This Is It

This is it, my final blog. I feel that it’s only appropriate to use this one as a reflection on my year in An American Studies. This course didn’t immediately click with me. I’m a pretty structured person and so the lose form of this class sent me into a bit of a shock. In fact, I’m pretty sure I didn’t speak the entire first quarter of the year. What can I say, the class was huge and I was intimidated. I swear it seemed like people would have their hands in the air before my teachers were done asking the questions and I didn’t think I had much to contribute with how smart everyone around me was.

Thankfully, I have come a long way since them. To start, I am no longer mute in this class. Although I still can be intimidated by the size and by the intelligence of my peers, I’m no longer afraid to toss my hat into the ring. If I’m wrong, I’m wrong. Who cares? I even screamed at the top of my lungs twelve times in front of my class the other day for my role in The Kentucky Cycle without a second thought.

I have learned so much from this class and I feel like it’s allowed me to look at the world more critically than I ever would have before. So thank you Bolos and O’Connor for teaching me to let my voice be heard and question the world around me.  

Do High Schools Support Rape Culture?

            I think it’s safe to say that most people have had a dress code imposed on them at some point in their schooling. Most commonly there’s the rule that girls have to wear shorts that go longer than their fingertips. I never really questioned this rule, probably because when I got to high school it no longer applied to be, but an 11^th grader has recently brought it to the attention of the general public.

            When Lindsay Stocker was called out for violating dress code in front of her entire class and was denied the right to defend herself, she posted the following sign around the school.  

Lindsay may have been suspended for posting the sign, but she has raised awareness for her cause by getting global attention. She’s spreading her message that “There’s a huge rape culture that educational systems aren’t really paying attention to. They’re actually contributing to it without realizing it.”


I think that schools enforce dress codes with good intentions. The idea behind them is obvious, they want to keep the environment appropriate and safe for everyone. But are good intentions actually sending the wrong message and encouraging rape culture among young men like Lindsay argues?

My advisor shared her opinion with us that my own high school, New Trier, actually encourages rape culture. As juniors, every girl’s advisory has the opportunity to go on a self-defense excursion. My advisory did not partake in this fieldtrip because my advisor believes that we shouldn’t have to teach girls not to fight because we should be teaching boys not to rape. In sending girls on this excursion, is New Trier supporting the male dominated culture that Lindsay feels dress code supports? Are high schools protecting girls or harming them?

The Rags-To-Riches Myth

In my American Studies class we've been reading The Great Gatsby, so naturally we've been talking a lot about social status. Throughout the book, a "secret society" is often mentioned that only a select few are a part of. They represent the highest class a person can be and it consists of old-money. That's why Gatsby, as much as he tries, can never become a part of this secret society. He may be able to work hard and obtain as much money as them, but he will remain nouvelle-riche. The biggest difference between the nouvelle-riche and the old-money is that the nouvelle-riche couldn't dream to have the same sort of connections. 

With connections on my mind, I stumbled across a rather fitting post on Humans of New York. Before I get into that, Humans of New York is a blog where a man goes around New York photographing people and asking about their lives. He then posts a picture with a quote from them or a snippet from their conversation together. I come across these posts through Facebook, and now I am going to share one with you. 

I think this man encompasses Gatsby’s struggle of being stuck in the class you start in. In America, we like to believe in the “American Dream” narrative. That classic rags-to-riches story, where all you need is some hard work, perseverance, and a little bit of luck to succeed in life. As convenient as this story may be, I think that this may be an optimistic and naïve mindset. Instead, I think this man represents the American struggle of not being “taken seriously” when you come from a lower social class. We all want to think we can be anything we want to be, but in reality, does it all come down to whom you know instead of what you know?

Gatsby vs Gatsby vs Kane

           In my American Studies class we watched Citizen Kane instead of The Great Gatsby after we finished reading Gatsby. My teacher told us that he believed that Citizen Kane would be the movie that Fitzgerald would have made to represent his book. If I’m being honest, I had my doubts that Citizen Kane could be a better depiction of The Great Gatsby than the actual movie for the obvious reason that there is not Gatsby in Citizen Kane.

            That’s why I decided to watch The Great Gatsby and make up my mind for myself. I decided to watch the 2013 version of the movie and I have to say that I was a little disappointed since I thoroughly enjoyed the book and I can’t say the same about the movie.

            My first issue was how the white motif that often surrounded the upper class was portrayed in the film. In one of the first scenes we see Jordan in Daisy engulfed in these flowing white curtains that seemed to throw the white theme in your face. Even though subtlety was completely ignored in this scene, I found the lack of emphasis on certain parts of the book to be alarming.

