Mask Project
Cycles of Socialization
By Luke Stetler
“Nice job” my dad told me as I ran off the soccer field. “You played really tough, and tried for every ball every though some of the kids were bigger and stronger than you. Nice work” As my dad walked away, I thought to myself, “Do you think that it didn’t hurt? Do you think that trying for ever ball wasn’t hard?” Even though it was painful I still pushed through.
In today’s society, I have been socialized to believe that feeling pain is wrong, and unmanly. I am under the impression that I need to fight for things instead of talking them out, or asking, and I even have thought that it is wrong to show my emotions.
I feel that this topic is very important to discuss and bring the publics attention because this is happening all over the United States. I wrote this to spread some awareness on the expectations and stereotypes of men. I hope that this will help turn the whole issue around and make it a positive issue. If enough people are educated, hopefully the im pressions can start to change so men can express themselves more freely.
First I would like to talk about the negative socialization of hiding pain. Hiding pain can have a major effect on the way men think about their emotions, whether they know it or not. When you are told that it is wrong to show emotions, or physical pain, it can take quite a toll on one’s self image. For example, if I were to get hurt on the soccer field, there is not the safety of saying “I need to sit out and take a breather” instead, there is the pressure of saying “I can still play.” Not being able to release stress, anger or sadness can build up to the brim and release at one time resulting in a very ugly situation. It could cause you to take it out on your parents, friends or just a bystander. This can get you into a lot of trouble such as getting grounded, losing your friends, or in the most extreme cases law-order punishment. If you were to take it out on your parents, there would be major trust loss, and unwanted consequences. This would not be beneficial for your relationship with your parents. If you were to take it out on your friends, that could be even worse. You could end up losing them completely, but if they were not very nice to you in the first place, they could turn on you and you would be the one that is suffering. If that happened that could impose a big problem on self-esteem, and then the cycle could start again because again, the emotions are being buried. If one step was to lead to the other, the victim could end up committing suicide or self harming if there was no other way to control their emotions. Another problem that holding in pain imposes on people is that one person may not have the same pain tolerance as another. If they have been socialized differently (being able to share emotions and show pain,) there could be a risk of hurting that person because you are under the impression that they are tough, like you have been raised to be. If you were to do something to another man, that someone has done to you, it might hurt them, even if it didn’t hurt you. This can be a problem for both of you because they might think of you as a mean person and you might think they are a wimp. With all of these reasons I think that hiding pain is a negative socialization and I think we need to change it.
Next I am going to talk about how men are encouraged to fight for things instead of talking them out. What you have seen in the media can sometimes affect how you think and feel about things. When you see a movie that has two guys fist fighting over a girl, such as in the movie “Twilight” or “Iron man 3”. You might not realize it, but this is socializing you to think that this how to act and win over a girl; by fighting. If you actually think about it, it is hard to imagine two girls in a fight, and when there is, it is called a “cat fight” and it is usually more entertaining to somebody rather than serious, like a boys’ fight. I am not saying that it does not happen, or that it is not brutal when it does, but it is hard to come by. It is like guys have to take it out in violence to make themselves feel better, and to raise self image. I can understand this because I am male. I have never gotten into a fight, and I think that is because I have been socialized to think that fighting is wrong, but a lot of boys do think fighting can prove their “manhood.” When you see a movie, when guys get into a fight, bystanders are always in a circle chanting and encouraging it. I think that this has a big impact when this actually happens in real life. From what I have seen in the media, I don’t think I would try to break up a fight, because there would be negative sanctions caused because of standing up against violence, even if it is the right thing to do. I think instead of fighting, teenagers should talk it out as much as girls do, which may, in turn, get rid of a lot of violence, and will help change the mindset of “guys have to hide pain.”
The worst one is yet to come. Men have even been taught to hide their emotions. Have you ever heard from someone to “stop crying” or “I can’t understand you when you are crying?” Do you think of your parents, guardians, brothers/sisters, friends, grandparents, aunts/uncles, teachers? Wherever you were, I am sure you have heard it in your lifetime. It seems to me that the only emotions that men are allowed to show in public are anger and/or hatred. When was the last time that you saw a man cry in public? I don’t know about you, but I don’t see it very often. This can have the same effect on a man as hiding pain does, it can all build up inside and come out at once. Again, this can become a big problem. If guys were able to show emotion, this would not even be something that you would think about. If guys were taught that it was okay to have emotion that would help all of the problems that I have stated before, before they even start. There needs to be a change: teach our generation and kids that the right thing to do is to show emotions, and be kind to others.
How are we going to change it? What are you going to do if you have a male child? Are you going to raise them the same as you have been? Are you going to teach them that it is wrong to show emotions, pain, and that fighting is right? If I have a son, I am going to raise him to feel like he can express himself. I am going to tell him that it is right to show emotions and pain. I do not see the reasoning behind these influences. It does not help society or self-esteem. At the beginning of this discussion, I discussed how there was pressure to stay on the soccer field if you are hurt. This can have very negative sanctions because not only are you falling under peer pressure, you can hurt yourself even more than you already have. I am going to socialize my son to tell his teammates that it is okay to go off of the field, and then if it gets better, come back on. That way, they don’t get hurt more than they already did, and my son would feel good because he helped someone. Another thing that I would tell him is that it is normal to show pain whenever he is feeling it. This can have a positive effect by showing others that it is okay to show pain. I am also going to teach him that fighting is the last resort to solving an issue. I am not going to tell him that it is wrong to fight, but I am going to tell him that talking comes first. This way it can cut down on the chances that he is going to get into a fight. All of these things are breaking the negative cycles of socialization which is what we need to do if we are going to get anywhere with this conflict.
