Reflection Assignment #5

The program I attended this semester was from the Humanities Lecture Series, and the topic was Sexuality: Kaleidoscopic Perspectives. This lecture was held at the Downtown Phoenix campus in the new Nursing and Health Innovation building. The speakers that spoke to us were Grace Galliano and Jacqueline Martinez, both who are faculty of the Downtown Phoenix campus. These two teachers presented to us their own perspectives on sexuality. The purpose of the lecture was to address how we conceptualize sexuality and the ways sexual knowledge comes about. They also went into questions that were concerning appropriate boundaries about values, ethics and morality. Their presentation wanted us audience to get engage on this topic and give our personal perspectives.

When I came to this lecture I thought it would just be a discussion on sexuality and how we define it now, and how we deal with it right now being a college student with how it can effect us. Once the lecture began the presenter did start off with defining what sexuality is and then went into saying it is a social behavior, that then becomes a personal behavior. This statement caught my attention because I do agree that our social behavior can be persuaded by sexuality, but in the end we make our own decisions and choices about our behavior. The lecture made me remind myself how I was taught about sex and the way to make choices about it. We tend to learn about sexuality from our parents but also the media can have a big impact on that as well. Your parents are the ones that can make the choice of what to teach you about sex and share their knowledge about the topic. This topic alone can really shape a person on their ethics and morals in life, because everyone has a different definition of sex and the meaning of it. For me I actually learned from my peers mainly what sex was all about. My parents did not really share with me what sex is all about because they left the public high school I went to do all the explaining of what it is.

In the lecture it was also talked about that our sexual behavior can be a preconscious orientation toward our mind, body and feeling. This part for me started to relate more to our course. We began to talk about sexual orientation and they did not single out homosexuals or heterosexuals, and any other types of orientations, they put it in a connotation where sexual orientation is all the same no matter what way you choose. They shared with us how our sexual behavior will form our thoughts on sex, especially once you actually do it. Some of us can tell what our body likes and does not like, and our bodily expressions will show that. Most importantly sexuality and being intimate with someone is not just a physical act it actually has meaning to that person no matter what.

Going back to sexual orientation or personal choice, they asked us how might a person discover his or her sexual values and boundaries and how we can reflect on the boundaries that we have. While they shared with us their opinions I actually asked myself as a young adult how I discovered my sexual values and boundaries. For me I never really set a standard in my head but I did make the boundary of not to sleep with just anyone because of sexual desire. A lot of people at my age and in our society today have been not really taking precaution about the sexual decisions they make. Today we are starting to hear about more diseases and symptoms that have to do with sex, and that scares me. Sex has a big effect on people right now because if you are in college and like to drink and party, there is a chance that you can make that mistake of being pulled into something because of sexual desires. We need to start having conscious awareness of it at all times.

Another question that was brought is, why does morality seem so tightly bound with sexuality among college students? There are many college students who's lives are built off of morals that they learned. Part of our morals are the decisions we make in life and we do make decisions about sexuality. Overall sexuality molds and changes us, as the speakers said sexuality is a cultural taboo. We can all be surprised of how much sexuality has an influence on our decisions and values in life, especially with todays society. This lecture had taught me to be more aware of the decisions I make especially when it comes to involving sex that has evolved into a culture of some sort. This information will also help me professionally because I want to get involved with sports and event planning, and with sports a lot of men work in that field. Sexual orientation can play a role in this field and it will make me very aware of how I am perceived in this work force. I feel that this lecture has prepared me to be more aware and cautious. Having the time for someone to talk to a group of us about the meaning of sexuality and our concepts about it really opened my eyes to how differently it can be taught and moralized.

