The three main factors that contribute to the difficulty of exonerating wrongfully convicted women include false confessions, stereotypes, and tunnel vision of criminal justice professionals. When I was thinking about possible policy recommendations to increase the representation of female exonerees in the United States, I began to think about the lack of females in law enforcement positions. By having an increased amount of female law enforcement, tunnel vision and stereotypes may not be negative factors in the exoneration process for wrongfully convicted women.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, only 13% of law enforcement officers are women. This percentage has increased from just 3% in the 1970s, so why has it taken 50 years for this percentage to increase so little? According to the University of San Diego, there are several benefits of recruiting and training females, which are now becoming more apparent to law enforcement agencies and organizations throughout the United States. By having more women in law enforcement, the public safety force would become more balanced and the quality of law enforcement would be enhanced through the implementation of females’ perspectives and abilities in the criminal justice system.
Benefits of Having Women in Law Enforcement
There are several benefits to having an increased number of women working in law enforcement positions throughout the United States, which can positively impact law enforcement practices.
- Female law enforcement is less likely to use violence and excessive force. According to the 2019 National Institute of Justice Special Report, “Women in Policing: Breaking Barriers and Blazing a Path,” meta-analyses have proven that female officers are less likely to use force compared to male officers in addition to not being as likely to engage in police misconduct. Female officers typically use de-escalation techniques in uneasy situations, because women are sometimes at a physical disadvantage when dealing with a suspect and these tactics can be more successful.
- Female officers can help address violence against women. According to a study conducted by the University of Zurich, violent crimes against women as well as rapes are reported more often in communities where there is an increased number of female law enforcement. In addition to this, as female officer representation increases, the number of homicides against partners and domestic abuse cases decreases. When it comes to sexual assault cases, victims may want to speak with a female officer rather than a male, which is difficult when there are not enough females in law enforcement.
- Women have excellent communication and problem-solving skills, which can increase law enforcement relationships with the local community. Women have many qualities that make them trusted members of society, including effective and efficient communication and problem-solving. Female police officers have different strengths compared to male police officers, which makes them necessary in law enforcement to help create safer communities.
Encouraging Women to Consider Careers in Law Enforcement
Even though there is an increased awareness of women needed in law enforcement and their potential to make a positive impact in communities across the country, more can still be done to encourage and support women entering law enforcement. The U.S. Border Patrol has pushed out a recruiting campaign aimed at women due to the thousands of migrant women crossing the U.S.-Mexico border who have faced sexual assault. In addition to this, encouraging and informing young girls about the need for women in law enforcement and the critical role they play in helping victims in their community.
The 30×30 Initiative
In the 2018 National Institute of Justice report, the 30×30 Initiative was introduced, and the goal is to increase the representation of women in law enforcement to 30% by 2030 as well as support female officers in their positions. Several organizations, universities, and groups of police leaders have joined together in support of the 30×30 Initiative, including Penn State University Police and Public Safety. They are slowly raising awareness about the importance of having females in law enforcement throughout the country. The 30×30 Initiative urges 115 law enforcement agencies and groups to “take measures to increase the representation of women in all ranks of law enforcement, ensure that policies and procedures are free of all bias, promote equitable hiring, retention, and promotion of officers, and ensure their culture is inclusive, respectful and supportive of women in all ranks and roles of law enforcement.”
Conclusion
Overall, I believe that more women are needed within the criminal justice system to support local communities, specifically female victims. I look forward to seeing if the percentage of female law enforcement increases to 30% by 2030 as the encouragement and support of women in the criminal justice system grows. I have enjoyed learning more about this topic and how it relates to the issue of the underrepresentation of female exonerees and the lack of sexual assault reports within the United States.
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Welcome back to Sarah’s Self-Care Corner! This week, I will be reflecting on this semester and my self-care goals. I cannot believe how fast my first year of college has gone! I have loved every minute and even though this semester went very well, it was stressful at times and I found I needed more self-care built into my schedule than I have at any time before. At the beginning of the semester, as seen in my second blog post, I thought about my current needs and stressors so I could create an effective self-care plan to lower my stress and anxiety levels. I know that taking that time to do that paid off for me this semester!
My Self-Care Plan
In my self-care plan, I brainstormed possible activities to engage in to release stress, proposed initial first steps to get started, and planned out my self-care schedule for the remainder of the semester. When thinking about activities I could engage in throughout the semester, I listed exercising, listening to calming music, watching a show on Netflix, playing a game on my phone, and talking to people that I trust. Throughout the semester, I planned to take at least one hour at night before going to bed to care for myself. By taking this time, I could wind down to sleep better and be able to put the best version of myself forward the next day.
