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Mitchell Berven-Stotz Capstone

Posted by Mitchell Berven-Stotz in Capstone - Jonas - Wed on Thursday, May 19, 2016 at 11:58 pm

For my capstone, I had the grand scheme of, based on my constant enjoyment of digital video classes and being a member of Rough Cut Productions, creating a short film. The original goal for the project was a 35-50 minute film, but as I planned the piece, this became less achievable. Therefore, I decided to make a shorter piece that acts as a tribute to and showcase of my personal style of fiction. The final product, which you can view the teaser of below, is around 15 minutes long. It began with an initial image, which, through many evolutions of ideas, didn't even make it into the final product. Even after the initial write-up of the plot was complete, evolution occurred. After discovering the ordeal that is working with a fluid outline, the logistical trials emerged. Even with a cast of 5, and a crew of even less, I had to dance around the schedules of many to complete my piece. In production I encountered issues with audio control, filming environment, and camera setup, but learned from these experiences and am already working to fix them. I am working on the final polishing of the film. Overall, I enjoyed the project and was able to create a product that demonstrates my personal style. For the first time in my years as a Rough Cut member, I had full control of the project. 

Teaser below, Rough Cut, due to technical difficulties, will be uploaded 05/20/16:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-is-1eDqx8


Annotated Bibliography


August, John. "Johnaugust.com." Johnaugustcom RSS. N.p., 7 Feb. 2007. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.


Screenwriter John August gives his tips on writing dialogue. 1. Eavesdrop, because real sounding conversation comes from hearing real conversation. 2. Craft your dialogue around the flow of your scene. Run the scene through in your head multiple times, until dialogue starts manifesting. By building a clear image of the scene in your head, you are able to pace your dialogue in such a way that it makes the scene feel real. 3. You need to match the dialogue structure or presentation of the information to the scenario (setting, mood, character relations, known knowledge). 4. Write a rough version of the scene, super rough, before writing the actual scene. 5. Step it up. 6.  


"Film Lighting Techniques and Tips: With Pretty Pictures!" Free Online Film School: Learn Filmmaking. N.p., 30 Apr. 2010. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.


There were a few takeaways from this source, all revolving around lighting. Without lighting, your imagery will look flat and uninteresting. You can bring in many different moods and looks through the use of lighting techniques. A technique I will definitely attempt is the shadowy look from a soft front, heavy backlight. I hadn’t realised how important lighting was. It is required for essentially every scene you would shoot, even in circumstances with a lot of natural light. Color correction cannot help with everything. I will attempt these lighting techniques, and I will make a focus in my storyboarding on the effects I can achieve with light. This is from a director’s blog.


Helmy, David K. "Adobe Premiere Pro CC." How to Edit Videos with Premiere Pro. Adobe, n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.


Premiere is my editing tool, and this source goes over how to use it. It is similar to Final Cut in many ways, but there are a few key differences, especially when it comes to detailed selection of my clips. It is important for me to be able to use Premiere effectively, as I will have limited time to work with it. This resource has given me the ability to efficiently edit my footage. I can further use this resource to delve deeper into the uses and techniques I can pull off. This source comes from the official Adobe site.


Howell, John M. Homicide Investigation Standard Operating Procedures. N.p.: Policeforum.org, 1999. Print.


This pdf details police procedure for crime scenes, circa 1999. The investigator goes in to survey the scene of the crime. They must document every essential piece of information. You begin by taking the time, weather conditions, and receiving information from and questioning the first officer. Make sure every officer at the scene has done their job, and that all loose ends are covered. You talk to and tend to the needs of the witnesses, if there are any. I used this source to give me an idea of what type of work my protagonist would be used to. How does one go about investigating a crime scene?


"Introduction to Three-Point Lighting & Other Video Lighting Techniques." 3-Point Lighting. Nikon, n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.


I am really trying to step up my lighting game for this project, as lighting is extremely useful for setting mood and tone in film. This source is an educational tool for three point lighting, a method which, because of the use of only 3 lights, I have the ability to pull off. Light reflectors are also important, as they can help bring the dark parts of my subject into view. The video goes over the use of LED lights, which are what I have access to. The main takeaway is that you can set the lights up in such a way that you are able to fully illuminate your subject with a minimal amount of light sources. This source is from Nikon.


"Mass Murder, Shooting Sprees and Rampage Violence: Research Roundup - Journalist's Resource." Journalists Resource. N.p., 01 Oct. 2015. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.


My film, even though it is wrapped up in the supernatural, wants to look at what creates violence, and how violence moves through society. This is a compilation of research and analysis of violent crime statistics, used as a resource for reporters. US has a much higher (6.9% higher), crime rate than other countries at its socio-economic level. My piece has to do with a teen who murders a group of their friends. This research tries to examine the causes of mass murder. However, the causes for these events are constantly left to debate, and new research methods are necessary for better analysis.


Mott, Parker. "Suspense Film Editing | Art of the Guillotine." The Art of the Guillotine. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.


For making suspense in your visuals: Have your camera or a character have a voyeuristic, observational feel. Distant, spaced, watching. When showing the room, cut in close ups of objects that are of importance to the plot. Hint at them, giving audience a “what purpose will they have” feeling. When not zoomed, give pannings of the room, wide looks. Montage can be used to good effect, allowing you to show what all is happening, without actually revealing it entirely, which ruins suspense. Humour can make suspense even lighter, showing that the characters don’t know what you know about the situation. Have multiple things happen at once. Thumbs up for plot twists. This is from a writer, director, editor.


Sakula, Dora Ash. "How to Create Suspense in a Screenplay - Raindance." Raindance. Raindance Film Festival, 23 July 2015. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.


“Suspense is the anticipation of action, it’s not action itself. The moment you have action, your suspense is gone.” Suspense is about keeping the audience wondering what will happen, how something transpired. You are meant to feel as if you are empathizing with the character, so that you feel like you are in danger with them. I am planning on making my film very suspenseful, and this is a succinct definition of what suspense is, surrounded by a very good example of how it can work. Suspense can work with any event that a character is put into, that becomes dangerous or goes against their wishes. Source is from a film fest seminar.


Sullivan, Jack. "'Hitchcock's Music' Scores Big on Suspense." NPR. NPR, 10 Feb. 2007. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.


