The Importance of Books and Ideas to Overpower Censorship

Ray Bradburyr's, Fahrenheit 451 novel details a dystopian future in which a firemen receive orders to burn books, therefore, the public consists of people who are oblivious and controllable because of government control. The title refers to the temperature at which book paper burns. Throughout the book, Fireman Guy Montag lived the last ten years supporting government oppressing until multiple events including talks of a war lead him to glance at the things he was censoring. In the beginning of the novel, Guy and his co-workers, including a robot dog, ferret out books and burn them under orders from the government (Moss). While meeting a young woman one night, clarity is brought to his mind and he begins to question his own ethics which leads him on a significant journey. Through the character of Guy Montag and the symbolism of the firemen system, Bradbury reveals how books and ideas can overcome an oppressive dominion imposing censorship. Throughout the novel Fahrenheit 451, censorship is revealed from the effects of McCarthyism and post World War during the 1950s. Upon meeting a young girl, Guyr's character changes because he believes that he being fed with lies by the government. Shortly after meeting Clarisse McClellan, Guy Montagr's eyes are sprung open behind the fireman system. The work her's been doing for the past ten years is questioned by his own self and the thought if he is truly happy. She looked at him with wonder and curiosity. ?Are you happy (Bradbury 7). As Montag first meets Clarisse, he finds her very odd because he never questioned his way of living or looked beneath the surface of life. Almost as he was chosen to be a fireman instead of the other way around. In society today, Clarisse would not have been known peculiar. But in the novel, Bradbury reveals the government has censored the standardized way of living. In the book, the botched society relates to the era where the Nazis ruled over Germany and in which Americans were blaming another for being communist. Like in these countries, the government in the novel make peopler's ideas and thoughts of any philosophy gone or clouded. Just like in the beginning of the book, Clarisse noticed how dull and meaningless everyone around her thought, and she eventually disappeared along with her family because they were not like everyone else. According to Joyce Moss, Clarisse McClellan, an almost-seventeen-year-old girl who wants to live freely and question everything, changes guyr's life. He becomes curious about books and and how their censorship began (Moss). Clarisse changes Guyr's life because she gains his trust as a friend, Montag says she is more mature than his own wife. Even Montagr's wife Mildred lives under the systemr's rules and laws. She spends her days watching television, creating an intimate relationship with the characters on screen. When Montag tells her to turn of the parlor. She tells him, thatr's my family (Bradbury 49). Mildred has been consumed by conformity, just like everyone else, Montag begins to see how the fireman system is a lie that censors peopler's ability to think and read books. Analyst Bloom mentions how the programing is simplistic and subject to extremely rapid altercations, designed to keep citizens entertained, content, tractable, distracted, and divided (Bloom 16). The fireman system keeps its citizens distracted from the real truth by the means of television. A little while later during a job call, Montag faces his own identity when the sight of the old woman burning to death in defense of her own ideals. He begins to wonder how the book-burning began and why most of the people of the city come to believe in it (Moss). Here, Montag faces his own actions, the question if there really is a meaning in books gathers at the back of his mind. Bradbury embraces the realities of the world being manipulated by a big oppression. As the novel progresses, Montag begins to migrate from what he believed to the truth. As weeks go by, Montagr's presence of uneasiness is scented by the mechanical hound, the hound half rose in its kennel and looked at him with green-blue neon light flickering in its suddenly activated eyebulbs. It growled again, a strange rasping combination of electrical sizzle, a frying sound, a scraping of metal, a turning of cogs that seemed rusty and ancient with suspicion (Bradbury 23). The hound possesses a stinger that attempts to sting Montag. Despite the protestations that the hound is not a danger to him, the hound starts to get suspicious around Montag. Here, His shift of perspective around the firemen system is what makes the hound growl, the author foreshadows the events of which Montag can no longer remain a fireman. As time passes, Montag hears from Mildred that Clarisse has been killed by a speeding car. Montagr's discontent of life grows as he hears this news. He begins to search for clues in books he has stolen from his own fires that he hides in a vent. He recalls the time of the old woman being burnt to death, there must be something in books, something we cant imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house (Bradbury 34). His search is activated by the burning lady and by the words of Clarisse McClellan. Guy feels uncomfortable with the fireman system that one day he calls off from work, feeling a sense guilt makes him wonder if he is ever going to return being a fireman. His fire chief, Beatty show up at his house knowing that he is going through some sort of phase, Beatty explains that it is normal for a fireman to be curious about what books contain, after all, they are banned from reading. Then the chief goes into a deeper sense, saying that books were first prohibited by a group of minorities who objected books that offended them. And soon, all the books contained the same meaning because the writers in them didnt want to be exposed of the lies that they were being offensive. Beatty explains that firemen stand against the small tide of those who want to make everyone unhappy with conflicting theory and thought (Bradbury 59). Beatty and the firemen shut down those who have an opinion just because they dont like what they have to say. The firemen enforce rules in how they see fit instead of what the people want. The society is ruled by a dictatorship, except the people dont realize it because they are being manipulated. Furthermore, Guy Montag breaks free from his life as a fireman, he realizes that there is a meaning and a man behind books. His search for happiness drives him to call a retired english professor named Farber. Before he finds Farber Montag believes he has the last copy of the Bible, in order to prove his story, Montags rides in the train trying to memorize Ecclesiastes; a book of the Bible. As he is studying, Montag recalls a time when he had sat upon a yellow dune by the sea in the middle of the blue and hot summer day, trying to fill a sieve with sand...the faster he poured, the faster it sifted through with a hot whispering. His hands were tired, the sand was boiling, and the sieve was empty (Bradbury 74). The sieve and the sand symbol a time frame in which Montag tries to memorize passages of Ecclesiastes during the train. The faster he reads, the less he takes out from it. As he meets Farber, he tells Montag that the value of books lies in the detailed writing of life they contain. Faber says that Montag does not only needs books but also the liberty to read them and the freedom to act upon their ideas. To proceed, Farber explains to Montag that the captain belongs to the most dangerous enemy to the truth and freedom, the solid unmoving cattle of the majority, the terrible tyranny of the majority (Bradbury 104). In order to take down the status quo, Farber learns they must not underestimate Beatty, their plan must be devised carefully. Montag finally returns to the fire station and to his surprise, the alarm rings giving the address of his own house. As the firemen arrive to Montagr's house, Beatty demands Montag to burn his own house while his wife Mildred drives away in a taxi, but the whole time Farber has been helping Montag control his emotions by whispering in his ear with earpiece. Farber has been trying to help Montag by whispering in his ear, but now Beatty discovers the ear radio and takes it away. In his confusion, Montagr's hand again move on their own and turn the flamethrower on Beatty, killing him (Fahrenheit). At this turn of event, Mildred has betrayed Montagr's trust and gives Beatty the lead on Montag. Montag then reacts, turning on Beatty and the rest of the firemen as well as the mechanical hound. At this point of the novel, Montag escapes from the government and Farber heads to St. Louis to meet with a retired printer. During Montagr's escape to the river, he meets with a group of intellectuals and man named Granger whose purpose is to lead the group and memorize books until a new order is born. But before Montag meets them, He goes on to walk through a forest, until he finds the campfire of the book-people where a collective reverie of the forge is in progress. It completely reverses the value previously associated with fire, being humanly warming, and it places time at the service of men whose voice have the power to talk about everything (Touponce). Here, Montagr's view of fire changes significantly because the fire signified destruction, but now, the fire symbolizes anew, and power. Moments later, an atomic bomb destroys the city leading to the rise in Montagr's new crew and their ideas. In the end, Montag and the intellectuals were the last ones standing because of their ideas and books, they did not involved themselves with what the government was demanding them to do. The events that Guy Montag faced throughout the novel, Fahrenheit 451, demonstrate Ray Bradburyr's theme in the importance of books and ideas to defeat a tyrannical system. He wanted readers to understand the importance of reading and thinking. He once said, "You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them" (Bradbury). Bradbury depicts the meaning behind the novel, such as the censorship the government lays on society. Literary critic Adam Bogar explains, reading for Bradbury is a metaphor of movement in the philosophical sense, that is, of change, of life, of existence, and symbols of, thinking, communication, and interpersonal relationships (Bogar 165). Bradbury demonstrates life lessons which highlights that reading and thought can defy censorship from a dominant control.

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Ray Bradburyr’s Fahrenheit 451 and Censorship

In Ray Bradburyr's Fahrenheit 451, people live in a society full of censorship. It is about a future where all books are burned because the people decided that knowledge brings pain. In the first hard cover edition, Neil Gaiman wrote the Introduction (April 2013) for Fahrenheit 451 (xi). He stated the following: This is a book of warning. It is a reminder that what we have is valuable, and that sometimes we take what we value for granted. Censorship is a tool used today by governments across the world to control and stop those who say or write anything that challenges the governmentr's assumptions. Freedom of speech allows people to be heard, no matter how the majority objects, the capacity to express themselves without fear of punishment. In the United States the Founding Fathers felt so strongly about this issue that they made freedom of speech the first of the Amendments to the Constitution. In Ray Bradburyr's Fahrenheit 451 and in the world today, censorship works on the perception that some ideas are dangerous and must be stopped; however, the ideal is to have the decision left to the individual and not the government. To begin there are different ways to ban books. Most governments have a review process that controls what books people read or what online content they access. In an article written in Censorship.Laws.com, censorship in America is defined as the act of altering, adjusting, editing, or banning of any or all media resulting from the presumption that its content is perceived to be objectionable, incendiary, illicit, or immoral by the Federal Government of the United States. Censorship is seen in various areas of life like politics, the internet, media, the news, and religion to name a few. The freedom to read is necessary to the way of life in free countries yet today that freedom is under attack. Private groups and public authorities throughout the world are working to remove certain books from public schools and silence magazines and newspapers when the government feels the information is not in support of the governmentr's ideology. Exclusion of reading materials prevents people with inquiring minds from seeking the truth, stretching their mental stimulation, and becoming critical thinkers. In ThoughtCo.com, an article was written on August 4, 2018 about how schools can ban books without lengthy procedures by choosing not to order the books in the first place. The article stated that because of witchcraft themes one elementary school in Florida will not stock two of the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling. In the article, the Principal explained they did not buy these books because they expected complaints if the children read these books. The article cites that Mark Twainr's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is fourth on the list of 50 books banned in the United States because of the use of the use of a racial slur (N-word). The other 49 books banned in the United States are posted in The New York Times. Academic freedom in the United States is enjoyed to some degree of protection under the First Amendment, which is an essential element of a democratic society. For example, in 1957 in Sweezy v. New Hampshire, the Court declared: The essentiality of freedom in the community of American universities is almost self-evident. No one should underestimate the vital role in a democracy that is played by those who guide and train our youth. To impose any strait jacket upon the intellectual leaders in our colleges and universities would imperil the future of our Nation. Teachers and students must always remain free to inquire, to study and to evaluate, to gain new maturity and understanding; otherwise, our civilization will stagnate and die. In an article written in the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) in June 2016, it stated that colleges and universities needed to be protected by the First Amendment to allow teachers the academic freedom to address their students questions, the study of materials and sources, and teaching. It further stated that there needed to be engaged discussions between teachers and students without the government discouraging or stopping them. In another article written by The New York Times on October 1, 2018 it was reported that since 2014 the government of Kuwait has banned over 4,000 books which included books that had once been considered untouchable. The article stated that citizens were displeased and organized demonstrations in response to the governmentr's action. It appears in Kuwait that no book is safe from being banned by the government. Recent books targeted for censorship in Kuwait include an encyclopedia with a picture of Michelangelor's David and a Disney version of The Little Mermaid. According to the article the books were banned because David had no fig leaf, and the mermaid, wore half a bikini. This was considered promiscuous. In an article written by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on September 24, 2018 it was reported that China shut down thousands of websites and online accounts due to content that was considered harmful for the people because the online material was spreading "improper values, vulgarity or obscenity. In Bradburyr's Fahrenheit 451 (79), Faber explained to Montag that books like the Bible were important because they had quality, texture, pores and features. Faber further explained that the more pores a book has, the more truthfully recorded details of life can get on paper and that makes people become literary and tells Montag that is the reason why books are hated and feared. Thomas Jefferson was quoted as saying Censorship represents a tyranny over the mind and is harmful wherever it occurs. Next, some governments try to drive peopler's thoughts and beliefs and prevent free press. In an article written in The Huffington Post on April 25, 2017, North Korea is one of the most heavily censored countries in the world. North Korear's leader, Kim Jong Un has complete control in of the information that is communicated to the public. The media in this country is owned solely by the government and the official Central Korean News Agency conveys the opinions of the government. In the U.S. Department of Stater's website, it notes there are no independent media in North Korea and no deviation from the official government line is tolerated. The government does not allow any editorial freedom and all stories are centrally directed and reviewed to ensure that they are in line with the governmentr's ideology. The government also controls its citizens academic and cultural content and does do not allow them to listen to foreign media broadcasts. The government takes steps to block radio broadcasts outside of North Korea and modifies television and radio equipment to prevent users from accessing foreign material and other material deemed illegal by the government. Individuals accused of viewing foreign films are reportedly subject to imprisonment or even execution. The North Korean government imposes harsh punishments for anyone accused of accessing uncensored information or sharing news from countries that it considers its enemies. This is because the North Korean government wants its citizens to be blind and does not want its citizens to be offered alternative knowledge to the narrative the government has given them. In a CNN article dated December 29, 2016 it reported that news rarely leaks from North Korea's authoritarian state; however, stories of Kim's brutal executions have sometimes filtered out over the past five years. It was cited that Kim Jong Un came to power in 2011 and since then he has ordered 340 people be executed to tighten his hold on power. In Bradburyr's Fahrenheit 451 (80), Faber tells Montag that the television is real, and it tells people what to think, with messages rushing in quickly with their conclusions that people do not have time to protest. North Korea is strictly controlled by the state to the point where citizens are unable or nearly unable to get their hands on books or other forms of art produced outside the country. This is because the North Korean government does not want its citizens to be offered alternative knowledge to the account the government has given them. In Bradburyr's Fahrenheit 451 (102), Captain Beatty quotes Alexander Pope: A little learning is a dangerous thing. Drink deep or taste not the Pierian spring; There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain and drinking largely sobers us again. The government in Fahrenheit 451 does not want people asking questions because then the people will have knowledge and become unhappy. Instead they want people who are happy and are not deep thinkers. That is why the government wanted to destroy books to prevent further knowledge and, therefore, questions. The government does not want one person to have more knowledge than the next person. Beatty also told Montag (55): We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the Constitution says, but everyone made equal. Each man the image of every other, then all are happy for there are no mountains to make them cower, to judge themselves against. In other words, when people begin to learn, it makes them thirsty for more information and they become more aware in the process. Lastly, Thomas Jefferson was quoted as saying Our liberty depends on the freedom of press, and that cannot be limited without being lost. Most recently a journalist for the Washington Post was murdered for speaking out against the Saudi government and a CNN journalistr's White House press pass was taken from him because he asked questions that the President of the United States deemed inappropriate. Protect Democracy and the Yale Law School Media Freedom of Information and Access Clinic are representing PEN America, a leading organization of writers and literary professionals, in a lawsuit against President Trump for violating the First Amendment rights of journalists by using government powers to punish the speech of his media critics. PEN alleges that President Trump has used, or threatened to use, the regulatory and enforcement powers of government to punish the speech of journalists in at least four ways: initiating a government review to raise postal rates; directing DOJ enforcement actions; interfering with White House press access; and threatening to revoke broadcast licenses. In Bradburyr's Fahrenheit 451 (58), Captain Beatty tells Montag: If you dont want a man unhappy politically, dont give him two sides to a question to worry him; give him one. Better yet, give him none. Let him forget there is such a thing as war. He further says: Cram them full of non-combustible data, chock them so damned full of ?facts they feel stuffed, but absolutely ?brilliant with information. Beatty told Montag (59) to remember that they stood against the small tide of those who want to make everyone unhappy with conflicting theory and thought. Ray Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451 during the McCarthy era, during which thousands of Americans were investigated for having Communist sympathies. Like the story line in Fahrenheit 451, neighbors and coworkers were encouraged to report on each other, and nothing more than a suspicion was often enough to begin an investigation. People were encouraged to testify against one another and the accused experienced loss of work, career loss and some even killed themselves. Bradbury vehemently denied that he was satirically commenting on McCarthy or government censorship. Instead, Bradbury insisted the book was written at the beginning of the television age and was a tale to warn society of how they could well reach to television as a sort of drug. Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury said, was a depiction of a society willfully dumbing itself down by staring at screens, stuffing its collective consciousness with useless factoids, empty ideas and throwaway reality. Bradburyr's thoughts were several decades before todayr's reality TV and celebrity driven media. Bradbury wrote about a future where technology drove people to block themselves from the world around them, disconnected from each other, and no longer valued books. Today you cannot go anywhere without observing people engrossed on their iPhones and not interacting with others or texting a person who is sitting across from or next to them. It is troubling that today there are television commercials having to remind parents to engage with their children by reading, talking and singing to them from a very early age to better prepare their kids for school instead of being engrossed on their phones or other media. Fahrenheit 451 argues in favor of literature and critical thinking and against censorship and blind conformity. In Fahrenheit 451 (168), it was noted that from a young age Bradbury was affected by accounts of the burning of the ancient library at Alexandria and the loss of many classical works that we now know only by title or through fragments of surviving parchment. Based on todayr's society Fahrenheit 451 Bradburyr's prediction of a world without actual books is not too far off. Government budget cuts have also resulted in less support for public libraries and online books now replace actual books you can touch. Bradbury experienced opposition since Fahrenheit 451 was published in 1953 so it is funny that a book about banned books experienced censorship. In the ThoughtCo.com article written on August 4, 2018 it talked about one of Bradburyr's plays that was sent to a university to be produced. The university had a concern that there were no female characters in the play. The university did not state any issues with the content of the play or the fact that there was a reason it featured only men. The play was not produced and was in effect censored because it did not want to offend a certain group at the school: women. In closing, censorship has been around for a long time and was a thought that preceded the United States Constitution; hence, the First Amendment. Censorship silences peopler's opinions, ideas and forces moral and ethical values on society. Some people believe censorship is a violation of their First Amendment right and others believe censorship is needed to protect peopler's well-being in a world filled with violent and abusive behavior. All media needs to have checks and balances to ensure the information being published is accurate so that people, and not the government, can choose to be exposed to the appropriate awareness of society, and the world in general, as it really exists and not like the dystopian world of Fahrenheit 451. Works Cited Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Simon &Schuster, 1951, pp. xi, 55, 58, 59, 79, 80, 102, 168. Print. Bradbury Still Believes in the Heat of Fahrenheit 451. Seattle Times, March 12, 1993. https://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19930312&slug=1689996 Chervokas, Jason and Watson, Tom. 50 Most Frequently Banned Books. New York Times, August 22, 1997. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/nation/082297nation-list.html China shuts down 4,000 websites in purge on 'improper values. British Broadcasting Corporation, 24 September 2018. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-45625278 Jerreat, Jessica. North Korean Censorship. Huffington Post, 04-25-2017. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/north-korean-censorship_us_58fe78afe4b086ce58981445 Kelly, Melissa. "Censorship and Book Banning in America." ThoughtCo, Aug. 4, 2018, https://www.thoughtco.com/censorship-and-book-banning-in-america-6414 Kwon, K. J., and Ben Westcott. Jong Un has Executed Over 300 People Since Coming to Power. CNN, December 29, 2016. https://www.cnn.com/2016/12/29/asia/kim-jong-un-executions/index.html Lankov, Andrei. North Korean Censorship Blinds Not Just the People, But Also Their Rulers. Radio Free Asia, 2016-03-14 https://www.rfa.org/english/commentaries/censorship-03142016145646.html Miller, Vanessa. 59 Years of Commemorating Academic Freedom: The Legacy of ?Sweezy v. New Hampshire. Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), June 17, 2016. https://www.thefire.org/59-years-of-commemorating-academic-freedom-the-legacy-of-sweezy-v-new-hampshire/ Nordland, Rod. From Orwell to ?Little Mermaid, Kuwait Steps Up Book Banning. New York Times, October 1, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/01/world/middleeast/kuwait-ban-books.html PEN America Sues President Trump for Violating Journalists First Amendment Rights. National Coalition Against Censorship. October 16, 2018. https://ncac.org/news/pen-america-sues-president-trump-for-violating-journalists-first-amendment-rights Review of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Rhapsody in Books, May 20, 2009. https://rhapsodyinbooks.wordpress.com/2009/05/20/review-of-%E2%80%9Cfahrenheit-451%E2%80%9D-by-ray-bradbury/ Report on Human Rights Abuses or Censorship in North Korea. US Department of State, July 6, 2016. https://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/259366.htm Thomas Jefferson Quotes on Censorship. AZ Quotes. https://www.azquotes.com/author/7392-Thomas_Jefferson/tag/censorship United States Supreme Court Sweezy v. New Hampshire, Decided June 17, 1957. Case Law.Find Law. https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/354/234.html Weller, Sam. Did Ray Bradbury do a 180 on ?Fahrenheit 451? Dallas News, April 12, 2013. https://www.dallasnews.com/arts/books/2018/11/08/20130412-sam-weller-ray-bradburys-180-on-fahrenheit-451 What you Didnt Know About Censorship in America. Censorsip.Laws.com. https://censorship.laws.com/censorship-in-america

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Censoring Young Adult Literature

Contents

A Look at Targeted Books
The Adolescent Profile
The Implications of Censorship
What Censorship Reveals

Raise your hand if you have never heard of the word ?rape, called out my sixth grade teacher as she introduced Harper Leer's To Kill a Mockingbird. Luckily, my best friend briskly intercepted my eager, curious hand and adamantly shook her head. It was one of those moments that turns your cheeks warm and etches itself into your memory, taunting you for years to come. After sensing the look on my puzzled, rose-colored face, she reassured me while signaling that she would disclose the mystery term at a later time.

