America's prison crisis and drug crimes

By Javier

It is not reasonable to treat drug trafficking and drug use as a crime. Drug prohibition makes the state focus on searching for and apprehending drug users who are not normally violent or criminals in any sense. It also increases the state's expenses in the judicial branch because prosecutors and judges have to spend their  time processing these offenders. This, obviously, also means that the state has to spend more money on its prison system. More sentences for drug crimes mean more immates, and more money for taxpayers to contribute. The article "Fixing America's Broken Prisons" asserts that, today, taxpayers spend more than $80 billion a year on the prison system. It also shows that the increase in prison sentences began with the response of lawmakers to the high crime rates in the 1970s and 80s. To face this problem, congressional representatives decided to pass laws imposing mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes.


Finally, the most important reason to claim that there is no justification for drug prohibition is that consuming or selling drugs doesn't neccesarily involve harming others. These people (consumer and dealer) usually interact with each other peacefully. In that case, it is the state that becomes a criminal for punishing people involved in "victimless crimes". Although some people contend that drug crimes are violent, and use as an example the violence caused by drug trafficking in producing countries like Colombia or Mexico, the truth is violence is not caused by the selling of the product itself, but by the fact that it is illegal and has to be distributed in a black market. It is not the product, it is the prohibition that is causing this violence and deaths.

Responsibility for future

RESPONSIBILITY FOR FUTURE

by Minh Trieu 

According to Article, we are facing with a plastic and we do not know about it. This study shows us that there are 8 trillion plastic pieces entering aquatic habitats in the United States every day. In order to find a solution for this problem, it is necessary that entire society have to work together by different means such as education for the young people, by establishing law and by the attention of each individual in society.

First of all, education has to play an important role in this process. The family should be the first school for children as Vietnamese often says. Therefore, as first teachers, parents need to teach their children about the negative consequences of plastics for the environment around us. This lesson has to be conveyed to their children by their own good examples, that is, parents must do what they ask their children to do. For example, parents should teach their child know how to sort rubbish and what kind of rubbish can be recycled. This lesson should be taught in school in different methods. For example, teachers can show a movie about the plastic pollution and explain for kids the negative consequences when we throw plastic objects into the water.  In high school and university, teachers should encourage students to discuss the plastic pollution and find concrete solutions that can be applied in their own situation. 

Secondly, one of the best ways is that producers have to be more responsible for their products. To be more responsible means that companies and producers should be required to find alternative materials that can be recycled and reused. In fact, many companies have tried to find new ways to reduce the plastic pollution. For example, in Korea, many companies have produced cosmetic products without microbeads. This effort should be widened and encouraged in other countries.

Finally, government and international organizations have to work together in order to find effective solutions for this problem. According to Article, plastics microbeads will be banned from the US to protect the waterways of this country. Because the researchers suggested that a ban on “microbeads would be the best way to protect water quality, wildlife, and other resources”. I think that this ban is able to apply in other countries on over the world. Moreover, the result of new research should be shared widely because of benefits of all human beings.

In conclusion, the fact that the plastic pollution is a global crisis calls one of us participate in finding solutions for this problem.  Given that importance of this problem, it is necessary that every institution in society and government need to take action. It is not only necessary to protect our environment for us but also to protect it for next generations. The future of this world depends on our actions and choices now and here.

Microbeads: what shoud we do as responsible consumers?

by Javier

The article" Eight trillion microbeads pollute aquatic habitats every day" tell us about the environmental problem that is being caused by products that use microbeads. Microbeads, small plastic particles that are used mostly in personal care products, are severly polluting aquatics habitats.

In order to face this  environmental problem that the article describes, the best choice to make as an individual consumer is to stop buying products that are conflicting with your higher moral values. Thus, if you consider that harming marine wildlife is morally wrong and that these products do not help to protect more important values, you should stop using them. According to the article, the use of products containing microbeads causes that, daily, 8 trillion microbeads enter aquatic habitats in the U.S. Furthermore, that number only represents 1 percent of the total number that is being dumped daily; the other 99% normally end up, one way or another, polluting waterways as well. That proves that using that products with microbeads are dangerous to marine wildlife. Do these products help or are important to protect higher values? It seems not to be the case. Most of these products are cosmetics, or personal care products, that are not essential for human life and that can be replaced or made with different and less harmful elements. As a consequence, it seems clear that we need to stop buying these products. The reason we need to make that choice is because it is the morally right thing to do. Protecting marine wildlife, in this case, is more important that using cosmetic products that can be replaced by other less harmful. The choice would be totally different, if, for example, the products we were referring to were important medicines that save many patients' lives.

