Challenge Check-in #3

After completing the challenge essay I feel like I have a better understanding of the Gothic because I am now able to apply and explain what the Gothic is and how I am able to see the Gothic in the real world. In present day American Culture, Gothic is displayed many times through movies and TV shows. Americans are fascinated by Gothic movies and shows because of the action and suspense it causes an audience to have. Now, if anyone ask me what the Gothic is, I am now able to explain the Gothic and give them an example of a modern day Gothic figure. At first, I had a difficulty with relating my set of characters, zombies, to Gothic. However, after thinking about the Gothic and zombies I was able to find many ways in which zombies related to the Gothic.

Blog Post #4

The person that is a literacy sponsor in my life would have to be my mom. From the beginning of my life, my mom has always been there encouraging me to become a better reader in writer. As a little kid I despised reading and writing, all I wanted to do was math and science. However, my mom was there every time I wanted to give up on literacy and encouraged me to do more. For example, in 3rd grade I thought that was going to be a professional baseball player so I didn't need school. So randomly I just stopped trying in school and told my mom that I didn't need school because I am going to be a professional athlete. My mom didn't know what to do because she knew that the chances of me being a professional athlete were very slim but she didn't want to crush my dreams. But she did what ever other good mother does and taught me the value of school and learning are far more important than sports and still supported the fact that I wanted to be a professional athlete. Although I never became a professional athlete, that was a big life lesson in my literacy career because I learned that literacy and school are far more important than sports. Also as little kid, I can remember my mom being so frustrated with the school because they didn't teach us anything about writing and grammar. She use to get so mad at me because I didn't know how to write with proper grammar and she couldn't blame me because I was never taught the right way of doing things. Even as I grew older, my mom was always there helping me with my reading and writing. She was teaching me to become a better and more advance writer in high school and taught me how to make my writing stand out. Even to this day, she still helps me with my reading and writing. If it wasn't for my mom being there as my literacy sponsor, I would have no clue where I would be today.

Problem Statement

Many students think that the number one stolen item at UF is their electronics; although, the number one item stolen on campus is students’ bicycles. Bike theft is a problem on the University of Florida campus because students are constantly getting their bikes stolen even though they are locked up and secure. Students are doing everything right when they lock up their bike but it is still getting taken and this is a problem at the University of Florida that needs to come to an end. Many students leave their bikes locked up right outside of their dorm rooms and they will come out the next morning and find out that their bike is stolen. These bikes are being stolen in the middle of the night when everyone is sleeping and when security around campus is not expecting it. Any student at UF with a bike needs to make sure that they lock their bike up because anyone with a bike can be at risk. The main cause of this problem is that students don’t have the correct lock for their bike. Many students tend to buy the cheaper locks because they don’t know that bike theft is a problem. However, students that have the “U-lock” are at less of a risk because this lock is practically impossible to break and thieves will go after bikes that don’t have the “U-lock.” The “U-lock” is 13 mm of steel lock that is shaped like the letter U and is resistant against bolt cutter and other forms of destruction that the robbers use. Therefore, making security of the bike greater can prevent bike theft. The effect that bike theft has on students leaves them in a phase of anguish and distress. If a student gets his or her bike stolen they are left confused as to why their bike got stolen and who stole the bike. After getting their bike stolen many students have a hard time finding transportation around campus. If this problem is solved students of UF can feel safe and this campus can be a safe place to have your bike. Students will not be worried about their bike getting stolen and they can be able to know that their bike will be there when they need it. The police department is trying to stop this problem, however, there are still bikes being stolen. The university police department goal is “to preserve a safe secure campus environment where diverse social, cultural and academic values are allowed to develop and prosper through a combination of reactive, proactive and educational law enforcement services.” However, they are failing to live up their goal of providing “a safe secure campus environment” because students don’t feel safe locking up their bike. If the police department puts more time and effort into this issue then the problem can be solved. The police department needs to make this a priority and this problem will be solved with this extra effort. This is a problem that can be easily solved with extra security, time and effort.