Whether we would like to admit it to ourselves or not, the world today is filled with intolerance that is all too prevalent in forms of mass-shootings, sexual assaults, and hate speech that we are reminded of each time we tune into the news. I look back fondly on the days where my eyes were unscathed by the harsh realities of a world in which we turn a blind eye to those that look, think, speak, or worship differently than we do. Sadly, my twelve-year old self would have likely encountered the meaning of this once mystery word all too soon, regardless of whether or not my teacher had prompted the discussion in our classroom that day.

Novels such as To Kill a Mockingbird serve as windows from which readers can examine controversial topics and perspectives that may differ from their own personal experiences (Denzin, p. 8). Yet, these works are frequently included on the laundry list of books that are banned from classrooms across the country in hopes of censoring the information that our young adults are consuming. Although those who contend books in the classroom are not necessarily ill-intentioned, it prompts us to examine how this reveals a host of questions regarding who holds power over our classrooms and whether filtering knowledge is a productive and beneficial process for our students.

A Look at Targeted Books

The American Library Association (ALA) defines censorship as the attempt to restrict a personr's right to read, view, listen to, and disseminate constitutionally protected ideas (ALA, 2012). The ALA sponsors banned book week annually, in order to unite the literary community against censorship by celebrating and embracing books that cross boundaries. As Americans, we boast a land of freedom and opportunity, however, when engaging in the process of selectively choosing material which students are permitted access to, we are actively violating our own First Amendment rights (Raskin, p. 64). Most often, the books are removed from classrooms and libraries due to profane word(s), a particular lifestyle, or a concept that may be deemed as offensive to certain parties or groups of people (Boyd et. al, p. 656).

In response to his novel, Looking for Alaskar's appearance on the banned book list, John Green unpacks the misconception that books corrupt people and encourages readers to open books with a lens of accepting a challenge (Hauser, 2017). Greenr's novel has been added to the list time and time again labeled with so-called pornographic content. In response, the author makes the point that books, including his own, are often targeted based off of one page that is taken out of context of the piece as a whole. In this case, critics wag their finger at one particular scene which contains sexually explicit content in order to illustrate the point that it is not required in order to develop a strong, emotional partnership (Hauser, 2017). Ironically, people who dismiss this book immediately due to one isolated scene are denying the presence of a beneficial message to young adults that physical demonstrations of affection are not the sole form of human connection.

The Adolescent Profile

Parents and policy-makers often point to the impressionability and vulnerability which characterize the teenaged-years as they decipher which books contain content that merits elimination from the curriculum (Freedman et. al., p 357). When considering the adolescent profile, it is important to remember that they are in the thick of self-discovery, navigating daily situations that prompt them to question identity, spirituality, and a host of values that make us who we are.
Although most would express an interest for students to learn about thought-provoking topics in the nurturing environment of the class walls, 52 percent of the most-often banned or challenged books from 2000 to 2014 either addressed issues of race, sexuality, or disability, or included characters who are non-White, LGBTQ, or have disabilities (Flannery, 2015). While teachers have a great deal of control over students during the school hours, it is not possible to censor or protect what they will encounter beyond the school building.

If the majority of texts that portray diversity are being excluded from the libraries, it is clear that many of our adolescents will not have held discussions in a constructive environment that open their eyes to situations, people, and ideas that are prevalent all around us. In a stage of life which is consistently recognized as a time of exploration, it is critical that we are providing insights into experiences which they are bound to encounter, so that students are given the opportunity to develop thoughts, opinions, and value-systems.

The Implications of Censorship

Literature serves as a key into a new world which contains stories and experiences that both reflect our own and also ones that take us on the road less-traveled. Arguably, the most important part of being an educator is teaching students to be critical, passionate consumers of content, whether it be through social media platforms, digital content, or print information (Freedman et. al. p. 365) Yet, by dictating a prescriptive curriculum, this is sending a message that undermines teacher professionalism and inhibits their abilities to teach students who they know on a personal basis.

When teachers arent free to offer ?controversial materials to supplement the content the state has endorsed without fear of repercussions, students experience a diminished range of ideas... One reason for exposing students to material some people regard as controversial is to stimulate a cornucopia of images and arguments. Another is to let students practice the art of forming their own opinions. As one judge observed about controversial books, the reactions they elicit are ?what makes them worth reading (Ross, p.113).

In order to help our students develop voice, assert opinions, and critically analyze issues of social justice, it is imperative that the teacher is permitted to appropriately share content that students are excited to read (Denzin, p. 10). The topics that peak student interest, along with realistically any reader, is content that contains conflict and takes us along the journey of how the characters in the story go about responding to the action in the story.

What Censorship Reveals

Indeed, our classrooms serve as a microcosm of the beliefs and values of our Nation, as the standards are controlled by state government (Lent, p. 63). By excluding novels such as The Outsiders, The Hunger Games, Lord of the Flies, Perks of Being a Wallflower, and so on, we are sending a message to students that reveals that we are uncomfortable to engage in discussions that make us uncomfortable, including themes such as racism, gender-identity, religion, among others. In order to cultivate classrooms that embrace diversity and freedom of expression, maintaining transparency with our students is critical (Sulzer et. al., p. 164).

The books included on the American Library Association website each year do not as much indicate our yearning to lookout for our students, but rather , they demonstrate how we internalize our very own insecurities and prejudices (ALA, 2012). It is important to recognize the topics that cause some discomfort or controversy, while simultaneously presenting the content to students in an unbiased, appropriate manner. By letting go of the desire to remove books off of our students shelves, we may cultivate groups of students that are increasingly aware and tolerant of those who hold different views and life experiences.

When teachers present novels containing themes dubbed as taboo, they are doing no more than revealing the times that we live in and extending an invitation to students to become inquisitive, active readers that critically examine alternative perspectives and ideas (Hauser, 2017). In a commentary on censorship, Boyd and Bailey draw a connection between censored material and a barbed wire fence. When protecting students in an unsolicited manner, we illuminate how censors evoke barriers to free thought and speech when they block knowledge acquisition, intellectual development, as well as creative and critical thinking by calling for books to be removed from libraries, classrooms, schools, and districts (Boyd et. al., p. 655).

I feel fortunate to have gained exposure to particularly difficult topics within the nurturing walls of the classroom prior to inevitably stumbling upon situations in the harsh realities of the world. As we assist in shaping the next generation, it is imperative that we assure that they are equipped with the knowledge, tools, and skills that enable them to critically evaluate contentious content in order to take action against issues regarding social justice.

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Why and how Censorship Lead to Ignorance in Young People

When my 8th grade English teacher told me that To Kill a Mockingbird had been banned in many middle school classrooms in America I was shocked. I later learned that this was because of the strong racial themes present in the time that the story takes place, the 1930s. Though before then I had never heard of the idea of books being banned. I thought that the schools who banned the book were making a grave error in banning such a good and educational book; I mean, if I’m allowed to learn about those ideas in my History class, then why should those ideas be banned in my English class? For this reason and many more, banning books in high school libraries limits education and causes young people to become ignorant of the sometimes harsh realities of life. Though Ray Bradbury is against the censorship of books, in Fahrenheit 451 the fire chief, Beatty, makes the argument that many censored books contain controversial ideas which upset certain groups of people: “Don't step on the toes of the dog-lovers, the cat-lovers, doctors, lawyers, merchants, chiefs, Mormons, Baptists, Unitarians, second-generation Chinese, Swedes, Italians, Germans, Texans, Brooklynites, Irishmen, people from Oregon or Mexico. The people in this book, this play, this TV serial are not meant to represent any actual painters, cartographers, mechanics anywhere. The bigger your market, Montag, the less you handle controversy, remember that! All the minor minor minorities with their navels to be kept clean” (54). This quote is from Beatty’s conversation with Montag about how things came to be the way they are in the society of F451. While this is a valid argument, Bradbury disproves this argument when later in the book Faber makes the argument that without controversial ideas people stop wanting information about the world at all if it isn’t happy news which forms a bubble around each individual which “protects” them from reality: "Patience, Montag. Let the war turn off the ‘families.’ Our civilization is flinging itself to pieces. Stand back from the centrifuge” (84).

This is what causes the ultimate destruction of the main city of F451. In short, Bradbury argues that censorship ultimately leads to ignorance even among adults which shows that this argument would also hold true for teens. He is saying that this ignorance will ultimately lead to the destruction of society. A reason that many people give for the banning of controversial books in high school libraries is that they promote inappropriate ideas about sexuality. These ideas and themes include LGBTQ characters, nudity, rape, and other sexually explicit content (10 Reasons Books are Challenged and Banned). Many school administrators say that teens are too young to learn about these things. This argument is unsubstantiated because it doesn’t account for the fact that high school is the time when teens are supposed to be informed about these topics and learn how, though in the case of rape not, to do it. The argument that these sexual ideas are inappropriate is a false one because high school teens will soon be at the age when they will be able to experience those things; books containing this material can prepare teens to deal with those situations. Though the argument can be made that these books will corrupt teens' perceptions of these topics when combined with a sexual education class where students are free to ask questions this will not happen. If the high school doesn't offer sex ed then students can always come to their parents with questions. If these books are read in tandem with a sexual education class or with the help of a parent, teens will understand the book even better and learn what is and isn’t acceptable. These school administrations, as stated perfectly by Sherman Alexie in his article titled: Why the Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood, "are simply trying to protect their privileged notions of what literature is and should be" (Alexie 2). Finally, controversial books shouldn’t be banned in high school libraries because while people may say that themes of rape, racism, physical abuse, drugs, and alcohol might cause teens to start doing those things (10 Reasons Books are Challenged and Banned), they are underestimating the capacity of high school students to understand what they are reading. When a high school student reads a book, they already have shown that they are interested in seeking information or learning about a story. While reading YA novels, or novels in general, usually students will take the themes exhibited in the book and think about them. When some of the aforementioned ideas or themes appear in books while reading teens have a chance to think about the topic and usually, the story shows the reader how badly people’s lives are impacted by their bad choices.

For example, in the book Thirteen Reasons Why, there are strong themes of suicide as this is what the story centers around. When reading this book high school students wouldn’t be inclined to kill themselves as the book doesn’t encourage suicide; if anything, it allows teens who are contemplating suicide to think about their decision and if it’s really worth it. To finish, censorship of books in high school libraries is something that limits the growth of students intellectually and sexually. Censorship also limits the capacity, ability, and will of teens to think for themselves about controversial topics; it prevents them from accessing novels that contain ideas that will help them form a well-advised opinion. Young adult books allow students to learn about these things by providing examples of what not to do and the outcomes of those actions. In addition, the cultural critics who are advocating for these bans are assuming that high school teens aren't ready for the strong, explicit themes present in young adult novels (10 Reasons Books are Challenged and Banned); this ideology, as stated previously, displays great ignorance on the part of the critics. Hopefully, this paper has shown at least some of the reasons why and how censorship is something that will ultimately lead to ignorance in young people and a lack of education about the explicit ideas and themes seen in YA novels and, more importantly, the real world.

Works Cited

"Banned Books Week", American Library Association, December 11, 2012. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/banned (Accessed January 8, 2019)

Gomez, Betsy. “10 Reasons Books Are Challenged and Banned.” Banned Books Week, The Banned Books Week Coordinator and the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, 26 Sept. 2018, bannedbooksweek.org/10-reasons-books-are-challenged-and-banned/ (Accessed January 8, 2019)

Bradbury, Ray, and Neil Gaiman. Fahrenheit 451. Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2018.

Sherman Alexie Article Alexie, Sherman. “Why the Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood.” The Wall Street Journal, 9 Jun. 2011, https://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Involved/Action/censorship/Authors-Rationales/Alexie_Sherman_BestKidsBooksWritteninBlood.pdf

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Censorship Laws and Cultural Norms

The 1960r's film, Psycho challenged censorship laws and cultural norms at the time of its release. Movies and film influence the perceptions and ideas of the mass culture, especially in America by portraying underlying attitudes and beliefs that the culture holds. Because of this, film has made itself an integral component of the culture by influencing it with the underlying themes which are already present but are often unspoken. While censorship was stricter in the past, the idea of censoring ideas and thoughts has and always will affect the society in which it takes place. While film has always held an important part in American culture, current trends in censorship have greatly changed the way in which films are produced and what their content really is.

Pushing Censorship to Tell a Story

Alfred Hitchcock was a respected director from the 1920r's into the late 50r's with many intricate films with large budgets such as Notorious in 1946 and Vertigo in 1958. His films were known for their stunning visuals and ingenious psychological plots. Therefore, Psycho came as such a shock in 1960 (Absolute Crime).

In Hitchcockr's film, Psycho, there was a blatant push against censorship which was more of a statement to what censorship was becoming more than it was about having such content in his film. Hitchcock wanted to push limits and continue to pave the way for freedom of expression in film which was pointedly stifled at the time. We often see this when it comes to any expression which goes against the views of the general public or even more, the views of the government. Psycho was daring for its day, almost a joke from Hitchcock as he did everything which wasnt allowed or would be seen as obscene (Greenbaum).

This sentiment from Hitchcock can be seen again in an interview he gave BBC Show Monitor in July 1964 where he talks about the film being taken too seriously and, in his eyes, it was rather amusing. The film was meant to be crazy and absurd, shocking but to the point of amusement for the audience (Brooks).
Hitchcock was able to push aside all these restrictions with his masterpiece of misdirection, horror and ironic humor.

This film provided many risque ideas as well as imagery which would have been very shocking for the time in which it was produced. The lead actress, Marion, is seen in lingerie as well as having a naked body double for her shower scene, although it is blurry, so no real nudity is seen. There is also blood on Marion as well as in the shower, but since the film is in black and white, it is not particularly gruesome (Psycho, Hitchcock).

Transvestitism is also something which this film appeared to show through the antagonist, Norman, dressing up as his mother to kill his victims. While his dressing as his mother appears to me more of an illusion towards his dissociative identity disorder rather than transvestitism or being transgender, this is another key aspect of the film which was toeing the line in film production for its time as this was still seen as ?unacceptable in society.
https://explorethearchive.com/alfred-hitchcock-and-the-making-of-psycho

by equating cross-dressing with a form of mental illness so severe that its only logical manifestation is violence.

https://thescatteredpelican.com/2018/04/29/we-are-all-in-our-private-traps-transphobia-in-hitchcocks-psycho/

Psycho was instrumental in pushing boundaries in film simply by being able to get past the censors for its time while still being full of provocative and risque content. The opening scene in which you see a shirtless man and lingerie clad woman in a bed was a definite test of the censorship regulations at the time. It took what had previously been only suggestive sexual undercurrents and made them absolutely upfront within seconds of the film beginning. This pushed the narrative on sexuality in films to come (Robb). Overall, Psycho was able to capture almost all the integral aspects of slasher films into one and push them without getting the film banned entirely.

The claim of Psychor's ability to capture the integral aspects of a slasher film is based somewhat on the fact that Psycho holds the title as the probable first slasher film to be produced, giving it the automatic advantage of setting the stage for what is known today at the hallmarks of a good slasher film. In other words, Psycho would have to capture the important aspects of a slasher film as it was creating the genre by its existence.

Some of the hallmarks or traits of a slasher film are the type of killer as well as the violence. The killer is usually a man whose identity is concealed by a mask or costume which prevents the audience from seeing who he is until the culmination of the film. This is seen in Psycho through the hiding of Norman as the killer until the final scene. The violence is usually bloody it excess, often the killer hunts down and kills his victims with a knife or other sharp tool. Again, Psycho contained this trait almost exactly. Norman kills his victim with a knife, although there is no chase scene (Harris).

Another integral aspect of most slasher films is the strong, leading heroine. Although slashers are often criticized for being misogynistic, they're one of the few film genres that primarily feature strong, independent female leads. Psycho captured this through having Marion Crane as a strong lead character. The biggest way in which slasher films have changed this aspect has been by keeping the heroine or the "final girl" until the end of the film so that she can confront the killer (Harris).

When Psycho was in the works, Alfred Hitchcock sent the script for Psycho to the MPAA but was required to remove profanity as well as tone back the implied incestuous relationship between the characters of Norman and his mother. Twenty or even ten years earlier, there is no way the MPAA would have allowed Hitchcock to commence production, but it was now the 1960s and the mindset of Production Code officials had shifted along with the cultural changes happening around them (Howell.) This shows the advancement and change in the film industry based off time alone, which changes peopler's views as to what is deemed acceptable.
The change in societal ideals can be seen in Psychor's rating. When the film was first released, it would have received a rating of R in accordance to MPAA guidelines. Today, the film hardly holds more than a PG rating as there a far more violent and grotesque films which are produced (Deseret News).

In 1968, the Motion Picture Association of America set guidelines and rules for rating films. While these were not enforced by law, most public theaters would not show films without a rating. Ratings for films are almost an alternative for censorship in modern films because if something is to violent or explicit in a film, it will simply receive a higher rating before being shown in the theaters rather than being banned all together. These ratings provide a way for children and those who do not want to be exposed to certain content, to avoid said content and rather choose something which has been rated a ?safe or ?appropriate. Both of the changes within the MPAA influenced the remake of Psycho almost forty years later.

