What Good Is

   In today's world there are several various opinions on what is 'good'. One thing I absolutely know to be good is family. Our families can be our safety nets, support groups, and our best friends. I desire to address the situation of families being down played. The values that I, as a LDS young adult, find impertinent to a family are being lost. They are being referred to as "a thing of the past" and "old fashioned and out of style". So what is my reasoning for this claim?
   Divorce rates have been steadily growing over the past decade. Divorce has always been accompanied by a negative connotation.  It can also lead to a lot of stress and many other problems. It is expensive and emotionally destructing. Divorce doesn't only effect the two separating. It effects their family, friends, and children, if there are any. What happened to the days when you fixed what was broken instead of throwing it away?
   Technology, though very convenient and sometimes life-saving, is playing a part in the distance of families. Now, instead being focused on spending quality time together, families are focused on the latest video game, status update, and form of technology. These separate the individuals. How often do family members talk face-to-face, or discuss what is happening in their lives? Family units used to be close, almost inseparable. Commonly, nowadays, individuals are more attached to their cell phones, laptops, and video games, than each other.
   As most of us are aware, same-sex marriage was legalized in Utah this past week. Being attracted to an individual is becoming more and more common and acceptable throughout the years. It is leading to a point where it is almost considered 'popular'. We know how marriage and a family work in God's eyes because of the declaration The Family: A Proclamation to the World. We should strive to obey the council of our general authorities, especially on matters of such importance as this.
   As Latter-day Saints, we have a greater knowledge and understanding of how valuable the family unit is to God. We should obey his wishes in having a family full of unconditional love, kindness, and obedience. The world is turning away from such a family and is headed down a path leading away from God. As Elder Dallin H. Oaks has counseled us, we must not be judgmental, but do not become tolerant of the growing trends of the world today.

My big question

The big question that my OpEd is answering is what should we do. My topic is “should BYU allow bicyclists to ride their bicycles during class break times?”. I believe that BYU should not allow bicyclists to ride their bicycles during class break times because of safety hazards posed by the bicyclists to other students. My claim is answering that question with a resounding no. While I am still formulating the arguments for this OpEd, the biggest reason for my particular stance is safety. At other colleges, or at least the ones that I have set foot on, bicycles, longboards, scooters, mopeds, etc. are all the rage right now. You hardly see anybody just walking around the college campus. But one other thing that I have noticed about these other college campuses is that they are much spacier and broad than the campus of BYU. On BYU’s campus there are a lot of walkways that are maybe ten feet wide. I’m thinking that that rule is in place because class breaks all happen at the same time, from :50 to :00, and that means that all the students are out at the same time, from :50 to :00 as well, which means that there is increased chance of injury from a bicycle crash during those times because of all the students that are walking from one class to the next. To minimize the chance of injury to other students I’m thinking that they made the rule that you can’t ride your bike during the class period breaks. In order to get some authority on the subject I plan on going and speaking with one of the campus officers about why that rule is in place, and hopefully get a quote or get the real reason why we cannot ride our bikes during that time. That will give me a quote that will give me some persuasive powers. Another reason that I will use to support my argument is just the sheer fact that there is no need to ride your bike to and from classes when parking and walking is sufficient for anybody’s needs. BYU’s campus is designed to be pedestrian friendly. With the exception of the hill south of campus I don’t know of any other bike lanes on the campus of BYU. If it is in fact the only bike lane that is on the BYU campus, then it is clearly for the sole purpose of getting people to school on their bikes, having the students lock them up, and then walk to their respective classes. I am going to write this in a slightly less formal, hopefully more fun way, with lots of voice, and hopefully through doing so I will be able to appeal to the students who think that bicycles should be allowed, and hopefully cause those bike riders to think about safety a little bit more.

Blog Post 1

My claim that Brighman Young University should encourage more nonmembers to apply answers the “what should be done” question. Students that are attending BYU are attempting to acquire a higher education that will lead them into the workforce. Once those students enter the workforce most will find that they will not be surrounded by latter day saint coworkers. More nonmembers will increase diversity, culture, and more experiences for students that are members.

