Freedom of Religion

I was suprise by the first statistics in the State of the First Ammendment survery when all the numbers increased in the different catagories except Freedom of Religion which fluceuated. It seemed that people's views on Freedom of Religion depended on the year and what was going on at that time, for example, it was lowest in 2001 when the 9/11 attacks happened. Americans were most likely more against Freedom of Religion because they just experienced more negative outcomes as a result of it.

The topic I read about was public schools and religious communities and how the schools are allowed to make partnerships with religious institutions as long as the institution's views are not prostlotized on the students within the programs. Schools must remain unbaised in their religious views and although the presence of programs that involve people with a spicific religious involvment are allowed they are not allowed to sway or protest a student's religious beliefes. The article associated with my topic talked about President Bush set up a program in the Department of Education that provided funding to religious group's programs in public schools. Those kind of prgroams are legal under the first ammendment but some schools reported that the religious insitutions started protlotizing students and that is where the programs become illigal. Public schools are a extention of the government and their job is to teach the First Ammendment rights provided to them by their government. The schools must follow the rules that they are teaching the kids and they must make sure that the institutions they associate themselves with do not go against what they are teaching in their own schools

September 11th Movie Response

The perspective of this movie was, to me, the most interesting part; seeing people running for their lives when the buildings collapsed, walking around the deserted streets covered in debris, and watching people in complete shock not knowing what to do. The majority of the images associated with 9/11 are of planes going into the building or ground zero with the firefighters searching through the rubble. And although those moments are awful we have witnessed them before. Seeing the day reported on by someone whose job it is to stay composed and come up with a planned script is completely different then this movie, where the reporters were everyday people who were reacting to a horrible situation the way an everyday person would. Simply hearing the commentary of someone experiencing 9/11, and the days after, made the story so much more relatable. It put you in the place of people where this event consumed and became their lives. People weren't concerned with who or why someone would do this yet they just wanted to help in any way possible. That was the most powerful. Anyone was willing to do anything to help people they had never met.

Speech Codes

I think student, in general, have a responsibility to their school to maintain descent behavior when reflecting a part of the school; whether that is a sorority, fraternity or a school club. The incident that happened at the University of Auburn where students in a fraternity dressed up in inappropriate racial outfits, such a KKK members, and simulated a lynching should be punished. There is a fine line that the school walks between limiting students rights of free speech provided by the Unites States government and allowing them to behave in a way that reflects the University in a poor light. I think that the school has every right to prohibit these actions if the students were simply throwing a party in their apartment where these incidents arose then there is nothing the school can do but because they were in a fraternity their actions are reflected on the University. These students’ choices at the party were demeaning to the other students at the University who are African-American and these incidents are very offensive. It would be like simulating the Holocaust and people dressing up like Nazis to attend a party, these are incidents that are a real part of people's pasts and even though people have a right to express their opinions there is a proper time and place to do so and doing them at one of the University of Auburn's fraternity houses as a party is not the proper time or place. These boy's actions are not progressing society in any way, but rather bringing up a dark part of Americas past in a disrespectful way that supports the murders of innocent members of our society.