Impact On My Life:
Glenn Brailsford
1/18/11
Am Gov. Qtr 2 BM
Judicial Branch:
New Jersey v. T.L.O. (1985)
"New Jersey v. T.L.O. (1985)."http://www.infoplease.com. Pearson Education Inc., 2005. Web. 18 Jan 2011. <http://www.infoplease.com>.
Students have a reduced expectation of privacy in school.
In this 1985 case the aforementioned [T.L.O.] was charged with smoking in the bathroom at school. Her principle performed a search on them and found cigarettes along with marijuana inside of her purse. It was debated in this case if students had the same 4th amendment rights on school grounds like they would outside of it, or is the case of “reasonable cause” enough to perform a search on someone as opposed to “probable cause?” This case directly affects me because the situation with T.L.O. is not always the situation with everybody. There are times when in order to protect oneself from getting in trouble, a student will plant the illegal item or in this case substance in another students pocket, purse, backpack, etc... When I was in 4th grade, a student stole something from one students bag and put it into mine. Long story short I was blamed for it an action was taken against me even thought I had no idea of what had been done. I had never been in trouble before and I had the best grades in the class. I think that while this law in some cases may have its benefits a look at what type of person someone is should also be in order before an assumption like this is made.
Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)
"Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District." http://www.bc.edu. N.p., 2009. Web. 18 Jan 2011. <http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/comm/free_speech/tinker.html>.
Students do not leave their rights at the schoolhouse door.
In this 1969 case two teenagers wanted to protest their disapproval of the Vietnam War so they wore black armbands to school. As a result, they were sent home from school, suspended and the administration prohibited wearing those bands in school. When they took the case to the supreme court however they ruled that they didn’t do anything what wasn’t protected by their first amendment rights. This case affects me because I too wear wrist bands to school sometimes that have religious messages or other significant meanings and there was a time when I wore a necklace of the same kind too. If this case had never happened then me and millions of others would have to go through the same thing that these students went through way back then.
Engel v. Vitale (1962)
"Engel v. Vitale." http://www.oyez.org. N.p., 2011. Web. 18 Jan 2011. <http://www.oyez.org/cases/1960-1969/1961/1961_468>.
School initiated-prayer in the public school system violates the First Amendment.
In this case a school in New York would begin every school day with a prayer asking God to bless students the teachers and the country in order to defuse the politically potent issue in the community. The court ruled that by providing the prayer that New York had officially approved religion. In the end it was said that it violated the first amendment even though it was a nondenominational prayer it didn’t save it from unconstitutionality. As I stated in the above court case. I sometimes where items that are religious based and I am myself religious. With this having been said of course this case affects me. I know that I don’t go to any kind of christian school but it’s almost as if they are forcing religion out of schools which in some case is understandable but does that in turn take away some people’s individuality as well? I think that while it erases some problems in schools about religion it also raises some as well. This could cause problems because should another tragedy happen in our nation does that also erase having a “moment of prayer” for those effected? Does that mean that we as a school won’t be able to collaboratively do something that can essentially make us feel comforted by events that have happened such as 9/11?
Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)
"Grutter v. Bollinger." http://www.oyez.org. N.p., 2011. Web. 18 Jan 2011. <http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2002/2002_02_241/>.
Colleges and universities have a legitimate interest in promoting diversity.
Barbara Grutter alleged that her Equal Protection rights were violated when the University of Michigan’s Law school denied her application. The university denied these claims but did admit to wanting to promote diversity at their school. The court cam to the conclusion that because the university puts so much attention in to each individual review the decision would not be made because of a variable like race but that all factors are considered alongside with race. This affects me because I can not be denied admission to a school because the color of my skin like it may have been in a days long gone. In some cases it could mean that I am looked at more because of my race and a school would think I could add to their diversity.
Legislative Branch:
H.R.1 - American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
"H.R. 1: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009." http://www.govtrack.us. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Jan 2011. <http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-1>.
- Introduced on 01/06/09 this bill was designed to create jobs and to preserve jobs in the recession. Making supplemental appropriations for the preservation of jobs creation of new jobs and financial stability for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2009, and for other purpose. It was signed by the president on 2/17/09. This bill applies to me because coming up in the world where I need to be able to get a job and have be financially capable of supporting myself along with a possible family, this law is to make sure it’s possible. In the present day since I’m not in college and still living at home it allows my parents to be able to find some work or have a way to be financially secure and support the family.
H.R. 1256: Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act
" H.R. 1256: Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act." http://www.govtrack.us. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Jan 2011. <http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-1256&tab=summary>.
This bill was made so that tobacco companies had to make it known what was in there products. The FDA now has to review what’s in the products so that they can pass it on to the general public. It also makes the companies put more varied and prominent labels on their products. It was proposed on 3/3/09 and signed by the president on 6/22/09. This affects me because some people in my family smoke and with me being an asthmatic they now know what they can and cannot smoke around me. There was an incident some years ago that caused me to have an attack because of something that was in one brand of cigarettes that wasn’t in a brand that my family member usually smoked. So now with these new labels they know what is in what they are smoking and if they can have it around me or not.