Reflecting on My Self-Care Plan
Surprisingly, I have followed my self-care plan throughout the semester and took advantage of each opportunity to care for myself when I needed a break or time to de-stress. When I did not have dance practice or another club activity, I took advantage of my proximity to the White Building (living right next door helps!) by weight lifting and walking on the treadmill to let out the day’s stress and exercise for at least 30 minutes. In addition to this, I have added yoga and meditation practices to my weekly schedule for two days out of the week. I did not know how beneficial consistent yoga and meditation practice would be for me. The most successful part of my self-care plan was taking at least an hour at the end of each day before bed to reflect on the day and take time for myself. I usually spend this time watching a show on Netflix or playing a puzzle game on my phone to wind down.
Moving Forward
While this semester has been stressful and overwhelming at times, I chose to prioritize myself and my needs before anyone else. Over the summer, I am planning to keep the same self-care schedule, which includes taking time at the end of the day for myself. In addition to this, I will be taking lots of trips to the beach and mountains to decompress and enjoy the outdoors. By sticking to this schedule throughout the summer break, I will begin the fall semester feeling relaxed and refreshed.
Thank you for joining me on my self-care journey this semester! I hope you were able to learn something new from this blog that you can incorporate into your daily life to take care of yourself before helping those around you.
Welcome back to Sarah’s Self-Care Corner! For this week’s blog, I will discuss yoga and meditation, and how to best incorporate them into your daily life. Trust me, it is easier than you think! Yoga includes various exercise and movement sequences combined with breathing techniques and meditation concepts. Yoga practice can be specialized design per the individual. There are easier moves that suit everyone and there are some moves that are more difficult to suit those with more practice. Yoga also allows for modifications that can be made to accommodate everyone’s current needs or limitations.
While many people believe that the focus of yoga is to become very still and relax the mind, it can also be, at the same time, energizing and allow a person to push his/her body and mind to the limit by activating the core, large muscle groups, and balance. By practicing yoga while also remaining conscious of your breath, a line of communication opens up between your mind and body. Focusing on your breath is one of the key aspects of yoga, which can lead to the still practice of meditation.
What are the benefits of yoga and meditation?
There are many lifelong benefits of practicing yoga and meditation. Both yoga and meditation are individual practices where it is essential to be in sync with your body and know its limits. In addition to this and when done correctly with focus, yoga and meditation allow your body and mind to fully relax from physical tension combined with mental distraction and stress. The practices of yoga and meditation also promote brain health. It is important to prevent our minds from going into “auto-pilot,” so yoga and meditation help us take control over our thoughts and outlook on the day. Lastly, yoga and meditation practices decrease anxiety, improve psychological health, prevent burnout, and promote increased awareness between the mind and body.
Three Yoga Poses for Everyone
This semester, I have had the opportunity to take a yoga class at Penn State. This has forced me to practice yoga as a dedicated part of my weekly schedule and I have loved every minute of it! Throughout these yoga classes and several movement practices, I have done on my own, I have selected a few poses and movements that I consider my favorites. Below is a list of my top three yoga poses:
- Child’s Pose – This pose is wonderful to briefly rest and relax before jumping back into a more difficult pose or movement sequence. It stretches your lower back, hips, thighs, and knees while also relaxing your spine, shoulders, and neck. One modification of this pose I enjoy is resting prayer hands on the back of my head.
- Downward Dog – Whenever I think of yoga, this is the pose that comes to mind. Downward dog is one of the most common yoga poses. It strengthens your arms, shoulders, and back while also stretching your hamstrings, calves, and foot arches. The key to this pose is evenly distributing weight through your hands, pushing your hips to the sky, and keeping your shoulders relaxed and not scrunched towards your ears. For an added challenge, you can ground your forearms rather than your palms, which turns into the dolphin pose.
- Twisted Crescent Lunge – This pose strengthens your core, thighs, chest, and shoulders while also promoting balance and flexibility. The best part of this pose is the twist of the upper body towards the grounded leg, which opens up the chest and side ribs for a nice stretch.
Simple Meditations Anyone Can Try
Along with yoga, I have added meditation into my weekly schedule, and I have enjoyed connecting with myself and my breathing. Throughout several meditation practices, I have come to realize which breathing techniques and guided meditations are my favorite. Below is a list of my top three meditation practices:
- 4-4-8 Breathing – This breathing exercise is most effective in a seated position that is comfortable for you. The sequence consists of breathing in through your nose for four counts filling up your lungs, holding the breath for four counts, and exhaling fully through your mouth for eight counts. This technique really calms my body and mind. I enjoy using this breathing practice when I need to take a mental reset before starting something else.