What is the difference between Animas High School and everywhere else? When you are a male at Animas High School, it is a different environment than most places in the United States. Here, there is minimal fighting and guys are allowed to be themselves and show emotions and to an extent, pain. In the five years that Animas High School has been up and running, there has not been a fight on school property, during school hours. This creates a very safe environment where people do not have to get into fights to show that they want or need something. They can talk it out! “Animas High School has a very safe environment. This school is way better than middle school and I feel great here” says Zachariah Wood. An AHS student. “Animas is a very different school than most schools, it is safer, we are all more connected, and the way we learn makes it fun to come to school. He says that he feels safe because if someone calls you a name, you can go talk to someone and get them in trouble. At other schools, they wouldn’t care and they just said we will get to it when we can.” Says Jake Weaver. Another AHS student. When you walk down the halls of Animas, you can see guys and girls crying with someone cuddling up next to them or trying to calm them down or comfort them. At other schools, if you were to see someone crying in the hall, you would see people around them laughing at them, making them feel worse, not even attempting to help them. They don’t even care what is wrong they just laugh. As accepting as Animas High School is, it is still not a good idea to show pain. This can be a reflection of yourself outside of school. School can only protect you eight hours a day, five days a week. After that you are on your own. As sad as it is, you will never be able to change everyone in the world to be perfect. No one has ever been and will ever be perfect, but we can push towards everyone being accepting for who people are no matter what.
For this essay, we are making a mask to help explain how we have been socialized as male beings. On the right side of my mask if what men should be able to feel. On the left I have what they have been socialized to feel. The first symbol that I symbolized was hiding emotions. On the right side of the mask I have a broken heart, showing that it is okay for guys to be sad or unhappy. On the left side of the mask, I have a heart that is fully intact. This is showing that guys have to always be happy and strong. The next one I did was fighting for things instead of talking them out. On the right side on my mask I have boxing gloves hanging up on a peg to show that it is fine to talk it out sometimes. On the left side of my mask I have two boxing gloves clashing up against each other to symbolize fighting. The third one that I symbolized is not feeling pain. On the right side of my mask I have a cut that is open and blood is coming out of it. This is showing that it is okay to feel pain. On the left side I have a cut that is all stitched up, and I am showing this to say that men have to get ready and get going again. There is no time to recover. Last but not least, I have my fourth and last symbol. On the right side of my mask, I have a teardrop coming from the eye. This is showing all three of the things that I have mentioned before. On the left side there is nothing, saying that it is not okay to show emotions or pain.
In today's society, men have been influenced to think that it is wrong to show pain, show emotions and that they have to fight for things instead of talking it out. This can be very bad for self-confidence. As I said in the second paragraph, if you were to hold all of this in, it can all come out at one time and this could be a very bad thing. We need to change these harmful cycles of socialization so that men are allowed to act as they want to without anyone judging. It starts with one person, why don’t you encourage this essay, together we can change the world.
By Luke Stetler
“Nice job” my dad told me as I ran off the soccer field. “You played really tough, and tried for every ball every though some of the kids were bigger and stronger than you. Nice work” As my dad walked away, I thought to myself, “Do you think that it didn’t hurt? Do you think that trying for ever ball wasn’t hard?” Even though it was painful I still pushed through.
In today’s society, I have been socialized to believe that feeling pain is wrong, and unmanly. I am under the impression that I need to fight for things instead of talking them out, or asking, and I even have thought that it is wrong to show my emotions.
I feel that this topic is very important to discuss and bring the publics attention because this is happening all over the United States. I wrote this to spread some awareness on the expectations and stereotypes of men. I hope that this will help turn the whole issue around and make it a positive issue. If enough people are educated, hopefully the im pressions can start to change so men can express themselves more freely.
First I would like to talk about the negative socialization of hiding pain. Hiding pain can have a major effect on the way men think about their emotions, whether they know it or not. When you are told that it is wrong to show emotions, or physical pain, it can take quite a toll on one’s self image. For example, if I were to get hurt on the soccer field, there is not the safety of saying “I need to sit out and take a breather” instead, there is the pressure of saying “I can still play.” Not being able to release stress, anger or sadness can build up to the brim and release at one time resulting in a very ugly situation. It could cause you to take it out on your parents, friends or just a bystander. This can get you into a lot of trouble such as getting grounded, losing your friends, or in the most extreme cases law-order punishment. If you were to take it out on your parents, there would be major trust loss, and unwanted consequences. This would not be beneficial for your relationship with your parents. If you were to take it out on your friends, that could be even worse. You could end up losing them completely, but if they were not very nice to you in the first place, they could turn on you and you would be the one that is suffering. If that happened that could impose a big problem on self-esteem, and then the cycle could start again because again, the emotions are being buried. If one step was to lead to the other, the victim could end up committing suicide or self harming if there was no other way to control their emotions. Another problem that holding in pain imposes on people is that one person may not have the same pain tolerance as another. If they have been socialized differently (being able to share emotions and show pain,) there could be a risk of hurting that person because you are under the impression that they are tough, like you have been raised to be. If you were to do something to another man, that someone has done to you, it might hurt them, even if it didn’t hurt you. This can be a problem for both of you because they might think of you as a mean person and you might think they are a wimp. With all of these reasons I think that hiding pain is a negative socialization and I think we need to change it.
