Mock Trial Reflection

1. Summarize the facts of the case, as presented by the prosecution. Include relevant witnesses and testimony.

The prosecution called upon John Adams, James Madison and Raul Grijalva. They testified that HB 2162 and SB 1070 were UnConstitutional and geared toward racially profiling persons who fit the description of Mexican or Latino.

2. Summarize the facts of the case, as presented by the defense. Include relevant witnesses and testimony.

Dorian and I as the defense called upon Russell Pearce, Jan Brewer and Robert Watchhorn. Our testimony is that it is not racially driven, since it states nowhere in the bill that it will be profiling or racially stimulated, and that it is a criminal law, not a federal immigration law. = not an international affair.

3. What was the most significant piece of evidence, in your personal opinion?

In my personal opinion, for the prosecution, the Constitution and Bill of Rights was the only way the won the case. Without that they wouldn't have set rights and natural givens, they would only have thoughts and morals. For defense, the SB and HB were definitely the most important.

4. What was the most significant argument made, in your opinion?

The one that was made multiple times by the defense is that the bill does NOT racially profile. Which I feel like we proved very well by having Russell Pearce, the sponsor of the bill read directly to the jury and audience.

5. What do you personally believe the correct verdict should be? Do you agree with the jury? Why or why not?

I think that it was an incorrect verdict. I believe that if it were based solely upon skill and presence defense should have won. But it is hard to sway a jury who already had an idea that they didn't like the bill. In real life, I don't know what I would choose. I agree with a lot of the prosecuting side, but at the same time, researching this bill I found a lot of things that I completely agree with. I think it is inhumane to let people illegally cross over and it can and HAS BEEN harmful to residents of Arizona.

Self Grade-

I would personally give myself a 60/50 for all of the nights until 1 am doing only Humanities work for the trial and constantly emailing Randy all hours of the day and night asking questions. But I suppose realistically I would give myself a 50/50 or a 49/50. I did so much work and Dorian and I held the group together by little strings while still trying to do all of our work. I believe I earned a straight A.

Final Grapes of Wrath

John Steinbeck’s novel the Grapes of Wrath goes in and out of focusing on the Joad family and migrant families in the Dust Bowl. Steinbeck sets up the novel’s chapters with the “zoomed out” version of the Dust Bowl migrant workers, and then proceeds to the next chapter with an updated Joad story.

Personally, the odd paragraphs with the more broad descriptions were slightly boring to me. It seemed like the paragraphs just went on and on and had no real purpose in the beginning. Toward the end about 3 chapters foreshadowed something happening in the end, but even then, 3 out of 15 chapters is not a great deal of literary sufficiency. The zoomed out paragraphs did however create a more approachable character and helped the reader feel more in touch with each character in the book.

The specific stories about the Joad family keep you mostly on track with the book and what it’s trying to communicate for the most part. The good thing about Steinbeck’s writing is that it’s mostly free to interpret. Although the story doesn’t have a clear ending, the beginning and middle do show the unfortunate endeavors and problems that a common migrant family would come across on their commute to California. The zoomed out paragraphs really just are used to accentuate what is happening, and they all link at least to one thing happening in a chapter previously or in the near future.

The novel as a whole really can make you feel like you can relate to the migrants, or on the other side, it can make you feel like you could never relate to it at all. The story truly would be a completely different thing if you took out the broader descriptive chapters that didn’t focus on the Joad family. It would be your common run of the mill Great Depression story. With the way Steinbeck structured Grapes of Wrath and chose his topics, it makes this book a classic American novel.

blog!

Public Works Projects concentrates heavily on building dams, canals and many other things that directly benefit the nearby communities. Generalized, the Public Works part of it counts as anything from educational institutions and sewage management. Public Works was created to help offer jobs to people that were apart of the quarter to a third of Americans who had fallen out of work. During The New Deal, Roosevelt promised the 3 R's: relief, recovery and reform. One of the biggest things that came from this was Social Security which is still around in the present day.

Honors Novel: Cannery Row

Cannery Row is a story about people living in the same almost run down area, all working for various things. All of the people on Cannery Row were diverse but one thing they had in common was they were trying to obtain some sort of success. The definition of success varied from character to character, but it was a constant social issue throughout the story.

Most would say that Dora was the most successful character in the book, but in my eyes her success was based upon the exploitation of women. The one positive side of Dora’s business was using her girls to help out. When influenza broke out throughout the Row, she sent her girls out into the community to comfort the sick and bring them soup. Her success with the hookers was tangible, but the internal satisfaction with helping out the sick community was a more gratifying success.

Another interpretation of success can be counted as the party that Mack and his friends threw for Doc because they thought it would be a nice thing to do. Although the first time they attempted to throw Doc a party it didn’t particularly work out, but the second time the party worked out and it was a success. The level of achievement isn’t documented as clear as everyone else’s in the book, but they worked hard for the final product of the party and had a purpose in their lives.

Symbolism in John Steinbeck’s novels plays a large role so that he can portray his real feelings about a variety of things. Much like Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck throws in characters that accentuate his beliefs. With Cannery Row, much of what the characters did were not morally correct by the readers consensus, but by Steinbeck’s, you never know. Everyone has a different idea of success and throughout the book John Steinbeck proved that to be true.

Mentor Interview

Lauren Popp; Educations, Exhibitions, Extraordinary.