- Visualization Meditation – This meditation practice includes picturing and imagining positive images, ideas, and symbols. It can also utilize affirmations and mantras to help calm the mind and focus on something happy and uplifting in your life. Using visualization can help ease pain, send love to others, or support you in goal making and achieving. Visualization meditation engages your mind and its limitless imagination.
- Gratitude Meditation – This meditation practice is simply reflecting on people, places, and things in our lives that we are truly grateful for. Through this practice, you should be filled with feelings of appreciation for a friend, family member, sunny weather, coffee, and more. This practice helps us appreciate everything we have in our lives, which can ultimately enhance our well-being.
Thank you for reading this post, and I hope you have found the information helpful in incorporating different yoga and meditation practices into your daily life. Based on your current needs, implement the best yoga poses and meditations that work best for you. I know that trying new things, such as yoga or meditation, can be scary, but you may really like it and it doesn’t hurt you to try something new. Be sure to check back in two weeks at Sarah’s Self-Care Corner for my last post where I will be reflecting on this semester and my self-care goals.
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Welcome back to Sarah’s Self-Care Corner! For this week’s blog, I will discuss journaling, the benefits of journaling regularly, and different ways to journal. Throughout middle school, many of my peers kept a diary, where they would write down school gossip, secret crushes, or the highs and lows of each day with no real purpose. As life got more stressful and the daily demands increased throughout high school, it got more difficult to maintain a journal. After adding daily journaling and reflection to my life, I realized that the hardest part of journaling is getting started and turning it into a daily habit.
The Benefits of Journaling
As I discussed in my last post on emotional self-care, it is important to express and deal with our overwhelming emotions in healthy ways, which could include journaling as part of your self-care practice. You can use journaling as a tool to manage your emotions and mental health. By tracking your daily emotions and thoughts, you are able to recognize patterns and possible triggers in order to prevent future outbursts or negative thoughts. In addition to this, journaling gives you a chance to think about the positive and negative thoughts from your day. Remember that journaling is only one important aspect of leading a healthier lifestyle by improving stress management and mental health.
Journaling Techniques
There are several journaling techniques that can be helpful when implementing journaling into your daily life. You can find a journaling technique for almost any situation in your life, so I would suggest picking what would work best for you and your current needs emotionally and mentally. Below are some journaling techniques that I have found helpful:
- Write down affirmations. Daily affirmations are positive statements that can relate to you and your daily life. By using affirmations, you can shift your mindset and attitude from negative to positive. Some possible daily affirmations include “I wish to be happy”, “I am enough”, “I will ease my suffering”, or “I have the power to change my mindset.”
- Practice reflective journaling. Reflective journaling considers an experience in your life and asks you to reflect on that specific moment, how you felt, and what you thought at the moment. After considering your personal feelings, you can think about the deeper meaning of the experience such as what you think the moment means or how did it affect you. Lastly, think about if you learned anything from experience or during the reflection. Reflective journaling helps us process difficult life events so that we are able to move forward with our lives.
- Try the unsent letter technique. Unsent letters can be used to gain closure, clarity, confidence, and achieve a state of calmness. You can write an unsent letter to communicate something left unsaid to someone you cared about or voice your thoughts or feelings towards them. After writing an unsent letter, it is easier to move on with your life and leave the person “receiving” the letter in the past.
- Write what you are grateful for or a gratitude letter. By practicing gratitude towards ourselves and others, we feel overall happier and have a more positive outlook on life. You can simply write what you are grateful for at that specific moment. In addition to this, you could write someone a gratitude letter thanking them for being a part of your life.
- Try freewriting. Freewriting is one of the most common journaling techniques. When you use the freewriting technique, you write down whatever comes to mind similar to a brain dump. Even if your mind wanders, then continue to write down whatever pops into your head. Sometimes freewriting is a good place to start because it gets your mind and thoughts flowing more freely instead of staring at a blank page.
Journaling Tips
The hardest part of daily journaling is getting started, so I provided some tips that helped me get in the habit of incorporating journaling into my daily routine.
- Try to be consistent. Life can easily get busy, but it is important to try to remain consistent with your journaling in order to implement the practice into your daily life. Choosing a specific time to journal for a few minutes each day will help you write in your journal regularly and make it a part of your daily routine.
- Journal whatever you would like. Your journal can be whatever you want it to be. A journal should be a private place to express yourself. When you are journaling, write or draw whatever comes to mind without judgment.
- Use different journaling techniques. Using different journaling techniques each day or week will keep you excited and interested in daily journaling. There are several techniques that can be used for almost any purpose or situation as mentioned above.
Thank you for reading this post, and I hope you have found the information helpful in incorporating journaling into your daily life with a technique that best suits you and your needs. Be sure to check back next week at Sarah’s Self-Care Corner where I will be discussing various yoga and meditation techniques that you can incorporate into your daily life.