Next I am going to talk about how men are encouraged to fight for things instead of talking them out. What you have seen in the media can sometimes affect how you think and feel about things. When you see a movie that has two guys fist fighting over a girl, such as in the movie “Twilight” or “Iron man 3”. You might not realize it, but this is socializing you to think that this how to act and win over a girl; by fighting. If you actually think about it, it is hard to imagine two girls in a fight, and when there is, it is called a “cat fight” and it is usually more entertaining to somebody rather than serious, like a boys’ fight. I am not saying that it does not happen, or that it is not brutal when it does, but it is hard to come by. It is like guys have to take it out in violence to make themselves feel better, and to raise self image. I can understand this because I am male. I have never gotten into a fight, and I think that is because I have been socialized to think that fighting is wrong, but a lot of boys do think fighting can prove their “manhood.” When you see a movie, when guys get into a fight, bystanders are always in a circle chanting and encouraging it. I think that this has a big impact when this actually happens in real life. From what I have seen in the media, I don’t think I would try to break up a fight, because there would be negative sanctions caused because of standing up against violence, even if it is the right thing to do. I think instead of fighting, teenagers should talk it out as much as girls do, which may, in turn, get rid of a lot of violence, and will help change the mindset of “guys have to hide pain.”
The worst one is yet to come. Men have even been taught to hide their emotions. Have you ever heard from someone to “stop crying” or “I can’t understand you when you are crying?” Do you think of your parents, guardians, brothers/sisters, friends, grandparents, aunts/uncles, teachers? Wherever you were, I am sure you have heard it in your lifetime. It seems to me that the only emotions that men are allowed to show in public are anger and/or hatred. When was the last time that you saw a man cry in public? I don’t know about you, but I don’t see it very often. This can have the same effect on a man as hiding pain does, it can all build up inside and come out at once. Again, this can become a big problem. If guys were able to show emotion, this would not even be something that you would think about. If guys were taught that it was okay to have emotion that would help all of the problems that I have stated before, before they even start. There needs to be a change: teach our generation and kids that the right thing to do is to show emotions, and be kind to others.
How are we going to change it? What are you going to do if you have a male child? Are you going to raise them the same as you have been? Are you going to teach them that it is wrong to show emotions, pain, and that fighting is right? If I have a son, I am going to raise him to feel like he can express himself. I am going to tell him that it is right to show emotions and pain. I do not see the reasoning behind these influences. It does not help society or self-esteem. At the beginning of this discussion, I discussed how there was pressure to stay on the soccer field if you are hurt. This can have very negative sanctions because not only are you falling under peer pressure, you can hurt yourself even more than you already have. I am going to socialize my son to tell his teammates that it is okay to go off of the field, and then if it gets better, come back on. That way, they don’t get hurt more than they already did, and my son would feel good because he helped someone. Another thing that I would tell him is that it is normal to show pain whenever he is feeling it. This can have a positive effect by showing others that it is okay to show pain. I am also going to teach him that fighting is the last resort to solving an issue. I am not going to tell him that it is wrong to fight, but I am going to tell him that talking comes first. This way it can cut down on the chances that he is going to get into a fight. All of these things are breaking the negative cycles of socialization which is what we need to do if we are going to get anywhere with this conflict.
What is the difference between Animas High School and everywhere else? When you are a male at Animas High School, it is a different environment than most places in the United States. Here, there is minimal fighting and guys are allowed to be themselves and show emotions and to an extent, pain. In the five years that Animas High School has been up and running, there has not been a fight on school property, during school hours. This creates a very safe environment where people do not have to get into fights to show that they want or need something. They can talk it out! “Animas High School has a very safe environment. This school is way better than middle school and I feel great here” says Zachariah Wood. An AHS student. “Animas is a very different school than most schools, it is safer, we are all more connected, and the way we learn makes it fun to come to school. He says that he feels safe because if someone calls you a name, you can go talk to someone and get them in trouble. At other schools, they wouldn’t care and they just said we will get to it when we can.” Says Jake Weaver. Another AHS student. When you walk down the halls of Animas, you can see guys and girls crying with someone cuddling up next to them or trying to calm them down or comfort them. At other schools, if you were to see someone crying in the hall, you would see people around them laughing at them, making them feel worse, not even attempting to help them. They don’t even care what is wrong they just laugh. As accepting as Animas High School is, it is still not a good idea to show pain. This can be a reflection of yourself outside of school. School can only protect you eight hours a day, five days a week. After that you are on your own. As sad as it is, you will never be able to change everyone in the world to be perfect. No one has ever been and will ever be perfect, but we can push towards everyone being accepting for who people are no matter what.
