An Ideal University

One of the biggest problems with universities is the price that comes along with them. An ideal university, in my opinion, would be one that is more affordable: no in-state tuition over $5,000 and no out-of-state tuition over $10,000-$15,000 a year. Furthermore, graduate schools shouldn't be any more than $25,000 a year (and that's being lenient). These prices are still hard to afford for some even with scholarships and financial aid available because financial aid and scholarships can only do so much. In addition to affordable tuition, my ideal university would be like its own community with enough parking and housing for all of its students. I also think that it is a good idea to house people according to their sleep habits as Professor Johnson suggested.

For all of the work that a university's students and faculty do, it is important that universities offer good food to please their stomachs! Notice that I included faculty; unlike V Yonker's "The Ideal University" blog, I believe students should not be in charge of teaching themselves as they were in the movie "Accepted." In my view, a student will not learn by himself unless someone is there to guide them. Therefore, universities need their faculty members to guide their students in the correct path and encourage them to reach their dreams like Sandra Boyle.

Though universities do need faculty members, they need to make sure that they hire people who are creative in the techniques that they use to teach so that students will be more interested in learning. I am currently enrolled in many science classes which are required for my major. While taking these courses, I often find myself wondering why I need them or how I am going to use them later in life. Faculty members need to find ways to help students realize that these subjects are important and can be utilized later. For example, physics teachers can do an experiment where one student walks a certain distance, d, in time, t, and the other student(s) have to find his velocity, v. By using these type of hands-on, visual learning techniques, teachers can show their students that what they are learning can be used later and is not just a waste. Therefore, if students see a reason to learn material, they will become more motivated to understand it.

Blog 10 - Communicating through Clothes

People now days are using their clothing and humor to communicate their religious views and/or affiliations. Depending on the shirt's text, some shirts did not seem as bad as the others. For example, the shirt shown on page 319, which has 'coexist' written on it is not as bad as the other shirts shown because it does not directly poke fun at religion through its images (LaFerla). In my opinion, the visual aspect of the shirt shows more humor than the textual and is a parody. Since I am religious, I would never consider wearing a shirt that would poke fun at my religion or any of it's beliefs.

In Paul Mitchell's essay, he says, "we could say that the previous examples are typical of a culture that ignores God." Mitchell says this regarding the shirts, such as the 'Jesus is my homeboy' and 'Mary is my homegirl', which he feels attack religion. However, by wearing shirts like the ones listed, can Mitchell really argue that they are "of a culture that ignores God"? Rather, people seem to remember God through their shirts, not ignore him.

If the shirts only contained text, they would become less humorous. Thus, they would be less upsetting to those who are religious. It would change the way I react to the shirts because I would find them less harsh to religion.

The shirt on the left displays a picture of a 'buffed up' Jesus outlined by white in a black background, or in other words, a Jesus who seems to have muscles. His face is calm, but with a 'don't mess with me' type of look aided by the black background. The text is written in bubble letters with Jesus written in the biggest font, and Homeboy written in a bit smaller font. Furthermore, the text is centered right over Jesus's chest, which draws your attention to his built. The halo in the picture makes you realize that the man in the shirt, or Jesus, is a god, or more like a type of strong guardian. The shirt to the right depicts an image of Jesus holding up a peace sign with his hand. He seems to be wearing a red hoodie with a white cap, which attempts to indicate how modern he is. He is standing in a very laid-back pose, leaning to one side. Thus, the shirt on the left seems to be more serious, while the shirt on the right is more humorous.