IHSS Blog 2020-2021

     For my engagement, I made little informational books and handed them out to the adults and children of my neighborhood. I was thinking of a way I could share the information I learned while researching alcohol abuse. I decided on something creative and pleasing to look at. I made small books telling all about alcoholism, I included the basics of alcohol abuse; why people abuse alcohol, what does it affect, treatment options one has, and the symptoms of alcohol abuse. At the end of the book, I give a handful of resources and foundations they can use to either donate the cause, find treatment/ hotlines, or if they just want to learn more about the addiction. I made around 15 copies of these little informational books, and I handed them out at a birthday in the neighborhood. It made it a bit awkward, everyone looking at my books, so I left very early, but it was completely worth it. Now they have the information if they ever need help with addiction. I also heavily enga...

     Economics in America has been pretty wack right now, due to Covid-19 countless jobs have been lost and businesses fell under. I will first talk about how Covid-19 had a big impact on the stock market. At the beginning of Covid, most stocks were very low, but as January rolled around they went back up. This is normal even on a non pandemic year, they call it "the January effect".  Unemployment rates have gone up, the United States went from 3.7% in 2019 to a high of 8.9 %  in 2020 and is now 14.8 % , Canada went from 5.7 %  to 9.7 % , and Brazil went from 11.9 %  to 13.4 % . This is a very intense change, the last change we had that large in our unemployment rates was from 1940 to 1942. Most countries are now in recession, the United States went -5%, and Canada went under -15%. In all honesty, I have tried to research recession, but I still cannot grasp what it means, so I apologize if anything I just said was confusing. The countries that rely on ...

 Little Rock Blog      While being an advance in integration the Little Rock Nine faced threats and violent racism from malicious students and parents, but is there a possibility the transition could have been smoother? Take Melba Patillo’s story, for example, the way she described a “terrible wrenching awful fear” leading the students to sneak out of school simply to survive, then having to acquire a presidentially instated bodyguard to protect the 9 kids, which was a good decision on behalf of the president that noticed the adversity and tribulation the kids were facing, however, predicaments such as the violent mob outside of the school may have been prevented if the children were sent into school with bodyguards, to begin with, considering the racist/hostile climate of Arkansas in relation to integration there could have been some anticipation as to the malice and animosity.

  Civil rights in Iran      Iran is a beautiful country, but it has some major human rights issues such as the  freedom of expression and assembly. You are prohibited to protest even if it is completely peaceful. As an example, I am going to use something that happened in January just last year, there was a peaceful protest being held for the Ukrainian plane crash victims. The protesters had to deal with airgun pellets, rubber bullets, tear gas, pepper spray, and being beat and arrested. Another flaw in their civil rights is their systemic ill-treatment and torture. Irans police and security services use torture methods like flogging, prolonged solitary confinement, beatings, the use of electroshock, and forced chemical substances. They use this for crimes such as assault and theft, they also use this for people of the lgbtqia community. The Penal Code went further in exposing them are allowed to use flogging, blinding, amputation, stoning, and crucifixion. The ...

  Week three  I am three weeks into the interview process and no one has responded, I did reach out to Claude my uncle, but I didn't get too far through the interview before everything he said was becoming nonsense. I tried getting some more out of him, but once again he is a very scary, practically insane elderly man weighing under 110 pounds with a track record of attacking nurses, so safety was an actual concern here, I didn't want to anger the bull. Anyways, like Mr. Roddy said I should do, I emailed them all again, but this time in the end I said "this isn't spam, I am just a little desperate". I think that was a bad decision adding that now because I still have no responses when I now need them. I have been thinking of other people, and or organizations I could interview, but the selection is pretty sparse. I am thinking about sending a longer email, telling exactly what I am doing, and why I need this interview, but I feel as if that would be too much, I do...

