Let me get some Contact.

Burlington is a melting pot of people from extremely different backgrounds.

As a note, a teacher last semester informed me that South Burlington High School has over 25 fluent languages being spoken at a time.

When visiting friends in college during high school, certain elements of Burlington made me sure that it was the right place for me. As a very social person, being able to walk the streets and meet other people who are willing to stop and have a conversation at any point of day is truly enjoyable. Of course, a melting pot of this magnitude will have its clashes, but for me the atmosphere of the area out-ways any small scuffle. I find true enjoyment in meeting and attempting to understand people from different backgrounds. Coming from a small suburb in Massachusetts, the culture shocks I experienced made my decision to go to school here completely worth it.

Chris Azzariti

Contact Zones

In the surrounding community I've noticed several different contact zones that I thought were particularly interesting. The one that interested me the most had to have been the bus station. The Burlington Gray Hound station, about a fifteen minute walk from campus, twenty if you depending on luggage. It's full of every kind of person you could imagine. Everyone rides the bus; rich people, poor people, old people young people. As soon as you walk in to get your bus ticket you see the people around you interacting and it could be a seven foot tall thug just chit chatting with a seventy year old woman, just laughing to pass the time. Emotions even manage to escalate in the Burlington Gray Hound station. I've seen people just sit out front screaming at each other, one of which is usually a stubborn employee who's being less than helpful. It's a great way to see all sorts of different people from different backgrounds interact at such an every-day kind of place like that.

Contact Zones

Burlington is one of the bigger contact zones I have seen. This is mostly because we are a place where refugees come to make their stay. We have people from many cultures and backgrounds. Burlington is a melting pot of people. Church st. is where you can clearly see the blending and clashing of different cultures. Just taking a walk down the street you can see all sorts of different people with different ideas. If you take a walk down church street any afternoon you will hear many different types of music. This shows just how diverse Burlington is.

Contact Zones: Work Places

I think simple, everyday places like the classroom are obvious contact zones. But I feel one particular contact zone is a workplace. In my own experiences I've found myself disagreeing, agreeing, and contemplating with my co-workers. I have seen others who have their primary contact zone in the workplace. My mother works in a preschool center, and comes in contact with incredible diversity. The children she takes care of, the families of those children, and her co-workers all provide her with a contact zone filled with varying culture, gender, identity, backgrounds, and personalities. My dad works an environment where immigrants work alongside him. This provides a contact zone for not only my dad, but my mother and myself, when he brings home stories of these people's experiences, thoughts, words, and stories. As common an idea as it is, the work place provides great contact zones for workers, and those who come into contact with those workers.

Cultural Convergence

After reading the definition of a Contact Zone, I came to the conclusion that generally everywhere can potentially be considered a place of social interaction where "cultures meet, clash, and grapple with each other". Personally, I feel as though the places which closely resemble contact zones in my current community are the more artistically centered settings. Creative and imaginative communities, such as galleries or art shows, tend to be ethnically and socially diverse, creating an atmosphere of exposure and communication. In a location where unity through art is promoted, the faces behind the subjective appeal of expression have a chance to voice their opinions, stories, or any other personal convictions. This format gives way to dialects and promotes inquiry based learning. This type of atmosphere, in my opinion, best represents the ideals behind a contact zone.

Contact Zones And Culture

The two main contact zones that I see in Burlington are Church Street, and classrooms at the college. When you go down to church street, there are many different types of people with different backgrounds. Whenever I walk down Church Street, I always see someone that catches my eye. I cant help but wonder what experiences this person has had and how their life may differ from mine. Also, since a lot of tourists come to visit, it only adds to the diversity. Its similar with the classroom. Most students are in that room for similar reasons, but they all come from different backgrounds with different experiences and opinions. Contacts zones are great especially when referring to a classroom because it enables the students to hear opinions from everyone. This can only help deepen a persons understanding about something, and shed light on a new perspective that has not been heard before. 