There is an importat distinction that has to be made. The claim that it is morally correct to stop buying the product is very different than the claim that the product should be banned. It is the the difference between the moral aspect and the legal aspect, that should be analyzed with different theories. A product should be banned only if it is harmful to other individual's rights, and the article does not prove that.

The morally right thing you should do as a consumer is stop buying these products. One can think that one consumer's decision has an insignificant impact on choices that corporation make, but this is not true. If everybody thought that way, change would be more difficult to make in society. If many consumers decide not to buy a product, that would send an important message to the manufacturer, and, in order to keep the business profitable, they may begin to care more about environmental issues.

Not for the Present, but for the Future

By Sr. Vocata

  People believe that one of the most efficient inventions in the world is plastic. Because of the cheap cost to produce ease of molding, and  its light in weight, we can find out everywhere. On the other hand, extensive usage of plastic causes a diverse variety pollution: Landfill problem, water pollution and air problem.

  Tatiana Schlosseberg, the author of The Immense, Eternal Footprint Humanity Leaves on Earth: Plastics, noticed, since the 1950s to 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic have been produced, with around a half of it made since 2004(2017). Every day the amount of plastic products pour out from companies: pens, water bottles, plastic bags, cups etc. Can you imagine living without these daily necessities? In the past, we used to use metal as the main material of manufacture goods. However, heavy weight and the high price from mining to molding made the invention of plastic and attractive alternative. Products made of plastic are light and convenient to carry, and it is easy to make multiple forms.

 On the other hand, plastic causes serious problems. According to the article about microbeads, "eight trillion microbeads pollute aquatic habitats every day. Microbeads are used to add scrubbing action to tons of products." When microbeads are poured out into the sea, the plastic does not naturally degrade, but becomes ocean pollution, and this occurs when the plastic in the microbeads enters landfills too. Moreover, when plastic is burnt, it makes toxic fumes which is a factor in air pollution. These kinds of pollution directly impact human life.

  It is clear that it would be difficult without plastic, so reducing usage could be an answer to the disadvantages. In most markets in Korea, when customers buy something, if they don't bring any kind of bag, they have to buy paper bags, or plastic bags which become garbage bags of that region. However, the plastic garbage bag is easy to degrades. Eco-bags are one of the alternatives to the negative effect of none degradable plastic in nature.


  In sum, plastic usage is like double-edged sword. We can't not ignore the positive sides, but we must focus on nature, not only for us, but also for the next generation. For this reason, it is important to reduce the use of microbeads and study alternatives.    

Ambivalent Attitude towards Plastics

By Misun Kang

A various plastics products influence our world in positive and negative way. People should be aware of using plastics a lot in their lives. They also need to learn how to use plastics appropriately. The advantages of plastics are convenient, reasonable price and durable. On the other hand, disadvantages of plastics are environmental problems, people’s perception to plastics, and health problem. Humans cannot live without plastics in this modern era but they have to consider plastics harmfulness and caution to plastics use.

People live in plastics world. When they woke up, they grab a plastic tooth brush and a plastic cup to brush teeth. Plastics also involved in everywhere even in the liquids or somewhere we did not even expect. For example, microbeads which are very tiny plastic beads usually in scrubs and toothpaste for cleansing perfectly. These may seem trivial but its effect is very critical to the environment. Even UNEP reports that a typical exfoliating shower gel can contain roughly as much microplastics as is used to make its plastic packaging. Consumers should stop to choose products including microbeads, but it is hard to distinguish that products contain them or not. Therefore, US government will ban microbeads from personal care products. It is an effective way to reduce lots of microbeads which are hardly biogradable in the ecosystem and visible in human eyes.

Unfortunately, our contemporaries cannot live without plastics because plastics have already come so deeply in their life. They generated massive trash to pollute environment and people even did not feel guilty about using them. Due to their chemical and artificial elements, plastics are far from environment friendly and also there have limits to reuse plastics again and again. Therefore, we should accept this serious circumstance and try to reduce using plastics at first. For instance, using eco bags when we go get some groceries and checking the components in household items can be a good start.

  Plastics are inextricably linked with daily life and people keep exposing to them unconsciously. Citizens and government both should perceive the perils of plastics. Especially, microbeads which are so small that people even do not recognize those as plastics, so government makes some restriction on them. Indifference about plastics is the greatest fear, so people definitely need to take an action. Through government regulations and careful consumption behaviors, it can help people wisely take action to deal with plastics. 

