Final Post

The end of the year is here and I still not media literate. To me, media literacy is being able understand, analyze, and comprehend news in the world around you. I have been in a media literacy class for about 4 months now. I am not literate because I do not listen to the news. I have been trying, but it's hard. I do not watch the news on a daily basis, nor do I read newspapers. I just pick up information from what I hear people talking about or whatever comes across my timeline on Twitter. That is my main problem. Although I do not keep up with news events, I can accurately recognize information that is newsworthy. I know the different news neighborhoods and elements of each. Determining what is news is probably my strongest ability.
Taking this course has showed me that news isn't just major court trials that are always on Nancy Grace. News can be a variety of things. It can be something as simple as Wiz Khalifa becoming a father. I now know that news can be accessed from different places and can cover different things.

Standoff in Trenton

2013 has not been a good year for the citizens of New Jersey. The state is still in recovery from the damages of Super Storm Sandy. And, more recently,  there was a standoff over the weekend. On Friday afternoon, the police went to a home in Trenton, New Jersey in response to a call from a family member of Carmelita Stevens. Stevens was not heard from for some time, and her two daughters were not in school for 12 consecutive days. The police received no response after knocking on the house door. They proceeded to use force to enter the home. Ralph Rivera (Trenton  Police Director) reported that officers on the scene immediately noticed  a strong odor "consistent with a decomposing body," as well as saw maggots throughout the house. The police discovered Murphy in a room with a dead body and 3 hostages (aged 18, 16, and 4) after following his voice up the stairs. Murphy told authorities that he was armed with guns and explosives. Through a window, Murphy could be seen with a handgun. After seeing that children were inside the house, the officers began sending food and water to them through a window. Hostage negotiators stayed in contact with Murphy on and off throughout the 37 hour standoff. At 3:45 a.m. Sunday, police confronted Murphy and rescued the children from the room. A single shot was fired by the New Jersey State Police that wounded Murphy. He died from his wounds in a hospital after being taken into custody. The two bodies discovered in the house were that of Stevens, age 44, and her 13 year old son. They were both killed two weeks ago. Murphy had an extensive criminal record that included aggravated violence and criminal conspiracy, robbery, weapon offenses, and child endangerment. Murphy was Stevens' boyfriend, but not the father of any of her children. The reason for the murders are unknown, and the case is still under investigation. More information of this case can be found in the article Mother and Son Dead in Trenton Home.

Amanda Berry Found Alive

A guardian's worst nightmare is having their beloved child taken away from them by the hands of a stranger. 10 years ago that very thing happened. Amanda Berry was only 16 years old when she went missing. She was abducted after her night shift at Burger King. Her family was terrified when she did not return home after work. When they contacted the police, they were blown off and Amanda was classified as a runaway. Her family knew better than that though. They knew that foul play was involved because she was not a problem child, she went to school and work every day faithfully, and it was the day before her 17th birthday that she did not come home.
10 years after being kidnapped, Amanda Berry (and others) were rescued. On Monday, May 7, 2013, Amanda escaped the house where she was being held captive and managed to make a daring call to the police. In an interview, her neighbor (Charles Ramsey) discusses how he was confused when he saw her. She screamed "help, save me, please help." It were those pleads that gained his attention. He said "when I looked at that girl, I said "you look familiar." I'm prying the door open ans she trying to get out and she climbed through the bottom of it, and soon as she got out she said "my name Amanda Berry; call the police.""
When someone goes missing for over a year, people begin to assume that they are dead. The chances of them being found are slim to none. Amanda's grandmother told reporters "I didn't think she was dead. No, never." Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus (another captive) reunited with their families on Tuesday. Amanda tells her story of being kidnapped, raped, sodomized, and bearing the child of her assailant, Ariel Castro.For further information on Amanda's rescue, read Amanda Berry Found Alive After a Decade.

Decisions, Decisions

Today is May 1st. For high school seniors, the date is significant. It is Decision Day. Today is the day that seniors are supposed to make the final decision on the college or university they plan on attending in the fall. It is one of the days I have been dreading since the beginning of the school year. I have applied for over 10 colleges. However, I was only accepted to two. Of those, I truly want to go to one, but my mother has her own opinion on where I should go. She wants me to go to Albright College. It is a relatively good school. It is private and has a high rank and graduation rate. Albright is in Reading, Pennsylvania. All that is fine I guess, but the tuition for one year is $46,300. I am not sure why but my mother insists and has her heart set on me going there. I want to go to Xavier in Louisiana. They have a 4 out of 5 star psychology program. The school's volleyball team uniform looks nice too. Plus, Louisiana is the home of Mardi Gras. I want to be at Xavier because it will be a fresh start in a completely new environment. Being that far away from home will force me to rely solely on myself. But my mother will not even consider the admission. There is only 2 hours left in the school day, and I still have not made a decision on which school to attend.

