Showing A Speech

This Rhetoric unit tied together with our last one. We learned more about visual rhetoric and how to apply our rhetorical elements towards artwork. The main purpose was to make a visual representation of our speech. The political issue that my speech focused on was police brutality. I’m proud of being able to effectively transfer the main arguments of my speech into an art form.

AG: Cover (2014)

I am a highschool student and have lived my whole life in Chicago; the topic I chose for my speech and artwork was police brutality. I chose this topic because police misconduct has increasingly gotten worse in Chicago, and because it affects me personally due to the death of one of my good friends at the hands of our city’s police. The message I want my artwork to send is that police brutality must be put to an end and for new regulations need be put in place. All of us should feel angry about what is happening. We all need to care, especially, about our youth! If we let this abuse of power go on we are saying that it is okay for police to kill the children in our city.

Some of the things I learned when doing research on this topic were that:

• In 2012, the Chicago Police Department shot 57 people, killing 8 of them.
• Between 2002 and 2004, 10,149 complaints were made accusing Chicago Police Department, but only 19 of these complaints led to any suspensions. 85% of the officers weren’t even interviewed about the complains that were made about them.
• In Rialto, California, officers are now obligated to wear tiny cameras that film all of their interactions with the public. This resulted in complaints against Rialto police officers decreasing by 88%, and use of force by officers falling by almost 60%.

I chose a pamphlet as my visual representation, which required the use my computer and a printer supplied with paper and ink. The reason I chose to make a pamphlet was because it allowed me to not only give a visual, but to also give a lot of information that people should know about the topic. If people don’t know the facts, they won’t care to make a change because they won’t understand why it’s so crucial.

In my pamphlet I used description and narration in the personal story section when I wrote about and described an instance where police brutality occurred in my life. My pictures are an example of exemplification because they show rather than tell evidence. I also used process analysis in the solutions section when I outlined what steps must be taken in order to help resolve the issue. I also used amplification, for example, when I stated that police brutality “occurred in 14 of the 25 Chicago Police Districts, that is more than half of the districts.” to emphasize the severity of the issue.

If I could share my pamphlet I think the best place for them to be is at police anti-violence rallies, at funerals or memorials of victims of police brutality, or even just on busy street corners, in order to spread the word more and inform people who normally wouldn’t be so aware or involved in the issue. If I can get people to care about the issue, maybe I can get them to stand up and make a change, which then hopefully will put an end to it.

AG: Outside (2014)

AG: Inside (2014)

Sources

Erye, Pete. “Infographic: A Neutral Look at Police Brutality | Cop Block." Cop Block RSS. N.p., 3 July 2012. Web. 10 Oct. 2014. <http://www.copblock.org/17484/infographic-a-neutral-look-police-brutality/>.

Hulsey, Emily. "California Town's Simple Solution To Police Brutality Has Lowered Use Of Force By 60 Percent." Independent Journal Review. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2014. <http://www.ijreview.com/2014/07/153997-california-towns-simple-solution-police-brutality-lowered-use-force-60-percent/>.

"IPRA Releases Report on 2012 Chicago Police Shootings | People's Law Office." Peoples Law Office. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2014. <http://peoples lawoffice.com/ipra-releases-report-on-2012-chicago-police-shootings/>.

FINish the Waste

In this Design and Engineering unit we learned about the Fibonacci series, the golden ratio, exponents, scientific notation, area, and volume. The purpose of our assignment is to create something that represents and illustrates a global issue we are facing: material waste. To do this, our class was divided into groups, and each chose a material or item that is wasted a lot; my group chose plastic bottles. I am most proud of the installation I made out of water bottles for the action project because I think it’s interesting and a very special fish (named Fin).

HP: Sketch from Bottom (2014)

During this unit, we did some research to understand a little more about our item. Two very interesting and shocking statistics we read were that more than 60 million plastic bottles end up in landfills and incinerators every day (Franklin), and six times as many plastic water bottles were thrown away in the US in 2004 as in 1997 (Franklin).