            Most nonmembers believe that BYU is only a school for Mormons, which is not completely true. Around 1.5% of students attending BYU are not members of the church. In 2013, about 33% of BYU’s student originated from Utah. More nonmembers’ means that there will be greater diversity on campus and it will expose those that have yet to leave the state of Utah to many new and exciting cultures. Also, those nonmembers will be able to recognize that we are real people just like them. Hopefully, later on in life they will be able to dismiss rumors brought up in conversation about the church because they had hands on experience with the saints. It will also allow for greater missionary opportunities and the likelihood of converting those nonmembers.

            Some may argue that by encouraging nonmembers the schools standards would be lowered. Although, surrounding them with our morals and expecting their agreement to adhere to the Honor Code would be a positive factor on their conductivity; nonmember students would experience living in an environment where they would be encouraged to raise their standards to that of the member students. Others may claim that BYU is already difficult to get into, but more applicants would increase the schools competitiveness and add to its prestige nature.

One of BYU’s mottos is “The World is Our Campus.” If the world truly is our campus then we should be accepting to all those who would like to attend this institution.  BYU has the ability to shape individuals into the proper young adults they should be. They can be a positive influence on where ever they choose to abide after graduation. In the end the nonmember students will be able to “enter to learn and go forth to serve.”

            I plan to be convincing by getting testimonials from multiple students including those who have lived in Utah all their life and those that have not been surrounded by members. BYU encouraging more nonmembers is what should be done.

Stop Holding Me Back

High school seniors should be allowed to bypass their senior year to go to college. My article will actually cover all three of the Big Questions. It will address the “What exists?” by me not only voicing my opinion but other current freshman peers. As a recently graduated student I feel that high school was more of a review rather than learning something new. Education is the best thing that you can invest your time into. So that makes time an extremely important factor in life. How would you feel if that time was shorten or taken away from you? Angry, disappointed, annoyed. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints we understand the importance of education, that’s why we chose to come to BYU.

Big Question “What is good?”- By allowing this to take action student will retain their ability to taking good notes and good study regime. If you’re not learning anything new than you’re not going to take notes on the matter. For example, you don’t need to note down that the area of a triangle is length X width X height. The same applies in all aspects of life. I going to include other testimonials from current BYU freshman students about their experience with high and school and how they feel their experience were.

Big Question “What should we do?”- It answers this because it’s a policy claim about something that should be done. In this case it's allowing incoming freshman to skip their senior year of high school if they met the qualifications to be college approved. I plan on being persuasive by convincing my audience to self-reflect and see that most of their senior year was just a review of what they learned throughout their high school years and not actually new learning. I plan on helping them see that if they are ready for college by their junior year based upon their academic criteria then they shouldn't be held back from going to college and quickening their path to their aspirations. 

Thoughtlessness Kills

Have you ever found yourself wanting to yell (or actually yelling) at a driver trying to switch lanes into the spot you were occupying? Or how about when a biker or a walker suddenly appears right in front of you as you are starting to make a turn? Or maybe you were that person and you were wondering how the driver didn't realize you were there? Those are events that happen to me all the time, and having spoken with many people at BYU- drivers, bikers, walkers, even long-boarders, it seems to be something that happens more than just frequently on or around campus. That is why I want to write my opinion editorial on what exactly is the underlying problem as to why traffic is so bad here, and hopefully touch a bit on what we can do to fix it.

Because my focus is on “what” the problem is, my editorial will be trying to answer the “What exists?” question above all else. The claim in my editorial answers that question by declaring, as I said, where the real problem lies, and I plan to use various sources as evidence to back up my claim. These include, but are not limited to, BYU student testimonials, and comparisons with similar historical situations, as well as some more recent events. I also plan to include various statistics and some recent well-known incidents in order to show that there really is a problem.

On top of providing these, shall we say, outside resources, I intend to make use of the events that I have witnessed over the past several months. As a student living in Wyview I have spent a rather large amount of time walking to and from campus daily (a good twenty minutes to half an hour, depending on the pace), as well as anywhere else I needed to get to. Add on top of that my habit of going on morning hikes all the way from Wyview up to the Y, and that racks up quite the sum of hours spent on the road watching traffic. In all those many hours, I have had many opportunities to see accidents and near accidents, and to discover what most often tended to be the cause of it. Is it usually the driver’s fault? Or is it almost always because the person walking was not where they should have been? Why do these events even occur? You’ll have to read my Opinion Editorial to find out (or just spend hours on ended walking the streets in Provo, watching for those incidents and examining them until you work it all out).

