The Washington Roast

I decided to check out The Washington Roast as one of the political blogs we talked about during class. It was truly interesting and entertaining. All of the blogs are very liberal, in your face, and pretty much hilarious or offensive depending on which party you belong to. The Washington Roast is open to the public, provides information about who the bloggers are, how to contact them, but no list of bloggers they follow. They also do not have a donation box like some of the other sights. The Washington Roast is filled with humor, satire, and mildly offensive captions ("Jesus in Texas" regards some of the tea party campaigns). The site is overall highly biased, mildly funny, and entertaining as all heck. It kind of reminds me of the Onion or some other sort of comedic political site.

so many questions

When I see the obese 20 year old walking out of the student union with a 32 oz. soda, a personal pizza, and a side of fries, I just want to know how this came to be. Does she have a pizza craving? Is this her normal lunch option? Did Pizza Hut have the shortest line, and that's why she chose pizza? Is that meal one of the only options in her budget/price range? Did she choose her food based on convenience of location (student union)? Does she know how bad that food truly is for her, and what it does to her body? I have so many questions for this stranger, but I don't ask her. Why? Well, because it's rude. I just want to know the reasoning and the justification of the student's food choices.

So why do you guys and girls choose the poor nutrition options at CSUSB?

Graffiti in San Bernardino

I usually see graffiti on free way overpasses, trains, residential walls, liquor stores, and billboards in San Bernardino. Freeway overpasses intrigue me the most because I often see the tagging and wonder how the taggers get themselves on the side of the bridge. I haven't seen Spider-man around lately, so it's like do they repel themselves down or are they just hanging on to ledges. It's pretty awesome when you think about it. Some of the other places are less dangerous, unless you're afraid of heights and scared to climb a billboard ladder. I know some taggers who graff in train yards and hit other places like liquor stores at night. Where else have you seen tagging/graffiti?

Public Issue

My public issue deals with graffiti in the public. To me graffiti is an art and when used positively can be used as a powerful form of public opinion. The issue is that no public space has been provided to graffiti artists so all they can resort to is to paint on public property. I know that some people are ignorant and even if space was provided, they wouldn't correct their actions. But I believe that if we tried to implent public painting spaces, such as Venice Beach has done, that more artists would transfer their energy from public buildings and property to these designated positions. I think everyone has seen graffiti misplaced within their city and can relate. I am interested to what people think? Remember that art/graffiti can be powerful and influential in the form of murals and paintings.

Problem-Posing Topic: Poor Nutrition Choices at CSUSB

I have chosen to write about the poor nutrition choices we have at CSUSB. The Taco Bell, candy, Starbucks muffins, and pizza students, faculty, prospective students, and guests are consuming is influencing our CSUSB community. I've chosen this topic because I feel it effects nearly all of CSUSB. I am a nutrition major and nutrition is something that impacts our daily lives as well as long-term health. With over 60% of our nation overweight or obese it is time that we make some changes. I am not asking Pizza Hut to become a health food smoothie shop, but merely displaying my concern for the lack of healthy options on campus. Examples of healthier options may include whole grain bread instead of white or wheat, fruit juices, and flavored water options in the pop dispensing machines, and healthy on-the-go snacks in vending machines. I am not sure of who I would contact to make things happen on campus (I'm new) so if anyone has a suggestion, let me know. :)

History and Habermas

Today we discussed how the history is incorporated with the overall concept Habermas explains about Public Sphere. Our group's one sentence to describe it was "History laid the foundation for the creation and evolution of the public sphere." I think this accurately describes the history and concept. The history describes the former public sphere consisting of only the church and state. When groups outside of the church and state are brought to discuss change and issues in an accessible manner, it becomes a public sphere.
We also discussed the different values Habermas portrays in his article. I believe that democracy is a large value discussed in his article. As democracy evolved, the public sphere grew to those in the third class (peasantry), again creating public sphere.

The Student Union

The student union works well as a public sphere. It is ideal because it has so much space to walk around and conversate with people. There are round tables, couches, and steps to sit on. There are signs and posters everywhere that involve some type of participation and inform the student body. The first thing you hear when you walk in is people talking. The university did well with design because there are vibrant colors everywhere, nice plants, and very cool social locations like Starbucks. Kudos to the students union.