An important part of suspenseful film is the soundtrack. This NPR article discusses different pieces of music and how they build suspense. You want to match the speed of your music to the speed of your imagery. By having music over silence, you are able to make things less “stark”, and give them emotion. The music you place gives the emotion of the scene. However, music can become overused, making it less impactful, and detracting from the feeling of the scenes. The amount of sound layered in the music has to do with the level of importance or emotion. More instrumentation, more emotion.


Urry, Allen B. "Modern Police Interrogation Techniques Use Subtle Psychological Manipulation." Everest.edu. Everest Universities, 8 June 2008. Web. 4 Feb. 2016.


How does one go about suspect interrogation? This is a very important part of my piece, as the middle segment of my film focusses on/ is structured by an interrogation. THis article focusses on the Reid technique of interrogation. It features nine steps: 1. Lay out the evidence. 2. Give the suspect a setup where other people put them into the situation. 3. Don’t let the suspect speak, assault them with the many ways in which they are to blame. 4. Turn whatever objections they make onto them. 5. Play good cop. 6. Voice several different ideas, looking for unique reactions. 7. Give them two scenarios, and look to see if the suspect chooses the safer option. 8. Get them to repeat the confession. 9. Document. From Everest Universities.





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Jasmin Gilliam Capstone

Posted by Jasmin Gilliam in Capstone - Jonas - Wed on Thursday, May 19, 2016 at 10:54 pm

​

The Art of Conversation; often times we take for granted the impact that our words can have in situations that are not necessarily clean cut.. Through my year long, senior capstone my main goal was to remind everyone to reflect on past actions in these kinds of conversations and try to put themselves in uncomfortable situations. Especially in cases that, in the end, make you think about things in more complex ways than just getting a solution. While that might be the end goal it doesn't  have to be the purpose of each conversation..

My first major process of was to collect responses from the people around me. At Educon I handed out surveys for the guests to take (administrators, teachers, counselors, etc.) and I made an online survey for the students at SLA. That data was then used to create an art piece deriving different colors from the topics and questions covered in the surveys..The art piece is still in process because of artistic blocks but the meaning behind each stroke of my brush will come clear with the final product. On the date of my presentation I will hang the piece in the school with everyone there to commemorate the reminder we all need sometimes to have tough disussions.My capstone has taken on a life of its own and went  from statistic based, social justice, artwork to a reminder piece of art that will live in our school as long as we are Science Leadership Academy

Link to my progress with the Art Piece

http://theartofconversation.weebly.com/


Annotated Bibliography

Dell’Angelo, Dr, Tabatha. "Creating Classrooms for Social Justice." Edutopia. George Lucas Educational Foundation, 29 Sept. 2014. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. This site shows the breakdown of a few basic classroom practices that allow teachers to engage with the students on issues that have happened in the real world. The article specifies different techniques the author (who is a professor) has used or the=inks are useful in situations such as these. This site is important because this is from a higher level educator who is seeing what is working or not first hand in her classroom with this I will be able to have a write up to help explain the art piece that I am creating in my blog post and in my presentation.

Emerich France, Paul. "Controversy in the Classroom: Why We Shouldn't Teach Our Kids That Columbus Was a Bad Guy." InspirED. Wordpress, 12 Oct. 2015. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. This is a personal story from a teacher who was reprimanded for trying to teach his class about the different types of marriages that exist in the world (one that he was apart of). Because of the fact that he had a personal connection to the issue he was told some things that made him write this article. “The classroom is not the place for personal agendas,” I was told while being reprimanded one day." these are the comments that around the nation and the world steer many of the teachers away from talking about the issues that are relevant in the world at the time.

Emmerling, Leonhard. Basquiat. New York: Taschen, 2006. Print. This book goes through all of the life of Jean‑Michel Basquiat. Through his life he went through a lot of emotional and controversial times and through his art he shows all of this stuff. I am using this book as inspiration for the art piece that will come at the end of this Capstone. He has many pieces that make you think. That feeling is exactly what I want people to think when they see the piece of art. through the thinking I hope to start conversations the same way that Jean‑Michel Basquiat has in his emotion filled art pieces.


Guler, Adem. "Http://www.jcam.com.tr/files/KATD-157.pdf”  JCAM Journal of Clinical and Analytical Medicine 2.2 (2011). Web. This Report makes a number of important recommendations for getting to a world where we can address the vulnerabilities and can build the resilience to future shocking revelations. It calls for universal access to basic social services, especially health and education; stronger social protection, including unemployment insurance and pensions; and a commitment to full employment, recognizing that the value of employment extends far beyond the income it generates. It examines the importance of responsive and fair institutions and increased social cohesion for building community-level resilience and for reducing the potential for conflict to break out.

"Is This Why I'm Still Single?" Is This Why I’m Still Single. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. I like this site because this is a student that isn't too far away from the ages that we are in high school and he is still dealing with the same things that we are in high school in college. Through this site I gained insight to what the inner workings of a white ally's mind was because it is hard for white allies sometimes as they try to be politically correct at all times and try to voice their opinion while not overstepping the boundaries of speaking for someone of a minority group. A white ally's job is hard and this site really outlines what that role actually means.

Kluegel, James R., David S. Mason, and Bernd Wegener. Social Justice and Political Change: Public Opinion in Capitalist and Post-communist States. New York: A. De Gruyter, 1995. Print. This is basically a bigger version of what I am doing I think that through this book or what of it I can get from online I can base a lot of my project off of. The world is going through the same things that it was when this experiment was conducted and through this the project that I am doing will become richer because there was something very similar already conducted by people who have had time and money and the energy to focus completely on the topic. I will be using this extensively in order to analyze my data.

Faith47. Johannesburg, South Africa. My Modern Met. My Modern Met, 18 Feb. 2010. Web. 5 Feb. 2016. This is the exact type of art that makes the viewer stop and try to decipher and analyze what the meaning is. Having words is something that I haven't considered but I am open and through this piece has made me reconsider and see if that will work for this piece of art that I want to do. This piece was Inspired by Lady Justice, this beautiful piece by Faith47 was seen on the streets of Johannesburg, South Africa. The imagery and bold words speak loudly about Faith47’s concern on crumbling worldwide justice.

Nadworny, Elissa. "Uncomfortable Conversations: Talking About Race In The Classroom." NPR. NPR, 24 Apr. 2015. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. This piece is a very specific conversation that happens in the classroom (or at least should happen in the classroom). When talking about race we answer questions that we may have had about our own ethnicities or even others ethnicities. With these conversations research shows that those people start to feel better or more comfortable in their own race. In turn "People who feel good about their own race do better academically." If we have these conversations we will become more and more comfortable talking about these things and they won't be treated as if they are untouchable in a way. With this openness in the conversations the class feels comfortable bringing up the topics that are more risque.