We selected this material because I use at least two daily which really adds up over time, and because of the insane amount people all over the world use every day. When we found out just the daily amount we were shocked. Plastic is very bad for the environment. It comes from natural, chemically modified, and completely synthetic materials and it ends up in landfills or incinerated. Plastic’s main ingredients are ethylene, propylene, butadiene, vinyl chloride, terephthalic acid, adipic acid, sebacoyl chloride, hexamathylene diamine and bisphenol A (What are the ingredients used to make plastic?). However, there are many others. The first plastic based on a synthetic polymer was made from phenol and formaldehyde, with the first viable and cheap synthesis methods invented in 1907, by Leo Hendrik Baekeland (Plastic 2014). We want people to realize how bad wasting so much plastic and discarding so many water bottles is. Our planet wastes way too much of it. We want people to stop buying plastic water bottles and use a sports water bottle so they can use it over and over. Or to buy a filter and just drink filtered tap water.

As I stated earlier, 60 million (6 x 10^7) plastic bottles end up in landfills and incinerators every day. That means about 22 billion (2.2 x 10^10) plastic bottles are used in just one year! Moreover, we keep increasing the amount of plastic bottles that are manufactured and then throw away; as previously mentioned six times as many plastic water bottles were thrown away in the US in 2004 as in 1997. This increase is also shown in the graph below.

"Giving Back - a promise from Terra Polyester S.A. de C.V.." Internet: Terra Polyester

My group's installation is a fish made of water bottles. We used 6 water bottles to represent the 60 million plastic bottles that end up in landfills and incinerators every day. Each bottle represents 10 million. The design was inspired by the ocean, because oceans are the biggest bodies of water and fish swim in these waters. Any time people think of fish they also think of water. And if we run out of water, we will no longer have fish. Furthermore, plastic, which is our material, is a danger to aquatic life. The amount of plastic in the water often ends up inside aquatic animals which leads to their deaths (Conntoro). Plastic constitutes approximately 90% of all trash floating on the ocean’s surface, with 46,000 pieces of plastic per square mile (Oceans: Plastic Pollution).

The only obstacles we ran into during our project involved the building of our installation. Our first issue was with the shape of the fish: we couldn’t figure out how exactly we wanted the head and tail to look. Our next obstacle was with gluing: the hot glue melted our plastic so it was difficult to glue stuff together. Aside from that we had no problems with our project.

AG: View from Top (2014)

AG: View from Side (2014)

AG: View from Front (2014)

Sources

Conntoro, Mark. "Six Reasons Why Plastic Is Bad for the Environment." Creeklife. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2014.

Franklin, Pat. "Down the drain." Down the drain. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2014.

"Giving Back - a promise from Terra Polyester S.A. de C.V.." Terra Polyester. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.

"Oceans: Plastic Pollution." TakePart. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.

"Plastic." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Sept. 2014. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.

"What are the ingredients to make plastic?." Answers. Answers Corporation, n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2014.

Enough is Enough

     This unit in Rhetoric was about what types of speeches inspire and mobilize people. We learned about what elements are essential for a good speech, and the types of language that attract people. Our final project was to use this new knowledge ourselves, and write our own speech on a change we want to see in our city, Chicago. I chose to write about police brutality, for many reasons, the main one being that one of my close friends was a victim of this. Writing this paper made me feel proud because I felt that I honored that friend by writing about this topic.

     I have lived in Chicago my whole life. Over that time I have seen so many amazing things in our city, the diversity, the cultural attractions, the food; but lately I have been hearing about many terrible things as well. One of those terrible things that has continually increased over the years is police brutality. Lately, I’ve been hearing story after story on the news, seemingly every day. And I believe it is time to say enough is enough.

