to do with math, but hey! First time for everything!

It's a 5 day lab, and it's going to be super awesome!

Today we learned all of these fancy definition things that have to do with Social Security and I already feel so much more informed!

I'll keep you updated on what we're doing :)

Tom Adkins and our Non-Profits!

Our non-profits are coming along now...phew! Most of us have a pretty good idea of what we're doing. I think I'm personally pretty set for what I want to do, I just need to work out some logistics.

Preview of my non-profit (DA DA DAAAAAA):

It will be called Activism Consulting for Teens (ACT) and like the name implies, it will consult and mentor teens throughout Massachusetts on how to effectively support causes they care about. 

   But that's just part of it.....There's still more to come... !

Today Tom Adkins, Social Entrepreneur and founder of Open Organizer, which helps non-profits with technological things, came in to talk to us!

He talked to us his experience with non-profits and about what we need for our non-profits. He specifically talked alot about asking for help. He said that asking for help is crucial in creating and sustaining a successful Non-Profit Organization. He talked about the type of people we want to reach out to, such as the obvious family, friends, and mentors, but also people like key strategic supporters, fundraisers, and media personality. What he said really makes sense and I feel like it will really help me during the process of making my non-profit.

Alot of what he said seemed very familiar to me because I've worked with non-profits for a while, but having what they do kind of spelled out was really interesting to me.

Back at SEGL!

So yesterday most of us got back to SEGL. Some people got back today, and there's still some getting back later today... I think.

Today was our first school day back. It was really good. During Ethics and Leadership in the morning we talked about our Social Venture projects in more depth, and we're starting to work on our Ashoka worksheets. Ashoka Youth Venture gives our organizations money to help start them up if we do all the required stuff, which is pretty cool.

I'm pretty excited about my idea, and feel like it's finally coming along :)

We're starting finals soon which is ridiculous!!! What?!?!?!? I can't believe it! Finals soon and only 3 more weeks!!! AHHHHH!!!!! But I'm trying to live in the moment and not think about it...but still!!!


P.S.
While I was back in Needham for Thanksgiving Break I was on this show thingy talking about SEGL and Civil Rights. That night, it was Richard Cole and I on the show. Richard Cole is a super cool Civil Rights Attorney in Massachusetts who started the safe schools initiative and is a member of the Massachusetts Supreme Court. It was awesome to meet him!

If you want to see the interview you can see it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9hCsexknjE

Back to SEGL tomorrow :)

Tomorrow it's back to SEGL! 

I'm really excited to go back, but also kind of nervous. I think it's because I just kind of got settled in back in Needham, and now I'm leaving. Going back and forth anywhere is really weird for me. So ya....

But I'm mostly excited :)

Thanksgiving Break

So right now I'm back home in Needham for Thanksgiving Break. We're on break until the 28th....I think.

It's really weird to be back, and not in a D.C. It's kind of like a big shock. I definitely needed a little break, but I'll already be ready to go back in a few days :)

P.S. Today I was looking at colleges online, and none of them looked appealing to me whatsoever. I realized that's because they're not in DC. So now I've pretty much realized I would only want to go to college in DC. But I also haven't even looked at colleges yet so I could be wrong....I just have to wait and see I guess.

Policy Paper

Today we turned in our final drafts of our policy papers....phew!!!! Every group turned in their section, my section again is recommendations for civic society. We still have to make a few more edits tomorrow before it's super final. We have to get our final edits in by midnight tomorrow because we're going to the Premiere of Harry Potter at midnight in Gallery Place Chinatown! YAY! I can't wait to see it.

The policy is going really well I think! It's really interesting and doing research about the issue is really fascinating to me. The issue of sex trafficking is really complex, but also simple at the same time. There are many factors to it, but at the same time the factors of it aren't unsolvable. There just needs to be a major effort to solve the issue.

Tomorrow we're going to decide who to present our policy to! :)

Longacre Reunion!

    So yesterday I went to Philadelphia with Dana (a friend from Longacre) for the Longacre Reunion! Longacre is the summer program I've gone to in Pennsylvania for the last 4 years and it's pretty much my favorite place ever.
    We got there about a day and a half late, because I had to work on some things Saturday morning, but it was worth it. We watched slideshows, movies, and Marcel the Shell (the best youtube video ever)! It was so awesome to see my friends from Longacre. I was really happy to see people and catch up.
    This morning Dana and I had to get up early to get on a 9:45 am bus :(. But we slept most of the bus ride so it was all good.

Now I'm back for SEGL.

My first meaningful Veteran's Day

As you probably know, today was Veteran's Day. I've always known Veteran's Day as a day when we have no school and I can sleep late. Today I learned that it's so much more.

All of us went to the Arlington National Cemetery, where there are more than 300,000 people buried who served our country. It's an amazing place. At the Cemetery, we got to meet with General Nicholson, who has served in the military all over the world for 29 years. He is now the Director of the Afghanistan/Pakistan Cell in the Joint Staff, where he advises Congress and the President about issues regarding Afghanistan and Pakistan. He is being deployed back to Afghanistan next year.

