Smallpox, which is still considered today by many historians and other medical practitioners as one of the world’s worst diseases ever in the history of mankind, killed approximately 30 percent of the Native American population on the
northwest coast of North America. The devastating consequence,
according to Robert Boyd, author of the book "The Coming of the Spirit
of Pestilence" was as a result of the first Native Americans’ direct
European contact. Boyed went on to say this incident was the “most
virulent of the deadly European diseases that swept over the region
during next 800 to 100 years” (Boyd 22-295). It is reported by some
historians that Europeans brought smallpox and other diseases to North
America during the early Columbian Exchange. Smallpox is a communicable
virus that travels from one infected individual to an unlucky victim
through close contact. A single infected individual within a gathering
can spread the virus among many that do not have an acquired immune
system to resist the virus. It is caused by a virus called Variola
major, closely related to monkey pox and cowpox. One who is affected by
smallpox sometimes experiences fever up to 105ºF, back pain as well as
influenza-like symptoms and vomiting. After three days, the fever
reduces and the rash starts to develop on the face, forearm, the hands
and other parts of the body. The infected individual will die or
survive; however, the possibility of surviving from this deadly disease
at the time was slim due to the lack of proper medication (Halverson
1-5). The lack of strong immune system and advanced medication to
prevent the virus during the great smallpox epidemic of 1775 and 1782,
led to the massive death of Native Americans and the Continental Army.
Native Americans were more susceptible to smallpox than the European
traders, who had brought the virus and other diseases such as measles
and other diseases on the North American Continent—historically
referred to as the New World. The natives had no acquired immune system
to resist the virus and as a result everyone was susceptible to it.
Because the virus needed a constant supply of unlucky victims to
survive, the natives consolidated lifestyle—commune living, or living
together as one family sharing food, water, clothing and other basic
life necessities, made it suitable for the virus to rapidly affect many
families and their friends. According to Elizabeth A. Fenn, author of
the book Pox Americana, smallpox eradicated over one hundred thousand
Native Americans. She maintains that each outbreak within a community
killed nearly half of the inhabitants and left others severely sick
(Fenn 13-43). For instance, an English fur trader, who spotted two
smallpox victims while entering through a harbor near Sitka, Alaska,
wrote “[He] observed the oldest of the men to be very much marked with
the small-pox, as was a girl who appeared to be about fourteen years
old. He further went on to say “The old man…told [him] that the
distemper carried off great numbers of the inhabitants, and that he
himself had lost ten children by it…”(Boyd 23-24). Native Americans
were naive about the virus. They had never encountered smallpox and as
a result, they had no knowledge on how to prevent the disease. The
effects of smallpox were outrageous. The Vancouver Expedition team, one
of the first European explorers, saw how people were badly affected by
the disease. Commander George Vancouver, one of the expedition team
members, saw one man who had suffered from smallpox and others who had
lost left eye sights from the disease, wrote “this deplorable disease
is not only common, but it is greatly to be apprehended is very fatal
amongst them, as its indelible marks were seen on many; and several had
lost the sight of one eye, which was remarked to be generally the left,
owing most likely to the virulent effects of this baneful disorder”
(Vancouver, Vol.2, p. 241-242). Europeans, however, had an acquired
immune system to resist the virus because they had been exposed to the
virus over a long period of time. Further, the lack of advanced
medication also plays a major role in the death of many Native
Americans. When an outbreak of the virus occurred, advanced medical
laboratories did not exist, like today, in any part North America to
produce vaccine that would have helped save the lives of thousands and
more Native Americans that were killed by the smallpox epidemic. In the
1770s, according to historian Robert Boyd, smallpox epidemics killed
more than 11,000 western Washington Indians, reducing the population
from about 37000 to 26000 (Boyd 22-295). Traditional native treatments
also worsen the mortality rates. For instance, Native Americans used
traditional native treatments, such as Sweet-lodges, which worsened
smallpox, to cure infected victims (Melissa 2). The lack of proper
medication and an acquired immune system made the natives more
susceptible to smallpox than the European.
The Continental Army was also greatly affected by smallpox throughout
the American Revolutionary war against the British. Acting as a
formidable force against the army, smallpox killed thousands of
soldiers and left many severely sick during the war. Military groupings
or encampments were gateways for smallpox to find its way through what
biologists called “virgin souls.” According to Fenn, smallpox started
its ravaging during the early start of the war---specifically during
the various sieges when people came in close contact with one another
seeking to find food, water, and other basic life necessities. Fenn
stated that the virus consistently and severely affected the American
troops throughout because they had soldiers that were more susceptible
to the virus than the British-born soldiers, who had been exposed to
the virus for centuries. General George Washington’s first year as a
commander in chief was chaotic for his men. Smallpox made landfall in
every camp that the troops resided in to await deployment and it even
attacked soldiers that were on the battlefield. At the Boston siege,
several hundred men were killed and others weakened before the British
attack. At some point, according to Fenn, smallpox killed most of the
soldiers, forcing the remaining sick men on the battlefield to retreat
leaving behind ammunition and other belongings. The high death rate
caused by smallpox became a major obstacle to the Continental troops’
success. In one of the battles before the arrival of General John
Thomas with more Continental reinforcement, smallpox had dropped the
army by six hundred men, leaving behind nineteen hundred, of which,
according to Fenn, nine hundred were sick including General Thomas
himself (Fenn 13-277). The devastating effect of smallpox on the
Continental troops was possibly due to unvaccinated men. Under George
Washington at the beginning of the war, he prohibited the practice of
inoculation for his men fearing that such process would weaken his
men—making them unready for combat. However, at one point, when
smallpox nearly killed all his men on the camp, he ordered that all of
them go through the inoculation process in order to reduce the
mortality rate and overcome the British. In his statement to inoculate
the troops when there was a smallpox outbreak on one of the camps on
January 1776, Washington wrote “We should have more to dread from
smallpox, than the sword of the enemy--- the time has come to inoculate
the troops” (Fenn 82). Although the Continental Army was severely
affected by the virus, some of the British new recruits were also
affected from the disease, but not to the extent that it affected the
Continental Army. New recruits, who were mainly blacks, in the British
Army were more susceptible to smallpox than the British-born soldiers.
However, smallpox was not a major obstacle for the British army,
possibly because the majority of the British troops—the main fighting
line, who were British born soldiers, had been exposed to the virus at
a younger age. Another significant reason the British troops were not
severely affected by smallpox, as opposed to the Continental troops,
was that inoculation was a mandatory requirement to join the main
British fighting line. Smallpox became an ally for the British troop
killing at least 50 to 100 Continental soldiers and leaving others
powerless before the actual combat. The Continental Army consisted of
many black soldiers that were more susceptible to smallpox. The British
also had black soldiers, but they were not included in the main
fighting line. Another possible reason why the Continental Army was
more susceptible to smallpox was the lack of good drinking water, food
and clothing and the winter season. For instance, the freezing winter
season might have also undermined the prevention process (Fenn 14-277).