Quigley, Bill. "Social Justice Quiz 2015: Inequality." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. This site is a reality check of sorts because you get to view you perception of the world versus how it actually is. It's kind of the same thing as that link that was going around on Facebook and t=with that you get the reality check what you think versus how the world is. Question Eleven. The federal government keeps statistics on young men, ages 15 to 19, killed by the police. How many times more likely is a young black man to be killed by police than a young white man? The questions are very jarring and very nerve racking because most of them you are actually guessing.

Thomas, Hank Willis. I AM A MAN. 2009. Mixed Media. Hank Willis Thomas. Web. 5 Feb. 2016. In reference to the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Strike where the declaration “I Am A Man!” emerged and became a popular phrase in the Civil Rights Movement. This is the most emotional piece that I have found and through this piece I see the power of words. I really admire the play on every single piece. But then you read them as a cohesive piece and it gets even better than that. It is poetry in Art. With Kay's help maybe I could achieve this kind of artistry but I don't know if this is possible with what I have so far.


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Ava Olsen Capstone

Posted by Ava Olsen in Capstone - Jonas - Wed on Thursday, May 19, 2016 at 9:52 pm

My capstone was centered around the sport of ice hockey and the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation. I have been playing hockey for five years, and it has become such a huge part of me that I couldn’t help but involve it in my senior project. I started volunteer co-coaching a 10u girl’s ice hockey team in September, and stayed with them for an entire season for a total of 24 total hours volunteered. I also ended up writing four articles and counting for the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation, as well as a tribute to Mr. Snider, who passed away recently. It was an amazing experience to be able to show young girls how the dynamics and team building aspect of ice hockey work, and to use my writing skills to have articles published in a newsletter. It was a privilege and honor to get to work with such great people, and I am so happy that I was able to have that experience. I will never forget the people that were involved in making my senior project a success, and I hope to inspire those around me to do great things for the people in their lives that have done so much for them. The Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation has done everything I can possibly imagine for myself, so I am ecstatic that I was able to give back to that community.

Click here for my digitalized capstone

Click here for my annotated bibliography
Tags: 2016, Jonas, capstone
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Kevin Horton Capstone

Posted by Kevin Horton in Capstone - Jonas - Wed on Thursday, May 19, 2016 at 7:49 pm

My capstone is a collection of writing from over the years. I have shown my growth by ordering my writing from oldest to newest. I also have included a sample monologue. While I haven't done a huge writing-based project, I have grown continuously from 9th grade to 12th Grade, and I will continue to excel my skills. The process was very rigorous, and by no means, easy. I have spent hours after hours looking through my archives of quality writing, and I have various pieces to show my growth.

Below Is a piece of writing I did during my 11th Grade year.

Spectacular Now Monologue- March 2015


Have you ever felt you might just be the biggest joke ever? Like you want to be rich, famous and remembered for something great but all you can do is hang up shirts and get paid and be known for being an alcoholic? Well I’ve been there many times before. Like, more than I can count. Well, on my hands at least. Never have I cared about anything but downing my daily alcohol, seeing my girlfriend,  and partying with Ricky, who was my wingman. I also find myself staring at my feet when walking. It's weird. Whatever. Anyway, I thought i was on the right track when I thought that me and my now ex girlfriend was gonna move to St Louis while she chases her dreams through college. I was about to, but once I met my father, then it hit me. I'm suppose to be a drunken failure with social smarts. So here I go, cutting my co-supportive relationship with someone who mattered the most, pushing my family away because my mom refuses to get a new job and my sister is just another bratty sibling. Of Course, school didn't work out so i got one less burden on my back. But here I am ready to disappear. My name, is Sutter Keely. I'm from Oklahoma City, and I'm living the spectacular now.



<Tharp, Tim. The Spectacular Now. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 2008. Print.>



Tags: Jonas, 2016, capstone
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Wilson Biggs Capstone

Posted by Wilson Biggs in Capstone - Jonas - Wed on Thursday, May 19, 2016 at 7:22 pm

Abstract

Coming up with a capstone was fairly easily. It was practically handed right to me. My friend Nebil told me that Zack was planning to do a house band" for his capstone. I saw this as the perfect oppurtunity - I would work with his band to get a few songs recorded and published onto CD for my capstone! Zack assented, so we began!

Over the course of the year, me and Zack's band, which, in the end, included Nebil Ibrahim (senior, bass), Kia DaSilva (junior, piano + vocals), and Adnan (senior, guitar; used to go to SLA), worked together to practice three songs to being able to record them. It really helped to have a stepfather, Ted, who runs his own recording studio, that could be my mentor and give me a space to use.

Once we had the songs down, we spent two evenings at Ted's recording studio recording the songs. He guided us through the recording process, leaving me with studio quality tracks for me to mix. Then, through May, I mixed the three songs, using tips from Ted and the band and guides I found online to help me get a good end result. I then used Kunaki to publish the album to CD. But the process is ongoing! We are planning to tag along to the end of the Music Club concert and sell CDs! All of the profits from the CDs are going to SLA to help them get new equipment for the music room.


http://302b.bandcamp.com/


Annotated Bibliography

Audio Animals Ltd. "How To Pan Live Drums Tutorial." Audio Animals. Audio Animals Ltd., 5 Apr. 2014. Web.


While this source isn’t the most polished and professional looking visually, the content is what counts. The graphics in the tutorial were immensely helpful, as they gave me a starting point for panning the drums in the songs, which helped them sound much more realistic and less cramped. I referenced it constantly when mixing the drums in the tracks.


This source is quite credible, as it was written by a group that runs not only the website it was posted on, but also a mixing and mastering house, recording studio, and record label. That shows how much experience with the subject the writers had when writing the tutorial.




"Mixing Top and Bottom Snare." /r/AudioEngineering. Reddit, 10 Apr. 2015. Web.


This source is a conglomeration of answers to a user’s question about mixing snare drums that have been recorded in two tracks: a top snare and a bottom snare. This is how the snare was recorded for our songs as well, and I was unsure what to do with them, so this helped a lot. There were a lot of ideas expressed in the responses, which gave me some ideas of my own. I ended up muting the bottom snare on all of the tracks, as it sounded better without it, but without the response by “aderra”, I would never have thought of just doing that.