Week 1 I ended up sending around three emails to different organizations trying to give treatment and inform people about the issue. I sent the first email to AA, Alcoholics Anonymous, and it was a friendly little email saying my cause and telling a little bit of my story. I asked for an interview over the phone, I also said we can do the interview via email if they were more comfortable with that. The second organization I sent an email to was the SAMSA foundation, the Substance Abuse, and mental Health Administration, which offers a national helpline and counseling, they also help educate and inform people about substance abuse. I emailed them asking to set up an interview over the phone, but also offered the option of an interview through email. The third email I sent out was to Drinkaware, they offer information on alcoholism. The email was asking for an interview via email, just because they didn't have a phone number on their website, so I thought they would be more comfortab...

  Patricia Angulo Mr. Roddy IHSS 15 May 2021 15 Dollar Federal Minimum Wage This article on the proposed 15 dollar federal minimum wage talks about how workers who are severely underpaid are often workers of color, specifically black workers, and even more specifically black women. It also talks about the ways this minimum wage raise would take place. It would be a staggered growth going up every year/couple years instead of it immediately being brought to 15 dollars an hour at once. It then goes into statistics about why it would be beneficial to around 20% of the population with the lowest pay. This article does have an obvious opinion as the title is “Why the U.S. needs a 15$ minimum wage” so I will go into what I think about this in my analysis. Basically I do think that in many places it is necessary for the minimum wage to rise. It can be seen in a lot of places that a majority of the underpaid workforce is part of a specific minority group. These underpaid workers need m...

  For my second interview, I interviewed Dr. Reese. Dr. Reese has been there for the entire year. I did my J-term with her for mindfulness and learned a lot from her. This is what inspired me to contact her for my interview. This interview was kind of last-minute but I think it helped me to expand on my engagement with the community. Not only has this interview helped me with my project but I think it also helped me with my personal life. Some questions I asked were similar to my previous interview but very different at the same time. I feel like dr Reesesresponses were very deep and personal which also helped me a lot. She started to get involved with mental health at a very young age when she had an eating disorder as a child. She didn’t actively start realizing that she is passionate about mental health at a much later age. She not only has grown as a person while doing things with mental health but also has helped other people grow. She has started her own business and online p...

India Riley Mr.Roddy IHSS May 14, 2021 Little Rock One quote that I was interested in was on document page 85, It is a telegram that was sent by Wilson Mann the mayor of Little Rock, sent to The President of the United States. “The immediate need for troops is urgent. The mob is much larger in numbers at 8 am than at any time yesterday people are converging on the scene from all directions mob is armed and engaging in fisticuffs and other acts of violence. The situation is out of control and the police cannot disperse the mob I am pleading to you as president of the United States in the interest of human law and order and because of democracy worldwide to provide the necessary federal troops within several hours. Action by you will restore peace and order and compliance with your compliance. Woodrow Wilson Mann Mayor of Little rock Arkansas.”  I found this interesting because in the telegram he states that the mob had gotten so bad that the local police could no longer handle them....

Natalie Gross Mr. Roddy IHSS May 13, 2021 Restaurants fighting through a worker shortage     Many small business restaurants have shut down due to the pandemic, but some did survive, with the help of the government, takeout, and just pure luck. But now even those are struggling. There is a widespread worker shortage because of many reasons, such as people staying home. The article focuses on Michael Pasquarello, who owns and operates 3 restaurants. He has been using each of their "special things" to help keep them afloat. Cafe Lift makes brunch food, which is ideal for takeout. The Kensington Quarters has a fairly large space outside that could accommodate everyone while eating inside was not allowed. The Prohibition Taproom converted some of their parking spaces into places to eat outside making it a unique place to go to eat. "it's been a mixed bag of tricks. Each place had to figure a different way to deal with this"   Pasquarello says. As more and more peopl...