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Welcome back to Sarah’s Self-Care Corner! For this week’s blog, I will explain the concept of emotional self-care and coping with your various emotions throughout the day. Each day brings different stress to our lives, so it is important to care for yourself, including your emotional health. By nurturing your emotions, you are able to decrease stress, calm your nerves, cope with difficult situations and problems, and enhance your overall mood.
What is Emotional Self-Care?
Emotional self-care includes acknowledging your emotions, identifying which emotion you are feeling, and allowing yourself to feel the specific emotion rather than holding it back. In today’s world, many people, including myself, try to suppress or ignore emotions rather than deal with them at that specific moment. Let’s face it – with the speed of life, it just seems easier to put off dealing with the emotion later. But is that really what we should do? Ultimately, the emotions that are held in will eventually come out. If too many emotions are packed in, a person runs the risk of the emotions spilling out uncontrollably! A key aspect of emotional self-care is really knowing yourself, your situation and being able to express your feelings without being judgemental of those very specific and individualized emotions. This is not easy to do and takes practice. By assessing your emotions without judgment, you are able to notice patterns of emotional responses in various situations and try to prevent them from spilling out uncontrollably and impacting your emotional self in the future.
Assessing Emotional Needs
By adding emotional self-care to your daily life, you will be able to focus on your specific emotions, your internal reaction, and focusing on keeping your mind more at ease and relaxed in high-stress situations. One way to assess your emotional needs is to be in tune with your body by noticing any physical sensations that come with certain emotions. You can also consider how your emotions come out positively or negatively when triggered by a specific situation and how to possibly prevent an outburst. To decide what emotional self-care techniques work best for you, think about what personal needs should be met through this self-care practice. You can start by asking yourself these questions before choosing your emotional self-care strategy:
- How do you process your emotions? Are these ways healthy or unhealthy?
- Do you participate in activities that help you feel recharged?
- How do you deal with an emotional outburst? Or do you tend to hold your emotions in?
- What triggers your emotions such as anger, sadness, overwhelmed, or fear?
Incorporating Emotional Self-Care
- Be gentle towards yourself, your emotions, and the others around you. Everyone, including you, personally deals with and faces situations that cause stress each day. What this really means is that everyone is doing the best they can in order to get through the day’s demands If you are upset about something, it is very easy to snap or take out your emotions on someone else that might be trying to help. This would not be a great way to handle your own stress! It is important to be kind to yourself and your own emotions, but also give that courtesy to others as everyone is dealing with their own stressors in different ways.
- Take a break from the news and social media. Now more than ever, the news can sometimes bring more harm than good to our emotions. It is crucial to remain informed on the latest news within the country and around the world, but it is totally okay to limit your screen time, especially if the current events are adding negatively to your emotions.
- Focus on what you can control. Sometimes we get overwhelmed about things in our lives that are out of our control such as world events, the COVID-19 pandemic, or others’ actions. It is important to remember that we can only control ourselves as well as our thoughts, emotions, and actions.
- Connect with someone you trust. It is critical to talk about your emotions with other people if you are feeling very overwhelmed, anxious, sad, or angry. Ultimately, it is always better to let out your emotions rather than bottle them up until you explode. Talking with someone you trust allows you to release your emotions and feelings in a safe, judgment-free environment.
Thank you for reading this post, and I hope you have found the information helpful in incorporating emotional self-care into your daily life. Be sure to check back next week at Sarah’s Self-Care Corner where I will be discussing journaling and various techniques that you can incorporate into your daily life.
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In this blog post, I will be explaining the issue that I will be addressing in my brief, which relates to the PA Innocence Project. Throughout the post, I will also discuss the exigence and rhetorical situation surrounding the issue, the potential “cause” of the problem, and which policy instrument I will use to craft the reform at the end of the brief.
Overview of the Issue Brief
In the issue brief, I will be addressing the problem of the lack of wrongfully convicted women being exonerated compared to men. According to several sources, this disparity occurs due to multiple factors against wrongfully convicted women throughout the conviction, interrogation, incarceration, and exoneration process. Some of these factors include false confessions, inadequate legal defense, tunnel vision of police and prosecutors, the exoneree’s relationship to the victim, and no crime occurring in the first place. If these factors are known, then why is nothing being done to reform the criminal justice system in order for more wrongfully convicted women to be exonerated and set free?
This issue is an intervention in a policy discussion because there are reforms that must be made to bring justice and equality to the United States’ criminal justice system, which would result in more incarcerated women being exonerated. Some possible reforms include clearer judicial procedures for convicted people to present their claims of innocence for unlimited time and increased training of police officers and prosecutors on how to prevent “tunnel vision” as well as associated stereotypes from impeding their judgment.
