The Brick Tower †a Speech by Justin Hudson Essay Example for Free

The Brick Tower — a Speech by Justin Hudson Essay Ladies and gentlemen, family, faculty and my fellow classmates of the class of 2010, before I begin I would like to thank those teachers who chose this modest speech among the outstanding collection of speeches written by my highly competent peers. I would also like to thank all the people who have expressed their support for me and their anticipation for this speech. To be told â€Å"You are the best person in the grade to give this speech†, or some variation of that statement, more than once is truly humbling, and you all are either the most polite people I know, or the kindest people I know. It is a great honor to give this address, and I promise I do not take it lightly. I have chosen every word quite carefully because I am fully aware of the responsibility you all have bestowed upon me. Today, I stand before you as a personification of conflictedness. I find myself on this podium experiencing numerous warring emotions, and I am certain many of you here empathize with me on that point. Firstly, and perhaps most obviously, I am filled with a great sense of happiness and accomplishment. My peers and I have put much effort for the last six years—a third of our lives thus far—into being able to stand here today and say that we’ve earned the right to stand here. It was by no means easy, and there were many times when I thought I would not reach this finish line. But those struggles have only made this moment sweeter. The people who are on this stage survived four years of Latin, or 8th grade swim class, or English with Ms. D’Amico, or BC Calculus, or the 25% rule, and I think all of us can take some pride in that. Yet, my ambivalence on this day stems from the very fact that this ceremony is the end of an arduous journey. While I am ready to continue my academic endeavors, knowing that Hunter has thoroughly prepared me for them, I am also filled with a deep sense of anxiety and sadness. Hunter has been my second home for the last six years, and it has bordered on becoming my first home. Between my time diligently taking notes in the classroom, playing Chinese Poker in the hallway, taking a nap in the G. O. office, frantically rehearsing for a cultural show or theater production in the auditorium, cheering for an undefeated basketball team in the gymnasium, or simply sitting outside on the senior steps, istening to a boom box and enjoying nice weather in the courtyard, Hunter has truly become a sanctuary for me. My life has revolved around the fourstory brick building that stands on East 94th Street and Park Avenue, and Hunter’s intimate class size means that I have become as connected to the people of this school as I have to the building itself. It may sound disingenuous to say that I will miss each and every one of you, but all of you in some small way have shaped me into the person I am today, so I thank you all for that. Of course, the comfort that I have attained at Hunter makes this departure a rather anxious one, but with anxiety comes excitement, and the end of this journey signifies the start of a brand new one. As I leave behind the warmth that I have experienced at Hunter to enter a vastly new and quite frightening terrain, I can only help but think back to the last time I was in this situation, as a fresh-faced, wide-eyed twelve-year old entering the foreboding, windowless Brick Prison for the first time. Every aspect of my life since that point has been overwhelmingly positive, so all my fears about what lies ahead are slightly tamed by the idea that I will at least come close to experiencing in my future what I have already experienced at Hunter. However, ladies and gentlemen, more than happiness, relief, fear or sadness, I feel a very strong emotion that I cannot ignore today. More than anything else, today I feel guilty. I feel guilty because I don’t deserve any of this. And neither do any of you. We received an outstanding education at no charge based solely on our performance on a test we took when we were eleven year olds, or four year olds. We received superior teachers and additional resources based on our status as â€Å"gifted†, while kids who naturally needed those resources much more than us wallowed in the mire of a broken system. And now, we stand on the precipice of our lives, in control of our lives, based purely and simply on luck and circumstance. If you truly believe that the demographics of Hunter represent the distribution of intelligence in this city, then you must believe that the Upper West Side, Bayside and Flushing are intrinsically more intelligent than the South Bronx, Bedford-Stuyvesant and Washington Heights, and I refuse to accept that. It is certainly not Hunter’s fault that socioeconomic factors inhibit the educational opportunities of some children from birth, and in some ways I forgive colleges and universities that are forced to review eighteen year-olds, the end results of a broken system. But, we are talking about eleven year-olds. Four year-olds. We are deciding children’s fates before they even had a chance. We are playing God, and we are losing. Kids are losing the opportunity to go to college or obtain a career, because no one taught them long division or colors. Hunter is perpetuating a system in which children, who contain unbridled and untapped intellect and creativity, are discarded like refuse. And we have the audacity to say they deserved it, because we’re smarter than them. As students, we throw around empty platitudes like â€Å"deserve† and â€Å"earn†, most likely because it makes us feel better about ourselves. However, it simply isn’t the case. I know for a fact that I did not work as hard as I possibly could have, and I think the same is true for everyone on this stage. Nevertheless, people who work much harder than we ever could imagine will never have the opportunities that lie in front of us. I apologize if this is not the speech you wanted to hear, but you will have the rest of your lives to celebrate your accomplishments. I apologize if I have not inspired you, or uplifted you, but we have failed to inspire and uplift an entire generation of children. That being said, let me make it very clear that I am not giving anyone here a moral lecture, for I am as complicit in the system we are a part of as anyone else in this room. If anything, I only make these remarks to further emphasize how much Hunter has meant to me, because I am acutely aware of where I would be now without it. As recipients of fortune, we more than anyone else should be able to understand and respect what our high school experience has meant to us, and has done for us. My guilt ultimately stems from my awareness of the academic, social, emotional and psychological tools that Hunter has blessed us with. Therefore, I believe the best way to assuage this guilt is to use those fortuitous tools to not only better myself, but also improve the society that surrounds us outside these oh, so narrow walls. I do not know the capacity in which I will be able to make this world a better and more just place, but I strongly believe that education is the most effective means of creating social improvement, which is precisely why this is a battle we cannot concede. My experiences at Hunter have left me with one final emotion; the last sentiment I will share with you today is hope. I hope that I will use the tools that Hunter has given me as a means to provide opportunities to others, not out of a sense of paternalistic philanthropy, but out of a sense of duty to give to other people what Hunter has given to me. I also hope that you all will do the same, in whatever way you see fit. Even more so, I hope that in the near future, education itself will not be a privilege for the few in this world. I hope that a quality education will not be a privilege for the few in this country. I hope that the Hunter community will descend from its ivory tower made of brick, and distribute its tools evenly to the mass of humanity that is the City of New York. I hope that, despite its problems, Hunter can prove to be the rule, and not the exception, to what can exist as a school. Finally, I hope from the bottom of my heart that omeday a class speaker can stand on this podium and look into an audience of his closest and dearest friends whom he never would have met without Hunter and whom he’ll never forget, an audience of faculty members he has a deep respect and admiration for, an audience of family members who have supported him throughout his entire life without asking for anything in return. I hope this child can stand on this very stage, look at the most important people in his life, and feel happy, sad, relieved, scared, accomplished or whatever his heart desires, without feeling guilty about a damn thing. Thank you for your time.