To help reduce the mortality rates and prevent the virus among
inhabitants and returning combat soldiers, a controlling process was
put in place. Controlling smallpox posed a major task for the
Continental army. Some of the soldiers opposed the idea and others were
willing to go through the inoculation process. Although it was a
difficult task to inoculate the entire army, the process did go well
for Washington and the Continental soldiers. Fenn reported that the
Continental Army won their first battle right after the inoculation
took place. However, some of the soldiers had to pay for extra care due
to the lack of limited supply and resource. The popular demand for
inoculation within the military at that time triggered most of the
colonies to inoculate their inhabitants. Boston and Philadelphia
embraced the practice for its inhabitants to help prevent the
epidemics. However, only the rich in Philadelphia could afford the high
cost of inoculation. The needy, especially young children and older
adults had higher mortality rate due to low income. Through goodwill,
Benjamin Franklin and some of his friends founded a non-profit clinic
and helped the needy, young children and elderly adults to receive free
inoculation. The impact of smallpox on both troops and the Native
Americans was devastating. Many Native Americans, nearly half of the
population at the time, and Continental soldiers died from this disease
because of the lack of strong immune system to resist the deadly virus.
Some Native Americans lost their eye sight, mainly the left eye
according to the explorers, and likewise many of the soldiers were
unable to fight due to illness. The devastating effects of the smallpox
epidemic ruin many lives and it is still considered today as the worst
viruses in the history of mankind. Work Cited
Fenn, Elizabeth A. Pox Americana: The Great Smallpox Epidemic of
1775-82. New York: Hill and Wnag, 2001. Print.
Halverson, Sue Melissa. “Native American Belief and Medical Treatments
During the Smallpox Epidemics: an Evolution. The Early America Review
online publication: 2007. p. 5-1.
Robert Boyd. “The Coming of the Spirit of Pestilence.” Vancouver; BC:
Press, 1999. p. 295-22.
“Smallpox epidemic ravages Native Americans on the northwest Coast of
North America in the 1770s.” History Linked.org: 30 April 2010.
Vancouver, George. A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific and Round
the World… Vol. 2 London: G. and J. Robinson, 1798, p. 242-229.
Friday, October 22, 2010
A Critical Analysis of the Holy Qur'an
The Qur’an is the Islamic version of the Holy Bible. It is a divine book of Islam revealed by God to the Prophet Mohammed through angel Gabriel. The Book, according to the Islamic religion, brings peace and tranquility among people that adopt Islam as a system in their daily lives. It contains one hundred and fourteen chapters. In addition, it took about twenty years to reveal itself to the whole of humanity. Like the book of Genesis, the first Sura (chapter) of the Qur’an is Fatiah and the last chapter is Anaas. Using cross references, the Qur’an includes several biblical narratives from the Old Testament that relates to the creation of the world, the story of Mary (Sura 19), Noah and Abraham.
Even though it includes these biblical references, it is different from other religious texts because it dedicated a specific chapter (Sura 4) on women’s rights and obligations. It cites that women are entitled to “one quarter” of their husband’s property if he dies childless. In addition, it also provides women with a position of honor and respect, but considers them has weak-minded individuals. It cautions men not to trust women with property that God has given them to support women. For instance, in Sura 4, it clearly cites that men should not “…give the feeble-minded the property with which God has entrusted [them] for their support” (Sura 4). The phrase “feeble minded” implies that women should not be entrusted possibly with major power in society because they are soft minded. I suppose that this statement could possibly be a reaction to the Old Testament narrative about the incident that occurred in the Garden of Eden between Eve and the serpent.
Moreover, the Qur’an favors women less over men when it comes to property inheritance. It states that a man “shall inherit twice as much as a female” (Sura 4). This statement clearly shows the injustices to women because of the imbalance in property distribution. Women are also not treated equally when it comes to laws spelled out in the Qur’an regarding indecent act. For instance, the Qur’an states that women who are guilty of indecent behavior or “lewd act” should be put indoor until death overtakes them, but men should be pardoned because “God forgives those who commit evil acts in ignorance.” This implies that God only forgives men and not women. Scriptures in the Qur’an could serve as prove of how Muslim women are generally regarded in their society. Though it guarantees honor and respect to women, they are repressed by traditions of which men are most dominant.
1. Based on the statement that men should inherit more than women, do you think that is fair?
2. The Quran reference women as “feeble-minded” do you agree or disagree with this statement?
3. Based on the readings, what are some similarities between the Quran and the Book of Genesis?
Smith, Jane I. “Women in Islam: Equity, Equality, and the Search for the Natural Order.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. 47, No. 4 (Dec., 1979): pp. 517-537. JSTOR. Web. 11 Oct 2010.
Smith’s essay addresses the role of feminism in the Islamic culture with specific focus on equity and equality. A clear understanding about women’s role is spelled out in the Qur’an. It provides women a position of honor and respect with clearly stated rights and obligations. Smith argued that these stated rights and obligations restrict the roles of Muslim women in the Islamic society. According to the essay, “Predominant traditions of male authority and honor have made it difficult for women to avail themselves of the right guaranteed by the Qur’an,” (Smith). Other Muslim writers have made similar arguments about the female-male relationship in term of gender roles in the Islamic society.
1. Do you agree with Smith argument that traditions of male authority have made it difficult for women to press for their rights as stated in the Qur’an?
2. Do you think female roles in the Islamic culture have change? Why or why not?
Even though it includes these biblical references, it is different from other religious texts because it dedicated a specific chapter (Sura 4) on women’s rights and obligations. It cites that women are entitled to “one quarter” of their husband’s property if he dies childless. In addition, it also provides women with a position of honor and respect, but considers them has weak-minded individuals. It cautions men not to trust women with property that God has given them to support women. For instance, in Sura 4, it clearly cites that men should not “…give the feeble-minded the property with which God has entrusted [them] for their support” (Sura 4). The phrase “feeble minded” implies that women should not be entrusted possibly with major power in society because they are soft minded. I suppose that this statement could possibly be a reaction to the Old Testament narrative about the incident that occurred in the Garden of Eden between Eve and the serpent.
Moreover, the Qur’an favors women less over men when it comes to property inheritance. It states that a man “shall inherit twice as much as a female” (Sura 4). This statement clearly shows the injustices to women because of the imbalance in property distribution. Women are also not treated equally when it comes to laws spelled out in the Qur’an regarding indecent act. For instance, the Qur’an states that women who are guilty of indecent behavior or “lewd act” should be put indoor until death overtakes them, but men should be pardoned because “God forgives those who commit evil acts in ignorance.” This implies that God only forgives men and not women. Scriptures in the Qur’an could serve as prove of how Muslim women are generally regarded in their society. Though it guarantees honor and respect to women, they are repressed by traditions of which men are most dominant.
1. Based on the statement that men should inherit more than women, do you think that is fair?
2. The Quran reference women as “feeble-minded” do you agree or disagree with this statement?
3. Based on the readings, what are some similarities between the Quran and the Book of Genesis?
Smith, Jane I. “Women in Islam: Equity, Equality, and the Search for the Natural Order.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. 47, No. 4 (Dec., 1979): pp. 517-537. JSTOR. Web. 11 Oct 2010.
Smith’s essay addresses the role of feminism in the Islamic culture with specific focus on equity and equality. A clear understanding about women’s role is spelled out in the Qur’an. It provides women a position of honor and respect with clearly stated rights and obligations. Smith argued that these stated rights and obligations restrict the roles of Muslim women in the Islamic society. According to the essay, “Predominant traditions of male authority and honor have made it difficult for women to avail themselves of the right guaranteed by the Qur’an,” (Smith). Other Muslim writers have made similar arguments about the female-male relationship in term of gender roles in the Islamic society.
