Blog due 3-26

Asking Essential Questions

From a young age, I was told that asking questions is essential to learning. I remember always thinking of what kinds of questions I would ask. In elementary, I asked more general questions on the surface of  what was being taught. In middle school, I reasoned a bit more. In high school, some questions went into depth of the meaning and usefulness of the material. Now, in college, every question has some deeper relevance than I thought. It only seems realistic that big name philosophers focused on asking essential questions as well. As questions are asked, they get more and more specific. I could ask myself why I chose to study health sciences. I could continue to ask why, and what led me to each decision that concluded with me being here writing this entry. 

Before even reading each article, I knew that Hawking was a scientific philosopher. I myself am a science major, and have taken great interest in science since a very young age. Naturally, I agreed with most everything he stated in his entry. Hawking's essential questions were directed at the world's general theories. For every person on this world, there are millions of theories. For every action you take during a day, there is most likely a theory behind why you did that, or how. Hawking compares quantum mechanics, and the general theory of relativity. Within these two theories, the world is looked at from a general view, all the way to a microscopic view. An essential question being asked here is how to find a theory that relates both. From what I can infer, Hawking's essential questions grow from a general asking of how the world works. This is a general question that I can relate my paper topic to as well. My major is health sciences; therefore, most ultimately, my essential question is how the body works. My major has the same structure as Hawking's approach to theories in this world. 

Ruth Benedict's article has some relevance as well. Benedict focuses on essential questions about culture. She studied three different cultures and related their society to the individuals. She concluded that the individual and society are not antagonistic. We are led to believe that they are. Within each culture, they had different morals for different situations. Some cultures are more open to homosexuality, others are completely against it. In the health sciences and care field, there are many moral conflicts. Some do not believe that studying true dead bodies is ethical. But who determines that it is or isn't, and why does that person agree or disagree. These are essential questions that relate to culture. Benedict also mentions law in society, and how it has grown to manipulate our cultures and values. She makes a direct inference to land being owned. When land wasn't owned, the individual and society were not pinned against each other. Because of laws in the medical field, there are situations were society and the individual are looked upon as antagonistic even though they are not. 

In Thoreau's entry, he focuses on humanity. His essential questions are pointed toward our adaptations to nature. He spent a good amount of his time living off resources in the wild. He believed in borrowing and trading. He adapted morals and values, because of the environment that he was in. A question asked could be directly related to every type of environment and how it affects the humanistic ways of an individual. 

Class work 3-20

102 Group Work Plan

●       Define specific tasks necessary to complete the project. List them below.

-one person attend workshop each week

-meet Wednesdays

-assign individual work (research)

-communicate

-2 articles

-2 interviews

●       As much as possible, play to individual group members' strengths, not their weaknesses. That means identifying the skills and resources each group member can bring to bear on the assignment, and planning the project in a way that takes advantage of those skills and resources to produce a stronger final paper. Make a list of skills and resources for each group member below.

-creative writing

-speedy writing

-writing center

-vocab

-grammar-

-don’t procrastinate

●       Divide tasks among group members. Each group member should be involved in both the research and the writing stages of the project, but that involvement may take a variety of forms. Remember to play to each others’ strengths. More than one group member may be assigned to each task, but one group member should take the lead for each task. Write group members’ names next to tasks they will take responsibility for.

-one person attends workshop per week

-rough draft due by 4-20

-one interview per person

-one article per person

●       Create a schedule, including deadlines for specific tasks and regular meeting times with the entire group. Use the calendar provided, or use something like Google Calendar, which can be shared with group members.

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
3/17	3/18	3/19	3/20	3/21	3/22	3/23
3/24	3/25 attend workshop	3/26	3/27 meet 1015-1145 have articles	3/28	3/29	3/30
3/31 have interviews finished	4/1 attend workshop	4/2	4/3 meet 1015-1145	4/4	4/5 FINISH 1ST INTERVIEW	4/6
4/7	4/8 attend workshop	4/9	4/10 meet 1012-1145	4/11	4/12 FINISH 2ND INTERVIEW	4/13
4/14	4/15 attend workshop	4/16	4/17 meet 1015-1145	4/18	4/19	4/20 FINISH ROUGH DRAFT
4/21	4/22	4/23	4/24 meet 1015-1145	4/25	4/26	4/27
4/28	4/29	4/30	4/31 meet 1015-1145	5/1	5/2	5/3 FINAL PROJECT DUE

●       It is also recommended that you keep a log of your work (what you do and when) individually and as a group, to help you stay on track and provide accountability.