As a current student who recently returned from a study abroad, I hope to encourage students to experience what travel has to offer through participating in one of the programs offered here at Brigham Young University. While travel increases personal knowledge and growth to both you and the people who interact with, it also provides the means to a better understanding and a more complete society.

I plan on answering all three of the "big" questions mentioned in our reading; "What exists?", "What is good?” as well as, "What should we do?" However, the main question I will focus on answering is “What exists?” I will do this as I give students more information about traveling programs.

I plan to display a variety of options for those wanting to study abroad to learn of diverse people and cultures, as well as those who are interested in a specific area of study. I plan on researching as many possibilities of travel as possible. I hope to learn of every study abroad offered at the university, so that any student, no matter what interest they have in mind, will see how many incredible opportunities are offered through Brigham Young University and maybe, just maybe, students will accept the challenge and start their adventure today.

I want to eliminate all doubt and worries. Time, finance and uncertainty being my main concerns. I will do this with giving details about possible scholarships, a few words of wisdom and counsel from authorities. This will inspire traveling and experiencing new things and will appeal to those who are seriously considering upcoming expeditions but are slightly hesitant about actually carrying it out. I hope to replace excitement instead of fear and to inform students of how many incredible expeditions are yet to be had.

The other two questions are simple. “What is good?”, and “What should we do?” As I share personal stories and offer testimonials of current students, I hope this will definitely allow readers to realize just how “good” travel is. The other, “What should we do?” involves action. My purpose in writing is to inspire learning and creativity through travel. If I accomplish this goal, students (readers) will be more likely to look into studying abroad and excited to do so.

Throughout my editorial, my aim is to keep a positive tone while still being persuasive. In such a way that readers feel both informed and motivated.

I Hate Hand Cramps

What should we do?  We should let personal technologies be permitted in classrooms on campus!  Why?  Because it helps students to meet their academic goals and increases productivity and effectiveness.  My claim is policy or procedure claim because it argues that there is something that should be done: a universal change in university policy.  To be able to convince my entire audience (students, professors, personnel, etc.)  I will first make an appeal supporting the student-teacher relationship and the importance of the classroom experience.  I shall use a friendly tone and a delicate voice to catch my prey… the professors!  There are still some archaic notions dwelling on this campus.  For example, that if students are given the opportunity to waste classroom time, they will.  Also, that if something electronic is put in their hands, they will be distracted.  It is true that there is a minority of students here at BYU that will abuse if given the privilege.  Thus, I must be tactful in my approach. 

My evidence will mostly revolve around the fact that if given the liberty, students will use the technology for good!  I will share personal experiences that we can all relate to.  For example, how often does your professor use a big word that you just can’t understand and you have the temptation to get on your dictionary application to look it up, but you hesitate, worriedly putting your phone away for fear that your professor will accuse you of texting in class.  The righteous should not live by fear!  How many of us type faster than we write by hand?  Personally, I get sick of the hand cramps and the smeared ink.  I prefer using a good word processing application to help me to organize and neatly keep my lecture notes.  But there are some classes at BYU where this is not allowed!

The argument must be that BYU students are good people and that the great majority will not abuse this privilege.  I have already mentioned that there will be a minority that will abuse personal technologies if given the liberty to use them in class.  But this is the same minority that is going to doodle, sleep, pick their nose and stare at the pretty/handsome girl/guy in class instead of pay attention to what the lecturer has to say at that given moment in time.  Why should the rest of us be punished?  The stakes are too high.  The advantages are too great.  We should change.

The Big Question(s)

