Less Fratty?

After our discussion in class about the possible social changes that might take place at Trinity, I was very interested in reading the Presidents paper. Naturally I skimmed to the part I cared about most, the social life. Let me preface this by saying that personally I think Trinity is a school in which the students know how to have a good time and that is why many other people from other schools come here on weekends (even Thursdays). What I got from reading the social aspect part of the paper was that it seemed as if the president and faculty want to get rid of frats and replace them with "cultural houses", however the definition of a cultural house was not exactly clear. The president referred to the Mill and the Fred as an example of some of the positive social life, and seemed to find the prevailing frat culture as a sort of a negative tool. Personally I enjoy and look forward to going to frats on the weekends. Although there is a negative stigma attached to the word frat, I believe this not completely accurate. Now Im not going to deny that sometimes some of the actions that go down are questionable, but I don't think moving the party to a cultural house would make it any better. Also since we want to keep all students interested, if you are not a frat person maybe we should focus on expanding the other social outlets instead of replacing one that more than half of the campus enjoys. Im interested to see how this plays out over the coming years and hope that the administration doesn't rush to an inaccurate conclusion

4 minute Presentation

http://www.nfl.com/videos/the-shame-report/09000d5d82341ca2/The-Shame-Report-Week-6?module=HP11_content_stream

This video is clearly meant to target more of the male football watching population. Initially the added cameo of supermodel Brooklyn Decker is an instant attraction, add that to football and you will get some hits. Although Miss Decker was in for literally 3 seconds it was a good strategy to lure me in. The information is presented in a different way than your standard ESPN or Internet sports video. It has more of a humorous flair and as the message is the shame report it is poking fun at others misfortunes, which always gets a good laugh and keeps people interested. The sound effects, (the banners and fighting sound) the highlights, clips of other coaches and voice overs all meant to make this unique

The way this is presented is clearly meant more for entertainment than lets say how a newspaper or a clip of bad NFL plays on CNN would approach this. For example compare the first 20 seconds of this piece to how Sports center begins they are very different yet both want to share a sports story with you.

True Enough Draft

From Farhood’s analysis it is clear that humans in this modern era believe whatever is in-line with their preexisting views.  Naturally we are drawn to things that click with what we like. This is how we make friends and choose what activities we participate in etc. Because modern mass media is so vast there are many sources from which we can choose our information.  What Manjoo highlights is the fact that America is growing apart and becoming more partisan. People are sticking to sources that tend to approve of their views. Due to the large array of media that people view daily, whether it is the TV, internet, radio people feel as if whatever they hear that opposes their view, whether consciously or not is false, so thus they stick to the media sources that support them

A great thinker JS Mills once wrote in his book On Liberty  “To an ordinary man, however, his own preference, thus supported, is not only a perfectly satisfactory reason but the only one he generally has for any of his notions of morality, taste, or propriety.” This was evident in the tests that were conducted involving static and the other test involving what sources of news certain people rely on. We all have unconscious biases, and they manifest themselves in different ways. As Farhood demonstrated in the Dartmouth game we tend to see, whether in actuality it is there or not, what we would like to see.

A Device Called Fear

The themes in 1984 will always be valuable to humans as they pertain to different aspects of human nature. In this book, Orwell explores lust, fear, power, language (in the public sphere!), history and other themes that are relevant in today’s society. Throughout the novel, I was hoping that the Brotherhood or another source of resistance would arise, and that Big Brother would be destroyed; however this never came to fruition. The masses never revolt or inquire as to why most of what Big Brother said didn’t make sense, and the main reason for their acceptance of the lies they were told is their fear of punishment. Fear makes humans do irrational things, and limits our ability to reason and to fulfill our potential. In 1984, George Orwell tries to tell the reader that in life fear is an emotion that dominates all others, and is a tool of manipulation and power.

The reason for Big Brother’s total control is the use of fear to manipulate. In a society where everyone does not want to be punished for insolence, the rulers can enjoy sovereignty while brutally suppressing any opposition. The public executions and displays of Hate are a clever way to remind the citizens of their possible fate if they do not submit to Big Brother. Winston believes that there are many like him who sometimes question the Party, but their emotions of confusion and worry are clouded with the emotion of fear thus keeping them silent. Winston’s early belief in O’Brien and the Brotherhood attests to his understanding of a probable form of resistance. Earlier in the novel, Winston thinks of O’Brien as “the commander of a vast shadowy army, an underground network of conspirators dedicated to the overthrow of the state”(14). He hangs on to this hope because he wants to have a sense of his identity, but in his day to day he goes about his work quietly for fear of not drawing unwanted attention.

Fear and power go hand in hand. The great Italian philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli once said, “It is far safer to be feared than to be loved.” The party realized that suppressing all other emotions and replacing them with fear would foster obedience. After Winston is captured and is going through his punishment and eventual transformation, O’Brien tells Winston,

“"Never again will you be capable of ordinary human feeling. Everything will be dead inside you. Never again will you be capable of love, or friendship, or joy of living, or laughter, or curiosity, or courage, or integrity. You will be hollow. We shall squeeze you empty and then we shall fill you with ourselves" (265).