Blog due 3-19

Response to Discipline Related Websites

                    I'll start off by saying that I am no expert in writing. Since the seventh grade when I started writing structured essays, it has always been a struggle for me. Formatting, grammar and citing never came easily to me. Each year I would have to back track and figure out how to structure a specific essay, when almost everyone else was able to remember and start their papers right away. In high school, my grades were very good. My GPA though was always brought down because of my english classes. Yes, my teachers would help me with my papers, but only to an extent. I took what I would learn in class, but it never seemed enough. My problem was that I never researched out of class. Sources were a foreign idea to me. Never once did I think to google how to do an MLA essay, or cite a specific source. Instead, I took the low grade that I was given. Once I entered college, the world of researched opened up to me. After clicking on different links on both of these websites, I decided to bookmark them on my internet tab. I know that I will refer back to these websites in years to come with any subject matter I need to write about. 

                When I first clicked on the Duke University link, I will admit that I was kind of lost. I didn't see an article to read and wasn't sure what I would even respond to. I started looking at the variety of links that the website proposed. I looked for the link which I could relate to the most. Being a science major, I clicked on biology and ended up reading through the entire link very thoroughly. Lab reports and research papers in my biology courses would have been made a lot easier if I had this link. It was very well explained in terms that even I could understand. I clicked on a few different links to see how they were written as well. Each subject had descriptions of each and every type of writing that could be assigned in a related course. It even had an article on how to write about photography. I would have never known that there are accurate ways to write about each and every subject. This website may have been a bit confusing at first, but it turned out to be a great tool that I plan on using for any paper that I have to write. 

            The second website that was from the University of North Carolina blew me away. I may seem a bit exaggerated to some, but I did not even know helpful pages like these exist. I thought the first link was great, but this handout goes into even more detail. It is also categorized a bit easier on the home page. It is not as confusing as the first link. The organization of the website leads you directly to whatever type of paper you need to write. There is more of a variety on the second website as well. The first website focused more on the subjects of writing and the different types of writing strategies that go with each subject. The second website also has a selection of subjects, but it has several links on writing problems. I myself have more writing blocks and problems than I can count, so these links will prove very useful to me. My favorite link on the UNC website was the writing anxiety link. When I have to write a paper, I immediately start sweating and over-thinking. I work myself up to extreme anxiety. After reading the writing anxiety article, it all makes sense. Now when I go to write our next project, I hope to control my anxiety and write a more relaxed paper. This handout also has links about the voices of writing which is something I have always struggled with. There is also a link on blogs that I clicked on, as we write in blogs for this class. It talks about class blogs as well as blogs used as a hobby. I think I might create a personal blog after reading about them. This website will also be useful outside of classes. I will be able to apply these helpful sites to writing business letters, letters of recommendation, and resumes. I took a lot from these two sites and look forward to applying them to future papers in this course as well as others. 

Blog due 3-5

Updated RD:

1. 
In my experience as a competitive dancer for several years, I have argued more times than I can count in regards to dance being considered a sport. I do agree, that dance is a form of art. To perform this type of art though, an extreme amount of physical strength, teamwork, and dedication is required. I was on a competitive dance team at my high school, as well as competing at a separate studio. Over the years, I have found a way to convince almost anyone that dance is not just a form of art, but a sport as well.  Even though I can convince my friends and family of this sport, convincing school officials has been a struggle. In middle school, I had about twelve hours of dance per week and qualified for independent physical education. I had to go through a very complicated process with the staff at my middle school to convince them that what I was doing would be a form of physical activity. Moreover, in highschool when I was on the dance team,but it was not considered an athletic team. By my junior year of high school, after we won a grand championship national title, we were finally funded by athletics. It was not an easy process for our coaches and teammates to convince the athletic department of our success and athletic ability. Several other teams have had this problem as well. I came across a young woman’s blog. Her name is Meredith and she created a blog post titled “The Sport of Dance.” In her article she talks about how Gatorade officially recognized dancing as a sport in July of 2010.  Meredith states “Dance being considered a sport is about respect.” (Meredith)  I agree with this statement because it becomes more frustrating than anything when people say that dance is not a sport.  I auditioned for the Arizona State University dance team in April of 2012. After making the team, and moving to Arizona from California in late July, I realized I was yet again facing the challenge of being on a team that was not considered athletic. I interviewed my coach, April Hoffman, to get her opinion on our situation. April couldn’t talk enough about how hard working our team is. She praises us for our commitment to such a tough program to be in. She stated that being in the athletic program here would “financially put us in a better place.” April is a great coach and has led this team to a new level. I also interviewed out captain Britney Bennet. Britney is a fourth year member on the team. She mentions that “this year, our team has reach a new level for dance teams across the nation.” As a member for so long, Britney watched the team and the program grow. Britney says “Maybe at a point in time we would have been better off as a club team, but now there is no question of our ability to perform as an outstanding nationally ranked dance team.” On our team here at ASU, we are required to attend two workouts a week with a team trainer to maintain a healthy look, we also have monthly discussions about our nutrition and weight. We practice several hours a week, and leave practice drenched in sweat every time. We trained all of fall semester to compete at a national competition in Florida in January. After taking second place among all the major schools in the country, we got the recognition we deserved from the university in some ways. We are now training to compete at a world’s competition in April. Even though we placed second at nationals, we were chosen to be the only team representing the United States in the jazz category. In her interview, Britney talks about how the girls on the team would talk about how crazy it would be to be selected for team USA, never thinking it would ever become reality. Britney exclaimed with a huge smile “ I just want to run around and tell everyone how good our team is and how proud I am to be the captain of such an amazing group of girls. We are not considered an athletic team as now. I am proposing that due to our success as a physically active team here at ASU, that we be recognized as an official athletic team, and be placed under the athletic department. This is a problem for a few reasons. The biggest cause of this problem is that when it comes to funding, the school does not give us any money. It was a huge deal to all the girls on the team when we had an article posted about our achievements on the Sun Devil Athletic Website. In the article it states “The honor for Arizona State comes shortly after the team placed second at UDA Nationals in the jazz competition, as well as fifth in the hip hop competition. The second-place mark is the highest finish for the Dance Team in the five years they have contended. “ I feel like this statement says enough itself. Our team has done better than it ever has in years past. We competed against other teams that are completely funded by the athletic programs, yet pulled ahead due to our hard work and drive. After reading the Sun Devil Athletic official mission statement online, I found no reason that our dance team should not be under athletics. There were several excerpts from the article online that related to dance team and our motives. At one point it states “It’s over-all goal is as follows: “The mission of Sun Devil Athletics is to provide opportunities for student-athletes to achieve at the highest levels of both academic and athletic excellence, thereby providing them with opportunities for personal growth, offering a unifying force to the campus community, and creating a source of pride among and support from the external constituencies of the University.”  This is relevant to our situation because we are both academically and athletically extremely successful. We take pride in our school and do our best to provide pride in the community for our team. Not only does the dance team hold an incredibly high GPA, we also are highly involved in the community. Our team does about two appearances per week. At an appearance, we will do a range of activities from performing at charity events, to visiting children’s hospitals during holidays. The article also includes a statement that “Arizona State University is committed to the principles of amateurism, gender and ethnic diversity, nondiscrimination, ethical conduct, good sportsmanship, and fair play in all aspects of its Sun Devil Athletics program. “This could not explain our team more. We take great pride in our University and represent the school on and off the dance floor in the best way possible. Our captain mentions that “Talent wise, we exceed all the teams in the Pac 12, yet financially, we have one of the toughest situations. Several girls on our team are on student loans, and struggle to pay our monthly fees. Out of the sixteen girls on the competition team, only four are in-state. Therefore, the out of state girls, including myself, pay an extremely higher amount when it comes to tuition. Dance has never been a cheap sport. We can’t just buy some pony-tail holders and some game-day socks. No, we have to purchase nylons, false eyelashes, and large amounts of specific makeup for every single performance that we do. If the athletic program would support us, these small purchases would feel like nothing. On top of tuition and our monthly payments, it seems like a lot to spend thirty dollars at CVS every two weeks. There aren’t many scholarship opportunities for the team members to be supported through the University. We had to conduct several fundraisers and sell our posters at every event to be able to travel to Florida for nationals. The athletic department covers the cost for the other teams to fly out of state for games. It is very frustrating to know that almost every other team here at ASU is able to get the funding to travel to several events, and we struggled to go to just one. We also pay for our own gear that says ASU dance team and what not. Most teams get this gear provided by the athletic department. Funding is a huge struggle for our team because the athletic department here does not support us. Another cause for this problem is due to the lack of recognition. For our national’s competition, we had to miss two days of school. If a football player were to bring an excuse letter to a professor, I have no doubt they would excuse the letter and wish them good luck. In our case, when most of the girls showed the professors our excuse letter, most were still counted absent and lost points in class due to having to miss. I understand the term “life is unfair” but we work just as hard as other teams and practice just as much. Finally, it becomes a personal problem with the girls on the team. There are only sixteen girls on the team, and one is an alternate for our national’s routine. All athletic teams walk around with official backpacks that they are given through the department. We have to pay to buy and make our own personal bags or backpacks. People often ask us if we are the “dancing devils.” The dancing devils are a group of non-auditioned dancers here at ASU that qualifies as a club. Some people do not even know that there is a dance team here. They only know us as the spirit leaders at games that use the big pom-poms. Little do they know, several girls on the team are at an athletic stage that exceeds most athletes here at ASU. As a direct member of the competitive team, I believe that we deserve to be an athletic team. There aren’t many different ways to create a solution to this problem. I simply propose that the head of the athletic department support the dance team with funds and athletic recognition. Steve Patterson has been contacted a few times here and there, but never with a proposal quite like this. I plan on contacting and convincing whomever it will take for them to recognize us as an athletic team.