On the news, you always see  "27 killed in car bomb" or something like that. General Nicholson put actual people and actual stories to those names. He brought us to the graves of 3 people who died under his command, ranging from 19-41 years old. One was a man who was killed by an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) 3 weeks after his wife had their third child at home. He never got to meet his daughter. Another one that stuck out to meet was 19 year old Justin, who was killed in Afghanistan only a few years ago. General Nicholson told us what a great guy he was, always helping out others. We had the honor of meeting his Mom, who, by fate, was visiting Justin's tombstone. She was such a nice and inspirational woman, who talked all about her son. Meeting her really put a face to the numbers for me.

After we visited 3 men who have died, we got to ask General Nicholson questions. About anything really. One of the questions I asked him was something like, "Why did you decide to join the military? Why do you fight?"
 He explained how he got into the military, and about the time when he joined during the Cold War. He fought because he believed that communism was completely against all the freedom that we value as Americans. What kept him in the military was 9/11. He feels a need to defend our country against those who want to kill us. His office in the pentagon was destroyed that day, and it was really interesting that the plane that hit the pentagon flew right over where we were standing, section 60.

I learned so much from all the questions that he answered and all that he said. He thinks that we can win in Afghanistan, just give it 3-5 more years. He said that he could not morally put other peoples' lives at stake if he did not think that they could win. He talked about how he copes with the deaths of so many, how they view the enemy, and what they do.

He really was not what I expected. He was a sympathetic and caring guy, not like the macho tough guy I had envisioned. Not to say he's not tough though, he could probably beat me up with his pinkie. Meeting with him was such an honor.

After we met with him, we all kind of went off in Arlington Cemetery for an hour. My friend Rosa and I stuck together and went back to see Justin's Mom, who we had briefly met earlier. She visits Justin's gravesite every weekend, and has built strong relationships with families of soldiers buried close to Justin who also have been through a similar situation. You can really feel the love between all of the people there, they all can really relate to eachother on a level that most people can't. It's really powerful. We talked with her for about 15 minutes about how it's so hard to put a face to the numbers when the news doesn't identify people, just numbers and we also talked about how she's doing now. She is definitely a trooper, and I really admire her for that. There were times where I got teary-eyed, but I really loved talking to her. Right before we said goodbye to her I told her that "To me, she is now the face to the numbers," or something like that. She seemed to really like that.

As we were walking away, we turned around and saw her talking with Vice President Joe Biden....all I can say is wow. We sneakily kept walking past to see Biden, and we literally were 5 feet away from him, but it really wasn't the time to say something to him because he was paying his respects with the families. But being that close to him was a huge shell shock. He looks alot different in person, and he had barely any bodyguards which was surprising. He was just like a regular guy paying his respects.

Before we left we went to the Lee house which was really cool too.

So basically the whole day was amazing. it was extremely powerful and meaningful, and I don't think that I'll ever forget it.



General Nicholson's full bio here:
As the Director of the Pakistan Afghanistan Coordination Cell on the Joint Staff, BG Nicholson is responsible to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff  for synchronizing the military activities of the Services and Combatant Commands in the implementation of our national policy in the region.  The PACC supports the decision making process of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs in his provision of best military advice to the Secretary of Defense and the President. BG Nicholson represents the Joint Staff to our international, interagency and non-governmental partners on matters of policy formulation, implementation and strategic communications.  The PACC runs the Afghanistan-Pakistan Hands program in which we recruit talented officers and non-commissioned officers to learn local languages (Dari, Pashto, Urdu) and develop deeper cultural understanding prior to service in key commands in and out of theater.  

He served as the Deputy Commanding General for Regional Command (RC) South, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)
from November 2008 thru September 2009.  He was principally responsible for the governance, development and civil-military
integration aspects of ISAF’s campaign plan as well as planning and executing the introduction and employment of over 20,000 US 
forces into RC South in 2009.   
From July 2007 to October 2008, he served as Deputy Director for Operations, National Military Command Center, J3 Operations 
Directorate on the Joint Staff where he supervised the principal, national-level, military command and control facility which provides 
worldwide monitoring, crisis response and strategic watch for the President, the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint 
Chiefs of Staff.    
From July 2004 to June 2007, BG Nicholson commanded the 3rd Brigade Combat Team (Task Force Spartan) of the 10th Mountain 
Division from Fort Drum, New York.  After building and training the unit, they deployed to eastern Afghanistan from February 2006 to 
June 2007, where Task Force Spartan’s nine battalions and eight Provincial Reconstruction Teams conducted counter-insurgency 
operations as part of ISAF’s Regional Command East.  Task Force Spartan was responsible for 10 provinces, 570 miles of border with 
Pakistan and 7 million Afghans.  In concert with joint, interagency and multinational partners, they successfully promoted governance, 
economic development and reconstruction within secure environments created by combined operations with local governments, the
201st and 203rd Afghan National Army Corps, the Afghan National Police, and tribal leaders.  The Task Force pioneered a successful 
tactical level COIN methodology based on persistent presence with key segments of the population and improved civil-military integration.  
BG Nicholson was commissioned into the infantry in 1982 upon graduation from West Point.  He has lead soldiers in Airborne, Ranger, 
Mechanized, Stryker and Light Infantry units in five different Infantry Divisions and the 75th Ranger Regiment in the United States and 
Europe.  His other assignments include service on the immediate staffs of the Secretary of the Army; Chief of Staff of the Army; 
Commanding General, Peace Stabilization Force, Bosnia-Herzegovina; Commanding General, US Army Europe and at the George C. 
Marshall European Center for Security Studies. 

