Is America Great Again?

This is the third and final unit of my Senior Humanities course Journalism. In this unit, Audio, we learn all about audio journalism. We listened to different podcasts and researched the voices of the century. This was an assignment where we had to pick a voice from each decade of the 20th century that represents what happened in that time period. We did similar assignments in units 1&2 with headlines and photos. I really liked this assignment. It was a cool way to experience audio from history. For our Field Experience this unit, we went to Roosevelt University to see a photography exhibit about immigrant detention centers. This FE would have lined up better with our photography unit, but there was audio in the exhibit. For this Action Project, we had to create a podcast profiling and iconic or influential voice. I had a hard time thinking of who to profile, but when I thought about influential voices I've been hearing lately, I thought about President Donald Trump. I thought it would be interesting to interview people in 2 different parties. I ended up interviewing 2 people with opposite viewpoints. One is generally right-leaning and the other left. As the narrator, I took a neutral viewpoint. I stated facts and did not give opinions. The impact of this podcast is in the interviews. It is interesting to see 2 different people's opinions on one person. The intended audience for this podcast is anyone with an interest in current politics. The podcast is from a neutral perspective so it is not intended for either party. I produced this podcast using my phone to record, and an online audio editor. I am happy with how it came out!

WHEN	WHO/HOW	WHAT
0:00 0:05 0:13 0:30 1:21 2:07 2:17 2:24 2:33 2:37 3:17 3:33 3:35 3:50 3:55 4:20 4:26 4:57 5:07 5:12	News Intro NBC News Anchor Donald Trump CM Donald Trump & Chief Justice John Roberts. CM CM Sharon CM Sharon DS CM Sharon CM DS CM Sharon CM Donald Trump News outro THE END	Breaking news intro plays Now to the race to the White House and after decades of publicly flirting with the idea, billionaire Donald Trump says he really is running for president this time around. Ladies and Gentlemen, I am officially running for president of the United States. And we are going to make our country great again. Donald Trump was born into a wealthy family in New York. His father was a successful real-estate developer. Trump worked in his father’s company for years. Trump attended Fordham University and later the University of Pennsylvania and graduated with a degree in economics. Trump continued in his father’s footsteps taking over his father’s company. Trump is known in the television world as the host of the reality TV show “The Apprentice.” He is also known for hosting the popular “Ms. Universe” beauty pageant. Americans were divided in their opinions on Trump. His now-infamous “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan angered some and inspired others. When Donald Trump announced his presidency, Americans were divided. Donald Trump was the candidate of the Republican party competing against Democrat Hillary Clinton. Against most people’s assumptions, Trump won by a narrow margin on November 8, 2016. I, Donald John Trump solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the United States, so help me god. I wanted to know other American’s opinions on trump. Right now, I am sitting down with DS, a fellow senior, and Sharon, a humanities teacher at GCE Lab School. So, first of all, before we get to talking about Donald Trump's presidency, what did you think about Donald Trump before his election? I didn’t really have an opinion about him one way or the other. I saw his stupid television show, “The Apprentice,” and I just thought it was dumb. When you heard that Trump was running for president, did you ever think he would actually be elected? I did not think he would be elected because he is an idiot, and it was apparent if you ever watched the show. I didn’t think the American people would actually fall for this conjaw. He proclaimed that he is a great businessman, yet the man went broke running a casino. How hard is that to do? A casino is basically a license to print money and the man could not make that successful. He went bankrupt a number of times, and for him to say “I’m a great businessman,” it just didn’t resonate with me. So I think there was surprise amongst people. I personally did not think he was going to get elected, and I was surprised when he was. And then, of course, different people reacted in different ways. Some people were happy, some people were very distraught. How did you feel when he was elected? I was really sad. I cried. I thought about my partner and I moving to Canada because we felt it would be very very hard to live in an America run by Donald Trump. And it is. Do you think the divide between Americans is a good or a bad thing? I think it’s a bad thing, because I think what happens is people put themselves on the left or right and they’re swayed by what other people think in their group, rather than basing it off of their own ideas, and the more that happens, the more divided people become and then the ideas they are supporting aren’t even their own, and they don’t even fully support them sometimes. Final question. How do you think he has impacted America throughout his time as president, and in the future? I actually think one good thing he has done in all honesty is expose the racial divide that still exists in this country. A lot of people thought that after Barack Obama was elected that racism was over, that it had been solved. And the way he ran his campaign, the people he has put in office, and that he has prompted really shows that racism is alive and well. Now with the news of the impeachment hearings, we are yet to know the fate of Donald Trump’s presidency. No matter what happens, we can all agree that his presidency has made a lasting impact on America. We will make America great again! News outro plays