1. Do you agree with Smith argument that traditions of male authority have made it difficult for women to press for their rights as stated in the Qur’an?
2. Do you think female roles in the Islamic culture have change? Why or why not?
Monday, March 30, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
A True Hero
“There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.” (Nelson Mandela). Professor Sunny, fellow students, I have the distinct honor to speak to you today about my hero. This person is one of the greatest leaders in our generation.
Despite his hard struggle to freedom under a deadly racial discrimination policy against native blacks in his beloved country , he became a president and governed his people (whites and blacks) without any difference. He worked very hard to unite his South African brothers and sisters as one people with common goals. He laid his life on the line just so justice and freedom could prevail in his country. This is a man that deserves more than compliments for his accomplishments because of his hard works. A man that is not only a brave hero, but a true patriot and an important role model to anyone with great love and passionate hearts.
My hero, His Excellency Nelson R.Mandela former South African president and 1993 Nobel Peace Prize winner as had one of the longest walks to freedom in order to free his people and his beloved country from racial discrimination. I know that Martin Luther King Jr. and Mohammad Gandhi of India did, but even they didn’t walk as far and as long as my hero. My hero suffered 28 years of imprisonment under harsh torture, but he never give up. He was beaten almost to the point of death, but he never give up his journey. He made it, became a great leader and is still alive living his dreams and inspiring others with his courage and his message. Isn’t that what true heroism is all about?
As a person whose dream is to make our world a better place for every boy and girl, this is a man who I see as my hero, a man who has never wavered in his devotion to justice, peace, and learning. His life has been an inspiration, to me, to most Africans and others citizens throughout the world, as well as, to all who are oppressed and deprived, to all who are opposed to oppression and deprivation.
My fellow classmates, as we go out of this class room, today; I challenge each one of you to cherish the pride and beauty of your country. Walk that walk like Mandela, if it means to unite your brothers and sisters. I also encourage you to take courage and pride to be like my hero and be able to say what he said, “…I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal, which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if it needs be it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”(Nelson Mandela). Professor Sunny, fellow students, my hero – Nelson Mandela.
Thank you.
Despite his hard struggle to freedom under a deadly racial discrimination policy against native blacks in his beloved country , he became a president and governed his people (whites and blacks) without any difference. He worked very hard to unite his South African brothers and sisters as one people with common goals. He laid his life on the line just so justice and freedom could prevail in his country. This is a man that deserves more than compliments for his accomplishments because of his hard works. A man that is not only a brave hero, but a true patriot and an important role model to anyone with great love and passionate hearts.
My hero, His Excellency Nelson R.Mandela former South African president and 1993 Nobel Peace Prize winner as had one of the longest walks to freedom in order to free his people and his beloved country from racial discrimination. I know that Martin Luther King Jr. and Mohammad Gandhi of India did, but even they didn’t walk as far and as long as my hero. My hero suffered 28 years of imprisonment under harsh torture, but he never give up. He was beaten almost to the point of death, but he never give up his journey. He made it, became a great leader and is still alive living his dreams and inspiring others with his courage and his message. Isn’t that what true heroism is all about?
As a person whose dream is to make our world a better place for every boy and girl, this is a man who I see as my hero, a man who has never wavered in his devotion to justice, peace, and learning. His life has been an inspiration, to me, to most Africans and others citizens throughout the world, as well as, to all who are oppressed and deprived, to all who are opposed to oppression and deprivation.
My fellow classmates, as we go out of this class room, today; I challenge each one of you to cherish the pride and beauty of your country. Walk that walk like Mandela, if it means to unite your brothers and sisters. I also encourage you to take courage and pride to be like my hero and be able to say what he said, “…I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal, which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if it needs be it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”(Nelson Mandela). Professor Sunny, fellow students, my hero – Nelson Mandela.
Thank you.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Exporting Jobs Overseas Will Harm America and Its Workforce
The enormous amount of jobs being outsourced to foreign countries over the past years has spurred many Americans to demand protection from the government. Three years ago nearly all fifty U.S states proposed legislation that would either prohibit or severely minimize outsourcing American jobs to foreign countries (Dunbar). Although outsourcing overseas is a good way for companies to stay competitive by gaining more profit, the government and the public should intervene to prohibit such a practice because of its negative impact on the U.S workforce, individual lives, and the economy.
To understand the nature of outsourcing from a non- business perspective, the practice simply means contracting out some of your functions that have been in-house to a firm outside of your business or allowing outsiders, usually small firms, to manage certain functions within your business. For instance, when a new car manufacturing company buys tyres from a supplier, rather than producing it in-house, that is outsourcing. Conventionally, such a practice is usually done among bigger companies (e.g. manufacturing companies) and smaller firms called third party logistics (e.g. UPS) within a country, but U.S companies have globalized the practice by sending some of their functions to foreign countries that has cheaper workforce.
Outsourcing overseas affects the U.S workforce. For example, jobs once held by Americans have been sent overseas by large companies in order to seek cheap labor, less environmental restrictions and lower tax rate. Manufacturing and construction companies have moved some of their functions overseas and have resulted into hundreds for their workers being layoff. For example, today about 30 percent of Intel’s microprocessors are build overseas and four of the six manufacturing facilities operated by Dell computer are outsource outside of the United States (Cook and Nyhan). Oracle, which has been handing thousands of layoff layoff notices, recently announced to move two thousand more jobs to India and China because the cost of labor in those are 20 to 50 fifty percent less than hourly wage in America for service sector jobs.
Moreover, outsourcing has lead to high increases in the unemployment rate. The Bureau of Labor Statistics in October 2008 reported that the unemployment rate rose by 0.4 percentage point to 6.5 percent and the number of unemployed persons increased by 603,000 to 10.1 million. In addition, over the past 12 months, the number of unemployed persons has increased by 2.8 million, and the unemployment rate has risen by 1.7 percentage points. In September 2008, manufacturing and construction made of 28 percent of the mass layoffs in the workforce. The report also stated that job losses continued in manufacturing, construction, and several service providing industries including health care and mining (B.L.S. 2008).
Outsourcing U.S jobs also affects individual lives, especially those who are in the technology, manufacturing and construction fields. For example, Ms. Myra Bronstein, a Mercer Island resident who worked for Watchmark- Comnitel, a U.S technology company, lost her software-testing job last year because her company shifted the work to India. Before her layoff, Ms. Bronstein was making $ 76,500 a year. Today with unemployment benefits exhausted, she has resorted to selling furniture and collectables on eBay (Cook and Nyhan).
Large companies that outsource jobs overseas also affect the economy by depriving it of revenue, which could help grow the economy. Jobs such as, call center servicing, medical transcription, tax return preparation, research and development , medical data analysis, and high level engineering, legal service, architecture and information technology that the government receives revenue from have been sent overseas by U.S companies. Some U.S economists have also estimated that more jobs will leave the United States by 2015. John C. McCarthy an analyst for market-research company, Forester Research Inc., has predicted that by 2015 U.S businesses will outsource at least 3.3 million white collars jobs to India, China, Russia, Pakistan and Vietnam (qtd.in Dunbar).