DNA and common elements :: Biology

Biology Topic Three Chemical elements element Function Prokaryotes Plants animals Sulphur proteins proteins Proteins Calcium Flagella movement Forms cell plate during cytokinesis Shells, bones, vesicle fusion Phosphorus Nucleic acids and ATP Nucleic acids and ATP Nucleic acids and ATP iron Cytochrome- used in respiration Cytochromes-used in reparation Cytochromes – used in mitochondria respiration, haemoglobin Sodium Main cation in cytoplasm Transmission of nerve impulses Water - Polar molecule - Oxygen has slight negative charge - Hydrogen has slight positive charge - Opposite charges attract - This forms hydrogen bonds - This is called cohesion - Water can store lots of heat - Water can dissolve other polar molecules - Other substances can form ions in water and dissolve Organisms and properties of water - Can be used as a coolant because it requires a lot of energy to break the hydrogen bonds to go from liquid to gaseous state - Is a good medium for metabolic reactions due to the fact it is a good solvent due to its polarity. Watery cytoplasm dissolve substances and metabolic reactions can take place easily. - Water can be a good transport substance due to its high specific heat. Cohesion is the forming of hydrogen bonds and hydrolysis is the breaking of hydrogen bonds. Organic and inorganic compounds - Organic compounds are those that contain carbon and are found in living organisms. - They do not include carbonates, hydrogencarbonates and oxides of carbon. Identifying: Ribose and Glucose - Ring structure - One carbon outside the ring - CnH2nOn with n = 5 for ribose and n = six for glucose - Each carbon has four bonds - Eachs carbon has an Oh bond and an H bond. Identifying: Amino acids - Nitrogen is the key atom - Twenty amino acids used as proteins - They all have the same structure of The R is changeable and can be any of many different things. Identifying: Fatty Acids - At one end is CH3 group and at the other COOH or carboxylic acid group - Between these is a number of CH or CH2 groups. - Double bonds mean that the fatty acid is unsaturated - If there are lots of double bonds then the fatty acid is called polyunsaturated. Identifying: Carbohydrates Monosaccharides: Glucose, Galactose, Fructose Disaccharides: Matose (glucose + glucose), Lactose (glucose + galactose), Sucrose (glucose + fructose) Polysaccharides: Starch, Glycogen, Cellulose. All from poly-glucose In plants carbohydrates serve as an energy source and component of sucrose while it is also used to build cell walls and transport things In animals it is broken down to produce energy, and is a sugar in milk and used as an energy store.