Exigence and the Rhetorical Situation
We hear many stories from men about their experiences being wrongfully convicted, incarcerated, and some eventually exonerated, but very rarely do people hear about women being wrongfully convicted and exonerated. Since 1989, only 258 women have been exonerated out of 2,991 exonerees, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. In addition to this, according to the Prison Policy Initiative, women are the greatest increasing group of incarcerated people. Why are women being forgotten and overlooked when it comes to conversations about mass incarceration? Does gender affect the incarceration and exoneration process for women? What unique factors do wrongfully convicted women face compared to wrongfully convicted men?
In looking at current statistics, there are obviously factors and obstacles that wrongfully convicted women face in this process that typically does not lead them to exoneration. Throughout the issue brief, I would like to discuss the various factors against wrongfully convicted women which makes them harder to exonerate. In addition to this, I will also discuss possible reforms that could be made in order to exonerate more women in the future by responding to the current rhetorical situation.
Cause Categories
According to the “Causes” article, Deborah Stone, a political theorist, stated in her book Policy Paradox that causal explanations for policy problems usually fall into one of four categories including intentional, inadvertent, mechanical, and accidental causes. Out of the four categories of causes, the lack of wrongfully convicted women being exonerated is the result of a mechanical cause. A mechanical cause is created by a system that creates harm by working the way it is intended to. Regarding the difficulty to exonerate wrongfully convicted women, the system at fault is the United States’ criminal justice system. In order to decrease this disparity between wrongfully convicted men and women, the criminal justice system must be reformed in some way.
Policy Instruments
Policy instruments are tools that are able to put visions into action. According to the “Making Policy” reading, the four types of policy instruments include mandates, inducements, capacity builders, and system changes. Out of the four policy instruments, the lack of wrongfully convicted women being exonerated could be solved using the two of the policy instruments – capacity builders and system changes. Capacity builders focus on educating citizens to alter their personal attitudes, social norms, and culture. This tool could be used to change the societal stereotypes of women as bad mothers or caregivers. This could help wrongfully convicted women in cases where they are accused of the harm or murder of a child of which they were taking care.
In addition to this, system changes deal with changing the power dynamics or modifying how a particular institution works. In this case, the institution being changed would be the United States’ criminal justice system. A system change is occasionally the most dramatic of policy instruments, but by using this tool, the greatest amount of positive change will likely occur. I believe that a system change would most likely increase the amount of wrongfully convicted women being ultimately exonerated.
Conclusion
Overall, I hope you enjoyed this post and learned more about what I will be discussing within my issue brief on wrongfully convicted women and the many factors against them throughout the exoneration process. I look forward to learning more about this topic as well as writing and sharing my issue brief next month.
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Welcome back to Sarah’s Self-Care Corner! For this week’s blog, I will discuss the concept of spiritual self-care and connecting with your true inner self. While it is critical to take care of your physical and mental health, it is also important to nurture your soul and spirit.
What is Spiritual Self-Care?
Spirituality and the practice of spiritual self-care will look different for everyone based on an individual’s thought processes and personal beliefs. There are many ways to practice spiritual self-care. Your goal is to feel a deeper connection with yourself and your thoughts and beliefs. Your own spirituality could be related to religion or culture, but taking care of your spirit does not need to be solely based on religion. A person’s concept of spirituality could be practiced in nature, or through art, music, writing, or dance. The practice of spirituality and spiritual self-care is highly personal, and the goal is to find a deeper sense of understanding, purpose, and connection with your inner self and the universe.
Assessing Spiritual Needs
By adding spiritual self-care to your daily life, your body and, more importantly, your soul will be fulfilled by offering clarity and understanding. Spiritual self-care can silence the mind and help the body achieve a calm state. For example, when you feel happy and at peace with yourself, your life, and your surroundings, your body can sense peace and relaxation at the core. To decide what spiritual self-care techniques work best for you, consider what personal needs should be met through this self-care practice. You can start by asking yourself these questions before choosing your spiritual self-care path each day:
- Are you experiencing inner peace? If not, what is causing this instability?
- What am I feeling right now? Happiness? Loneliness? What is causing these feelings?
- What is my relationship with my inner self?
- What spiritual practices are you engaged in that are fulfilling your spirit?
- Do those spiritual practices lead to a sense of calm, peace, and fulfillment?
