Stem Cell - Draft 1

During this first wave of research for my paper, I learned many things from reading my chosen articles. I personally found that the most interesting thing to me was the fact that stem cell transplants no longer have to be embryonic, saving the lives of helpless babies. According to my articles, the fruits of stem cell research aren't far away from implementation, and in the case of bone marrow transplants, are already being used in the hospital. Businesses, eager to cash in on this growing industry, are investing more and more money into the research so doctors can buy better equipment and have more motivation to keep going.

Stem cell research can be helpful not only for humans, but for our pets as well. Broken bones, tumors, lymphoma, many things can be treated with the power of stem cells. Researchers continually test and experiment with adult skin cells, hoping that they can someday replace embryonic stem cells, even though both currently run the risk of inflicting cancer on the treated. Despite the perceived negative controversy on the social level, all the hype is uninformed. If the mass media would stop slanting factual evidence in order to get a rise out of the public, perhaps this issue would have less of a bad name for itself.

MLK Letter

Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" for the other clergymen of the Black Christian Church, who considered his presence and actions in Birmingham to be hasty to say the least. King's retort to their admonition is that the time for action is today. Having lived through persecution for over 300 years, the black community is restless and hungry for change. As King states, "justice too long delayed is justice denied".

Oddly enough, King is more frustrated with white moderates than white aggressors because of their tepid disposition toward the plights of their black brethren. If there is one thing that King doesn't like, it's lukewarm concern for important issues. For example, while the KKK is starting riots and destroying property, regular white people are sitting at home going about their daily business, and the black community seem to be the only ones standing up for themselves.

MLK also does a good job of identifying social classes within the black community. From the nonchalant to the extremists, everyone has their own way of dealing with (or not) the social problems ingrained within the fabrics of American society. When confronted with the question of how he can support some laws and oppose others, King brings up the idea of just and unjust laws, a theme he continues to bring up throughout his letter. If man-made law corresponds to the will of God, then it is a just law. If, however, the law is constructed solely to provide social privileges to a certain part of society, then the law is unjust.

My Topic

Stem cell research is important to me because of its potential to cure cancer. My maternal grandfather died 10 years ago from lung cancer and my paternal grandfather has to have IVs given three days a week as a cancer survivor. Cancer is also something that I personally have to think about in the future. As a light-skinned redhead, I am very prone to radiation. So much in fact that I stay indoors as much as possible just to stay out of it. If I forget to put on sunscreen one day I'm almost guaranteed to get sunburned. My father's skin is burnt brown from years of not wearing sunscreen(he has a blue collar, gutter-working job). I do not want to end up the same way.

I have heard that fetus cells are required to use the technology. If this can be done safely and with minimal harm to the baby, then I'm all for it. I haven't done any research on it yet, so I'm not certain which stance to take. However, due to its curative properties, stem cell research sounds like a healthy thing for our welfare which might need a bit of fine tuning.

Music Brings Us Together

My name's Evan Smothers and I am a member of the Mighty Sound of the South. I've been playing music since the 6th grade, when I started out on the alto sax. Once I entered high school, I got switched over to the  flute because of lack of supply. I went to an all-male high school; those of you from around here may have heard of the name: CBHS(Christian Brothers High School). Nowadays, I play the piccolo exclusively, mainly because we don't march flutes in the MSS. If yall ever want to spot me, it's not hard; I'm the only guy in our section this year.

Apart from my personal production of music, my favorite genres are video game music, metal, hard rock and some pop. My favorite bands are Avenged Sevenfold, Tenacious D, Slipknot, and I really like Gotye's music as well.

I have a number of friends throughout the MSS, but only one of my close friends also plays music, and he stopped ever since he started school at CBU recently. We were in the flute section together at high school and I've known him since Sophomore year. Overall, music's been an important part of my life.