BG Nicholson has bachelors’ degrees from the United States Military Academy and Georgetown University, a master’s degree
in Military Art and Science from the School for Advanced Military Studies and a master’s degree in National Security Studies from
the National Defense University.

His awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal for Valor, Bronze Star
Medal, NATO Medal, Combat Infantryman’s Badge (2d Award), Expert Infantryman’s Badge, Ranger Tab, Master Parachutist Badge
and Pathfinder Badge.

Best.Night.Ever!

So we just had the best night ever!!!!
    I'm really tired so I'll blog about it tomorrow :)
             ....It's tomorrow!!!

So all week there have been signs up around the school and the house with a black seagull and VI. It's super creepy, but obviously it was Robbie and Lucy doing it. They said that last night we were going to be watching V for Vendetta....NOT. They made a movie that started with the preview of V for Vendetta and then everything got sketchy...The video all our Residential Staff made was hilarious.... They told us our mission...Our Res. Staff have been kidnapped and we have to find them by looking around DC. P.S. We're superheroes.

We were put in groups and given superpowers ( I was fire) and then we had to go around DC on a scavenger hunt for clues as well as doing funny things. Por ejemplo, I had to get a bunch of random girls to do a dance with me. Rosa had to get a random guy to propose to her, and apparently it was his third time proposing...

The scavenger hunt was so fun, even though it was freezing, and we were given a code when we finished all of our tasks. PA303, which is Pennsylvania Ave. 303 so we went there and it's Good Stuff!!! So all of us, including our living Residential Staff, got milkshakes and it was super fun and chill.

Then we came home and played mafia. The End.

:)

Saw 3D

So right now me and one of my roomates, Mario are watching Saw 3D. It's so scary!

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

So on Wednesday, November 3rd, we ran on a Friday schedule and went to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace for Ethics and Leadership at the end of the day. Carnegie is the oldest U.S think tank, and it's right around the corner. We went there to learn how to write policy documents in order to write our group policy document about Sex Trafficking in Thailand.

We met with the Communications Director, Jessica, and also the Editor, Mary Lynn Jones. They were both really helpful.

Mary taught us alot of good writing skills, and gave us a list of the most important 8 to think about when writing a policy or any other document really. A few of the 8 points are know your audience, state points clearly, state things concisely/avoid SAT words (which I like because I really don't know alot of SAT words). Her points were really helpful.

Mary also gave us some tips on writing an op-ed.

A few of her many tips are:

• Always have a summary that highlights the paper
• Be cautious about language, soften tone if necessary
• You can use an acronym if it comes up more than twice
• If you use a graph in a policy it should be something that's hard to say in words
• Don't include so many numbers that the reader gets confused. 
• Each paragraph should have a purpose/function. 

It was a really cool day and going to Carnegie was awesome :)

Carnegie Endowment Video

John Hopkins conference on Human Trafficking

So we're are starting our policy document capstone project, where all 16 of us write a joint policy document about a certain issue. Last semester they did Piracy in Somalia, and presented it to the Ambassador of Somalia.

We chose..........Sex Trafficking! We haven't narrowed it down yet but we're working on it. On Friday we'll be spending the day at George Washington University (GW) Library researching.
UPDATE: This Morning, 11/04/10 we decided on our specific topic...Sex trafficking in Thailand.

Yesterday morning at morning meeting, Noah told us that ironically, the day after we chose our topic, that there was a human trafficking conference at John Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, right down the street from us. It was in honor of the 10 year anniversary of the passage of anti-trafficking legislation in the U.S. Robbie registered all of us. I had 2 free periods before lunch, so of course I went.

It was amazing. When I got there, Dc. Mohamed Mattar had just started talking. He is the Senior Research Professor of Law and the Executive Director of the Protection Project at John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He said that there are now 171 countries with some sort of anti-trafficking laws. He said that human trafficking is simply exploiting others. I also learned that the U.S has 44 states with some sort of law against human trafficking.

Right now there is a big movement for the "reduction of demand."

After Dr. Mattar, Mr. Cherif Bassiouni spoke. He is a distinguished Research Professor of Law Emeritus, President Emeritus of the International Human Rights Law Institute at DePaul University, President of the International Institute of Higher Studies in Criminal Sciences. He has also held 24(ish) UN positions, has been cited more the 27 times in Supreme Court Cases and has wrote over 80 books. He personally investigated Yugoslavia's war crimes a while back and also the 1st rape case in history. He is quite a guy! And I got to meet him! :)

Cherif took a more pessimistic view of the human trafficking situation....

I'm exhausted so I'll finish this post tomorrow :)  I'M BACK!

