Discrimination or Defence?

Most people use flight, as an easy, fast, form of transport. Whether it be for business trips, vacations, visiting family, the enjoyment of travelling, as an occupation or for religious reasons. In fact, according to the IATA, The International Air Transport Association, “8 million people globally fly on airplanes every day. ” Unfortunately, on aeroplane flights today, there is still the contingency of a terrorist attack. Terrorist attacks are still prevalent, leading to some questioning if airport profiling could be used as an effective and efficient tool in identifying suicide bombers in airports, therefore lowering the risk of a potential terrorist attack. Does airport profiling violate the rights that everyone should be seen with equal respect, and that we shouldn’t accuse without personal evidence proving them guilty? Or are we threatening the lives of others safety without airport profiling, letting possible suspects breeze through security. Airport profiling is an useful tool to prevent terrorist attacks based by the given statistics and terrorist profile, however, it does not have a place in our daily lives and should be a form of defence not discrimination. Airport profiling should be used because it is efficient, cost effective and is more reliable than without.

Airport profiling is when security look more closely at certain people based on their religion, ethnic group, race, behaviour, age, gender, and background to spot if they fit the terrorist profile. Looking at the statistics from the U.S Department of State, “in 2013, a total of 9,707 terrorist attacks occurred worldwide.” ‘According to the U.S Department of State National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism’, “out of ten of the highest perpetrator groups with the most attacks worldwide, 7 were muslim groups, the highest being the Taliban with a total of 641 attacks in 2013.” A clear trend from these statistics shows vast majority of terrorists have been recorded to trace from the middle east, a likelihood of males with ages fitting from eighteen to thirty five, originating from a predominantly muslim country. Therefore it is common sense to check somebody who fits the terrorist profile more closely. It is fair to say that “most muslims are not terrorists,” however, “most terrorists are muslim.” Some argue that airport profiling violates human rights, and it is discrimination to suspect some people more closely based on how well they fit the profile. However, it should be highlighted that airport profiling is not due to race, ethnic or religious biases, or any other factor, but is based on the supporting statistics.

Since many disagree with airport profiling and feel that it “is a form of inequality,” the importance for airport profiling should be emphasised with more stress. On September 11th 2001, a group of terrorists hijacked four airliners and carried out suicide attacks against the United States. “Over 3,000 people were killed during the attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., including more than 400 police officers and firefighters.” Had the security been able to spot these terrorists using airport profiling, hence 3000 unnecessary deaths would have been prevented, and many of those victims of 9/11 may still have been with us today. Airport profiling will prevent future terrorist attacks, like 9/11, from happening again.

There is dispute that many terrorists have a diverse range of exceptions to the terrorist profile leading to airport profiling to be counterproductive. That airport profiling will miss somebody like Timothy McVeigh, an American terrorist responsible for the bombing in Oklahoma City, 1995. However, as Deroy Murdock, a syndicated columnist with the Scripps Howard News Service and media fellow with the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace at Stanford University, says “looking more closely at certain people that fit the crime profile does not mean ignoring everyone else.” Even though there are exceptions to the terrorist profile, records show that the majority of terrorists have aspects of the terrorist profile. If there was a bombing at an abortion clinic, it seems fair to suspect a white, middle aged christian man. If there was a terrorist attack on an aeroplane, it seems fair to suspect a young, muslim man, from the middle east.

While some feel that airport profiling would become counterproductive and ineffective, however, an interview on the daily mail with security expert Philip Baum, he says that airport profiling is ‘more successful than “too predictable” checks and scans.’ The security specialist says that ‘To prevent another 9/11, airport security should be focussed on behavioural analysis and not “throwing things in the bins.”’ He warns that “Everything is very much focussed on items, rather than the individual,” showing that not only should airports focus on what the passengers carry, most of the times weapons on terrorists are found hidden in the terrorists themselves. It is believed that during the attack of 9/11, the hijackers found a way to pass through security with weapons that were supposed to be restricted. This shows that airports may need to use more than just security checkpoints and as editor of Aviation Security International, Philip Baum said, airport profiling seems to be an effective tool to identify hijackers.

Airport profiling can be useful to stop future terrorist attacks, however should never be used as a form of discrimination. On one hand, it is unfair and very offensive however on the other hand airport profiling could save the lives of some in danger on the airplanes. When used for the purpose of other passengers safety, airport profiling is good form of defence.

