Author Archives: OUMAR DIAKITE

The op-ed I chose was “Here’s what to know about the dangers that go along with hosting Thanksgiving amid surging coronavirus infections: What’s safe? What’s not?” by Keith Grant. I was drawn to this op-ed mostly because I myself have this question of how Thanksgiving will be for many people this year. Something I found effective was that the author listed many precautions that people should take in carrying out this celebration. I think that these are very necessary precautions people should follow when having guests over. The author states that on your guest list you should have “only members of your immediate household.” I believe this to be the safest way if you plan on having guests over or as the author also suggests “Lowest risk is a virtual Thanksgiving.” Having a virtual Thanksgiving would be very different, but it may be necessary to prevent more covid-19 cases. I found it very interesting that the author also had a section for the meal itself, where he stated “Safer is a meal cooked and served by one person.” I think this to be a very useful tip right now because it would limit the amount of contact between individuals and the food.

1. Are you registered to vote? Will you be voting this election?
2. What issues do you believe the next president should address?
3. Do you believe your vote will make a difference?

Manolo, 18

1. “I am registered to vote and will be voting in this election.”

2. “Well I think that the next president has to do something about the racial issues this country is going through. I’m really worried about the climate though. How are we going to fix this problem and stop destroying our planet?”

3. “Yes, I do believe my vote will make a difference and that’s how everyone should think.”

Isaiha, 18

1. “I am planning on voting but I hope the lines aren’t too long.”

2. “I’m really interested in how the economy would turn out after this election. Something that concerns me is this pandemic and how it doesn’t look like its going away. Another issues happening in the country involving racial injustice needs to be resolved because Black lives matter.”

3. “Of course, I would not be voting if my vote didn’t count. I think my vote counts because it represents how I feel about this topic.”

Fode, 20

1. “Yeah.”

2. “The president has a lot to fix. The next person in office will have to look at a pandemic, racial issues, climate change, and possible debt.”

3. “Yes, I do believe my vote will make a difference because each of us vote to make a difference. Voting helps us speak up about conflicts in society.”

Some things that stood out to me while reading about gen z was how different gen z is to previous generations. Most of gen z was born into this technological period, which directly reflects how knowledgeable we are on many of today’s topics. Having access to social media and different forms of news has made this generation very aware and informed. I also noticed that generation z is far more diverse, having Latinos, Blacks, Asians, etc. all over the place. For example in one of the readings by Kim Parker and Ruth Igielnik, it states ” members of gen z are more racially and ethnically diverse than any previous generations.” I agree with this statement because I feel that compared to my parents, I do regularly interact with people of many different backgrounds. I was interested to see that many members of gen z are looking to bring change and resolve worldwide issues. They encourage others to vote, trying to uplift their communities to keep their best interests in mind. I feel that most if not all of these descriptions of generation z align with my beliefs and how I think. Being a part of this very diverse group of people who are driven by technology has really shown me how different older generations are.  The strongest reaction I received from the readings was admiration for the values gen z stands for.

Orwell’s thesis talks about how the written English language has become ugly and inaccurate. He shows that the use of political language has caused writers to become vague by unconsciously hiding their truth. Orwell gave an example of a man who starts to drink because he failed and so the drinking makes his life even worse. This reflects how inaccurate written English is being spread by writers imitating bad English. Orwell shows that instead of following a set of words someone else put together, you should pick your own words for the sake of their meaning. For example instead of using a phrase that sounds smarter, you should just make a clear statement. Orwell states “The great enemy of clear language is insincerity.” He further states that “when there is a gap between one’s real and one’s declared claims, one turns… to long words and exhausted idioms.” He shows that when a writer is insincere he/she relies on making vague statements using exhausted idioms and smarter sounding words. George ties this to politics by showing that speakers use this phraseology to avoid giving the audience mental pictures of uncomfortable situations.

In the essay, Orwell mentions different ways we dodge the use of prose in our writing. One of these categories is pretentious diction. In this category you use words to dress up statements to make biased judgements seem factual. Examples of this method are heavily used today because many believe that adding words like utilize, historic, and inevitable make their statements better. I myself have seen this language used in my writing. My thought process at that time is to make sentences sound smarter or complex which compromises clarity. Language use and politics intersect for because when you make a statement, everyone has their own interpretation. Two phrases that have been subject to debate are Black lives matter and All lives matter. Many believe that the All lives matter movement was meant to undermine the Black lives matter movement. This showed how uneducated many were on the topic of systematic racism in this country.