Cherif says that Sex Trafficking is still not a global priority at all. 1 reason he says is that there is still inequality between men and women. Men are still considered superior and women inferior. A second reason for why it's not a priority is because of a sense of quarrelry. The demand for prostitutes has always been considered acceptable. This factor of the problem has always been overlooked. A third reason he gives is that we don't really know the facts, so we use generalizations. The number of trafficking victims can't be quantified, there's really no way to tell. The U.N. has used the number 2 million though as a guesstimate. The number's main purpose should be to "Shock the Conscience," as Cherif says. However, this number hasn't been effective in illustrating how bad the problem is.
How high does the number have to be before this issue is taken seriously? 4 million? 8 million? 20 million?

Cherif talked about how sex trafficking has alot to do with culture and superiority. For example, Women from Nepal are constantly sent into India, where the Indians (not all of them) consider themselves superior to the people of Nepal. This happens with many countries. Those who are considered inferior are thought of as commodities. He says that power is reflected by what type of women a country wants as prostitutes.

He said that patterns of internal sex trafficking are constantly overlooked, like in Brazil, where there's a big internal sex trade. He says that economic development could be the best preventative measure.

Some more things that I learned from Mr. Cherif:

• Policy of repression, like criminalizing prostitution, doesn't work, especially for the victims.
• This issue is driven by profit
• There are 319 world conflicts, that have caused 92 million deaths, twice as many as the World Wars combined. The minimum number of people who could have done it: 1 million. Number of people convicted: 87. The numbers speak for themselves.
• There have been more Palestinians killed by Arabs than Israelis, but the Arab Nations just want to punish the Israelis. Why haven't they been prosecuted? Why just the Israelis? This shows the double standard in world conflicts.
• In the 319 world conflicts, there's usually organized crime, much that revolves around drug trafficking. The Rape of women is common in ALL conflicts.
• the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda marries young women to their boy soldiers. The girls are commonly raped.
• There IS a connection between rape and sex trafficking, and it has to do with the value of women.
• 70% of all the refugees in the world are women and children
• The U.N proposed a "Global Action Plan" to combat sex trafficking worldwide. The U.S. OPPOSED it and said that it's a distraction from other issues.

One story he told really struck me. He told a story about an 11 year old girl he met abroad. This girl was a slave. She was constantly raped and impregnated by multiple men who "owned" her. By the time they found her, she was in a catatonic state, with no hope left. She died shortly after.

     Imagine if there really were 2 MILLION women and children going through this. 2 MILLION.

RALLY TO RESTORE SANITY AND/OR FEAR!!!!!!! & THE CORN MAZE!!! :)

Great Sign

     So yesterday was the "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear" on the National Mall. Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, 2 hysterical comedians who talk about politics hosted it. President Obama and King Abdullah were just recently on Jon Stewart's show.

     Everyone was supposed to dress as people who America has taught us to hate to go to the rally. I didn't dress the radically, but I had "Lenin" written on one arm and "Stalin" on the other arm. I also had "Commi" written on one of my hands. Some people went more radical than others. 1 girl at SEGL, Rosa, dressed as Karl and another, Zoe, dressed as Marx. It was hysterical. The signs and costumes at the rally were so funny, and some pretty meaningful. I was surrounded by people who pretty much felt the same about alot of issues as I do.

Our hands! Mine says "Commi" :)

      It was crowded to the extreme! One report today says that there were 87,000 people there! The Mall was entirely filled up, you barely could move because everyone was pretty much shoulder to shoulder trying to push through the crowd. We eventually jumped a gate to get closer (don't worry, not illegal...) and we pushed our way through the crowd to get closer. Alot of people were in trees, on top of porter potties etc. just to try to see. Where we eventually were we could see some of the stage, but we could see the big jumbo screens and we could hear pretty well :). Still, we were shoulder to shoulder with everyone around us, so we made some friends :).

HUGE CROWD

 There were alot of performers. Some of them were John Legend, the O'Jays, Sheryl Crow, Kid Rock, some more, and of course Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Stewart and Colbert were hysterical! I was on the ground cracking up at some points. Jon Stewart was the sane one and Stephen Colbert was the one spreading fear, which was really interesting. They had video montages which were SOOOO funny showing how the media spreads fear (especially FOX...just saying) and they gave out medals too. Some fear awards went out to the media stations that wouldn't let their employees go to the rally because of fear, so they gave a medal to a 7-year old girl who's more brave. They also gave a fear award to the founder of facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, for instilling fear and paranoia into everyone. He didn't come because "He cares more about his privacy than he does about yours..." -quoted from Stephen Colbert, haha.

Love this sign!

    Some sanity awards went to some baseball guy who was a good sport and a few other people.
    Jon Stewart ended the Rally on a serious but funny note. He said something that really really struck me, something that I totally believe. "The fact that America can't distinguish between a Muslim and a terrorist makes us less secure, not more."That is SOOOOOO true. Him and Stephen Colbert went back and forth about Muslims earlier, with Colbert being the devil's advocate saying that it was Muslims who attacked us so they are terrorists. Stewart replied by saying those were just a few of 1.5 BILLION Muslims in the world! I was like, "AMEN!!!!!" That is SOOO true! My roomate and I actually had a conversation about that same topic a few days ago.
     So basically the Rally was unbelievable, like Woodstock....kind of. It was actually one of the best things I've ever been to.