     In 2012, the Chicago Police Department shot 57 people, killing 8 of them. Officer-involved shootings occurred in 14 of the 25 Chicago Police Districts, that is more than half of the districts. An author for the People’s Law Office website described the situation perfectly: “...it is important to recognize that police officers, government employees who are sworn to protect all of us, are far too often responsible for the gun violence against civilians.” (IPRA Releases Report on 2012 Chicago Police Shootings, 2012). This statement reveals the main issue, which is that the police are abusing their power. This has become a fight for equality, like previous fights for racial and gender equality, but this time it is for the equality between people in power and the average citizen. Just because someone is a police officer, does not mean he or she shouldn’t have to follow the same laws as everyone else. And if a regular citizen goes to jail for shooting or torturing someone, police officers should go to jail for this as well. Instead, many times they are let off the hook because it was just “a mistake”. On August 9 this year, in Ferguson, Missouri, an 18 year old boy named Michael Brown, with no priors, was shot and killed in broad daylight, and the police officer, Darren Wilson, received no disciplinary action against him, in fact his killer is still walking freely after two months having never been arrested for the murder. Apparently, Wilson shooting the unarmed boy was another instance of an officer “just doing his job” (Swaine, 2014). So is that what police jobs now entail? Shooting people? Shooting unarmed, not dangerous people? Shooting unarmed, not dangerous youth?

     A national poll taken by police officers in 2012 showed that 42% of officers believe that “Always following the rules is not compatible with getting the job done”, meaning they think they are exempt from following the rules and laws. They should not be. 84% admitted that they have witnessed other officers use more force than necessary to make an arrest and 61% admitted that they don’t always report serious criminal violations that involve the abuse of authority by fellow officers (Erye, 2012). This shows how many officers use excessive force, and how many other officers allow it by being bystanders. They should not be. Between 2002 and 2004, 10,149 complaints were made accusing Chicago Police Department officers of excessive force, illegal searches, racial abuse, sexual abuse, and false arrests. Only 19 of these complaints led to any suspensions. 85% of the officers weren’t even interviewed about the complains that were made about them. This shows how little is done about police abuse, and that officers are given the impression that breaking the rules is okay and goes without consequence. They should not be.

     Our own mayor is ignoring these issues. Some police officers were sued for torturing two prisoners, Ronald Kitchen and Marvin Reeves. During the trial, the defendants claimed that over 120 men were tortured. And what was Rahm Emanuel’s response? “I’m sorry this happened. Now let’s move on.” (Wisniewski, 2013). Let’s move on? Let’s move on? This isn’t some small unimportant issue, this is a matter of torture and the abuse of power. We will not “move on”. We refuse to “move on”.

     While some of you may think this issue wouldn't, or even shouldn't, touch me personally, it isn't small and unimportant issue to me. My good friend Dominique Franklin Jr., “Damo”, 23, was a victim of police brutality. He was a good person who made a mistake just like the rest of us. He did not come from a wealthy family, and didn’t always have the money to afford what he needed. So one day, he went into a Walgreens and yes, he stole something; yes, he broke the law. But was taking away a few dollars from a big company worth his life? I don’t think it was. When the police found Damo they handled the situation by tasing him, not once, but twice in what was clearly an unsafe area, because when they did, they caused him to fall against a pole, and be knocked unconscious. For around 15 or 20 minutes, no medical attention was provided for him. Instead, the police stood there, with no remorse for their actions. This unconsciousness became permanent because what the officers had really done was put this young man into a coma. And that cost him his life two weeks later. This was a clear case of police misconduct, and that is why Damo’s father is pressing charges against the Chicago Police Department. He says he is suing to “try and ensure that what happened to his child, doesn’t happen to anyone else.” (Puccinelli, 2014). And that’s all any of us want at this point. We are sick of the deaths all around us at the hands of police officers, the people who are paid to protect us. Our youth should not be meeting such early deaths. Rahm Emanuel talked a lot about safety in his inaugural speech and had said “The police cannot do it alone”, but he seemed to forget that often times, the police are the cause of the violence. He talks about the police as though all they do is help stop and solve crime, but too often are they the cause of the crimes in the first place. If Emanuel wants to make our streets safer like he claims, he should start on the inside- the police.