For this essay, we are making a mask to help explain how we have been socialized as male beings. On the right side of my mask if what men should be able to feel. On the left I have what they have been socialized to feel. The first symbol that I symbolized was hiding emotions. On the right side of the mask I have a broken heart, showing that it is okay for guys to be sad or unhappy. On the left side of the mask, I have a heart that is fully intact. This is showing that guys have to always be happy and strong. The next one I did was fighting for things instead of talking them out. On the right side on my mask I have boxing gloves hanging up on a peg to show that it is fine to talk it out sometimes. On the left side of my mask I have two boxing gloves clashing up against each other to symbolize fighting. The third one that I symbolized is not feeling pain. On the right side of my mask I have a cut that is open and blood is coming out of it. This is showing that it is okay to feel pain. On the left side I have a cut that is all stitched up, and I am showing this to say that men have to get ready and get going again. There is no time to recover. Last but not least, I have my fourth and last symbol. On the right side of my mask, I have a teardrop coming from the eye. This is showing all three of the things that I have mentioned before. On the left side there is nothing, saying that it is not okay to show emotions or pain.
In today's society, men have been influenced to think that it is wrong to show pain, show emotions and that they have to fight for things instead of talking it out. This can be very bad for self-confidence. As I said in the second paragraph, if you were to hold all of this in, it can all come out at one time and this could be a very bad thing. We need to change these harmful cycles of socialization so that men are allowed to act as they want to without anyone judging. It starts with one person, why don’t you encourage this essay, together we can change the world.
Mask: What are you most proud of about your mask?
For this project I was proud of many things that I had on my mask, but the thing that I was most proud of were the symbols. I had eight different symbols of my mask, all of them symbolizing different things. The reason that I had so many symbols is that on the right side of my mask is what men in todays society should be able to feel. On the left side is what men should be able to feel. For example, on the right side of my mask I had a heart, this was symbolizing that men are not supposed to show or feel emotion. On the left side, I had a broken heart showing that it was okay for men to show when they have a broken heart, or they want to be sad or even happy.
Quote: Quote a section of your essay that you are most proud of and describe, in detail, why you are proud of it.
In my essay it was hard to choose one of my favorite parts, because I was proud of the whole thing. But, I have to say that my favorite part was when I was talking about how men are not supposed to show emotion. I had a lot of evidence supporting the statements that I made and I had a large amount of analysis following that. When I was talking about hiding emotion, I said “when is the last time you saw a man cry in public?” I was saying that in todays society it is wrong for men to cry at all. Sad isn’t it?
Biggest Take-away: What will you remember from this project? Why?
I feel like my biggest takeaway from this project was learning about how everyone has been socialized in todays society. I not only learned more about how men have been socialized, I learned about how women have been socialized too, by reading my friends essays. This gave me a more full understanding of this project.
Habits of Heart and Mind: Which habit of heart and mind do you need to work on in your next project to get better at project based learning? Why do you need to improve and how that Habit of Heart and Mind will help you?
In the next project I really feel that I need to work on my refinement. During the mask project, it was really hard for me to see people critiquing my essay because it seemed like they were making my essay look like it sucked. By the end of the project it became easier and easier for me to let people critique my essay, but for the next project I feel like I don’t need to take it so seriously all the time.
For this project I was proud of many things that I had on my mask, but the thing that I was most proud of were the symbols. I had eight different symbols of my mask, all of them symbolizing different things. The reason that I had so many symbols is that on the right side of my mask is what men in todays society should be able to feel. On the left side is what men should be able to feel. For example, on the right side of my mask I had a heart, this was symbolizing that men are not supposed to show or feel emotion. On the left side, I had a broken heart showing that it was okay for men to show when they have a broken heart, or they want to be sad or even happy.
Quote: Quote a section of your essay that you are most proud of and describe, in detail, why you are proud of it.
In my essay it was hard to choose one of my favorite parts, because I was proud of the whole thing. But, I have to say that my favorite part was when I was talking about how men are not supposed to show emotion. I had a lot of evidence supporting the statements that I made and I had a large amount of analysis following that. When I was talking about hiding emotion, I said “when is the last time you saw a man cry in public?” I was saying that in todays society it is wrong for men to cry at all. Sad isn’t it?
Biggest Take-away: What will you remember from this project? Why?
I feel like my biggest takeaway from this project was learning about how everyone has been socialized in todays society. I not only learned more about how men have been socialized, I learned about how women have been socialized too, by reading my friends essays. This gave me a more full understanding of this project.
Habits of Heart and Mind: Which habit of heart and mind do you need to work on in your next project to get better at project based learning? Why do you need to improve and how that Habit of Heart and Mind will help you?
In the next project I really feel that I need to work on my refinement. During the mask project, it was really hard for me to see people critiquing my essay because it seemed like they were making my essay look like it sucked. By the end of the project it became easier and easier for me to let people critique my essay, but for the next project I feel like I don’t need to take it so seriously all the time.
Modle United Nations - Pakistan
This project was on the United Nations. We were each assigned a country from the UN and we had to research world issues from that perspective. Our 2 problems that we faced were "North Korea having Nuclear Weapons" and "the Israeli Palestinian conflict." My country "Pakistan" in both cases were against the majority of the countries. This made it difficult to get them to vote for my resolution. EIther way I was very happy with all of the work that I did in this project.
Policy Paper 1 - North Korea
9th grade Humanities
Period 1-2
Luke Stetler
1/28/14
Should North Korea be able to keep their Nuclear Weapons?
North Korea, even though some people think it might be dangerous, should be able to keep their nuclear weapons. You have to take in account National Sovereignty and the fact that Syria, when they gave up their nuclear weapons, their people rebelled and the US turned against them.