In addition, government has lost and is continuing to lose these jobs specifically in manufacturing and information technology. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports from January 2001 to January 2006, the information sector of the U.S economy lost 644,400 jobs, or 17.14 of percent of its work force. Computer system design and related work lost 105,000 jobs, or 8.5 percent of its workforce. Manufacturing lost 2.9 million jobs, almost 17 percent the manufacturing workforce (BLS 2008). These statistics are enough to show that outsourcing is hurting the U.S economy and its workforce, but companies are still involved in the practice. According to Lou Dobbs, the editor of CNN program, Lou Dobbs Tonight, Dell, Intel, Apple, American Express, Bank of America, Best Buy, Comcast, Ansell Health Care, Briggs Industries, General Motor, Direct T.V and AT &T are some of the big companies that are currently involved in the practice of outsourcing jobs outside of the United States.
Moreover, with the increase in the mass layoffs and the unemployment rates, outsourcing will lead to high government spending on welfare, which could probably affect the economy. For example, more people whose jobs have been and are on the way overseas will depend on the government for support after unemployment benefits have been exhausted. The U.S government will spend more money on a single individual and a household family because these displaced employees may never be able to find the same quality jobs that are lost to outsourcing overseas (Dobbs).
However, the CEOs and some economists have bitterly argued from a business perspective that outsourcing American jobs to foreign countries will help grow the economy, thus prohibiting the practice will keep the country from being globalized (Dunbar). A proponent of outsourcing, Gregory Mankiw, who is a member of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, said last year on a CNN business television program, Lou Dobbs Tonight that “Outsourcing is just a new way of doing international trade. [He continues]…I think outsourcing is a growing phenomenon, but it’s something that we should realize is probably a plus for the economy in the long run.” The only thing that is probable is that, the unemployment rate will continue to increase and more people will depend on the government for support if they do not find the same quality of jobs that would help support their families.
The most possible solution to the problem is for the government and the public to intervene for companies to bring back these jobs from overseas, which will help to decrease the current unemployment rate, create job opportunities and help to grow the economy. The government should intervene by restricting companies from sending jobs overseas, especially high paying jobs, because without good, high paying jobs there are no tax revenues to fund the education, health, infrastructure, and social security system. Once these restrictions are set, the government should grant incentive tax breaks to companies in order to encourage those companies that are already outsourcing functions overseas and companies that are trying to do the same to reverse their decisions. For example, the U.S Congress should pass 10% tax cut legislation for manufacturing, construction, service industries and other companies. This will help to convince companies that have moved jobs overseas due to high tax rate to rethink their decisions and bring back most of their functions, which would provide and keep good paying jobs in America. The U.S Congress and economic experts should also make the effort to document and study outsourcing from a business and non- business perspective. Both parties should acknowledge that outsourcing U.S jobs to foreign countries has caused problems and it has lessened the morale of U.S workers.
Furthermore, there must be a full disclosure. The government should require companies to make consumers aware of where products are made and when those products are the result of jobs lost due to outsourcing. State governments should pass legislation to eradicate unionization by employees. Companies sometime relocate their operations overseas when employees allow union organization/labor group to oversee their interest by advocating for increases in salary and more benefits.
The public should also intervene through immediate campaigning to emphasize the importance of economic patriotism. They should stress the need for the federal government and companies to prohibit the practice of outsourcing because it has caused thousands of people to become unemployed. The public should also caution its state governments that would promote outsourcing jobs to foreign countries, by writing to their governors and congressional representatives to prohibit companies within the states from sending jobs overseas. Furthermore, they should reject products that are produce overseas by these companies through effective campaigning by sending warning letters to companies involved and educating the public through the media about the negative impacts outsourcing has caused to the U.S workforce, individual lives and the economy. Ron Hira, an expert on outsourcing, and Anil Hira, a specialist in international economics, suggest that “Americans need to recognize that it priorities of national competitiveness and security include maintaining a technological edge and encourage the engineers, scientists and programmers to keep the United States a step ahead of its potential enemies”(Hira and Hira 11) . One way to maintain these priorities and encourage scientists, and engineers is for both the government and the public to join hands to severely minimize the practice of outsourcing job overseas and to sponsor the development of community colleges within various states and to reduce college tuition fees and text books costs.
These interventions from the government and the public will help to severely minimize outsourcing and force companies to reverse their enormous export of jobs to foreign countries, which will help to restore jobs back to the American people. The return of these jobs will limit government spending on welfare because these companies will employ old and new workers in the workforce. Companies will create new job opportunities for high school students, undergraduates, and graduate students, which will help improve the standard of living and encourage more students to learn without fear of having their jobs outsourced to foreign countries.
Furthermore, bringing back these jobs to the United States will allow companies to provide job training and advanced education scholarships for employees and make companies focus more on research and development, which will also help grow the economy. For example, people will buy new homes, new cars, pay government taxes on time, and buy other necessities. In addition, it will help to decrease the unemployment rate and minimize the current mass layoffs in the manufacturing, construction and service industries. Finally, restoring these jobs for the American people will restore pride to the workforce, encourage growth in the economy and make the workforce more productive and efficient.
Work Cited
Bureau of Labor Statistics..
Cook, John and Nyhan, Paul. “Outsourcing’s long-term effects on the U.S jobs at issue.” Seattle Post Intelligencer 10 March 2004. 11 Nov 2008.
Dobbs, Lou. “Exporting America.”CNN program. 10 Nov.2008.
Dobbs, Lou. “Outsourcing Harms America.” Does Outsourcing Harm America?
Ed. Katherine Read Dunbar. Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2006. 11-23.
Hira, Ron and Anil Hira. Outsourcing America. New York. Amacon Books, 2005
Robert, Paul Craig. “As Jobs Leave America’s Shores.” 30 Sept 2006. Nov 11 2008.
To understand the nature of outsourcing from a non- business perspective, the practice simply means contracting out some of your functions that have been in-house to a firm outside of your business or allowing outsiders, usually small firms, to manage certain functions within your business. For instance, when a new car manufacturing company buys tyres from a supplier, rather than producing it in-house, that is outsourcing. Conventionally, such a practice is usually done among bigger companies (e.g. manufacturing companies) and smaller firms called third party logistics (e.g. UPS) within a country, but U.S companies have globalized the practice by sending some of their functions to foreign countries that has cheaper workforce.
Outsourcing overseas affects the U.S workforce. For example, jobs once held by Americans have been sent overseas by large companies in order to seek cheap labor, less environmental restrictions and lower tax rate. Manufacturing and construction companies have moved some of their functions overseas and have resulted into hundreds for their workers being layoff. For example, today about 30 percent of Intel’s microprocessors are build overseas and four of the six manufacturing facilities operated by Dell computer are outsource outside of the United States (Cook and Nyhan). Oracle, which has been handing thousands of layoff layoff notices, recently announced to move two thousand more jobs to India and China because the cost of labor in those are 20 to 50 fifty percent less than hourly wage in America for service sector jobs.
