Americans are known around the world for their work ethic.  Globally we take the least amount of vacation time out of all the developed countries.  In Italy for example, they take the whole month of August off. Everyone just closes up shop and goes away for the month. In contrast to that, in America we, in the best scenario, have 2 weeks of vacation time available to workers beside holidays. That’s only if you’re fortunate enough to have a well-paying job with benefits. The majority of the country doesn’t even have that.      

 So you would think that with all the time we Americans have to work that holidays would be left alone. That they would be a garneted time off to spend with family—which we Americans have so little time to do in our fast paced society. Wrong. Many retailers are forcing employees to work on Thanksgiving. Which is one of the only times of year many families get to see everyone in their family together. If employees refuse to work they will be fired. They are not given an option.  

Work or get fired. Those are the options.

 
Employees should not be forced to work on the holidays. Companies such as Kmart and Walmart that practice this should not be allow to force workers to work. If these companies genuinely need to be open they can hire seasonal workers to do the job. They shouldn’t even be open though. The focus this time of year should be on family and not material things. Workers should not have to work against their will.

Persuasion Essay Topic

So what am I going to write about? I have two topics that I'm equally passionate about that I could say alot on, maybe you can help me decide? Number one: I think the government should put a cap on college tuition. Here's something really depressing: the cost of college tuition goes up by 6% each year. Crazy right? How can something that's already really expensive be going up each year? I would think that the colleges already have enough money. You probably know that college originally was not meant for everyone, just the rich and the high born. It was not required to get a job like it is in today's society. It was just a status symbol. Now if you just have a high school degree you are stuck with mediocre jobs unless you manage to work your way up in the company. So a college education is necessary to our way of life and most people can't afford to pay for it without going into debt. This system we have is requiring us to go into debt. If that doesn't sound backwards I don't know what dose. College education should be payable without that having to happen.

Number two: women should get equal pay as men. Around the world men are getting payed more for doing the same job as women. I've even heard that in some cases women will hold higher positions in a company and still get paid less. Last time I looked it up men get paid on average 2 dollars more an hour than women. Not only is this a terrible injustice because it's unfair but also because a lot of working women are single mothers. They are often taking care of their kids as well as working and sense many women get paid less they have to make up for it by working more. This causes them to see and spend less time with their kids. That can hurt a child's development. A lot of the people in poverty are single mothers and children. Equal pay would help reduce this as well.

So which topic do you think I should write about? I'm undecided, leaning toward the college tuition one. I think they're both good topics though.

   

State vs. Western

There are many great colleges to choose from when making that all-important choice of where to go and get started on life away from home. Within the state of Michigan there are especially many great options to choose from but two stand out above the rest: Michigan State University and Western Michigan University.

They have many differences and similarities that make them unique from each other, as well as other colleges. State is a little harder to get into as a transfer student then Western. They require at least 28 credit hours completed to be considered a transfer student and at least a 3.0 gpa. Western requires at least 26 completed college credit hours and a 2.0 gpa. State is also a little more pricy at 428 dollars a credit hour and 4,403 dollars for food and board for a semester. While Western runs about 338 dollars a credit hour and 4471 dollars for room and food a semester. They both have beautiful campuses, located in happening towns. Western is located in young vibrant Kalamazoo and State is located in diverse East Lansing. Though State’s campus and student body size is bigger than Western’s, as well as its resident halls. State has about 49,300 students and 5 unique neighborhoods of housing. Western has about 24,294 students and 3 different resident halls. MSU also offers more clubs and events for their students then Western which is another thing to take into a count when comparing the two. All and all they are both very good choices with different challenges and opportunities. 

TED Talk

TED Talk Summary

In his TED talk “A park underneath the hustle and bustle of New York City,” Dan Barasch explains how he wants to be a positive force in the world and build an underground park. Barasch begins his story by explaining to us the history of his family and of New York. His family was there when it was a melting pot of culture and new beginnings. Where they built New York City from the ground up. He then goes on to say that all his life he wanted to do something that would benefit the world. Barasch tries on many jobs but none of them fit because he feels that they do not fit him and benefit the world so he quit.

Barasch then goes on to present the idea of the underground park in New York City. He had a friend that found an underground space that used to be used for train systems but was now empty. His first step was to get a tour of the space of which he was amazed by all the potential. Next, they drew up a plan, which was as he says, in a nutshell to draw sunlight into the space to make it green. Lastly, plans were drawn up and released to see the public reaction, which was very positive. Barasch ends by telling us that he feels that it is going to be our generation being the one to use all the unused space in the city. 

I feel that this is a wonderful idea. It really is going to help people in the city and used the space. I think Barasch found his calling.