Trump picks retired Gen. John Kelly to lead DHS

CNN

December 16, 2016 | Unit 3: Migration

Synopsis

Donald Trump has chosen retired General John Kelly to serve as his head of the Department of Homeland Security. Gen. Kelly has served in the Marine Corps for over 40 years, where he reached the ranking of head of US Southern Command. This position part him in charge of criminal drug networks in South and Central America, an area that Trump talked much about during his campaign in regards to immigration. As director of Homeland Security, Kelly would be in charge of many of the rules and regulations of immigration, and, in Trump's case, would play a pivotal role in the building of the proposed border wall.

Analysis

Created to solve the problems of immigration into our country, the Department of Homeland Security was created under the Bush administration, meaning that John Kelly would be one of the first to serve as head of it. While he may be more qualified for the role than the man appointing him, there is still some controversy surrounding John Kelly, meaning that he is still not the perfect candidate. In addition, Kelly would also likely support Trump in his proposal of a border wall, another controversial topic itself, especially in regards to immigration and unauthorized immigrants in our country. It will be interesting to see how he serves in securing our country's borders and preventing terrorism from taking place in our country. This article relates to human geography because it discusses who the next person in charge of immigration into our country will be.

UConn Not Sanctuary Campus but Will Help Immigrant Students

ABC News

December 9, 2016 | Unit 3: Migration

Synopsis

The University of Connecticut's President Susan Herbst has said in an email that the school's police will not ask any students of their immigration status, and that the school will not detain any undocumented immigrants. While these procedures will be enacted, the school can still not become a sanctuary campus. Many of UConn's students that are undocumented immigrants fear that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, which is what allows them to be students at UConn, will be reversed now that Donald Trump has been elected president. Even if a student does get deported, UConn has promised to help ensure that that student will still be able to recieve an education in the country which they are going to. In addition, other colleges across the United States have stated procedures similar to those of UConn.

Analysis

This article was chosen due to what was discussed in class about it. It does make sense that UConn, a university that is in a blue state, would adopt a liberal policy regarding how it deals with undocumented immigrant students. While the policy will not completely protect its students from deportation, it is a step in the right direction in ensuring that the students are not deported simply because their families wanted a better life. It is also good to hear that UConn will provide support for its students that do get deported, so that those students do not lose their education. This article relates to human geography because it discuss how UConn will be adopting a policy that will help in protecting its undocumented immigrant students.

Mexicans fret over coming immigration changes under Trump administration

Fox News

December 2, 2016 | Unit 3: Migration

Synopsis

With Donald Trump being elected as President of the United States, people on both sides of the US-Mexican border are preparing for what is to come under his administration. Trump has stated many proposals on immigration, and had in particular focused on Mexico. Trump has called for a mass deportation of unauthorized immigrant criminals, who would flood Mexican cities situated on the border. This would cause a problem, as these areas already have difficulty sustaining the people that live there currently.Mexican officials have begun to plan in case such actions do occur. In addition, another one of Trump's proposals, the building of a border-wall, has raised some concerns over finance, as Trump has stated that Mexico will pay for this wall.

Analysis

Similar to the last current event, this one also focuses on what a Trump administration will do to United States immigration policy. This week focuses on possible his biggest plans, which are for the deportation of unauthorized immigrant criminals and the construction of a wall. While most people can agree that we should not have criminals in this country, we cannot simply dump them into Mexico without providing support for the country. As the article discusses, such deportation would negatively affect the areas surrounding the border. The other issue, the wall, also has some problems to work around, the largest being the cost. Trump has stated that Mexico will pay for this wall, however, Mexican officials have stated multiple times that they will do no such things. This article relates to human geography because it discusses immigration and new policies being proposed by President-elect Donald Trump.

Students Walk Out in Day of Protest Against Trump Immigration Plans

NBC News

November 17, 2016 | Unit 3: Migration

Synopsis

At New York and New Jersey University, students walked out of class in protest to Trump's plans to deport illegal immigrants. At many other campuses across the country, similar demonstrations were also held. After Donald Trump was elected as the next president of the United States, many people began to take action as to how they could stop many of his proposed reforms on immigration from taking place. A large rally was also held at Yale University in response to Trump's words. Many democratic US mayors have stated that they will try to do whatever they can to ensure that their city's residents do not get deported. In Portland, protests became violent, resulting in what the police called a "riot".

Analysis

Donald Trump has never been one to shy away from making controversial statements, and his statements on immigration are no different. Trump has called for illegal immigrants to be deported, and also briefly said that he wanted to place a ban on Muslims from immigrating into the country. In response to this, many people have actually protested his actions, some of which have resulted in violence. In particular, many college students, whose liberal viewpoints tend to contradict the conservative viewpoints of Trump, have organized demonstrations to show their dissatisfaction for the president-elect. This article relates to human geography because it shows how many people have taken action against the United States new leader's plans regarding immigration and migration.

Male birth control shot found effective, but side effects cut study short

CNN
November 4, 2016 | Unit 2: Population

Synopsis

A new study, conducted by health centers around the world and co-sponsored by the United Nations, found a birth control shot for men that prevented pregnancies to women. Prior to this study, much of the responsibility for birth control was placed on the woman. This study is the first in aseries of steps to allow men to play a larger role in their responsibilities of birth control.The shot contained multiple hormones, which reduced the production of sperm in men. With a lack of sperm, the men were ineffective in causing pregnancies in their partners. However, further study has been cut short due to negative side effects, such as severe depression, muscle pains, and increased acne. 75% of the men involved stated that they would want to use the product again, which may mean that the shot will be a popular choice once the side effects are worked out and the method is made available.

