13 Reasons Why Should Not Be Banned

Hannah Baker was lonely, ostracized, and had experienced too much pain to lift it off her shoulders.  She knew harassment far too well, and finally she decided to end it all.  She was gone, just an empty desk where she once sat.  Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher, has been challenged in many schools due to the detailed and traumatizing events Hannah describes throughout the book.  Because it is very descriptive, people fear that it will be putting ideas into young people’s minds before they are ready.  Although the book contains under aged drinking, rape, and suicide, it has a strong message about bullying and harassment, and therefore, should be kept in libraries in every middle school.

            Some parents, including Thomas F. Bertonneau, believe that the book is too heavy for their children to read.  He writes in his article, Thirteen Reasons Why Not, “The novel is obscene under the normally understood meaning of that term.  It deals explicitly, in reductive and graphic terms, with actions and events that are crassly sexual and emotionally base.”  It is true, the book deals with many topics that could be too much for a student to read, and the scenes are described very graphically.  An example of this is when Hannah is being molested by a boy named Bryce: “You started kissing my shoulder, my neck, sliding your fingers in and out.”  A scene like this could traumatize a person if they’re immature, but the effect on a mature person would be very different.  They might understand how wrong it is, and learn how rape could affect a person.

            On the other hand, there are many reasons that the book should be kept in libraries, versus it being thrown out, or banned.  One reason is that it puts a very dark light on bullying and by explaining the effects it can have on a person, and in Thirteen Reasons Why, that person is Hannah Baker.   In one scene in the book that Hannah describes, she is at a party.  A girl that was once her best friend is so drunk, she’s unresponsive, and is laying on a bed in a room.  Justin Foley lets Bryce in, and one thing leads to another.  Hannah is trapped in the closet, wanting her life to be over, for it all to end.  She targets Justin with two sentences in that tape:  “First, you started a chain of events that ruined my life.  Now, you were working on hers.”  Those lines express just how deep a scar can be etched in a person by bullying and rape.  They are sharpened knives, cutting deeper and deeper into people, until they’re heart doesn’t have enough strength to beat anymore.  It is written in an article Banned Book Awareness: 13 Reasons Why, that the book could be the thing to get “…people to realize that every action- or inaction- has consequences.”  This is referring to the fact that every time a person bullies another, they could be severely hurting them.

            Additionally, the book teaches you to trust your friends, not to listen to rumors about them, and to never leave or target a person because of the rumors.  Among the many reasons why Hannah Baker committed suicide, is her former friend, Jessica.  Jessica believes a rumor about Hannah and her boyfriend, and decides that she can’t be her friend anymore, on false pretenses.  She feels abandoned and alone, and begins to believe that the world is made up of lies.  Hannah says to Jessica, when she is accusing Hannah, “You can’t know rumors.”  The fact that a rumor broke their friendship could show a reader of the book how the rumors they hear aren’t necessarily true. Banned Book Awareness: 13 Reasons Why asks “Have you ever exaggerated the truth in order to impress someone without thinking about how that lie could hurt someone else?”  Rumors like this ruin people’s life, and a reader might understand this after reading the book.

            Hannah expresses the raw truths of bullying and rape, and people will see this truth at one point in their life.  The book teaches lessons and morals, and explains why participating in spreading rumors, or physically harassing someone will never be an okay thing to do.  Thirteen Reasons Why puts the armor on people, so they are ready for negative experiences, and possibly could show them how to avoid them altogether.  If a book has the power to do this for younger readers, it should be kept in libraries. 

Works Cited:

Bertonneau, Thomas F. "Thirteen Reasons Why Not." The Thinking Housewife. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2014.

"Banned Books Awareness:." Banned Books Awareness. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2014.