In my thesis statement I unintentionally promise to address all three big questions, “What exists,” “what is good,” and “what should we do”. I suggest that Americans should become aware of what is happening, then I’ll provide a good source that Americans need to consider, and then conclude with telling them to take action. In that order each question will be addressed in the body of the OpEd as its own point. This does; however, make me a little nervous that I am covering too broad of a topic to drive a single point home.
            What I intend for readers to do upon reading my OpEd is to ultimately take action. After all what good is it to learn something new if you aren’t going to do anything or can’t do anything about it? I want to provide the reader with reasons to keep reading till the end, which is when they will have an idea of what action(s) they need to take.
            I assume most people know about North Korea. Ironically more people seem to know about the North and know nothing about South Korea. Nearly Every time I tell someone I’ve been to South Korea a look of fear and dread sweeps over their face. South Korea is a relatively safe place. I’ll probably include a formal statistic showing that it is in fact safer than America in many ways, but that’s not really the point I’m trying to make. Instead I’ll just simply mention North Korea, which is actually a considerably hazardous place for an America, as a good thing in my thesis. Hopefully this will entice a reader to read on, even if it is just to see if I’m crazy.
            The first point I will make after the introduction will be that the existence of American culture is in question. I conducted a poll of random students that I intend to incorporate. The results just support that people think American culture is in danger. I’ll use North Korea as an example of why it’s bad to let other people define you. This will as take me into the second point of the article.
            North Korea has a wonderful lesson to offer us. I don’t want to spoil the surprise yet, but I’ll give you something in the meantime. Did you know most defectors from North Korea wish they could go back? Since that isn’t really an option some even with that they had never left in the first place. Why? What could possibly be so good about it? That will be my conclusion, telling you, the reader what you should be doing.

What should we do?

My OpEd will address the following issue: Brigham Young University Housing Services should use a fairer method for housing registration. Therefore, the big question my OpEd is designed to answer is "What should we do?". The current system gives incoming students a date for which they are eligible to sign up for a room. However, this date is not the same for all incoming students. Some have the opportunity to register a couple weeks before others. This method puts students with a later date at an unfair advantage. It is essential that in making my claim, I also propose a more logical solution for housing registration that would give everyone equal opportunity when registering.  As for another solution, I am still formulating the specifics. However, I would propose that only a few rooms from each complex are available each day of registration. For instance, on days one, two, or even six of registration, the same number of rooms would become available in Heritage, Wyview, and Helaman. This way someone who wanted to reside in Heritage would have the same chance of getting a spot there as someone with a later date. Such a plan would promote equal opportunity and leave it up to the incoming students to register as soon as they can to get the room they want. To enable the the housing services to see that logic in my argument, it is key that I share the opinions of students who had a negative experience with housing registration and are, or will be, residing in an undesirable facility. Students' schedules vary and they need housing that is compatible with their unique schedule. BYU students hold true to many values, including punctuality. As advocates for higher education we see the importance of being on time to classes and other activities. With a new method, students will have a greater chance of receiving convenient housing, making it easy to be punctual. As a student who has heard multiple complaints over the injustice of this process, I believe that sharing these negative experiences will help me to connect with other students. But just as important, I need to connect with the Housing services. An affirmative, but respectful voice would be appropriate in this situation. I want the housing services portion of my audience to know that I see a need for change, while I still respect them. My stance will certainly gain more respect and consideration as I respect my audience.

Does the issue exist?

​My opinion editorial is on the pending reopening of the Coca-Cola bottling plant in Kerala India. The issue at hand is that if it opens it will bring much harm to the local people and they are influential enough to bring this to an end once and for all. The question that I want to answer is does it exist? I know that if the word got out that these people were being walked all over just because they don’t know their own human rights, then people would back the people up and put an end to the tyrannical reign of Coca-Cola over the people of Kerala.

​My plan to reach out to my audience is to reach out to their emotions. My audience is predominantly LDS, so they care about the wellbeing of others. I want to start my editorial thesis with a hypothetical situation in which the reader is now the victim. I believe that this would really engage the reader to keep reading and this would help them to care on a more personal level as opposed to being disconnected.

​I would also like to reach my audience by displaying cold hard facts from before the plant shut down. This would put the truth in a very direct and frankly frightening manner.  I want to talk about how 510,000 liters were taken from local wells everyday and for every 3.75 liters of water used by Coca-Cola 1 liter would become product and the other 2.75 liters would be converted to toxic waste. I would also emphasize the fact that Coca-Cola doesn’t plan on implementing any sort of change so the results will be identical. I will also do a section in my article about the good that the Coca-Cola industry will be doing for India’s economy in order to present the other side of the argument and to show that I am well informed on the issue.