Moreover, outsourcing has lead to high increases in the unemployment rate. The Bureau of Labor Statistics in October 2008 reported that the unemployment rate rose by 0.4 percentage point to 6.5 percent and the number of unemployed persons increased by 603,000 to 10.1 million. In addition, over the past 12 months, the number of unemployed persons has increased by 2.8 million, and the unemployment rate has risen by 1.7 percentage points. In September 2008, manufacturing and construction made of 28 percent of the mass layoffs in the workforce. The report also stated that job losses continued in manufacturing, construction, and several service providing industries including health care and mining (B.L.S. 2008).
Outsourcing U.S jobs also affects individual lives, especially those who are in the technology, manufacturing and construction fields. For example, Ms. Myra Bronstein, a Mercer Island resident who worked for Watchmark- Comnitel, a U.S technology company, lost her software-testing job last year because her company shifted the work to India. Before her layoff, Ms. Bronstein was making $ 76,500 a year. Today with unemployment benefits exhausted, she has resorted to selling furniture and collectables on eBay (Cook and Nyhan).
Large companies that outsource jobs overseas also affect the economy by depriving it of revenue, which could help grow the economy. Jobs such as, call center servicing, medical transcription, tax return preparation, research and development , medical data analysis, and high level engineering, legal service, architecture and information technology that the government receives revenue from have been sent overseas by U.S companies. Some U.S economists have also estimated that more jobs will leave the United States by 2015. John C. McCarthy an analyst for market-research company, Forester Research Inc., has predicted that by 2015 U.S businesses will outsource at least 3.3 million white collars jobs to India, China, Russia, Pakistan and Vietnam (qtd.in Dunbar).
In addition, government has lost and is continuing to lose these jobs specifically in manufacturing and information technology. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports from January 2001 to January 2006, the information sector of the U.S economy lost 644,400 jobs, or 17.14 of percent of its work force. Computer system design and related work lost 105,000 jobs, or 8.5 percent of its workforce. Manufacturing lost 2.9 million jobs, almost 17 percent the manufacturing workforce (BLS 2008). These statistics are enough to show that outsourcing is hurting the U.S economy and its workforce, but companies are still involved in the practice. According to Lou Dobbs, the editor of CNN program, Lou Dobbs Tonight, Dell, Intel, Apple, American Express, Bank of America, Best Buy, Comcast, Ansell Health Care, Briggs Industries, General Motor, Direct T.V and AT &T are some of the big companies that are currently involved in the practice of outsourcing jobs outside of the United States.
Moreover, with the increase in the mass layoffs and the unemployment rates, outsourcing will lead to high government spending on welfare, which could probably affect the economy. For example, more people whose jobs have been and are on the way overseas will depend on the government for support after unemployment benefits have been exhausted. The U.S government will spend more money on a single individual and a household family because these displaced employees may never be able to find the same quality jobs that are lost to outsourcing overseas (Dobbs).
However, the CEOs and some economists have bitterly argued from a business perspective that outsourcing American jobs to foreign countries will help grow the economy, thus prohibiting the practice will keep the country from being globalized (Dunbar). A proponent of outsourcing, Gregory Mankiw, who is a member of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, said last year on a CNN business television program, Lou Dobbs Tonight that “Outsourcing is just a new way of doing international trade. [He continues]…I think outsourcing is a growing phenomenon, but it’s something that we should realize is probably a plus for the economy in the long run.” The only thing that is probable is that, the unemployment rate will continue to increase and more people will depend on the government for support if they do not find the same quality of jobs that would help support their families.
The most possible solution to the problem is for the government and the public to intervene for companies to bring back these jobs from overseas, which will help to decrease the current unemployment rate, create job opportunities and help to grow the economy. The government should intervene by restricting companies from sending jobs overseas, especially high paying jobs, because without good, high paying jobs there are no tax revenues to fund the education, health, infrastructure, and social security system. Once these restrictions are set, the government should grant incentive tax breaks to companies in order to encourage those companies that are already outsourcing functions overseas and companies that are trying to do the same to reverse their decisions. For example, the U.S Congress should pass 10% tax cut legislation for manufacturing, construction, service industries and other companies. This will help to convince companies that have moved jobs overseas due to high tax rate to rethink their decisions and bring back most of their functions, which would provide and keep good paying jobs in America. The U.S Congress and economic experts should also make the effort to document and study outsourcing from a business and non- business perspective. Both parties should acknowledge that outsourcing U.S jobs to foreign countries has caused problems and it has lessened the morale of U.S workers.
Furthermore, there must be a full disclosure. The government should require companies to make consumers aware of where products are made and when those products are the result of jobs lost due to outsourcing. State governments should pass legislation to eradicate unionization by employees. Companies sometime relocate their operations overseas when employees allow union organization/labor group to oversee their interest by advocating for increases in salary and more benefits.
The public should also intervene through immediate campaigning to emphasize the importance of economic patriotism. They should stress the need for the federal government and companies to prohibit the practice of outsourcing because it has caused thousands of people to become unemployed. The public should also caution its state governments that would promote outsourcing jobs to foreign countries, by writing to their governors and congressional representatives to prohibit companies within the states from sending jobs overseas. Furthermore, they should reject products that are produce overseas by these companies through effective campaigning by sending warning letters to companies involved and educating the public through the media about the negative impacts outsourcing has caused to the U.S workforce, individual lives and the economy. Ron Hira, an expert on outsourcing, and Anil Hira, a specialist in international economics, suggest that “Americans need to recognize that it priorities of national competitiveness and security include maintaining a technological edge and encourage the engineers, scientists and programmers to keep the United States a step ahead of its potential enemies”(Hira and Hira 11) . One way to maintain these priorities and encourage scientists, and engineers is for both the government and the public to join hands to severely minimize the practice of outsourcing job overseas and to sponsor the development of community colleges within various states and to reduce college tuition fees and text books costs.
These interventions from the government and the public will help to severely minimize outsourcing and force companies to reverse their enormous export of jobs to foreign countries, which will help to restore jobs back to the American people. The return of these jobs will limit government spending on welfare because these companies will employ old and new workers in the workforce. Companies will create new job opportunities for high school students, undergraduates, and graduate students, which will help improve the standard of living and encourage more students to learn without fear of having their jobs outsourced to foreign countries.
Furthermore, bringing back these jobs to the United States will allow companies to provide job training and advanced education scholarships for employees and make companies focus more on research and development, which will also help grow the economy. For example, people will buy new homes, new cars, pay government taxes on time, and buy other necessities. In addition, it will help to decrease the unemployment rate and minimize the current mass layoffs in the manufacturing, construction and service industries. Finally, restoring these jobs for the American people will restore pride to the workforce, encourage growth in the economy and make the workforce more productive and efficient.
Work Cited
Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Cook, John and Nyhan, Paul. “Outsourcing’s long-term effects on the U.S jobs at issue.” Seattle Post Intelligencer 10 March 2004. 11 Nov 2008
Dobbs, Lou. “Exporting America.”CNN program. 10 Nov.2008
Dobbs, Lou. “Outsourcing Harms America.” Does Outsourcing Harm America?
Ed. Katherine Read Dunbar. Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2006. 11-23.