Contact Zones and Culture

In Burlington, the most identifiable contact zone would be Church Street. Individuals through the community, the state, and god knows wherever else, come to Church Street. Burlington attracts many tourists and residents in the surrounding areas to come for a day and shop, grab a bite to eat, and to see some extremely "interesting" people. Church Street is open to all, and allows individuals from all social, economic, and ethnic classes to gather together. Another contact zone located here in Burlington would be the waterfront area next to the aquarium. College students, families, even hobo's can enjoy the scenery from the beautiful body of water that our community is located around. It is open for all to enjoy and embrace, and is something that can bring people together from all walks of like.

Contact Zones and Culture

There are many examples of what I think are contact zones in my community, such as coffee house's, parks, town squares, etc. However, I would like to draw attention to a recent event that occurred at the Australian Open tennis tournament. After a match between Serbian, Novak Djokovic, and Bosnian, Amer Delic, an ethical fight broke out outside of the stadium. I would certainly think that this is an example of a contact zone because it clearly shows how two different cultures are clashing. The interesting thing about this is that just before the fight broke out, both players (who are friends) congradulated each other on a good match. I find it funny that a fight even happened after the fans of the players had seen this.

Contact Zones

Who has direct relation with southern culture besides Dylan?

Contact Zones and Your Community

Where in your community can you identify potential contact zones?

Letter from a Birmingham Jail

Entangling Roots: Online Gaming and the Effects on Their Players

As a person who has seen enough of his friends become addicted to MMORPGs, especially World of Warcraft, I really found this essay to hit home. The issue the essay brings up is whether or not online games truly are a social experience or if they drain what social skills the player may have if they weren't gaming. I believe that this issue isn't taken seriously and the victims of this addiction are simply categorized as "nerds" or simply "hardcore gamers."

I've seen my roommate here at Champlain College play World of Warcraft from 11am until 6am the next morning, breaking only briefly for no more than an hour. I've told him that he needs to get out and take a walk outside, but being at college, I find that many occasional gamers find that with their new found freedom, they can now play as much as they want to. I've noticed that most of the victims written about in texts regarding this issue are indeed college students who find they don't have many obligations to do anything but play games.

Overall gaming is dangerous. It's arguably more addictive than many drugs people are entered into rehabilitation clinics for. The United States or the gaming corporations need to find a way to regulate this problem before it effects too many other people.

Letter from Birminham Jail

Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" was a very interesting little piece of writing. I never knew that there was such a specific hot spot for racism and segregation. It really taught me a lot about Birmingham in specific, and a lot more about the mentality spreading through the South like wild fire. It's strange to think that all of this happened just one generation ago. It seems like the world has come so far since then, and a lot of it is attributed to Martin Luther King's actions. The letter really caught my attention with it's bizarre perspective, King writing from inside Birmingham jail. Even while he was imprisoned he was speaking out for equal rights and a stop to the injustices. The statement written by the Alabama Clergymen was trying to quell the activist movements, but this letter completely flipped it on its ear. By giving lesser thought of sides of the story King was able to spread his message to those who did not understand what he was trying to say. In my opinion, the perspective of being behind bars gave King's argument a raw and completely unquenchable passion that showed that he would not stop until equal rights were granted and racial injustice had ceased.

Letter from a Birmingham Jail

Letters from Birmingham Jail

As opposed to going into great depth and expanding upon each sentence MLK writes, I wanted to keep it simple. Personally, I feel his point is to simply address one specific criticism with which he had been confronted. He clarifies his reason for being in the Birmingham City Jail and delves deep enough into the background behind his actions to get the point across. Through his letter he also hopes to share his beliefs in such a way that may potentially impact his readers.