Hope for the Best, Expect for the Worse

All around the world, sometimes hope may be the only encouragement and comfort to a teen during stressful times. Teenagers often keep their worries and problems to themselves, concealing them from others. When feeling disconsolate and isolated, the only idea that lifts their spirits is the hope that in time, they will heal. In the book, ‘Blue Gold,’ by Elizabeth Stewart, three teenage girls live completely different lives, in three different continents, but all encounter an issue with hope, and strive towards their goal. In the poem, ‘To Hope,’ by John Keats, the speaker talks about in a time of bad fate, feeling lonely and with no one to comfort him, hope helps him cope through this time of loss. In both ‘Blue Gold,’ and ‘To Hope,’ we learn that in harsh times, hope shelters you from despondency and motivates you to endeavour forward.

A common theme in both texts is that hope can lift your confidence. In the book ‘Blue Gold’, when Sylvie’s family is at risk living in the unsafe refugee camp, the only hope that inspires her is that “Someday they will be gone from there. Someday they will be free in Canada.” Sylvie is sensitive and nervous to share her story with millions of people globally, since she thought “Now people everywhere could see the ugliness of [my] scar.” Even though Sylvie is scared and ashamed of sharing her story, Sylvie’s hope that someday she and her family will live in Canada motivates her to become confident, and tell the world about her life, in hope she will raise enough money to travel to Canada. Similarly, in the poem ‘To Hope,’ the speaker describes of his fears, “Let me not see the patriot’s high bequest.” The speaker is in deep despair and fears of the loss of freedom in his country. However, the speaker is given hope that the liberty of his country will not fade and the hope motivates him to believe that he can save liberty and, “stoop from heaven on wings.” Hope triggers the speaker to believe that he has the confidence to fight for his freedom giving the idea that he can ‘fly from heaven.’ In both the texts ‘Blue Gold’ and ‘To Hope,’ the characters both felt fretful, Sylvie was scared of sharing her story and the speaker was scared of losing his freedom. But hope brought the characters to have courage and determination, Sylvie had the courage to expose her scar and the speaker had the courage to fight for liberty. This makes me think that both texts shows that when you feel worried and concerned, hope boosts confidence and assurance.

In both texts the writers use symbolism to show hope. In ‘Blue Gold’, the “white blouse and blue skirt of [Sylvie’s] school uniform” symbolises the hope that education brings, the hope that one day Sylvie will become a doctor. In the book, Sylvie describes putting on her school uniform, “as she did every weekday,” and shares the reason why “She had always been a good student and eager to learn,” is because she believes that education is her only hope in making something of herself and achieving her “dream of becoming a doctor.” The first step for achieving Sylvie’s dream is to put on her white and blue school uniform every weekday and become ambitious to new learning. Stewart uses symbolism to show the characters motivation and supports the theme. Likewise, in the poem, Keats uses the symbolism of sonnets to show hope in love, the hope that the speaker will achieve love after heartbreak. The speaker describes after being brokenhearted “From cruel parents, or relentless fair” the only hope left in winning his admirer’s love would be “To sigh out sonnets to the midnight air!” Similarly to Stewart, Keats uses the symbolism of the speaker’s poems to show that the sonnet is the speaker’s only hope and the character’s motivation of love.

Another character in the book Blue Gold, Laiping, supports the theme that hope helps you to withstand arduous times. Even though “Laiping’s first month's wages had still not been paid,” she desperately needed her salary to pay for her father’s hospital fee, after having surgery from another heart attack. She continued to endure the harsh working conditions, “Her headache was worse and her shoulders were so stiff that she could no longer feel them,” in hope that the harder she works the company will pay her money back. Laiping’s hope that the company will give her money back motivates her to cope with the severe factory conditions. Furthermore, in the poem ‘To Hope’, the speaker talks about being in time of loss and mourning for “The fate of those I hold most dear.” Yet even though the speaker feels melancholy and dismal, hope lifts his spirits: “Let me awhile thy sweetest comforts borrow.” As described, hope comforts the speaker in times of sorrow. In both texts, ‘Blue Gold’ and ‘To Hope’, hope helped both character to endure tough times. This shows that in bitter circumstances hope allows you to undergo these times.

Even though both texts show the same message that hope motivates you to withstand arduous times, this theme occurs differently in the two texts. In Blue Gold, the character Laiping is motivated to endure the harsh factory working conditions. She feels in despair that she cannot work in the factory much longer due to the side effects of the factory work. The hope that she will make enough money to support her parents drives her to continue to work in the factory despite the conditions. However in ‘To Hope,’ the speaker is not going through a time of physical hardship with the lives of others motivating him, but is in a time of mental hardship. After losing a loved one, the speaker is in a state of deep sorrow and depression. The hope that in time he will heal lifts the speakers spirits and helps him in a time of discouragement. As opposed to motivating the character with the hope that others will benefit, in ‘To Hope’ the character is comforted by the hope that life will get better for himself. The difference in the two texts show that hope can help you withstand times of mental difficulty or physical difficulty.