Reflection Assignment #4

A topic from the second half of the semester that resonated with me was the lecture from the guest speaker Tom Lambke and his son Bryan. Tom spoke to the class about his son Bryan who was born with Down syndrome, and the challenges Tom had to face because of that. Tom started off explaining to us how never in a million years would it cross his mind that his child would be born with a problem that will challenge is life. Growing up Tom could not tell us one thing about Down syndrome and what it was all about because back then they did not really educate people on conditions like that. When Bryan came into Tom’s life it was the start of something new for Tom. He now was facing a new challenge in his life. Tom told the class that back in his day there was no internet where he can immediately look up what Down syndrome exactly was, in fact the doctors were not even that supportive of down syndrome kids. Some doctors would give the option of couples to give their baby away where they would do studies on them, others were told not to expect a whole lot of their child if they decide to bring them home. Hearing Tom say that shocked me because no professional would ever say that to someone today about a child with Down syndrome. Sadly today’s society with technology so high tech, doctors are able to find out if the child will be born with down syndrome or not so the parents have a choice to abort it or not. This made me sad to hear because really kids with Down syndrome are something really special that always brings a smile to your face.

My mother works with kids that have Down syndrome so I always had the chance of being around them. These kids are so smart it really amazes me the things they can accomplish. When Tom talked about his son getting involved with the Special Olympics it was no surprise at all. In my opinion the Special Olympics is much more challenging than the regular Olympics, so to know that Bryan did the Special Olympics is such a great honor. The special Olympics is a good way of showing the world that disabled people are well off capable of doing any sport or challenge that is done in the regular Olympics, and with that it shows other people without disabilities what they can do. This gives us people without disabilities to really gain respect for them even more. I still believe today in our society people are not well informed about Down syndrome and still give it negative stereotypes just because of the name. I believe in schools conditions like this should be talked about, and not talked down on but more in a positive way. These people are just like any other person just with an extra edition to them.

I have seen improvement around the world for the respect of Down syndrome. Now when I go to the movies I do see people with Down syndrome working there and it really does put a smile on my face. Seeing that they were given an opportunity to work a normal job was a sign of a little improvement with today’s society. Also with the Best Buddies club, this is a wonderful organization that does pair a Down syndrome kid with another kid without a disability to show two different people can connect as friends no matter what the condition is. We need to be able to accept these types of people more and more wherever we are, whether it is at school, in the office at work or even playing on a team with sports. Someone with Down syndrome is capable of growing each and everyday. At the end of class watching Bryan play catch with his father was amazing. Just watching his face you could see how proud he was of what he can accomplish. Tom’s message was so positive to me it made me leave class that day with a feel-good mood. Stories like that will stick with me forever and make me want to do things differently in my life to help share with others a wonderful story like his.

Other great practices of people with down syndrome and to become more aware of it are: http://www.ndss.org/, advocates of the down syndrome society, http://www.buddywalk.org/, celebrating down syndrome awareness month in October and to promote acceptance and inclusion of people with Down syndrome, and www.bestbuddies.org, an opportunity for kids with disabilities and kids without to be paired up to connect as friends with differences set aside.

Reflection Assignment #3

The facility I chose to assess for this assignment is the Phoenix Municipal Stadium, which is located at 5999 E. Van Buren in Phoenix. This stadium is used for Arizona Fall League, Men’s Senior Baseball League World Series, National Adult Baseball Association World Series, and what it is mainly known for is the Oakland A’s Spring Training home field. During baseball spring training which was the month of March, I worked for the Oakland A’s everyday at their stadium where I helped with the stadium promotions and stadium operations. Every game it was always a busy crowd and something was always happening. When assessing the stadium I started out with the parking. The parking lot is across the street from the stadium so everyone parks their cars across the street and then they have to walk up this bridge that overpasses the streets then leads you to the front gates of the stadium. Right next to the stadium they do have a small lot for the professional players buses and handicap spots. It was smart to put the handicap spots right next to the entrance, but they were limited so the people that could not get handicaps spots had to park in the lot across the street. It is kind of a long walk from the stadium to the from the lot across the streets, so we have a people that drive around in golf carts to go pick up those people who have difficulties walking long distance.