 Natalie Gross Mr. Roddy IHSS May 13, 2021 Liberty Blog          Montesquieu believes that liberty is not just the freedom to to whatever we would like to do. He believes that if that were the cas then we would always have to be worried for our safety and have no confidence in that. If we were able to do whatever we want then we would have that ability to harm others whenever we felt like it. Liberty needs some laws and regulations that can and will protect up from harm and danger, but still let us have the freedom to do as much as is possible. He also says that having a system of checks and balances, like the three branches of government is critical in achieving liberty within a country. If one person has too much power, then that messes everything and we go back to having no confidence in our safety.       I agree with these beliefs because if anyone has the ability to harm anyone they want to, then that causes noth...

Natalie Gross Mr. Roddy IHSS May 13, 2021    Little Rock Follow Up      During an interview conducted by Daisy Bates, president of the Arkansas branch of the NAACP, with Dr. Benjamin Fine, the education editor of The New York Times, he recalled seeing Elizabeth when she tried to get into the school and the guards wouldn't let her and she went back toward the bus stop with a crowd around her yelling, "Get her! Lynch her!", at this point he went up to her and she was crying, so he put his arm around her and said "Don’t let them see you cry". The crowd around her was now yelling at Fine, saying "Get a rope and drag her over to this tree." During this whole thing the guardsmen that blocked Elizabeth earlier did nothing to help the situation, "The irony of it all, Daisy, is that during all this time the national guardsmen made no effort to protect Elizabeth or help me. Instead, they threatened to have me arrested for inciting to riot.” This interview r...

 Natalie Gross Mr. Roddy IHSS May 13, 2021   Interview with Sara Yost          My first interview was with my friend's older sister who is in college for sustainable fashion. First I asked her what everyday things people can do to reduce their environmental impact with clothing. The main thing that she said was to not buy firsthand as much as possible. There's so much clothing already going around, the best thing you can do is keep it in use and out of landfills. She gave me a list of questions that you should ask yourself every time you want to buy something new. Do I really need this? Am I able to get this secondhand? If not, then, What are some sustainable brands that I can buy this item from? In addition to this she suggested to not buy something until you have thought about it for a couple days and know for sure that you will wear it. I then asked why she thinks that most of the big brands are able to not be sustainable or ethical a...

  Jayla Balderas  Mr. Roddy  IHSS 11 May 2021                                                      Little Rock Follow up Blog Plenty of parents started to collaborate to create committees and petitions to reopen schools fighting for either one or two sides for Integration or Segregation pulled from these posters; "We must open our schools! Join the Women's Emergency Committee To Open Our Schools Not for Integration Not Segregation But Education.” Pg. (142 Top Right Image Poster) From the last line I think three groups could be recognized the ones who were only fighting for the reopening of schools so their children could received an education that didn’t involve alternative schooling while other fought for Integra...

  Leon Hoang Mr. Roddy IHSS May 10, 2021 Texas Power Crisis Engagement Blog Sorry for the delay, but I just finished my engagement project recently. My topic was the 2021 Texas Power Crisis caused by winter storm Uri during February. The blackouts caused a massive number of other problems namely; property destruction, exposure to the elements, loss of clean water, and even in some cases, monoxide poisoning due to desperation to stay warm amid the freezing conditions. Over a hundred people died in Texas, both directly and indirectly affected by the storm. As mentioned before, property destruction still affects many Texans today, and with some lacking the money needed to repair, they are in desperate need of assistance.  That is why for my project I decided to make an Instagram account to raise awareness post-crisis. I reached out to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission as well as Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner’s office, for information on how to help, as a student an...

  Leon Hoang Mr. Roddy IHSS May 5, 2021 Little Rock Followup Blog My first piece of text that I found interesting is from President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s telegram message on page 85 of the Little Rock Study. Eisenhower says, “I am pleading to you as President of the United States in the interest of humanity” in need of federal troops to disperse the mob against school integration. I found it intriguing that the president of the country had to plead with Woodrow Wilson Mann, the mayor of Little Rock, and to whom the telegram was addressed. That brings up an interesting point from class; even the president needs permission from the mayor for federal troop support. Commonly in other countries, the leader would have the power to override state governments but not here.  Another quote I found fascinating was on page 92, Mrs. Grace Lorch, the wife of Dr. Lee Lorch, professor at Philander Smith College, who said, “Leave this child alone! Why are you tormenting her? Six months from n...