National Sovereignty plays a big role in taking away the nuclear weapons of North Korea. National Sovereignty means that every country has rule over their own people and land. If the United States were to go in and take the nuclear weapons away, that would be breaking North Korea’s National Sovereignty.
“There are no such guarantees that you will be protected in this age of humanitarianism.” (Rodger Baker, page #2)
This means that even if North Korea were to give up their nuclear weapons to the United States, The US could not promise that they will always be protected. In return, this becomes a big problem for the safety of North Korea’s own people and country.
The United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia and China are much more powerful than North Korea and it’s likely to stay that way. Since North Korea has kept their nuclear bombs, they have become more of a target to the bigger powers. This becomes a bigger and bigger problem by the day. If North Korea were to give up their bombs now, it is likely that a bigger power will come in and take over their country. Since this problem has occurred it is for North Korea’s own good to keep their nuclear weapons.
Syria was a country that trusted the United States and gave their nuclear weapons away, for a couple of years this seemed to be working. At the time Syria was a dictatorship, which means that 1 person or a family runs the entire country. When people living in Syria found out about democracy, they immediately wanted it. They started to rebel against the government, so the government turned to the United States for help. Not only did the US not help them, they helped the rebels! The US intentions were to get rid of dictatorship in all parts of the world. Therefor, to get rid of it, the rebels had to succeed. This is just one example of why North Korea should not give up their nuclear weapons.
Now I know what you are going to say, “North Korea is posing a threat on other countries.” I would just like to throw out there that there have only been two nuclear bombs ever dropped to intentionally hurt and kill people. You do realize that those two bombs were both dropped by the United Stated. What makes it fair that we have nuclear bombs and they don’t? It is unsafe for any country to have nuclear bombs. In my personal opinion, we should disarm all of the nuclear weapons so no one has a problem with taking them away. Do you think it is fair if we go in and take theirs away when we have enough to destroy the entire world? Do you really think that is fair? If we are going to go in and take theirs away we need to destroy ours to. They say that they are only keeping the bombs for peaceful purposes, but is a nuclear bomb peaceful at all?
If you think about it, it is unfair for anyone to force them to give up their nuclear weapons for many reasons such as National Sovereignty and safety. Is it fair for the major powers of the world to have nuclear bombs and not them? Think about it long and hard.
9th grade Humanities
Period 1-2
Luke Stetler
1/28/14
Should North Korea be able to keep their Nuclear Weapons?
North Korea, even though some people think it might be dangerous, should be able to keep their nuclear weapons. You have to take in account National Sovereignty and the fact that Syria, when they gave up their nuclear weapons, their people rebelled and the US turned against them.
National Sovereignty plays a big role in taking away the nuclear weapons of North Korea. National Sovereignty means that every country has rule over their own people and land. If the United States were to go in and take the nuclear weapons away, that would be breaking North Korea’s National Sovereignty.
“There are no such guarantees that you will be protected in this age of humanitarianism.” (Rodger Baker, page #2)
This means that even if North Korea were to give up their nuclear weapons to the United States, The US could not promise that they will always be protected. In return, this becomes a big problem for the safety of North Korea’s own people and country.
The United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia and China are much more powerful than North Korea and it’s likely to stay that way. Since North Korea has kept their nuclear bombs, they have become more of a target to the bigger powers. This becomes a bigger and bigger problem by the day. If North Korea were to give up their bombs now, it is likely that a bigger power will come in and take over their country. Since this problem has occurred it is for North Korea’s own good to keep their nuclear weapons.
Syria was a country that trusted the United States and gave their nuclear weapons away, for a couple of years this seemed to be working. At the time Syria was a dictatorship, which means that 1 person or a family runs the entire country. When people living in Syria found out about democracy, they immediately wanted it. They started to rebel against the government, so the government turned to the United States for help. Not only did the US not help them, they helped the rebels! The US intentions were to get rid of dictatorship in all parts of the world. Therefor, to get rid of it, the rebels had to succeed. This is just one example of why North Korea should not give up their nuclear weapons.
Now I know what you are going to say, “North Korea is posing a threat on other countries.” I would just like to throw out there that there have only been two nuclear bombs ever dropped to intentionally hurt and kill people. You do realize that those two bombs were both dropped by the United Stated. What makes it fair that we have nuclear bombs and they don’t? It is unsafe for any country to have nuclear bombs. In my personal opinion, we should disarm all of the nuclear weapons so no one has a problem with taking them away. Do you think it is fair if we go in and take theirs away when we have enough to destroy the entire world? Do you really think that is fair? If we are going to go in and take theirs away we need to destroy ours to. They say that they are only keeping the bombs for peaceful purposes, but is a nuclear bomb peaceful at all?
If you think about it, it is unfair for anyone to force them to give up their nuclear weapons for many reasons such as National Sovereignty and safety. Is it fair for the major powers of the world to have nuclear bombs and not them? Think about it long and hard.