Incorporating Spiritual Self-Care
Spiritual self-care is essential for you to live a fulfilling and happy life by nourishing your soul and spirit every single day. The following list includes ways you can improve your inner connection with yourself by practicing spiritual self-care:
- Practice yoga. By recognizing your current needs, yoga can be a great tool to balance your body, mind, and spirit. Many people believe that yoga is full of holding intricate poses for periods of time, but yoga is a wonderful way to exercise not just your body but your spirit as well. The moves in yoga are purposeful and connected physically to your inner self. Yoga encourages an accepting environment within your body and soul by helping you build a strong base for a fulfilling life. In a future post, I will explore the practice of yoga on a deeper level.
- Try meditation. Meditation is one of the easiest ways to add spiritual self-care into your daily routine, and you only need a few minutes each day. Meditation is proven to help calm your body, mind, and spirit by reducing stress and creating a clearer connection between you and your inner self. A successful meditation session blocks out all worldly distractions and allows a person to quiet their ever-going mind. Meditation is not easy and requires quiet and strong personal focus. If classic meditation isn’t for you, then you can also try deep breathing exercises, mindfulness meditation, visualization, or repeating a mantra. In a future post, I will also explore the practice of meditation and the various techniques.
- Practice forgiveness. By forgiving yourself and others, you will be able to live the life that you want. A lot of energy is used to hold grudges or anger towards others, but this energy could be used to care for yourself and create the life you want to have. By remaining present and forgiving, you are improving and caring for your spiritual health and well-being.
Thank you for reading this post, and I hope you have found the information helpful in incorporating spiritual self-care into your daily life. Be sure to check back next week at Sarah’s Self-Care Corner where I will be discussing emotional self-care and the importance of caring for you and your emotions.
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Introduction
In this blog post, I will be reflecting on the deliberation project my group created and facilitated, as well as the other deliberations I attended as a participant. Throughout the reflection, I will be exploring six out of the nine criteria for deliberative discussion from Gastil’s chapter on deliberation to fully evaluate the various deliberations.
Create a Solid Information Base
The first criteria from Gastil’s chapter on deliberation are creating a solid information base by discussing personal experiences, as well as factual information about the topic. In my deliberation, I knew that every participant had some form of personal experience with taking standardized tests during their junior or senior year of high school, which varied due to the pandemic shut down in March 2020. Many students, including myself, began to question the “when”, “where”, and “why” of requiring standardized tests in the college admissions process. During the personal stake section of the deliberation, I was surprised that not many students shared their experiences considering that each of us went through the stress of trying to take the SAT/ACT to apply to college. Even though most participants were aware of the background information on this topic, we felt it was important to share a brief overview of the standardized testing process during the deliberation.
In the “Homelessness in Skid Row” deliberation, the group gave a solid background on the issue of homelessness in the United States, specifically in the “Skid Row” section in Los Angeles, CA. Even though none of the participants or facilitators were directly affected by homelessness, we all recognized that it is a severe problem in many major cities across the country and around the world. In addition to this, all of the participants and facilitators agreed that something needs to be done to address poverty and help those who are homeless.
Identify a Broad Range of Solutions
The second criteria from Gastil’s chapter on deliberation are identifying a broad range of solutions to solve the problem. My deliberation team created three different approaches to solve the issue of whether or not standardized tests should be required in the college admissions process. Our three approaches included requiring test scores and offering a free test preparation course, offering test-optional score submission, and eliminating test score submissions. Some participants offered the idea of skills tests or specific subject area tests being required for college applications rather than a benchmark test like the SAT or ACT. Other participants thought it would be hard to come up with an alternative to the current SAT that would properly assess the college readiness of increasingly diverse applicants. Throughout the deliberation, we examined each approach and received feedback from participants on each solution, as well as other aspects to consider.
In the “Cancer Alley” deliberation, the facilitators presented three approaches to solve the issue of toxic pollution in Louisiana, including anti-pollution legislation, terminating factory production, and relocating the community members. After considering the three approaches, I believe that the proposed solutions would help relieve exposure to toxic pollution and substances, but none of them would eliminate the pollution that is causing the cancer clusters. While these solutions are a good place to start to solve the problem of air pollution in Cancer Alley, more work should be completed on how to effectively eradicate the actual pollution at the root of the problem.
Weigh the Pros, Cons, and Trade-Offs of Proposed Solutions
The third criteria from Gastil’s chapter on deliberation are weighing the pros, cons, and trade-offs of the various proposed approaches. For each approach to the issue of requiring or not requiring standardized test score submission, there are advantages and disadvantages. If score submissions are required and a free test prep class is offered, colleges would be able to compare applicants uniformly as well as provide colleges with information on individual students and their potential success in college. Because of the difference between students of low vs. high socioeconomic status, there is unequal access to test prep due to financial constraints, accessibility, and varying programs offered in local school districts. If colleges offer test-optional score submission, it gives students a choice to submit their score and allow for other ways to show their strengths in the application process. However, there would be no benchmark to compare applicants using the test-optional approach, therefore making it riskier for colleges to accept students. Lastly, eliminating score submission creates a fairer process for students of lower socioeconomic status without access to test prep or other resources to apply to schools. There is also less stress on students during the admissions process, but there would be more weight on high school GPA, which could be inflated.