Part 2:


I can’t count how many times someone in a class or on campus have asked me if I was on the cheer team. My response varies because our team here at ASU is very undefined. Some people consider it the cheer team, others consider it the spirit squad but most ultimately I am a member of the dance team. When people ask about the team, they are almost always surprised to find out how much dedication our team requires. What we do isn’t all about the pom-poms and pretty smiles that the crowd sees. To the audience at the games, they see a group of attractive students that wave their pom-poms and do some cute dances. Performing at games is one of the easier tasks of being a member on the team. If all we had to do for auditions was wave our poms and do some chants, there would be more than seven new members on the team each year. Therefore, in order to propose a change in the dance teams position under athletics, I would have to address the highest officials in the athletic department. Convincing my friends and peers is no hard task, once I show them my schedule of practices and workouts; they usually never doubt that our team is a very athletic program. If I show them our national’s routines, any question of our talent is dis-regarded. Most of my research was developed from the official athletics website of Arizona State University. My main prospect to propose this adaptation would be Steve Patterson, the vice president of the University Athletics. In the compliance article, it is stated that “Student-Athletes,” including student-athletes participating in pre-season practice or competition.” There is no doubt that our team is competitive. We attend the biggest event that a college team could participate in.

Part 3.

The dance team here at Arizona exceeds the expectation of a college team. From an outsiders view, I could see that the dance team could just look like a bunch of cheerleaders who jump up and down in front of the crowd.  The problem that the competitive dance team faces is financial and representational struggles. This is because the dance team is not considered an athletic team here. A lot of teams at major colleges across the nation have also faced this problem. The teams that have been supported by athletics have had a much easier time paying for nationals and getting the training to earn their schools national titles. We earned a nationally ranked title on our own. We paid for our trip by ourselves and came home with a second place trophy. We are currently ranked second in the nation and first in the PAC 12. We trained ourselves and choreographed the second place routine. We also were presented the honor of representing the United States in a worldwide competition in April of 2013. Whether or not dance teams at other universities are under athletics, we have earned to be a part of the Arizona State Athletics. I am proposing that Steve Patterson along with the rest of the Sun Devil Athletic department see that the competitive dance team at Arizona State University be declared an athletic team. I am proposing that we get appropriate funding for uniforms, workouts, tutors and travel costs. I am also proposing that we get school gear to represent the athletic department with great pride. It is hard for the girls on the team to walk around and see that athlete backpacks that were handed to every student athlete. Sure enough they have earned their spot on the team of which they are not. I do not take any other team’s talent away from them. I do though strongly support the fact that the dance team is one of the highest ranked teams here at ASU in the nation. We also have an extremely high GPA average of 3.6. We have earned a spot in the athletic department and would take great pride in representing the program. The solution would not be a complicated process for the most part. It would require a professional proposal from someone other than myself, and a conference to declare the dance team an athletic team. When we won second place at nationals, they team had never experienced such bliss. It was smiles all around. We had made history at UDA college nationals; Tennessee and Minnesota have held the first and second place for several years now. For us to break into the top two was a very big deal. The dance team at the University of Minnesota is a full-funded athletic team at their school. Our talent is respectable even with theirs. Placing at nationals is all due to judge discretion; therefore, our routines were less than a point from each other. Is it fair to deny our team the right to represent the athletic program? It seems as if the athletic program should be asking us to be a team instead of vise-versa. It is only logical to place us under athletics. The recognition that we get would only up the reputation of talented student-athletes here at ASU.

Works Cited

Interview with Britney Bennett, dance team official captain, February 22nd 5 p.m.

Interview with April Morris, dance team official coach, February 22nd, 4 p.m.

Garofoli, Wendy. "Dance Teams Vs. Dance Departments." Dance Spirit 12.4 (2008): 32-34. Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.

Chu, Angel Yin, and Wang Chien-Hsin. "Differences In Level Of Sport Commitment Among College Dance Sport Competitors." Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal 40.5 (2012): 755-766. Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.

http://www.thesundevils.com/ot/policy-manual.html
http://www.thesundevils.com/genrel/021113aaa.html
http://mmontinieri.wordpress.com/2010/07/31/thesportofdance/