Ann's Blog On Confederate Statues

Ann's second quarter blog #5:

"University to reconsider Confederate statues on campus" (cnn.com, December 28, 2006)

There is an ongoing debate over statues on display on the campus of the University of Texas. These statues honor some of the leaders of the Confederacy. Some examples of these statues are the Confederate President Jefferson Davis and the Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Apparently there have always been concerns over the praise that these statues give to the Confederacy. Recently, however, a new president for the campus has decided to let a panel decide if they should be allowed to stay. The previous president of the campus wrote a letter a couple of years ago that said that the statues "convey institutional nostalgia" (I had no idea what that meant, but thanks to wikipedia I know know that it has something to do with wanting to acknowledge our history.) In 1999 money was raised to create a statue of Martin Luther King Jr. and there are also statues of the hispanic labor leader Cesar Chavez and the first black woman from the south to be elected into the Congress.

I think that this is all a waste of time and money for this university. As far as I know the history books report the North's victory, so I'm not sure why people are getting so insecure about ackowledging works of people from the South. To me it's like this: their efforts may be worthy of praise but it obviously wasn't enough for them to win the Civil War, so there is no need to worry about them. They have a huge part in our history and they shouldn't be over looked just because they were on the losing side of things. Our country is quite a bit different today than it was back then and I don't think that we can say that their actions are "bad" because we didn't actually live during their time period. We can't call them traitors to our country because our country has changed so much since then. We could possibly call them traitors to the country that we used to be, but their actions against that country helped to shape the country that we are today. To me, history is history, and it shouldn't be one-sided. Robert E. Lee should be praised for his great leadership and Davis should also be recognized. They had a huge impact on our country and we should be happy for that. The more news that I read the more sick and tired I get of people who whine and can't look at something from a different angle. Everything has to constantly be criticized and critiqued and nothing can just be taken for what it is. It really frustrates me. On a lighter note, I like how I know about Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis. YEA!!! GO ONLINE HISTORY CLASS...I'm learning!!!!

Article from:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/12/28/confederate.statues.ap/index.html
Image from:
http://sandstead.com/images/monument_avenue/MERCIE_Antonin_Portrait_Equestrian_Statue_of_Robert_E_Lee_and_horse_Traveller_Monument_Row_Richmond_Source_Sandstead_d2h_04.jpg

Ann's Blog On Drug Lawsuit

Ann's second quarter blog #4:

"High court takes 'Bong Hits for Jesus' case" (cnn.com, December 16, 2006)

An eighteen year old senior living in Juneau, Alaska hung a fourteen foot banner just on the outside of his high school grounds that said "Bong Hits 4 Jesus". When the principle demanded that he take down the banner he refused. He was then suspended for ten days for his violation of the school policy of no illegal drug use. His name is Joseph Frederick and this happened back in 2002. He then took the school to court saying that his first amendment rights were being violated (free speech). The Court of Appeals in San Francisco, California agreed because of his argues about his rights granted to him in the first amendment and also because he did not hang the banner on school grounds. The judges of the case used the precedent of the 1969 Tinker case where two students were allowed to continue to wear anti-war Vietnam armbands. The lawyer who investigated President Clinton's relationship with Monica Lewinsky is representing the school in the case free of charge. There will now be an appeal on the case that is scheduled for late February.

It always amazes me how long this type of lawsuit stuff can take. Frederick did this way back in 2002 and the case is still going on and will continue until Feburary and then they have to wait until June for the verdict. That would just eat at a person. It would be so hard to go on with your life with that hanging over a person. It seems to me that the school shouldn't even be involved in this case although I don't think that they are out of line being involved. It is really too bad for the school, I'm sure it add a lot of extra work for the school board. I'm glad that someone is teaching this kid a lesson. Hopefully this whole experience, no matter what the verdict, will change him for the better. When I think about what kind of person he must have been to hang a banner like that, I'm guessing he didn't grow up the same way that I did. It makes me feel really fortunate. It's crazy to me that this attention-craving senior would hang a banner near his school saying "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" and I had to use wikipedia to help me understand that drug terminology. I just hope that this kid will be able to learn from this experience and take with him a new mindset and start his life over again.

Article from:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/12/01/scotus.bonghits/index.html
Additional Information from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bong_Hits_for_Jesus