Author: izzykimmel

Capital punishment is a practice that has become a common theme in history books. Execution was used by ancient civilizations with a much different rule book. Since back then laws pertaining to humane treatment of prisoners and human rights were not in place, execution was often cruel and painful for the person being put to death. However, today we are a much more civilized people and now realize that these methods are wrong, leading to most developed countries ceasing these harsh practices, and now lethal injection is the method of choice. However, the practice of killing others for their crimes is still wrong, and it should not be advertised that the answer to violence is more violence. In addition, nowadays, the racial ratios of people receiving the death sentence is unproportional towards minorities and people without the financial ability to fight their accusation, and this is extremely unfair and unjust. Capital punishment should not be legal because it is inhumane and often a result of racism and economic status, rather than a reflection of the crime committed. 

Some of the ways in which we are killing people are inhumane. While lethal injection is the primary method used in the U.S., some states use less humane secondary methods. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, other states use methods such as lethal gas, firing squad, electrocution, and hanging. Using these methods to kill people is not right because even though they might have commited a crime, they do not deserve to die a painful death. The most humane method, lethal injections, is the most popular mode used, but a considerable number of methods used  are not as humane, like electrocution, firing squad, etc. These methods all need to be outlawed, and the only way for this to happen is for Congress to make laws and states to make laws to change this.

Another issue with capital punishment is the racial and socioeconomic implications it bears. In the United States, the number of people who have received a death sentence is unproportionately minorities and those living with little money. People of color are more likely to be given a death sentence than a white person, and if a white person is the victim of the crime, the defendant is more likely to be sentenced to death. If a person of color is receiving death as punishment while a white person gets to live when they committed the same crime, then it is clear that there is a major flaw in our judicial system. Another problem is that crimes with white victims are more likely to result in a death sentence. According to the ACLU, “as of October 2002, 12 people have been executed where the defendant was white and the murder victim black, compared with 178 black defendants executed for murders with white victims.” This shockingly unproportionate statistic is proof of how the judicial system favors the white race heavily. Because of this favoritism, minorities are being killed in numbers much higher than for white people. The ACLU also mentions that in the states that capital punishment is still legal, “approximately 98% of the prosecutors are white.” Our broken judicial system is killing many more minorities than white people, and the people who have control over who receives capital punishment are white. This set-up is an invitation for racism and injustice, and it cannot be allowed to continue in this manner. 

For my paper, I will be researching Capital Punishment and explaining why it should be outlawed nation and worldwide. In order to do this, I will be examining laws and statistics from different states to prove why this practice is inhumane and unjust. I will also look at different statistics concerning race and socioeconomic status and who usually receives a death sentence. Generally, minorities and people in a lower socioeconomic class are more likely to receive capital punishment, and I will use this as a reason why capital punishment is unfair. To prove why it is inhumane, I will examine the methods of which the sentence is carried out secondary to lethal injection. Some states have cruel secondary methods, and other countries have inhumane methods as well. This paper will use all this information and others to make readers agree that capital punishment needs to be stopped. It will end with a call to action to citizens that they need to protest or get in touch with their representatives to make a change.

In my paper, I would like to research the effects of human activity on the Chesapeake bay and its wildlife, and determine what the next steps would be for restoration of the ecosystem. Living in Maryland myself, the bay is a place I have visited a good number of times and know well, but I also know that humans have a negative impact on the health of the bay and is causing many of its species to be in danger. There are certain steps humans must begin taking to help save the bay and its inhabitants.

The Chesapeake Bay is a very large part of the culture in Maryland, and provides the famous blue crabs that it is known for. Maryland residents have also long enjoyed sailing, fishing, clamming, swimming, etc. in the bay for as long as the state has been around. However, we have mistreated the bay and caused pollution, overfished, and caused the once crystal clear bay to turn a murky brown. Many studies show dwindling numbers of organisms and worse and worse water health reports. What can be done to undo this damage we have caused?

In today’s day and age, space exploration has become a growing subject of interest as more and more people are beginning to grow curious about space and its contents. Some even desire to build colonies in space and have humans begin living on other plants. Space colonization should be supported because in the not so far future, it may be necessary to preserve the human race in case of an event making Earth uninhabitable.

As many likely know, the Earth is upon trying times. Many countries and their leaders are experiencing tension and disagreements, and most of them have nuclear weapons on the tips of their fingers. Climate change is showing to be a serious issue, and may soon be irreversible. In the event of nuclear war or a climate emergency, the Earth may prove uninhabitable and humans would go extinct. If we were to build colonies in outer space, humans would have another shot at survival and another plant to hopefully not destroy.

Steven Hawking agrees with this viewpoint. He predicted that humans would go extinct in the next thousand years and if we do not colonize other planets in the next 200 years, we risk long term extinction. Hawking was a respected and well known cosmetologist, meaning his predictions have a good shot at becoming reality.

This might not be as far a reach as we might think. In 2005, the then NASA administrator Michael Griffin “identified space colonization as the ultimate goal of current spaceflight programs.” He discussed how single-planet species will not be able to survive in the long run, and if humans want to survive for many more years, we must colonize other planets.

There was a theoretical study of the long term trajectory of human civilization in 2019, and there was a four step sequence developed in which the astronomical trajectory of mankind is heading. We will first grow dependant colonies, then they will grow independent, then they can begin exploring space, then they will begin to colonize. This process, although difficult, could be the key to human preservation.