Pushing Censorship to Get more Viewers

In 1998, Psycho was remade by Gus Van Sant. This remake follows the original film quite closely when it comes to identical scenes and dialogue. While this 1998 remake follows the original in many aspects, the change in culture and censorship in the thirty-eight-year difference is visible. One of the biggest differences is in the way in which the famous shower scene is done. The original film does not show nudity outside of the form of a naked person through the steam, but the remake shows nudity. This shows the progressive changes which the film industry had undergone through the year. This is also characterized by the use of color during the shower scene which makes it more graphic and the blood more realistic (Psycho, Van Sant).

The 1998 remake of the film stayed close to the storyline of the original while still pushing the censorship limits for its time by making scenes racier as well as more graphic. The 1960r's Psycho, while it did show a woman in lingerie, did not show excessive nudity or violence because this was not characteristic of the time.

What has been the focus of censorship through the years has changed dramatically in many ways, especially in the United States. When film was first becoming a thing, the emphasis seemed to be primarily on censoring anything which was visually explicit, be it violence or sexual. There has been a cultural shift towards acceptance of the human body and sexuality on-screen which is in stark contrast to the years past in which it would have been obscene to even have a somewhat unclad person in a film. While the total prohibition and censorship of the human body is extreme, current films often exploit their ability to have these things on-screen and as a result, it almost comes off as degrading and offensive most often to women as they are so sexualized in film. Also, in the early day of film there were strict regulation on the voicing of opinions or making of jokes about figures in power, usually political figures or the church.

This is the idea that censorship, which puts restrictions on what can said, written, or put into film, puts a damper on peopler's ability to express their thoughts and ideas and therefore, restricts their freedom of speech and expression. In Hitchcockr's film, Psycho, there was a blatant push against censorship which was more of a statement to what censorship was becoming more than it was about having such content in his film. Hitchcock wanted to push limits and continue to pave the way for freedom of expression in film which was pointedly stifled at the time. We often see this when it comes to any expression which goes against the views of the general public or even more, the views of the government.

Things which are not politically correct or go against societal norms are often discouraged. This is seen through the production of movies which are obscene or violent which are allowed or even encouraged to be shown in theaters while movies which hold political, moral, or religious ideas in the forefront are often passed over. This shift in censorship trends shows how far society has come since the days in which Psycho hit the screens. While it may seem very tame in todayr's ideals of what is extreme or risque in film, Psycho really created a sensation and stir which would be almost impossible to replicate in American society today because of the change in societal and moral ideals. Psychor's pushing of boundaries and rules simultaneously pushed the next generation and the generation after to continue changing the narrative around film as an expression of ideas and art and changed American film forever.

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Censorship Can Suppress the Progress of Art

Where are we to turn when it is time to gently absorb what is happening around us? Art. Illustrating what society fears speaking of, imagery captures emotions felt within society whether it safely depicts a weathered man feeding pigeons or silently screams the horrors of war, political strife, or historical events. Whilehighly regarded, it is not always well received. Since art often represents life, when specific pieces of art are selected to appear in open spaces, they should remain visible and unaltered despite any discomfort; therefore, the art created by Aaron Bellshould not have been censoreddue to freedom of expression, the nature of artists work, and fulfilling the expectations of this particularartistr's audience. Selected for display inNew York City's Riverside Park,Stand Tall, Stand Loud‹is a sixteen-foot-tall steelsculpture by artist Aaron Bell which evokes an image of slavery. In its fullness, itencompasses a theme of tolerance.The piece is the body of a man with a noose, a loop with a knot used to hang people, which sits where his head would appear. A wind turbine serves as ametaphoricalheart and large hands stretch wide, representing tolerance. A quote by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. isinscribed on thesculpture, reading "Our lives begin toend the day we become silent about the things that matter."Stand Tall, Stand Loudrepresents that hatred has lived here. Hatredwashere. The creation of this piece was an artistic reaction to the truth, a call for an end to hatred, not a cry for the subsequent bureaucraticinterference which it was bound to. While not all pieces of art focused in this arena are seen by the majority, the work ofAaron Bellcaused quite a stir. Arguably one ofthe most controversial piecesof art releasedduring recent times,Bellwas exercising hisright to freedom of expression. For this reason alone, the controversy should have remained as discussions among friends and art critics. This was not the case. To the surprise of many, and the satisfaction of others,this piecewas subjected to censorship to make it more digestible for park visitors during their yoga classes and other outdoor activities. Does the truth hurt that muchwhile standing in a warrior pose? The decision to censor this piece was enforced by the New York City Department of Parks, resulting in the noose being removed to soften the experience of those who would see it. When considering the world at large, artists are a significantly small portion of the population. Radical ideas and fearless positions in the world allow artists to take on the responsibility of speaking on behalf of society. When Aaron Bell did just this, it was met with resistance. However, this is the nature of artists work. How are we to invite creativity and then punish an artist for his bravery? If such a sensitive reaction is going to continue to be embraced, this specific piece should not havebeenisolatedand placed under review for censorship, but instead,entire sections of galleries which house controversial art should be placed under thesame microscope. The weathered man feeding pigeons wins. Many artists have a strong following, consisting of inspired supporters who choose to stay connected to the pulse of bold art. Admirers begin to develop a taste and expect to be satisfied from the work of a chosen artist. How is it acceptable that an audience can be interrupted while enjoying art? Some artists are known to produce rebellious pieces. This, then, prompts satisfaction because in this shared space the artist has a power to write a story from a perspective that does not use words. The silence is whimsical when taking in a piece. Everyone could use that chilling feeling it can produce to go a little deeper in the understanding of the world. Art cuts through the noise. It makes an uncomfortable worldbearable. Because of this, Aaron Bell's work should not have been considered for censorship. Art imitates life. If a piece carrying arevolutionary message is censored to make it more palatable, it does not mean that the depicted eventdid not happen. It does not mean that we need to be coddled to diminish guilt.Many people today are disconnected from experiencing a range of emotions. The answer to this is art, it prompts a reaction. Art allows individuals to feel,properly. Some, otherwise, would not feel certain emotions, at least not beyond the surface. The last thing which needs censorship is art. Because of freedom of expression, the nature of artists work, and what audiences expect from certain artists, and those following Aaron Bell specifically; there should not bean experience of art being censored. The experience should be freely available to all who turn to art for answers. Those who want to enjoy their yoga and expensive lattes in a parkshould choose one that does not embrace art in public spaces. Wondering what happened? The New York City Department of Parks overturned the decision to censor Bellr's sculpture and issued a public apology to the artist. The noose was placed back onto the piece, restoring Bellr's original vision. Based on the program which managed the curating and installation, the sculpture was planned to be on temporary display, making it even more distinct and exclusive. Unfortunately, and ironically, it was previously stated that this work posed a potential distraction; yet society was distracted by unfounded and unnecessary remarks which removed the attention from the work itself. It was a win for Bell and for those who admire bold art when Stand Tall, Stand Loud was restored to its intended glory in Riverside Park. Although materials are fleeting and not everlasting, this piece brought tangibility to a message. There are limitations on how far the truth can be censored: what is in the dark will eventually come to light. Stand Tall, Stand Loud immortalizes Bellr's message.

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A Right of Expression and Freedom of Association

Without music, content life would be a mistake. These are the exact words of Friedrich Nietzsche that inspires me, ladies and gentlemen. What is the use of a society without music? Music is vital in our social existence since it is a tool of expression and interaction in society. Censoring music is a spell of doom and an insult to a quest for the realization of perfect social order. Music is life, and no one can dispute that. I come from a lineage of musicians, and I comprehend the challenges they experience to produce an appreciated music. These peopler's aim is to change the society by expressing their thoughts. What if there is a prohibition of this kind of inspiration? Do you people think they will survive or turn to deviant ways in the society? Everyone has a right of expression and freedom of association. Musicians use entertainment to air their views about the societal and political conflicts. Listening to such kinds of music and watching video is informative and reveals the rot in the society. Censoring of music acts as an information blackout to the entire world population since the hidden issues will go unearthed and society will be plunged into a dungeon of hesitation and abyss. Ladies and gentlemen, editing some content of music audio and clips lead to the distortion of the meaning a song. A musician would not be in a position to relay his or her message fully due to deletion of the important parts. In a situation where the deleted content formed the real content that would lead to the appreciation of the music, a musician would lose market and live in a world of hopelessness. Think about his or her family. The kind of losses they will incur from the music ban will lead to family instability and frustrations in life. Some of the family members might opt for crime to solve their financial hoodoos as opposed to focusing on moral obligations. What then is the importance of censorship of music if it only leads to emotional instability and poverty in the society? Governments of various nations claim that some music content leads to immorality. Their claim is an act of hypocrisy. Government officials are the most corrupt individual that promote immorality in the nation. Their perception of the music industry is ill-advised and a bid to control the entire society since they view music as a threat to the existence of their autonomy. Since music as a label leads to prominence, harassing of the musicians through proposing policies that can deter the success of musicians is unfair. It is discriminating for the authority to censor music since they cannot censor their immoral ways in the society. Global economies depend entirely on music as an entity that leads to the promotion of social order. Music censorship will translate to poverty and imbalanced economy in the world. I do not think we need that. Everyone intends to live in a balanced economy where opportunities are common for perfect growth. Music censorship denies the largest people an opportunity to ply their trade and promote economy fully. An imbalanced economy is a breeding ground for crime, violence, and conflict that no one intends to experience. We should rise up as a people that value their society and welfare of everybody irrespective of the profession. Ladies and gentlemen, our health is our life. Music acts a therapy towards the realization of a healthy nation devoid of psychological disorders. Sedentary life leads to frustrations that arise due to obesity. Through music in the yoga classes, people practice and understand the need for physical fitness: the background music acts and therapy to such kinds of an individual with a mental disability. Editing some content of the music might deny them the right for recovery and promotion of a healthy nation. There are enough problems that musicians are facing in the society that censorship of their music will be an insult to their professional competence. The issues of copyright, hacking and piracy are some of the issues that musicians have toiled to tolerate in a society full of people who do not value other peopler's means of survival. Can we still go ahead and add salt to an injury? It is disheartening to see a musicianr's work washed down the drains due to censorship. If music could have been immoral doctors would not have proposed the usage of music as a tool for therapeutic sessions. Music is a tool that promotes unity and salvages dire situations that need a public response. Editing some of the content will lead to infringements of rights of a people in accessing valid information and the denial of access to an in-depth world that is full rot and immorality. Should we stand firm and discourage the governmentr's role in the editing of musical content and the ban of certain music from the public consumption? Are we ready for the change ladies and gentlemen?

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Argumentative Research Essay Censorship

Censorship should be avoided at all costs to preserve the wholesomeness of the government, and the safety of its citizens. Censorship is a brutal tool used throughout history by tyrannical governments, and oppressive organizations to maintain dominance, and control of public masses. The American government, and many private companies have been taking steps to limit what kinds of information are appropriate to share in public, or private circles. The only morally sound way to combat this slow march of our culture into informational oppression is by stressing the importance of education, and personal responsibility when utilizing the freedom of speech. Itr's prudent to define two key terms before proceeding. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, censorship is the suppression, or prohibition of any parts of books, film, news, etc. that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security. Freedom of speech is defined as, the right to express any opinions without censorship or restraint. When using either phase, these will be the definitions referred to. History provides us with multiple examples of how detrimental censorship has been to the cultural, scientific, and spiritual of every society in history. When freedom flourishes, so does art, philosophy, and medicine. Any group of people unfortunate enough to feel the sting of aggressive censorship from powerful organizations, religions, or governments, has not only faced repression, but potential mass murder, cultural genocide, or the destruction of large section of human history. Commonly known examples include Julius Caesar burning the library at Alexandria, Spanish conquerors destroying the Aztecs, Nazi persecution of the Jewish people, and early responses to the civil rights movement in America, only to name a few. Censorship has been wielded as a tool which only serves tyrants at the expense of human decency. One inspiring example of a people standing up to their adversity to claim the basic right to speak freely, is the enlightenment era in France. At that period, France was just entering into revolution. A book called, Policing Public Opinion in the French Revolution: The Culture of Calumny and the Problem of Free Speech, by G. Charles Walton can provide keen insight into that portion of history. In his book, Walton covers over one hundred years of French history, and their struggler's impact on the modern free speech movements. The accounts are rife with political intrigue, and bloody resolutions as individuals fight for social liberty. In a sense, that fight extends well into the modern age. France is hardly the only group in history to fight for its liberty. From American special interest in foreign affairs to Russiar's civil rights atrocities, and everywhere in between, almost every ruling body had elected in some way to suppress dissenting viewpoints in hopes of protecting its power, and asserting its narrative. The aforementioned opponents of social liberty have hardly relented in modern times. Many governing bodies, officials, and private companies bend to some political agenda which seeks, not to be the most correct, but the most dominant. By restricting the flow of public information, they hope to maintain stability for themselves in their position, whilst knocking opponents off balance. Look no further than the practice of gerrymandering. This tactic can be easily seen as a way to manipulate numbers to ignore opposition by weighing population distribution in favor of the powerful. Groups who favor censorship as a form of social manipulation, unless already in dominant control, ascribe noble goals to their arguments: however, legislation in favor of weakening self-expression only serve to trample human rights. Any argument of menacing, offensive, or vulgar needing to be kept in check are purely open to interpretation when any real law is passed, which opens an avenue to be abused. Any such claim should be understood as equivalent to, This isnt what I think, or what I want you to think, therefore, you shouldnt be allowed to express it. The modern battlefield for this fight for liberty, and the public voice is the internet. Control of the internet is paramount for anyone who wishes to control public opinion. Modern China, and North Korea are both examples of limiting internet access to control public opinion. Both Russia, and the United States are guilty of shady actions involving news, journalism, and propaganda since the late 1990s. (Walton) That information should be troubling, considering the two major sources, especially young future leaders, get their news are news organization websites, and cable news, according to Peter W. Singer, a writer from Brookings.edu. In this war for minds, a major battle has been whether the United States government should impose regulations on social media sites so that they cant express political bias. The short answer is no. Joining a social media site is not compulsory, if someone doesnt like how that company does business, they are free to leave. Another writer for Brookings.edu addresses this concern: Furthermore, the government intervention that they propose is potentially more damaging than the problem they want to solve. Niam Yaraghi continues that if youre afraid of what a large company can do to public opinion, the government should hold much less appeal. Like a circle, humanity seems destined to repeat itself. The groanings of those dissatisfied with freedom, because of what others use their own freedom for, have begun growing louder. Most arguments a civilized person would offer are by no means those of a villain, rather, they are infantile musings from someone who has never truly been snuffed by a position of power. They dont understand what giving up even the smallest of liberties for the sake of comfort implies: however, their arguments are not entirely without merit, and should be addressed. Common complaints in favor of censorship are simply wanting to protect their child from unsavory content, preventing slander, or preventing the spread of misinformation. They may even throw more serious accusations of allowing a totally free flow of information could pose damage to someoner's health, or property if such knowledge fell into the wrong hands. Solving these issues by limiting free speech is like taking a firearm to an insect in the home; over kill. If history were to be learned from, the realization would occur that, while utilizing revolts to enact change is efficient, it still makes the revolutionaries guilty of the same crime as the oppressor they combat. They are using violence and threats of violence to impose their will. The only answer left, if violence doesnt solve oppression, and laws created to prevent censorship can be abused, is a cultural change. A culture which emphases personal responsibility with exercising freedom. One which protects the liberty of the individual, but also educates them thoroughly on how dangerous a freedom abused could be. These rules would not be imposed by some law, but, instead, be a social creed; an understanding respect between free people. All this may sound harsh, maybe even utopian, but it is the best answer to censorship, and the dangers associated with free expression. Words can have a powerful impact; words are the most powerful tool in humanities arsenal. Without words, people amount to little more than animals. Without being able to express those words freely, they are little more than pets to a tyrant. With no restraint, words are wildfire that have the potential to destroy: hence, those in power try to shackle the expressions of others. Censorship should be fought against. Censoring the public shows mistrust of the individual, but a lack of personal responsibility warrants mistrust.

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Life Without Love is Like a Body Without Soul

While the word “value” is always used to express the monetary worth of something as a price tag, yet using the word in the context of life has a totally different meaning. By the same token, the word “life” seems to be quite simple. However, if you look at it closely, you will see that it’s a very complicated thing with various components resembling a spider web with threads intertwined into a tight tangle. Everyone’s life is unique and is directly correlated to the choices he makes and experiences he goes through. One is the master of his own life and how valuable and meaningful his life will evolve to be depends on his actions and decisions. In my view, the most important values in life are time, succes, and love. While some people are so busy that they do not have enough time to live, others are more balanced and know how to manage time across all aspects of life and are willing and able to appreciate things as they have them i.e. living life right the first time, as they live once. They enjoy living their lives to the fullest extent and make the best out of it. It is only by doing so that they would come to know what they are in love with and how good they are at it intuitively following their heart and curiosity “guts feeling” while learning from their own mistakes and sharpening their knowledge over time. People have different perspectives on what the value of life is. In my view, however, one’s value of life not measured by how effectively he had contributed to the well-being of himself and people around him. In the journey of success, one should keep setting up new challenges “staying foolish and hungry and thinking outside the box” to unlock the internal potential and find out what he is truly capable of doing. However, he can come across several hardships, which could at the first glance appear to be a catastrophic failure, but eventually turns out to be the best thing that ever happened to him, as people tend to take a fresh look on their lives only once stroke by adversity “the bullet that does not kill you, makes you stronger”. This serves as “eye opener” for not taking the life for granted anymore. Resilience and perseverance are the “name of the game” for counteracting a setback and faith and deriving strength from loving what you are doing. Life is valued by love and family relationships. Life without love is like a body without soul, as life is nothing but a network shared with others and the sense of life is to give love, as feeling loved and cared about is a key happiness factor. In conclusion, life should be treasured and lived to the maximum extent taking advantage of each and every experience and memory so that it is enjoyable learning and emotional journey.

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What is a Human Life Worth?

What is a human life worth? To you? To your family and loved ones? The value of a life can be assessed through personal, emotional, and monetary standpoints. Apple CEO Steve Jobs gave an inspiring speech to the Stanford graduating class of 2005 when he told 3 stories each containing valuable lessons on the importance of life and death from a personal standpoint. Other people like Hamlet, a character in one of Shakespeare's famous plays, looks at life from a purely emotional standpoint. In the play, Hamlet was faced with tragedy and questioned whether or not his life was worth living. Both Hamlet and Jobs put a certain amount of internal value on their own lives, but government and insurance agencies face the daunting task to put specific monetary values on peopler's lives every day. I agree with Steve Jobs and his views on life and death, although, I do acknowledge the views of Hamlet and the importance of agencies supporting families who have recently lost a loved one. In Steve Jobs commencement speech at Stanford University, the successful college-dropout made bold claims with his personal views on the meaning of life and death. Among other statements, he advised the graduating college students that life is short so there is no reason not to follow your heart (Jobs). I agree with this statement and the message that Jobs was conveying. Jobs was saying that death is inevitable and he lives his life as if he has nothing to lose. He encourages people to follow their heart and do the same. He followed this statement with a story of his own life and his short-lived battle with cancer and how those experiences gave him a new perspective on the value of life and the importance of death. Jobs had a very optimistic view on both life and death and clearly states that throughout his speech. Jobs used his adversity as motivation to follow his heart and live every day like itr's his last. In contrast, Hamlet has pessimistic views on both life and death due to the recent murder of his father. In his soliloquy, he contemplates whether his life is worth living and if death would be a better resolution or just as bad as life. He describes his life as a sea of troubles and says he no longer wishes to bear the whips and scorns of time (Hamlet). From reading Hamletr's soliloquy, it is evident that Hamlet does not value his life and his views on death are equally as pessimistic. Hamletr's negative views are contradicting to Jobs in the sense that Hamlet does not value neither life nor death whereas Jobs puts a great importance on both. Although I do not agree with Hamletr's views, I acknowledge that when faced with tragedy it is is difficult to see things clearly. When I was 7, I suffered the loss of my newborn sister due to heart failure. For months, I cried and was upset at the fact that life could be so unforgiving. My perspective on life changed drastically, much like Hamletr's did. But after a period of time I came to realize that life is valuable and we are faced with these tragedies so we can use them to inspire others like Steve Jobs did. If you are looking at the value of a life from the governmentr's point of view, a life is only worth the amount of money that person made, or were projected to make. For example, the families of the victims of 9/11 were reasonably compensated for the loss of their family member. After evaluating factors such as age, annual income, and number of children, the Value of Life Calculator determined the amount of money the victimr's families would receive. On The Value of Life Calculator website, they claim their purpose is to, help assess your financial value to those you love (Value of Life Calculator). But how can they put a price on a personr's life? Economically, a life may be only worth around $1 million but to the people who lost a loved one, no amount of money would be able to fill that void. So, although I acknowledge that it is important to prevent families from suffering financial hardship when faced with a loss of a loved one, I believe a price tag should never be placed on a human life. Each human life is unique, and no two lives are of equal importance or value - and no two people value life the same way. In the face of death, Jobs found even more reasons to value his life and from that he acquired a new-found appreciation of the concept of death. I agree with Jobs and the influential claims he made in his speech. When faced with hardships, like Hamlet, it can be hard to see the value that your life holds. Although I disagree with Hamlet, it can often be difficult to be optimistic when you are faced with tragedy. When valuing a life from a monetary standpoint, I do not believe a price can be put on a personr's life. Although the financial compensation may help pay the bills, I do not believe a human life has a monetary value. When it comes down to it, everybody dies eventually no matter how you value your life. So, as Steve Jobs quoted in his speech, if you live each day as if it is your last, someday youll most certainly be right.

