Blog Post #6

- From the beginnings of the United States, freedom of religion has been a protected right of every citizen of the nation
- So important that it was included in the first amendment of the Bill of Rights
- With its place in the first amendment of the Constitution, it is a duty of the government to ensure this right for every American
- There have been various pieces of legislation passed to ensure the integrity of this right
- Even on college campuses like our own, national legislation has been passed to ensure different religious organizations have the same eligibility for funding as other organizations
- This legislation was proposed earlier this year on Religious Freedom Day by the US Department of Education and backed by the President
- However, it is often called into question what this right really means: Does it mean you can practice and say whatever you want no matter how it affects other religious people or does it mean you must be respectful of other's beliefs?
- This is the root of the issue we seek to examine as religious freedom is certainly a right of all Americans, but how is it defined and how can it be enforced?

Blog Post #5

For our rhetorical analysis research and our upcoming proposal, my group has gathered information on the issue of religious freedom on campus. In our efforts, we have analyzed various stakeholders including the Kentucky Kernel, YAF, President Capilouto, national government, and AUSCS. We have found that religious freedom, which is an issue that is one of the foundations of our country, is not often thought of in recent years and specifically on college campuses. The majority of students have likely seen preachers on campus holding giant signs and yelling which attracts large crowds. It is called into question whether this is an exercise of freedom of religion or a nuisance for students of other religions. The university and organizations seek to bring people together and create an environment that is accepting to all people. Additionally, legislation plays a role in this issue as government seeks to accomplish these tasks and ensure that our constitution is upheld. For our documentary, we hope to analyze this issue and essentially get a feel for students and how they feel they are able to exercise freedom of religion on their campus. We may also ask their opinion on the preachers that are common on campus. Another option that we have discussed to add the effect of credibility to our documentary is to secure an interview with a member of the administration or someone whose job is specialized in diversity. We believe that we can create an effective documentary that gathers opinions of students and sheds light on an issue that is not discussed all that often.

Blog Post #4

On Thursday, I received very strong and helpful feedback from the other members of my workshop group. I had a few grammatical errors that are very easy to gloss over by yourself and I am glad they were caught by the peers reviewing the paper. Another common critique that I receive is repetitive wording and being a little wordy at certain points throughout the rhetorical analysis. These are important as they can bore the reader and cause them to lose interest and I am glad they were caught during this review process. Additionally, I will attempt to go more in depth with connections to UK as this is the true focus and there are moments where I lose sight somewhat of this focus. I also plan to provide greater examination of the artifact from the Department of Education as it wasn’t quite clear what it is and how it pertains to the issue. Another option is to provide a photo of this artifact which may increase the audience’s understanding. Although it wasn’t really mentioned as a critique, I believe that my conclusion is somewhat weak as I was trying to get it finished and rushed it to an extent leading it to be somewhat unclear. Overall, I am grateful for the feedback I received as it is virtually impossible to complete a strong paper without the input of others who may be more prone to see your mistakes and help correct them. In the coming days, I will carefully edit my paper and ensure that my best work is exhibited in the finished product to be submitted on Tuesday.

Blog Post #3

Stakeholders:

Christians
Atheists
Non-Christian Religions
US Citizens
President
American Civil Liberties Union
National Republicans
National Democrats
State Governments

https://religionnews.com/2019/06/19/why-christians-must-support-religious-freedom-for-everyone/
https://www.atheists.org/legal/faq/first-amendment/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INIG636SnU4
https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueReddit/comments/apc9ua/opinion_is_religious_freedom_for_christians_only/
https://muslimadvocates.org/issue/religious-freedom/
https://reformjudaism.org/jewish-views-religious-freedom
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskAChristian/comments/5g3rrq/what_does_freedom_from_religion_mean_to_you/
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/proclamation-religious-freedom-day-2020/
https://www.aclu.org/other/your-right-religious-freedom
https://www.republicanviews.org/republican-views-on-religion/
https://democrats.org/where-we-stand/the-issues/civil-rights/
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/13rs/hb279.html#actions

Blog Post #2

https://rachelssssblog.blogspot.com/2020/01/worlds-biggest-producer-of-plastic-to.html

https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/recycling-garbage-piling-recycling-industry/story?id=66863085

Rachel’s blog post caught my attention because recycling is a program that should be utilized by everyone. There are no downsides to putting something that is recyclable in your recycling bin instead of the garbage can. Unfortunately, after all these years and effort, we continue to waste recyclable items and fill up landfills when we could do so much more. It is crazy to think how much space in landfills could be saved and how much of our pollution could be cut down by changing our habits of simply throwing everything away. In the attached article from ABC News, the author takes a deeper dive into the recycling industry and what actually happens to items that we contribute to be recycled. Recycling is market-driven, and the industry must have somewhere to take the items and if there is nowhere to go, the materials become trash and sent to the landfill. Additionally, if there is a contaminant that cannot be recycled such as batteries or food items, the entire load is often considered contaminated and the process stops there. Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, our recyclable items are not actually recycled sometimes due to factors out of our control and sometimes due to reasons that we don’t even think about. Still, it is important to be educated about recycling programs and recycle as much as we can because that is something we can control. This is one of our best ways to ensure that pollution is cut down and our resources are maximized.

Blog Post #1

One of the first topics that came to my mind in our brainstorm activity last Thursday was sports. I absolutely love sports and spend perhaps an unhealthy amount of time watching any basketball or football game that I can find. While it is not a world-changing issue, sports is something that brings people all around the world together to play and watch. Therefore, it is important that oversight of sports is handled properly. Countless issues arise and are discussed every single day. One particular issue that is an extremely hot topic in recent years is whether players must go to college for a set number of years or be allowed to jump straight from high school to professional leagues. Currently, one year removed from high school is required for the NBA, three years for the NFL, and no years for the MLB. These are the careers of adults and the lives of teenagers at stake. In a nutshell, one side advocates for complete freedom of players to make their own decisions out of high school without any unnecessary road blocks to beginning their high-paying careers. On the flip side, others believe that is essential to receive at least some college education and that 18 year olds are not suited to make this decision on their own as they will obviously see themselves in a different light than the professional league decision-makers. There is a lot at stake for these talented athletes as they will be millionaires if they ultimately make it as a professional and the risk of injury can easily take all of that away. This issue and whatever is ultimately decided will have an effect on the product that we watch on TV as well as the future of the athletes taking part in these events.

https://www.reddit.com/r/nbadiscussion/comments/ahamxq/the_nba_should_increase_the_time_players_spend_in/