 Jeremy Chen IHSS Mr. Roddy Little Rock Followup Blog     In the Western Union telegram on page 85 to 86, Woodrow Wilson states that, "Situation is out of control and police cannot disperse the mob..." in reference to the protesters that did not want integration among schools in America. This shows how hard integration was since the large amount of protesters clearly showed how most of the people living in Little Rock were against it. The fact that even the police could not disperse the mob shows how serious the situation had gotten and it makes sense that the mayor of Little Rock would write a letter to the president to help deescalate the situation.     Something else that showed the difficulties in integration was the fact that the president himself had to address the nation due to the increased violence in Little Rock. As shown in the statement by the president on page 83, the president states that "I was pleased to hear... of the progress made in the elimin...

Alex Gross Mr. Roddy IHSS 5 May 2021 IHSS: Little Rock Follow-Up Blog The first piece of text that I chose to examine is from President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s telegram message to Mr. Brown on Page 80 of the Little Rock Study Guide: “To support and defend the Constitution of the United States is my solemn oath as your president … I believe that America’s heart goes out to you and your children in your present ordeal.” To me this quote is very impactful and important in regards to the situation in Little Rock, and for segregation and racism in general. This shows a President saying that he will do his job that he swore to do in an oath to our country, but also shows him giving his empathy and sympathy from the entire country. The next quote I analyzed is “I had the best of both worlds. I had cracked this white institution and still had all of my friends who were super-supportive of what I was trying to do” from an interview with Ernest Green, the first black student to graduate from ...

  Andy Walsh Mr. Roddy IHSS 4 May 2021 IHSS Little Rock Followup Blog  In a statement by President Dwight D. Eisenhower released a statement regarding a conversation between him and Governor Faubus. This meeting surrounded the carrying out of the orders of the federal court regarding integration. The document states that “The Governor stated his intention to respect the decisions of the United States District Court and to give his full cooperation in carrying out his responsibilities in respect to the declaration” (83). This document was a way of ensuring that the governor would obey the federal law and help remove the previous confusion. Out of fear for disruptions and riots related to the new integration in schools, the Mayor of Little Rock, Arkansas writes a telegram to the president regarding the use of federal troops. It discusses the need for federal troops within an hour and reads; “Action by you will restore peace and order and compliance with your proclamation”. In ...

  Jonah Mayral Boyle Mr. Roddy IHSS 5 May, 2021 Little Rock Blog One quote I found interesting was from document page 85, a telegram sent by Wilson Mann, mayor of Little Rock, Arkansas at the time to President of the United States, Dwight Eisenhower. In it, he calls for the placement of Federal troops in Little Rock. “The immediate need for troops is urgent...I am pleading you as the President of the United States in the interest of humanity law and because of democracy world...Action will restore peace and order and compliance with your proclamation” This quote really puts into words the chaos that Little Rock was in when trying to integrate their schools, and how that affected the entire city, to the point when the mayor was so involved and concerned about the whole situation. I actually find the urgency of this telegram really interesting. You can really tell that this issue was really something that Mr. Mann really cared about, and that he cared about the safety of his citize...

            The United States criminal legal system is flawed. America’s reported criminal incarceration rate is higher than any other country in the world. As of 2017, approximately 2.2 million people serve sentences in jails and prisons and another 4.5 million people are on probation and parole. However, this is not the only issue because you can see the evident racial disparities that still exist when looking at the prison population. Even while incarceration rates were decreased overall, black women were imprisoned twice as much as white women. This disparity is even more prominent when examining the number of black men imprisoned as opposed to the number of white men. For black men, imprisonment rates are six times higher than that of white men and for younger populations, the inequality is even more prominent.  Another issue is how the criminal justice system favors the wealthy. Poorer people in America accused of crimes are jailed far more ...