MLK Birmingham Jail

Martin Luther King Junior's letter from a Birmingham Jail was an expression of his support for protest against established laws and a justification for his actions. King, a leader of a civil-rights group that supported protest against traditional views, encouraged protesting against tradition and established laws that are unjust. In his letter from Birmingham Jail King says:

"It was illegal to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler's Germany. Even so, I am sure that, had I lived in Germany at that time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers. If today I lived in a Communist country where certain principles dear to the Christian faith are suppressed, I would openly advocate disobeying that country's anti-religious laws."

This extract shows that King backs-up protest because in some situations it is necessary, be it in Hitler's Germany, or any place in which injustices are going on. In the last sentence of the excerpt King openly admits that he would protest against established laws or traditions. He felt that the only way that these unjust laws and traditional beliefs would ever change would be by means of protest. He felt that without protest the laws and society would remain the same forever. The letter was written to his fellow clergymen to explain his prior actions and to attempt to justify them. In the letter he tried to explain to the clergy that his actions although illegal were justified and appropriate for the situation.

Letter From Birmingham Jail

I read this over the weekend, but felt oddly compelled to wait until Martin Luther King Jr. Day to post my response. The letter MLK Jr. wrote tangibly expressed the desperation of the Negro population to overcome this oppression which was upon them. I feel his whole point was to express, with utmost emphasis, that these nonviolent ways must be continued, and the white supremacy must be dethroned. He speaks of how he rarely responds to criticisms, yet felt that he must explain his actions to those who followed him. How noble, mature, and loving of him to respond, not with frustration at their doubts, but with knowledge and peace at their concerns.

In my own train of thought, I can't imagine writing a letter that long by hand. I guess, thinking about how far we as a nation have come in technological advances, I can correlate those advances with the civil rights which have been given to so many oppressed citizens since Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his letter. In light of the day in which we honor Martin Luther King Jr.'s awesome, powerful, and inspirational life, I look forward to our country's next HUGE advancement; inaugurating an African-American (I use this term simply because I will admit I'm not sure what the politically correct terminology is anymore. I personally call the race human.) into the highest position of power in the United States of America.

Entangling Roots

Entangling Roots is an essay that tackles a very strong debate in the gaming field today. The author Jeff Lessard, explores and expresses his views on online gaming and the effects on their players. What makes this essay "good" is that this essay really gets the reader thinking. I know it got me thinking. What kind of influence do the video games I play have on my life? Why do I play? Am I addicted to the games I play? What really makes a game addicting? Is it the game that is addicting or is it in my nature to become addicted? Okay, let me get back on track. The essay is good even if your opinion on the subject differs from Lessard's. Lessard's views on the subject are valid and agreeable for the most part. He backs up his accusations with plenty of proof and finishes it off with a strong clincher.

Letter From Birmingham Jail

After reading this piece, many things came to mind and I was able to get somewhat of an understanding of what Martin Luther King, Jr. was trying to say. In this letter, he emphasizes the need for nonviolent action in order to make unjust laws just. He also mentions how its time that everyone be treated as equal. "Past promises have been broken by the politicians and merchants of Birmingham and now is the time to fulfill the natural rights of all people to be treated equal." He says that if nothing gets done with these feelings and absolute needs of the African Americans, there will be violence and mayhem. I also found it interesting that I was reading this letter on the eve of Barack's inauguration speech. It will be interesting to see if he ties anything from Martin Luther King Jr. into his speech. 

"Fight for the Right" unfortunately proposed two compelling arguments, which both in multiple ways contradict and make it unknown which side the author Rebecca Schmidt is arguing. She starts out giving informing the readers on the development of HIV over time and some scientific evidence about the disease. She then states the argument that makes her seem as though the FDA has the right to withdraw the right for homosexual men to give blood, however a few lines towards the end of the piece made me as a reader question what side she is truly arguing for. Overall I thought the piece was somewhat effective, however its structure could have been greatly improved. It seemed as though she elaborated some of the insignificant parts and lacked informing on some more important parts of her arguments. I believe a simple review of the writing could have eliminated some of the confusion.