The Ed Sullivan Show

Since the late 1940’s, television has been a staple in American culture. A show that was very important in American television history is The Ed Sullivan Show, created by Ed Sullivan and Marlo Lewis in 1948. The show lasted until 1971, making it the longest running variety show in history and the twenty-fourth longest running show in primetime history. The show aired on CBS from 8:00-9:00 pm after being filmed in what was eventually named, The Ed Sullivan Theater. The Ed Sullivan Show lasted as long as it did because it was able to target all audiences in the hour show, which was one of the first television programs truly to do so.It was cancelled in 1971 because of the technological advances of television which made any television program available to anyone, at any time. Although other variety shows have been incredibly popular, The Ed Sullivan Show is the most important variety show to date because of its appeal to all ages. An agreeable argument is that both the Milton Ber le Show and The Steve Allen show had great talents and success as variety shows. The Milton Berle show was started in 1948 by host Milton Berle, who became one of the most famous television show hosts ever.His nickname developed into â€Å"Mr. Television† because of how great a host he was. The show aired originally on the radio and then the idea of the public use of television sparked its television debut. Milton Berle was so successful as host, which is evident in the fact that while on the radio, the show went through four different hosts before it reached him, and then did not change after that point1-6. Another variety show that showed great success on television was The Steve Allen Show. The show debuted many impressive new acts of all kinds.Steve Allen himself was â€Å"innovative, funny, and whimsical†2-15, which made him apart of the show with jokes and comedy skits. His talents helped the show tremendously. The show’s comedy talents were so famous that a few years after the show was cancelled The Steve Allen Comedy Hour was aired on CBS to pay tribute to the original show. While The Milton Berle Show, and The Steve Allen Show can be viewed as very important variety shows, they were not as appealing to all age groups and were not well-rounded shows.The Ed Sullivan Show was so successful as a variety show for so many reasons. One of the most important parts of the success was Ed Sullivan himself. Before becoming a television host, Ed worked behind the scenes as a writer for newspapers and a producer of many television programs. He began writing as a sports columnist and continued writing sports with many different papers all over the country until 1929 when he became a Broadway columnist3-17. Ed began to learn about show business through Broadway writing and shortly after began producing one time shows on television.During World War II Ed worked as the master of ceremonies at many relief effort shows, where people began knowing him as a host. Ed Sullivan made a great host because he was not the classic host with a â€Å"sparkly† personality. He put the focus on the acts by introducing them, and then stepping off to let the performer(s) do what he hired them to do. â€Å"Ed [did] nothing, but he [did] it better than anyone else on television†-Alan King4-9. Ed helped give the show its glory. He was named #50 of TV Guide’s â€Å"50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time† which demonstrates the value Ed gave to the show5-9.He was also a brilliant businessman. Ed exceedingly wanted to be a household name because the more he was nationally recognized, the more money and sponsors he could bring to the show. Mr. Sullivan was paid $164,000 a year, and for that time, that amount of money was incredible even for a television personality, but Ed turned a simple variety show into a phenomena6-19. Another piece of the shows success was the new talent scouted by Ed and the producers. The baby boomers were becoming the new market in pop culture, and The Ed Sullivan Show captured the attention of the baby boomers with all the talent.Ed Sullivan caught the young’s notice and then kept it and influenced it with bringing in new talent. Ed brought the love of English rock to America. On February 9th, 1964 the Beatles appeared live on television for the first time in America. Ed Sullivan noticed the obsession with the Beatles while in England with his wife and made a deal with Brian Epstein that the Beatles would perform three Sunday’s in a row on the show for $10,0007-4. About 73 million people tuned in to watch the Beatles perform, which equates to nearly 60% of all TV’s in America watching8-4.That was one of the biggest TV viewing in television history. After bringing in The Beatles and really launching â€Å"Beatle mania† in the United States, Ed starting focusing on other English rock bands and discovered talents such as The Rolling Stones, The Animals, Pet er and Gordon, etc. 9-4 With all the new talents, Ed brought in many new comedians too. Ed founded the careers of many famous comedians, and shortly after starting the show, any new up-and-coming comedian wanted to be on the Ed Sullivan Show because it meant a start of a career for them.If Ed held that they were funny enough to be on his show, than America would soon agree with that. The Ed Sullivan Show was so successful as a variety show because of the shear number of types of performers that starred on the show. First and foremost, theatrical and musical acts shaped the Ed Sullivan Show. Everything from Broadway music to classical, to rock and roll was played on the show. Ed also enjoyed different dancers a lot so there was everything from ballet to jazz. He also loved showing movie clips and parts of Broadway plays.A Second key genre of acts was comedy. It was one act that the â€Å"whole family† watched and enjoyed together; no matter what comedian or the type of comedy. Ed also focused on just kids with comedy. There was a ten-inch tall puppet named Topo Gigio that was apart of the show for eleven years. 10-8 Topo Gigio along with other kid directed comedy gave the show a softer side, which helped it compete with a show such as â€Å"The Wonderful World of Disney†. The Ed Sullivan Show had so many other acts that kept it shuffled.Sometimes there would be episodes dedicated to one theme, which broke up the usual shows and would be an hour-long episode to pay tribute to somebody or something. Sometimes athletes would appear to give advice about how to play their sport or just to talk to Ed. Some of those athletes include Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays. 11-2 Another very interesting type of performance would be a random celebrity in the audience coming up on stage to talk to Ed or to give an impromptu performance, which kept the show and audience members on edge.Ed Sullivan produced one of the most important television shows in history because of its impact on the careers of many and the world of television. ENDNOTES 1. Williams, Mark. â€Å"The Milton Berle Show. † Editorial. The Museum of Broadcast tttttttCommunications. 2011. Web. 22 Nov, 2011. http: //www. museum. tv/eotvsection. php? ttttttttentrycody=miltonberle. 2. Pack, Lindsay E. Saulovich, Johnny. â€Å"The Steve Allen Show. † Editorial. The Museum of ttttttBroadcast Communications. 2011. Web. 22 Nov, 2011. 3. Ed Sullivan Is Dead at 73;Charmed Millions on TV. † The New York Times 14 Oct. tttttttt  1974: n. pag. The New York Times:On This Day. Web. 25 Nov. 2011. ttttttt  . 4. Schaeffer, Eric. â€Å"Sullivan, Ed. † Editorial. The Museum of Broadcast   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ttttttCommunications. N. p. , 2011. Web. 22 Nov. 2011. . 5. The New York Times 6. The New York Times 7. Solt, Andrew, Sherwood, Mary. Rev. of The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show. tttttThe Ed Sullivan Show.SOFA Entertainment, 2010. Web. 22 Nov. 2011. ttttt. 8. Solt, An drew. Sherwood, Mary 9. Solt, Andrew. Sherwood, Mary 10. Solt, Andrew. â€Å"Topo Gigio. † Editorial. The Ed Sullivan Show. SOFA Entertainment,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ttttt2010. Web. 22 Nov. 2011. . 11. Simon, Ron. â€Å"The Ed Sullivan Show. † Rev. of The Ed Sullivan Show. The Museum of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  tttttBroadcast Communications. N. p. , n. d. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. tttt.