DRAFT REGISTRATION
"Background of Selective Service."http://usmilitary.about.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Jan 2011. <http://usmilitary.about.com/od/deploymentsconflicts/l/bldrafthistory.htm>.
I think that we all know what the registering for the draft means. President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 which created the country's first “peacetime” draft and formally established the Selective Service System as an independent Federal agency. From 1948 through 1973, men were drafted to fill vacancies in the armed forces that couldn’t be filled through voluntary means. A draft held today would use a lottery to determine the call of order. It would either go by his 20th birthday or when his deferment ended. This effects me because even though the military does have some ways for you to be educated while serving with them it doesn’t give me a real chance to go to college and actually live out the dream that I want to live. It makes me obliged to serve my country and put my life on the line and as we know it is never guaranteed you come back from war no matter what job you may have.
No Child Left Behind
"Archived Information." http://www2.ed.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Jan 2011. <http://www2.ed.gov/nclb/overview/intro/execsumm.html>.
The No Child Left Behind act was passed in 2002 by George Bush to make sure that public schools were meeting the requirements that they needed to meet. It requires students in grades 3-8 to be tested yearly. This law also makes it so no child can be left behind or neglected because of their ethnicity or anything of the sort. This has a negative effect on me because even though it prevents me from being left behind it also makes it so the people I am around may not be on the same level as me. It makes it that a lot of people in my generation don’t even fully understand something but are still being pushed on to the next level like a defective toy on a production line. It never gets to live up to it’s full potential. Since the people around me don’t fully understand something it may mean that we have to spend extra time in class going over something because one or a group of people didn’t fully understand it before and now that we’re on a more advanced level we have to go back and look at it again.
Executive Branch:
2010 IACP/Sprint Excellence in Law Enforcement Research Award
- This award was given to the Philadelphia Police Department [PPD] for their achievement in lowering the overall crime rate in the city. Some researchers from Temple University put their heads together and formulated a plan on how to reduce crime. They pin-pointed the highest crime sections in the city and put teams of 2 all around the city. These are some of the results they got.
This directly effects me because seeing to see few police officers standing around or walking around the city adds a sense of safety knowing that in the case that something does happen you have the police there for an immediate response.
FAFSA: U.S. Department Of Education
"History of Student Financial Aid."http://www.finaid.org. FinAid, 2011. Web. 19 Jan 2011. <http://www.finaid.org/educators/history.phtml>.
FAFSA is a apart of the Department of Education. Each year they lend out over $100 Billion dollars to millions of students worldwide. In 1643 the first scholarship was established by Lady Anne Radcliffe Mowlson at Harvard University. Over the hundreds of years since then scholarships and loans have evolved to students needs. There are academic scholarships, loans given out to different races and people struggling with finances. This directly affects me because as a person who is college-bound I will need money to pay for all my funds providing I don’t get a full ride. This FAFSA system allows me to worry about my education first and foremost.
Music Censorship
"Music Censorship In The U.S.A.."httphttp://jmm.aaa.net.au://www.finaid.org. N.p., 2005. Web. 19 Jan 2011. <http://jmm.aaa.net.au/articles/14759.htm>.
"Laws Regarding Music Censorship."http://www.nku.edu. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Jan 2011. <http://www.nku.edu/~issues/music_censorship/laws.htm>.
Music censorship in America has been going on for a long time. There have been a lot of famous songs that have been censored that have been viewed as harmless by the public but have been viewed as harmful or having secret messages and have been censored or completely removed from radio play and even some videos from the Internet. Usually when an album or single comes out it will have a parental advisory sign on it. This directly affects me because since I have started a record label and I want our message of bringing peace to this world sometimes that will have to include putting things such as vulgar language to prove a point into a song. I know that this is not the only or best way to prove a point sometimes but I also believe in free speech as an artist. From my personal experiences growing up I was never allowed to get a CD if it had a parental advisory label on it and I know this is the case with thousands upon thousands of other children not only in the U.S. but in the rest of the world as well. This will, in some cases, prevent our message to get across to a younger audience that we want to target.
"Business Loan Application Checklist."http://www.sba.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Jan 2011. <http://www.sba.gov/content/business-loan-application-checklist>.
As most of us know starting a business is not an easy process. It requires a lot of time, effort, passion and sometimes most importantly, money. Since I am starting a business as I mentioned above I will need financial support as well. The Business Loan Application while useful has it’s many downfalls as far as people my age. My mentor Chris and I have gone over a few of them and most of them ask for things that I’m either no old enough to or have certain requirements that I do not meet such as having a certain type of income or being a certain age.