Social Issues/Awareness Project

Project Overview

In my project, I have included a poem, as well as a response to a movie/film, and an interview with Erika Lunceford.  The poem Under Your Armor, is about the issues in our society where someone simply looks at you, and decides that what they see is who they are.  Some call this "judging a book by its cover."  My response is to a movie called Cyberbully, which is about a girl who is harassed online, and is eventually driven to commit suicide.  I felt that this movie portrayed the raw truth of what happens outside of school, in your own home.  My interview with my mother, Erika Lunceford, is about her work with an organization called Woman in Technology, which works to have more women in the technological world.  I think her work is important because there aren't enough woman in this industry, and with more, they could be level with men.


Under Your Armour

People look at you,

And decide that you are not the same,

They judge you on the outside,

They don't even listen to what you're trying to say.

Those people, they don't even try,

To look under your skin, on the inside,

They try to force you to be someone,

Do they want you to lie?

And it's not fair,

You should be who you want to be,

And I wish you didn't care,

Because being you, that's when you are winning.

Just take off your armor,

And let down your guard,

Because if everyone does this,

There won't be judgement anymore.

People pay attention,

To your color shape and size,

But they don't even think about,

The sound of your cries at night.

And the truth is they don't know,

They don't know me,

They don't know her,

They truly have no idea, of the people we might be.

The ones that judge,

They're the ones that are lost,

And at one point they will find out,

That being in power has a cost.

Because if you, take off your armor,

And let down your guard,

If everyone does this,

They can't be judges anymore.

Response to Cyberbully

     The movie, Cyberbully, is about a girl that begins to be a target on the internet, and is driven to a point where she thinks that not being alive would be better for everyone, and attempts to commit suicide.  She is called a "slut," "whore," and many other names on a website called Clickster.  When she becomes unpopular and is targeted by many people at school, her two best friends leave her.  She is suddenly caught alone in a river of hate that she is slowly drowning in.

      This movie made me think about the problems that social media causes for many people, both children, teens, and adults.  It brings yet another weapon to the table, one that's much stronger than others.  In many cases, people re targeted by anonymous or fake people, which truly makes it worse because you don't know who it is, you think it could be anyone, and this quickly turns into everyone in your mind.  This feeling of loneliness and isolation tears people down, piece by piece, until there is barely enough to consider you to even be there.  At that point, you decide that it would just be easier, or more heroic to take those last pieces of you that are left, instead of letting others be the ones to take them.
     I believe that there needs to be rules and/or laws put in place to limit cyber bullying.  It can truly ruin someone, and it's just way too easy.  Cyber bullying is where I feel most bullying currently occurs, and without it, life would be a lot better.  Cyberbully expressed and explained the raw truth of what happens on the internet, and awareness needs to be spread.



Interview With Erika Lunceford (AKA My Mom)

My mother, Erika Lunceford, participates in an organization called Women in Technology (an organization within BNY Mellon's Women's Initiative program) that is working to encourage women to be and stay in technology, and get more women into senior management positions.

What are some problems that women currently have?

Well some of the problems that women have is that there aren't natural social structures.  Such as, men have built up over the years, to help women network and get better jobs within an organization.  Other problems that women face is that they do take on a majority of house hold duties, such as caring for children, cleaning, cooking, and so they have a lot of those family pressures and they tend to be called upon to solve those, rather than the men.  Other items are really the stereotypes within society that say women aren't good at math and science.  Women In Technology really focuses on getting really good smart women into our program, so we really reach out to colleges, to try to bring in young women, as well as to break down some of those barriers to help older women along in their careers.

What rights do you believe women should have in financial services and technology?

Well women should really have the option and the ability to move themselves up.  There is something that happens with women in business vs. men in business.  So, men get hired for jobs base on their potential to do the job, where women are hired after they have proven they are able to do the job.  And so, sometimes this makes it difficult to move them selves along because they aren't as self promoting.  I would really like for women to have is that management and others recognize women for what they have accomplished, and proactively work with those women to move them up within the organization, rather than the women having to always self promote herself.  The other thing I would like to see is that women are sitting in the head of the company in leadership positions.  There is a very small percentage of women that in board of directors or executive levels within the world, it's less than 20% that sit at those levels.