This source is probably the least credible of all of my sources, as it is an open forum, but it is still credible, as there are many responses by professionals in the industry with experience with this subject.




Bandcamp. "Bandcamp for Artists." Bandcamp. Bandcamp, n.d. Web.


This source explained how I could use Bandcamp to host the album digitally and allow people to listen to it and download it whenever they pleased. I decided to use the site after reading this, and it has been very easy to use because of it. It also provided general information on how payment works on the site.


It is written by the site about the site. It’s as credible as can be.




Benediktsson, Björgvin. "A Powerful ‘n’ Punchy Guide to Mixing Your Drums." Audio Issues. Audio Issues, n.d. Web.


This source helped me immensely with mixing my drums, as I wasn’t sure how to make them sound at all decent when I first began to mix the songs. The kick drum sounded dull, things were kinda all over the place, and it sounded like crap. This guide really helped me fix these issues; I now know how to make the kick and toms sound punchy, and how to use compressors when mixing drums. It also helped me mix everything else, as I wasn’t sure how to use compressors beforehand, but it described them well enough that I knew how to use them for the rest of the song.


This source is credible as the author writes these articles professionally for amateur producers in home studios; I am part of that demographic. The website has also been mentioned in a number of professional music publications, which lends it more credibility.




Benediktsson, Björgvin. "7 Advanced Guitar Mixing Techniques for an Amazing Guitar Production." Audio Issues. Audio Issues, n.d. Web.


This source helped me a lot with mixing the guitars, played by Adnan throughout the EP. I had a hard time with them sounding very harsh and clashing a lot with the piano and vocals. While panning helped this somewhat, there were still problems. This article gave me a few ideas for improving the guitar mixing; the EQing at 800hz was immensely helpful, as was EQing the reverb.


This source is the same as the one directly above: “This source is credible as the author writes these articles professionally for amateur producers in home studios; I am part of that demographic. The website has also been mentioned in a number of professional music publications, which lends it more credibility.”




Fredv. "EQ Tips Cheat Sheet." Cheatography. Added Bytes Magento Development, 15 Nov. 2011. Web.


This source was incredibly helpful and useful. I wasn’t sure where to start or how to EQ tracks before I read this source, but reading it really helped. I used it as a reference for much of my mixing, allowing me to have a better sounding mix than I would have otherwise. It also helped me solve problems I was having with some of the tracks.


This was a very credible source as the writer was an audio professional and music enthusiast. It was also commented on by many amateurs and professionals alike for how helpful and accurate it was. It’s been given a 5 star average rating based on 19 people’s ratings, which is also a sign of how credible a source it is.




Gugulethu. "Advice On Mixing Piano Sounds." TalkinMusic. TalkinMusic.com, n.d. Web.


This source helped me mix the pianos on the album. Much of the EP focused on the piano, so it was important to make it sound as good as possible. I was having problems making the piano sound realistic and not cheap, and this source allowed me to fix that problem. It goes in depth, which is helpful as well.


This source is quite credible as the author is an audio professional; he writes articles like this all the time as well. His site is used very often by home producers for tips as well. These facts lend to its credibility.




Kunaki. "Kunaki Distribution Capabilities." Kunaki. Kunaki, n.d. Web.


Kunaki is a music publishing service that allows you to sell CDs cheaply. I have read about this service before and this page on the site described how it works and convinced me to use it. CDs can be bought in bulk from the site, as well, which is the plan for selling physical CDs; we will buy a number of CDs and sell them at a higher price to generate profit for SLA to use.


This source is credible as it is written by the company about the company. How much more credible than that can you get?




PSW Staff. "Tech Tip Of The Day: Using EQ To Conquer Hum - Pro Sound Web." ProSoundWeb. ProSoundWeb.com, 29 Sept. 2010. Web.


I was having problems with some hum in the bass tracks, which was noticeable after compression and effects were added to the drums. It was a bit annoying, and I needed a way to at least quiet the hum down. This source helped with that, as it outlined the best ways to remove the hum from the track.


This source is credible as it was published on a website catered specifically to audio professionals and was written by audio professionals. It was also “provided by” (read: the website received money from) Sweetwater, a professional audio company that is very well respected.




White, Paul. "Improving Your Stereo Mixing." Sound On Sound. SOS Publications Group, Oct. 2000. Web.


This source is about panning and using stereo to your advantage when mixing tracks. This helped me mix the album and pan more than just the drums well. I used panning very often on the album because of this, allowing me to separate sounds that would clash otherwise. It also makes the track sound wider and more realistic.


This source is very, very credible. It was originally published in Sound On Sound magazine in October 2000. Sound On Sound is a professional audio magazine that has been around for many years and is followed by many professionals. It is highly touted within the music production industry for its in depth articles.

Tags: 2016, Jonas, capstone
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Raz's Capstone

Posted by Raz Reed in Capstone - Jonas - Wed on Thursday, May 19, 2016 at 6:10 pm

​ For me, coming up with my capstone was easy. Last summer I took a course in web development at the New York Code + Design Academy. I really enjoyed it and once I completed the course, I had a strong feeling that I wanted to find a career in web development. It’s a really interesting field and it’s growing more and more as years pass. So, I decided to focus my capstone on improving my knowledge and experience with web technology.
Learning by practice is the best way to learn, so that’s what I did. I started a website, and roughly every month of 2015-2016 school year, I made projects and put them on my website. These projects were mostly just web games, written in the standard web languages: Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), and JavaScript. I devised these projects with the help of my mentors, Mr. Miles and my dad. The process of making each project was designed to teach me some aspect of web development. For example, one of my projects was a jigsaw puzzle game called “Jigsaw Joust” that used a leaderboard to keep track of top times. For this, I needed a database, and that’s the area of learning that that project covered.
My website has more than the projects -- I am in Senior Computer Science and I wanted an easy way to keep track of the assignments I completed, so I put them on my GitHub account. I have provided a portal to my GitHub on the website as well as a page detailing some of my favorite projects I’ve done for the class. I also have a blog on tumblr where I have kept track of my capstone’s progress over the months.
The final product is online at http://raz1.com/.



Bibliography

NOTE: some of these sources I did not cite in MLA format because I was citing the entire website as a source.