     What is happening is not okay. Now is the time for a solution. In Rialto, California, officers are now obligated to wear a tiny camera that films all their interactions with the public. The result? Complaints against Rialto police officers fell by 88%, while use of force by officers fell by almost 60%. (Hulsey, 2014) This change is amazing and it is a change that needs to happen in Chicago as well. And for any brutality that continues after cameras are placed on the officers, there must be a NO TOLERANCE policy. The repercussions for the police's abuse of power are not nearly good enough. Most officers aren’t even suspended when complaints are filed. What message does that send? That they can do something extremely wrong and just get a break and still get paid? That is not the message we should be sending. Police brutality must not be tolerated or accepted at all. If a police officer is involved in brutality, sexual abuse, excessive force, or the killing of an unarmed person, they must be discharged, with no pay. They should not be allowed to return for at least three years, during which they should be required to go to therapy and anger management or other classes of such type. We need to stop making excuses for what is done and stop tolerating it; from now on if this happens, there must be an assurance that that officer will not make it happen again.

     If we do not make a change, those who care about these issues will begin to fight back; there will be more riots in the streets such as the ones in Ferguson, and maybe eventually even a war. There will be more deaths, and it will come to the point where the deaths aren’t just those of civilians but of the police as well. There will be an uprising, because what is happening can only be tolerated for so long. And that time has ended. We demand an end to police brutality. Enough is enough. Chicago has to step forward and make the change. And then maybe we can be an influence to other cities. To the entire state. And hopefully then to the entire nation. But we must first start in our own backyards. So it is time for Chicago to enter a new era, one where police receive the same treatment as everyone else, and one where they are not allowed to go unpunished for killing our citizens.

     I would like to see the day when there is no police misconduct and brutality. I would like to see the day when people see police as helpful and on their side, as they are supposed to. I would love to see the day, when I turn on the news, and hear nothing about a youth dying at the hands of an officer. And until that day comes, I will not rest, and I hope neither will you.

Sources

Erye, Pete. "Infographic: A Neutral Look at Police Brutality | Cop Block." Cop Block RSS. N.p., 3 July 2012. Web. 10 Oct. 2014. <http://www.copblock.org/17484/infographic-a-neutral-look-police-brutality/>.

Hulsey, Emily. "California Town's Simple Solution To Police Brutality Has Lowered Use Of Force By 60 Percent." Independent Journal Review. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2014. <http://www.ijreview.com/2014/07/153997-california-towns-simple-solution-police-brutality-lowered-use-force-60-percent/>.

"IPRA Releases Report on 2012 Chicago Police Shootings | People's Law Office." Peoples Law Office. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2014. <http://peopleslawoffice.com/ipra-releases-report-on-2012-chicago-police-shootings/>.

"Prison Culture » Damo’s Dead & Other Reasons to Fight…." Prison Culture RSS. N.p., 24 May 2014. Web. 14 Oct. 2014. <http://www.usprisonculture.com/blog/2014/05/26/damos-dead-other-reasons-to-fight/>.

Puccinelli, Mike. "Father Suing Police After Son Dies Following Use Of Stun Gun - CBS Chicago." CBS Chicago. N.p., 18 June 2014. Web. 14 Oct. 2014. <http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/06/18/father-suing-police-after-son-dies-following-use-of-stun-gun/>.

Shen, Aviva. "Chicago Police Cannot Keep Complaints Of Brutality Secret Anymore, Court Rules."ThinkProgress RSS. N.p., 12 Mar. 2014. Web. 14 Oct. 2014. <http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/03/12/3393421/chicago-police-misconduct/>.

Swaine, Joe. "Ferguson police officer was 'doing his job', say supporters." The Guardian. N.p., 17 Aug. 2014. Web. 10 Oct. 2014. <http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/18/ferguson-supporters-police-killed-teenager-protest>.

"Timeline: Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, Mo.." USA Today. Gannett, 25 Aug. 2014. Web. 11 Oct. 2014. <http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/08/14/michael-brown-ferguson-missouri-timeline/14051827/>.

