Discussion Journal #4

This week in our class lectures we focused a lot on "white privilege." On Tuesday we went over an article written by Peggy McIntosh, "White Privilege." Jeremy said that this article may be one we have seen in other classes, as it is a topic that is commonly brought up. I have seen this article before, in my communication and gender class last semester. The discussion in both of the classes seemed quite similar, but Jeremy also related it to something us as students may understand a little better. He tied in Macklemore's lyrics. Macklemore says "So scared to acknowledge the benefits of our white privilege." McIntosh in her piece says "I think whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege." White privilege can be defined as a set of privileges that those who are white have compared to those of color in relation to social, political or economic spaces. 

McIntosh in her article decided to write a list of 'white privileges' in her daily life. When I looked over it I felt like it was quite a long list. She had 26 different points she thought of, some simple such as I can find a bandage to cover up my skin in my skin tone, where others were a little more intense such as when talking to a person "in charge" it will be of their race. A girl in class mentioned that it's easy for her to walk into the store and find makeup that will match her skin no problem, but it may be harder for someone of color trying to do the same. Those little things I never think of, buying makeup or that the bandage will match my skin tone, and I never thought that might actually bother someone of color they don't get those options. We are quick to judge and assume a lot of the time. Steve told us a story of when one time he said he worked at the University of Utah people assumed he worked with the football team or in athletics because of his skin color.

Whileo I was writing this my parents called to tell me that unfortunately I can't go home for Christmas, for the second year in a row. I was really looking forward to it as for me home is so far away and I only get to go there maybe once or twice a year. I was complaining to my co-worker and while I was I said "geez I am complaining about not being able to go hme, but there are bigger things that other people have to face, like the fact of 'white privilege.' He asked what it was and I explained it to him. I told him I learned a lot about it in class and that it's not something we tend to really ever think of. I notice it at my work a lot of the time. I am standing at the front desk of my work with one of my co-workers who is of color and white people tend to come to me first while people of color talk to her. People always assume I am supervisor, where she actually is. It's the little things we don't notice that are the things that mean the most. From now on I am going to actually pay attention to those little details and try and not own such a label of 'white privilege."

Discussion Journal #3

This week we focused a lot on active living throughout the different stages of our lives. We learned that people develop at different rates in their cognitive, physical and social developments. When a child is younger then need short bursts of energy, but when we are older we tend to want high intensity for longer periods of time. It was very interesting, and also worrisome, to learn that we are in our peak fitness phase from the ages of 18-25.

In class we had a few class presentations on Friday, two were focused a lot on what we talked about in class on Thursday, about the different stages of our lives relating to active living. Our class discussion was really engaged with talking about what we felt about a graph that Sam provided to the class. The graph showed that there is a significant decline in physical fitness as we get older in life. A lot of us argued that a lot of our grandparents are still extremely active and we believe the graph may be wrong. I noticed that the graph was from the 1970s so things have changed quite a bit since then.

I started thinking about what is going to happen to my active living lifestyle when I get older. I am in my senior year of diving at the U and I worry even after this year I will not continue with physical activity as much as I am now. I am currently not happy with where my fitness level is and my body image and Mary did say between ages 18-25 we are in our top physical peak, so it does make me worry. I don't want to decline my fitness abilities or stop being active all together, but the lack of motivation and the fact I don't HAVE To be at practice or at the gym may be a challenge.

My goal is to start being active outside of my sport. Try joining classes such as Zumba or a yoga class. Continue to run outside of training and for myself and enjoyment. When I retire from my sport I can't just completely stop being active. I want to continue to do weight training and work out, but I need to find ways to do so. I am going to start exploring my options to help me now so I can help myself later on.