This I Believe...

For our first unit in our Who Am I class, we were asked to make a podcast based off of the NPR series This I Believe... We studied famous philosophers and the definition of truth, plus memories and famous allegories. We listened to a few of the NPR podcasts to get some inspiration. We also had some Field Experiences to get us motivated for our projects. The FE  I got the most out of was our trip to St. Paul's House, which is a retirement home and rehabilitation center. We were split up and half of us went to speak with the elders, and the other half did a dance and movement class. I was in the dance and movement class. It was very interesting to see how different songs triggered different emotions in these elders who were very dependent on other people. We were asked to go deep back into our memories to find a specific thing we believe in and what experiences made us believe in this. I liked this project. It was very rewarding to go back in my memories to support what I believe. I didn't really learn a lot about myself because I have always known these things that are in my head. I think the hardest part was coming up with a substantial script to fit the time requirement. The most rewarding part as always, is just having it done and having one more action project on my blog.

This is my script:

My name is Claire and I am a freshman at GCE Lab School. In my limited years on this earth, I have been led to believe in many things, some for better and some for worse.

I distinctly remember the winter of 2008, my great grandmother died at the age of 97. I was 7 years old. This was the first time I had been up to Bayfield in the winter since we had moved. Bayfield is a tiny town on the most northern tip of Wisconsin where generations of my family including me, are from. I remember rolling into town late at night coming around the S-turn coming into town, and seeing some of the biggest icicles I had ever seen. I didn’t really understand the funeral, but we went out to explore a property for sale outside of town. I remember the snow being so deep it was up to my little waist. I thought it was magical and something I wanted to last forever. I have always had a fascination with snow, this is when I really realized it was right for me.

I believe that nature has the power to make me happy. Whenever I am in nature, I feel calm. I feel happy. I get inspired for the future. I think about my future home in the woods on a ranch, on an inland lake, running a veterinary clinic, having many animals and a loving husband. It is my idyllic life. This is what motivates me. I don’t like life right now, because of the stress and where I live. But thinking about my future is what motivates me. Knowing if I can just last a few more years, I can move out and study what I want and pursue what I want to. I also feel jealous, I wanted to have a childhood frolicing in the woods, playing in the streams, and swimming the biggest lake in the world. I sometimes resent to my parents for taking me away from that life. But I know I will go back soon.

I think I have always known that I am not a city person. The city provokes anxiety, stress, and dysfunction to me. I hate the sound of cars, the dirty streets, and the smells. When I’m in nature, I’m my best self. It represents opportunity, beauty, and bravery. Like I said, I have always felt this way for as long as I can remember, and I don’t think that will ever change.

This makes me question why I thought that the Northwoods was the right place for me. Truth may change as I or another person changes. Plato and Socrates were known for believing in universal truth, I could vouch for that. Plato said that many different factors influenced a person’s truth, yet truth is universal and are determined right or wrong for different people. He said that no matter where a person is from or what or what ever else is different we will all come to the same truth.

In the end, I will eventually reunite with the woods, maybe not if the Bayfield area,but one thing is for sure, I will spend the rest of my life in the woods. I encourage all of you to think about what kind of environment makes you happy, It can really make a difference in your life.