Resolution 1 - North Korea
General Assembly Committee
Pakistan (by Luke Stetler)
ALLOWING NORTH KOREA TO HAVE NUCLEAR WEAPONS
The Security Council and General Assembly
Recognizing that North Korea having Nuclear Weapons is not a problem for Pakistan it might become a problem for other countries in the United Nations,
Aware that the UN has placed economic sanctions on North Korea and that they have only become more aggressive towards the rest of the world, there are no such guarantees you will be protected in this day and age of humanitarianism. (Banks 2),
Taking into consideration that the Nuclear detonation bans, such as the “Treaty of non-proliferation of Nuclear weapons (NPT) and the “Partial Test Ban Treaty” (PTBT), have not stopped North Korea from building nuclear weapons,
Bearing in mind that the United States has been the only country to drop Nuclear Weapons this means that it is much more dangerous for the United States to have nuclear Weapons then North Korea,
Realizing how small North Korea is compared to huge countries like the United States, France, Russia and the United Kingdom, this makes it very unlikely for a country a hundredth of the size to launch a Nuclear attack against a country that could destroy them thousands of times over,
1) Pakistan comes up with new ideas for North Korea to be able to keep their Nuclear Weapons, such as talking to the Security Council and the General Assembly about North Korea being able to build and test nukes;
2) Having heard that the United Nations in confused about what to do about North Korea, North Korea has increased their production of Nuclear Weapons and Pakistan is providing them with the materials and the technology to do so;
(a) Pakistan is providing North Korea with things such as Uranium to build the Nuclear Weapons:
3) Strongly supporting the peace treaty, all of the countries of the United Nations are waiting for North Korea to sign the peace treaty between the United States and North Korea;
(a) Last Wednesday the North Koreans formally asked the United States to sign a peace treaty ending the Korean war for good:
(b) The United States is debating whether to sign this peace treaty because of D.P.R.K, which is North Korea’s Nuclear program, they want North Korea to shut down this program before proceeding to sign the treaty:
4) Drawing to attention that it would be more dangerous to send in troops to get the nuclear weapons then to let them do what they want;
5) Supporting that North Korea should be able to keep their nuclear weapons we are going to do everything we can to keep other countries out of North Korea.
General Assembly Committee
Pakistan (by Luke Stetler)
ALLOWING NORTH KOREA TO HAVE NUCLEAR WEAPONS
The Security Council and General Assembly
Recognizing that North Korea having Nuclear Weapons is not a problem for Pakistan it might become a problem for other countries in the United Nations,
Aware that the UN has placed economic sanctions on North Korea and that they have only become more aggressive towards the rest of the world, there are no such guarantees you will be protected in this day and age of humanitarianism. (Banks 2),
Taking into consideration that the Nuclear detonation bans, such as the “Treaty of non-proliferation of Nuclear weapons (NPT) and the “Partial Test Ban Treaty” (PTBT), have not stopped North Korea from building nuclear weapons,
Bearing in mind that the United States has been the only country to drop Nuclear Weapons this means that it is much more dangerous for the United States to have nuclear Weapons then North Korea,
Realizing how small North Korea is compared to huge countries like the United States, France, Russia and the United Kingdom, this makes it very unlikely for a country a hundredth of the size to launch a Nuclear attack against a country that could destroy them thousands of times over,
1) Pakistan comes up with new ideas for North Korea to be able to keep their Nuclear Weapons, such as talking to the Security Council and the General Assembly about North Korea being able to build and test nukes;
2) Having heard that the United Nations in confused about what to do about North Korea, North Korea has increased their production of Nuclear Weapons and Pakistan is providing them with the materials and the technology to do so;
(a) Pakistan is providing North Korea with things such as Uranium to build the Nuclear Weapons:
3) Strongly supporting the peace treaty, all of the countries of the United Nations are waiting for North Korea to sign the peace treaty between the United States and North Korea;
(a) Last Wednesday the North Koreans formally asked the United States to sign a peace treaty ending the Korean war for good:
(b) The United States is debating whether to sign this peace treaty because of D.P.R.K, which is North Korea’s Nuclear program, they want North Korea to shut down this program before proceeding to sign the treaty:
4) Drawing to attention that it would be more dangerous to send in troops to get the nuclear weapons then to let them do what they want;
5) Supporting that North Korea should be able to keep their nuclear weapons we are going to do everything we can to keep other countries out of North Korea.
Policy Paper 2 - Israel vs. Palestine
9th Grade Humanities
Period 1-2
Luke Stetler
2/28/14
Pakistan’s View on the Palestine and Israel Conflict
Palestinians, even though they had no intent on complying with United Nations resolution 181, should have the right to return to the country. This is their traditional homeland and there is no reason why they shouldn't be able to go back there. After World War II, many of the Jews left their homelands in Europe, and migrated to Palestine. I understand that the Jews went through very hard times in Europe, but that does not make it fair for them to go to Palestine and take over the Country. Since they took it over, the Palestinian people were sent to refugee camps. This is very unfair.
Since the creation of the Jewish state, there have been issues between Israel and Pakistan. People in Israel refer to it as a “love-hate relationship.” Pakistan and Israel have strong communication relations, but Pakistan has much better relations with the Palestinians. Pakistan fully supports the resolution to make Palestine an independent state. That means the Palestinians would have their own government and they would be a sovereign nation. Pakistan has supported the Palestinians with things like military power and financing. In the war of 1967 and 1973, Pakistan bought 250,000 rifles for the Palestinians. They also bought war planes the Palestinians used for bombing missions and air combat. If Pakistan had to chose a side, it would choose the Palestinians.