 Ethan Zweig Mr. Roddy IHSS  May 5, 2021     "This Was a Gold Ring" pg. 106      "She was very excited by the prospect of her first day of school on September 4, 1957, as she was every year. 'The first day of school was always a good day.' LaNier said. 'I had never missed a day of school since I started in the first grade.' That was about to change. As she arrived for her first day of high school, she was stunned by what she saw: a riotous crowd and National Guard soldiers brought in from the government."        I found this quote to be interesting because this shows how shocking these times where. LaNier was extremely excited for her first day of school just to see large crowd of angry people and the National Guard to protect her. Back then White Americans didn't want African Americans in the same schools. So when the nine African American students, including LaNier, showed up, they were not happy and started shouting at them,...

  They Spat in my Face        “I was standing in front of the school that day. Suddenly there was a shout — ‘They’re here! The niggers are coming!’ I saw a sweet little girl who looked about fifteen, walking alone. She tried several times to pass through the guards. The last time she tried, they put their bayonets in front of her."         This quote made me see and think more deeply about how the racial situation was in the past. The quote explains the perspective of how people of color were tried by society and how aggressive and on humans were with these people.  This quote made me also realize the different ideas and the cultural perspective of people in this times where I could really see how there was no equality among people and also how this situation may be affected by the lack of support and inexperience was the government because in my opinion, I think that the government in this time was one of the many re...

  Micah Weinstock IHSS Mr. Roddy 5/5/2021 IHSS Blog In “Statement By The Governor Of Arkansas (Page 84),” Governor Faubus explains that, “... It is my responsibility to protect the people from violence in any form.” While he says this because he is justifying his not wanting to integrate it does make a good point. When integration was to take place, there was an ever-looming threat of violence. There were protesters and harassment from all the citizens. This is demonstrated (Faubus actually not supporting integration and the violence mentioned) on page 85. That page contains a telegram from Eisenhower to Faubus pleading with Faubus to allow troops into the state due to the extreme protests. He writes, “I AM PLEADING TO YOU AS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES IN THE INTEREST OF HUMANITY LAW AND ORDER AND THE BECAUSE OF DEMOCRACY WORLD.” Faubus doesn’t wish for federal troops in the state, as when they come in, he is forced to integrate the schools. Eisenhower’s attempts did not go unn...

  Isa Pedersen  Mr. Roddy IHSS 4 May 2021 Little rock  Document 1: The Western Union Telegram. Pg 85-86 “The immediate need for troops is urgent. The mob is much larger in numbers at 8 am than at any time yesterday people are converging on the scene from all directions mob is armed and engaging in fisticuffs and other acts of violence. Situation is out of control and police cannot disperse the mob I am pleading to you as president of the United States in the interest of humanity law and order and because of democracy worldwide to provide the necessary federal troops within several hours. Action by you will restore peace and order and compliance with your compliance. Woodrow Wilson Mann Mayor of Little rock Arkansas.” The Western Union Telegram talks about the need Woodrow Wilson has for federal troops. He needs these troops to help contain the protests and mobs that keep occurring. He wrote to the president before, but this one is more urgent than the other. The other let...

Alex Karni IHSS Mr. Roddy May 3, 2021 Engagement Blog           After emailing and contacting different sources, my interviews pushed me into wanting to directly help refugees and their families in need so they can have a fresh start in the US . Refugees are often in need of fresh new clothes, or in some cases, shoes because of the long distances of walking. I am working together to raise awareness for refugees who, for example, walk from Venezuela all the way to the U.S. for freedom. As you may imagine, their shoes would be of no use after a walk that long, and some wouldn’t have any at all. I am working with Talulah on this project and our intentions are to put boxes at both campuses and collect shoes to send to refugee organizations. By the end of one week, we are expecting to send the shoes to a lady named Maria Bolivar, who is from Venezuela and is the perfect connection to the refugees in need.            I...