​To conclude, I present a call to action. Now that my audience is very aware of the issue at hand it will be time to present a simple solution. I will encourage that people simply become vocal. Display the issue on social media. Show the world that what Coca-Cola is doing is illegal in the United States and should be illegal all over the world. This will be a good way to sum up all of my ideas and bring my argument to a close. The most difficult part of writing this will be engaging my audience, but I am sure that I can reach out to the humanitarians in them.

oped essay

The BIG question in my opinion editorial is what is good? My essay is addressing the regulations the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is wanting to put on electric companies and the use of coal to produce electricity. I plan to explain the flaw in their proposal. They want to reduce the amount of carbon being released into the atmosphere by 2030 by thirty percent. The problem I want to point out that in order to do this many electric companies in Utah would have to spend millions of dollars in order to reduce the amount of carbon being emitted. This is because the main source of energy right now is coal, which is the energy source that produces carbon dioxide. I would point out that cleaner air is good it is also important to research better energy sources so that power companies can use the many efficient sources of electricity. I will point out that this plan could increase the price of electricity by three percent by 2030. I will also point out that most states have already made their electric companies efficient so there is no need for the national government to intervene. The thing I would also like to point out is if most states have companies that are already creating clean energy then how are these states expected to continue at an impossible rates if there is not new technology available to make it even more reliable. I would point out that the EPA is trying to fix a problem that is not there. It is also a problem that should be dealt with at a state level not a national level. This is because states knows their resources and can more easily till if there is a problem or not. Electric companies could build new power plants for solar energy or wind power. However, these sources are extremely unreliable compared to coal and requires the company to have access to wind or sunlight. Nuclear energy is another solution, but this runs into similar problems. It takes quite a bit of money and time to build a nuclear plant. In addition, many people feel it is too dangerous and would not want one near their homes. It also does not fix the pollution problem because it produces other sources of chemical waste. Natural gas is a wonderful solution and it is becoming cheaper and more available. However, if there is not more research going into making it more cost efficient and reliable then electric companies will have to increase their cost to afford this type of electricity. I am also going to find resources that explain how energy works.  My claim is answering the question in the middle of the essay.

What should be done?

         My Op-ed claim is answering the BIG question “What should we do?”. My claim is answering this BIG question by informing the audience that their should be a stronger effort put on both persuading international students to attend college in the U.S., and U.S. students to participate in study abroad programs. 

Although my main BIG question is “what should we do?”, the other BIG questions, “What exists?” and “What is good?” will be used in my report as well for a few basic reasons. By answering the question “what exists?” my audience will be given a background on international students and study abroad programs. Though my claim is mostly answering “what should we do?”, I will be answering the question “what is good?” quite frequently in order to give my audience examples and reasons to why my claim should be acted upon, which hopefully influences them to act upon it [my claim] themselves.

Along with answering the three BIG question “what should we do?”, “what exists?” and “what is good?” I will also be answering the questions “why we should do it?” and “how should we do it?”. The answers to these other two questions will impact the audience by giving them a background on how international students effect the world as a whole and also on the much smaller scale of how they effect individuals. By using the question “how should we do it?” I will inform my audience on small things they can participate in in order to help increase the number of international students, as well as the number of American students participating in study abroad programs.

Through research I will show how international students effect their host countries and also how they positively effect their hosting institutions. For example, according to the Department of Commerce, international students brought roughly $25 billion dollars into the  United States as of last year. 

In terms of study abroad students I will show the audience how their[the students] participation abroad helped give them a better resume and gave an edge in the competitive job market system. 

I will also inform the audience of what international students bring to their host institutions in cultural standpoints, along with how they effect the rising generation in their home countries. For example how the increased literacy rate in some countries is proportional to the increase in international students coming out of those same countries.