In the “Order in the Court” deliberation, the team proposed three approaches to solve the problem of injustice in the courtroom, including bail, sentencing, and limitations on media presence. If bail is implemented more heavily, it would reduce strain on the prison systems by allowing those who can afford bail to be released more quickly, but this “catch-and-release” situation could cause issues and it is unfair to those who cannot afford to pay their bail. By reducing minimum sentencing, people would be in prison for fewer years and there would be fewer penalties for drug offenders specifically. Even though the years of minimum sentencing is decreased, this does not stop the offenders from being imprisoned multiple times. Lastly, by restricting the media presence in the courtroom, the influence of outside opinions on the judge and jury would be decreased and it would prevent celebrities convicted of crimes from making a profit from breaking the law. The lack of media in court cases would restrict public access to information on crimes as well as it would be very difficult to implement and control in our society.
Ensure Mutual Comprehension
The fourth criteria from Gastil’s chapter on deliberation are ensuring mutual comprehension between facilitators and participants by speaking clearly and asking for clarification when necessary. During our deliberation, everyone spoke equally and asked clarifying questions. I appreciated that the participants would ask questions to better understand a certain aspect of the topic or approach. By providing the topic guide, participants were able to read and gain background knowledge on our topic and approaches, so when they came to the deliberation, they were prepared to ask questions and discuss. While we were lucky that our topic was familiar to the students in the class, I would have liked to ask the participants to share their experiences a second time because I know that each participant at the deliberation went through the college admissions process and has interesting and relevant information to add to the conversation.
Consider Other Ideas and Experiences
The fifth criterion from Gastil’s chapter on deliberation is listening carefully to others, especially during a disagreement. Throughout the deliberation, many people shared their personal experiences, thoughts, and opinions about standardized testing in the college admissions process. At some points during the discussion, there were some disagreements among the participants and toward the approaches colleges are taking. The participants seemed evenly split on either requiring standardized test score submissions or not requiring score submissions. Overall, several participants disagreed with our first and third approaches, but they all did so respectfully – which we appreciated!
Respect Other Participants
The last criteria from Gastil’s chapter on deliberation are respecting other participants by recognizing that each participant has a unique background. Throughout the deliberation, all of the participants were respectful of each other and the facilitators. Even though the number of participants was smaller, I believe that everyone spoke equally, but I would have liked to see every participant add at least one thought to the discussion. Sometimes, I felt like we were receiving the same thought or opinions constantly from the same participants, and I wanted to hear what some of the quieter participants had to say about the topic.
Conclusion
Overall, I believe that all of the deliberations were presented well and were informative. After each deliberation, I walked away with a deeper understanding and fresh perspective on each topic. I look forward to analyzing the takeaways from our discussion in the next part of the deliberation unit.
Welcome back to Sarah’s Self-Care Corner! Mental health is a hot topic as we have come through nearly two years of a pandemic that has changed the way many of us live our lives. For this week’s blog, I will discuss the concept of mental self-care, which focuses on decluttering your mind, reducing stress, and promoting mindfulness throughout your daily life. As a college student in 2022, it is very easy to become overwhelmed! In addition to masks, COVID quarantines, and isolation, we now add schoolwork, exams, club meetings and activities, social events, as well as re-establishing and maintaining connections with others. It is important to remember that your inner thoughts and mental space impact your overall psychological well-being, which can affect your physical health as well.
What is Mental Self-Care?
Mental self-care includes keeping your brain clear of distractions and thoughts that detract from your everyday focus and routine. It allows you to maintain a healthy mental space by clearing your mind and ultimately decreasing stress levels. Even though life can get overwhelming with school, work, or daily life activities, caring for yourself and your mental health is critical to thriving and improving your overall happiness and mood. Taking time each day for quiet activities and self-reflection help you to establish a way to help your mind feel relaxed and refreshed. It is also important to know that there is more than one way to practice mental self-care, as it is a highly personalized way to manage your mind.
Assessing Mental Needs
Before choosing the best mental self-care strategy for you, consider your current mental needs. You may ask yourself if you are putting aside enough time each day for activities that stimulate your mind such as solving problems, puzzles, or learning about a new topic. In addition to this, you may also want to think about what things you are doing to keep your mind and mental space healthy, positive, and uplifting. Avoiding negative influences such as stressful news topics, toxic relationships, as well as overkill on social media can help people with focusing on positive mental health. Everyone’s mental needs are unique with each individual’s mental self-care looking different – and this is really okay!