At the Corn Maze

     Our night was amazing too! We drove an hour and a half away to a Corn Maze in Virginia. The place was so cool, they were playing Iron Man 2, there were bonfires, pumpkin cannons (legit) and of course the Corn Mazes. The Corn Mazes were something pretty much out of the Tri-wizard tournament, I though Voldemort was going to come out and get me! lol, Harry Potter reference. There were 4 different Corn Mazes and they were all so fun, but creepy too. It was pitch black, and our group; VJ, Alex Daniels, Aarati, Arielle, and I only had a little flashlight. After our corn maze adventures, we all sat around a bonfire, ate some  french fries and played some intense "WAHHH!" (SEGL thing).
     We got back at 1am and I just passed out, it was REALLY long day. But one of the best days EVER!!! :)


MORE PICTURES FROM THE DAY:

Us at the Rally with Captain Planet

  

Me

                                 

Me with sign guy

One of the best signs of the day!

Me making friends with cool sign people.
Clearly got a little sunburnt.

Rosa and I on the Capitol Building lawn after the rally

Rosa, Zoe and I all rallied up!

Some interesting articles:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/the-100-best-signs-at-the-rally-to-restore-sanity

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/us-politics/8100978/Thousands-attend-Rally-to-Restore-Sanity-in-Washington.html

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-rally-to-restore-sanity-was-amazing-no-wonder-our-idiot-media-are-dissing-it-2010-10

Facebook detox

So this week I had a friend of mine change my facebook password so I can't get on it for the week, because I was getting way too distracted and I wasn't getting my work done enough. Kudos to Katherine Hodges, by the way, for introducing this idea to me! I have til Sunday with no facebook, and I'm not going to lie, it's been rough. I keep wanting to go on facebook, but I can't :(. But I've gotten so much work done without facebook!

Something that I think is interesting is how embedded facebook is in me. I never really realized before that I don't really go on facebook to talk to someone, or to do something, it's just because I get so distracted, bored, and just randomly. Now without facebook, I've been noticing that when I turn on my computer, the first thing I do is click my facebook bookmark, without even thinking about. Also, when I'm on the computer I randomly click the facebook bookmark, with no intention, I just do it. The only reason I think that I'm realizing this now is because I can't get on it! So when I get to the facebook page I just get to the login page, which makes me notice how much I go on facebook. When I get to that login page, I don't even remember trying to go on facebook, it's really weird....

So bottom line, facebook is actually a habit/addiction....no joke....

War on drugs...stops 2,3,4, and 5....plus some random stops along the way :)

To continue my research about drug trafficking and the Mexican War on drugs, I met with a few other people today to talk to about it. Some of the stuff we talked about I can't write down because it's secret(ish), and I don't want this post to be like a gazillion pages....

Stop 1:

Who: U.S.-Mexico Border Coordinator Stewart Tuttle

When: 10am

Where: The Einstein Memorial (So I didn't have to go through security at the State Department where he works)

My first meeting of the day was with Stewart Tuttle, who is in charge of the U.S.-Mexico border. He gave me a lot of perspective that I hadn't heard of before, like the strengths of the border, instead of the weaknesses which are always talked about. The third pillar of the Mérida initiative is to build a modern 21st century economically secure and stable border between Mexico and the U.S. He is pretty much in charge of setting that up!

   Some of what I learned:

• Border states are setting up master plans, of their priorities for what their borders need. The Government gives funding to their top priorities first. California is the first state done with their master plan
• There are 3 Master Plan borders in Texas, because it's so big.
• Cooperation with Mexico right now is really good
• Every day, $1 Billion in trade crosses the border, and 1 million legal people (not necessarily immigrating, just crossing)
• Almost half of the states in the U.S. have Mexico as their primary trading partner
• Violence makes the cost of business go up and makes the U.S. more security conscious
• SENTRY cards are like fast cards for crossing the border. People who have them have been pre-screened so they can cross the border quickly
• There's a really good idea in progress that would decongest the border...but I can't say exactly what it is... ;)
• The Master Plans (and most of the new border) will hopefully be done by 2013
• Why should YOU care? An efficient border will return investments alot, there will be more jobs, a more modern border means easier trade which means less expensive products and more fresh fruits etc. etc.
• You know an issue is important when the White House takes charge, which has happened. Federal Organizations, the White House, etc. come together to form an Interagency Policy Committee (IPC), there's an IPC which deals with the border. Coordinator Tuttle is a main staffer on the IPC and chairs the discussions about border infrastructure. He is at every meeting too!

After my meeting with Coordinator Tuttle I made my way too....

Stop 2:

Who: Ricardo Ardayl

When: 12pm

Where: La embajada de México! (The Mexican Embassy!)

Ricardo Ardayl works in Communications and Media at the Mexican Embassy. I met with him for around an hour and he gave me Mexico's perspective on the issue, which is really interesting. He talked about the President, Felipe Calderón, alot because Calderón is really cracking down on drug trafficking.