            One scene that was completely eliminated was the whole elevator scene that implied Nick’s affair with Mr. McKee. In my opinion, that scene was crucial to understanding Nick as a character and why he acts the way he is, thus making it that much harder to connect with him. In addition to that, most of the characters were very exaggerated and I found them hard to relate to as well.

            All that being said, I’m not sure I necessarily believe that Citizen Kane is a better depiction of Gatsby than Gatsby. I think that the extravagant parties and Daisy’s murmur make Gatsby what it is, and without the character and the plot no movie can rival in representing a book than it’s actual adaptation. However, if you’re looking for a movie to show the struggle, emotions, and themes of a man trying to gain a place in high-society coming from nothing, Citizen Kane is the way to go.

Take It From Me

I officially turned in my junior theme today, which was a relief to say the least. Having gone through this process, I am going to write my tips for surviving the junior theme, or any other research paper for that matter.

1. Get as much research as you can.

There's no such thing as too much research when it comes to writing an inquiry paper. I found that the more I read, the more comfortable I felt when writing my paper. This was because it helped me to actually feel like I knew what I was talking about, and not just trying to fill space.

2. If you are given time in the library, use it.

If I'm being honest, I was not 100% focused every single day in the library. We would have days when we spent the full 80 minute block period in the library and after about an hour, I would start to get distracted. I didn't realize until after these days were over just how much of a gift they were. You have your teacher, librarians, and classmates to bounce ideas off of so by all means, take advantage of it.

3.  Choose your topic very carefully.

If you're spending a month on a singe question, or prompt if that's what your assignment is, you are most definitely going to want to be really interested whatever your topic is. I understand that sometimes this is going to be assigned, but if it's not, then you should find something you are passionate about because it will only make your paper stronger in the long-run.

4. Do not put off your annotated bibliography.

The annotated bibliography may not be the most exciting or glamorous part of writing your paper, but it can become time consuming. If you struggle citing sources like me, then you are going to want to have time to ask your librarians or other experts all of your questions. Not to mention for a large paper you are going to have a lot of sources and if you have to write a short paragraph for each then you are going to have to be realistic in how much time this will actually take.

5. Breathe.

Try not to stress out too much. Yes, this is a big paper. Yes, you should work your hardest. But no, it is not worth making yourself crazy. It's just a research paper so don't give it the power t o ruin your life.

Reacting To Abuse

In my religion inquiry, I stumbled across a frightening case that just recently occurred right here in Chicago. I'm referring to the court case regarding the sexual abuse allegations on priest Daniel McCormick. The anonymous victim, or John Doe, was abused from eighth grade until he was junior in high school, or from 2001-2005. For the ten claims made by Doe, there was a 3.15 million dollar settlement made after five years of deliberation. In my opinion, money can't make up for the emotional trauma that would ensue from a trusted mentor, priest, and teacher preying on you and violating your rights and trust. 

Unfortunately, this was not some rare, isolated event. In fact, in January of this year a group of lawyers released about 6,000 pages of reports of sexual abuse involving 30 other priests. In fact, in a personal interview with Bradley Malkovsky, religion professor at Notre Dame, he pointed to these sexual scandals as a cause for the loss of following. This seems like a very realistic allegation considering no parent would want to put his or her child in the dangerous and harmful position that John Doe was stuck in for many of his teenage years. 

Rise in Suppport, Decline in Practice

            For my Junior Theme, I am exploring the decline in religion among the millennial generation. One answer to this question I have learned about is that the millennial generation supports gay and lesbian rights more than any other generation that has come before it. According to a study from the Public Religion Research Institute, thanks to the millennials, 2011 is the first time in history that supporting gay marriage was not a minority position. This group is also the most unaffiliated group religiously for their age, at 25 percent unaffiliated (Pew Research Center).

            This connection between religion and gay rights is a pressing one in today’s news. Mississippi just passed a “religious freedom” law, which allows business owners to use their religion as a legal defense in a court of law if sued by a costumer. This means that if a customer was refused service or harshly treated for their sexual orientation, that said business owner could defend himself in saying it was because their religion doesn’t support gay rights.

            I believe that this type of disdain towards gay rights that is often connected to religion has caused there to be a decline in practice of religion with this younger generation. This is because if people now accept those around them the way they are, they don’t want their religious institutions to say that it’s not okay to be the that way. Obviously this is not a direct connection because not all religious institutions are against gay rights, but the fact that the support for gay rights rises as the practice in religion declines, I think it’s safe to say that there is a correlation.