What is the organization doing to reach their goals?  How will you know when you have reached them?

We have taken a multi-prong approach, where we have actually set up multiple sub-committees.  Some of those sub-committees are out reach programs to schools.  I'm actually co-chairing a sub-committee called sponsor-ship which is to put senior managers with women in the organization to really, basically groom them for their next level in their careers.  Then there are multiple Leanin circles that we have formed, so women have support groups, where they can talk about issues that they're dealing with in a day to day basis.  And then we're measuring our progress in metrics.  So, we're working closely with Human Resources to track it and see if over the next few years we see a game change, where more woman are moving to senior positions, and making progress on this front.

Do you believe that men have too much power, and that they should be lowered?

I believe that men have too much control, but I'm not looking for men to be lowered, I just want more women to be in positions of control as well, working alongside those men.


What are the problems that you have had in rising in the industry of financial services and technology?

Well, I think the first problems really started in the way I was raised; not being encouraged to go to college, and I was actually raised in a fundamental religious household where it was believed that men had a higher authority than women, and so that's where it sort of started.  But then when I started working, I was good at what I did, I payed attention to detail, got things done, very responisble person, and I think the challenges that I faced were really understanding how to navigate, and how to have mentors that could help me along.  And because there isn't a natural place for women to get that, espcially when you're constantly sitting in a room full of men, every time you go to a meeting, or you go to anything, you're always around men.  Sometimes it becomes a little intimidating, and so you have to put your self out there more.  Over time, I have developed a little bit more of a style, where when I think something is right, I'm confident in my judgement, and I go ahead and do it.  I'll take action on it if I think it's the right thing, and if people don't like it, then I'll apologize for it later.  Many women will actually look for authority in order to take those actions, and so that's sort of a mind change that needs to start occurring.













                                                                                                                                                                    

The Museum of The City of New York

At the Museum of the City of New York, I learned a lot about the changes that people are trying to make and/or have been trying to make.  There were many issues, and if I hadn't gone, I wouldn't be able to name most of them.  The issues that stuck out to me the most were women equality, racial equality, and gay/lesbian marriage.  I had no idea that people have been working on these topics for so long, or of some of the things that they have done, even though I have learned about these issues in school before.

Before I saw this exhibit, I thought that women suffrage had began early in the 20th century, but it had actually began much earlier.  The first time that women spoke about their issues was in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848, which makes me about fifty years off.   One of the other things I thought was interesting about this exhibit was that it was very well organized and showed many pictures and videos that really brought you there, to what it had been like.  This was especially true for the section on African-American rights.  There was one video with a woman's voice over that showed how truly painful it had been to feel isolated, like no one wanted her.  I have learned about this topic many times, but it truly took me to a much deeper level of understanding.  The section of gay rights also took me deeper through videos and many photos.  I realized how long gay and lesbian people have been fighting for rights, and how much they have accomplished.  But from another angle, you see how little it is, and how unfair it is to them.

This exhibit makes me want to have basic human rights for everyone, no matter their race, gender, or who they love.  Every group of people should be given equal oppurtunities.

Book Club Response: Thirteen Reasons Why

     Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher is about Hannah Baker, why she killed herself, and about Clay's reaction to them as he listens to her suicidal tapes that she recorded before she died.  The book is very dark, is on a heavy subject(suicide), and also has rape, which is why some middle schools have banned the book.  The book teaches important lessons through the experiences that Hannah has had, though.  There are many reasons why the book should be banned or kept at schools, and it really depends on how a person looks at it and how mature they are. 

