Be Proud To Be HISPANIC

In the last unit of Rhetoric which was called Unite, I studied political speeches to learn how to inspire and unite others for a good cause. I learned rhetorical skills and devices to analyze political issues that are going on today. For the last action project I had to pick a political issue and create a piece of art explaining how I felt about the issue and bringing out more awareness to this topic. What I enjoyed about this project was creating the artwork and how it came out. What I struggled with was picking a issue to talk about and to make an artwork about it.

Created by JV, Bracelet Sketch 2015.

I am JV and my topic is immigrant status, specifically tied to discrimination against Hispanics in the US. I chose to create art about this issue because of how much it literally hits home for me. I am both Mexican and Puerto Rican, and at one point my grandmother and great grandmother were immigrants themselves in the US. Both families members faced discrimination for being a certain race and also because they were both immigrants. After arriving in the US, my grandmother and great-grandmother both had a hard time finding jobs and getting around Chicago because neither of them knew English. People would make fun of them because they were Hispanic and new to America.

Even more personally, I have very strong feelings about anti-immigration attitudes towards this topic because I myself have experienced discrimination from other races despite being a US citizen. I wanted to show how Hispanics are a race that suffer greatly from this kind of racism and prejudice. Did you know that the most discrimination Hispanics face is at their workplace? 11% are treated unfairly, 10% are being mistreated by police, and 9% get mistreated by the health care system along with unfair treatment while they’re dining at a restaurant. This Gallup Poll was conducted June 15-July 10, 2015,using a random grouping of 508 Hispanics, aged 18 and older, who lived in all 50 U.S. states. (Discrimination Statutes Among Hispanics, 2015.)

Created By JV Bracelet, 2015.

I decided to make a bracelet that represents hispanics and how we should be proud to be hispanic and not let anyone bring us down because of our race. We should be proud to have really good food and big loud families. We should be proud of our dark or light hispanic skin, and everything that comes along with being hispanic. I chose to make a bracelet because anyone can wear it, even if the person isn’t hispanic and just wants to support stopping discrimination.

The colors that I picked for my bracelet fibers are: red because it represents passion and love; green represents safety; yellow represents happiness; purple represents independence, and pink represents inner peace. I wanted red and green to be the main colors because red is in both the Mexican and Puerto Rican flags. I wanted the other colors to be peaceful and calming. All theses colors are what I want my Nation to have we need peace and stop hurting each other. 

I designed my bracelet in a braid style and spiral friendship pattern, to show how people can unite together.

Created by JV Bracelet, 2015. 

My bracelet has pathos through the passion and pride it shows towards Hispanic culture. It also shows alludes specifically to Mexico, since when I think of this part of my heritage, I think of lots of colors, especially the ones that I chose to use in my bracelet. The logos displayed through my bracelet is the colors and facts behind it, people should stop hurting each other just because of their race. We should all stand together and be pride of what we all are.

If I had the chance to publish my artwork I would want it to be worn on people’s wrists or ankles, so that way it is visible to everyone. I would first make it for family and friends to help me support my idea, then eventually other people will start to notice and would want to help stop discrimination.

Materials:
-a ruler
-scissors
-tape
-embroidery floss
-cotton string
-safety pins
-wrist to measure

Citations:

"Immigrant Status Tied to Discrimination Among Hispanics." gallup.com. Justin McCarthy. 20 Aug, 2015. Web. 15 Oct, 2015. 

"Understand The Meaning Of Colors." empower-yourself. N.P. N.D. 2010. Web. 20 Oct, 2015. 

The White Lighting

In the second unit of Design and Engineering we learned about wheels, and we investigated the bicycle to better understand the evolution of transportation. For the last Action Project we were paired up with a teammate and had a scenario to build a scale model of our own innovative bike. Our client’s name is Peter, he lives in Hyde Park and is traveling on the Lakefront trail. Peter wants a bike that goes fast, but can help support his heavy backpack which tires out his legs. We made a bike that fits Peter's needs, called the White Lighting. What I enjoyed about this Action Project is creating the bike and making the model. What I struggled with was finding a name for our bike. Overall I enjoyed the Design and Engineering class, I learned a lot and will apply what I learned about designing in my life.

Created By JV & RD Bike 2015.

Our persona's name is Peter: he is 18 years old, lives in Hyde Park, and needs to get to school which is 11.5 miles away via the Lakefront trail. He wants a fast bike that will get him to school quickly. He likes to wear his backpack when he rides, which means he has to carry his heavy textbooks with him. This means his legs get tired quickly on the long ride to school, his arms get tired when they are in the same position for too long, and he has back issues. I interviewed my best friend to get some good feedback on what she thinks is best to have on a bike. She said “I like a lightweight bike so that way I can go fast.” This feedback helped me because Peter also wants a lightweight bike, so I decided to use carbon because it’s a light material to create a good frame.