Analysis

The idea that one day the responsibility of preventing pregnancies may fall upon men is quite hard to believe. However, this article shows that scientists are moving in that direction. Due to the effectiveness of the shot, the crude birth rate of many countries would decline, as many pregnancies would be prevented. In addition, the total fertility rate would also decrease, as males would not be able to get females pregnant. This article relates to human geography because it shows how the population of certain countries could continue to decline with breakthroughs such as these in preventing pregnancies. Currently, one of the ways to decrease birth rates is to educate people, in particular women, about birth control and family planning. However, this shot would allow men to also need an education in family planning, as the responsibility to prevent a pregnancy would be placed on the shoulders of men.

Japan’s population declines in 2015 for first time since 1920

The Japan Times
October 28, 2016 | Unit 2: Population

Synopsis

For the first time since the census began in 1920, Japan's population has declined. The census, which is collected every five years, shows that in 2010 Japan's population was 128,057,352 while in 2015 it was 127,094,745, which resulted in a decline of 947,305 people. People aged 65 or older hit a record high of 26.6 percent of the total population while people aged 14 and younger hit a record low of 12.6 percent. Japan is still the 10th most populous country in the world, but it was the only country of the top 20 to have its population decline. Of the 127,094,745 people in Japan, 1,752,368 were not of Japanese descent.

Analysis

Similar to last weeks article, this one discusses a population declining in size. However, this one deals with Japan and the present day. When the article discussed the sizes of age groups in the population, it drew to mind a population pyramid. In this situation, the population pyramid would be flipped, as the older population at the top would be larger than the younger population at the bottom. In addition, this article was interesting because it discussed the size of different nationalities inside Japan. Japanese made up the largest group by far. They were followed by in turn Chinese and then North and South Koreans. This article relates to what is being learned in class because it discusses how Japan, one of the world's most populous countries, is beginning to decrease in size. 

Spain's Population Set to Drop 11% by 2050

The Guardian

October 21, 2016 | Unit 2: Population

Synopsis

By 2050, it is estimated that the population of Spain will decrease by 11%. This translates to about 5.3 million people. At this point, the majority of the population will be the elderly and single people. The life expectancy is expected to increase from 80 years old to 88 for men and 85 to 91 for women. While the total fertility rate is expected to increase, the amount of women having children is expected to decrease, resulting in a lower population. In addition, immigration into Spain is expected to have higher numbers than emigration from Spain, but not large enough to stop the population from decreasing.

Analysis

This article shows how human geographers have predicted how the population of Spain will change in the future. In the article, the author mentions multiple reasons why the population will be decreasing. One of these is due to a low young population. Because Spain has and will continue to have a low young population, there will not be as many people around to create new children. This builds up, as each generation becomes smaller than the one before it. Contrary to this, the total fertility rate will increase, as a single woman will have more children in the future than she will now. This will only slow down the decrease in population, as there will still not be enough women to actually give birth to children. This article relates to what is being learned in class because it discusses the population of a country. It identifies factors that will cause Spain's population to change in the near future, which is similar to what is being studied in class.  

New Tennessee standards fail to incorporate geography

The Tennessean

October 7, 2016  |  Unit 1: Geography: Its Nature and Perspectives

Synopsis

The State Board of Education of Tennessee has revised their social studies standards in their schools, resulting in a lack of education in geography. Now, the only mandatory class to teach geography throughout the K-12 education system is the third grade, which does not get focused on much due to math and reading. This will cause a problem because jobs in geospatial technology are increasing in importance, due to the modern day reliance on GPS. GPS is used in navigation and any place-based smartphone applications, such as social media apps, and is being implemented in self-driving cars. Without the early education in geography, many students will fail to find jobs in the growing field of geography.

Analysis

This article relates directly to the class of AP Human Geography as well as the use of geography in the real world. According to the article, the geospatial industry is a multi-billion dollar one, and is growing at about 25 percent per year. Without an early exposure to geography, many students will lack the necessary skills to become successful in this line of work. Among these skills is the need to use and understand GPS. In this day and age, GPS has become more important due to its implication in modern day technology such as self-driving cars. Geography is also needed to be taught due to the need to understand GIScience. This article relates to what is being learned in class because it describes why education in geography is important, which is what is being taught in class.

Australia Is Not as Down Under as Everyone Thinks It Is
The New York Times
September 30, 2016  |  Unit 1: Geography: Its Nature and Perspectives

Synopsis

Australia's longitude and latitude coordinates need to be updated. This is because the plate tectonics that the continent is situated on has been moving about 2.7 inches north per year. The change is needed due to new technology. With technologies such as driverless cars being produced that rely heavily on GPS in order to determine where the object is, extreme precision is needed so that people are not in the wrong place. If the coordinates are updated, then the GPS will correctly read where an object is.

Analysis

This story is an interesting one. Even though the change of 2.7 inches per year seems minimal, overtime it adds up. If the longitude and latitude aren't updated, then a GPS will read incorrectly because the point you are trying to find will have shifted. This means that something as simple as trying to find a place to eat will be more difficult because the GPS will appear to be reading wrong, when it isn't. The place has just shifted location while the longitude and latitude haven't.

This relates to what is being learned in class because it involves longitude, latitude and GPS. The article is about geography because it describes how Australia is not exactly where people think it is.