Re: Passing Law for Carrying Hand Guns on Campuses

In Sovana Dangol’s editorial “Passing law for Carrying Concealed Hand Guns on the Campuses!” she talks about how the Texas Senate is considering on passing a law that would allow individuals to carry concealed handguns to school. Dangol voices her opinion by persuading the readers that this is a bad idea. Not only are professors and students are endangered, schools will no longer be a safe environment to be in. 

This is my commentary on Dongol’s editorial:

I completely agree with you about how the public will be affected tremendously if people are allowed to carry concealed handguns to school. If everyone carried guns, chaos and violence are bound to happen anytime at any place. Although I do believe that people should have their own rights to carry a gun, they should not be able to carry it public where they have potential in hurting innocent people. Weapons should only be kept in one’s home where they are able to defend themselves if anything happens. In public, we have police officers who are trained professionals that can help us if we run into any sorts of trouble. Taking matters into our own hands will only stir up more problems. 

Of course if the bill is passed, people would still have to be over 21 years of age and must have a handgun license before they are able to carry them to school. Overall, I still think that this is a bad idea. Violence will eventually increase and will just leave the public in fear. In my opinion, I think the bill should not be passed because we already deal with a lot of school shootings and we surely do not need more of them. The safer the environment, the better place it will be to live in.  

Teacher Evaluation Editorial

Budget cuts have been the central conflict we have been facing in the city of Austin and as well as the whole state of Texas. One of branches that are greatly affected by the budget cut is the education branch for public K-12 schools and higher education. Because jobs are harder to find in this recession, education board members are trying to filter out the teachers that will be the best fit to educate the students and be able to exceed teaching standards to provide more knowledge for the students. 

The Texas Senate recently passed a bill that will enable school boards to evaluate teachers on their performance in the classroom. This bill makes sense that we are trying to filter out the best teachers the school board needs for their district but this idea is not completely reasonable. Millions of people go to college to get their degree and become professional educators. They have to spend at least 4 years of their life to go through college and also take an examination that allows them to be teachers. New teachers who are just starting out needs the experience to develop their teaching skills need the job just as much as the experienced teachers. Even though the experienced teachers understand more about the teaching environment and norms, they are also constantly needed to conform to new teaching methods and technology just as much as the newer teachers. 

Teachers cannot be evaluated solely based on the numbers: attendance, passing rates, and test scores. Although the numbers are important in recognizing the teacher’s effectiveness, the evaluators must consider the environment and standards expected of the students in that area. A teacher that is teaching in a low-funded or poor school district shouldn’t be judged on the passing rates of their students because those students are more likely to struggle academically. This applies likewise to the higher-funded school districts. 

Every aspect of from the teaching environment, to the numbers, and to the effectiveness should be considered when evaluating a teacher. The school board could evaluate teachers by asking the people that witness their teachings directly, the students. Some students might have different attitudes towards their teacher but they are the ones that really get to interact and see the teacher’s teaching ability. This teacher evaluation can either improve the standards for our future teachers or it can worsen them.

Death Penalty in Texas

 In the editorial about the Death Penalty in Texas, Asad talks about the unjust criminal justice system that sentences people the death penalty without the option of reversing the order. The death penalty has surely been a main factor in the amounts of deaths in the United States and in Texas over the decades. Our criminal justice system has no basis for deciding whether an individual deserves or does not deserve to live.

Here is my comment on Asad's blog:

I completely agree with you about how the death penalty is promoting killing as an OK solution to many criminal cases nowadays. Individuals who commit crimes should always be penalized for their actions by going to prison or be locked up for the rest of their lives but giving them the death penalty is too harsh. We all make mistakes, some worse than others, but justice will eventually be served if it is meant to be. We are all only human so it’s not really up to us to decide who gets to live and who gets to die. The U.S and Texas criminal justice system needs to be adjusted to at least lower the number of death penalties first before actually eliminating the whole thing. The job of the criminal justice system should only be to serve justice by finding the guilty people and putting them away, not killing them all. Leaving the person locked up in prison for the rest of their life will surely give them plenty of time to reflect on their actions and live with them for the rest of their life. Since executions cost more than life in prison, both Texas and the U.S could really save a lot of money.

Overall, this was a very informative editorial about the death penalty costs and crime rates. I do have a few suggestions on improving the editorial by providing more statistical facts about the number of death executions in the United States, as well as the number in Texas. Along with the statistics, you can improve the editorial even more if you give suggestions about the alternatives there is to the death penalties and life sentences. Even though I believe that we shouldn’t give criminals the death sentence, I do believe that after a person commits a serious crime like murder and homicide, they should be locked up for a very long time. The more serious the case, the longer they have to remain in prison. Letting criminals go back to live a normal life after committing a serious crime puts the public in risk and endangers the innocent people from being harmed. Because there are innocent people who are sent away, the criminal justice system should really take its time and focus on the case before sentencing people into prison. Justice might not be served right away but I believe that it will eventually come back and help the people who are innocent.

Texas State and Local Government – Budget Cuts

Every two years, Texas sets a budget for the spending of the state in the upcoming two years. With the economic recession taking over the United States, Texas is starting to feel the pressure to maintain a balanced amount of revenue and spendings so that the state will not go into further debt. With a generalized budget cut for the whole state, areas such as the health and human services portion, the business portion, and the public and higher education portion. 