Next part of assessing was the ticketing process. One of the games I helped with taking tickets and we stand right next to the turn-style with very little room for someone to go around it, especially if you are in a wheel chair. Whenever we got someone that was in a wheelchair or even baby strollers, they could not go through the gate that their ticket was scanned they had to then go around to the last gate that had no turn-style. This was interesting to me because we make the handicap person pretty much do more work after their ticket is taken and then they have to go down to another gate to get through. There is no sign showing what gate to use, the ticket takers had to direct the person where to go. Once inside the ballpark our concourses are full with people walking. There is concession stands set up everywhere along the walkway. All the stands were at a certain height so if someone in a wheelchair wanted to order something the vendor would have to go around and give to them what they ordered.

Now when the ballpark has people that are handicap come, they do have sections for those that are in wheelchairs since they are not able to go up or down stairs. The area they have them are in each section and a nice view and easy to get to. There was actually one game where I had a woman come up to me asking for a wheelchair for her grandma. When I went to go ask for a wheel chair I was shocked and was told we do not carry any wheelchairs only the EMT’s have them and that is for emergency use only. I told the woman that they are supposed to provide their own wheelchair. Also with seating we do have suites, which are next to the press box, so if handicap people bought tickets to sit up there we do have an elevator that takes them up. Another place for seating are the two grass picnic areas, one in left field and the other in right field. The one in right field was for media lunch and they would block it off with gates so you can only get to it from the stairs. There were absolutely no ramps, but once the game starts they take down the fencing and at that point you do not need to use the stairs. In left field they have the bigger picnic area where they sell more food too. Here they do not have a single ramp going up to it so there is no way a handicap person can sit up there. All of their staircases have railing on both sides for those who need something to hold on to when using the stairs.

The rest rooms at the ballpark are located at three different sections of the park and very easy to find and access. The only problem is a lot of the people that come to our stadium immediately ask one of the workers where there is a bathroom because there is no really big sign saying where the restrooms are. The only thing we have showing where everything are located is this map at the entrance of the stadium showing where seats are located and restrooms. Once people find the restrooms it is a one-doorway entrance and there is one handicap stall that is located in the bathroom. All the sinks in the restroom are the same height but are easy for people in wheelchairs to access with no troubles on their own. Outside the restrooms we have water fountains that are located. There is two, one tall one and one short one. The tall one is of course for people that are not kids and we have the short water fountain for young kids and handicap accessible.

Lastly, the thing I noticed was the scoreboard. Our scoreboard is not high tech and does not show much, but when the announcer is speaking those that are deaf and hard of hearing would not know what he is saying at all. The only thing they can follow is watching the numbers on the scoreboard, but otherwise they have no idea what promotions are going on in between innings. Overall I would say this ballpark is not really centered around the ADA facility requirements. When we do have a fan that does need help with accessibility our staff does all we can to help that person out, so they can get a great experience at our ballpark.

Reflection Assignment #2

We have had many inspiring and wonderful guests speakers coming in to talk to us about certain topics, but the one that stood out to me the most was the LGBTQ Specialist, Lisa Pittari. Lisa spoke to us about the discrimination there is today in our society against the gays and lesbians, and talked about the LGBTQ movement. The first thing she showed us in her presentation was the video ad about the word usage of “gay”. After watching that video it triggered an experience I had with using the word gay out of its content. One day I was talking to my friend and jokingly told him how “gay” he was. All of a sudden a boy from behind walked up to me and told me that using the word gay is very offensive and not a nice thing to say at all. At that moment I felt horrible because I did not mean to offend anyone. From just that experience alone I am now very aware of the certain words I choose to use aloud. I am not someone that discriminates against the gays and lesbians; in fact I have a very close family friend of mine who is gay. The gay community is no different at all from heterosexual people, and a lot of people in our society do not agree with that.