Letter From Birmingham Jail

While sitting in his prison cell, Martin Luther King Jr writes a letter addressing the clergymen of Birmingham. His letter is a response to a statement made by the clergymen, which consisted of a plea to end the demonstrations being made by blacks in the community. The demonstrations are considered to by untimely along with unnecessary. King's letter is a response to their statement, and provides evidence of why the demonstrations are happening, and why they need to happen. King expresses the desire for negotiations with the clergymen, but the disappointment of broken promises in the past. Reasons why segregation between the races is harmful is covered from all aspects, politically, economically and socially. King advocates respecting and obeying law, but classifies law into two types, just and unjust. Segregation is put under unjust laws, but the penalty's should be taken openly and lovingly. King's letter explains to the clergymen, and all others who support segregation, the harm that is being done by such. His writing is processional, and after reading gives an understanding to the behavior of African Americans within the community. The letter places the reader into the position where blacks were at the time, and sheds light on the strong emotions brought by it.

On "Letter from Birmingham Jail"

After having read Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s, “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” I feel that I have somewhat of an understanding as to what King was trying to say. On page 182 King writes, “There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into an abyss of injustice where they experience the bleakness of corroding despair. I hope sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience.” I feel that this quote pretty much sums up King’s entire letter. I think that King is saying that white people have no idea how hard a negro’s life is which is why they can easily say that they are committing no injustices, but rather keeping justice intact. When King talks about the white man who wrote him a letter saying that colored people will eventually be treated as equals in due time, Kings response to this letter is perhaps one of the wisest things I have ever read. King basically says that this man has an interesting way of looking at time by thinking that any wrongs in life can be fixed simply by waiting. King also states that time is neutral and that it can be either destructive or constructive. To me, that is one of the reasons why King felt that it was necessary to express his and his brothers’ needs through protests, sit-ins, etc. Dr. King’s ideas in this letter are all very wise and true; I find it hard to believe that none of the white people were able to see the injustices that were being done to the negros. I find it even harder to believe that even today, black people are still not treated as equally as white people.

Online gaming article

I recently stumbled upon this article that is related to the essay "Entangling roots" and I thought it was pretty interesting. Check it out!

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20090116-online-gamers-in-china-must-soon-register-with-real-names.html

Entangling Roots Response

I thought this short essay was good for many different reasons. It made me think about why I play video games, and how they can have a negative affect on my life. Games can become so involving and addicting that your virtual world becomes reality. This seems to usually happen with people who get involved in RPG's. This is one of the first convincing pieces that I have read on this issue. The essay also talks about how video games can affect someone's social and behavioral skills, but only if these games are played for an extended period of time. Thats why games should be played in moderation in order to prevent these things from happening. This essay makes the issue of gaming relevant since most people play them. Thats why I find it interesting and effective because almost everyone in this generation can relate to playing games. 

on "Letter from Birmingham Jail"...

After reading Martin Luther King Jr.'s, Letter from Birmingham Jail, I believe that King made his point very clear and did it in a very organized and thought out manor.  I feel that King's main purpose in this letter is to disprove these clergymens biased thoughts and get them to look at these issues through the eyes of a negro. King states some of these issues on page 182, " when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading "white" and "colored"; when your first name becomes "nigger" and your middle name becomes "boy" (however old you are)." These statements are there to get the clergymen to realize what a negro has to go through on a daily basis living in the segregated and prejudice south. As you can see in the clergymens statement, they are looking at these issues with only themselves in mind, not thinking about how a negro may feel about these issues. King takes every one of the issues the clergymen speak of and break them down so they can understand the issue through the eyes of a negro. With such intellectual and comprehensive writing, I would have found it very difficult to disagree with the ideas that King brought up throughout this letter.

Fight for the Right...