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What does being Alive Mean?

What does being alive mean? I think being alive means going through challenging times and learning from them, maturing throughout your life time to ultimately come to terms with death. I value my family, and the time I spend here on Earth. Life is short. We cant predict what will happen tomorrow. No one surely knows what happens after death. So, value life by enjoying your time on Earth, keep your family close, and forgive. Hamlet values the battles people experience without any hope for victory. Lance Armstrong values the battles people go through but he also sees, beauty and triumph and truth. The Federal Government values every life in dollar amounts for the stability of the economy which benefits everyone. I agree with Hamletr's weary views of the after-life. I agree with Mr. Armstrongr's outlook of enjoying the struggles that life brings and ultimately benefits you. I agree with the writers of the What is Life Worth story. The writers teach us how the family of victims logical reasoning is affected by their loss of loved ones. Their pain drives them to innocently justify their greed without realizing the effect of the economic consequences that impacts us all.

Hamlet feels that life is a difficult journey and that the value of oner's life comes from facing all of the hills and valleys of the journey. He values not giving up. Hamlet begins his soliloquy wandering if he should continue facing the challenges of his life or avoid them by ending his life. He has found out that his uncle killed his father and married his mother. Hamlet wants revenge but is afraid of killing his uncle, the new king. The author best shows what Hamlet is thinking by these quotes.

...to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them?

Hamlet ponders if itr's worth continuing to endure the slings and arrows, the affairs in his life that has implemented the idea of suicide. Hamlet next explains why her's thinking about to be or not to be.

To die: to sleep;
No more; and by sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, ?tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wishd.

Hamlet is pondering if death will end all the heart-ache that he has succumb to. However, Hamlet knows that his suicide might create worse problems than he already has.

To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay therer's the rub (the problem);
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil (human body),
Must give us pause: therer's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life.

Hamlet is pondering if there is life after death. And if there is and he kills himself, will he be in trouble? His religion believed that suicide was a sin and was punishable by being damned to hell for all eternity. Therefore, Hamlet was afraid of going to hell. Hamlet and all his friends have been through many trials and tribulations.

For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressorr's wrong, the proud manr's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the lawr's delay,
The insolence of office and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes

Hamletr's uncle murdered his father and married his mother. Hamlet is tempted to give up because of this overwhelming knowledge of this. At the end of the soliloquy, Hamlet has, because he fears the unknowns of the afterlife, decided to keep living.

The undiscoverd country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?

Hamlet is so afraid of life in hell that he will not chance it. Instead, he will put up with the miseries and misfortunes in his life. Thus conscience does make cowards of us all.

Lance Armstrong, like Hamlet, feels that the value of life is in facing challenges. He compares life to riding a bike, One minute you are pedaling along a highway, and the next minute, boom, youre faced down in the dirt. Armstrong values those people who get back up and continue riding the bike. Armstrong shows that he values getting up after a fall with his story about his cycling injuries.

Cyclists fight an ongoing war with guys in big trucks, and so many vehicles have hit me, so many times, in so many countries, Ive lost count. Ive learned how to take out my own stitches ( paragraph 5)
Ive got marbled scars on both arms and discolored marks up and down my legs (paragraph 6)
One minute youre pedaling along a highway, and the next minute, boom, youre faced-down in the dirt...all you can do is wave a fist at the disappearing taillights. (paragraph 7)

These quotations shows that he values the idea of never giving up because every obstacle in life that he has faced, Lance always picked himself backup. His battle with cancer also shows that he values trying hard even if he might not win. He had only a 40% chance of beating his cancer, yet he prevailed.

Therer's a puckered wound in my upper chest just above my heart, which is where the catheter was implanted. A surgical line runs from the right side of my groin into my upper thigh, where they cut out my testicle. But the real prizes are two deep half-moons in my scalp Those are the leftovers from brain surgery. (paragraph 8)

His battle with cancer shows what is important to him. Good or bad, the events in his life that he experiences are important to him. Armstrong further develops his idea that people need to try when he says, You struggle slowly and painfully up a hill, and maybe, if you work very hard, you get to the top ahead of everybody else.

People die. And after you learn it, all other matters seem irrelevant. They just seem small. (paragraph 11)
I have a tough constitution, and my profession taught me how to compete against long odds and big obstacles. (paragraph 12)

His comparison to bike-racing to living with cancer develops his main idea that in good times and bad times we have to keep trying. Armstrongr's last idea is that the struggles each of us go through can make us better people.

My illness was humbling and starkly revealing, and forced me to survey my life with an unforgiving eye. (paragraph 15)
There are two Lance Armstrongs, pre-cancer, and post. (paragraph 16)

The truth is that cancer is the best thing that ever happened to me...Why would I want to change, even for a day, the most shaping event in my life? (paragraph 17)

People live. Itr's an equal and opposing truth. People live, an in the most remarkable ways. When I was sick, I saw more beauty and triumph and truth in a single day than I ever did in a bike race--but they were human moments (paragraph 18)

I still dont completely understand it. (paragraph 19)
All I can do is tell you what happened. (paragraph 20)

Introducing these quotations about his weakness helped describe his main idea.

Unlike Hamlet and Lance Armstrong, the Federal Government, looking at the value of the victims of Sept. 11, focused on the monetary value of each victim. Congress created the Victimr's Compensation Fund that would be a safety net for victims families, to ensure that they maintain something resembling their current standard of living. The task of deciding what each victim of 9-11 was worth was placed in the hands of Kenneth Feinberg who came up with formula that computed what each victim was worth. Each family of a victim received $250,000 and an additional $50,000 for each child of a victim for pain and suffering. Then they deduct life insurance, pension, Social Security death benefits and workers compensation. Now you have the total award the government is offering you for your loss. The governmentr's program of compensation is equitable and swift with minimal economic consequences. however , some families of the victims thought that the amount of pain and suffering was to low.

Gerry Sweeney, whose brother died in Tower 2, Floor 105, points at Feinberg and explains why $250,000 is not enough for pain and suffering in the case of her now fatherless nephew. (page 23)

If your wife was brutally raped and murdered and you had to watch and listen to it happen, what would you think the right amount would be?

I just cant accept the fact that the Federal Government is saying my husband and my brother are worth nothing. (page 24)

Kenneth Feinberg decided to chose the $250,000 figure because thatr's how much beneficiaries receive from the Federal Government when fire fighters and police die on the job. The amount of money for pain in suffering is fair. Letr's be realistic you cannot put a price on human emotion, it will never be enough and the government cant just hand out money. As awful as 9-11 was, people die tragically every day and comparing deaths with other deaths is just foolish. Some families of victims thought that they could receive more money as compensation for their losses. One example is the family of Cheri Sparacio and her two-year olds. She explains why $138,000 dollars isnt enough. She claims, the government isnt taking any responsibility for what itr's done... Please come and step into my shoes for a minute...I am not looking to go to Tahiti. Cheri Sparacio was upset with the amount of money her family would receive because it wasnt her ideal compensation to live comfortably. Other families had a more acceptable value placed on their lost family member. Angelar's estimated $444,010 award will probably be three times the size of Cherir's. some families will accept the governmentr's compensation because it allows them to get on with their lives. David Gordenstein, who lost his wife in the tragic incident, says he would rather devote his life to raising his two young daughters than spend time pursuing a lawsuit. I think David makes a smart choice putting his daughters who just lost their mother first before money, they all definitely need each other more than ever.

I agree with Hamlet, Lance Armstrong, and the federal Governmentr's ideas on the value of life. I agree with several of Hamletr's ideas on the value of life. My first agreement is we should not kill ourselves because we really dont know what will happen in the afterlife or if there is an afterlife, but I cant help but disagree with the fact that if you kill yourself you suffer in hell for eternity. Its seems unfair to want to get away from misery only to find yourself in hell suffering even more afterwards. It seems so unfair because the punishment is so severe but im not saying there wont be a punishment. I agree with Hamlet that we should continue to struggle through life and fear the afterlife, itr's better not to chance it. I also agree with Lance Armstrongr's ideas on the value of life. I agree with Lance that you should never give up. I also agree with him that you should be thankful for the good and the bad experiences in your life. I think Lancer's overall idea on why we should continue to struggle in life because by going through these hardships we learn and understand the value of life. Finally, I agree with the Victimr's Compensation Fundr's overall idea on a personr's value. I agree that the compensation method was fair. I agree that the government isnt attempting to replace souls but to keep our country economically stable. I think our government felt obligated to compensate so they did and when they started handing out money it wasnt enough, even though it was plenty. Even if they were to compensate a million to each person, I believe it would never be enough for them because at the end of the day, their loved ones are still dead. Though it may seem harsh to some people to agree with the governmentr's ideas of compensation, never forget to look at the bigger picture and think reasonably. How does handing out large amounts of money affect the economy (all of us)? Isnt it wrong to compare death? By asking for more money arent they placing a price on a human life as well? Were any of these people in a reasonable state of mind at the time?

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Family/Friend Oriented Life

Most people don't really value anything in in life, they walk around mindlessly and indulge in things that take them to a different place. While i might still be one of those people, i can appreciate the good things in my life. What i value in my life is the special time i get to spend with my loved ones and close friends, the new experiences every day, big or small. I have a fondness for nature, aslo. All the weird and secret things around the world, the morbid and mysterious, it all drives a fire inside me and helps pull myself back to reality. Everyone's values are different and unique but for now we are going to focus on Hamletr's values. Hamlet values the struggles people have to go through without any hope for victory. He sees the pain people go through day to day and doesn't understand why not just end it all and never feel the pain again? Whether ?tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them?. Moving onto Mr. Armstrong, he values the struggles that people go through but he also sees beauty and triumph and truth. Instead of only seeing the bad in tragedies, armstrong can look through the dark and see the good that comes out of these life altering events. Why would i want to change, even for a day, the most important and shaping event in my life?. Lastly we look at the Federal Government. The Federal Government values life in dollar amounts. I fully agree with Hamlet, Armstrong, and What A Life Is Worth. Hamlet feels that life is a difficult journey and that the value of one's life comes from facing all of the hills and valley of the journey. He values not giving up. Hamlet begins his soliloquy wondering if he should continue facing the challenges of his life or avoid them by ending his life. He has found out that his uncle killed his father and married his mother. Hamlet wants to get revenge but is afraid of killing his uncle, the new king. With this terrible situation and many others Hamlet asks himself ...to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them?. In this Hamlet is thinking of whether or not to off himself or live his life and fight through the struggles. Hamlet next explains why he is thinking about to be or not to be in his next stanza. To die: to sleep; no more; and by a sleep we say to end the heartache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to,tis a consummation devoutly to be wishd. Suicide is appealing to Hamlet because it is a simple and permanent solution to escape the sorrow and tragedy in his life. However Hamlet knows that his suicide might create worse problems than he already has. Hamlet often considers death but worries about the consequences to die, to sleep; to sleep: perchance to dream: ay, therer's the rub (the problem); for in that sleep of death what dreams may come when we have shuffled off this mortal coil (human body), must give us pause: therer's the respect that makes calamity of so long life. Because of Hamletr's religion it is believed that anyone who commits suicide is damned to Hell for eternity thus spiraling his doubts out of control and forcing him to take a step back and question whether or not suicide is a good way out. Hamlet and all of his friends have been through many trials and tribulations. For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, the oppressorr's wrong, the proud manr's contumely, the pangs of despised love, the lawr's delay, the insolence of office and the spurns that patient merit of the unworthy takes . In his life Hamlet has had to face the death of his father at the hand of his uncle, plus many other things making him want to escape his tragic life. At the end of the soliloquy, Hamlet has, because he fears the unknowns of his afterlife, he decided to keep living. Though he has to live with the burden of his uncle, he continues to live his life, the undescoverd country from whose bourn no traveler returns, puzzles the will and makes us rather bear those ills we have than fly to others that we know not of?. Hamlet will continue to face all of the struggles of his journey through life because he doesnt know how to confront his problems. Lance Armstrong, like Hamlet, feels that the value of life is in facing challenges. He compares life to riding a bike, one minute you are pedaling along a highway, and the next minute, boom, you're face-down in the dirt. Armstrong values those people who get back up and continue riding the bike. Armstrong shows that he values getting up after a fall with his story about his cycling injuries. In many different countries Armstrong has been hit by trucks just for being a cyclist. If you saw my body under my racing jersey, youd know what im talking about. He has bruises and scars all over his arms and legs. Even being caused physical harm because of cycling never stopped hi, from getting back up and continuing what he loved. His battle with cancer also shows that he values trying hard even if he might not win. He had only a 40% chance of beating his cancer. It was like being run off the road by a truck. He has many wounds including around his upper chest, his upper thigh, and two deep half moons in his scalp from brain surgery. Armstrong further develops his idea that people need to try hard when he says, You struggle slowly and painfully up a hill, and maybe, if you work very hard, you get to the top ahead of everybody else. To his beliefs, his determination and perseverance helped him beat cancer. Racing and cancer are very similar in that they both need patience, faith, and determination. The road to beating cancer is a long one but just as you push yourself to keep pedaling you push yourself to go through the cemo and hospital stays for that rewarding finish. Armstrongr's last idea is that the struggles each of us goes through can make us better people. In a way the old me did die, and i was given a second life. Even though going through the struggle of cancer armstrong saw the beauty of the process. He accepts the changes it made and appreciates how it made him the man that he is today. Unlike Hamlet and Lance Armstrong, the federal government, looking at the value of the victims of 9/11, focused only on the monetary value of each victim. Congress created the Victimr's Compensation Fund that would be a safety net for the victimr's families, to ensure that they maintain something resembling their current standard of living. The task of deciding what each victim of 9/11 was worth was placed in the hands of Kenneth Feinberg who came up with a formula that computed what each victim was worth. The amount of money people get for pain and suffering is $250,000, and the amount for each spouse and child is $50,000. Then you must deduct all the money you make from other sources other than charities. However, some families of the victims thought that the amount for pain and suffering was far too low. If your wife was brutally raped and murdered and you had to watch and listen to it happen, what would you think the right amount would be?. Another statement is from Mrs. Halvorson speaking out about her husband and brother, i just cant except the fact that the Federal Government is saying my husband and my brother are worth nothing. More people are coming out saying that the government isn't paying them enough when in reality people are just getting greedy and using their deceased loved one as a personal piggy bank. Kenneth Feinberg decided on $250,000 because that's how much a beneficiary receives when a firefighter or policeman die on the job. I think $250,000 is a reasonable amount of money for pain and suffering. Some families of victims thought that they should have received more money as compensation for their losses. One example is the family of Cheri Sparacio. Cheri is a now widowed mother of two toddlers and a baby on the way in a month, with her estimated $138,000 from the government she definitely needs the extra help. She is upset because with 3 babies and a part time job as a psychologist she will probably end up on the street. Other families had a more acceptable value placed on their lost family member. Being put in the same position as Cheri, Mrs. Fields receives 3 times as much as Cheri, due to low deductions. I think that the Fields family should be happy with the amount they received. Some families will accept the government's compensation because it allows them to get on with their lives. Instead of going through a long, unreasonable lawsuit, Mr. Gordenstein would rather devote his time to raising his two beautiful daughters who just lost their mother. I think he made the best possible decision. I agree with Hamletr's, Armstrongr's, and the Federal Governmentr's ideas on the value of life. I agree with several of Hamletr's ideas on the value of life... Whether ?tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune . Whether it is a better to put up with the struggles of life or to end it and finally be at peace away from all the chaos. The heartache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to, ?tis a consummation devoutly to be wishd. Lastly, the undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveller returns, puzzles the will . I think his overall idea makes a lot of sense but still nobody knows what it is like on the other side, itr's all about what you believe. I also agree with Lance Armstrongr's ideas on the values of life. Cyclists fight an ongoing war with guys in big trucks, and so many vehicles have hit me, so many times, in so many countries, ive lost count, when i was 25 i got testicular cancer and nearly died. I was told i had a 40% chance of surviving , and for my last agreement, there are two Lance Armstrongs, pre-cancer, and post. Lance armstrong shows us that the struggles we face in life only shape us into who we are and teach us valuable lessons needed for future situations. Finally, i agree and disagree with the Victimr's Compensation Fundr's ideas on a personr's value. My first agreement is yes, the government should help out the victims families of 9/11, itr's incredibly generous but, they definitely should not treat it as a cheap bribe. My first disagreement that peopler's worth is not measured by their income, it should be the situation or everyone gets paid equally. One part of life i value is getting to spend time with the people that love and respect you. This is very important to me as I am very family/friend oriented and it completes my week to see the ones i love. Another part of life i value is exploration, discovery, experiences. I love exploring new places and experiencing new stuff.