A practical solution to this problem would require that students have the "U-lock" and register their bike with the police department. The police department will register everyone bike for free and put a tracking device on the bike. With the tracking device anyone will be able to find the bike if it gets stolen. If the bike has the "U-lock" and is registered with the UFPD I think that all the bikes will be safe and secure.

Proposal Argument

• There is a problem on UF campus with bike and motorcycle theft and I think that this problem needs to come to an end. Many students lack the transportation of cars so therefore they bring bikes and mopeds to get around this HUGE campus. However, these items are being stolen constantly and many students are affected by this issue.
• A practical/policy solution would be that every student needs to check-in their bike with the police station and get it registered. Then if your bike is register the police should put a tracking device on your bike. This solution will help with bike theft because each bike will be able to be traced and found at anytime of the day. If someone were to take a bike the police could be able to track the stolen vehicle down and found out who stole it.
• A research solution could be carried out by doing research on what time of day the bikes get stolen. They could figure out the time the thieves are taking the vehicles and could step up their security at that time of day. This solution would catch the robbers in the act of stealing and scare them away. Also, another research solution is figure out if there are indestructible locks and require these locks to be placed on bikes. To figure this out you will need to do research on what bike lock is the best for bikes then just make that a requirement to have a bike or motorcycle.
• A media solution would not benefit this problem and would be an ineffective solution to the problem of bike theft. The solution to the problem needs to go through the police department but the media solution can still be done. For example, you can make advertisement on billboards and throughout campus about bike theft. However, I think that most people will ignore these signs until something actually happens to them.

Challenge Check-In #2

TO: Mikayla Beaudrie, Teacher at University of Florida

FROM: John von Eschenbach, Student at the University of Florida           

DATE: July 27, 2014

SUBJECT: Challenge Check-in #2

The challenge that I am doing is Gothic on the Tube and I am choosing the zombies in The Walking Dead. I have done some research on the topic of zombies by reading artilces about zombies on different websites. Also, I have gone backed and watched different episodes of The Walking Dead to refresh my memory on how the zombies interact and behave. To better understand zombies I will need to do more research about the origin of zombies and how zombies are portrayed in different cultures. Also, I will do research so I am able to compare The Walking Dead zombies to other zombie characters. Finally, I need to analyze the portrayal of zombies in American Culture and the effect they have on Americans.

Blog Post #3

A movie from my childhood that continues to still be a part of my life would be The Lion King. As a little kid I loved this movie and was fascinated by the plot and characters. My mom tells me that as little kid if she ever wanted me to be quiet for a couple of hours, she would put on The Lion King. I would be glued to the TV when The Lion King came on; I was fascinated by movie and am still am today. The parts of the movie I am still fascinated with are when Simba meets Timon and Pumbaa and the last battle scene between Simba and Scar. As a little kid, I ran around the house singing the song "Hakuna Matata" over and over ago and to this day I still know the words to the song. Also, I remember the last scene where Simba and Scar fight and Simba wins in the end. As a little kid, I always remembered that the protagonist always wins and through most Disney movies this is the case. However, I am not that big of a fan of the other Lion King movies, nothing can top the original Lion King. I remember being so excited when the other Lion King movies came out but in the end I was disappointed because it wasn't the same as the original.

http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/26600000/fight-scar-26653456-688-480.jp

http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2013/198/1/8/

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A celebrity that I have always looked up to or identified with was George W. Bush. As a little kid growing up I was always intrigued by politics and to this day I still am. George W. Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009. I always admired George Bush because of his faith, support for the military and love of his family. Then when I was in the 5th grade I was able to meet George Bush and I will never forget this memory. I met him because at the time my dad's uncle was president of The Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He was able to give our family a tour of the White House and it ended with meeting the person I have looked up to a while, George W. Bush.

Challenge Check #1

The challenge that I am choosing to do is challenge #3, which is Gothic on the Tube. The monster or set of monsters that I see in a TV show is the zombies in the show the show The Walking Dead. The first thing that I need to do is review the new seasons of The Walking Dead because I have not been following the TV show the last couple of seasons. After I am done watching some of the episodes I will analyze the TV series and how the TV series portrays the zombies. I am choosing this topic because I love the show The Walking Dead and I really like the way they display the zombie apocalypse and the story line.