The First Amendment

The First Amendment is a part of the United States Constitution Bill of Rights; it prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, hinders the free exercise of religion, that violates the freedom of speech or the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to assemble peacefully or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances. The First Amendment, along with the rest of the Bill of Rights, was submitted to the states for ratification on September 25, 1789. However, it wasn't officially adopted until December 15, 1791.

Much of the opposition of the Constitution sprung from the fact that it did not contain an adequate guarantee of civil liberties. In order to provide people with such guarantees, the Bill of Rights and the First Amendment were put into place. This assured people that they had "certain inalienable rights" that nobody could take away.

The purpose of the First Amendment is to prohibit the establishment of a national religion by the Congress or the preference of one religion over another, non-religion over religion, etc. It is also in place to ensure freedom of speech and the press. However, both freedom of speech and freedom of press are limited by numerous restrictions. And lastly, the First Amendment ensures the freedom of assembly and petition.

The First Amendment is vital to the current American culture. Without the freedoms that this amendment provides, life as we (Americans) know it, would change drastically. The ways in which people discover information, such as television, newspapers, Internet, etc. would all be changed if the First Amendment did not ensure freedom of press or freedom of speech. Without the First Amendment Americans would also not have the freedom to choose a religion; Americans would also be subject to a president imposing his religious views on the entire country. Also, without the First Amendment, citizens would not have the right to petition.

In conclusion, the First Amendment has an immense effect on America. Without it, life in America would be vastly different. Even everyday life for individuals would radically change. I believe that the First Amendment has had huge implications in America. In my opinion, it is a big reason for our culture transforming into what it has.

Blog 2-1 (Proposition 24)

Proposition 24, also known as the "Repeal Corporate Tax Loopholes Act", will ultimately destroy the economy in California. It repeals recent legislation that would allow businesses to lower tax liability and shift operating losses to previous tax years. It also repeals recent legislation that would allow corporations to share tax funding with other corporations in affiliation with them.

The purpose of Proposition 24 is to repeal the laws set in place in 2008-2009, which allowed businesses to lower their tax liability. The goal of prop 24 is to put an end to the tax breaks that large corporations are receiving. This is mainly targeted at the corporations that do not meet the requirements to create new jobs or to stop shipping current jobs overseas. This proposition is also meant to refute the three laws that allowed corporations more tax breaks, while personal income tax, state sales tax, and vehicle license fees were all raised by the Governor and Legislature.

Regardless of where the tax money comes from, it will fund things such as public schools, healthcare, and public safety. There would be some benefits if prop 24 were passed. For example, California citizens would not have to experience constantly raising taxes. Though this seems like a great idea, this proposition has devastating implications. Because of the higher taxes that businesses would be forced to pay, many of them would be forced to close down. Others of them would even be forced to move out of California.

If the laws that were set in place in 2008-2009 were repealed, then taxes for businesses would increase dramatically. This would cause numerous business would leave California, which would a cause a dramatic dip in the economy. It would also account for more losses of jobs in California. Although the goals of prop 24 sound very ideal, if it is put into action it could potentially harm the economy much more than it could help it.

Therefore, the effects that proposition 24 would have on the Californian economy would destroy it. Paying lower taxes would be great, but not in exchange for businesses being forced to lay off workers, or just close down all together. When voting on prop 24, the long-term effects of it must be considered. It may be beneficial to pay lower taxes now, but it certainly wouldn’t be worth destroyed our state’s economy.

Senior Project 1-1

After graduating in June 2011, I plan to attend VVC for two years and then transfer to a four-year college to complete my Bachelor's Degree in business. While attending VVC, I also plan to attend beauty school and earn my cosmetology license. With my degree and cosmetology license, I hope to work in high fashion industries (with runway models, photoshoots, etc.). The ammount of money needed to attend beauty school and college is quite immense, therefore I have looked into numerous scholarships and grants that I will be and have applied for, in order to fund this schooling.



In order to pay for classes at VVC, I will be applying for FAFSA in January(applications for the 2011-2012 school year aren't being accepted until January). I used the FAFSA estimator online, and found that the ammount I will be supplied is greater than what is needed for two years at VVC, including classes and books. Once my application for FAFSA is complete, I will also be able to apply for numerous grants in efforts of funding beauty school. These grants include Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplement Educational Oppurtunity Grant, as well as financial aid programs from the beauty school I choose to attend. I have also applied for the Military Order of the Purple Heart Scholarship, the National Italian American Foundation Scholarship, and the Sally Beauty Scholarship to put towards the cost of beauty school.



While doing research for this project, I realized just how many scholarships, grants, and financial aid programs there are available for people beginning to attend college right now. This project was very useful in growing my knowlegde of different scholariships and grants that I am eligable for, in funding my future education. Once I am able to officailly apply for FAFSA in January, I will have a better idea of more grants I am eligible for, and how much money they will be supplying me with. The goal of this project was to find a way to fund my college education/beauty school without having my parents pay for it or taking out student loans. I believe that between financial aid, scholarships, and grants that I have applied for, I will have most if not all of these expenses covered.