I know I am supposed to start this letter with why I feel the essay I chose is a “good” essay, however, in my opinion it falls short of being considered anything of the sort. I read “Fight for the Right to Save a Life” by Rebecca Schmidt, regarding the screening process for donating blood. She specifically focuses on the fact that homosexual men, who have at some point in their life been sexually active, are banned from contributing to the program. Initially, with the language she used, and the statistics she had found to back up her information, I was confident that she felt passionate about eliminating this outdated regulation. As I delved deeper into the reading, I noticed that once she made a strong compelling argument, she used contradictory words such as “but” and “however” to change her position and emphasize that of the opposing side. This, along with paragraphs upon paragraphs of useless information, made her essay impossible for me to read. In my opinion, a "good" essay clearly states and supports the thesis throughout its entirety, as opposed to dwelling on the fence of two extremes.

Fight for the Right to Save a Life

I thought that the essay Fight for the Right to Save a Life by Rebecca Schmidt was very well put together. She first spoke about the reason why she chose this topic and why it interested her; her reason being the protests at Champlain College against blood drives and their policies against gay men. She then laid out all of the facts. She spoke on behalf of the FDA and showed their reasoning. She explained why it was necessary that these policies were in place, and how it was not intended to be discriminatory, but was intended only for the safety of the people needing blood transfusions. She used a lot of statistics, as well as her own reasoning, which was thoroughly and clearly explained.

After showing the point of the FDA, she then showed the reasoning behind the gay men and the protesters. She proved that the policies in place were necessary, but that they could be changed slightly to be less unfair. Gay men are the only people who are never allowed to donate. Other people in risk groups, such as people who have had sex with people in risk groups, are allowed to donate, but only 12 months after the intercourse. This is because HIV can only be detected once the body produces antibodies to fight the infection, which can take up to twelve months. Rebecca's point was that gay men should be allowed to donate, but only twelve months after the last time they had intercourse. This makes their donations just as safe an anybody else's. If they do have HIV or any other disease, it will show up in the test, just like everybody else.

I agree with Rebecca's point. I don't think that the FDA was purposely discriminating against gay men. When the HIV/AIDS breakouts began in the 1980's, it was very prominent in gay men. At first it was actually believed to be a disease that only gay men could contract because they were the first people to get it. When the laws were passed about gay men donating blood, it was logical to not allow them to donate because they were the leading cause of HIV. Now the percentage of homosexuals with HIV is only slightly higher than the percentage of heterosexual individuals with HIV. The laws should be changed now that the percentages have changed, but precautions should still be used.

Letter From Birmingham jail

In this letter Martin Luther King was trying to convince his critics who said what he was doing was "unwise" that he was actually doing the right thing, and at the right time. He was trying to make people understand that what he was doing was the smartest thing that he could be doing at the time, and that it was obvious that he could not wait any longer, if he wanted to see a change he had to do it then, sooner rather than later.

Entangling Roots

I chose to read “Entangling Roots: Online Gaming and the Effects on Their Players” for multiple reasons. First, Jeff Lessard, is my RA so I figured it would be interesting to read something he wrote. The much more important reason is that I used to be an online gamer, so I figured I could relate to this essay.
Jeff obviously did his research because everything he wrote about online gaming is spot on. As I was reading the essay, I began to recall how awful my life was when I was an online gamer. I remember being glued to a bright computer screen for hours on end, and not being social at all. However, I was always good about bathing, eating, and school. Thankfully, I was able to escape from the “entangling roots” that are gaming and once again become a very social person.
When Jeff talked about the one person who shot himself over an online marriage, I couldn’t believe it. How could someone do that? I’ve always known that online gaming was a problem, but that example just takes it to a whole new level. If only there was a sure fire way of preventing gamers from losing their lives to this problem. On the other hand, who are we to criticize people for wanting to play games all the time? If that’s how they want to live their lives, then maybe we should let them. All in all, this essay is very well written and certainly makes one think about the consequences of online gaming.

On "Entangled Roots..."