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Positivity and Enthusiasm Towards Life

Our attitude towards life has an impacting influence towards people who surround us. Jobs has encouraged all of his audience to stay hungry, stay foolish, meaning to keep moving forward in life and not have negative mindset towards the difficulties that might come up. Not only does Jobs encourage people to value life, but so does Ebert, Ripley and Krakauer. The value of life has been a theme expressed by many authors like the ones mentioned. Their similar messages have helped many people stay strong and defeat terrible circumstances that theyve experienced. Death is a topic in which every human being experiences with a lot of pain. Throughout the years some families have been unfortunately part of tragedies that have caused the death of their loved ones. An example of this would be the article titled What is Life Worth? by Amanda Ripley, where it is explained how the families of the victims of Sept. 11 are being compensated by the government depending on their annual income. As expressed in the article,The concept of assigning a price tag to a life has always made people intensively squeamish (p.2). Putting a dollar value on the victims that were affected and killed by this incident does not bring any reparation to these families who have been emotionally hurt. Knowing that the person who just died will never be alive again brings the biggest amount of pain. This shows how human beings are inclined towards replacing a value with another. Another example would be that now due to these inclinations the value of a person's life has been deteriorating over time. Phill Browiee mentioned, Itr's just frustrating that the goodwill demonstrated by the government seems to be deteriorating (p.17). This shows how the sentimental part of these tragedies no longer exists in people. The value of one's life is no longer only a heartbreaking loss but an economical loss as well. In addition to these two examples a positive point of view to these compensations would be our attitude towards the acceptance of death and the amount of money provided. Some of the families that were affected by the Sept. 11th incident have came to a point of letting go. A man makes Charles Swindoll said, Attitude to me is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances (p.30) , meaning that attitude overcomes anything in this world. By having in mind the value of the person when they were alive and thinking positively helps us stay content. In life there might be severe complications that might lead human beings to a series of negative thoughts that make us not value life. An article titled Roger Ebert: The Essential Man by Chris Jones, a story is told about a man who experienced a tough life changing situation. Ebert suffered from thyroid cancer and jaw cancer in just two years. Due to these health complications he no longer had a normal lifestyle, he could no longer eat or drink, and he had lost his voice entirely (p.12). Ebert was no longer able to do what every typical person was able to do. This outcome was due to all of the reparations attempted on his jaw, ...his carotid artery invisibly damaged by the earlier radiation and the most recent jaw surgery burst. Blood began pouring out of Ebert's mouth (p.12). After this enormous incident Ebert was never the same. Although Eberts circumstances seem to be overwhelming he was never the person to gave up, his value towards life stood up high and strong. Not being able to speak or eat was not a problem due to the alternatives that exist to make those think happen for him. Ebert kept his passion towards writing and movies to stay positive and to stick with what made him feel comfortable. By holding on to those memories that made him strong and he also was full of hope, The existence of an afterlife (p.15). The idea of something else after death brings motivation to Ebert which makes him value his life more. By staying positive and looking ahead or all of the problems that are present helps us value all of the big and small moments. Life has the power to make people vulnerable. At times we develop emotions with no exact meaning nor describable. In the book titled Into the Wild written by Jon Krakauer there is an epigraph that mentions, The greatest gains and values are farthest from being appreciated (pg.47). This quote expresses how unconsciously the value of our lifer's is there just not well appreciated as they should be. By not cherishing every moment in our life, sadness is triggered and leads people to start second guessing if it is worth living life or not. Our attitude is a big influence in how great our life will turn out to be, If the day and the night are such that you greet them with joy, and life emits a fragrance like flowers and sweet-scented herbs that is your success (pg.47). Greeting life with joy and positivity might turn our lives around into something amazing and will make us love living. Attitude is what makes us value every moment in life, it gives us a purpose. Making yourself look forward to everything in life, is to bless yourself (pg.47) , meaning that instead of hurting one's mind and thoughts, the effort towards having a bright life is what gives it all a change. Staying positive and motivated to have a good life is key. Positivity and enthusiasm towards life is that keeps up standing day by day when times are rough. Establishing these encouragements from these authors into an every day life will teach every person how to value life itself. What is taught from this advice is that even though obstacles might intervene, looking at things in a good perspective will help everyone to brighten up their life.

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Viewpoints on the Life

In many religion and culture death is viewed as one of the best things to happen to someone, but that all depends on what the person has the done and wither their death is painful or really easy is all in their hands. In this essay, I will be going to be analyzing and explaining Jobs's argument about death. I will be discussing the ways I agree and the ways I disagree with his viewpoints from the text with the quotes. Because almost everything”all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure”these things just fall away in the face of death(Jobs) and no one wants to die(Jobs) and There is no reason not to follow your heart.(Jobs) To explain my viewpoints I will be providing my own reasons and comparing them to the examples from the text.

The first example from the text is "Because almost everything" all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure”these things just fall away in the face of death.(Jobs) In this text, he implies that you forget everything when death you face death you forget everything and you do what you did not want to do or weren't able to do. I strongly disagree with this quote because the last thing you would do is to keep what's important to you. Since you are dying you want to do what gives you pleasure in a good way and why spend the last few moments of your life being bored to death? It is also because embarrassing yourself is always a bad thing to do. Not only it stains your name forever but in many scenarios being embarrassed could even mean killing someone but you wouldn't do it because you are bad at killing which is a really bad thing but I could agree that you might try something new with the phrase All fear of embarrassment and you could ask someone out maybe or try to accomplish something that you have been thinking you might fail if you did.
The second example from the text is no one wants to die.(Jobs) I strongly disagree with this because everyone wants to get out of this cruel world as fast as possible to not see all the violent actions. They do not want to live anymore because they might do something that they wouldn't want to do. But I could agree that it could also mean that the person has done something bad in life, if they believe in the afterlife, they would wanna live so they could pay for all their sins in some ways. But the person could also be someone who has a rich life and is happy with it and not believe in the afterlife resulting in them making the decision to stay alive for as long as possible to enjoy the joy and happiness they have.

The last example but not least is There is no reason not to follow your heart.(Jobs) I strongly disagree with this quote because following your heart means anything. It could mean to blow up the world, do what Hitler did, or kill someone you don't like because you have no other reason to do it. Just because you want to do it it does not mean you can. It wouldn't be fair or nice to anyone who is going to be affected by the actions of your hearts wish. I could also agree that if the person's heart is pure and they do something to help humanity or something that could give only the individual joy while not hurting or harming anyone else, then it is truly fine.

In conclusion, I strongly agree with all three quotes in some ways and I strongly disagree with all three quotes in other ways. It is truly magnificent how someone could analyze a sentence negatively and positively.

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Life is an Attitude

As humans, we assign value to many things. Life, just happens to be one of those things. But not everyone sees the value of life in the same way. The value of life comes from within each and every one of us individually. In excerpts from different viewpoints such as the contemptuous outlook on life of William Shakespeare's Hamlet, to Roger Ebert and Steve Jobsr's positive outlook on life and death, audiences everywhere are shown why one should value their own life, no matter what hardships one is going through. In addition, we can come to the realization that the idea of assigning a value to someoner's life from a financial standpoint is unfair because our true value lies within the relationships one develops and the legacy one leaves behind. A personr's value should not be determined by material possessions, titles, social status, or any amount of money. For decades, society has based the value of somebodyr's life around the amount of money that person has and how popular the person is. This is wrong, because the value of oner's life should be determined by how happy they are, the experiences theyve had, and the relationships theyve acquired. Society has its priorities in the wrong order; we think that actors, music artists ” celebrities in general ” are worth more than those who have good hearts and dont make as much money. Money cannot buy happiness, so why do we as a society put very large price tags on these celebrities who are only living miserable lives and plaster false smiles on their faces when a camera is pointed in their direction? William Shakespearer's play, Hamlet, shows us just how no amount of money in the world ” or title a person holds ” is capable of filling the void that is left after the passing of a loved one. Hamlet, a young prince whose father was murdered, has a very pessimistic view on what life is worth after his fatherr's death. In fact, he despises his life so much that he wishes he could end it. Hamlet claims life to be ...a sea of troubles... (Ln. 4), and is skeptical about continuing on living his life. William Shakespearer's work is admirable, but his central claim to be or not to be is despondent and faint-hearted. Hamletr's outlook on life is evaluated on an emotional level rather than financial, but how can somebody be content when their vision of life is completely twisted? When my grandfather was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, he didn't let the disease define who he is and what he can and cannot do. He also knew he was near his deathbed, but he did not let that stop him from getting up every morning to go work in the fields to be able to provide for my mother and her sisters. Even if he had to have somebody behind him 24/7 to make sure he didnt wander off elsewhere, he still did what he did, because he loved his family very much and knew he had to support them until the end of his days. I dont know how he managed to get out of his bed every day, but sure enough, he did. He just got up and continued with his life as if he were perfectly fine. Not once did he ever voice a complaint, and he never once let his condition run his life. My grandpar's story, as well as Jobsr's and Ebertr's, are proof that even when tragic things in life happen, it isn't the end, and that your tragedies are not who you are and they should not dictate what you do and how much you are worth in this world. From Chris Jonesr's interview with Roger Ebert, we come to an understanding that unlike Hamlet, Ebert views life and death in a very optimistic way despite the calamity of his life. Chris Jones, a writer for Esquire Magazine, quotes Ebert, ...to make others less happy is a crime. To make ourselves unhappy is where all the crime starts... (Jones 34). Roger Ebert was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2002, which was then successfully removed through surgery. In 2003, he underwent surgery to get rid of cancer in his salivary glands. His illness was killing him, but Ebert did not let it define him. The uncertainty of Ebertr's health impacts the way we see his attitude toward the value of life because it makes it seem like Roger Ebert is ready to live life to it's fullest, regardless of how much time is left and his condition, and this would be apparent regardless of whether or not he beat out cancer. Surviving something like that is amazing, thus giving more meaning to living life fuller than before. Ebert continued his life as a film critic until his death. He didnt do what he did because he was forced to, but because he had a passion and truly loved what he did. The appreciation Ebert had for his life regardless of his illness and hardships he faced should get nothing but respect. It would be such a wonderful thing if we could all develop such a love and passion for something similar to Ebertr's love for movies and writing. Ebert states, ...it's saving me when I am writing, my problems become invisible and I am the same person I always was... (Jones 18). I cannot express my admiration for Ebertr's optimistic attitude. I truly believe that Roger Ebert has left a lasting legacy on the world, his courageous story has been imprinted into the hearts of many. Similar to Roger Ebert, Steve Jobs is another innovative, wise man and an amazing source of positivity. Stanford Universityr's graduating class of 2005 received such an amazing and truly inspiring speech from Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs was the chairman, chief executive officer, and co-founder of Apple Inc. He delivered a speech based around one simple phrase, youve got to find what you love, (Par. 15). In his speech, Jobs mentions how as soon as he began to live in fear due to his failures, he did what he could to change it right away. He obtained that personal drive within him to get him to accomplish his goals. His speech reminds us that we are capable of achieving anything we set our minds to, no matter how big, no matter how small. He encourages us to believe in ourselves and achieve wonderful things because the world will always need us. In addtion, he tells the graduates about three different stories in his life, all serving as valuable lessons titled: connecting the dots, love and loss, and death. He explains to the graduating students how important it is to follow your heart and that you have to trust that eventually, things will be okay. He compares finding the right occupation to choosing a lover, As with all matters of the heart, youll know it when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on (Par. 15). Itr's safe to say that a majority of people aren't particularly overjoyed with their occupation; oftentimes we hear how much people hate their jobs. I think what Steve was trying to get across to those students is that you only get one chance at life, so why waste it doing something that doesn't make you happy? I learned a lot from this speech, and although I'm unsure of what the future holds for me, I am sure that everything will turn out alright. Steve Jobs has inspired so many people around the world, including myself, to chase their dreams, and if it doesn't turn out, itr's not the end. You can always start over. Steve Jobs and his wise words have left a lasting impression on the world. He stood for something so simple, that still carries such a heavy importance on our lives: being happy. Some may argue that life is meaningless, as to why they do not value life as much as others. So what? I mean, itr's true; it is hard to get excited about your day knowing that nothing really matters in the grand scheme. This also means that all those other responsibilities you are so worried about dont matter either. Nihilism is a philosophy for those who are sad, and also for those who are happy, it is a philosophical viewpoint arguing that life lacks objective meaning, purpose, or instinctive value. Basically, there is no point for anything and everything in the universe is simply coincidental. If life is meaningless, then that means that life is nothing, and nothing is something. However, it is up to each individual to define the meaning of their own lives, even if others find life to lack a purpose. To conclude, the most important thing in this life is attitude. Itr's incredible how something so simple can have such a monumental impact on someoner's life. To live a happy life, all you have to do is change your outlook on it, and think positively, do not focus on your financial situation or social status because the value of your life is so much more than that. If you look for the light in all situations you will find that life is a beautiful thing, and there is no time for pessimism.

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Many Point of Views on the Value of Life

The value of life cannot be put into perspective because there are many point of views to make your life great. Everyone has areas of beliefs and morals in their lives, manifesting a concrete answer is a very difficult task. There is no set value on life, living life the best way each individual thinks is right maybe the correct way. There are a lot of variables to why life is special. Throughout time our economic status portrays who we are to people we met way before we even talk to them. What are income is or what we do creates a false image in peopler's heads that with money comes happiness. In what is a life worth? Amanda Ripley states that, The concepts of assigning a price on life has always made people squeamish. This portrays that putting a price on a loved one who has passed away has put people on edge due to the fact that they are scared of what the public might think. Liver's value comes from the happiness we have rather than the pennies that we have in our pockets.Each individual has their own perspective on however they need their life to be. To further my point your work is a huge chunk of your life so you must do what you love in order to be happy. As Steve Jobs mentioned in his inaugural speech Dont let the noise of others opinions make noise your inner voice(89).The means of this quote is simply, do what you like and don't let anyone else tell you what to try and do. In life you only need to be who you believe is the best you and believe that you simply will and can come through.Your life can solely be worthwhile if you truly accomplish the things that are meaningful to you and only you. Steve Jobs also states, I still loved what I did so I decided to start over. This quote implies that as long as you love what you are doing you should keep on trying no matter how many times you fail or how hard it gets. However, most of society tend to seek out employment whereas attending school and stick with it for the remainder of their life. Therefore, what they are doing is not understanding that they're missing out on what they really need to try and do in life not create cash with the work they hate doing. As a result of if you are doing and not figure it out then you may find yourself doing something you will regret in the future. Michel DE author has said: The worth of life lies not within the length of days, but in the use we make of them. So it does not matter if you are young or old. What is truly of important is that with the years you have you do what is truly important to you. You can be a 60 complaining that life didnt go your way or you can be 30 living life and feeling like you are doing something that you feel is great and important. According to Myles Munroe, The value of life is not in its duration, but in its donation.You are not vital thanks to however long you reside, you are important because of how effective you live. Some people say that the main purpose of life for them is to earn money and buy their dream house and car or it might be to start their own business and make a career. However, history shows us so many cases when a person has achieved all of his goals on the way to become successful but still lacked something. They didn't feel happy with their lives. It doesn't mean that you simply shouldnt try .

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The Reasons why College Athletes should be Paid

For a long while now, there has been a major discussion about regardless of whether student athletes should be paid be paid. A few people trust that a grant ought to be installment enough. All things considered, a grant can be effortlessly worth $15,000 - $25,000 or more every year, in addition to a vocation after school that can be justified regardless of a million dollars over a lifetime. Also, understudy athletes get a wide range of advantages while they are in school, such as remaining at extravagant inns, being seen on national television, and the majority of the reputation that runs with being a gaze competitor. Its difficult to put a sticker price on the majority of that. In any case, considering the way that specific school sports create a large number of dollars for school athletic projects, numerous individuals trust the competitors are being utilized. On the off chance that the normal football grant is worth $20,000 every year, yet the college gains $70,000 every year in income per grant player (if it's not too much trouble take note of that this figure is only a gauge - the real number may really be higher), the college will benefit $50,000 every year, per grant player, or $200,000 over a multi year time span. It is extremely hard to put a numeric incentive on precisely how much a competitor is worth to a school. A star quarterback won't just help offer tickets, however will get a lot of stock deals too. The NCCA won't enable the colleges to offer a school football shirt with a player's name on it, however they will offer the pullover with the player's number on it, which is effectively conspicuous in nearby, and once in a while national markets. The significant universities procure tremendous totals of cash on this sort of stock alone, yet the understudy competitor numbers identity's being utilized to offer stock won't see one dime of the benefits. To state that the understudy competitor isn't being abused in this circumstance is putting it mildly. It goes path past that. School athletic projects take in millions from TV and promoting contracts. They likewise get a large number of dollars of gifts from games sponsors. Indeed, pay rates should be paid to athletic chiefs and mentors, also travel and different expenses for the understudy competitors, and it is incredible that real school football and ball programs help subsidize non-income athletic projects. Notwithstanding, the truth is that, contrasted with the measure of income that understudy competitors create for their schools, what they get consequently is little. Since student-athletes additionally bring in revenue for their group and college or university, specifically in the championship games, these who debate in desire of paying them say the college students could get hold of a small element of the profits. Yes, pay would vary, simply as the universities with the extra profitable teams obtain extra tv time or cash than those with less profitable teams. College soccer and menr's basketball packages earn far extra than any different athletic program, so these athletes would likely earn extra as well. This might also now not be regarded honest pay, but many of those who argue in support of paying college gamers point out that group reputation and consumers usually determine what is fair. These sports additionally tend to help different less popular sports that do no longer convey in a lot of money on their own. This is why I think college athletes should be paid for their hard work they put out.

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College Athletes Ready for a Career

Los Angeles Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball recently said in an interview that college athletes should be paid. Everybody knows everybody's getting paid," Ball said. "That's just how it is. Everybody's getting paid anyway, you might as well make it legal. That's how I feel.(Boone) This is a common opinion that athletes have about the subject. College athletes should not be paid. Many college athletes are on a paid scholarship anyways and get the opportunity to go to school for free. College athletes should just be appreciative for the chance they have. If a player is skilled enough to be paid to play in college, then they should have no problem playing professional sports after college.

By no means is it easy to be a college student-athlete. Having to focus on classes, attend film sessions, practice 17-20 hours a week, games towards the end of the week, workout sessions, etc. College athletes have a lot on their plate with sports and school and are sometimes forced to miss class. These athletes work hard and sacrifice their freetime for no pay at all, but that is just how it should be. When you choose to become a college athlete, you are conscious of your decision and aware of what it takes. As difficult a job these athletes have, they should still not receive pay to play sports at a college level. College is a place where students go to further their education so they can get some kind of successful career they are interested in. The second college-student athletes begin to receive pay, they will see college as a place where they can go to make money, rather than a place to get them ready for a career.

As one begins to consider incorporating revenue for college players, the same important questions arise. How would you determine who gets payed? How do you decide how much you would pay a certain player or team? Would you pay every player on a team? A lot is to be considered. Athletes would obviously want to play for a college who gives out the largest salary, making it difficult for smaller schools to recruit athletes and easier for bigger schools. This would put colleges in competition to see who can have the higher salary. College would quickly transform from a place where you go to get a better education, to more of a competitive business like environment between other schools. When less popular colleges are shut down because they cannot provide a decent sports program, this can deny other students of getting the opportunity at a higher education, which would not be fair. Sports at the collegiate level are still extracurricular activities and should be the second priority under education.

If the NCAA decided to pay college athletes then they would simply be taking away the purity of the game. Players would be more committed to making money, rather than playing a sport that he or she loves or enjoys. College sports would begin to revolve around revenue, and participants would become consumed with the thought of making money as opposed to playing in an extracurricular sport in college. Student athletes may work hard to do the things they do, but when participating in a sport, money should not be their reason for playing. A true athlete continues to play the sport he or she loves because they are passionate about the game, not because of the amount of money they can earn.

Student athletes in college should not receive pay because a number of reasons. A lot may have their own opinion on the matter such as why they should be paid. Continuing to keep money out of the question for college athletes is the best idea. College should not be looked at as a place where athletes can go and get paid to play sports. Collegiate level sports should be looked at as an opportunity to play sports while getting a degree, and in some cases, a place where athletes can be recognized as above average players as well as make it to the next level as a professional where you can make a salary playing the sport you enjoy.