Hira, Ron and Anil Hira. Outsourcing America. New York. Amacon Books, 2005
Robert, Paul Craig. “As Jobs Leave America’s Shores.” 30 Sept 2006. Nov 11 2008
Somalia at Sea Piracy
More than 17 years of civil unrest, Somalia has limped along a brutal path of warring clans, and separatist movements that have collectively bestowed upon the state the dubious honour of being the world’s truest “failed state,” and its coastal line has the world’s dangerous maritime route. One of the results of this instability is piracy on Somalia’s territorial waters. By disrupting transportation and trade, piracy has led to starvation, negative impacts on global maritime trade and increased armed conflict within Somalia and other parts of the region.
The lack of central government in Somalia has led to lawlessness on its coastline. Since the fall of national government in the early 90s there has been instability and power struggle between the national government and Islamic insurgents. Today the continuous greed for power has caused many Somalian to live without good shelters, balanced diet, jobs, schools and the lack of good medical aid. The decades of civil unrest has led to insecurity and lack of job opportunity, which has caused young unemployed men to become pirates in order to find a source of income. These unemployed men known universally as Somalia pirates are groups of well- armed men that use fast-moving skiffs to pull alongside their prey and scamper on board with ladders or sometimes even rusty grappling hooks. Once on deck, they hold the crew at gunpoint until a ransom is paid, usually $1 million to $2 million (Brice 1). The International Herald Tribune online publication reported that, as of the month of October 2008, more than 75 ships have been hijacked by Somalia pirates on the Gulf of Aden in demand for ransom over 5 millions before each vessels can be released(Gentleman 1). In 2005, since the rebels captured the national port from the government, Somalia’s lawlessness had extended beyond its territorial waters. The lawlessness has caused piracy on the Gulf of Aden, which has resulted into the worst humanitarian crises in the history of East Africa and the world (Brice 1).
Pirates’ activities in Somalia have caused the majority of the population to starve. Because of pirates attacks on vessels, humanitarian ships have suspended food aid to these poor people who are desperately in need of food supplies and medical aid. The United Nation World Food Program (UNWFP) that has been helping to feed thousands of people in war torn Somalia was forced to suspend its food supplies in October because of the escalating attacks on vessels. According to the spoke man for UNWFP, the organization is currently afraid due to the aggressive attacks on vessels because 95 percent of its food supplies are transported by sea. Today because of piracy on the coast of Somalia, thousands of people residing in displaced camps due to the ongoing instability in the country are currently suffering from food shortage (Brice 1).
Piracy on the coast of Somalia has also disrupted maritime trade. The huge demand for millions of dollars and the aggressive attacks on vessels by Somalia pirates along the Gulf of Aden, which has the southern gateway to the heavily trafficked Suez Canal, has also affected global maritime trade. According to the International Maritime Organization, over 48,000 vessels traveled on these bodies of waters every year, transporting oil from the Middle East to North America and goods from Asia to Europe. The presence of pirates has decreased the amount of vessels and has led to high increases in insurances, shipment transportation and fuel costs. Their danger on the coast has caused ships extra days to deliver goods to final destinations, which has led to high fuel consumptions because vessels transporting goods from Asia to Europe now have to travel around Cape of Good Hope to get to Europe. Instead of one or two weeks of delivery, vessels have to take three to four weeks before delivering goods to customers, which might also lead to products deprecation and damages (IMO).
Even the act of piracy on the coast of Somalia has led to an increase in armed conflict within the country and other parts of the region. Ransom collected from vessels is helping to provide arm and ammunitions for rebels in Somalia and the Darfur region. The Chatham House, a London based institute that study international issues reported in October 2008 that $18 to $30 million paid by hijacked vessels this year is helping to support the war in Somalia. As a result of the financial support, there has been continuous violence in the country. Rebels have burned down towns and villages and they have raped women and forced children to become child soldiers. Their presence on the coast has also inflamed the crises in neighboring country Sudan (Middleton 1).
However, despite all the attacks and instability one possible solution to this problem is stabilized government with well-equipped military that would protect its territorial waters because the present interim government lacks the military power to do so due to Islamic insurgent attacks. Somalia needs urgent western interventions from the international community to possibly help to resolve the war and clear piracy of its coast in order to allowed food aid into the country and restore the ease on maritime trade. With the help of Western intervention and the cooperation of the current interim government, Somalia can have stabilized government and an effective military coast guard and police to stop its sea lawlessness.
Work Cited
Brice, Author. “Somalia piracy threatens trade, boosts terrorists, analysis say.”
The CNN News. 1 Oct.2008. Oct 18, 2008.
Gentleman, Jeffery. “Somalia's pirates flourish in a lawless nation.” International Herald Tribune: The global edition of New York Times. 31 Oct.2008. Dec 1, 2008.
International Maritime Organization..
Middleton, Roger. “Piracy in Somalia: Threatening Global Trade, Feeding Local Wars.” The Chatham House online publication. Oct.2008. Oct 31, 2008.
The lack of central government in Somalia has led to lawlessness on its coastline. Since the fall of national government in the early 90s there has been instability and power struggle between the national government and Islamic insurgents. Today the continuous greed for power has caused many Somalian to live without good shelters, balanced diet, jobs, schools and the lack of good medical aid. The decades of civil unrest has led to insecurity and lack of job opportunity, which has caused young unemployed men to become pirates in order to find a source of income. These unemployed men known universally as Somalia pirates are groups of well- armed men that use fast-moving skiffs to pull alongside their prey and scamper on board with ladders or sometimes even rusty grappling hooks. Once on deck, they hold the crew at gunpoint until a ransom is paid, usually $1 million to $2 million (Brice 1). The International Herald Tribune online publication reported that, as of the month of October 2008, more than 75 ships have been hijacked by Somalia pirates on the Gulf of Aden in demand for ransom over 5 millions before each vessels can be released(Gentleman 1). In 2005, since the rebels captured the national port from the government, Somalia’s lawlessness had extended beyond its territorial waters. The lawlessness has caused piracy on the Gulf of Aden, which has resulted into the worst humanitarian crises in the history of East Africa and the world (Brice 1).
Pirates’ activities in Somalia have caused the majority of the population to starve. Because of pirates attacks on vessels, humanitarian ships have suspended food aid to these poor people who are desperately in need of food supplies and medical aid. The United Nation World Food Program (UNWFP) that has been helping to feed thousands of people in war torn Somalia was forced to suspend its food supplies in October because of the escalating attacks on vessels. According to the spoke man for UNWFP, the organization is currently afraid due to the aggressive attacks on vessels because 95 percent of its food supplies are transported by sea. Today because of piracy on the coast of Somalia, thousands of people residing in displaced camps due to the ongoing instability in the country are currently suffering from food shortage (Brice 1).
Piracy on the coast of Somalia has also disrupted maritime trade. The huge demand for millions of dollars and the aggressive attacks on vessels by Somalia pirates along the Gulf of Aden, which has the southern gateway to the heavily trafficked Suez Canal, has also affected global maritime trade. According to the International Maritime Organization, over 48,000 vessels traveled on these bodies of waters every year, transporting oil from the Middle East to North America and goods from Asia to Europe. The presence of pirates has decreased the amount of vessels and has led to high increases in insurances, shipment transportation and fuel costs. Their danger on the coast has caused ships extra days to deliver goods to final destinations, which has led to high fuel consumptions because vessels transporting goods from Asia to Europe now have to travel around Cape of Good Hope to get to Europe. Instead of one or two weeks of delivery, vessels have to take three to four weeks before delivering goods to customers, which might also lead to products deprecation and damages (IMO).