Stack Overflow. http://stackoverflow.com/

Stack Overflow is the most popular branch of the Stack Exchange Network. Like all Stack Exchange sites, it is a question and answer forum. Stack Overflow specifically is centered around programming and coding topics. It has a system that allows users to vote for the best answer to a question, assuring that the original asker and any other viewers with the same question are answered as completely as possible.
Stack Overflow is a popular option among web developers and has been extremely useful for me over the past several months that I’ve been working on my capstone. Its voting system combined with a round-the-clock team of moderators (who are mostly professionals in computer-related subjects) makes it a very trustworthy source of information. If you have any sort of programming or coding question, chances are it’s already been asked and answered on Stack Overflow.


W3Schools Online Web Tutorials. www.w3schools.com

W3Schools is the largest online web developer information website. It offers tutorials on all the following web languages: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, SQL, Bootstrap, and jQuery. It offers quizzes and exams on these languages. It also has a YouTube channel with guides on making websites. It also offers the very useful “try-it-yourself” webpage editor, which contains examples of how a certain functionality in one of the languages works and allows the user to modify these examples and observe the result.
W3Schools has been criticized for making its content too simplified for users who are new to web development. I think this criticism is accurate but I think its simplicity is helpful -- when learning a new concept or trying to wrap your head around object-oriented programming the easy explanations and basic examples are conducive to “getting it.” For the more experienced developer, Mozilla is probably a better option.


Mozilla Developer Network. https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/

MDN, created by Mozilla, the same group who made the Firefox browser, is a community-maintained resource for web developers. It offers a thorough and detailed explanation for all functionalities of web languages such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript and NodeJS. MDN’s web APIs (application programming interfaces) are especially helpful because of their comprehensiveness and organization.
MDN is useful for the above reasons, though its guides often lack examples. Despite this, it always provides solid explanations -- for some JavaScript functions it will even show the user how the function is written (as in, it shows what the code does with more code). I believe it is best used in conjunction with W3Schools because both sites have strengths in different areas.


Firebase Web API. https://www.firebase.com/docs/web/api/

Firebase is an online application that does cloud service providing and data management. It is integrated into JavaScript as a library that allows the developer to read information from and write information to one of its servers. It was acquired by Google in 2014 and just this month underwent some big structural changes.
One of the projects I did required the use of a database. I thought that learning SQL (Structured Query Language) or one of its variants would take too long and probably delay progress on other parts of the capstone, so I tried using Firebase. I think I made the right choice in using it because it’s fairly easy to comprehend for someone who has experience with JavaScript (which I do).


Udacity Nanodegree. https://www.udacity.com/

Udacity is an online classroom offering “nanodegrees” in web development. These “nanodegrees” are certificates that one has completed the Udacity course, which takes roughly 6 to 8 weeks with a few hours spent learning per day. It was founded by Sebastian Thrun, a former Google VP and Professor of Computer Science at Stanford (read: really smart guy). Udacity also offers courses on other computer-related subjects, such as building robotic cars.
Once I’m near the end of the year I plan to start the Udacity nanodegree in web development. The goal of my capstone is to learn as much as possible this year to prepare myself for a potential career in web work, so though I have not used this source yet, it will be useful in a few months. I am waiting for the end of the year to start it because I will have more free time then to complete this fairly demanding program.


Ellingwood, Justin. “How To Launch Your Site on a New Ubuntu 14.04 Server with LAMP, SFTP, and DNS | DigitalOcean.” DigitalOcean. N.p., 13 May 2014. Web. 12 Jan. 2016. <https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-launch-your-site-on-a-new-ubuntu-14-04-server-with-lamp-sftp-and-dns>.

DigitalOcean is an online cloud infrastructure that provides developers with online servers. Basically, it’s a website hosting program. It’s the one I chose to host my website. This article I found on their forums is a guide on how to launch a website on an Ubuntu server using their service.
This source was very helpful as there isn’t a guide for this particular process anywhere else on the internet. It’s accurate, readable, and isn’t too technical. It does rely on the user’s knowledge of other process required for the launch such as installing a LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) stack, but it provides links to guides on these processes.


Carranza, Pablo. "How To Use Filezilla to Transfer and Manage Files Securely on Your VPS | DigitalOcean." DigitalOcean. N.p., 17 October 2013. Web. 12 January 2016. <https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-use-filezilla-to-transfer-and-manage-files-securely-on-your-vps>.

DigitalOcean is an online cloud infrastructure that provides developers with online servers. Basically, it’s a website hosting program. It’s the one I chose to host my website. This article I found on their forums is a guide on how to transfer and manage files using Firezilla.
This article was super useful because transferring files from my computer to the server is roughly ten percent of the time I spend working on a project. In order to make changes to my website, I have to modify its files on my machine and then upload them to the server. This process is especially necessary during debugging, when I need to make changes and until I fix whatever problem I’m having.


Ellingwood, Justin. “How To Install Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP (LAMP) stack on Ubuntu 14.04 | DigitalOcean.” DigitalOcean. N.p., 18 April 2014. Web. 14 January 2016. <https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-install-linux-apache-mysql-php-lamp-stack-on-ubuntu-14-04>.

This is another guide I found on DigitalOcean’s site that I used to launch my website. This article specifically explains how to install Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP (LAMP) on an Ubuntu server.
This article was useful to me because Linux and Apache are, for my website, necessary components. In order to manage the site’s files I need control of the terminal, which is provided by the Linux operating system, and in order to actually host the files I need a web server, which is provided by Apache. MySQL is a database language and PHP is a dynamic content language, both of which my website has alternatives for.
The guide itself, like most of the other DigitalOcean guides I have found, is very clearly written and not too technical or abstruse. It can be a little intimidating to someone who has never used the terminal before and the guide doesn’t completely parse and explain the lines it tells you to run, but it’s reasonable since the audience of this source most likely has at least some experience running shell commands.
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Clio Fleece Capstone

Posted by Clio Fleece in Capstone - Jonas - Wed on Thursday, May 19, 2016 at 5:28 pm

​ A year before I started thinking about my Capstone, my photography class watched a video made for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) called "WWF Parallax Sequence". Using only one still photo per shot, it had been animated in such a way that each picture moved in layers, giving it depth and making the video feel completely 3D and immersive. When I started brainstorming for my Capstone project, that video was one of the first things that came to mind. Although I knew I would basically have to teach myself how to use at least two new Adobe programs, I decided to continue with that idea. I had a fully-formed visual concept, but I also wanted my final video to have something more, to unite the photos in an overarching theme. Originally, I chose to photograph people doing what they were passionate about. As I started photographing, my theme evolved into only people I had previously communicated and set up a specific time with (walking around the city to find people was too unreliable), and people doing what they were passionate about as a job. In total, my final video contains photos of 10 different people, as well as sound bites from short interviews with each subject. The two questions I asked in each interview were, "What makes you stay passionate and/or motivated about what you do?" and "What are some of the challenges you've faced trying to do what you love full-time, and how have you overcome them?" Enjoy!