Useful, but...

by Andrea Bonavita

Take a look around you, and you will agree with me that we are surrounded by plastic. In this very moment I’m typing on the keyboard of my laptop, over a table, near several pens, a blue lamp and a cell phone: I have just mentioned six items in which plastic plays a primary role. Plastic is very useful – light, cheap, it can be processed into many ways – but we cannot forget its negative aspects, pretty relevant.

As reported by Rachel Feltman, journalist of the Washington Post, some researches of the Oregon State University recently called for a total ban of plastic microbeads: why? We could only think, for example, how cool our new toothpaste is, with its microbeads. The problem is that after our clean, microbeads reach rivers and seas, polluting aquatic ecosystems. The scientists have proved that plastic microbeads alter the complex equilibrium of the environment and, above all, we can’t get rid of them.

Sometimes we think that things finish to exist because there are no longer under our eyes. But throwing them away, we just swift them… Weighting pros and cons of our simplest behaviors, like using a toothpaste, is not easy. Before buying plastic or products containing plastic, we might look for information, understand percent, time and way of its recycle, and finally do our choice. Some could say that it is just waste of time. However, in the beginning every change of behavior seems imposed and artificial; with time, it becomes natural and used.

We have to change our relationship with plastic: only in this way we can contribute to limit the negative aspects of its use and build a better world.

Response Essay on Microbeads Issues

 Bright and Dark Sides of Plastic: Should We Stop Using Plastic?

 by Soomin

 
  Plastic is one of the most useful friends of human civilization. It is so useful that often people do not even recognize they are using plastic. This hard but light and transformable material lets humans enjoy life a better quality of life ever at a considerably cheaper price. Cars are made of plastic, computers, air-conditioners, binders, bags, packages and even medical appliances--which are crucial to lengthening our life spans--are plastic. The invention of plastic surely makes the world a better place.

  Is a world with plastic a better place for creatures other than humans as well? A lot of people,including myself,tend to act as if humans are the only animals who live on the Earth. However, this is not true. Humans live in one big ecosystem with other animals and plants. How does plastic affect the lives of our neighbors?

  After humans throw away plastic, there are roughly four ways to manage the plastic waste. First, reuse it. The tragedy of reusing plastic is, however, that a very small portion of plastic waste can be recycled since once plastic is fixed into one form it costs a lot to change its form. Second, bury it underground. Third, dump it in the ocean. Fourth, burn it.

  The last three ways are well known to be harmful to the environment and humans as well. Since most plastic is not biodegradable, plastic waste that was buried a century ago still maintains its shape. Also, even the biodegradable plastic takes a long time to biodegrade. Now governments are struggling to find new places for landfills to bury plastic. We just do not have enough land to deal with the plastic waste we have thrown away.

  Greenpeace, a non-governmental environmental organization, reported that every year more than a hundred new 'plastic islands' form in the Pacific Ocean. As you might guess, these islands are made of plastic waste. This trash is dumped in the ocean and spoils aquatic habitats. For example, when polystyrene plastic, or simply PS, is discarded to the ocean many sea animals like sea turtles, mistake that waste as food and they swallow the waste. Then they find themselves become buoyant, unable to go underwater, and die. Plastic microbeads, another example of plastic waste, are so small that they cannot be filtered by urban water treatment plants and flow to the ocean. Just like polystyrene, microbeads also destroy the aquatic ecosystem.

  Burning plastic waste used to be an efficient way to manage plastic disposal until scientists found out that harmful gas is released from the combustion of plastic. These noxious fumes pollute the air and are toxic to human lungs. Many governments these days have closed incineration plants and if they are running some, then they have a strict regulation on them.

  Basically, human civilizations do not have a proper solution to deal with this 'plastic crisis'. The problematic situation of plastic is like spreading human waste all over the world without knowing how to flush. Actually, the case of plastic is even worse than excrement because it, at least, is biodegradable.

  The only solution we have so far for the 'plastic crisis' is using fewer plastic products. Using less plastic means less trash. It is difficult, of course. We live in a world which is very friendly to plastic, but at least we have to make an effort step by step. The environmental movement against microbeads is one good example of successful plan to manage plastic products. At first, there were some voices warning of the harms of microbeads. People listened to those voices and participated in the campaign. Now in the US, products with microbeads are strictly prohibited. It was a small step at the beginning which made a notable success in the end.

Imagination at Work!

by Trieu Nguyen

I would like to share something about the second picture that  impressed me a lot. In my opinion, the picture shows us where human wisdom comes from.
Firstly, I see that man receives his knowledge from two sources: human

experiences and divine revelation. To acquire the human wisdom, we cannot do it by ourselves, we receive what our ancestors had done. That is human wisdom which is the heritage of all human beings. At the same time, we have to receive it through something from above that I will call divine revelation. We can only acquire throughout human reason which is depicted by the instrument in the left hand of figure in the picture. 