Even the act of piracy on the coast of Somalia has led to an increase in armed conflict within the country and other parts of the region. Ransom collected from vessels is helping to provide arm and ammunitions for rebels in Somalia and the Darfur region. The Chatham House, a London based institute that study international issues reported in October 2008 that $18 to $30 million paid by hijacked vessels this year is helping to support the war in Somalia. As a result of the financial support, there has been continuous violence in the country. Rebels have burned down towns and villages and they have raped women and forced children to become child soldiers. Their presence on the coast has also inflamed the crises in neighboring country Sudan (Middleton 1).
However, despite all the attacks and instability one possible solution to this problem is stabilized government with well-equipped military that would protect its territorial waters because the present interim government lacks the military power to do so due to Islamic insurgent attacks. Somalia needs urgent western interventions from the international community to possibly help to resolve the war and clear piracy of its coast in order to allowed food aid into the country and restore the ease on maritime trade. With the help of Western intervention and the cooperation of the current interim government, Somalia can have stabilized government and an effective military coast guard and police to stop its sea lawlessness.
Work Cited
Brice, Author. “Somalia piracy threatens trade, boosts terrorists, analysis say.”
The CNN News. 1 Oct.2008. Oct 18, 2008
Gentleman, Jeffery. “Somalia's pirates flourish in a lawless nation.” International Herald Tribune: The global edition of New York Times. 31 Oct.2008. Dec 1, 2008
International Maritime Organization.
Middleton, Roger. “Piracy in Somalia: Threatening Global Trade, Feeding Local Wars.” The Chatham House online publication. Oct.2008. Oct 31, 2008
Academics First, Sport Second: the No Pass, No Play Rule
Excelling at extracurricular activities is exciting and rewarding and should be encouraged, but not at the expense of academics. As student athletes, it is easy to get caught up with the notion of becoming a top college player and even a professional athlete with all the huge benefits and lifestyle that go along with it. Nevertheless, where does your future lie if you miss a scholarship or a chance of becoming a professional athlete? Thanks to the No pass, No play rules in Texas, now some academics standard have been required among high school athletes in the state over the last decades. Even though there has been a major controversy among Texas high school coaches, parents, fans and student athletes about the No pass, No play rules, the provision has had a positive impact on high school student athletes.
Texans became concerned about the poor performance in high school test scores and the literacy rate among high school students 28 year ago. The public noticed that high school athletes were paying more attention to meeting coaches’ expectations than putting much time to studying their lessons. In 1983, due to the enormous grievances from the public about their children’s future, Texas Governor Mark White decided to appoint an education committee to study the state education reform policy. The committee headed by Dallas billionaire, Ross Perot came up with several sweeping proposals, including the No pass, No play controversial provision.
Although the No pass, No play law was the only provision that caused controversial debate, other provisions that made up the House Bill 72 contain new requirements for teachers, including competency testing and certification for high school graduates. Both provisions were enacted in 1984 and took immediate effect during the 1985-86 school years, but only the No pass, No play law was later amended in 1995 because of its controversy. Before its 1995 amendments, the law required a high school student athlete to pass all courses including advance placement, international baccalaureates and dual college courses with a minimum grade of 70 and above before being allowed to participate in any extracurricular activities (e.g. football, band, tennis, soccer, volleyball, basketball, baseball, swimming, track, etc). In addition, the law bans students that failed in a course during the instructional periods from participating in a school sponsored program for six weeks until the grade has been improved and confirmed by an instructor (Texas State Library).
The early birth of the law in the late 80s affected some student athletes that took sport greater than academic. For example, a student named Gray Edward at Carter High school in Dallas was one of the first victims of the law. Edward became ineligible to participate in his school playoff match in the late 80s because of a 68.75 average in Algebra. His mathematic professor refused to add the two points because being a top linebacker and key player on the school team, Edward refused to sit in class for lectures (Bissinger 291-312). Moreover, the No pass, No play law also affected a famous track and field student athlete named Doyle Jones, who at the time held the national high school state record for 100 meter and 200 meter dashes, and was denied participation in the 1989 state championship because of a 62 average in English (Mathis 1).
However, both cases resulted into lawsuits involving parents, coaches, fans, administration, and student athlete themselves. These lawsuits made opponents of No pass, No play law argue that the purpose of the law was to deprive kids the right to participate in extracurricular activities. They further argued that by denying kids the right to participate in extracurricular activities because of poor academic performance is effectively denying them a valid educational opportunity. On the other hand, proponents of No pass, No play have also argued that students affected by the No pass, No play rule will not only try to improve their test score, but they will examine their priority in order to see academics as a future rather than sports (Burnett 2000).
Although there has been controversy among coaches, parents, and fans that the law was going to create a high drop out rate and low eligibility in extracurricular activities, the No pass, No play law has had some positive impact on students. For example, student athletes now put more attention to studies and at the same time perform better in extracurricular activities. The law has encouraged coaches and athletic parents to develop a small program in order to help student athletes maintain their eligibility and stay active on the team. Team sports, such as football that has more then 25 members, have made a team oath to help those who are academically performing poorly by organizing study groups to help one another succeed. According to the Austin Independent School District Office of Research and Evaluation, since the passage of the law more students have remained eligible to participate in extracurricular activities. The study shows that student athletes have had the largest increase in the eligibility rate from 47 percent in the fall of 1984-85 to 60 percent in the fall of 1992-93. Moreover, since the No pass, No play law was implemented the percentage of students taking honor classes has increased by 13 points from 35 percent during 1984-85, to 48 percent in 1992 (Sabatno).
In 1995, eleven years after the education standard was implemented for student athletes all over the state, another reform took place that revised the standard of the 1984 No pass, No Play provision. The new amendments allow a student with failing grades to practice on the team and to compete after three weeks, instead of six weeks, after the grade improves. It also allows school districts to exempt advance placement, international baccalaureates and dual college courses. The purpose of the 1995 amendment was to create a level playing field among school districts and to give high school student athletes the opportunity to choose classes that they could handle while being active on the team, but the new reform law did not work out for everyone. Some school districts took advantage of the law and exempted multiple classes (Ayres 1).
For example, Austin Independent School District exempted 100 classes, while Southlake School District, which is the home to the premier football program, did not exempt any course. These enormous exemptions of classes made representatives that constructed the law regret making such changes. According to The Dallas Morning News, Rep. Sadler who chaired the House education committee that changed the 1984 No pass, No play provision said, “[i] don’t think we would ever have envisioned [well known] school being allowed to exempt 100 different classes. I never imagined that school districts would exempt 100 classes. That is just beyond belief to me,” said Rep. Sadler an acknowledged expert on Texas educational laws. “It creates an uneven playing field”, Rep. Sadler said (Ayres 1).
Even though the new law allowed school districts to exempt classes and students to participate in extracurricular activities, both the old and the new laws serve today as guidance for Texas high school athletes. According to Texas State Library and Archives, Texas was the first state to pass such a law in United States and other states have followed since the 90s (Texas State Library). The law made parents and coaches to become more involved in student athletes academics achievements while the student combined sport skills with good education foundation.