  Alice Korkin Mr. Roddy IHSS May 3, 2021 Little Rock Documents Document 1: Western Union Telegram pg. 85 “The immediate need for troops is urgent. The mob is much larger in numbers at 8 am than at any time yesterday people are converging on the scene from all directions mob is armed and engaging in fisticuffs and other acts of violence. Situation is out of control and police cannot disperse the mob I am pleading to you as president of the United States in the interest of humanity law and order and because of democracy worldwide to provide the necessary federal troops within several hours. Action by you will restore peace and order and compliance with your compliance. Woodrow Wilson Mann Mayor of Littlerock Arkansas.” I found this telegram very interesting because local police could no longer control the mob at the school. It showed how mad the white people were when the government started integrating schools. The mayor stated that the mob was armed. I think that this is ridicu...

Alice Korkin Mr. Roddy IHSS May 3, 2021 Engagement Blog Over the last couple of weeks, I have been trying to and reaching out to people that specialize in eating disorders and body image issues. So far I have only gotten one interview down to help me reach out into the Houston community. This interview, with Nicole Kestenbaum, helped me realize that the problem in the Houston area is a lot more prominent than I thought it would be. She said that helping women and adults in the area has also helped her with her journey with food. I noticed that she loved helping others so I decided to make that my goal as well. Posting things on social media is her way of letting people know that they aren’t alone and that there are people there to help them. I would like one of the components throughout the time that I reach into the community to be social media. In my essay, I said that social media can harm someone’s mind, but it also can influence people and help them have a positive lifestyle. Fo...

Everest Leo Mr. Roddy IHSS 3 May 2021 CP Engagement Blog      While I was researching and emailing with experts or people on the boards of government organizations, I realized that this problem cannot be influenced or solved by citizens. The power grid of an entire state and the companies behind it are way too large. Most issues with our energy system in Texas would have to be solved with a decision from Texas legislation, as was brought to my attention by Mr. Barlow from the PUC. Although, as I have stated in my other blog, they are working on this, and many bills have been filed.      With all of this said, I think the best course of action, and the one I am going to take is to make an info graphic that gives essential information about how to prepare and survive through a power outage. It will contain as much info as possible without being a paper, and still looking nice, clean, and pleasing to the eye. I plan to post some around my neighborhood ...

  Wyatt Quillin Mr. Roddy IHSS 3 May 2021 Engagement Blog For my Challenge Project, I’m doing plastic pollution in the ocean. In my essay, I wrote about how plastic debris constantly washes up on beaches and negatively affects the plants and animals on the beach and in the shallows. Galveston suffers from lots of plastic debris on the beach, and I plan to take a couple of people with me to Galveston and clean up the beaches. Even though one of my interviewees Kelly Drinnen said that microplastics were harsher on the environment than larger plastics, it is much more accessible to me and will positively impact the environment. I still need to find a time to go to Galveston, but it will hopefully be next week. I am planning on taking Mateo and Ariela if they can come, so I will work with them on a good day for us to go and engage. We will find a beach that is polluted and pick up any trash or plastic that we see. I will bring trash bags and gloves so that we are well prepared and prot...

  Ariela Kluk Mr. roddy IHSS 05/03/21 Engagement Blog After researching food deserts in Houston and interviewing a staff member at an important organization helping people in food deserts, I learned that the best way to help is by volunteering. Due to covid more people have moved houses do to poverty and fewer people are able to pay for food and transportation, so volunteering with organizations that already help is the best way to do my part. Instead of only going myself to volunteer, I want to make flyers giving an overview of the issue and giving information that will make people feel sympathy for the people in need so that they want to help. On the flyers, I will put multiple organization names to give options for people to chose where they want to help. The organizations that I would like to advertise are The Houston Foodbank, Meals on Wheels, and The Baker Ripley House. These are the organizations I found that are helping the community the most. I want to post these flyers on...