"WWF PARALLAX SEQUENCE" (referenced above)

My Capstone Video

Annotated Bibliography
Tags: Jonas, 2016, capstone
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Bella Mezzaroba Capstone

Posted by Bella Mezzaroba in Capstone - Jonas - Wed on Thursday, May 19, 2016 at 3:19 pm

For my capstone, I hosted a fundraiser  in support of an organization based in Panama called the Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project. The organization acts as a Noah’s ark for endangered amphibians and is currently researching a disease called Chytridiomycosis, a fungal infection responsible for a number of frog species going extinct.

I held bake sales to raise initial funds to purchase food, decorations, and raffle items for the event. I met with numerous people to help me iron out the logistics of event planning. The event itself was held on April 28th in SLA’s cafe. There was food, live music, a raffle and a speech made by me. There were a few other elements such as a “Write a Note to the Frogs” station where attendees could write a note on a frog cutout about their feelings on amphibians. My own pet frog was the guest of honor. At the end of the event, we raised about $200 for the Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project.

I chose to focus on Chytridiomycosis and amphibian conservation because it is a cause near and dear to my heart. Frogs and toads have always been an important part of my life. They’re such intricate and integral creatures that I feel do not get enough attention. A decline in frog population is a clear message that our environment is in danger. I truly believe that fighting for frog conservation is a step in the right direction for not only the amphibians themselves, but for environmental stability.

Link to Presentation
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1vwlFwRzVoqq5NHO5B2lC5S1cr12cYKcrk6TaSOxoNsc/edit?usp=sharing

Annotated Bibliography


"Frightening Statistics." Amphibian Ark. Amphibian Ark, n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2016.


This page is from the Amphibian Ark, the umbrella organization for the Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project. On this page, various statistics on frog population decline are presented. 165 frog species are thought to be extinct in the wild and 500 species are believed to be threatened so immensely that extinction cannot be staved off. These type of staggering statistics are the reason I chose to undertake this project.


This source is reputable and reliable. The Amphibian Ark is a leading organization in frog conservation and their work is well recognized. The statistics are backed by various research institutions, all of which are reliable as well.


"Chytrid Fungus." The Amphibian Chytrid Fungus and Chytridiomycosis. Amphibian Ark, n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2016.


This is another publication from Amphibian Ark. This one is an extensive overview of the chytrid fungus and what is can cause in frogs. It breaks down the biological jargon that may be hard to understand to someone who isn’t learned in fungal infections. Basically, Chytrid is a type of fungus with over 1,000 types, thriving in moist and wet environments. The species of Chytrid that is infecting frogs is called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis or Bd. Bd is the only Chytrid fungus that affects vertebrates


The only reason I would question this source’s reliability is the lack of named authors. I trust that the Amphibian Ark put out reliable information but, in order for this source to be doubtlessly trustworthy.



"Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project." Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project. N.p., n.d.   Web. 05 Feb. 2016.


This is the organization in which I am donating the funds I gather from this project. It is called the Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project and is working to conserve frog species in . It’s an organization under the Amphibian Ark (AARK), an umbrella organization that encompasses other similar projects dedicated to the conservation of amphibians. The three principal partners are the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the Conservation Breeding Specialists and the Amphibian Specialist Group. Currently, there are 30 frog species that have been identified by AARK as priority rescue species.


This organization is working to fight a disease called chytridiomycosis which is caused by a bacteria called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). Currently, the Amphibian Rescue is working on researching the bacteria and possible cures for it.


"Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project." Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.


This is a video put out by the Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project. The video summarizes everything that’s happening in Central America concerning the bacterial disease. It uses persuasive methods common in PSA’s. I actually intend on using some of these tactics when I make my posters. It’s a helpful PSA and I plan on using the video itself at my event.


The video is made by Amphibian Ark, which is a reliable source. Therefore, I feel that the information presented can be trusted and I have no qualms of using this video to help further my cause.


Chytridiomycosis (amphibian Chytrid Fungus Disease). Canberra: Dept. of the Environment and Heritage, Natural Heritage Trust, 2004. Web.


This is an article published by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources about Chytridiomycosis and it’s presence in Northern America. According to the publication, there are 14 confirmed amphibian species in Ohio that are afflicted with the disease. This source is a detailed report of the effects of Chytridiomycosis in the United States. The work that the Panama Conservation Centers are doing will help environmental programs across the world.


This source is very reliable. It was published by a governmental department in the state of Ohio.

This source is a published report done by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources of their findings concerning the fungal disease. I trust that the claims they make are reasonably made.


Groves, Eric. "Organizing Perfect Events." Small Business Trends. N.p., 21 Jan. 2010. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.


This is an article about organizing the perfect event. It gives specific tips on how to create an atmosphere before the event that promotes event inclusivity and sparks person interest. It also gives tips on how to successfully gather feedback from those who attend the event, which is something I plan on doing.


This article was written by a man named Eric Groves. The site has a short biographical snippet on him. He has over 20 years of experience with building sales and business development. He built the sales and business development departments of the organization he works for, Constant Contact. Constant Contact is a site that helps small businesses market their products. I’d consider an article written by this man reliable, as he is well informed on the subject and is a professional in his field.


Hawthorne, Randy. "5 Ways to Get More Out of Your Next Fundraising Event." Nonprofit Hub. N.p., 12 Feb. 2014. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.


This source can help me plan a successful and impactful awareness event. It’s a short and concise list of tips and tricks for getting people interested in my event. I’ve never planned an event before so this will be a very helpful source. It outlines techniques for making my cause clear and making my cause relevant which I something I know I will struggle with. I definitely need guidance for this aspect of the project.


I’d consider this source reliable. The domain is a .org and there is a listed author. The author, Randy Hawthorne, is a Professional Certified Marketer and has worked on marketing and organizational leadership to various organizations. He also does workshopping with high school students on entrepreneurship.