Much of the land now occupied by the Jewish state was traditional Palestinian homeland. Israel was formed by diplomats after World War I and World War II who did not take the rights of the Palestinians into consideration. Doesn’t that make it fair for the Palestinians to return to their own land? It is like if you were to push the Mexico border up into Texas and telling all of those people that were living in Texas to move. This brings us back to the issue of land settlement. Pakistan proposes that we take military action against the people of Israel and let the Palestinians back into their homeland.
9th Grade Humanities
Period 1-2
Luke Stetler
2/28/14
Pakistan’s View on the Palestine and Israel Conflict
Palestinians, even though they had no intent on complying with United Nations resolution 181, should have the right to return to the country. This is their traditional homeland and there is no reason why they shouldn't be able to go back there. After World War II, many of the Jews left their homelands in Europe, and migrated to Palestine. I understand that the Jews went through very hard times in Europe, but that does not make it fair for them to go to Palestine and take over the Country. Since they took it over, the Palestinian people were sent to refugee camps. This is very unfair.
Since the creation of the Jewish state, there have been issues between Israel and Pakistan. People in Israel refer to it as a “love-hate relationship.” Pakistan and Israel have strong communication relations, but Pakistan has much better relations with the Palestinians. Pakistan fully supports the resolution to make Palestine an independent state. That means the Palestinians would have their own government and they would be a sovereign nation. Pakistan has supported the Palestinians with things like military power and financing. In the war of 1967 and 1973, Pakistan bought 250,000 rifles for the Palestinians. They also bought war planes the Palestinians used for bombing missions and air combat. If Pakistan had to chose a side, it would choose the Palestinians.
Much of the land now occupied by the Jewish state was traditional Palestinian homeland. Israel was formed by diplomats after World War I and World War II who did not take the rights of the Palestinians into consideration. Doesn’t that make it fair for the Palestinians to return to their own land? It is like if you were to push the Mexico border up into Texas and telling all of those people that were living in Texas to move. This brings us back to the issue of land settlement. Pakistan proposes that we take military action against the people of Israel and let the Palestinians back into their homeland.
Resolution 2 - Israel vs. Palestine
General Assembly Committee
Pakistan (by Luke Stetler)
Israel vs. Palestine Right of Return
The Security Council and General Assembly
Recognizing that the United Nations has tried to come up with many solutions to the Israel and Palestine conflict,
Understanding that the fate of the Palestinians relies on the solution of this crisis,
Aware that resolution 181 to split the land into two states failed and the two countries fighting makes it clear that passing a resolution that both countries that would agree to is no easy task,
Noting that ever since the creation of the United Nations in 1948, there have been 79 resolutions put in place that have directly influenced the Israel/Palestine conflict. “Violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions, the U.N. Charter, the Geneva Conventions, international terrorism, or other violations of international law” (Israeli-Palestine conflict 1),
Realizing that the Jewish people drove over 500,000 Arab people out of their homes,
Bearing in mind that the mistreatment of the Jewish people in Europe makes us think of how cruel and hurtful the human race can be,
Taking into consideration that when the Palestinians were driven out of their homes in Palestine, they were moved to refugee camps in surrounding countries such as Jordan, Syria, and Egypt,
Aware that the conditions in these camps are horrendous. The number of registered Palestine refugees (PR) has subsequently grown from 750,000 in 1950 to around 5 million in 2013 (Palestine Refugee Camps 1),
Bearing in mind that Jerusalem is very holy land to both parties, the one state resolution gives both parties equal access,
1) Declares that Pakistan has many ideas to help Palestine get back into their land and the main idea that they propose is a one state solution;
2) Having heard that the United Nations can’t come up with a solution to this problem, Pakistan has been trying to come up with a solution that would benefit both countries;
3) Approves that Pakistan is a major supporter of the one state solution;
4) Strongly supporting the need for a resolution to this problem and that the conditions where the Palestinians live are horrific, “Besides mass slaughter and destruction, wars create refugees, millions at times, uprooted, displaced and homeless, on their own somehow to survive. Israel’s “War of Independence” was no different, dispossessing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians” (Lendman 1);
5) Drawing to attention that the Palestinians that were in their homes when the Jewish people came in were moved to other countries and they need to be moved back into Palestine and made citizens;
6) Supporting that Palestine is an occupied land from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River, and this is the right of the entire Palestinian people, this land (Nasrallah 1);
7) Having heard about this issue for so many years, Pakistan believes fully in the solution to put the Palestinians back in their place in Israel/Palestine;
8) Supporting the one state resolution means that the Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are completely legal;
General Assembly Committee
Pakistan (by Luke Stetler)
Israel vs. Palestine Right of Return
The Security Council and General Assembly
Recognizing that the United Nations has tried to come up with many solutions to the Israel and Palestine conflict,
Understanding that the fate of the Palestinians relies on the solution of this crisis,
Aware that resolution 181 to split the land into two states failed and the two countries fighting makes it clear that passing a resolution that both countries that would agree to is no easy task,
Noting that ever since the creation of the United Nations in 1948, there have been 79 resolutions put in place that have directly influenced the Israel/Palestine conflict. “Violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions, the U.N. Charter, the Geneva Conventions, international terrorism, or other violations of international law” (Israeli-Palestine conflict 1),
Realizing that the Jewish people drove over 500,000 Arab people out of their homes,
Bearing in mind that the mistreatment of the Jewish people in Europe makes us think of how cruel and hurtful the human race can be,
Taking into consideration that when the Palestinians were driven out of their homes in Palestine, they were moved to refugee camps in surrounding countries such as Jordan, Syria, and Egypt,