The bike that we designed for Peter is The White Lighting bike; it has an ID touch handle bar, which identifies the owner of the bike, and the wheels have LED lights that turn on and off depending on how bright the sun is. The bike has handlebars that you can put your hands in and are also heatable. The seat has a back to it which provides the rider with more comfort and the seat is also heatable. The bike has a GPS which allows the wheels to move by themselves if the rider gets too tired. The GPS is water proof and solar powered, which means riding the bike more is better because they GPS will be powered.  It also has an adjustable speed, and the ID handle bar has a light that can be used for the night so that way the rider can have a better and clearer view. The bike has an adjustable basket in the back just in case the rider needs more storage space. The wheels are mountain bike wheels which would help with the snow and rain. Like I said before the bike is made of carbon which is a very lightweight material and the seat is made of nylon which will last longer during the winter and rain. The benefits of riding our bike is that you can go fast, you can change the speed on the GPS, it has cool LED lights, and it will provide you more support for your body with the chair seat. This bike is perfect for Peter because he does have to ride a long distance to get to school. The reason to believe is because my partner and I travel a long way to school, so we know the stress of carrying a heavy backpack and how tired you get.

Created By JV & RD Bike Model, 2015.

Since it takes Peter 11.5 miles to get to school that is 59 minutes. To find his average speed I had to divide 50 mins by 11.5 miles and that equals 5.13 meters per second and in miles per hour it would be 11.69. The wheel’s diameter is 26 inches, the circumference is 81.6. I got that number by multiplying 26 by 3.14. The number of times the bike wheel rotates is 60720 ft divided by 6.8 which equals 8929.4 rotations. Our model’s wheel is 2.36 inches tall, and the real bike’s wheel is 26 inches tall, so our scale is 26/2.36 or about 11:1. Peter is looking for a faster bike because he has to travel a large distance. He would want a big cog in front and a small in back so that he can go faster. The chainring in front will have 53 teeth, and the cog in the back will have 13 teeth, which gives you a gear ratio of 13/53 or .245. Our bike will demonstrate Kinetic Energy when Peter is riding down a hill because the bike is in motion, and Potential Energy when Peter is on top of the hill because the bike isn’t moving.


Citations:
Cardona, Nicolle, personal interview with biker. 11, October 2015.

Travel To Lecce.

I am taking Italian as a language class at GCE, for this project we were assigned to make a slide show based on the city we got from Italy. My city is Lecce, which is "The Florence of the South." I enjoyed doing the project and getting to learn more about Italian culture.

Making America Great Again!

The purpose of this Action Project is to demonstrate my understanding of effective rhetorical techniques by highlighting and educating others about a rhetorical challenger. My task was to select, analyze and present an example of somebody today who is talking about issues that I agree with or don’t. This project is to raise awareness against ignorance and oppression. I had to select a text and annotate it using the rhetorical devices. I also had to create a prezi that teaches others about the rhetorical challenger that I have chosen. I picked Donald Trump, who is very well known for speaking his mind about many topics, and who also happens to be running for President the United States of America. I chose him because I don’t agree on many key issues with Trump; I think he is really obnoxious and and doesn’t care about our country, but just cares about money. What I enjoyed about this Action Project was annotating Trump’s speech and making a prezi out of it. What was most challenging was trying to find a copy of his speech in writing instead of a solely recording.

Tiller Kicks

The title of this course is called Designing and Engineering, which is a STEAM course that focuses on building things well. The course teaches us the history of design and how it changed so much over time, and benefited us in many ways. The purpose of this action project is to redesign a tool with a classmate that can benefit the elderly. Our users would be senior citizens; they are unique customers because they are older and need special equipment in order to work. Some have back injuries, some have knee problems etc. We learned about Empathy, which means to understand and connect to a customer's needs. It relates to this project because my partner and I had to think about what the elderly need in order to complete a task in a garden. What I enjoyed about this action project was redesigning the tool, and making a new one. What I found challenging was coming up with new ideas. What I am most proud of is the product my partner and I made.

Created by JV & DR Storyboard, 2015*

This is our story board about where, how, and why our customers will use our product. I learned that many things can go wrong when gardening, hands are better than tools, and take your time when you are working in a garden. Lightweight tools are easier to move around. Bad tools are heavy, electric, and wooden. For the external investigation I interviewed my mom who is a gardener and she told me, “I like using a tool that has a gel grip on it, because it makes the tool more comfortable to use.” Going off my mom’s quote I knew that I had to add gel in my project. For our field experience we went to Home Depot and decided to recreate a Tiller, which is a tool used to turn soil making it fresh and more alive. I learned that all versions of Tillers have feet/legs and are all used to work with dirt, and mix it up. Tillers all have handles and tines. They also all have safety pins to protect the sharp parts.