In this presidential ad for Biden, it brings to light the current issues in our country. Mainly the racial injustice black Americans have been facing due to brutality. The audience for this ad is black Americans and those who are against racial injustice. While watching the video I saw many people of different backgrounds with Biden which shows that he is here for all people. The message this ad sends is that America will not tolerate racism or the injustice shown by the police department.  It also shows that a part of having freedom is being free from brutality. Biden is striving to make it so everyone knows they are being heard. This invokes a welcoming feeling where people can come together and not have to be afraid for their lives. It’s hard to place your trust in a system that abuses its citizens, so showing that the system is there for the people would allow them to put more trust in your cause. This is a positive ad because it doesn’t discredit any candidates, but reveals issues our country is currently facing. There were lots of pictures with infants of different races showing that life is precious no matter where you were born. The use of infants also gives a sense of protectiveness because no normal person would want to hurt a child. I also noticed that there was a clip of students in a classroom which could mean that we can’t spread hate to the next generation. If people were to come together now, it would make it much easier for the next generation to fit in because racial issues wouldn’t be a problem. Biden’s plan for law enforcement and how we can reduce the violence is shown by the “Biden Harris Plan”. He intends to create a national standard on the use of force and adjusting federal funding of the police. The techniques this ad uses are pathos and logos. Pathos was mostly used because you feel a sense of sympathy for all those being mistreated, which in this case would be black Americans. Logos was used because it shows problems were are currently facing in our country and points out that necessary political action will be taken when Biden becomes president. In my opinion this ad is very effective because it directly addresses the issues we’re going through. The ad also helps us to sympathize with the people being directly affected by police brutality. It isn’t like most ads which are meant to discredit other candidates, it’s meant to show what’s being done about our current situation.

“Shitty First Drafts” by Anne Lamott shows that to be effective you have to go through trial and error. This approach to writing shows that you must get your ideas out onto paper in order to have an idea on how you’ll construct your essay for future drafts. Therefore, your first draft will be shitty and you’ll be able to make it better as you continue to your final. George Dila’s “Rethinking Shitty First Drafts” contests Lamott by stating that “I do not write shitty first drafts.” Dila believes that revising as he writes works best for him because he does not like writing anything shitty. This approach allows you to revise your piece as you continue to write.

The process that Dila uses is mainly my approach to writing. Through this process I’m able to check for any mistakes and maybe re-write some sentences. I agree with how Lamott pours it all out because having a specific idea to use in your writing is not always easy. I would say my writing process has a bit of both approaches, revising as I go and trying not to sound too shitty.

Angie Cruz’s essay “What We Deserve” reflects her family’s history and how it dictates her reaction to the separation of immigrant children from their families. She organizes her essay by using events that correspond with the photograph and the hardships of women. She explains that her mother is about to be married off against her will in hopes of starting a better life. Cruz shows how this is similar to immigrant children being separated from their parents, also against their will and forced to live with decisions that are made for them. Cruz then goes on to question why families would force their children, their daughters to marry at young ages just to experience mistreatment in another country. Cruz goes further into the hardships of women by including how her mother contributed immensely to the survival of her family. By using these events Cruz is able to create a  realization that these kids who are torn from their families due to circumstance need to be taken care of. She also shows that the vulnerabilities of women are still very much real today. She accomplishes this by sharing that “one in four girls are sexually abused; one in six women are victims of attempted raper or rape.” This shows that young women who are separated from their families could end up as one of these statistics. Cruz’s political views are very much connected to her family history since her mother has experienced separation.

1. I’m very outgoing; I enjoy speaking with others and having meaningful conversations.
2. I like to exercise; I’m into sports and being active. I play a couple sports and like working out.
3. I like a good challenge; Not everything is easy to do, and overcoming challenges requires effort, which is why i enjoy challenges.
4. I don’t like disorder; Things get very confusing for me when i’m not organized and I tend to get frustrated.
5. I believe in hard work; I believe that the more effective work I’ve put into something, the better the results i received.