Aware that the conditions in these camps are horrendous. The number of registered Palestine refugees (PR) has subsequently grown from 750,000 in 1950 to around 5 million in 2013 (Palestine Refugee Camps 1),
Bearing in mind that Jerusalem is very holy land to both parties, the one state resolution gives both parties equal access,
1) Declares that Pakistan has many ideas to help Palestine get back into their land and the main idea that they propose is a one state solution;
2) Having heard that the United Nations can’t come up with a solution to this problem, Pakistan has been trying to come up with a solution that would benefit both countries;
3) Approves that Pakistan is a major supporter of the one state solution;
4) Strongly supporting the need for a resolution to this problem and that the conditions where the Palestinians live are horrific, “Besides mass slaughter and destruction, wars create refugees, millions at times, uprooted, displaced and homeless, on their own somehow to survive. Israel’s “War of Independence” was no different, dispossessing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians” (Lendman 1);
5) Drawing to attention that the Palestinians that were in their homes when the Jewish people came in were moved to other countries and they need to be moved back into Palestine and made citizens;
6) Supporting that Palestine is an occupied land from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River, and this is the right of the entire Palestinian people, this land (Nasrallah 1);
7) Having heard about this issue for so many years, Pakistan believes fully in the solution to put the Palestinians back in their place in Israel/Palestine;
8) Supporting the one state resolution means that the Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are completely legal;
Luke Stetler
3/19/14
Model United Nations
1) What would you tell another student if they asked why the MUN project was important?
If another student or parent were to ask me “why the Model United Nations project is important” I would tell them that it is very important. The model UN is something that happens in the real world, at Animas High School they are teaching skills that will help me in the real world. Since the United Nations solves that major worlds problems, it is very important to learn about them to keep peace between countries. Learning about this will help future generations know more about how the world functions.
2) Think of this project overall- which habit of heart and mind were you most proud of using during the conference?
I was most proud of my advocacy during this project. My resolution was chosen to be in the docket. This means that the resolution that I wrote was chosen to be discussed at the exhibition. Since my countries perspective is so different then other countries, people would talk about how bad it was. No hard feelings that was their job but, after they got done with their speech, I would discuss my resolution to them on all of the parts that they got wrong. I advocated for myself to make sure that the other countries had a real understanding of my resolution, not the modified version.
3) What was the greatest challenge that you faced during this project and how did you work through it?
I had many challenges during this project but I think my most major one is writing my second resolution. For some reason I was having a lot of trouble getting my ideas out onto the paper. My first resolution about the North Korean issue seemed to come out a little bit more smoothly. The way I worked through it is I made myself sit down and do it. It was difficult but it was only a matter of time before all of the ideas came out. I probably spent double the time on this resolution but, it all turned out okay when it made it on the docket.
4) What was the most interesting speech, resolution, amendment or comment by one of your delegates?
One of the most interesting speeches was Tristan Greers. Not only did he give most of the information that was needed for a good speech, he made it funny in the process. Some people were so boring to listen to. The people that just gave the information, I lost track because I got bored listening to them. I think the most interesting resolution was IC written by myself Pakistan. The thing that made it the most interesting is that it is so different. Every other resolution had the 2 state solution, mine had the one state. There were also many other changes but it would take a page to explain them all.
3/19/14
Model United Nations
1) What would you tell another student if they asked why the MUN project was important?
If another student or parent were to ask me “why the Model United Nations project is important” I would tell them that it is very important. The model UN is something that happens in the real world, at Animas High School they are teaching skills that will help me in the real world. Since the United Nations solves that major worlds problems, it is very important to learn about them to keep peace between countries. Learning about this will help future generations know more about how the world functions.
2) Think of this project overall- which habit of heart and mind were you most proud of using during the conference?
I was most proud of my advocacy during this project. My resolution was chosen to be in the docket. This means that the resolution that I wrote was chosen to be discussed at the exhibition. Since my countries perspective is so different then other countries, people would talk about how bad it was. No hard feelings that was their job but, after they got done with their speech, I would discuss my resolution to them on all of the parts that they got wrong. I advocated for myself to make sure that the other countries had a real understanding of my resolution, not the modified version.
3) What was the greatest challenge that you faced during this project and how did you work through it?
I had many challenges during this project but I think my most major one is writing my second resolution. For some reason I was having a lot of trouble getting my ideas out onto the paper. My first resolution about the North Korean issue seemed to come out a little bit more smoothly. The way I worked through it is I made myself sit down and do it. It was difficult but it was only a matter of time before all of the ideas came out. I probably spent double the time on this resolution but, it all turned out okay when it made it on the docket.
4) What was the most interesting speech, resolution, amendment or comment by one of your delegates?
One of the most interesting speeches was Tristan Greers. Not only did he give most of the information that was needed for a good speech, he made it funny in the process. Some people were so boring to listen to. The people that just gave the information, I lost track because I got bored listening to them. I think the most interesting resolution was IC written by myself Pakistan. The thing that made it the most interesting is that it is so different. Every other resolution had the 2 state solution, mine had the one state. There were also many other changes but it would take a page to explain them all.