     Here's some of what I learned:

• President Calderón is a lawyer, his wife is also, he's passionate and tough about the law. He's in the PAN Party, considered more to the right, but right and left aren't the same at all as they are in the U.S.
• Alot of the deaths from Drug violence are people who are involved in the drug trade. Only a small amount are civilians. 
• Because Ciudad Juarez is the most affected region in Mexico, they have alot of Armed forces there. Things have gotten slightly better there.
• Many people in Mexico grew up with the PRI (a party), which wasn't great, so they still don't have a big sense of democracy, and there is still distrust/suspicion about the Government embedded int he culture
• There's very good cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico.
• Most of the weapons of the Cartels come from the U.S.
• Bribing gets alot of money and drugs across the border.
• Mexico's economy is very connected to the U.S.'s economy. "If you sneeze, we catch a cold." -Ardayl
• Mexico is the U.S.'s 3rd biggest consumer
• La Barbee, a drug trafficker thought to be Mexican who was just captured/killed, was actually American.

Hearing his side and opinions was super interesting and I learned alot. I even got to speak spanish while I was there! :) After I met with him I got a piece of pizza and then headed for....

Stop 3:

Who: Person would like to remain anonymous

When: 3pm

Where: the Ford House Office Building

For my next meeting, I met with a guy (who would like to remain unnamed) who works specifically with this issue and issues regarding Latin America on Capitol Hill. 

   Some of what I learned:

• With increased law enforcement, things will get worse before they get better. Many Cartels retaliate with violence against strict Law Enforcement. (Sidenote: The PRI, which ruled for more than 70 years in Mexico had ties with many cartels, but Calderón doesn't tolerate them and cracks down on them so the Cartels retaliate with violence, unlike when the PRI was in power).
• President Obama and Secretary Clinton have said that America is responsible too (finally!)
• Latin American issues/ Mexico is increasingly higher up on Congress' radar with bipartisan support
• Things are moving in the right direction
• Mexico and the U.S. are cooperating really well!

The meeting with this guy was really good and I also learned alot. He was really cool and he deals with these issues everyday so he knew alot. 

     A House Committee on Terrorism and Human Rights was a few doors down so I went in to ask a question. I asked something like, "What is the line between Spill-over violence and terrorism?" Because many consider Spill-over violence  only violence that targets civilians, not other traffickers, so there has been discussion about if it's considered terrorism or not. He told me to email him the question, so I did. Hopefully I'll get an answer soon!

    Also before my next meeting, I stopped by Senator Scott Brown's office to introduce myself to the office. Scott Brown was the lead Senate Sponsor of the bill I filed in Massachusetts, so I worked with him about that. He's a really cool guy. Then I quickly stopped by Senator Susan Collins office to tell her staff how cool their boss is! I love Senator Collins, and her staff do too (I know that seems obvious but you never know)! I got to meet Senator Collins at an event a little while ago so I told them how awesome it was to meet her and they appreciated the flamboyancy. Then I headed down the hall to...

Stop 4

Who: Emily Mendrala, works for Sen. John Kerry on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations

When: 4:30pm

Where: Dirksen Senate Office Building

So my next meeting was with Emily Mendrala, who works on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and is a 'Western Hemisphere gal." She knew so much and I could tell how content she was working on the committee and with Sen. John Kerry. I think we were pretty similar with our high-energy! :)

 Here's some of what I learned:

• Balloon effect, if we give $$$ to one place, crime goes up in another place etc. etc. so we need to evenly distribute money etc.
• Spill-over violence into the U.S. is very low right now
• Many Mexican people are leaving Juarez because of the drug situation there. 
• Many routes used for illegal immigration into the United States are also used for trafficking drugs, money, weapons etc.
• The DEA is taking precautions against drugs in hot-spot areas in the U.S.

Her boss had actually just come back from Juarez where he met with Mexican officials about drug trafficking and other issues. She was super cool and from what she says of Sen. John Kerry, I'm glad he's my Senator

Then I went.........home. 

It was a really interesting day. I learned a ton and got to meet with some awesome people. On Friday, every student will be presenting some of what they learned, so I'll be presenting about this.

If you have questions about any of this feel free to ask! :)

P.S. Will put more bathroom pictures up soon! :)

Mexican war on drugs, stop 1.

     So this week we're all kind of individually researching policies that interest us, and meeting with people in DC to learn more about it. My policy is of course, the Mexican war on drugs.

     Monday, for my first meeting about the subject, I went into my Congressman's office and met with the woman who deals with foreign policy in the office, Mariana. I met her last year when I came to DC with my temple confirmation class, and lobbied for the DREAM Act. So of course we caught up for a little while and talked about the DREAM Act. Unfortunately, getting it passed isn't looking too good :(

     We then started to talk about the Mexican war on drugs. We talked about how many Americans don't really care, because they think this is just a Mexican issue. Wrong. This is not just a Mexican issue. The drug cartels get most of their money, hundreds of billions of dollars, from Americans who buy their drugs. It is Americans that are keeping the Cartels running for the most part. We also talked about how most of the weapons that the Cartels have come from...THE U.S. OF COURSE! There was a ban on exporting guns to other countries that just expired. President Obama doesn't really want to renew it because of pressure from organizations like the NRA, who think it would limit their gun rights, but it really doesn't.
     We talked about alot of other aspects of the Drug War too, and the Mérida initiative. We even talked about Afghanistan and Israel too! Mariana is awesome. So down-to-earth and knowledgable, I loved meeting with her.

Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)

     So today we went to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). They're a public sector/bank that's partially owned by 48 countries. The U.S. owns 30%. Countries put money in to help development specifically in Latin American Countries and the Caribbean.
     The 2 people we met with, Fabian and Eliana from Buenos Aires, work with youth and help young social entrepreneurs worldwide. They pointed out that 60% of people in Latin America are youth (ages 15-30). Through working with youth in different countries, they help development there and alot of countries really like their successful young people being recognized. IDB sends out a newsletter every month reaching a wide network talking about what youth are doing in the world.
    Fabian and Eliana talked with us alot about what they do and it sounds amazing. We asked a lot of questions too. It was awesome to be able to go there. The IDB is amazing. You can see more about them here: http://www.iadb.org/

This is a video they told us to watch when someone asked about international girls education which is made by their partner nike:
The Girl Effect
   It's very powerful, you should watch it.

After meeting with them, I starting to think about making my organization more international, as opposed to what I was thinking before. But I still really don't know.


Night:
We went to Good Stuff, got fries and milkshakes, then hung out and had a big dance party on the Library of Congress steps! it was chill :)

Personal Journey Pt. 1

So I can't say alot about the "Personal Journey" of Odyssey Week because I want it to be a secret for future SEGL student, BUT...I will say that it was absolutely amazing! I learned so much about myself, I'm amazed that I could learn so much about myself in 1 day. It was unbelievable and I'll never forget it! And we still have more parts of Odyssey Week(actually 2 weeks) to go! :)

Odyssey week...???

So this week and next week is odyssey week....but we don't know what that means yet! The staff says it's the first time SEGL has done this and we'll find out what we're doing tomorrow, but I'm so anxious to find out what it is! All I know is that it has to do with a "personal Journey..."

Will keep you updated on what it actually is :)

Homecoming at SEGL!

HOMECOMING AT SEGL

Friday night we had a super chill night at the house making pumpkin cookies and listening to chill music...and interpretive dancing! We needed a chill night because we had PSAT's early on Saturday. The PSAT's were ehhh...not horrible but not good. After that, we hung out in Dupont Circle for a while then went to the school to see everyone there for homecoming. It was kind of overwhelming because of all the new people but it was so fun. We met alot of kids from last years' semesters which was cool and they're all pretty chill :) Noah did the mini chocolate case study and then strangely enough we went to a chocolate tasting after. The chocolate was SO good and I don't even like chocolate that much! Then we went back to the school and listened to 4 past students talk about their organizations (which we're in the process of making now). Some have started and some are still getting there, but they're all really cool. One that's similar to the one I want to start is: http://www.teenocracy.net/ made by Markus Batchelor. Then we (the current students) went back to the house to get ready for the Gala!
     The Gala at night was awesome. It was at our school. My Mom and I were both there and we met alot of people. It was really cool to see how much bigger the school is than just "us," the ones who are here now. There's so many supporters of the school and so many friends and past students. The School started just as a vision by Noah and now it's reality and it's amazing to be a part of. I can't even describe the feeling. Everyone in the same room was 1) crowded and 2) really cool because we got to talk to so many different people. P.S. there were really really good cookies! Before we met the students from last year, Robbie (Our Residential Dean/my advisor/coolest guy ever) kind of told us who he thinks we're most like. I think he may have gotten mine right....maybe...a little....But I'm still an individual! :)
     After the Gala my Mom and I went to potbellys and I slept over at her hotel. We had breakfast at a crepe place in the morning which was really good and then she went off back to Boston. Adios Mom! See you for Thanksgiving!
    So ya....the weekend was really cool :)

Chilean Miners, German tv and Ashoka!

So as you may already know on Tuesday-Wednesday the Chilean Miners were rescued. Tuesday night alot of us watched the first miner being rescued which was awesome. The next day, before we went to Ashoka to talk about our social venture projects, we went to the Chilean Embassy, just around the corner from us. Right in front stood a huge screen showing the live Chilean footage of what was happening. We all stood in front of it and watched. Right as Yonni Barrios was coming up( the one with the mistress) German tv reporters interviewed us about it! Me and a few others got interviewed about how we felt about this etc. etc. It was pretty funny. It was cool being able to contribute to the conversation about the Chilean Miners.
      If you want to try to decipher German you could find the video somewhere here: http://www.wdr.de/

After that we went to Ashoka to talk about our social venture projects. Ashoka is the organization that gives each one of us grants of up too $1000 for our non-profit organizations that we're starting. They help people start up organizations and help social entrepreneurs. This week we were just introduced to the project designed so we can bring what we learn here back home to our communities, in whatever scope you consider community. This is one of our 3 capstone projects. I have a few ideas and I'm really excited about it! :)

"For he today that sheds his bled with me shall be my brother"

Today we had to recite one of King Henry's speeches from Henry V. We've been preparing for a while. The speech is about 60(ish) lines but we could take out 10(and believe me, I did!) It was really cool to watch other people present. I messed up a few lines, but I can deal with that. Remembering that many lines, especially in Shakespeare(basically it's own language) is not something I ever thought I can do. So a mistake here and there doesn't really bother me...that much.... :)

This weekend is homecoming and my Mom is coming down for it. We're also taking the PSAT's on Saturday Morning...Que Dios me bendiga...