Wisniewski, Mary. "Chicago Police Torture: Mayor Rahm Emanuel Apologizes, Says 'Let Us Now Move On'." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 12 Sept. 2013. Web. 14 Oct. 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/12/chicago-police-torture-mayor_n_3910197.html>.

Best Bike

This unit was about wheels, gears, and bikes. We learned how to calculate the circumference of a circle, how to calculate gear ratios, we learned about axles, we learned to graph circles, and we learned about the different parts of a bike. I’m proud of the graphing I did, because I haven’t graphed in a long time and I never learned to graph circles and which I learned quite quickly. The purpose of this assignment is to get us thinking about speed and user-friendliness. To do this, each group in class got a persona with specific needs, and we were asked to design a bike for them. With our new background knowledge that we got from professionals and basic bike users, we were able to design the perfect bike for each of our personas.

AG: Bike Sketch (2014)

From the research we did on existing bikes, one of the things I learned was that bikes with thicker tires will be able to withstand more damage (potholes, snow, rocks) than bikes with thinner tires. A bike with thinner tires can go faster on paved road whereas thicker tires will slow the rider down. Also that wider handlebars allow for more controlled steering because it gives you more leverage.

One quote that helped me with designing the new bike, was said by my friend RW: “Different handlebars, I would prefer bull-horn handlebars, so I could position myself differently while riding.” It helped me when designing because he gave me the idea to add bull-horn handle bars since our persona had the same issue.

The persona my partner and I got was Peter, who needs to ride 12 miles from Hyde Park to school. His legs get tired along with his arms, when they are in the same position for too long, not to mention his back hurts. He needs a secure bike because his last bike was stolen outside of school. He also needs a comfortable bike to make the 12 mile ride easier.

Our new bike that we made for Peter has many great features. It has a special seat, a space for a backpack, or other cargo, with a hook and something to buckle it down, a handlebar with different positions to hold, locks and GPS locators on the separate parts, and an electric engine.

• The shape of the bike allows the user to sit down and comfortably pedal. 
• The handlebar also rotates so there are very many holding options. 
• The GPS chips in the parts of the bike ensure that if the parts were somehow stolen, which is already unlikely due to the locks on the separate parts, that you could find them. 

The bike solves our user’s problems by providing him with comfort. His back problems are solved with the new seat, his arm tiredness get solved by being able to switch his arm position, and his leg tiredness is solved with the addition of an engine. The bike also resolves any security issues. The locks on the bike parts make the parts safe from being stolen, and if they are somehow stolen the GPS chips in them make sure they can be found again.

AG: Bike Labeled (2014)

The user should trust in our design because it is the safest, most comfortable option. Without our additions, bikes are more difficult to use and maintain. This bike solves so many problems that not only our user has, but many other people have as well, so instead of grinning and bearing it, now there’s a solution.

Peter lives 12 miles from school. With our bike it will take him about 36 minutes to get there with an average speed of 20 mph. His new wheel’s diameter is 26 inches and its circumference is 26 pi which is about 81.68 inches. The wheel will rotate 9,308.5 times on his journey. The scale we used for our model was 13 inches, so 1 inch on the model is 13 inches in real life. For example, the wheels on our model have a diameter of 2 inches and the actual wheel's diameter is 26 inches.

We took into consideration all of Peter’s different issues as well as the distance he must ride each day. Some of the obstacles were that he has to put his backpack somewhere while riding, he can’t wear it because of his back problems and because of the seat design. We solved this by adding a space for it behind his seat; he could strap the shoulder straps onto the seat, set it on the rack, hook it to the hook, and strap and buckle it in. Another problem was that his legs get tired, but it’s a bike so he still has to pedal. Our solution to this was adding the engine. This makes riding much easier and more effortless. Much less force is required, as the engine does most of the work for him so his legs don’t have to. The bike runs on a cordless lithium battery that is good for over a thousand charges. The battery will last up to 25 hours before needing to be recharged.

AG: Bike Model II (2014)

AG: Bike Model (2014)

AG: Bike With Terrain (2014)