"And I'm Gay"

Homosexuality has always been something that was shunned, especially in sports. Jason Collins is an NBA player. He plays as a center for the Washington Wizards (was traded mid-season from the Boston Celtics). He stands at 7 feet even. And for over a decade, he was silent about his sexuality. Collins said that he wanted to keep his sexual preference a secret because he was terrified of what teammates, opponents, fans, and the world would think of him. But his mind state changed after the Boston Marathon bombings. "[The bombings] reinforced the notion that I shouldn't wait for the circumstances of my coming out to be perfect. Things can change in an instant, so why not live truthfully," says Collins. He continued to say that he "endured years of misery and [has] gone to enormous lengths to live a lie." Jason Collins is crowned as the first active player in a major league sport to come out as gay. He wrote an article posted Monday on the Sports Illustrated website that started with "I'm a 34-year old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay." Collins was surprised of the praise, approval, and support that he received after coming out. He was congratulated by teammates, a new sponsor, and Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. Jason Collins plans to continue playing for the NBA, and marching at Boston's Gay Pride Parade on June 8th.
I think that having a prominent basketball star publicly announcing that he's gay will allow others to feel comfortable and open about their own homosexuality. For further reading on this subject, please read Jason Collins Breaks Barriers.

Prom Is Here

As the school year winds down, things we seniors actually care about are slowly but surely approaching. Those things include (but are not limited to) graduation, leaving for college, and prom. Yes, prom season is finally here. And speaking of prom, mine is this Friday. I am extremely excited. The class of 2013 chose this year's theme to be Springtime in Paris. I like spring colors because they are soft. I cannot wait to see how the ballroom will be decorated. I finished up my prom shopping yesterday. I chose my dress sometime in February. It took a while to find it, but I knew it was the one after I tried it on. My shoes are absolutely gorgeous. They are simple pumps, but they accent my dress so well. I already have my accessories and everything. The only thing I need now is a small to medium size clutch. The handbag will definitely complete my look. I am not much of the dress wearing type, but I am going to turn heads on Friday. My best friend and I will essentially be double dating that night. My parents will be our chauffeurs for the night. I am so excited to see other people's outfits. Friday cannot come quick enough.

Ricin Letters

About a week ago, ricin-laced letters were sent to President Obama, Senator Roger Wicker, and Judge Sadie Holland. Ricin is a highly toxic protein, that when a small dose is inhaled, can kill an adult human. Paul Kevin Curtis was the first suspect of the crime against the President. Kevin Curtis was on an one-man campaign for over a decade to expose the "illicit organ harvesting scheme" at a Tupelo hospital. The poisoned letters were signed "I am KC and I approve of this message." The signature led to the investigation of Curtis. After a thorough search of Kevin Curtis and his ex-wife's house, there was no sufficient evidence linking Curtis to the crime. With the lack of evidence, all charges against him were dropped by federal investigators. Curtis's family and his brother (Jack) did not immediately think that the charges against Kevin Curtis were false, due to Curtis's history of mental illness. However, they knew something was wrong when informed that a poisoned letter was sent from him to Obama. "Somebody messed up because he likes Obama," said Jack. It was then that the family suspected that Kevin Curtis was framed. Jack told the authorities to take a look at Everett Dutschke (a former employee of his that had an "antagonist" relationship with Kevin Curtis). On Tuesday and Wednesday, Dutschke's home and his former school was searched. Evidence was recovered that connected Dutschke to the contaminated letters. After careful inspection, it was concluded that the letters were in fact forged to mimic Curtis's handwriting, and the usage of his slogan sealed the deal. Everett Dutschke was arrested Saturday morning at his home. He was then turned over to the U.S. marshals. He is currently facing charges of the possession, development, and stockpiling of a biological toxin, and a delivery system to use a weapon. If convicted, Everett Dutschke can serve a life sentence in federal prison. For further reading on this topic, see Contaminated Letters.