Lauren reflects on being a nanny in Ireland, travelling, her childhood and her love of immersive artwork.

"I just wish I could have split myself in two after college"

Lauren Popp is the Educations Programs Coordinator at the New Children's Museum. She was cool, calm and collected when I conducted our interview. She was dressed casually in dark denim jeans a black blouse and holding a coffee cup. Her answers go past her years in San Diego and into her childhood as an Air Force daughter. She's down to earth when she talks about her experiences with travel, and college life and how she got to where she is now. If she was ever tardy, as soon as she stepped in the room you were sure to forget it with her easy going attitude and light personality. She has a sort of aura surrounding her, which you can't help but admire.

Lauren was always very college driven, she danced throughout her life and through college, worked with choreographers and started college as an English major. Her sophomore year in college, she called the Art History professor Mary Vidal and asked why she would want to be an Art History Major. Mary said that “art history is literature, visual art, science, history, politics and more all in one,” and if Lauren wanted to “be surrounded by beautiful things all her life” she should major in Art History. She took one of the classes in Impressionism and was sold. She changed her major and has been dedicated to being an educator of Art History since then.

Throughout the interview Lauren mentioned artists that worked with more material items, rather than just paint. I asked if she preferred those to paintings and she said she likes "to be immersed in a space with a piece of art." Some of her favorites include Tara Donovan who is currently showing at MCASD. She also mentioned she favored the work of controversial artist Eduardo Kac.

Growing up, Lauren had a pact with her best friend in college that if they didn't have jobs by the time graduation came around, they would move to Ireland for a year or so and become nannies. All for the experience. When going into detail about the story Lauren lightly responded to my question of if she regretted anything with: "it doesn't do you any good to regret, so I don't regret not going, I just wish I could have split myself in two after college to do both things. Have a job, and go travel."

Currently, Lauren has been to Mexico, France, Switzerland, Germany and Spain. She has plans to travel more and wishes she went abroad for a year or two to teach English. She has plans to potentially go to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands this year as well. She mentioned that she thought it was "valuable to stay in one place for a longer extended time."

The New Children’s Museum is home to many dedicated workers such as Lauren Popp, many who have different but still interesting stories to tell. This internship and mentor interview taught me nothing other than that. Everyone has their own story to tell, and you owe it to them to appreciate that they are different and have different things to offer that you might not be able to.

Blog Intro

Lauren Popp is the Educations Programs Coordinator at the New Children's Museum. She is cool, calm and collected when I conducted our interview. She's dressed in a business casual outfit and holding a coffee cup. Her answers go past her years in San Diego and into her childhood as an Air Force daughter. She's down to earth when she talks about her experiences with travel, and college life and how she got to where she is now. If she was ever tardy, as soon as she stepped in the room you were sure to forget it with her easy going attitude and light personality, she has a sort of aura surrounding her, which you can't help but admire.

Highlighted Questions:

"What is your favorite type of art/artist/gallery?

Throughout the interview Lauren mentioned artists that worked with more material items, rather than just paint. I asked if she preferred those to paintings and she said she likes "to be immersed in a space with a piece of art." Some of her favorites include Tara Donovan who is currently showing at MCASD. She also mentioned she favored the work of controversial artist Eduardo Kac.

Where have you travelled and where do you wish to travel?

Lauren has been to Mexico, France, Switzerland, Germany and Spain. She wishes to travel more and wishes she went abroad for a year or two to teach English. She has plans to potentially go to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. She mentioned that she thought it was "valuable to stay in one place for a longer extended time."

Do you have any regrets in your career path?

Growing up, Lauren had a pact with her best friend in college that if they didn't have jobs by the time graduation came around, they would move to Ireland for a year or so and become nannies. All for the experience. Lauren said "it doesn't do you any good to regret, so I don't regret not going, I just wish I could have split myself in two after college to do both things. Have a job, and go travel."

How did you choose your major in college, since you mentioned you were a dancer prior to being a museum educator?

Lauren was always very college driven, she danced throughout her life and through college, worked with choreographers and started college as an English major. Her sophomore year in college, she called the Art History professor Mary Vidal and asked why she would want to be an Art History Major. Mary said that art history is literature, visual art, science, history, politics all in one, and if Lauren wanted to be surrounded by beautiful things all her life she should major in Art History. She took one of the classes in Impressionism and was sold. She changed her major and has been dedicated to being an educator of Art History."

Blog #1 S2

My first professional interview would be an interview with Lady GaGa done by Elle Magazine. There are the sic's in it, and helpful information in brackets.

http://www.elle.com/Pop-Culture/Cover-Shoots/Lady-Gaga

This one is a little bit different style than the Lady GaGa one, because the Lady GaGa one, it is exact quotes, no different information, but it still gets what the reader wants to read out there, and this one with Slash is long, detailed and has quotes and background information on him and his band Guns N' Roses at the time, so even someone with no knowledge of GN'R could read it and understand it.

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/15808331/slash_the_rolling_stone_interview

Good interviews not only have good questions, but they have good interviewers, if the interviewer is not serious and doesn't ask questions that need to be asked the article will suffer. The vibe always has to be a good one too, if it's not much like a conversation it doesn't particularly go as smoothly. That's mostly what I've noticed. Writers can use a various amount of methods to record the interviews, they could use a recorder, a video camera or just pull specific quotes from what the interviewee says. Or just ask the interviewee to speak really slowly.