Created by JV & DR Model, 2015*

The new tool my partner and I designed is a shoe, the name is Tiller Kicks. It’s shaped to fit one foot of your choice, has toe slips so your feet fit in more comfortably and gel is inserted by the toe area. The kicks also have Croc material inside which is gel/foam-like to make the shoe even more comfortable. The outside material is made of Nappa material which is a full-grain un-split leather made from kid lamb, or sheep skin and is very protective; and will protect the customer's foot. The tines on the bottom spin on their own when you push down. Much like a pen that clicks, it uses force and a wedge because it digs into the ground and separates the material in order to work. The unique shoe isn’t too heavy so it will be the right amount to help an elderly get more leg strength. It also benefits people with arthritis because their toes would be separated and fit better without hurting. 

Created by JV, Vectors/Forces, 2015*

The obstacles my partner and I went through was if our design should have batteries or be able to have the same design as a clicking pen, like when you click down it moves and when you don’t click down it’s back in its place. We also looked into if our tool should be for both feet or for just one. My partner and I just talked it over and we both agreed on a clicking shoe, and for it just to be used for one foot because it will be easier to keep balance and also more lightweight.

We think our new tool is better because it’s more useful and it benefits the elderly more, especially if they have knee problems or arthritis. The Tiller Kicks will help them improve their leg strength and also get good exercise out of it.

Citations:
Vargas, Lucy, personal interview with gardener.19, September 2015.

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The title of this course is Rhetoric, which is my first Humanities course as a Junior. The course supposes that we use language to bring unity, division, and transcendence into our school, work, and civic life. To succeed we learned about Rhetoric devices that helped us analyze and critique language by watching videos, or reading short passages. The purpose of this action project was to demonstrate mastery of rhetorical techniques by writing my own speech. I had to imagine that I was in a political debate and had to come up with a topic that raised awareness. What I learned during this action project is all the devices and how to analyze a speech and text better. The challenges I faced during this action project is talking about my story about depression. What I am proud of is how my transcript turned out.

                                                                                          Created by JV 2015*

Did you know that suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15 - 24 year olds? Approximately 5,000 young people die each year. Some causes of suicide are teens feeling like they can’t fit in and get block out from crowds. Feeling like they can’t be accepted for who they are, some youth LGBT have been going through this for many years. Some have taken their lives because family members and friends wouldn’t accept them for who they were. Jean-Philippe was 14 years old when he ended his life due to depression and suicide because he constantly got teased for being gay. His own family members found out by reading the letter he left them in which he wrote, “PS: By the way, I was gay and I would like to say to the ones who still love me I will never forget them.”

Depression doesn’t always win. My sister’s story is one that can be told proudly. I remember when we were younger she would never let me paint for nails or do her hair. She would cry, scream, and yell because I would force her to let me, but I had no luck. She started “changing” around 10 years old, wearing baggy clothes, cutting her hair shorter, not wanting to talk. Certain family members wouldn’t understand why she was dressing like this, or why she acted a certain way that was different from their expectations of her. I noticed something on her arm one day; I saw cuts and I asked her what was wrong. She told me that she felt like we wouldn’t accept her because she's a lesbian. Lucky for her, she has a family that is the most loving, caring, and group of supporters for her.

A semicolon is used when a sentence could have been ended; but wasn’t. The Semicolon project is a faith-based, non-profit movement dedicated to offering hope and love to those who are struggling with depression, suicide addiction and self-injury. The project promotes the semicolon tattoo in order to raise awareness of these important, life-or-death issues, but most importantly to let sufferers know they don’t have to live in shame because they aren’t actually alone. I am planning to get this tattoo when I turn 18 to represent my sister and myself, because I suffer from depression as well. 

Depression is like a big tumbleweed filled with uncontrollable feelings and thoughts. You never know when it’s going to leave or cross your path again or what garbage it’ll pick up along the way. Some days you’re fine, and then the next it’s there hovering over you and can take days, weeks, and even months for it to leave. Even the simplest things can make it come back and you just wish you could feel numb. Robin Williams was one of my favorite actors and he lost his fight with depression as an extremely successful,well-known adult. Just because he had a big smile and knew how to make people laugh doesn’t mean he was okay. One thing I learned from depression is that it’s so easy to hide from people; you can look so happy but inside you are running, running, running away from that one thing that can bring you down. Another thing that I learned is that depression isn’t me, it’s just a thing that happens. You have to stay positive and accept yourself for who you are, not caring what other people think. Depression doesn’t always win. Be like the semicolon - before you judge pause and take a moment to put yourself in someone else’s shoes.

Citations:

"Semicolon Project." www.projectsemicolon.org. Amy Bleuel. 2013. Web. 19 Sept, 2015.

"Facts and Figures."afsp.org.N.P. 2015. Web 19 Sept, 2015.

"True gay youth stories." akeweedatarrowhead.net. Gary Lynn. 2004. Web. 19 Sept, 2015.