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Student-Athletes and Compensation

Created in the 1950r's, the term student-athlete is still the NCAAr's foundation of all prior and current debates about not paying collegiate athletes. The current debate is less about should these high caliber players be paid by the universities and now seems more focused on how they can receive their share of a multi-billion-dollar industry and the effects if student-athletes do get paid. The effects of student-athletes being paid is where the opposition continues to rely on an out of date defense that tuition is fair compensation. Pay for students is illegal and competitive balance in college sports will be compromised. The NCAA has a history of dealing with players being paid on a case to case basis. Most recently permitting some athletes to earn money for use of their name, image, and likeness (NIL). A great example of these inconsistencies would be Katie Ledecky having to leave the Stanford swim team to take advantage of her Olympic success, whereas Arike Ogunbowale was allowed by the NCAA to continue playing basketball for Notre Dame while being paid to be on Dancing with the Stars because it was not related to basketball (Brennan 2). After hearing the NCAAr's explanation, Commission chair Condoleezza Rice said, ?I couldnt for the life of me understand the explanation . . . because obviously sher's there because she hit two winning shots in two basketball games (in the womenr's Final Four), so thatr's the connection...It's time to clear this up (qtd. in Brennan 2). If Commission chair Condoleezza Rice believes NCAA policies are confusing, it must be time for existing policies to be reevaluated. The NCAA executives should clearly define a consistent way and then allow student-athletes to be compensated for their personal name, image, likeness, and participation in non-collegiate events because the non-profit organization has evolved, there are ways to properly regulate payment, and numerous cases of paying student-athletes already exist. In 1906 President Teddy Roosevelt founded the NCAA to provide safety for college football players, and at the time students were not allowed to be recruited based on athletic ability (Katz, Vaughn and Gilleran 1). Athletic scholarships were not first introduced until the 1950r's, and the term student-athlete was used soon thereafter by the NCAA President of the time, Walter Byers, to protect the NCAA from legal issues (Katz, Vaughn and Gilleran 1). The main issue the NCAA faces today, pay for play, goes back to 1984 when they were forced, by the Supreme Court, to stop limiting the telecasts of college sports and revenue started rapidly increasing (Katz, Vaughn and Gilleran 2). A century after its creation, the NCAA President Myles Brand spoke at the NCAA convention in 2006 about the status of the organization (Katz, Vaughn and Gilleran 1). He expressed that the NCAA as an enterprise had commercialized, but the players must remain amateurs: ?Amateur defines the participants. . . not the enterprise (qtd. In Katz, Vaughn and Gilleran 1). This shows that President Brand is contradicting the NCAAs original intentions. They are not the only organization to transform into something they were not intended to be. The Olympics is a perfect example of how a platform deeply rooted in the term amateurism (student-athlete) can change and allow players to receive endorsements (Solomon 17). The Olympic model has evolved to combat the opposing opinion that funding student-athletes will make it less competitive and less appealing as Jon Solomon notes: The public hasnt stopped watching the Olympics with professionals. Making money through endorsements while being good at a sport doesnt seem to hurt interest in the Olympics, which once had the most stringent definition of amateurism (Solomon 17). While not paying these athletes according to The New York Amsterdam News the NCAA is violating the law, Jaimie C. Harris wrote, In 2015, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling stating the organization violated antitrust laws by limiting what athletes can receive while participating in college sports (Harris 1). NCAA Commission chair Condoleezza Rice sees the problem, she addressed it in a telephone interview with USA Today stating, ?We believe that students ought to be able to benefit from name, image, and likeness. . . It makes sense for the NCAA to have a legally justifiable framework that works, and currently the framework doesnt work (qtd. in Brennan 1-2). If the framework is broken, fix it; there are plenty of companies, professors, former athletes, etc. that have ideas on how to legally pay student-athletes. Major companies like EA Sports would like to pay the collegiate players for the use of their name, image and likeness, so some form of legal structure needs to be developed to provide this (Solomon 14). To combat legal concerns, Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick suggests, college sports could manage group licensing for athletes (Solomon 16). This method will provide a fair distribution of the wealth across all players (Solomon 16). With a group-licensing approach, representatives for the players go to the companies to work out a fair deal for the players, which will create an all or nothing deal made with the player and the interested company. These ideas from Jack Swarbrick are created from the fact that students and student-athletes are separated (Solomon 16). If a player also wants other forms of endorsement for their NIL, this will be possible with some conditions. As proposed in the CAP Act as a benefit it would allow student-athletes to . . . engage in commercial activities that reflect the athleter's public visibility as long as the athleter's college sport or institution were not identified (Sack 3). The final way players should get paid is through prize money from all events outside the NCAA. Ideas like the ones mentioned above would allow the NCAA to maintain its non-profit status and allow players to profit financially. Some student-athletes are already profiting financially under NCAA guidelines, some more than others. Take University of Texas swimmer Joseph Schooling, he won Singaporer's first gold metal by defeating Michael Phelps and received a huge bonus from his home country of $740,000 (Solomon 1). Some of the most recognizable collegiate football players can hope to pick up a bowl gift worth no more than $550 (Solomon 2). This random allowance does not seem to be relevant when a tennis player can earn $10,000 in prize money. Kyle Parker is not amused by these tennis players earnings because he got a $1.4 million bonus for signing as a professional baseball player and was still the quarterback for Clemson in 2010 (Solomon 2). NCAA players split $60 million awarded to them in a case against EA Sports for using their likeness (Solomon 14). All of these exceptions make it hard to understand what is and is not allowed and becomes more confusing which brings up the question whether the NCAA should just allow the athletes to get paid by outside resources. Tom McMillenr's statistics help support this argument, 79 percent of athletic directors in the NCAAr's highest football division support players making money off their name for non-athletic related activities (qtd. in Solomon 13). Policy makers for the NCAA need to specifically clarify and grant permission for student-athletes to be paid for their name, image, likeness and participation in non-collegiate events because it would bring the NCAA regulations up to speed, properly regulated payments are possible, student-athletes have already been paid. The opposition's stance on the debate believes that tuition is a fair compensation, paying students is illegal and the competitive balance in college sports will be compromised. Not only is this defense outdated but can also be rejected by the Olympic model and the legal structure developed above. As Condoleezza rice says, ?Itr's time to clear this up there needs to be some changes to the policies derived from the NCAA to cope with the desires of the players (qtd. in Brennan 2). These wants for payment is very understandable given the facts provided by Knight Commission, In 2015, the 53 public schools from the five major conferences [SEC, Big Ten, ACC, Big 12, Pac-12] paid their football coaching staffs (530 individuals) combined $405.5 million, compared to $179.8 million in scholarships to their football players (4,979 individuals) (Solomon 4). This large gap in ratios makes it easy to agree with Bob Bowlsby prediction; ?that the day will come when players decide not to play in a major college sporting event (qtd. in Solomon 17).

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Why College Athletes Deserve a Salary

The NCAA was created in 1905 with help by Theodore Roosevelt. When the late president helped organize this organization he never would have believed the success and popularity over the years. The Ncaa started out to be a place where young athletes could go to further their career. Now the Ncaa is a 11 billion dollar industry. How much of that money goes to education or the players less than ten percent. These young athletes barely can manage in the these circumstances some go hungry and even some go clothless. Even though these athletes aren't given a salary they still are given many accentitives. Most college players are given stipends of two hundred to three hundred dollars a month. Lets not forget that these players get a free college. But to further prove the point this still is not enough. College players dedicate their lives to these sports in college hoping to grow pro but let's face it alot don't make it pro. These players who don't go pro have received nothing but a college scholarship in classes they barley attended. Players are said to be given the chance of a lifetime to compete in the closest thing to professional sports, but that's not true all these players do is go out and risk their bodys every time they go to play.

But some may say its their choice to play so why should they be paid? These players are given some incentives but not enough. Players are given scholarships but those scholarships can be taken away at anytime the player starts do bad or gets seriously injured. Colleges take advantage of these players names. The average jersey sales for around one hundred and ten dollars. A fraction of jersey sales alone could help players financially. College players are not always in it for the money, a lot of the players come from poor families. These players go into this with the mentality that they need to hurry up and get drafted to change their families lives. People who come from poor families understand this alot better when you grow up in a family barely making ends meet. When you have an ability to change that outcome why not do it. This causes players declare for the draft a lot earlier then they should. The best thing for Athlete is to stay and develop their craft in college. But when u have a chance to make millions why not go for it. If these players made a little bit of money they could send their families that could impact their whole life. But also help these players become better athletes. This makes players have an urgent decision either try to go make money or stay in college and watch your family go thru four more years of struggling.

Players also lose an education when this happens, colleges have rule called one and done that doesn't allow the players to come back and finish their education. Professional sports could only be a short time thing, these players always need a plan b, which in this case could that degree that they lose. This rule does make sense but not every player is gonna get drafted so the ones that dont thats it for them,they neither get to play or pursue a higher education. This rule also loses the colleges money, the fans love these players and grow an emotional attachment to them. When these players leave some fans stop coming and buying merchandise. If college athletes had more incentives to stay it would benefit the college. As said previously an average jersey costs one hundred and ten dollars thatr's a lot of money these colleges lose out on. This is why college athletes should earn a salary it not only helps helps the players but the Ncaa and the colleges. One of the biggest reason colleges are so successful is their sports teams. If a college has a good athletic department that makes students want to attend these schools. These colleges make lots of money off these athletes, they have put some schools on the map. These colleges don't see it like that college athletes are a marketing tool.

All this money is made but nothing back to the players. College coaches are paid an average of a million dollars. Thats crazy when their not even the ones on the field risking their bodies. If a college can pay a million dollars to a coach why not a salary of say thirty hours a week at minimum wage to a player it's just ridiculous. Pay would vary to players though not every player is gonna be as good as some, so yes some should make more than others. But even if players don't get paid this money should get put towards education. When the NCAA was first founded in 1905, the opposition to paying student-athletes was akin to the opposition to paying coaches. (If you doubt this, research early criticism of Alonzo Stagg).(Forbes) Colleges cause players to miss class time. When March madness starts players lose a quarter of each class day for practices, when the actual tournament starts they lose full days of school. So this causes players to lose the best possible education for themselves. March madness is a nine point eight billion dollar industry over the last eleven years. These colleges prioritize making money over best possible outcome for their students. Lets not forget these are not just athletes but scholars. Paying college athletes could be a great life lesson.

Seventy three percent of americans are in debt. Colleges could help by paying these players, most athletes waste a lot of their money, being given a salary could help these players learn to manage their money. Budgeting is one of the hardest things to do because most people make it that way. Implementing paying athletes in the Ncaa could help these athletes live better lives. Some would say paying college athletes would lose competitiveness when playing. But thats makes no sense, if you got paid to play in college that is an incentive to be better. As said previously pay will vary better players get paid more money that's just the case. If anything it will get more competitive. These players won't just be competing for a championship but a living. College players cannot seek jobs while playing sports. A average student can get a job but a athlete is prohibited to try and obtain a job. So if a student can get job why can't a student athlete get a job are they both not students? This is the case in many colleges players can try and make money but Ncaa or the colleges don't want to compensate them. This rule is ridiculous this just shows athletes are not considered students but a marketing tool. College athletes are basically working a fulltime job. The average practices are forty three point three hours a week. That's three point three more hours then an average person works per week. So much of these athletes time is spent towards practice that doesn't count scrimmages and games. These athletes are being used to make money and they receive nothing in return but a college education that on average twenty four percent of them don't even receive. Colleges do not allow players to seek money making opportunities. For examples like partnerships with brands or endorsements.

These athletes can't get a job, don't get a salary and can't seek these endorsements. This is a full time job playing college sports these players dedicate their mental and physical bodies to these organizations and they get barely anything in return. Some may say they get scholarships but that's only eighty to one hundred thousand dollars that still seems like a lot but compared to what these layers bring in for these schools thats not that much money. Being a professional athlete is tough. There is billions of people on this earth but only fractions of them play sports at this high of a level. This again is a full time job, these players deserve to be paid. The Ncaa and colleges are taking advantage of these young players. They work day end and night out trying to work hard for these schools. In the end they are very poorly compensated. College athletes deserve to be paid that's all there is too it. From trying to help out their families to a working a full time job practicing. These players work hard and deserve to be compensated. These players lose cass time and sometimes go hungry which is terrible when they work extremely hard. This will hopefully be implemented into the Ncaa one day and these players will get what they rightfully deserve.

Works cited

Edelman, Marc. "21 Reasons Why Student-Athletes Are Employees And Should Be Allowed To Unionize." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 06 Jan. 2015. Web. 07 May 2018.
Jabbar, Kareem Abdul. "Why College Athletes Should Be Paid." The Washington Post. WP Company, 05 Mar. 2016. Web. 07 May 2018.
Wilbon, Michael. "College Athletes Deserve to Be Paid." ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, 18 July 2011. Web. 07 May 2018.
Mama, Raman. "Viewpoint: College Athletes Should Be Paid." USA Today. Gannett Satellite Information Network, 24 Dec. 2016. Web. 07 May 2018.
Hartnett, Tyson. "Why College Athletes Should Be Paid." HuffPost. HuffPost, 23 Jan. 2014. Web. 07 May 2018.

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Student-Athletes should be Paid by NCAA

Professionals get paid to put their bodies on the line for the team they are playing for, why shouldnt it be the same for college athletes? It is true, collegiate athletes are considered extremely lucky because they are gifted with a multitude of scholarship opportunities to play for that school and are given the right amount of exposure to succeed and take their talents to the next level whether in sports or elsewhere. Nevertheless, college athletes are being mistreated by the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association), and athletes, students, and even coaches are rising up to demand reform. People across the country, including myself, believe that college athletes should be paid (excluding school transactions such as tuition, etc.). The NCAA is taking advantage of college athletes, gathering huge profits while the players, who are putting their bodies on the line, dont see a dime. In college, especially in higher ranked schools (in terms of sports), being a student athlete is a big commitment to take on, equivalent to a job. A good amount of your time is focused on that sport. You are constantly trying to get better and elevate to the highest level of play. Take into account that they are also students. They have classes and exams to worry about and while doing all of this, trying to maintain a social life at the same time. Although this is doable, it is still quite hard. According to NCSA, the typical day for a D1 football player starts 5:30 am and doesnt end until 12 am (NCSA). A large chunk of the day has to do with said sport and this wasnt even taking into account days where the athletes play a game for hours upon end and still have all these other responsibilities to pursue. So once again playing a sport in college (depending on the division or school) is similar if not the same as having a job and yet these players are not being compensated. College sports wouldnt be as big as it is without the athleter's great performances, and itr's not fair that these hard-working players dont get to benefit from the money they are generating. The NCAA puts a college playerr's name on jerseys and tons of other apparel and none of that money is ever even seen by the player. Student athletes should be able to receive a percentage of revenue generated on their account and also be able to sign business deals and engage in endorsement opportunities. There is a rule in the NCAA handbook stating that schools are forbidden from offering any form of compensation beyond a scholarship in exchange for a studentr's talents, and students are not permitted to accept endorsement deals of any kind (The Oracle). College athletes are very good at what they do, and the skill/talent level only increases when increasing in Divisions (Division 1, D2, D3) and in Conferences (ACC, SEC, Big Ten, PAC 12, etc.), so it wouldnt be a surprise if a big corporation, such as Nike or Adidas, would want to sponsor these talented athletes. Athletes should have the freedom to explore their options and be able to take advantage of the opportunities granted to them. College athletes deserve financial recognition for the merchandise profit they generate, as well as the opportunity to pursue their own financial gains. As athletes, they work hard on the field every day to bring in fans and wins for their school; itr's only fair that they are rewarded for their efforts, at least in some small way. In college sports, the NCAA rules state that an athlete will lose his/her eligibility if they receive any type of payment to play, sign a contract with an agent, receive a salary, incentive payment, award, or play on a professional (including overseas) team (ESPN). The NCAA is an amateur sports league. The dictionary definition of amateur is engaging or engaged in without payment; nonprofessional (Webster). The word amateur in sports was intended to stand for positive values but has ended up doing the opposite by not respecting the players' talents, hard work and dedication enough to pay them what they owe. William Geoghegan, Flyer News sports editor writes, Would paying athletes tarnish the ideal of amateurism? Maybe, but being fair is far more important than upholding an ideal (Geoghehan 1). In other words, people understand that having strong ideals are important and look good on paper, but as time goes on things have to change and these players deserve to be paid. College sports obviously dont hold the same weight as professional leagues, the NCAA is still making outrageous profits from merchandise, ticket sales, food, and jerseys thanks to the performances of the players. The same players who are not receiving any sort of cut from the revenue the NCAA is generating. The NCAA pulled in $761 million from the 2017 NCAA tournament. That number is set to rise to $869 million this year. The NCAA also generated $129.4 million in ticket revenue and $60 million in marketing rights for the 2017 fiscal year (ESPN). The NCAA has topped $1 billion. The majority of these earnings come from Menr's Basketball and more importantly the Menr's Basketball tournament called March Madness. The NCAA March Madness tournament is considered to be one of the top sporting events in the world. At one point it was ranked behind the FIFA World Cup and the Super Bowl two extremely anticipated events. It is shocking that a college sports event is ahead of most of the professional sports events. It's also crazy to take into consideration that March Madness at one point brought in more revenue than the NBA Championship. College basketball is a very popular collegiate sport that gets a large number of people tuning in. powerhouse schools like Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, UCLA, Villanova and many more dominate the NCAA basketball scene and bring in hundreds of millions of dollars every year. For the NCAA, March Madness is its most profitable business, earning roughly $900 million in revenue(CBS news). March Madness brings in almost $1 billion by itself and the players who push themselves to the limit and make the event possible in the first place dont get some sort of remuneration. The NCAA and other coaches and organizations believe that yes, the starters may be worthy of compensation, but what about the players that dont get a lot of playing time or arent as good as certain players on the team? Certain sports getting paid more than others? There indeed needs to be a concrete plan. The NCAA has the resources to figure out a plan to pay their athletes, but they are choosing not to. They have no interest in doing so which is why this has become such a controversial topic. The NCAA is denying athletes their basic economic rights and it is not fair to the athletes who are putting their bodies on the line day in and day out. Student-athletes should be paid for their hard work and commitment to not only the sport but to the school. That is the least the NCAA can do since the athletes bring in so much revenue for both the NCAA and the school.

