Friday, November 18, 2016

Students Walk Out in Day of Protest Against Trump Immigration Plans

November 17, 2016 | Unit 3: Migration

Image result for trump immigration

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.

Friday, November 4, 2016

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

CNN
November 4, 2016 | Unit 2: Population

Image result for male birth control

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.