Discussion Journal #2

This past Friday's class we had our presentations we were suppose to have the previous week. I was looking forward to them because they were the first of the article based ones. Nate and Farmer both had such informative presentations and I was really engaged during them. Nate's presentation on sustainability was amazing and his knowledge on the subject was very thorough. He really tied everything back to Salt Lake City and made me really think of things I never thought of before. It also made me think of this week's Tuesday experience where we had to take public transit to our destination. My group-mates and I brought snacks this week and when we got off the train Hugo started walking and counting. I asked him why he was counting and he reminded us that in class Mary said people tend to walk 27 steps before they throw their garbage on the ground. Hugo ended up walking 42 before he found a garbage bin. That posed a little bit of a problem as there was garbage all over the ground leading up to the garbage bin.

While Nate was talking about sustainability and the different ways it can affect Salt Lake City I shared my story of how my team wastes water in huge amounts. During our two hour practice we are in the water for almost an hour and a half and we just let a hot water hose run. I can even imagine how much water that is wasting. It's little things like the garbage being thrown on the ground or wasting water I never truly thought about in my daily life. It's something that I just take for granted, and well most of us do.

I decided to start standing up for the little things. When we at our Tuesday experience to Splore they told us that they partner with bigger corporations and do clean ups by lakes and rivers. I started tying everything together and realized I should start doing some little things to add to sustainability in Salt Lake City. I told my teammates that we will fill up the "trash bin" and not let the water run, they were not having it at all. I was actually quite shocked because my one teammate is extremely close with nature and the environment. They were extremely against it but they finally gave it and decided to not do it for morning practice, well it's a start. I also walked around campus and picked up some trash following the football game on Saturday, boy was there A LOT.

If every single person threw their trash in the garbage or if someone saw a piece of garbage on the ground and picked it up Salt Lake City would start to be a cleaner place to live. I think we could do it we just need to start holding each other accountable.

Discussion Journal #1

I experienced a lot during this week of the PRT Integrated Core. I personally feel that I learned a lot from Brian's presentation. Brian did his presentation on disability in sport. He chose a story of this young man, Mitchell Marcus. Mitchell's story begins with his disability and his love for basketball. He became his high school's basketball team manager, and helped the team on the sidelines. The coach saw his love for the game, so on their final game he let Mitchell suit up, what Mitchell didn't know was that he was going to get to play. The coach let Mitchell in and every chance Mitchell got he missed the basket. With only a minute left in the game a player on the opposing team passed the ball to Mitchell and he made the shot!

During the video it reminded me of what we discussed in class about a person's master status. A master status is the primary identifying characteristic of a person in society. In my mind I felt Mitchell's master status was his disability, what he is known for in society. After our class discussion though I felt I had looked at the situation the wrong way. I got goosebumps when the player on the opposing team passed him the ball and let him take the shot. That is such an amazing quality in a person to have. It was looking past a chance at winning the game and giving a young man a chance who may not get many in life.

Although Mitchell has a disability it doesn't define who he is, it's just apart of who he is. He is a son, friend, manager, high school student and has a passion for basketball. I can't speak for everyone, but myself I tend to look at a person's master status and ultimately make my decision on who they are and what their abilities are. Although Mitchell may have missed a few baskets at the game, he did make one and that is more than some people could ever do. If I first met Mitchell and learned he had a disability I would assume he would be working on the sidelines, helping with water, as terrible as that may sound. My little brother has a learning disability as well as a disability that caused him to undergo surgery on his legs. He was put on the sidelines with no hope for his love of hockey. He showed everyone wrong, graduated high school and is now playing junior level hockey. Just because someone may hold a master status of one thing it shouldn't define who they are.

I am going to start trying to look at everyone from a different perspective. When our TA, Preston, was engaging us in our discussion he told us to try and look at our thoughts in a different perspective. If we were very strong argued one way, try and see the other side of things. When I meet someone or have heard things about someone I am not going to cling to their master status or how they are perceived. I am going to look at all of their statuses and look at the person they are. I feel it's something we all say we are going to do, "don't judge a book by its cover," but it is something so overlooked. 

I felt the discussion really got the class involved and I can truly say I took something away from class this week.