     Thirteen Reasons Why is a good books for people twelve years and over because the book teaches valuable lessons that could help though out life.  One lesson the book teaches is that every action you perform has a reaction.  Another thing the book shows you is that everything you do, whether you think it's big or not, someone else might feel it is big or important, or someone might take it wrong and use it against someone.  An example is that when a rumor was spread about Hannah Baker being felt up, some people took it as being allowed to treat her like an object.  Bryce decided it was okay to smack her butt, and later in the book another guy attempts to rape her.  More things occurred in the book, having a snowball effect, until finally she decided it would be easier to die. 
     This book might make people stop and think about what they're going to say and do and how it might affect others.  People will think about what happens after they spread a rumor, not just how it will benefit them, but how it will hurt others.  They might think, "Do I really want someone to feel like Hannah did?" and decide to stay quiet.

     As well as teaching many important lessons, Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher, deals with heavy subjects in order to teach them.  The main character, Hannah Baker commits suicide, and this could be very heavy on an immature or young person's shoulders.  Hannah puts light to suicide, and makes it seem like its a good way to escape your problems.  There are also high school parties where there are drinking and sex, or more specifically, rape.  The concept of girls being taken advantage of could make some girls feel uncomfortable with their bodies and/or gender, or could give them fear of being raped.  Younger audiences shouldn't be exposed to these things in a book if they aren't mentally ready.

     There are many ways to look at Thirteen Reasons Why.  There are many things that support both sides of the argument, and when it comes down to it, it's self evaluation.  A person could be young and mature and would be fine reading the book, and there could be an older person that's out of school and could feel uncomfortable.  Thirteen Reasons Why teaches many lessons and uses negative topics to explain them.  It is up to the reader to decide if they're ready for the topics.

Character Archetypes: Tally, from Uglies

Tally is many things in Uglies, by Scott Westerfield.  She tries to be a good friend, but she tends to worry about herself more than others, consumed by the wanting to be Pretty.  Tally struggles with finding who she is, who she should believe, who she should stand for, and what she wants to be.  On her mission to find her friend, she faces many challenges and becomes a hero.

Tally is a reluctant hero because she is caught between being Pretty and being a good friend to Shay.  To become Pretty she must turn in Shay, who ran away because she didn't want to be Pretty, or to be in a society that tells you what you will look like and who you will be.  Tally doesn't believe she will even be able to find her friend, and is unsure whether she will be able to betray her friend once she finds her.  She finds that she is much stronger than she had believed, and finds Shay.  This also makes her a wide-eyed innocent hero, for she starts as a person who thinks she knows what she wants.  As she goes through her journey, she comes closer to understanding what is the right thing to do.

Tally is a warrior, for on her way to find Shay she faces many challenges that push her to her mental and physical limits.  She had to walk and run very far, without much rest and no time to spare.  Tally gets caught in a large fire that nearly kills her, at the end of her journey.  Before this, she almost died many more times.  For example, she was on a bridge that had a hole she didn't see, and nearly fell to the rocky sea below her.  Then again, she had to fall with the trust that she would be caught by magnetism.  Throughout the book, she learns to be a feminist hero that has her own eyes looking at the world.

Tally's first mentor is Shay, who teaches her to ride a hover-board and makes her physically stronger.  The Herald of the story is Special Circumstances, for they are the people that tell Tally that she can turn her friend in, or she will never be Pretty.  They are also the the shadow in the story, for it is as if they are not there, until you do something they don't like, and they threaten you and are quite dangerous.  Perris is a shapeshifter because he was once Tally's good friend, but it is unclear what he is once he's pretty.  He seems to care for Tally, but his reasons are missing. 

Tally is a hero in Uglies.  In fact, Tally is multiple kinds of heroes.  She is a reluctant, wide eyed innocent, warrior, feminist hero.  She learns who she wants to be, and who she wants to trust.  Through an epic journey, and some epic relationships, she becomes truly Pretty on the inside.

Reading Response to I am Malala

When Malala Yousafzai was shot by the Taliban, she realized that the threats that she was getting were becoming reality, and that her nightmares were finally coming to life.  She had been scared of getting shot for some time, but she didn't realize how true that reality would become.  When it did, she understood the danger of the Taliban as well as realizing something about herself.  Malala would give anything for girls' education, even her own life, for everyone should be given a chance, and education would be that for many.