Near-by Store Off Campus

The Big question my Opinion Editorial will be answering will be "What should we do?", also known as a policy claim. The topic of the editorial is going to be about why an entrepreneur should consider opening up a large grocery/retail store within walking distance of campus to compete with the bookstore and The Creamery on Ninth's prices. Providing an alternative place for consumers (students) who do not have proper transportation to shop at will ultimately lower prices and provide a larger selection of goods to be purchased. The claim will be "Due to the current monopoly placed upon incoming freshman without transportation, an alternative shopping place should be added close to campus to benefit students".
As I write this essay, the biggest struggle I will have to overcome is convincing the audience that I am a person with some good ideas to improve campus live and not just some little freshman boy whining about how hard he thinks life away from home is. It will be good if I make it known early on, however, that the purpose for writing this opinion editorial is that I am a student living on campus that has experience with living on campus and the setbacks involved. Hopefully, anybody that has ever been a freshman in college before will be able to relate and feel a little empathy. I will try to connect with the BYU community by relating with them their experiences with buying books from the bookstore. I will discuss how they may have felt after buying a book at the bookstore and later finding out that they could have bought the same book online or elsewhere, for a much lower price. Stirring these memories will help them remember, and they will be ferociously angered.
My claim is answering the question of "What should we do by clearly stating a solution that would easily solve students' problems with finding sufficient supplies for their day-to-day lives.
To be convincing, I will have to have authority.To make myself a more convincing authority, I will make sure to use a sophisticated style of writing that a wise person would normally use. People will be more willing to listen to the advice of a seemingly wise person rather than someone who uses slang words and a 6^th grade vocabulary. By listing some of the experiences I have had with being a consumer at the bookstore and the creamery on ninth, I will appear to have authority. I won’t have the kind of authority that an expert businessman or college professor may have, but I will be portrayed as an expert at living the life of a freshman, which pertains to the goal of this editorial.

What Should Be Done?

My OpEd is on the consumption and purchasing of caffinated beverages and if that is something that BYU should allow or if caffinated beverages should continue to be banned from being sold on campus as it could be seen as being in conflict with what the school is trying to represent with Honor Code and the overall model that BYU is trying to be. I think we as students having committed to live the honor code all have a choice to make regarding this. There are many who don't live it and still consume caffeine on campus anyways. Should it just be allowed to have them in vending machines and in the restaraunts? What should we as students do to live up to what BYU is trying to be?

The issue my OpEd will be addressing is: Should colleges upload an online edition to make textbooks cheaper for students, and easier for some teachers to access during class? The big question my OpEd will be answering is What exists? BYU is an elite school where students have the opportunity to learn from the best and be taught from the best. The school has provided teachers and students with only the best. By now our world has developed to a point were technology runs the lectures in our classrooms and is one of the most helpful tools our teachers can use. I plan to help readers, especially my audience, realize how technology has been running our education lately, so why shouldn't we be able to access our text books online? In coming high school students, or college freshman, are all graduating with enough computer skills to be able to download a college text book. The new generation is growing up with electronics, such as smart phones, tablets and computers small enough to fit into a purse, I find it very convenient to carry around a couple of books just on my cell phone that fits right into my pocket, or a small purse pocket. I hope to convince, and inform others of the goodness this could bring students and teachers, in and out of the classroom. One of the big counter arguments that I plan to use is the fact that teachers have learned how to teach and instruct their students through hard copies of text. Mainly, math, religion, and english teachers. I know my mom, as a spanish teacher, now uses a smart board in her classroom, once her board was installed she had to transfer all her lessons to fit the smart board. Ever since then she has really loved it, but I see that as a good example to help the administration understand that certain things can be accomplished, it only takes time. I want to use the counter argument as a strength mostly and show them that maybe not having a hard copy may be in the students best interest, and it can become a easier note taking process for students, and for teachers to transfer some notes to them as well.
I wish I was able to somehow test this out and actually have a class where all the students had an online edition of their textbooks and see how much the cost went down for each student, and how many students actually read the reading assignments, instead of those students who really don't have the money to go buy textbooks and hope that they can get by through the semester without one.
I want to show my audience that most Universities and Colleges are using the online way and they are giving out most of their information online where students can access it easier, faster and it may be even more efficient for the College to do things that way.
Over all I am all for having online textbooks, and I think it is a thing we should all realize that it is a good thing that we can use to our advantages.

The BIG question that my OpEd is answering is What should we do. It answers this because its a policy claim about something that should be done. In this case it's allowing incoming freshman to skip their senior year of high school if they met the qualifications to be college approved. I plan on convincing my audience by allowing them to self reflect and see that most of their senior year was just a review of what they learned throughout their high school years and not actual new learning. I plan on helping the see that if they are ready for college by their junior year based upon their academic criteria then they shouldn't be held back from going to college and quickening their path to their aspirations. I'm going to survey and gather testimonials from current BYU freshman about their experience with their senior year of high school.