Should Capital Punishment Be Abolish - 981 Words

Should capital punishment be abolish? The answer should definitely be, no. Without the death penalty, criminals would oppose the law more aggressively. Criminals would openly do as they like, because they would no longer have the restriction from the law. Meaning without the law, the crime rate would escalate greatly. Yet in light of this importance, opponents (against capital punishment) offer their oppositional viewpoints. They combat what they consider the menace of social order. They question: whether or not capital punishment is lawful, or flawless. They contend, it is a law against justice and humanity. And laws should not permit the killing of human-beings. These people (abolitionists) would suggest it promote more crime rather than prevent crimes. (In spite of the debate it actually does the opposite.) For example they’d say: a criminal who is well informed of capital punishment would zealously commit felony of greater violence, on account of their unwavering conscious – knowing very well there is but one retribution of their crimes. However, these naysayers only offer their subjective viewpoints, without the conclusive solution to put this unfruitful contentions to rest. Now the reason I say that is not to condemn these abolitionists, because I am in complete agreement with their point of view. Their disagreement is noteworthy of respect. However, I object to the one thing that make them partial in their judgments. That is objectively, they fail to recognize capitalShow MoreRelatedWhy Should We Abolish Capital Punishment. Whether The Capital1797 Words   |  8 PagesWhy should we abolish capital punishment Whether the capital punishment, the legal punishment that deprives an individual’s life, is constitutional, moral or necessary is constantly debated. 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