What I respected about Lisa is that she was not biased at all when she was talking to us about this subject. She was not there to convince us to support the gay community; she respected all of our different views and simply just laid out the facts of the discrimination that has been going on with this group. Her presentation was very effective because she got the class involved with doing activities and having us participate, leaving the floor open to anyone who had an opinion. The story she shared with us about the transgender was an eye-opener of a story. This kind of discrimination does not just go on with the gay community, but it happens in all cultures and religions. The message she ultimately wanted to get across to all of us is that discrimination is a serious thing, and the gay community is a perfect example of a group that has been hit pretty hard with discrimination in today’s society. The LGBTQ community is going out there in our society to spread the message that Lisa shared with us in our classroom. With just one person addressing this issue to another person can go a long way and can slowly make a change for the better in our community.

The gay community is such a unified group in America. If they speak out to others about this discrimination, more and more people will be aware of how other human beings are being treated and they will see it is not right. In tourism the gay community can set up a conference in major cities of America, where they can spread the message of awareness of what is going on. Also, LGBTQ is a non-profit organization that talks about the gay advocacy, issues, and events that go on in the gay community. It also provides services and support for anyone who has felt discriminated. Another non-profit group besides LGBTQ is Atticus Circle. Their mission is to educate straight people to create equal rights for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. They want to show the challenges families and partnerships face because of these discriminations. You can find more information about this non-profit organization on their website at http://www.atticuscircle.org/mission.

Reflection Assignment #1

When thinking about my personal opinions, fears and assertions I think of self-confidence. Growing up I had a very low-self esteem. There were a lot of factors that contributed to my lack of self-confidence, and when thinking about a self-evaluation of myself that is one of the biggest things I had to develop in my life.

In my family I grew up with my sister who was born in the same year as me, so we did everything together. When my sister and I were kids we never attended the same school because she was classified as a “gifted” student, meaning she was smart. Knowing that my sister had this gift made me feel that I was not smart, and this was one of the factors to why I had low self-esteem. Once I got to high school my sister finally went to the same school as me. At this point in my life I established myself better as to who I am. I liked getting involved with the school so I did student council and cheerleading. This of course helped my self-esteem and made me feel I can do whatever I put my mind too. Once my sister came to my school I started to get the fear that our peers and teachers would start to compare my sister and I. My sister is the complete opposite of me, she is loud, outspoken and does not care what people think of her. I on the other hand am more reserved, quiet, and care if someone does judge me. In high school we did have people that would compare us. This made me feel that my sister was better and prettier, and also at that age her and I got into arguments almost twenty-four seven. When we would fight she would tease me and use strong words that would put me down. It got to the point where I believed the words she would say to me like, “I am stupid” or “I am ugly”. Once again, my self-esteem was lowered.

Now as a young adult my sister and I are more mature, and we both love and accept each other for how different we are, which makes us very unique from one another. Going through a hard time with my self-esteem was not only from the impacts of my sister though. With looking at the diversity wheel in the Allison and Schneider book, I classify myself under the category of age and religion.

Age and religion have made a big impact on my life as well. With my age I always was called the “baby” of my grade in school. I have a late birthday and my mom did not want to hold me back a year. Since I was not held back, all my life I have people who judge me by my age because they think I am so young. I always tell people it is not about my age, if you get to know me and talk with me you would not even think that I was younger. I have run into a lot of situations where people disregard me because I tell them how old I am. I love embracing my age now because all my friends are older than me and it makes me feel young and ageless.

Lastly, religion is a big part of my family’s values. My religion is Judaism and it is something that is very important to me. I realized, as I got older I was always hesitant to answer the question, “what is your religion?” I always hear people make jokes about Jewish people and I wouldn’t say that I was offended, so I wouldn’t say anything at all letting them know I am Jewish. I didn’t want people judging me based on my religion because I want people to see that just because I am Jewish, it does not make me any different from other people’s religious views. A problem I am still working on today is to not be ashamed of my religion and the history that it has. My religion is also my culture and I cannot let that not be apart of my life. Everyday I am growing and learning new things about me. It is definitely not an overnight process, but so far with having this course I am able to evaluate and be more aware of the person I am.