In Jeff Lessard’s “Entangling Roots: Online Gaming and the Effects on Their Players” is an interesting look at the profound “addictive” qualities of the online gaming experience. I particularly liked this essay because Lessard sheds light on a relatively unknown and quite serious new craze that is effecting a huge portion of the community. He talks about how players use the game as an escape from the pressures of real life (Lessard 196). Essentially, these MMORPGS [Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games] are like a new drug craze, with some of the same disastrous results. In some instances, suicide, neglectful death, divorce, and job loss have all been reported as a direct result of an online gaming addiction (Lessard 197). This essay clearly and concisely gives the reader an in-depth look at the online gaming experience.

            I think this essay is good because it addresses an unknown yet serious issue in our society. When people admit to “missing classes and work, skipping meals, not bathing or changing clothes, staying up all night, and playing the game continuously for six or more hours a day” there is definitely something that needs to be changed (Lessard). Perhaps if any of these gaming addicts read this article they’ll gain a new perspective and see that their habits are detrimental to not only their health, but also their social standing and school work. 

Fight For The Right to Save A Life

Rebecca Schmidt's "Fight for the Right to Save A Life" presents a fact I personally did not know about the FDA and their policies for donating blood. This piece of writing is good because Schmidt provides intense detail and explanations of medical terminology. By doing this, Schmidt encourages the reader to continue with her story, despite terminology they may not have understood otherwise. She continues by going through the key steps of the blood donation process, and then provides statistical evidence of the percentage of people who actually do donate blood. She then culminates her whole argument at the ending of the essay. Her way of building up the essay with facts, statistics, and definitions entices the reader to read to gain knowledge. It's good because it provides analysis of facts to prove a point, as well as providing potentially new knowledge to readers.

Entangling Roots

"Entangling Roots" was a pretty interesting little article. I liked this essay because it was about a hastily growing issue that hasn't gotten a lot of attention in the past. I thought it was good because it was very clearly written and the examples were pretty startling. I thought this a really informative essay. I had a brief knowledge on the subject. I have a lot of friends who have fallen to the addiction of online gaming, none as bad as the examples in the reading. It's almost ridiculous that this type of thing could become what it has; elevated to the point of being an epidemic in ours and other countries around the globe. The world's first virtual sickness or disease. The amount of money these people make a month is almost sickening. I thought it was definitely smart to bring up the topic of "money is the root of all evil". It obviously plays a major role in any addictive substance. Anywhere from crack to video games, everyone's just trying to make a quick buck.

"Entangling Roots"

First off, the fact that this reading was written by a prior Champlain College student made it very appealing. I liked the stand point and opinion that this was written in. It was very informative of a subject that I had no real prior knowledge about. It was also written very clearly and to the point, without much fluff. Even though it was short, because of the clarity I was able to become completely educated about the topic.

John Brown's response to "Entangling Roots"

The essay I chose to read was “Entangling Roots: Online Gaming and the Effects On Their Players”. The first thing that drew me to this essay was that the author was from Champlain College, so why not read it? As a student at a college with a large game design program I am very glad to say that I am not addicted to video games. I found this to be such an interesting essay because this is an issue that is not so well known but now more than ever needs to be talked about on college campuses in the United States. Colleges spend so much time and money educating kids on the problems of drugs and alcohol in college but are the only addictive objects that are endangering they’re students? I’m not saying education on the dangers of drugs and alcohol isn’t important, but in this day and age gaming seems to be taking over the lives of children and adults all over the world more and more every year. Jeff Lessard made great points about the addictive traits of online gaming and his in-text quotations give his essay a lot of credibility. His opening sentences really helped grab my attention and introduced me to the problems he talks about later in his essay. Jeff took a subject that any college student can relate to and used great rhetorical techniques to engage the reader and persuade them to accept his point.

What's good writing?

So what makes writing worthwhile reading? Can you identify what it is that keeps you from giving up on a text?

In class tomorrow we'll decide what we mean by "good," but in the meantime, think about the essays you read (Schmidt and Lessard) and post a blog in which you identify a positive quality in the writing.