Colombus Day Weekend

So for the long weekend my dad, my Grandma and her husband Jack came to DC. It was a lot of fun! We also saw Jack's daughter and her husband.

We went to alot of museums around DC. We went to the national gallery of art, the National Archives, the American Indian museum (twice) and I think a few more. I LOVED the American Indian museum, I think it's one of the best in DC. It's really new and physically it's amazing, as well as everything in it. Going to the National Archives was really cool too because I got to see the documents that we're studying, like the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. I don't think I would have appreciated seeing them as much if I hadn't known alot about them.

I loved spending time with my family and I was glad to see them. Now I'm at the house and all at home :)

P.S. I need to vent for a second...Columbus day should NOT be a holiday. Columbus was a horrible guy who tortured and killed thousands of Native Americans and did not discover America, Native Americans were already here! He should not be celebrated because by celebrating him we're saying that what he did was ok, and it wasn't..... I so needed to vent about that.

Gay Marriage: Human Rights are gay rights, gay rights are human rights.

Human Rights are gay rights, gay rights are human rights. 

   (Originally written about women's rights by Lissa Muscatine, I'm totally not taking credit for this line)

At SEGL, we haven't had a case study on gay marriage, but there have been plenty of conversations about it, from both sides. I would like to share my thoughts on this issue. I sometimes have a hard time respecting the other side, but I try to listen to it, even if it doesn't seem like I do.
   
This is a short paper I wrote for my application to SEGL:

An ethical question facing the global community is gay marriage. Should gay people be able to get married? For me, the answer is absolutely. I have friends that are gay, and the thought of them not being able to get married to their partners disgusts me. Throughout history, women have had to fight for their equal rights, African-American people have had to fight for their rights, and now, gay people have to fight for their rights. I think that the world should be beyond this by now. Gay people will eventually win their right to marriage, it’s just a matter of time. I think that in 50 years, people will say how unbelievable it was that gay marriage wasn’t legal 50 years ago, just like now people can’t believe that just a few years back African-Americans didn’t have equal rights. The Government should take a stand on this issue, and make gay marriage legal everywhere. Although many religious groups don’t believe in gay marriage, they don’t run the government and I don't feel they have a right to take away other peoples’ rights because of their beliefs. I strongly feel that this is an issue of equality. Does the U.S. really believe in equality for all, or not? It is a simple question that should have no religious involvement at all. In the United States pledge of allegiance, it says, “One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Is this really a nation with liberty and justice for all, or are those just empty words? It seems to me that these are just empty words, because there is not liberty and justice for all in many ways, gay marriage is just one example. The government should stand up for all, and not listen to those who are unreasonable such as religious extremist groups. The government’s job is to protect and stand up for the people, and right now, there is a whole group of people that are not being stood up for. I think that this is wrong, and this is yet another fight for equal rights that so many other groups in history have faced. It is sad that the world has not learned yet and that some people still have to fight for equality. Everyone is equal regardless of sexual orientation, religion, race, bottom line. 

      END PAPER.

I believe that preventing gay marriage from being legal is a breach of separation of church and state. The concept of separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion on the one hand and the nation state on the other. Jefferson wrote, "I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." I believe in this. Religious values should be able to be incorporated, but not full-blown concepts depriving people of their rights. 

I see though, that gay marriage is not acceptable to some because of their religious beliefs. Their facts about the issue are truth to them, and not to me. So, how do we know who's right? In this case, I feel that we need to go with the "fact" facts and go to those who deal with this. I could go over all the studies etc. but I'm not going to. Rather, I would challenge anyone who opposes gay marriage and gay rights to ask a person who is gay about what the truth is. They would know better than anyone else. Many religions believe gay people choose to be gay. I challenge anyone to ask a gay person if they chose to be gay. See what they say. 

I think it's easier to not support gay rights if you don't know anyone who's gay, but when you know someone who is, think about whose rights are being taken away. It's theirs. If you know someone who's gay, say Bob, think. Do you like Bob? Is Bob a good friend? Should Bob have rights? Should Bob have the same rights as straight people? Why should he? Why shouldn't he? Are you hurting Bob with your beliefs? Why should Bob be hurt for being different? Really think about it, and I challenge you to embrace these questions. If you are fine with your answers, great. If you struggle and feel unsettled about how you're answering, look more into it. Embrace those feelings. Personalize the issue. We're not talking about aliens, we're talking about people. If you're religion disagrees with gay rights, you can still be a good Christian etc. and not support a part of the religion. I'm Jewish, but I don't support all parts of Judaism, but I still consider myself a good Jew.