On May 4, 1929, Audrey Kathleen van Heemstra Ruston was born in Brussels, Belgium. She was born to an English father (Joseph Hepburn-Ruston) and Dutch mother (Ella van Heemstra). Audrey’s father was an insurance agent, which required their family to move frequently. In 1934 Audrey, age 5, was sent to a boarding school in England by her mother. Her mother, Ella, even arranged for her to spend holidays with a coal miner’s family, in order to deepen her knowledge of English customs and language. At age 6, Audrey’s father left her mother and ended up settling in England. Later this year Audrey began taking ballet classes. Her inspiration to take them was going to numerous ballets in Brussels as a young girl.

Audrey’s parents were formally divorced in 1938 when she was 9 years old. Her father is given visitation rights, but fails to exercise them. Later Audrey referred to her parents’ divorce as the most traumatic event in her life. Then in 1939 greater problems arose; World War II broke out. Because Holland is neutral in the war, Ella thinks that it would be safer to stay there than England. So she moves Audrey back to Arnhem, Holland. In May, 1940 German troops and artillery marched through Arnhem and began to exploit Dutch resources. Eventually all of the Van Heemstra’s property, homes, bank accounts, securities, and jewelry were confiscated by the Germans. Because of her citizenship to Britain, Ella warns Audrey not to speak English in public. At this time, in England, Joseph Ruston was among hundreds of fascist /pro-Nazi activists imprisoned; this was unknown to Ella and Audrey.

Audrey began her first serious ballet training under Winja Marova at the Arnhem School of Music in 1941. She studied there until 1944, and became the teacher's star pupil in the process. Then in 1948 she made her first stage debut as a chorus girl in the musical High Button Shoes in London. She continued to land small roles on the British stage, but then in 1950 she became a featured actress/chorus girl in Sauce Piquate. Then in 1951 Audrey made her first film debut in One Wild Oat in an uncreditted role. She then went on to other small roles in films such as Young Wives’ Tales and The Lavender Hill Mob.

Next, at age 22, Audrey moved on to bigger and better things, Broadway. She starred in the Broadway production, Gigi; which was based on the book written by French author, Colette. The story was set in Paris in 1900 and Audrey played the part of a young woman on the brink of adulthood whose relative basically try to teach to become a gold digger. Just weeks after the play premiered, Audrey was all over news reports and other media. She was being wooed by Hollywood. Then, just two years later, she took the world by storm with the movie Roman Holliday. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in this film. She then returned to Broadway to star in the play Ondine with Mel Ferrer, for which she won the 1954 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance.

Audrey and Mel developed a relationship and on September 25, 1954, they got married in Switzerland. They later had a son named, Sean Ferrer. Audrey continued acting in movies and on Broadway. By 1961 she had received four Academy Award Nominations. Perhaps the role she is most famous for playing is Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady in 1964. In 1967 she received her fifth Academy Award nomination for the film, Wait Until Dark. Later this same year she separated from her husband and they later divorced. Then just two years later in 1969, Audrey remarried an Italian psychiatrist, Andrea Dotti, and the couple had a son, named Luca, in 1970.

After her son was born, acting took the back seat in Audrey’s life. In her later years, she did a lot of work on behalf of children. She became a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund) in the late 1980s. Audrey traveled the world in hopes of raising awareness of needy children. She was so passionate about this cause because she knew all too well what it was like to go hungry when Germans invaded The Netherlands. Audrey made over 50 trips for UNICEF projects in Asia, Africa, and Central and South America. In 1993 she won a special Academy Award for her humanitarian work; however she did not live long enough for her to receive it. Audrey died on January 20, 1993, at her home in Tolochenaz, Switzerland due to a battle with colon cancer.

Even after her death, her work to help children around the world continued. Her sons, Sean Ferrer and Luca Dotti, as well as her companion Robert Wolders, established the Audrey Hepburn Memorial Fund to continue Hepburn's humanitarian work in 1994. It is now known as the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund.

Audrey Hepburn will forever be remembered for her beauty, elegance, and grace. She is often imitated and still remains one of the greatest style icons of all time. Not only is she remembered for these things, but also for her great desire to help others. What struck me most when studying Audrey’s life was her involvement with UNICEF. She seemed to be very dedicated and passionate about this cause and proceeded to travel the world for this cause. Despite the fact that most people remember her for her acting skills, she also has been remembered for her generosity.

Most Important Thing I've Learned This Year

The most important thing I've learned about this year so far is the 1930's Dust Bowl. Before we learned about it this year I had heard of it but I had no idea how much devastation it had caused. The Dust Bowl caused 500,000 Americans to become homeless. Many people also had died of malnutrition and dust pneumonia.