"How to Organise an Event to Raise Money / Awareness for Your Organisation." Knowhow Nonprofit. Just Giving, n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.


This source is about event planning and effective marketing techniques. It covers the obvious things such as how to generate interest in the event as well as logistical aspects, such as ticket sales. It also addresses the fact that, in order for an event to flourish, sponsors are almost always necessary. This page presents a series of questions that I may not have necessarily thought of prior such as, “who will help me clean up.” This website will help me plan a smooth running, detail oriented event.


I don’t know how confidently I can speak to this sources credibility. There isn’t a stated author but the domain is a .org which leads me to believe the site is mildly reputable. Overall, I don’t think this source’s credibility is even that important. I’m not using it for facts, I’m using to for help on


Rosenblum, Erica Bree, Jamie Voyles, Thomas J. Poorten, and Jason E. Stajich. "The Deadly Chytrid Fungus: A Story of an Emerging Pathogen."PLOS Pathogens:. Ed. Hiten D. Madhani. N.p., 29 Jan. 2010. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.


This source is an academic article about Chytridiomycosis. The article covers the basics, such as what the fungus is, what is does and how detrimental it has been to frog populations. This source also goes into more detail on the biological reasons this fungus is infecting amphibians.


What’s so useful about this article is that everything is cited. Every claim is cited and the authors of the articles are clearly stated with a link to a page of their credentials. All four of the authors work in biology or zoology at various Universities. This source is one of the most reliable I’ve found.

Whittaker, Kellie, and Vance Vrendenburg. "Chytridiomycosis."Chytridiomycosis. N.p., 11 May 2011. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.


This source expands upon the disease chytridiomycosis and it’s wide spread effects. The bacteria, Bd, which causes it, has been found on all continents except Antarctica. There is no cure yet for the disease. However, conservation centers, such as the one in Panama, have tried various treatment methods such as increases salinity in the water given to the frogs and increasing temperature.


I would consider this source reliable. It’s filled with claims, all of which are cited. All of the information can be credited to scholars, articles published for academic purposes, or organizations dedicated to mitigating the loss of amphibians to chytridiomycosis.



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Christian's Capstone

Posted by Christian Moore in Capstone - Jonas - Wed on Thursday, May 19, 2016 at 2:56 pm

The youth of Philadelphia need activities to keep them off the streets. Children like playing sports su ch as basketball but many can not afford it. I wanted to offer a way for teens to compete without having to put out anything financially. Fees often stop people from having opportunities to do things they enjoy.

For my capstone, I wanted to have a basketball tournament. Basketball is something that is very important to me. I know it is something others care about too. I figured that if people had the opportunity to play in a gym against competition they would take it. It took help from my friends, but I had a good turn out.

My friends helped a lot. Each person told someone they knew and almost everyone signed up. I had more teams signed up, but some couldn't make it. 

https://docs.google.com/a/scienceleadership.org/document/d/1qg5lJN1Mxwz0qigIgE2VYxTqDL8FU_nbvs6OOcPDM_U/edit?usp=sharing




Tags: 2016, Jonas
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Abuhena Hares Capstone

Posted by Rafi Hares in Capstone - Jonas - Wed on Thursday, May 19, 2016 at 2:51 pm

For my capstone I decided to work within my community. Specifically I contributed to the Bangladeshi-American community around me. I grew up watching my own community expand before my eyes. When I was a child there were very few Bangladeshi-American families around me but now there are hundreds. However, even though we grew in numbers we stagnated in social/political growth. Bangladeshi-Americans to this very day are still categorized as "asian" and this branding hurts us because we lose the characteristics which make us unique. This is the issue I chose to tackle with my capstone. My goal with this project was to help the Bangladeshi-American community become recognized as a respectable cultural, social and political group. 
To attain my goal for my capstone I researched several upcoming cultural events in my community. At this events I advocated for more political action urging more people to vote. I also showed people how to register to vote online as well as different ways to vote such as absentee voting. I was able to get many people to get interested in voting and as a result there were many people to register and vote. I knew that getting Bangladeshi-Americans to vote more would help the community get recognized by the city and politicians. I learned from this process that votes hold a lot of power, once my community organized as a voting force many politicians came to us to see how they could get our votes. Voting is powerful tool which helped my community grow. 

Digital Medium- https://docs.google.com/a/scienceleadership.org/presentation/d/1cnstfmlz7lv6Xn3L0VOxCLFcYD-Gb3VhuUgToHMVEZU/edit?usp=sharing (link to presentation/website)

Annotated Bibliography:


"Why Young, Minority, and Low-Income Citizens Don't Vote." Name. Center for American Progress, n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2016.


https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/news/2014/11/06/100627/why-young-minority-and-low-income-citizens-dont-vote/


This article talks about the groups of people in America who have been shown to have historically low turnout numbers. 34 percent of nonvoters are younger than 30. 70% of nonvoters are under the age of 50. From these statistics it can be determined that the vast majority of voters are relatively young. Furthermore 43% of all non voters are minorities (hispanic, african american, or other racial and ethnic minorities). 54% of all non voters have not completed college. 46% of all non-voters have an income of less than 30,000 dollars a year. All in all the demographic of nonvoters are minorities, have a low education, and have a low income. This accurately describes many of the Bangladeshi-americans who live in west Philadelphia.




Dye, Lee. "The Psychology of Voting." ABC News. ABC News Network, 6 Sept. 2015. Web. 04 Feb. 2016. <http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=119958&page=1>.


This article talks about the psychology behind people voting. Depending on how riveting an election is people will be more inclined to vote. If both candidates are people who are relatively without controversy than people are much less likely to vote. However if both are also equally terrible then people also will not vote. There needs to be a dynamic between good and evil candidates in order to get people interested in voting. For instance in the upcoming election Donald Trump is seen as the bad guy and Bernie Sanders is seen as the good guy. Because of this many people are invested in the upcoming election because they fear for the future of a country that is led by Donald J. Trump.



Giordano, Dom. "Those Who Don't Vote Shouldn't." Philly.com. Philly.com, n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2016. <http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20151028_Those_who_don_t_vote_shouldn_t.html>.