         Secondly, we receive our wisdom from different kinds of knowledge. On the left of picture, we see two containers which come from different places: one from the wall which is presented by human work, two others on the floor which are presented by human sources. On the left side of picture, we see the light which comes from above and only one source, but when it goes through human reason which is presented in the left side of the picture, it becomes three. For me, the three is a symbol that expresses three kinds of philosophy: philosophy of God, philosophy of human nature, and that of world. We also can understand three as the representation of totality. It expresses human relationship because humans are themselves social beings. It means that to live our lives we need others. A relationship of love needs three because love cannot close itself in two. For example, man loves a woman and the fruit of love is a child, and three expresses that relationship which is one important element in human life.

Imagination at Work

By Sr. Vocata

  

  With this painting, I can imagine a cycle from nature to nature(or the world). I think, every person is a creator. In this picture, I think about how can we create and express our thoughts and feelings and be creative things, and what we role we should play in this cycle.

  Above all, I want to focus on the character in the middle of this painting. The character, we don't know whether male or female, can't make something by alone she need something else. As I interpret the painting, the materials which she takes to create something come from the window high up on the left-hand wall. The light through the window on the right hand wall adds life to the drawing. In addition, the birds, which are natural creatures, constitute a part of the cycle of nature, and fly away through the other window on the right hand wall. These windows connect the interior and the exterior.

  In addition, every person has been visibly and invisibly influenced by environments, just like in this painting I think. We have our own filters like the magnifying glass in the painting, so we interpret things differently according to what has influenced us, and also react individually in the same way. It is an inevitable interaction in the cycle of the world. The question is how can we deal with influences from outside and our reactions inside. What kind of filter we have is a vital component, too. 

A Short Story

By Soomin

  It was a starry night. Marisol was doing laundry. Her husband had not come home yet. It was just another usual night. he must be hanging out with his gang and playing poker. He was a famous gambler in this small town. He never made money out of it, rather he almost always lost whenever he bet money.

  But, Marisol thought, the one who took the biggest gamble was me. Unfortunately, Marisol had not notice at that very moment when she had bet her life. She could still remember vividly the night her husband asked her to marry him. He had been playing the harmonica and whispering that he would make her the Queen of Love. It had been a romantic night. Marisol had thought getting married to him was not a uncertain bet but a solid promise for a rosy future.
  Maybe I just didn't want to see the truth, Marisol sighed. Love is a lunar eclipse, she thought while looking out the window. That night when he had proposed to her the Moon had been almost veiled by the shadow of the earth but Marisol had not questioned what had been hidden behind the shadow. Instead she had only focused on the edge of the Moon, the part she could have seen which had been shining beautifully. Love was so pure and so innocent that it blinded her intelligence. The stars were twinkling as Marisol sighed. Her husband would come back after all these stars had faded out.

Imagination at work

by Javier

I found this picture very interesting because it shows a relationship between the man and the woman in this painting. That lets you speculate about the nature of that relationship. To me, in the picture, we can see that the man is trying to make her fall in love with him by a serenading her. The woman, in turn, seems to be distant and absorbed in her own thoughts. The house where she lives looks old and dilapidated, so one can imagine the woman is poor and has to work a lot to survive. Maybe it is not that she doesn't like him or is not interested in having a relationship; what might be the problem is that she is always tired and worried about how she is going to get her next paycheck in order to survive. The picture, then, makes you think about how love is not the only important thing in a relationship.

My imagination at work

By Misun Kang 

  This second picture is more abstract, symbolic and tricky to me and that's why I picked the second picture. When I saw it, the first impression I had was that it was blurry and a little bit dark. The owl which has sharp cheeks, sloped shoulders and skinny bare feet represents the female in my opinion. I am not sure about whether it was night or late afternoon, but the owl is holding a prism to use the light of the moon or the sun. I think she is painting color onto the birds. The ink for the painting is coming from two artificial jars which are connected to each other. 

  When I looked the owl and birds in the picture, I imaged that not men restricted women in the society. Ironically, women constrained other women's behaviors. The owl shows how a woman has internalized herself in relation to the outside society. Flying birds which have innate rights to pursue freedom symbolize young girls who have not yet suffered hardships from the society. Therefore, the owl, an internalized woman, colors the flying birds. It means that the woman who already internalized the social norm forces another same and young women to be act like her. 