Before the Dust Bowl hit, many people were moving to the Great Plains because of the prosperity in farming. Most of the reason behind the Dust Bowl was simply due to drought, however some of it came from poor farming techniques that were being used. These techniques led to erosion on the land. when a dust storm would blow throught the Great Plains it covered over 100,000,000 acres.

Conditions became so bad that the government had to set up many relief activities and agricultural plans to save the land. With new farming plans implimented, the blowing soil had been reduced by 65% by 1938. This drought finally ended in 1939 when regular rainfall returned. This was the most interesting and important thing I have learned so far this year.

Thrid Quarter Project

Fashion of the 1920s and How Coco Chanel Influenced It

After the end of World War I American history came to a major turning point. Many of the changes made after WWI affected the lives of women. After the war ended women got the right to vote, entered the workforce in record number, etc. During this period after the war social customs and morals were relaxed, and as a result there was a revolution in every aspect of Americans’ lives.

One thing that changed drastically in the “roaring 20s” was women’s fashion. Clothing changed with the changing roles of women in society. Most of the older women in the society continued to wear long dresses and kept their conservative look. The younger women in the society caused sportswear to be the greatest change in post war fashion. The biggest part of this change in fashion was the disregarding of the restricting corset.

In the 1920s female clothes became looser and more shapeless in fit. The bust was suppressed, the waist disappeared, the shoulders became broader and hair was worn shorter and shorter. Narrow boyish hips were preferred. This desired silhouette caused womanly curves to be eliminated. A tanned body and face of a 15 year old became the desired look of the bright young women of the 1920s. Health and beauty clubs helped women refine their silhouettes while they also got fitter and healthier.

Flappers were the iconoclast of fashion in the 1920s. Flappers did not truly emerge until 1926. Flapper fashion embraced all things and styles modern. Flappers wore short, shapeless shift dresses that exposed limbs unlike any dresses worn before. They wore makeup and wore their hair in a short, sleek bob, which was uncommon since in those days it was more common for women to keep their hair long.

Flappers also wore cloche hats in the 20s. Cloche hats told people that you had stylish, short hair. These hats fit extremely snug to the head. It was only possible to wear a cloche hat if you had short, flat hair. The cloche hat was worn pulled down over the eyes so that none of the forehead was visible.

There were many designers that greatly contributed to the change of fashion in the 1920s, but the woman with the greatest influence on fashion was Coco Chanel. She was born in 1883 in Saumur as Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel. Her mother died when she was only 6 years old and her father abandoned her and her 4 siblings. She grew up in a French orphanage. She took on the name, Coco, when she was a café singer in the years 1905-1908.

In 1912 Coco was helped out financially by a wealthy aristocrat, named Arthur Capel. He supplied funds for her first shop front, which opened in 1913. It was a milliner (hat shop). However, it wasn't until the 1920s that she really got the ball rolling. It was during a time of distress (the Great Depression) that Chanel opened her now historically famous shop at 31 rue Cambon. A few years later, around the mid 20s, Chanel's designs became more popular and word of her designs and stores were spreading to those who could afford it.

Chanel also incorporated ideas from male wardrobe into her designs. The idea of "defeminizing" womens' clothing during that time period was greatly desired. This is because women wanted to be seen as equals to the men. This also allowed women to participate in spots and outdoor activities. Coco Chanel was credited with creating the fabric, jersey. She made many of her dresses out of jersey because it is light and easy to move in. She also created haut couture, today what we call high fashion. I am convinced that without her influence on fashion, things would not be nearly the same in the fashion industry today.

The fashion revolution that occurred in the 1920s could be the greatest ever in history. It is said to be the first time in history that the older women in the society began to imitate the styles being worn by the younger generations. These changes in fashion in the 20s changed fashion forever. The designs sold by Coco Chanel are those that define the fashion of the 20s. Not only does the brand that Chanel created so long ago still exist, but the fashions she created in the 20s inspire many of the things we see being worn on the red carpet today.

Peace at Versailles

The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties singed after World War I ended. This treaty ended the state of war between Germany and the allied powers. It was presented to Germany for consideration on May 7, 1919. The German government was given three weeks to accept the terms of the treaty. They responded to the treaty with a long list of complaints.

The negotiations in the treaty were considered quite controversial. "Germany to accept sole responsibility for causing the war and, under the terms of articles 231–248 (later known as the War Guilt clauses), to disarm, make substantial territorial concessions and pay reparations to certain countries that had formed the Entente."

The sum of money needed to make these reparations would take Germany until 1988 to pay off, so they were deemed excessive. The treaty was greatly weakened by later events that started in 1932. By the mid 1930s the treaty was widely disregarded.

The opposing ideas about the treaty caused the war to end with neither side getting what they wanted. Germany was not pacified or conciliated. Germany wasn't permanently weakened either. This proved to be a great factor in the beginning of the second World War.

In conclusion, the Treaty of Versailles probably caused more problems than it fixed. Because of the negotiations it included, it was quite controversial. Its negotiations also caused it to become one of the leading factors that caused the breakout of World War II.