The statistic of voter turnout in Philadelphia during the municipal elections of 2015 were astonishing. Very few people voted compared to the overall population of Philadelphia. 23% of people said that they didn’t vote because they were busy, 16% of voters said that they weren’t interested, 8% of people said that they disliked the candidates running. These numbers are astounding because it show just how out of loop our city is with its own government. To add insult to injury the city of Philadelphia offered a 10,000 dollar cash prize to the first four people who turned up to vote. Essentially this turns our given right to vote into a joke. No better than a cash prize on the television show wipeout. Elections are not taken nearly as seriously as they should be in this city.



Jaipaul. Directory of Ethnic Resources of Philadelphia and Delaware Valley. Philadelphia: Ethnic Heritage Affairs Institute, 1976. Print.


Since 1976 the population of Bangladeshi-Americans in Philadelphia has skyrocketed. In West Philadelphia alone there are around over a thousand Bangladeshi-americans. This strong demographic of Bangladeshi people exhibit great literature, folk art, religious tradition, and linguistic aptitude. In addition the Bangladeshi-american community of West Philadelphia has established many cultural and educational organizations designed to help integrate Bangladeshi-americans into American culture. Despite this strong Background however there are very few accounts of Bangladeshi-american involvement in the political aspect of the city of Philadelphia. In fact only recently have Bangladeshi-americans started communicating with their local government as a community. This was in order to expand as existing islamic mosque to accommodate a rapidly growing community. To that point the community had been rejected twice on their plans to expand the mosque because of poor communication and a lack of formal understanding of the inner workings of the municipal government of Philadelphia. This is where improvement in the bangladeshi-american community of Philadelphia needs to happen.



Eade, John. The Politics of Community: The Bangladeshi Community in East London. Aldershot, Hants, England: Avebury, 1989. Print.


There is no reliable statistical information regarding the Bangladeshi community in east london. Bangladeshi-Americans on the census are lapped in the category of “Other/Asian” when it comes to data involving them. This misrepresentation of Bangladeshi-Americans leads to devaluing of the community as they are not properly recognized. In West Philadelphia there is no proper account of how many Bangladeshi-Americans there are. I personally have experienced there to be over a thousand, however no census will tell you this. In the eyes of many we are placed in with other indian/pakistani people despite our distinct differences. In order to gain traction as an aspiring minority there needs to be movement which raises awareness on a little known community. This movement needs to be demonstrated politically.


Rahman, Shafiqur. The Bangladeshi Diaspora in the United States after 9/11: From Obscurity to High Visibility. El Paso: LFB Scholarly Pub., 2011. Print.


This book tackles the issues plaguing Bangladeshi-Americans after the attacks on the twin towers during the infamous event 9/11. One major issue surrounding the Bangladeshi-American community is their relative obscurity towards other Americans. “in the US, as I am often told, one’s assertion of Bangladesh origins is often greeted with a blank stare or the response of “Bangladesh, where’s that?” (Nazli Kibria). It doesn’t help at all that after 9/11 muslims became branded very poorly by both the people of America and the media alike. Post 9/11 being muslim expanded beyond being a follower of a religion, it became a distinction to describe those who have beards, olive colored skin, thick eyebrows, and wear robes. This branding of “muslim” on the Bangladeshi community has no doubt hindered it development as a growing minority. In addition to be branded as indo-pakistani the title of muslim is also bestowed to all Bangladeshi-americans. As more words are coined to describe Bangladeshi-americans they become less and less Bangladeshi-americans.



Clement, Scott. "Why Don’t Americans Vote? We’re “too Busy.”."Washington Post. The Washington Post, n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2016. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/07/17/why-dont-americans-vote-were-too-busy/>.


According to U.S Elections Project 2014 yielded the lowest midterm voter turnout since 1942. 2014, unlike 1942, wasn’t a year where America was faced with the greatest threat to world peace ever. This leads to questions as to why voter turnout is so low. This article found a study from the United States Census bureau which found that 28% of eligible yet non voting americans chose being “busy” as their reason for not voting. We live in a country which describes voting as “a god given right” many of us don’t exert our right. To get more people the opportunity to vote there needs to be a stronger emphasis on other means of voting. To vote you don’t need to run to your nearest booth. There are many new ways to vote including mail in and absentee. Furthermore we can even vote early before election day even comes. The ability to vote with attending a booth needs to be more readily advertise as it would entice many more people vote leaving them without excuses such as “I’m busy.”





Lindell, Hattie. "TexElects." Moody College of Communication. Moody College of Communication The University of Texas at Austin, n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2016. <http://moody.utexas.edu/strauss/texelects/importance-voting-hattie-lindell>.


Elections determine who are the people who will be running our country. This encompasses more than just the president and his cabinet members. This includes the smaller positions which make up municipal government. The 2008 US Census Bureau says that only 63% of all people registered to vote did, however only 72% of America is registered to vote. Basically only 45% of America is even voting in these elections. Only 45% of all Americans are even voting. 55% of America isn’t voting. This means that we are missing the input of an enormous demographic people when it comes to voting.




"Different Ways to Vote." Different Ways to Vote. Cornwall Council, 5 Oct. 2015. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. <https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/elections/different-ways-to-vote/>.


This article goes over the different ways to vote in case the standard way of voting via booth isn’t possible. Postal voting allows people to vote through the mail. To vote via mail in one needs to decide who they are going to vote for ahead of the election. First you must apply to vote online through your state’s website. Next you will have your postal voting form mailed to you. You then fill out the form and mail it back to your local polling place. All of this must be done at least 11 working days before the election. You also vote through proxy voting where you have someone else vote in your place.




Fennema, Meindert, and Jean Tillie. "Civic Community, Political Participation and Political Trust of Ethnic Groups." Multikulturelle Demokratien Im Vergleich (2001): 198-217. Research Gate. Simon Fraiser University. Web. 5 Feb. 2016. <https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Meindert_Fennema/publication/253377403_Civic_Community_Political_Participation_and_Political_Trust_of_Ethnic_Groups/links/54735e5e0cf2d67fc03732d1.pdf>.


This article details the political involvement of minorities in Amsterdam in Netherlands. This study found that the involvement of minorities in the municipal elections of Amsterdam was declining. In 1994 67% of the turkish community in Amsterdam participated in the municipal elections. In 1998 only 39% participated in the municipal elections. Despite this however the turkish population is shown to be the most active minority group involved in municipal elections. Because of this they are shown to have a significantly higher political trust compared to other minority groups in Amsterdam. Furthermore an increased political trust has shown that Turks are more properly represented by the city of Amsterdam.


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