Panel Discussion on Current Immigration Laws

I am in a group with four other people. Our assignment is for each of us to do research on the topic of immigration so that we can back up our whatever argument we may have about immigration. We will then have a panel discussion in front of the class next Thursday. When it comes to working with a group, I seem to have trouble, because there is always veering off the subject or people just want to be cut and dry, while I would rather analyze and think things through so that what is done is in line with what the instructor wants. Everyone will be graded as a group, not individually, so I feel like I have no control here. I have never done a panel discussion before, and even with the instructions given, I am still rather clueless. At this point I figure all I can do is read all I can about the topic between now and next Thurday.

Informative Speech: Violence in Darfur ~A~

Below is the outline of the informative speech I gave yesterday. I recieved an A on it. In the Evaluation that the instructor handed back, some of the issues were using "um" as a world filler, smacking(which I was not aware of, and eye contact at the conclusion of the speech (that's because I was reading that portion from a note card). The instructor commended me on the visual aid, which was a map of Sudan. Out of 200 points possible, I recieved 194 pounts. I am very proud of myself. I tried to format the outline below, but blogger was not cooperating. Here it goes:

Topic: Violence in Darfur

General Purpose: Inform

Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about how ethnic tension fueled the violence in Darfur, the aftermath of the violence, and the latest of many attempts to bring peace to the region.

Central Idea: Ethnic tension fueled the violence in Darfur, but aftermath of devastation called for much needed peace.

Introduction: The Sudan, a region with a history of civil war. For 21 years, there was ongoing fighting between the north and the south. It wasn’t until 2001 that negotiation began that would eventually stop the fighting. Just as these negotiations were in the process of being finalized, another conflict was erupting in a western region of Sudan, Darfur.
Body:

I. What was the cause of ethnic tensions in Darfur?
A. Non-Arabs claimed that the Sudanese government gave an unfair amount of aid to the countries Arab population.
B. Tensions mounted in February of 2003, when two non-Arab rebel groups made targeted attacks against Sudanese government officials.
1. Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA)
a. Led by Minni Arcua Minnawi
b. later split into a second faction led by Mohammed al-Nur, due to conflicts with leadership
2. Justice and Equality Movement (JEM)
a. Led by Khalil Ibrahim
C. An Arab militia called Janjaweed retaliates.
1. An informal militia supportive of the Sudanese government
2. Reportedly backed by the Sudanese government
3. Reportedly, their mission is to rid the Darfur region of non-Arab people.
4. They burned entire villages to the ground, and indiscriminately killed civilians and insurgents, and raped girls and women.
II. The Aftermath of the Janjaweed attacks is devastating.
A. More than 200,000 people have died as a result
B. More than 2 million people have been displaced.
C. Humanitarian efforts have at times become dangerous due to ongoing violence
III. The latest of many attempts to bring peace was on May 5th 2006.
A. Darfur Peace Deal was signed by the Sudanese government and the main faction of the SLA.
B. The JEM and a smaller faction of the SLA demanded changes in the agreement before they would agree to sign it.
C. The success of the peace agreement remains uncertain.

Conclusion: The 21 year conflict between Sudan’s north and south was finally resolved in 2005, yet for three years, the Darfur conflict remains unresolved. Will another 21 years go by before there is peace in Darfur? Who knows? Despite ethnic tensions, the brutal aftermath of the Janjaweed attacks is an unfortunate reminder that peace often starts with the shed of blood.

Works Cited
“Darfur Crisis.” Facts on File World News Digest May 2006. Facts On File World News Digest @ FACTS.com. 2006. Facts On File News Services. 6 Nov. 2006 .

“History.” CultureGrams World Edition. ProQuest Information and Learning. Penn Valley Community College Kansas City MO. 6 Nov. 2006 .

Reeves, Eric. “The Future of Darfur. Next Casualty.” New Republic [D.C.] 15 May 2006. New Republic Online. 2006. 6 Nov. 2006 .

“Sudanese Government, Darfur Rebel Faction Reach Peace Deal.” Facts on File World News Digest 11 May 2006. Facts On File World News Digest @ FACTS.com. 2006. Facts On File News Services. 6 Nov. 2006 .

“Sudan: Rebel Groups Miss Peace Deal Deadline; Other Developments.” Facts On File World News Digest 8 June 2006. Facts On File World News Digest @ FACTS.com. 2006. Facts On File News Services. 6 Nov. 2006 .

“Sudan’s Darfur Conflict: Key Events.” Facts On File World News Digest 11 May 2006. Facts On File World News Digest @ FACTS.com. 2006. Facts On File News Services. 6 Nov.
2006 .

God Is Working With Me, Not Against Me

Tonight everyone was supposed to give their informative speech. Because there was not enough time for everyone to complete their speech, I will be able to give my speech next Tuesday. Im glad because if the instructor called on me I would not have been ready, and she would have dropped my grade by one letter for having to make up the speech during the next class period. I have been working on the speech, but family matters arose that required my attention more than speech preparation. God sure does work with you though when he knows you are trying your best. Thank you God :-)

Gearing Up for Spring 2007

Monday I enrolled in classes for the spring semester. I will be taking Mass Communication 112 Intro to Mass Communication from 1/2/07-1/12/07, just a quick intersession course. That will be an easy 3 credits hopefully. When the regular semester starts, I will be taking Art 100 Art Fundamentals I, which is a prerequisite for Art 141 Metal/Silversmithing I. I hope to take that next fall because I wouldn't mind learning how to make jewelry. Anyway, the other classes I will be taking in the spring will be English 101 Composition and Reading II, and Math 110 Intermediate Algebra. The first 8 weeks will be just Art 100 and Math 110. I will continue both classes through the 2nd 8 weeks, adding English 102 to the course load. English 101 was a challenge, yet I ended up with an A, so hopefully I ace English 102 as well. I found out today that next semester is financially taken care of. I am very happy about that. No financial worries about school next semester :-)

Preparing for Informative Speech

I will be giving an informative speech on the atrocities occuring in Sudan's Darfur in Africa. I believe I first heard about Darfur on one of the major online news outlets. When I heard about it I thought "Things like this are still happening in modern times?" Sounds pretty naive of me to think this way with all the other atrocities going on in the world today: War in Iraq, innocent civilians being killed, etc. The tragedy occuring in Darfur has been labeled as genocide. I think that is what's so surprising to me. The strategic elimination of human beings is too astonishing for me to grasp. I even ran across a profile supporting Darfur on myspace and learned alot, even joined their friend list. I will have to create an outline, but for now, I am in the "gathering information" phase. I usually post my work on this blog, but since this is a speech, I will just post the outline once I recieve my speech evaluation. The speech instructor is very good. During the first day of class, she had everyone introduce themselves and tell a little bit about ourselves. I believe the purpose was to allow us to survey the audience that each of us would have to direct our speeches to, and to also get everyone to become comfortable with eachother. The instructor had shared that her son had died of throat cancer in October, and she cried a little while telling us. My heart goes out to her, and I believe her purpose in sharing that with us was to build a relationship with us and to also help us to become comfortable with sharing our personal experiences with our audience as we give our speeches in class. In my speech on Darfur, I must try not to persuade the audience. Now that I think about it, I think the next speech we will give will be a persuasive speech, I might consider saving this one for that maybe, not sure yet. Maybe I should give a speech on Myspace addicts...hmmmm?