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The Importance of Paying College Athletes

In discussions of compensation for college athletes, a point of disagreement has been weather or not college athletes should be paid for their heavy amount of hard work and dedication. Often, business analysts and sports writers argue that college athletes have no time to work and therefore should be paid, while others contend that college athletes already receive compensation by not having to pay for college tuition. This in fact is a false claim as most athltes do not receive a full ride scholarship or even a scholarship at all. College athletes should be paid because they work so hard but receive severe injuries instead of money, they train so hard each day, just so they can just struggle with maintain their GPA, and meanwhile NCAA continues to generate profit off a playerr's work. The importance of paying college athletes is simple, give credit where credit is due. So many times the media highlights these big Pac 12 schools, the most prestigious league in the NCAA. Always commemorated for their excellence in attendance and atmosphere but they never highlight who brings in the audience. Who makes the tickets sell? Who inspires younger individuals to strive and be just like them. Big schools like UCLA and Ohio State are not good just because of their name, but the players that are recruited in to the teams and even make the team as walk on. It does not matter if youre an enrolled athlete a community college or at an Ivy League like Standford. Every individual athlete puts in the same amount of work to get to the next level but often are held back by financial troubles, lack of educational resources, and the often mentioned lack of time. A common occurrence within college sports, specifically football, are injuries either suffered at practice, during games, or during training sessions. There are over 3.8 million sports related injuries that occur each year (McDevitt, 2011). Some of these injuries are concussions. Concussions are caused by an impactful hit to the head and it actually affects the brain in many ways including: balance problems, depression, and as far as permanent brain damage. Derek Sheely, an ex-college football player for Frostburg State University, sustained a bad concussion during a preseason practice drill. He was put on the restricted list and had to rehab the injury in attempt to make a comeback. In his return to the field he was aggressively ran into the ground during a drill which caused him to hit his head again and ended up dying six days later due to brain swelling. (Dresser,2016. Brain surgeon Jane McDevitt has stated previously Concussions in athletes account for 16.5 billion dollars or 44% of all hospitalization. In what world is it fair that a player is exposed to sustaining a life threatening and expensive injury while not making any money doing so? Concussions are serious issue and can possibly force athletes to forfeit their scholarship if they have one and eventually must drop out of school due to financial struggles. The common mistake that people often make is that most players on scholarship only accept because most of the finances are paid for, but nobody ever stops to think what would happen if it I stripped away? It is very simple, within a couple weeks they realize that the loan debt they are about to put themselves in is not worth the headache but instead transfer out to a less expensive college. In contrast, some people think athletes should not be paid. These people think this because athletes are already being given a free ride to college and they are not employees. William Berry III, a law professor at the University of Mississippi School of Law actually wrote an article on the debate of college athletes are considered employees and had very compelling arguments. The employee-athlete narrative takes the opposite approach and suggests that the only reason athletes come to campus is athletics. They perform their duties as a full-time job to generate revenue for the university and, in some cases, create the opportunity to play their sport professionally. (Berry, 2018) This is a very under the radar fact,as most athletes put in full time job like effort in order to play their sport professionally. According to the U.S department of labor in order for a job to be determined full time it has to be between 32-40 hours a week. Athletes alone put in over 45 hours a week just in practice, weight room sessions, physical therapy, and film time. Letr's not forget that these athletes are STUDENT-athletes, which means another 25-30 hours a week of dedication to school work like attending class, tutoring sessions, studying for quizzes and exams, and completing homework. All to be just compensated with sore muscles and a struggling GPA. Injuries to athletes often times lead to lack of focus in school and maintain a high grade point average becomes critically impossible, let alone a passing GPA. Trying to focus on a sport while having to make sure your grades are good enough so you keep your scholarship and your spot on the team creates a heavy amount of pressure on student athletes. The easy solution to this would be taking a day off but how could you take a day off without any money? College students have a reputation of being broke said one student from Oklahoma State University. Athletes have no time to obtain a part time job because they are either on the field, training for their respected sport, or in the classroom. Tell me how an individual is supposed to train their body to sustain going to school, training , and maintaining a job for a steady income. Exhaustion does exist in this world where individuals can push their bodies over the limit and over work themselves into complete exhaustion. The college sports industry generates $11 billion in annual revenues.Over two-hundred and fifty colleges report annual revenues that exceed $50 million. Meanwhile, sixty colleges report annual revenues that exceed $100 million. These revenues come from numerous sources, including ticket sales, sponsorship rights, and the sale of broadcast rights. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) recently sold broadcast rights to its annual men's basketball tournament for upwards of $770 million per season. And the Big Ten Conference has launched its own television network that sells air time to sponsors during the broadcast of its football and men's basketball games. (Mitchell, 2013. Edelman, 2013) Case in point, the NCAA and Universities make more than enough money to afford to pay college athletes. Money is not the issue as therer's evidence that they can afford to pay athletes yet NCAA rules and regulations do not allow athletes to receive any type of gifts or compensation without NCAA approval. The workers are supposed to be content with a scholarship that does not even cover the full cost of attending college. Any student athlete who accepts an unapproved, free hamburger from a coach, or even a fan, is in violation of N.C.A.A. rules. (Nocera, 2011) These athletes are not fooled by the NCAA. They know what their services bring to the table when they see the stands sold out and filled by fans from all over. They see their last names printed on the back of jerseys being sold around campus. It is no secret college athletes are what keep the athletic program funded by the millions of dollars they bring in. However, there has not been a lack of effort for trying to compensate athletes at least from some schools. Most recently, the University of Miami and Ohio State University. The revelation that a University of Miami booster, now in prison, convicted of running a Ponzi scheme that provided dozens of Miami football players with money, cars and even prostitutes. The Ohio State merchandise scandal that cost the coach, Jim Tressel, his job. The financial scandal at the Fiesta Bowl that led to the firing of its chief executive and the indictment of another top executive. (Nocera,2011) It hasnt been for lack of effort, but the NCAA quickly cracks down on anybody in violation of their regulations no matter their job title. The controversy surrounding the debate of college athletes getting paid or not has caught the attention of analyst even outside the sports industry. Andrew Zimbalist, a U.S economics expert wrote an article on why the college sports industry would take a huge downfall if they started paying their respected athletes. How can Division I colleges afford this expense when the median DI athletics program loses $11 million a year on an operating basis and much more when capital and indirect costs are included (Zimbalist,2013) Paying college athletes would dent the profit margins and capital of sports programs massively as there are over thousands of student athletes on all teams ranging from football to the chess team. This would cause an uproar from athletes as well. For example, football players who go out and put their body and health on the line would be compensated the same amount as a player of the math decathlon team. Two completely different sports with totally different stipulations but same pay because of labor disputes. In conclusion, the NCAA needs to reevaluate their compensation regulations to allow athletes to be paid for their tremendous efforts. By cutting the salaries of executives who oversee the business aspect the NCAA can make enough to compensate their respected athletes at the end of each participated semester. College athletes should be paid because they work so hard but sustain severe injuries instead of money considering concussions may not only be career ending, but life threatening. Student athletes train so hard each day, so they can play each game at his or her very best, while trying to attend class and get all the work done for each class yet often see their GPA struggling. The NCAA makes money off each student athlete while the athlete receives no compensation for his or her work but an exhausted body, and mind.

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The Effects of Exercise on Hydration Status of College Athletes

With human body mass being made up of about 60% water, proper hydration with exercise is essential (6). According to Mayo Clinic, fluid replenishment before, during, and after exercise is necessary for accurate body performance (6). Pervious research has shown that dehydration of 2% to 3% body mass loss or more is connected with impaired exercise performance and other crucial body functions (4). Dehydration becomes a concern for athletes that are not replenishing water intake when participating in sport specific exercise resulting in excessive sweat loss (6). In addition to impaired exercise performance, an athlete suffering dehydration could experience several symptoms including extreme thirst, dark urine color, fatigue, impaired cognition, difficulty regulating body temperature, and abnormal cardiovascular function (1-8).

Hydration status can be determined by analyzing plasma osmolality, urine osmolality, body mass loss, or urine specific gravity (1,2,3,4,5,9). Plasma osmolality is the gold standard for measuring hydration status (2,4). It is measure of concentration of electrolytes and water in the body (2,4,9). Urine osmolality is a less invasive technique for measuring urine concentration of electrolytes and urea (2,9). Urine specific gravity is the measurement of particle density of the urine (9). Body mass loss is a measurement of percent decrease in total body weight, associated with water loss in the following sources (1-5).

With college athletes having extensive training schedules, itr's important to understand how to ensure proper hydration (1-5). Therefore, the purpose of this literature review is to determine the effects of exercise on hydration status in college athletes.

REFERENCES

1. Castro-Sepulveda M, Cerda-Kohler H, Perez-Luco C, Monsalves M, Andrade DC, Zbinden-Foncea H, B?- ez-San Mart?n E, Ram?rez-Campillo R. Hydration status after exercise affect resting metabolic rate and heart rate variability. Nutr Hosp. 2014 Dec 17;31(3):1273-7.
2. Sommerfield LM, McAnulty SR, McBride JM, Zwetsloot JJ, Austin MD, Mehlhorn JD, Calhoun MC, Young JO, Haines TL, Utter AC. Validity of urine specific gravity when compared with plasma osmolality as a measure of hydration status in male and female NCAA collegiate athletes. J Strength Cond Res. 2016 Aug;30(8):2219-25.
3. Magee PJ, Gallagher AM, McCormack JM. High prevalence of dehydration and inadequate nutritional knowledge among university and club level athletes. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2017 Apr;27(2):158-168.
4. Ungaro CT, Reimel AJ, Nuccio RP, Barnes KA, Pahnke MD, Baker LB. Non-invasive estimation of hydration status changes through tear fluid osmolarity during exercise and post-exercise rehydration. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2015 May;115(5):1165-75.
5. Webb MC, Salandy ST, Beckford SE. Monitoring hydration status pre- and post-training among university athletes using urine color and weight loss indicators. J Am Coll Health. 2016 Aug-Sep;64(6):448-55.
6. Water: how much should you drink every day? [Internet]. Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2017 [cited 2018Nov20]. Available from: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/water/art-20044256
7. Dehydration [Internet]. Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2018 [cited 2018Nov20]. Available from: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dehydration/symptoms-causes/syc-20354086
8. Popkin BM, D'Anci KE, Rosenberg IH. Water, hydration, and health. Nutr Rev. 2010 Aug;68(8):439-58.
9. Osmolality, Urine[Internet]. Mayo Clinic Laboratories. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2006 [cited 2018Nov20]. Available from: https://www.mayomedicallaboratories.com/test-catalog/Clinical+and+Interpretive/9260

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The Life of a College Athletes

The life of a college athlete is not easy. Managing both academics and sports life is challenging. These hard workers sacrifice many things to compete well in their sport, but none of these athletes get paid. Scholarships are given out to talented individuals, but not many of those are full ride scholarships, and that does not really help when many students are troubled with student loans that they are not able to pay off (Or'shaughnessy). I have concluded after reading many articles that I agree with, that college athletes should be paid for their performance in athletic events because they sacrifice much educational time for their sports, subject their bodies to intense training, and bring entertainment to many fans.In order to perform well at events, college athletes must sacrifice much educational time for their sports. This includes waking up extremely early in the morning for practice sessions, and after classes in the afternoon. Morning sessions can leave students exhausted, which may also make paying attention in class difficult. Collegiate student-athletes may spend more than 40 hours a week practicing, leaving little time to keep up with academic commitments (Jacobs). Practice, however, is not the only thing that takes up valuable school hours. Big competitions are also in a college athleter's schedule. Travelling out of town, for sure, is time consuming, taking into consideration the travel time, day of competition, and travelling back. The main struggle for athletes is finding the time to make up that class period and what they missed, especially when they are consistently missing class (Cornick). Missing all of these class periods, college athletes must work harder academically to keep up with those who do not participate in sports.To compete at a high level, college athletes also subject their bodies to intense training.Many, if not all, college athletes wake up earlier than normal students in the morning for a grueling practice session. Tired, groggy, and worn out from either studying or a training session from the day before, these hard workers continue to put themselves in what seems like an agonizing torture. There is a rule and limit set by the NCAA for how many hours a team/athlete can train, but some coaches dont always follow this rule(Unfortunately, coaches may...). Training, however, is not limited to just working out. Eating healthy is also important for hard working athletes. Having a proper diet is crucial to recovering faster for another practice, and being able to compete well. Unlike normal people, these athletes may not be able to eat that much junk food like fast food, candy, or anything related to those because it could slow down their performance. As an athlete at the Division I level, your dietary routines must be aligned with your training and practice regimens to maximize your potential (Below is a ). These athletes obviously have to make many sacrifices, whether itr's dieting or waking up for practice, the life of a college athlete is not easy. Because of the competitive spirit of the future pros, many college athletic events are broadcasted on television and these athletes bring entertainment to many fans. Channels like ESPN produce a lot of money while they give a spotlight to the athletes. Many have also said that college level sports are more thrilling to watch than the actual professional level of the sport. For example a variety of football fans agree that college football brings more entertainment to them than the actual NFL. College football this year has been a better, more exciting version of the sport than the NFL, and viewers have made their relative preference clear (Kilgore). The same can be said also be said for other sports. There is no comparison between college basketball and the pros. Itd be like pitting ice cream against kelp, Seinfeld against The Single Guy or everything to soccer (Chase). These college athletes work for every moment in-game and display their passion for their sport. These collegiate athletes work and sacrifice as much as professional athletes do. After college, some of the athletes may even start playing against professional players. Beforehand, the athletes must go through the college level where they first experience the hardships of being a high level athlete. The harsh conditions of being a college-athlete may lead to some of the athletes giving up on the sport, but with pay, chances of talented athletes dropping out could decrease.

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To Pay College Athletes or not to Pay

The question that has become a revolving door, should college athletes be paid? I find myself not having a strong stance for either side. So instead I want to look at both sides. Having played sports in high-school myself I can see both sides, and think each position is valid. Some might argue why college athletes shouldnt be paid, is easy. Common questions are asked. Would it jeopardize a college sports programr's status as a 501-c nonprofit organization? If college players can be paid, how much will they be paid? By paying said athletes will the sports programs face increasing scrutiny along with constraints? Athletic departments might pay a higher price if they shift from scholarships to salaries. When player compensation was in the form of a grant in aid, an athletics department could rely on the university financial aid to transfer a Pell Grant worth up to about $5,000 per year to a playerr's package if the student athlete had demonstrated financial need. So, if 100 grant-in-aid recipients were receiving Pell Grants, that might save the athletic department $500,000 per year in fulfilling their obligations on funding financial aid packages. Under the new rules, that potential subsidy would evaporate. Why is this important? If a college sports program department or athletics association forfeits its tax-exempt status, it may have new, big expenses from which it was spared under the student aid model. Those could include state and local categories of taxes, such as property taxes. There are already cases whereby a local government has pressed a major state university to explain why a golf course or other real estate not used for educational purposes that the institution owned should qualify as an educational and charitable site. With professional athletes on the payroll, such local and state scrutiny of land used for sports entertainment provided by hired professionals will increase. Since the NCAA is a non-profit, players cant be paid. By calling their players, student athletes and armatures Universities have found ways to control and limit the benefits of these players. By paying college athletes, would Pandorar's box be opened? Advocates for paying college players condone their cause and case on the grounds that since the NCAA, major conferences, big-time college sports programs and their high-profile coaches make millions of dollars from college sports, the amateur athletes who play the college games that attract spectators deserve to share in the riches. Some of the pros in my opinion include; providing relief to families, more incentives to play, encourages healthier student athletes, and it could lower tuition rates. With universities grossing close to $200 million a year college athletics has turned into one of the top industries in the world Families are often saddled with providing unequivocal support for their student athletes to abide by current payment rules. Student athletes are not even allowed to autograph items, or sell certain personal memorabilia, as a way to generate revenues. Outside of student loans for partial scholarship or walk-on athletes, it is up to each family to pay for the student to be at the school. Paying the athlete would provide some financial relief to these families, which may not have the funds to make long-term supports. The majority of student athletes who play in college never become professional athletes. Fewer than 2% of college athletes go on to become professional athletes, in the NCAA. Switching gears from playing sports to becoming professionals in their chosen field of study. By offering an allowance for playing, think of it like a work-study program. Gaining another incentive to become involved in athletics. Students could use these funds to pay for costs not usually covered by a scholarship. One thing that the funds could go toward is for a student to save the money, for a first apartment outside of college. If a student knows they will not go pro, they may decide to give up sports instead, which would ultimately reduce the income generated by collegiate sporting activities. Paying college athletes for their participation in a sport program does away with the need for the athlete to find outside employment to support themselves. Many scholarships may offer tuition, room, and board coverage in return for participating in a sport, but not every student athlete qualifies for a scholarship. Players who walk-on have their images used to generate revenues for the NCAA too for zero reparation. If these athletes are paid for their performance, it would allow them to focus on academics and athletics without worrying about making ends meet. Letr's be honest, most of our is rooted from finances. Paying student athletes does not mean that the costs for everyone would automatically go up. For some institutions, the costs could actually go down. Increased competition for the best athletes would create improved programming at colleges across the country. Athletic facilities would be upgraded to encourage enrollment. Although the richest institutions would always be able to offer more, at the end of the day, most people would benefit from lower costs because the system would require more efficiencies to remain productive.

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Paying College Athletes

The world of college sports continues to grow each and every year. This brings in a great deal of money to the schools and their sponsors. With that being said, this leads to my argument on if we should pay college athletes. Many individuals believe that athletes who are at school on a scholarship are already getting paid, and that they should not receive additional money. I am going to argue that they should be getting money from their school. College athletes bring in a great amount of money for their schools. In 2015 a study was performed of the two hundred thirty one NCAA Division 1 schools. There was a grand total of 9.15 billion in sales during the 2015 year. There are over 24 schools who make over 100 billion in sales, but most of them make a great deal less than that. Of the 231 D1 schools in the United States, 76% of them make around fifty million in income from their sports alone. I feel that players should be receiving some of this money, because it will help keep them motivated to play their hardest for the school. The college athletes are the ones who are helping bring in these great amounts of income, so I feel they should be receiving some of the benefits of it. A great deal of college athletes come from extremely poor backgrounds. In 2013 a study was conducted that showed that around 86% of college athletes in the USA live below the poverty line. If the schools would consider paying the athletes, it benefit everyone. This would make future athletes want to go to college, which in return would bring in money and revenue for the schools. Most college athletes struggle to find time to try and balance school, practice, and some even try to get a job. This could lead them into accepting illegal gifts such as money, cars, clothes, etc. Many college athletes unfortunately will not go on to the NFL, which can leave them at a disadvantage, since they do not have a great deal of work experience. While most people who enter into the work force from college do not have experience anyways, athletes I feel, are at a greater disadvantage, over non-athletes. They have the time to get internships, job shadowing hours, etc., to give them some hands on experience in their desired field. It is also known that most college athletes are on the extremely poor side, or close to it. As Marylandr's Gary Williams said some of these guys are pretty poor coming here, and a lot of college students have some money, you feel out of place, you dont feel competitive academically sometimes, and I think it could do a lot of good. (Sweaty Gary on Players Getting Paid, 2010) What Williams is saying that most college athletes are very underprivileged, and that they live below the poverty line. They also cant take school seriously because of it. They have to worry about other things such as helping their family out, trying to get a job, etc. While most college kids are sometimes poor, the reason that it is such a bug deal to athletes is because some of them, the only way they can afford to go to school is athletic scholarships. College athletes should get paid because it is extremely hard for them to get jobs, and be able to successfully balance practice, work, and most importantly, school. If the athletes are able to find time for a job, the hours are most likely late at night, which could put them at a higher risk of being tired at practice the next day or falling asleep in class. I feel that athletes should be able to get a student assistant, someone who can help guide them into the working field, and give them interview tips, etc. One of the main arguments as to why athletes should not be paid, is that they are already getting an education for free, and that is the main reason they are attending college in the first place. If the college athletes start getting paid for sports, I feel like other organizations, such as greek life, clubs, etc., will start asking for them to receive payments also. I feel like the payment of athletes will create tension among the student body, and divide them. Most college athletes are at school on a athletic based scholarship. For example, Notre Dame gives grants to student-athletes which add up to about 5 million dollars each year. The athletic games alone generate a large income for our bigger D1 schools. Student athletes also receive tons of gear for being on a sports team. There are also a great deal of grants available to students. There are plenty of reasons as to why college athletes should not, and should be paid. I feel that as soon as the NCAA starts paying our college athletes, it will turn their concentration from their education, and put most of it into sports, which is not the main reason as to why they are there. Student-athletes at colleges across America receive the benefits of one of the best education in the world. Student-athletes are students first. Their education comes first. As soon as they start getting paid, education will go to the back burner and their sport will be their main focus. I feel like paying the athletes will boost their ego, and make them feel like they are superior over their fellow peers. Once college athletes start getting paid, sports will be the main focus for them. A great deal of athletes already leave school early to go to the pros. For all the athletes that go pro, less than 2% make it to the big leagues other than baseball, which there is a 11.6% chance on making it to the Major Leagues. This makes many athletes not finish their education. The athletes will have very good jobs that will bring in lots of money, because they will not think about completing their classes or even graduating from their college. At the exact same time if the athletes are getting paid then why should they finish college? Since there are a variety of opinions concerning the athletes payment issue, more very thought out discussions should be made in the future. Whatever the decision ends up being, it should really consider the rights and the needs of the college athletes as well as all of the available opportunities in their futures.