Space colonization could be necessary for the preservation of the human species. The human race faces threats that may only be solvable by exploring in space and colonizing new planets. It is important that we, as a race, begin developing colonization ideas and tactics and start programs. If we fail to do this soon, humans are looking at extinction.

Lauryn Daniels explores the use of drugs at festivals and how authorities are handling their increased use in her persuasive essay. Daniels recently went to a music festival herself and witnessed an astonishing amount of drug use, which implored her to further study the subject. Throughout her essay, she details how different drugs affect their users and the consequences that accompany their use. She also includes how authority figures are handling the influx of festival drugs – and how they should be trying to help users take drugs safer instead of banning them altogether and slamming down on people who break these rules.

The author mainly uses logos when she conveys facts and accredited examples about drug use at festivals. She lists facts about what drugs do, what drugs are being used, how they get them in, and risk factors. All these facts help the reader gain knowledge about the subject so they can form a stronger opinion.

The author uses ethos when she uses credible sources in her essay along with pathos when she uses specific examples of people affected by drug use. Kairos is also used when Daniels tells of the rising death count and increase in drug use that is on the rise, and therefore is an urgent topic.

Overall, Daniels does a good job of convincing a reader that authorities should be trying to contain and minimize drug use at festivals civilly through harm reduction programs and education rather than force and heavy policing. She supports her argument with facts and reason while also mixing in credibility and emotion.

Thesis: It is up to festival officials to change the rhetoric and focus on absolute drug eradication within contemporary music festivals to a more hands-on, harm-reduction approach.

Audience: The target audience for this paper is likely festival goers and those interested in going to a festival

Logos: Logos is established through the many outside sources the author incorporates into the paper. These sources support her main argument and add to the legitimacy of the paper, making it effective. She also adds many facts and statistics about drug use at festivals that helps support her message.

• Tells exactly what kind of drugs are being used
• Includes perspectives from many different professionals related to the topic
• Pulls data from past years / festivals
• Details information about past approaches

Pathos: Pathos is used in this article when the author tries to make readers sympathize with the festival attendees. It is made to seem like they are being unfairly treated and targeted during their experience. It also relates to the everyday person, because a good percentage of people have or want to experiment with drugs or have gone to a festival, which makes them feel like they need a safe way to conduct what they are choosing to do.

• Tells how people are treated in the festival
• Helps raise support for harm reduction programs by showing the good it is doing for people who need it

Ethos: The author helps establish a sense of authority by quoting reputable people and publications. She also mentions in the information about herself off to the side that she went to a festival and watched people doing drugs, which makes her perspective much more credible.

• Tells of her background
• Draws on credible sources and tells why they are credible

Kairos: This is relevant now because music festivals are on the up and coming. They always have been popular, but more and more are popping up and they keep expanding because of the increased demand. This also comes with increased drug use during festivals, which makes this essays call to action all the more important now.

At Sherwood High School, students were not allowed to eat in their cars during lunch. However, my friends and I chose not to follow this rule and continued to evade the security guard in order to do so. Every day was a constant struggle involving going to the car undetected, ducking down whenever the golf cart appeared, and not playing our music too loud. Little did we know that our little habit would lead to a huge ugly bump developing on my forehead.

It was a regular day – fourth period had just ended and my friends and I were headed to the parking lot for lunch. As we approached the door, we peered through the narrow window for signs of Jeff, the security guard. Jeff was notorious for driving around the parking lot on his golf cart trying to bust kids for eating in their car at lunch. 

The first step in our routine was making it past Jeff in the first place, so we had to check he was nowhere in sight in order to dash to my car. We thought the coast was clear, so we burst through the doors and begin to creep to the parking lot, when suddenly we realize Jeff was outside in a place we could not see from the window. I whipped my head around to dash back inside at the same time my friend Olivia slams the other door open, which results in my forehead colliding with the corner of the heavy metal door. I grab my head and sit down, cradling my injury. Not even 10 seconds later, I release my hand from my head to see the damage. As soon as I do so, my friends gasp and start stifling laughter. Confused and in pain, I take out my phone and turn on the camera. I was completely in shock as I looked at myself on my phone – it looks like I had a golf ball growing out of my forehead. As soon as the pain subdued a little bit, I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Did that really just happen?

After taking plenty of pictures and making fun of me for a while, my friends and I finally decided to get our act together. We decided I should probably go to the nurse and get some ice so that the third eye on my forehead might go down in size a little bit. We walked across the school to the nurse while I held my hand over my head in a desperate attempt not to humiliate myself by having someone see me like this. I sat in the nurse for awhile icing my head. More people kept stopping by the nurse to see what it looked like in person, because they just did not believe the pictures that  my friends sent around were real. It was one of those instances where you just have to see it to believe it. 

The swelling eventually went down with help from the ice pack, but there was still a bump there nonetheless. Having to walk around to all my afternoon classes and have people staring and have to explain the story to all my friends in my classes was quite a chore and a little embarrassing, but I survived. In conclusion, if you are going to try and be sneaky, at least try and be smart about it, too.

Hi, my name is Izzy Kimmel. I’m from Montgomery County, Maryland. I’m a nursing major, and I hope one day to either work in pediatrics, pediatric oncology, or the NICU. I also hope to one day be a traveling nurse, where I can help those most in need while also seeing the world. Back at home, I have a younger sister, three cats, and a dog. In my free time, I like spending time with friends, playing volleyball, or watching Netflix. My favorite shows are The Office, Stranger Things, Supernatural, Parks and Rec, and Psych. I’m looking forward to the semester!