Incorporating Mental Self-Care
Mental self-care is crucial for you to live a positive, uplifting, and happy life by attempting to create a healthy mental space for yourself every single day. The following list includes ways you can improve your stress, mental compression, and overall mental health by practicing mental self-care:
- Take note of the positive. Some days it is so easy to focus on all of the negative aspects of your day, but it is important to take a moment to remember all of the positive instances throughout your day. You may think about these positive moments before you go to sleep to clear your mind. This positive instance can be anything from your day such as “the weather was beautiful today” or “I aced my math exam.” As long as the positive thoughts declutter your mind, reduce stress, and promote a healthier mental space, then you are on the right track.
- Stimulate and energize your mind. Even though we are constantly using our brains to complete schoolwork or study for exams, it is essential to stimulate our minds differently. This might include but is not limited to solving puzzles, doing the daily Wordle, reading a book or article, or watching a movie or TV show.
- Practice self-compassion, acceptance, and gratitude. In tough situations, it is critical to be kind and accepting towards ourselves rather than ignoring our pain and mental suffering. By being compassionate towards ourselves, we can approach problems and difficult situations with an open mind and an optimistic outlook. In addition to this, if we are showing gratitude and acceptance towards ourselves, then it is more likely that we will be courteous regarding others.
Thank you for reading this post, and I hope you have found the information helpful in incorporating mental self-care into your daily life. Be sure to check back in two weeks at Sarah’s Self-Care Corner where I will be discussing spiritual self-care and the importance of nurturing your spirit.
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Welcome back to Sarah’s Self-Care Corner! This week, I will be discussing the concept of social self-care which focuses on improving your connections to and relationships with other people. My yoga teacher caught my attention to this topic when she started our movement practice with the line, “it is important to check our own oxygen mask before we help others with theirs.” While many people are concerned only with caring for themselves, a better approach for people is to focus more on caring for others. This can be shown in many ways, such as a mother caring for a child, a college student caring for her roommate, or a person caring for a beloved pet. It is a good social self-care practice to take a quiet moment to clear your head before interacting with and uplifting other people, which I hope you consider in your own life.
What is Social Self-Care?
Social self-care starts with a healthy self-view which then allows us to develop healthy relationships with and positive connections to others. In social self-care, it is important to consider how to properly manage our relationships with others in order to maximize their potential and at the same time prevent the idea of social burnout, which means that you have reached your fill of socialization. Some people with this social burnout become completely physically and mentally exhausted. To successfully achieve a healthy social self-care balance, a person must focus on nurturing his/her feelings of appreciation, gratitude, love, and connecting with others on a regular basis.
Assessing Social Needs
Socializing is essential for everyone and their mental health! This was made clearly evident during the pandemic as lockdowns were difficult for so many people to navigate. In order to benefit from socializing with others, we need to focus on building our relationships. This relationship-building takes time, effort, and reflection. Relationships, friendships, and connections with other people should be uplifting and energizing, as it is important to make sure that these relationships are positively impacting your mental health rather than harming it. It is essential to connect with others in order to reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation in addition to lessening the amount of stress in our daily lives.
Incorporating Social Self-Care
Social self-care is critical for you to live a positive, uplifting, and empowering life in order to benefit yourself and others around you. The following list includes ways you can improve your socialization and interactions skills by practicing social self-care:
- Take a break from the screen. Today, we all spend so many hours of the day looking at a screen whether that’s doing school work on a computer or scrolling through social media connecting with others on our phone. In order to reduce eye strain and improve your health, consider trying the “rule of 20,” which says to take a break from a screen every 20 minutes by looking at something that is 20 feet away for about 20 seconds. Even though the world today is largely online, it is important to create meaningful relationships in person without harming our health.
- Set boundaries with others. In order to prevent social burn-out and find balance in our lives, it is essential to set healthy boundaries with others and learn to say “no” when our mental health needs time to recharge. By saying “no” sometimes and slowing down to re-energize your body and mind, you will be able to rediscover yourself and benefit from your time spent with others.
- Meet up and talk with a friend or family member. Even though it is so easy to text or Facetime someone, it is important to maintain face-to-face contact with those you trust in your life. Talking with someone who loves and supports you should make you feel energized, refreshed, and empowered.
Thank you for reading this post, and I hope you have found the information helpful in incorporating social self-care into your daily life. Be sure to check back in two weeks at Sarah’s Self-Care Corner where I will be discussing mental self-care and the importance of decluttering your mind to reduce stress.
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