 Winston is only able to become what the party wants him to be after he enters Room 101 and cannot face his fear, and thus denies his identity, giving the party the authority to mold him into whatever they see fit.

Everyone has fears, and they affect our interactions to varying degrees. In the case of Winston, he is never able to overcome his greatest fear and in the last line of the novel while at the Ministry of Love, he submits to the will of Big Brother. “But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother” (308). He denies himself and his love for Julia in Room 101 because of his human desire to not want to suffer through pain and fear. The ability of fear to completely change the thought process of someone is frightening. I’m sure everyone has his or her “Room 101”, yet at what point is facing that fear better than becoming a mindless pawn? The truth is there is no universal answer, but Orwell shows that we are all slaves to our fears.

Fear is an intrinsic characteristic in American society. We listen to those in positions of authority; teachers, parents, police, government, for fear of not being punished. We choose to drive instead of fly for fear of heights. From a young age we are taught to fear and respect those in power, whether in actuality they deserve it or not. Winston knew that there was something wrong with the Party, however his fear of being vaporized would not allow him to openly defy the Party even though in his diary he writes “Down with Big Brother” (19).

 Orwell is reminding us that human nature is inherently weak and flawed. To prove his point, he describes a society in which there is no courage or initiative from the masses. He shows us that it is in our nature to desire contentment over all other things. Despite what people say, their self interest and their comfort almost always comes first. It is what has plagued civilizations for centuries, until someone made a sacrifice that promotes change. Think of the billions of people that inhabited the world during the times of slavery and other atrocities. They were okay with the status quo because they did not want to inconvenience themselves for the benefit of others. Those who did make that effort and suffer extreme pain and hardships are the ones that history remembers. Dictators and all other great rulers all employed fear in order to achieve greatness. Orwell alludes to the fact that as long as a person or persons can instill fear, they will have power, and once fear is in control there is little room for any other emotions.

Its Tebow Time!

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7087660/tim-tebow-replaces-kyle-orton-denver-broncos-starting-quarterback-john-fox-says

The struggling (1-4) Broncos made it official today that Tim Tebow would be the starter for their Monday night match-up against the Miami Dolphins. QB Kyle Orton originally had the job, but after a dismal start, he was replaced by Tebow at halftime in Sunday's game. Even though Tebow didn't get the W, he showed great promise and a good grasp of the offense. When asked why he is making the switch now Fox said

"Well, I think 1-4 has a lot to do with it," Fox said. "We haven't gotten it done as a football team. It's not one guy. It's not all Kyle Orton's fault. But we do have to make adjustments, we have to change and we have to do something to win football games."

The fans also seem to be behind Tebow as many have been waiting for the former Florida star to prove himself in the NFL.  As the Broncos trudged off the field, the stadium shook with a thunderous roar of "Tebow! Tebow! Tebow!"

When Tebow was drafted, many analysts said that he could not play QB in the NFL, and he definitely has a chip on his shoulder. Watching Tebow from Florida till today, I believe that he has the ability to lead the Broncos in the right direction. Football is not a one man game, the defense and offense have to work together to get a win. There are many who will expect instant success, but that might not be the case. I'm curious to see the outcome of the Broncos Monday Night showdown vs the Dolphins.

People are Fed up with Big Banks

http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/11/pf/bank_fees_switch/index.htm?iid=HP_LN

It seems as if recent increases in back fees are causing people to change from the major banks to more small business banks. Banks that received a lot of scrutiny included Bank of America, Citigroup, and Chase Bank

"Prime targets: Banks of America, which slapped a $5 monthly fee on debit cards, and Citigroup (C,Fortune 500), which will start charging $20 a month for some checking customers who don't maintain a $15,000 balance on their combined accounts."I dropped Bank of America like a hot potato," said Tim O'Brien a partner in a Seattle-based television advertising agency. "I felt like I was getting nickel and dimed." 

Many bank customers feel as if these big banks are taking advantage of them and they have had enough. A man who took his business to a small business bank said of it."They rolled out the red carpet for us," O'Brien said. "The difference really is amazing." 

The banks defend these increases because they are dealing with a new cap on the fees they can charge retailers when customers swipe their debit cards. 

"While banks used to charge an average fee of 44 cents, now the maximum is 21 cents. They are looking for a way to make up the difference. Smaller banks -- those with less than $10 billion in assets -- are exempt from the new regulation. No matter the reason -- there isn't a lot of sympathy for banks."

As someone who was considering opening up a Bank of America account I think I might have to think twice about this. I barely have money as it is, and at this stage every dollar counts. Unortunately small business banks dont have many ATM's in the area, so as of now it seems that i may have to be at the mercy of a Big Bank.