Moreover, the law has helped high school student athletes recognize the significance of academics, realizing that good academics performance is the key attraction to today college coaches. Sports are wonderful and can use as an opportunity to get quality education, but student athletes need to take academics first and sport second because education is the key to a better tomorrow. The popularity of your sport might fade away, but your education will forever remain with you.
Work Cited
Ayres, Karen. “School districts find way around no-pass-no-play.” The Dallas Morning News.
20 Jan. 2007. 3 Sept.2008.
Bissinger, H.G. Friday Night Lights. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 2003. 291-312.
Burnett, Mitchell. A. “One Strike and You’re Out: An analysis of No Pass/No Play Policies.”
High School Journal. V84 n2 Dec. (2000): p1-6.
Mathis, Nancy. “’ No –Pass, No-Play’ at 5: Texas Statue Still a Controversial Mode for Reform.” Education Week. 17 May. 1989. 15 Sept.2008.
Sabatino, Melissa. “A Look Back at the No Pass/No Play Provision.” Executive Summary 93.05 Austin Independent School District Office of Research and Evaluation. May 1994 (3-12)..
Texas State Library & Archives Commission. “Press conference by White, August 8, 1985.”
.
Texans became concerned about the poor performance in high school test scores and the literacy rate among high school students 28 year ago. The public noticed that high school athletes were paying more attention to meeting coaches’ expectations than putting much time to studying their lessons. In 1983, due to the enormous grievances from the public about their children’s future, Texas Governor Mark White decided to appoint an education committee to study the state education reform policy. The committee headed by Dallas billionaire, Ross Perot came up with several sweeping proposals, including the No pass, No play controversial provision.
Although the No pass, No play law was the only provision that caused controversial debate, other provisions that made up the House Bill 72 contain new requirements for teachers, including competency testing and certification for high school graduates. Both provisions were enacted in 1984 and took immediate effect during the 1985-86 school years, but only the No pass, No play law was later amended in 1995 because of its controversy. Before its 1995 amendments, the law required a high school student athlete to pass all courses including advance placement, international baccalaureates and dual college courses with a minimum grade of 70 and above before being allowed to participate in any extracurricular activities (e.g. football, band, tennis, soccer, volleyball, basketball, baseball, swimming, track, etc). In addition, the law bans students that failed in a course during the instructional periods from participating in a school sponsored program for six weeks until the grade has been improved and confirmed by an instructor (Texas State Library).
The early birth of the law in the late 80s affected some student athletes that took sport greater than academic. For example, a student named Gray Edward at Carter High school in Dallas was one of the first victims of the law. Edward became ineligible to participate in his school playoff match in the late 80s because of a 68.75 average in Algebra. His mathematic professor refused to add the two points because being a top linebacker and key player on the school team, Edward refused to sit in class for lectures (Bissinger 291-312). Moreover, the No pass, No play law also affected a famous track and field student athlete named Doyle Jones, who at the time held the national high school state record for 100 meter and 200 meter dashes, and was denied participation in the 1989 state championship because of a 62 average in English (Mathis 1).
However, both cases resulted into lawsuits involving parents, coaches, fans, administration, and student athlete themselves. These lawsuits made opponents of No pass, No play law argue that the purpose of the law was to deprive kids the right to participate in extracurricular activities. They further argued that by denying kids the right to participate in extracurricular activities because of poor academic performance is effectively denying them a valid educational opportunity. On the other hand, proponents of No pass, No play have also argued that students affected by the No pass, No play rule will not only try to improve their test score, but they will examine their priority in order to see academics as a future rather than sports (Burnett 2000).
Although there has been controversy among coaches, parents, and fans that the law was going to create a high drop out rate and low eligibility in extracurricular activities, the No pass, No play law has had some positive impact on students. For example, student athletes now put more attention to studies and at the same time perform better in extracurricular activities. The law has encouraged coaches and athletic parents to develop a small program in order to help student athletes maintain their eligibility and stay active on the team. Team sports, such as football that has more then 25 members, have made a team oath to help those who are academically performing poorly by organizing study groups to help one another succeed. According to the Austin Independent School District Office of Research and Evaluation, since the passage of the law more students have remained eligible to participate in extracurricular activities. The study shows that student athletes have had the largest increase in the eligibility rate from 47 percent in the fall of 1984-85 to 60 percent in the fall of 1992-93. Moreover, since the No pass, No play law was implemented the percentage of students taking honor classes has increased by 13 points from 35 percent during 1984-85, to 48 percent in 1992 (Sabatno).
In 1995, eleven years after the education standard was implemented for student athletes all over the state, another reform took place that revised the standard of the 1984 No pass, No Play provision. The new amendments allow a student with failing grades to practice on the team and to compete after three weeks, instead of six weeks, after the grade improves. It also allows school districts to exempt advance placement, international baccalaureates and dual college courses. The purpose of the 1995 amendment was to create a level playing field among school districts and to give high school student athletes the opportunity to choose classes that they could handle while being active on the team, but the new reform law did not work out for everyone. Some school districts took advantage of the law and exempted multiple classes (Ayres 1).
For example, Austin Independent School District exempted 100 classes, while Southlake School District, which is the home to the premier football program, did not exempt any course. These enormous exemptions of classes made representatives that constructed the law regret making such changes. According to The Dallas Morning News, Rep. Sadler who chaired the House education committee that changed the 1984 No pass, No play provision said, “[i] don’t think we would ever have envisioned [well known] school being allowed to exempt 100 different classes. I never imagined that school districts would exempt 100 classes. That is just beyond belief to me,” said Rep. Sadler an acknowledged expert on Texas educational laws. “It creates an uneven playing field”, Rep. Sadler said (Ayres 1).
Even though the new law allowed school districts to exempt classes and students to participate in extracurricular activities, both the old and the new laws serve today as guidance for Texas high school athletes. According to Texas State Library and Archives, Texas was the first state to pass such a law in United States and other states have followed since the 90s (Texas State Library). The law made parents and coaches to become more involved in student athletes academics achievements while the student combined sport skills with good education foundation.
Moreover, the law has helped high school student athletes recognize the significance of academics, realizing that good academics performance is the key attraction to today college coaches. Sports are wonderful and can use as an opportunity to get quality education, but student athletes need to take academics first and sport second because education is the key to a better tomorrow. The popularity of your sport might fade away, but your education will forever remain with you.
Work Cited
Ayres, Karen. “School districts find way around no-pass-no-play.” The Dallas Morning News.
20 Jan. 2007. 3 Sept.2008
Bissinger, H.G. Friday Night Lights. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 2003. 291-312.
Burnett, Mitchell. A. “One Strike and You’re Out: An analysis of No Pass/No Play Policies.”
High School Journal. V84 n2 Dec. (2000): p1-6.
Mathis, Nancy. “’ No –Pass, No-Play’ at 5: Texas Statue Still a Controversial Mode for Reform.” Education Week. 17 May. 1989. 15 Sept.2008
Sabatino, Melissa. “A Look Back at the No Pass/No Play Provision.” Executive Summary 93.05 Austin Independent School District Office of Research and Evaluation. May 1994 (3-12).
Texas State Library & Archives Commission. “Press conference by White, August 8, 1985.”
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