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Amy Tan’s Perception of Language

A difficult part about becoming accustomed to another way of life when moving to a different country also includes learning the language of the country. Also how well you learn it and how you speak it. In Mother Tongue the author uses the Ethos, Pathos, and Logos persuasion methods to pull the reader into her claims. She also seems to get into a very defensive tone. She also uses this tone to persuade the readers. Through these different strategies she explains that the language barriers have limited success and prosperity levels to non-english speaking residents. Using logic and emotion, the author can more easily show her true feelings to the reader and reach out on a more personal level to persuade the reader. In the story she says to leave one's homeland and come into another's alone is difficult. When she left she had different expectations for when she got her. Things like happiness, wealth, and new opportunities were expected upon leaving. Only to be disappointed by realizing that they are being profiled for their ethnicity and also their native language. The author discusses her own experience with her mother in the U.S. She also states that her friends can barely understand what her mother is saying. They describe it as if she is speaking an entire different language. But, to the author her own mother would sound perfectly normal because they come from the same background. By telling how she has to go through the troubles of her friends not being able to understand her mother this leads the audience to further understand the title of the story, Mother Tongue When Tanr's mother had a CAT scan done at a hospital to further evaluate her the hospital didnt seem to care about getting her results back to her because they thought she might just go away. And when the doctor finally caller her daughter, me, who spoke perfect English and behold we had assurances the CAT scan would be found, promises that a conference call on monday be held, and apologies for any suffering my mother had gone through for a most regrettable mistake (Tan) As you can see the uses emotion to persuade the reader by talking about an upsetting experience where her mothers lack of speaking the English language. If Tanr's mother would not have had Tan to speak the proper English her sickness could potentially get worse with time. This shows the pathos method by making the audience feel sympathy for Tanr's mother. Tan also tries to use different tones in the passage to express her main idea. This also keeps the reader interested. If she would have kept the same tone throughout the entire reading the readers would start to lose interest. If she would have kept the same humor about the situation that she had at the beginning of the passage, the audience would not take her as serious. They would also get bored quickly with the passage and not want to continue reading. Changing tones throughout a passage is a common, highly effective, strategy used by many writers today. Tan also stated that she felt ashamed of her motherr's limited English. Tan states I know this for a fact, because when I was growing up, My motherr's limited English limited my perception of her. I was ashamed of her English. I believed that her English reflected the quality of what she had to say As her argument continues, Tan starts to become apologetic, this shows the reader that she found it difficult to look past her the language barrier her mother had been trapped behind. As you can see, Tan successfully persuaded the reader to look at the discrimination showed to immigrants that are not as fluent in the native language in whatever country it may be. She also teaches the reader to be more considerate of others. Tan succeeds in doing this by using the Ethos, Pathos, and Logos persuasion methods. These methods also help Tan express her thoughts thoroughly. She also makes the reader feel the pain that the non-English speaking immigrants feel when they are treated different for not being fluent in a second language. To conclude, Amy Tan successfully persuaded the reader to overlook the language barriers that keep the non-English speaking immigrants of this country and all over the world from living with peace and happiness in their everyday lives.

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Amy Tan’s Mother Tongue

Amy Tanr's Mother Tongue focuses on the prejudices of Amy and her mother. All her life, Amyr's mother has been looked down upon because she did not speak proper English, Amyr's purpose behind writing this short essay was to inform and express her beliefs and new discovery of the language of intimacy and talk about how language influenced her life while growing up. Amy Tan also talks about the challenges that an individual has to go through if he/she gets raised by a parent who speaks limited English. Identity and culture gets substantial. As being the first generation Chinese-Americans both Amy and her mother faced many obstacles, Communicating was one of the biggest issue that they had to go through, language is much more than just a way to communicate. People make assumptions about others just by how they look or how they speak also misconceived views of people from different country or people who speaks different language. Amy Tan discusses a time, where she had to deal with learning three types of Englishes from her mother which includes simple, broken English. She mentions how growing up listening to her motherr's English, she has learned to adapt and able to fully understand her, even though constantly she had to correct her. Sharing her experience as an adult, she develops a frustration at the difficulty of not being taken seriously due to oner's inability to speak the way society expects. Amy Tan talks about "her" experience to portray how people did not respect her mother as she deserves and thought of her as uneducated just because she couldnt speak the way people expect She used to have me call people on phone to pretend i was she. Amyr's mother could not speak professional English so to translate her motherr's broken English, Amy used to pretend that she was her mother. She also talks about how Asian American students are directed more towards science and math and not English due to their broken and limited English spoken at home. Amy Tan writes this to show people that there is no right was of speaking English, and English comes in many forms not just one by repeating the word Englishes in place of English and want people to know that everyone has their own way of speaking when theyre around certain people or different surroundings; even if it is the same language.

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A Struggle with Procrastination

Contents

SUBTOPIC #1
SUBTOPIC#2
SUBTOPIC #3
CONCLUSION

Procrastination is a big problem that many people struggle with, whether it's putting off an essay or not getting a presentation done for work. Often, this can stem from not having your life together and can turn into a vicious cycle, causing life to become chaotic. Even though these two topics dont seem to be linked, they are in fact closely related, but most people dont realize it. I have struggled with both issues and have strived to get better at both over the years. Although procrastination and getting your life together seem like something people can't control, there is a science behind overcoming procrastination, as well as simple strategies to help get life back on track.

SUBTOPIC #1

First what are those two ideas, Procrastination most psychologist see as a sign that, our brains are attempting to take the least painful rout possible. This is a coping mechanism that our brains have, although in the case of procrastination it has gone haywire give in to feel good, says Timothy Pychyl, a professor who studies procrastination at Carleton University, in Ottawa (Swanson). To avoid the pain (unpleasant task or fear of dread) our brains often choose to do a more pleasant tasks such as play video games, scroll through Pinterest or do something we enjoy. This tactic makes us feel good for a time but in the long run comes back to bite in the end. To put this in the terms of Urban he statist Procrastinators all have an Instant gratification monkey in their heads, in the beginning to monkey seems fun but, can get into a load of trouble. Making suggestions of what would be fun, but not beneficial in the long run. As this goes on the panic monster comes out spurring the procrastinator into action(Swanson) I have found myself choosing to putt of anything that I think will is remotely difficult in favor of following the monkeys' suggestion, doing something that I enjoy, usually since in still in school that choosing to watch TV, play music, or any number of things to avoid the pain of homework or chores.

After the reality of the impending deadline sets in, procrastination turns in to gilt or sham. But these feelings dont stop procrastination they are just another reason to put off the task even longer. With this continuing on and on in a self-deprecating cycle. Our brains search for instant gratification, like a monkey and that usually means putting off a task to do something that makes us happy not focusing on the long-term results.

Although there are different kinds of procrastinators, there are the people who use their time to look up GIF.r's on the internet ,and the ones who clean their house. There is a graphic that shows exactly this in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Itr's named after Dwight D. Eisenhower, the famously productive president. Eisenhower thought that people should spend their time on what was truly important to them ” the tasks in Quadrants 1 and 2 (Swanson). This illustrates the different types of tasks, Urgent, Not urgent, important and unimportant and how they correspond. If these quadrants are flowed correctly they can be helpful to get stuff done and not put if off. But unfortunately, most people who procrastinate dont follow this, instead, they tend to doing things that may be urgent, but are not important. Occasionally, when the panic monster takes over, they take a very brief detour to Quadrant 1 (Swanson) Our brains are constantly searching for instant gratification, preventing us from focusing on what's important in the long run, even though the task might seem harder at the time the lasting effects self-satisfaction that is called by psychologists "eudaimonic pleasurer(Swanson). I have found myself seeking instant gratification and doing thigs that my brain deems as urgent in the moment but not at all important. Such as telling myself that it is hilly urgent need to finish the last few episodes of my show because I must find out the ending. But by doing that I'm putting off studying for the test thatr's worth 60% of my grad. I would rather have that small moment of satisfaction and just put off the freak out until later. This is a clear procrastination, but in the moment seems like a good idea.

SUBTOPIC#2

The topics of procrastination and getting your life together might seem disconnected but there not. Getting your life together and procrastination are intertwined together. The problem with getting your life together is that most everything in life that has some value takes effort and some discomfort. were deeply wired to avoid pain, which the body reads as mortally dangerous, and to move toward pleasure, the more immediate the better (Schwartz) This is the same as procrastination, avoiding pain is one of the things that our brains do well, even though itr's not the most helpful at times. Avoid pain at almost all costs and to move towards what our brains deem as more pleasant tasks. We are exposed to so many temptations, the world is literally at our fingertips Itr's forever beckoning us, like the Sirens singing to Odysseus, who lashed himself to the mast of his ship to resist their call. The sirens sing to us, too: Have the dessert. Skip the workout. Put off the hard work. Surf the web. Checking email. Indulge whims. Settle for the easy way out (Schwartz) People tend to procrastinate hard work, instead focusing on the easy way out with as little work as possible. Over the years I have found myself doing this more and more. As I have gotten more work over the years I tend to take the easy way out more times than not. One example for me would be, in 9th grade I had a 5-page essay proving the existence of God. But I chose to put it off until the very last possible moment. The least to say it was not my finest work and I ended up getting a poor grade on the assignment. This is just to show that choosing the easy way out may work but it will not get the results that are desired.

To be able to put your life bake together people must see the similarities between the tow, in both situations people tend to take the easy way out seeking instant gratification and not wanting to put in the work to have the long-lasting effects. To have productivity one must have their life together; Make more behaviors automatic, remove yourself from harmr's way, whatever you feel compelled to do, dont and so on.

SUBTOPIC #3

This might seem like a lot and a bit overwhelming, trying to tackle two problems that seem so big. But there are some useful tips that can help to start. Tim Urban points out that the typical advice for procrastinators ” essentially, to stop what theyre doing and get down to work, is ridiculous, because procrastination isnt something that extreme procrastinators feel as though they can control (Swenson). Even, though this seems like the most obvious plan of action it's not that easy to stop habits just like that. But there are some simple tips that researchers have proven can help procrastinators get to work. Things that can reduce procrastination as well as get your life together in the process are; Do the most important thing first in the morning, Eat energy rich foods in small doses at frequent intervals, Do one thing at a time, Work in sprints, Whatever you feel compelled to do, dont, Take yourself out of harmr's way, Make more of your behaviors automatic (Schwartz) these are just a few things that can help remind throughout the day to reduce procrastination and help get your life together.

One of the best things that procrastinators can do to help, is to start forgiving themselves for procrastinating. A study by Pychyl states, students who reported forgiving themselves for procrastinating on studying for a first exam ended up procrastinating less for a second exam. This works so well since procrastination is directly linked to the negative feelings gained while procrastinating. By forgiving people reducing the overall negative feelings, which is what cases procrastination in the first place, stopping the cycle from repeating again.

Also, recognizing that most people will not feel like doing that task at all, instead, of waiting for a time to do the unpleasant task. Dont focus on feelings towards that task but think about the next action. Pychyl says He counsels people to break down their tasks into very small steps that can actually be accomplished (Swenson). Dont focus on the big task at hand and instead, on a small portion of it and work from there. This can also go back to getting your life together, focusing on small portion of life can make everything look a lot easier to handle. Rather than taking one look at all the problems compiled together and just putting it off, procrastinating once again.

A Master Plan for Taking Back Control of Your Life states that, 98% of us, need at least 7 hours of sleep a night ( Schwartz). The lass sleep we get the more likely we return to instant-gratification, which in turn causes procrastination. Other than going to bead at a decent time, also people need to wind down 30 minutes before going to bed, this will help reduce procrastination and be more focused through the day. Often, when I get less than 7 hours of sleep I find myself returning to self-gratification, since getting less sleep cause self-control to be thrown out the window. But after staying on a strict schedule for a moth trying to get the right amount of sleep I found that I was more productive, focused and could say no to distractions.

CONCLUSION

Procrastinators as well as people who struggle with getting their lives together., need to understand that these two things can affect everyone and anyone. Although it should be easier to understand now that the science behind procrastination is understood. There will always be those tasks and situations that people will try to avoid doing until the last possible moment. But just keep in mind, whatever you feel compelled to do dont Mark Twain said, 'If your job is to eat a frog, eat it first thing in the morning, and if your job is to eat two frogs, eat the big one first,' (Swanson) which states that there will always be a task that is unpleasant but, instead of procrastination, do the it first and then do everything else. Always do the urgent and important tasks first rather than the urgent but, not important tasks. learning that people will not feel good all the time but, just must get on with their lives, and hopefully making strides to change their habits.

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Procrastination in College Students and its Effects

Contents

Procrastination in College Students and Its Effects
Work Cited

Procrastination in College Students and Its Effects

Do you ever find yourself waiting until the last minute to complete assignments? If you do, you are not alone. Many college students have a tendency to procrastinate on assignments. For most, procrastination can have negative consequences and can be harmful to their academic success, but for some procrastination is intentional and can have positive outcomes. Researchers are doing studies to define the difference between passive procrastination and active procrastination and the consequences or benefits they have on college students.

The most common form of procrastination is called passive procrastination. Passive procrastinators are traditional procrastinators who postpone their tasks until the last minute because of an inability to make the decision to act in a timely manner (Choi and Moran 196). There are many negative internal consequences that can arise from this type of procrastination that may include regret, irritation, despair, and self-blame, as well as external consequences that can include impaired academic and work progress, lost opportunities, and strained relationships (Haycock et al. 317). The negative consequences procrastination can have on college students could lead to poor grade point averages and failure to complete courses.

Throughout the years researchers have been studying these effects on college students and their inability to complete assignments in a timely manner. In 2007, it was estimated that 75% of college students procrastinated, with 50% of them saying they thought it may be a problem because they procrastinate constantly (Burka & Yuen 6). A study done at one university on academic procrastination showed that as many as 50% of the participants procrastinated on assignments (Haycock et al. 317). Some college students find it easier to delay working on assignments to do more pleasurable activities which then causes them to rush to meet deadlines and often results in undesirable grades and poor self-esteem.

In 1997, Dianne Tice and Roy Baumeister, both professors of psychology, published one of the first studies of the nature of procrastination in Psychological Science (Jaffe, par. 8). They tracked college students level of procrastination by looking at their academic performance, stress levels, and overall health during the semester. Tice and Baumeister (1997) reported that university students who rated high on procrastination not only received low grades but also reported a high level of stress along with poor self-rated health (Chu and Choi 246). Tice later teamed up with Joseph Ferrari, a professor of psychology, to further study the how procrastination can have negative consequences. In 2000, Tice and Ferrari published their conclusions in the Journal of Research in Personality, finding that procrastinators tend to undermine their own best efforts (Jaffe, par. 10). These studies are consistent in concluding the negative effects procrastination can have on college students but do not tell us why college students procrastinate.

For some college students, they have an underlying fear of failure, while for others itr's a fear of success. According to Burka and Yuen, As long as you procrastinate, you never have to confront the real limits of your ability, whatever those limits are (22). Some college students use procrastination as a way to avoid the humiliation and judgement of failing (Burka & Yuen, 22). The fear that their success will raise other peoples expectations of them is another reason college students procrastinate (Novotney 2). Procrastinating because of the fear of failure can affect oner's ability to reach their full potential and success in the future. For those that have a fear of success, they want to do well but unconscious worries keep them from succeeding and results in procrastination (Burka & Yuen 23). These fears are often not noticed by college students until they start to negatively affect their grades.

Studies have shown that negative outcomes are more likely with passive procrastination, but newer studies are showing that it is possible to procrastinate and achieve positive outcomes. In 2005, Angela Hsin Chun Chu and Jin Nam Choi provided an alternative perspective and demonstrated that not all procrastination behaviors are harmful or are precursors of negative consequences (Choi and Moran 195). Chu and Choi believe that, Active procrastinators make intentional decisions to procrastinate, using their strong motivation under time pressure, and they are able to complete tasks before deadlines and achieve satisfactory outcomes (Choi and Moran 196). During their study of a group of 230 undergraduates from three Canadian universities, they found that active procrastinators demonstrated time perceptions, attitudes, coping styles, and academic performance that were nearly identical to (and in some cases even better than) those of non-procrastinators (Choi and Moran 196). An active procrastinator might, for example, start a project the day itr's due because they feel they will be able to focus better, meet expectations, and still receive a satisfactory grade. By approaching procrastination as an active behavior, scholars could highlight beneficial outcomes for students who intentionally delayed academics (Hensley 1).

Although further research is needed to verify the benefits of active procrastination, researchers are finding that there can be positive outcomes of procrastination. Active procrastinators have the benefit of being able to organize their time and are self-motivated, which can drive them towards their goals and ability to achieve their desired outcome (Choi and Moran 197). Survey-based studies of active procrastination have included undergraduates of all academic levels and a range of ethnic backgrounds (Hensley 1). Active procrastination is an observable behavioral characteristic that encompasses a personr's affective preference for time pressure, cognitive decision to procrastinate, behavioral capacity to meet deadlines, and ability to achieve satisfactory outcomes (Choi & Moran 196). Using these four characterizations, Chu and Choi (2005) were able to determine whether a person is a passive procrastinator or an active procrastinator.

Choi and doctoral student Sarah V. Moran have taken Chu and Choir's study and expanded on the four dimensions of characteristics and included comparing them with other general personality characteristics (Choi & Moran 197). By expanding the scale from the 12-item measure that Chu and Choi (2005) used to a 40-item measure, they were able to take into account various cognitive, affective, and behavioral mechanisms to improve their study (Choi and Moran 200). During their expanded study of active procrastination Choi and Moran were able to confirm the findings from Chu and Choir's study in 2005. There is still more research to be done to determine if active procrastination is directly related to high academic performance as it is connected to higher grade point averages (Hensley 2).

A lot of college students procrastinate when it comes to completing their assignments. Most college students procrastinate because they find other activities to be more pleasurable, but studies show that some college students do it because they feel they can manage their time and focus better. Passive procrastinators are more likely to receive poor grades, have lower self-esteem, and higher stress levels due to the pressure they put on themselves to complete tasks on time. While passive procrastinators tend to receive more negative outcomes, studies show that active procrastinators excel in their studies when under time pressure and focus better. Active procrastinators intentionally wait until the last minute to complete assignments and are still able to receive desirable outcomes.

Work Cited

Angela Hsin Chun, Chu and Choi, Jin Nam. Rethinking Procrastination: Positive Effects of Active Procrastination Behavior on Attitudes and Performance. Journal of Social Psychology, vol. 145, no. 3, June 2005, p. 245 EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,cpid&custid=s6246780&db=f5h&AN=17158868&site=ehost-liove&scope=site. Accessed by 09 March 2018.
Burka, Jane B. and Lenora M. Yuen.Procrastination : Why You Do It, What to Do about It Now. vol. 25th anniversary ed., fully rev. and updated, Da Capo Press, 2008. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,cpid&custid=s6246780&db=e000xna&AN=258727&site=ehost-live&scope=site. Accessed by 08 March 2018.
Choi, Jin Nam and Moran, Sarah V. Why Not Procrastinate? Development and Validation of a New Active Procrastination Scale. The Journal of Social Psychology, vol. 149, no. 2, Apr. 2009, p. 195-212. EBSCOhost,search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,cpid&custid=s6246780&db=f5h&AN=37349889&site=ehost-live&scope=site. Accessed by 09 March 2018.
Haycock, Laurel A., et al. Procrastination in College Students: The Role of Self-Efficacy and Anxiety. Journal of Counseling & Development, vol. 76, no. 3, Summer98, p. 317 EBSCOhost,search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,cpid&custid=s6246780&db=buh&AN=951234&site=ehost-live&scope=site. Accessed by 09 March 2018.
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