Both writers weaved symbols in their writing to connect to a theme that empowers throughout both texts, hope. Connecting to real life situations in both of the texts, the writers prove throughout the texts the moral of the story. While some may argue that hope is just fake optimism, however Stewart and Keats both show that hope raises your confidence and motivates you through thick and thin. Providing with symbolism and characters motivation, Stewart and Keats help show us and guide us with to message that when we are feeling like the weight of the world is resting on our shoulders, we have to not give up and a little hope can go a long way. We need to keep on trying as we will never know what we can achieve.

Success, or just stress?

The high schooler sighs as she glances at her clock,1:49 am. Her headaches, she can barely keep her eyes open from the long nights of studying and has got little sleep during the past few weeks. She stares at her textbook, thinking hard, then scrunches her paper into a ball in frustration. She sinks down into her chair as the her hope fades away slowly like a fire turning to ash.

Homework is meant for students to continue their school learning outside class but for many, studying for long hours each night, pressure from parents, frequent exams, tests and assignments only leads to a weight of stress on their shoulders.

Too much homework can lead to stress, negative behaviour and health problems, depression and a lot worse. Research shows that in South Korea, the amount of teen suicides rise each year dramatically as exams in school starts. According to the National Statistical office, 1,000 students from ages 10-19 committed suicide from 2000 to 2003 due to stress in school studies. This shows the high stress levels in Korea that are leading to teenagers committing suicide as a last resort. In addition, Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union and the Korea Youth Counselling Institute have surveyed Korean teens on if students had considered the idea of suicide. 48% of all the students had suicide ideation.  

Just as in South Korea, in UWC students are feeling stressed in school studies. A high school student says she often feels stressed and tired from the amount of studying. “Tests in high school have become very overpowering and stressful. It gets especially tough because of the upcoming IGCSE’s,” she says. Studies have shown that more than two hours of school homework everyday is counterproductive and she agrees, “When I am stressed, I tend to sleep very late and am up till 1 to 2 am studying, which leads me to being very tired at school and unable to study or understand what the teacher is saying,” she says. The National Sleep Foundation recommends that teens should be getting at least 9 and a half hours of sleep each night, however 58% teens sleep less than 7 hours each night due to studying.

Stress from school studies leads to the question, what is causing this pressure in middle school students? Is it self pressure to get better grades, peer pressure to be as clever as your friends, pressure to not disappoint your teachers? These could all be reasons why students face pressure to do well in studies, but most students say that the pressure to do well comes from their parents.

Another middle school student explains the harsh consequences of not doing good enough on exams at school. “I am always very stressed when doing tests because I know that if I don’t do well, there will be consequences. One time, my parents were so disappointed with my grade that my mum didn’t allow me to meet up with friends or use my phone for 2 months as well as doing intensive maths studying every day,” she says.

How do we stop stress in studies? Since most of the pressure on school studies in middle school comes from parents being harsh on their children, parents should be more forgiving and help their child improve positively, not through stress. Should parents lecture their child? Limit their activities? Punish the child? According to the University of Michigan researchers, parents should create a home environment that stimulates learning. When there is a good environment at home and good parent and child interactions, children perform better. Punishing and lecturing children and teens results to the child feeling more pressure and stress to do better and can lead to the breaking of family relationships, health issues and negative behaviour.  To prevent stress, parents should motivate and support their children not create more stress. Choose between the path to stress or the path to success.

Sources:

"Statistics Korea." Statistics Korea. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2015. <http://kostat.go.kr/portal/english/index.action>.

Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2015. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_in_South_Korea>.

"Is Too Much Homework Bad for Kids' Health?" Healthlines RSS News. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2015. <http://www.healthline.com/health-news/children-more-homework-means-more-stress-031114>.

"Teens and Sleep." Sleep for Teenagers. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2015. <https://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-topics/teens-and-sleep>.

"Bad Report Card: Are Parents Too Tough? | University of Michigan News."Bad Report Card: Are Parents Too Tough? | University of Michigan News. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2015. <http://ns.umich.edu/new/releases/23062-bad-report-card-are-parents-too-tough>.