Waiting for the 8th

by Andrea

Sad. Lost in her thoughts. She doesn't want to think that tomorrow is 'the' day, the day of her wedding.

She doesn't love him, but the one who loves her truly plays this truth every night at her window...

Can this music help to make her life less hard? How long will she be listening to this music? Days, months, years?

"Sun" is beautiful!

by Nguyen Trieu

Maybe you think that I am writing something about the sun or the light. But it is not the case. I am glad to write about my classmate to whom I had have a chance to talk. She comes from South Korea; her name is Misun. Now, I would like to share my first feelings about her.

Misun is a beautiful, typical Korean girl. She is tall with long hair and a nice face. Especially, her beauty is revealed by the way she speaks and smiles. Throughout our conversation, her beauty was expressed by her generosity and intelligence. As an active person, she wants to travel and learn about other countries. That is why she has studied the Chinese language and culture. With exchanged program, she had have many opportunities to travel and she had already visited many countries and regions in Asia. She hopes that one day she could travel all over the world. For that reason, she wants to study and improves her English. Because nowadays English is spoken by  people in every countries, she thinks that English will not only help her in her job but also give her a chance to travel and make friends with people from other countries and cultures.

The Passion within Quiet Mood

By Sr. Vocata

  When I first met Kirari, we were participating in a potluck party at the end of the Ramardan. My first impression of her was that she was quiet. However, after I interviewed her, I have changed my mind because she has a certain goal which is connected to her quiet mood. That is to be a flight attendant for Japan Airline. 

  When she was a child, she met a lot of women on the JAL crews through her father who works for that airline company. Naturally, to be a fight attendant became her dream. For this reason, she decided to choose Sociology as her major at university in Japan. Moreover, she has taken up the challenge to go to the U.S. to improve her English skill in order to achieve her goal. 

  I was inspired by her reason to choose to study at Gonzaga University: she knew that Gonzaga has fewer Japanese students than other language institutes. 

  She is quiet, but through the interview, I was able to here about her passion to study English, so I'm happy to have a good friend in ESL. 

   

Learning about Japan

By Javier

I met Makoto about a week ago. I knew very little about Japan then. Now I know more about that fascinating country, and, of course, about Makoto himself. 

Makoto came to the U.S to improve his English. His goal when he goes back to Japan is to become an English teacher. 

Here in the U.S, Makoto is going to focus on his speaking and listening skills because, back in Japan, he couldn't practice those skills. He could practice writing and reading by himself, but Japanese people don't care much about practicing English in conversations. Another reason why speaking is challenging to him is the pronunciation; the Japanese language doesn't use the "R" and "L" sounds that we use in English.

Makoto's greatest ambition is making other people happy, and the first step to accomplish it is to become an English teacher.

My English Classmate, Trieu

        

 By Misun Kang

   Whoever said people's eyes are all looked the same never saw Trieu's eyes. He has holy and shining eyes which make people happy. Trieu is a student of Theology because he wants to get his master degree in Theology from Boston college in the United States. He decided to come to the Gonzaga ESL program. He organized his plan very well because he will also prepare to take the TOEFL during the program. Due to his choice to become a priest and to major Theology, he has learned to speak both Italian and English. He has lived five years in Rome, Italy. After mastering English, he wants to contribute to the research in Theology. His favorite skill in English is reading, because he likes to read a lot especially the Bible. He feels challenge in speaking part, because it is hard to express his whole opinion in a foreign language. I hope he can achieve his goals and makes a good memory in America.

Soomin: my first interview

by Andrea

I cannot believe I did my first interview in English after less than an hour of English class! I interviewed one of my classmates, Soomin. She is from South Korea and we will share the whole course together.
It is not easy to have an idea of someone in just three minutes, but I feel that Soomin is an amazingly positive person: she likes studying History and Sociology, that means she has curiosity in human beings. Her greatest ambition is...travelling in space! Pure curiosity!
I hope this course will be able to help us to grow in our goals and to express them in better...English!

Andrea from Italy

  

Time to Be a Priest, Andrea!

By Soomin

  Andrea draws really well. That was what popped up in my mind when I started a little interview with him. Since it is the first time ever to talk with somebody who wants to be a priest I asked a lot about his religious life. Andrea was actually a college student in Millan and majoring architecture-this is the reason why he is a good painter-. And Baam! One day he felt the God was calling him. He decided to be a priest and live the rest of his life in the love of the God. Andrea said with a big smile that he wants to help others. free their lives and help them to find their true desires. Andrea is the one who cares other people a lot. He wants to make relationships with others that can let both of them feel free. Hope you a great bless Andrea!