One of the main concerns for the public and higher education budget cut is that teachers are losing their jobs, schools are closing down, and students might not be able to receive the education necessary in order to succeed. I think the budget cut for the public and higher education is outrageous because we are practically preventing any form of innovations and improvements for the future. As time passes by, the older generation will slowly move aside for the newer generation to take over. Because the amount of success a person has is based on the amount of education they receive, it is relevant to invest more into it than pull away from it. 

Even though the United States is facing an economic recession right now, we still need to focus on what is more important to our future. Even if the public and higher education budget is cut, it should not be cut by a substantial $7 billion dollars. The budget cut focuses mainly in the state of Texas but this budget cut can set a trend for the future. If we don’t make the change now, it might be too late to change in the future. The future generation deserves a better education because they will eventually take over and shape the world with their own influences.

Zaffirini Throws a Lifeline

In the article “Zaffirini Throws a Lifeline,”written on March 17, 2011 from the Texas Monthly, Nate Blakeslee talks about Senator Jane Nelson and her fight for programs that fund HIV medication for citizens of Texas. Nelson, a committee member of Medicaid, believes this is too much of a passionate subject for her to vote against its funding. Many of her recommendations were moved into the full Finance committee that she did not to get to hear the final choice about the budget cuts. 

Blakeslee’s intended audience primary is focused on the older, and more informed generation of people who read into politics in Texas. Health care issues are one of the most important issues that are going on in Texas right now and especially with many budget cuts from the state, it is important for the audience to understand what is happening. Not only does this focus on politics readers, it also concerns the Texas citizens that rely on Medicaid or need health support because they are the ones that will be affected. As the younger generation is expanding, it is important to keep them safe with the HIV medication in case something does happen.

The author, Nate Blakeslee, uses logical and emotional appeals through his writing to influence his readers. Because there is a person fighting and looking out for citizens of Texas, more readers may also feel passionate about this subject. Blakeslee quotes Senator Nelson by adding the quote, “’I considered voting ‘yes’ to move the process along, but I couldn’t do it. I feel too passionately about these issues. And there were people who told me if you vote “no” you can’t get on the conference committee. That’s not a factor. I have to do my best work.’” This quote shows that there are still people who actually fight for the rights of citizens.

Overall I agree with the author is conveying the Senator as a citizen-focused representative. With increased numbers of HIV and other diseases, it is crucial to have a proper funding for citizens in case of danger.

Austin Communities Can Help Shape Schools' Future

Mark Williams, a member of the AISD Board of Trustees, recently wrote a commentary article on February 24, 2011 about the schools in Austin facing budget cuts from the state government. The government is trying to find ways to optimize use of campuses and ultimately reduce spending to ease the budget deficit in Texas. In his article, "Willliams: The Austin community can help shape schools' future," he address the idea that Austinites still have an opportunity to have a say on public educational funding since public education is based on the taxes of Texas citizens. With the possibility of school closures, school staff members, families, and students will be tremendously affected in the future. He writes, the AISD school district could “face an annual budget shortfall ranging from $79 million to more than $170 million.”

Williams uses logical and emotional appeals to encourage the people of the Austin community to come to the Community Dialogue meetings and give in their input since the outcomes will ultimately affect them the most. This way, school districts will be able to interact with the community and ultimately make their decisions on the public education budget. The Board has “an obligation to inform (and provide assistance to) those affected as soon as possible.” Williams promises as a member of the Board of Trustees, he and other members are “committed in preparing our community's young people for college, careers and life.” From this statement, we can trust that Williams and the Board of Trustees are doing their best to bring the future of communities in Texas back on track.

Overall, I agree with Williams’ standpoint on this issue of public input on education. Because public education in Texas is based on tax dollars from citizens, we have to be more involved in order to benefit from our investments. I believe that citizens can really make a difference since our votes matter more locally over nationally. If we are able to solve local issues, there is a possibility that we can slowly solve statewide issues.  Education will surely be a big part of Texas and the citizens that live here in the future.

Abortion Bill Reveals Split Among Texas Senate Democrats

In the article from Feburary 10, 2011, "For Texas Senate Dems, Abortion Bill Reveals Split" by Julian Aguilar from The Texas Tribune, the future of abortion in Texas is in debate.  The abortion bill that is being reviewed now mandates that a doctor perform a sonogram 24 hours before the procedure. In addition to the sonogram, the doctor must play the audio of the heartbeat and show the woman the images of the fetus. The woman will have a chance to deny listening to the audio or look at the images but she must hear a description of the fetus. With these extra services, it might help the woman change her mind on the procedure. In this article, senators express their reasons on why they are pro-life or pro-choice. Senators who are pro-life explain that they were raised under the Catholic religion that ultimately influenced their view on this issue. In their Catholic view, abortion would just be another form of murder, killing the potential life the baby could have in the future. In contrast to the pro-life supporters, the pro-choice senators focus on the rights of women and that the government should not interfere with it. The pro-choice supporters believe that it would ultimately be the woman's right to decide after evaluation of her options.

I think this article is worth reading because this is one of the most debated issues at the state and national level involving a person's rights and the government's authority. This issue is very subtle that it cannot be decided in total favor of pro-life or pro-choice. As the debate go on, more details will be revealed on the abortion issue.