"Peace in every home, every street, every village, every country-this is my dream.  Education for every boy and girl in the world."  People can infer from this quote how determined, strong, and quite frankly, how amazing Malala is.  She is a person that is nonviolent and has no malice toward anyone.  Malala wishes the best for every person and wants only to give people a chance, but understands that she can't decide what choice that person will make once given the chance.  Malala writes in her book that "...each girl, and boy, has the power to change the world and all she needs is a chance."  She has trust in people that they will make the right choice, as long as they are given it.
     
Malala truly begins to see the danger of the Taliban when her father's good friend, Zahid Khan was shot in the head, and her family was getting many threats in different forms.  "Some were in the newspapers, some were notes or messages passed on by people."  Malala began to imagine being attacked, and often thought about what she might say to the Taliban.  She decided she would say "OK, shoot me, but first listen to me.  What you're doing is wrong.  I'm not against you personally, I just want every girl to go to school."  Malala doesn't want to hurt anyone, she only wants to help people deprived of their education.  Knowing that the Taliban is wrong gave her strength because it is the truth, and Malala finds the truth to be very important.

Malala sees the truth in how there are people that don't want or allow girls to go to school and that is unfair.  When Malala sees this happening, she becomes determined to have the equal rights people deserve.  Education gives people a chance to change their lives for the better, as well as changing the lives around them.  When you're given a chance, you can pick it up and strive, but without one, you are stuck in a pool of tar.  Malala sees this, and that is why she wants every person, no matter their gender or race, to go to school.

Summer Reading Blog Post: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent, written by Veronica Roth, is a futuristic book that is dramatic, exciting, and teaches you a lot about humans and about courage.  The book focuses on one girl, Beatrice, and through out the book, you see weaknesses and strengths that she has.  You also learn about the strengths and weaknesses the people around her have, and their relationships' strengths and weaknesses.  One relationship is particularly important, and that is her relationship with Four.  They learn to love each other so much that if something happened to one of them, the other would feel as if a piece of them has been taken away.

Beatrice's personality changes every time you turn the page.  She starts out as character that has trouble fitting in and doesn't know where to go for guidance.  She is quiet, and is scared to speak out and say what she knows she wants to be.  When she becomes a Dauntless, she learns how to be fearless.  Tris finds friends and a home.  She feels accepted and like she knows that she is where she belongs.  She also changes in the sense that at  the beginning of the book she was quite innocent, and as you read, she begins to notice the existence of evil in man kind. Tris first really sees it when Eric has Christina hang off a ledge to teach her a lesson.  She knows that it is wrong and is scared for her friend's life, but does not yet have the power to say anything.
     Further into the book, Tris finds strength in herself to not always put herself into the middle of the line, but instead be the leader.  She saves many lives, including that of Tobias, who has come to matter very much to her.  Tris loves him because of his courage, strength, and determination.  She admires him for his ability to hope.

Four is determined to be more than what his society wants him to be.  He has accepted his divergence and understands the danger of it, but he secretly finds pride in it.  He is what the government doesn't want him to be, he's better than everyone else.  He is brave and he is selfless, and he wants to be even more, and he says it in a silent way.  Four shows it in his love for Tris.  When he is with Tris, all sides of him show.  You see his soft side, but you continue to see his strength as well.  He shares with Tris what he wants, and not many people understand who he really is.  He acts like he is uncompromising and rigorous, but he can be very lenient, it just takes time to unzip him.  A person must peel layer off of layer until they get to his core, where his true strength and determination lies, the part that Tris loves.

As you understand Tris and Four better, you realize that the parts that each of them are missing are found in the other person.  This is what keeps them together, because they are part of the same puzzle, and they are two pieces that fit perfectly together.  It takes time to finish the puzzle of their relationship, but in the end, they come together as a beautiful painting, not a piece missing.