Sociology Experiment

I was in a group with Alex B, and JD Shadrach. Our project was to see how people react to things that are out of the dorm in that certain area. We decided to go downtown because we felt that it would have a vast range or people. JD had beads and threw them at random people wishing them Happy mardi gras.

Here's the video

http://alexbustamove.blogspot.com/2009/03/mardi-gras.html

short story

In Elika's class we looked into why people use drugs. We first choose a drug and researched it and wrote a research paper. After that we did 3 interviews. And finally wrote a creative short story that incorporated the research we found and our interviews. My drug of choice was heroin. This is the short story I wrote.


Mya Clausius-Davis
Sociology Class
March 23, 2009

The path to heroin addiction
She was sweet and pretty; she had a certain glow about herself; she was seventeen. She had full, chestnut-brown hair that hit right below her shoulders with olive skin and almond shaped light blue eyes with a hint of gray. She also had freckles sprinkled across her face which created a bit of peacefulness to her. She was 5’4, 120, with an athletic build. Her name was Tina. She was a normal girl, she was very friendly not in the popular group but friends with them. She participated in sports and used to be in Girl Scouts. She had a wonderful life, both loving parents there to support her and help guide her to college. Nothing seemed to be in her way to her dream job as a chemist. But this all changed prom night at an after party.
There Tina was, surrounded by the popular group. She was invited to their after party and, not having attending any of their previous parties decided to go. There were drinks passed around, blunts, bongs, you name it. There he was: Chris. He was the most gorgeous guy she had ever laid her eyes on and she had been eyeing him for quite awhile. He looked like he came from the movies. He had perfectly tan skin with dark brown messy hair; but the kind that was sexy messy. His eyes were deep jade green with flecks of gold in them and they were outlined in thick lush dark eyelashes. His body was very toned, but not too toned. He approached her and asked if she wanted to smoke. She knew this smell, it was the very distinct smell of weed. She was always appalled by the smell. But boys were always her weakness; she never had a boyfriend and had been wanting this one for quite awhile. So to try to impress him she took it and inhaled deeply. She started to cough and she felt her face turn bright red. She felt completely embarrassed. So much for impressing him she told to herself I just wanna die.
He chuckled and said “Don’t worry that’s exactly what happened my first time. Here, try again. Just relax.”
She relaxed, inhaled, and exhaled.
“See that wasn’t so bad, was it?” he asked.
“No, hah it wasn’t so bad, I’m glad I have you here with me,” she looked and him and smiled.
“Well I’ve got to go,” he replied
“Oh okay,” disappointment in her voice.
He turned around, “Hey we should hang out again sometime.”
I can’t believe this is happening she thought in her head. He finally noticed me, this is so great. Maybe it’s the weed; I always am so winded up when I see him. I was so relaxed this time I didn’t seem like a complete idiot. Maybe I’ll do this more often but just when I’m going to hang out with him. It’s not bad it’s not like I’m going to get addicted, she thought to herself.
As the night progressed she met new people and made new friends. She seemed a lot more relaxed and laughed at just about everything.
The next morning she woke up smiling. I can’t believe I have been missing out on those parties and weed. I thought it was such a horrible drug but it’s not. I don’t feel sick or anything.
As the months went by, Tina started hanging out with Chris more and more, and each time she was with him they would smoke weed and sometimes drink some alcohol.
“Hey, do you want to go to a concert with me?” he looked at her and asked.
Oh my god, I can not believe he is asking me that, me go out on a date with him? I am the luckiest girl ever, she though to herself.
“I would love to Chris!” she replied with excitement in her voice.
“Cool meet me tomorrow at my house, I’ll drive us to the show. See yah then,” Chris said with a cool grin that made her completely melt inside.
That night, Tina could not fall asleep. I am finally going on a date with Chris. I have to tell Dana about this. She is going to die!
The next day was a normal school day. But this time the day seemed like the minutes were like hours she was just so excited to go on the date that the day would never end! She took a quick glance at the clock, it was 2:30 and she could finally make her way over to Chris’ house. They left and he drove over to the concert.
It was like nothing she had seen before. The name she would never forget Brinos. From the outside, it looked like a hole in the wall. The posters were peeling off and the r in the name flickered. But when you managed to make your way inside, there was a completely different vibe. It was packed full; the air was hot and musty and smelled of cologne and sweat. It was dim but bright enough to see the sea of red faces and the band up front. Chris tapped her on the shoulder and she turned to see a blunt in his hand.
“Hey smoke this,” Chris said.
She took a few puffs, but this time she felt different. It wasn’t the same feeling as the weed. She felt completely dizzy and very sick. Then she felt a warm, fuzzy feeling come over her body. She felt whole and like nothing could bring her down. She just took in the concert, this was a feeling she had never felt before and she really liked it.
Hours went by, during those hours she would feel nauseous but then she would also feel like nothing she had ever felt before. From that moment on even though she didn’t know it quite yet; she had started her journey as a heroin addict. Later that night when she was home, she got a text from Chris.
“That wasn’t pot, btw. It was heroin.”
She texted him back, “That’s what I thought, I felt different, better than pot. Do you have anymore?”
She realized she was craving it already, but she wasn’t worried, she just wanted more, she couldn’t get the idea of more out of her head. From that point on, Tina would meet up with Chris as often and as soon as she could to shoot, snort, or smoke heroin. She preferred snorting it because it was a quicker high than smoking it. When she didn’t get the drugs, her body would get mad at her she’d feel sick but all she had to do was get the drug and she’d be back in the state of well being. Months went by as the drug ruled her life. She had loss so much weight because she lost her appetite; all she wanted was more heroin. She began selling anything including her body just to get the money to get high. And she needed even more money than before because she had used heroin so much her that body was building a tolerance to it. She had to use more and more to feel the rush.
“Tina, the school called. They said you haven’t shown up for a week. What the hell is going on with you?!” Her mom said in a panicky confused tone.
“I’ve been busy,” Tina replied.
“You’ve been busy….Tina, what is going on it all started with that boy Chris! You’re not allowed to see him anymore!” her mom screamed.
“Whatever, I can do whatever I want, and you can’t do anything about it,” Tina sneered.
Her mom grabbed her arm rough enough to rip her sleeve, “You listen to me missy don’t you dare talk back to me. This is my house and you’re going to listen to my rules.” She looked down at the arm that had been exposed by her torn shirt; her mom saw needle marks in Tina’s arm. “Oh my god…”She started crying, “Are you doing drugs? Why do you have needle marks? My baby girl what happened?” her mom sobbed.
Tina looked into her mother’s eyes. She saw sadness and compassion. She knew she had done something wrong, she knew that she needed help. She broke down and told her mother everything. About how it started with pot and how much she liked Chris and about the concert and everything she had to feed her addiction. Her mom pulled her in held her so tight. They cried for hours. Tina looked at her,
“Please don’t tell Dad.”
“I won’t but we’re going to get you some help, you have to get some,” she replied with tears trickling down her face.
That night her mother researched the drug rehabilitation centers in their area and enrolled Tina in one. The morning came, Tina was absolutely dreading it, but in the back of her mind, she knew this was necessary. The first 4 days were hell. She felt like she had a horrible flu, her body had unbearable aches and she felt sick to her stomach.
The worst part was that she knew if she just did a little bit of heroin everything would feel great again. It was that easy.
Now Tina has been clean for two months. In her heart she knows she will always be an addict, but if she keeps her mind set on her goals and surrounds herself with people who have her true well being in mind life will be easier.

resource management project

This project started off with us created a project proposal containing a brief history on how the resource got to the state it is in now, what other places are doing about this problem, our solution, and lastly a timeline for our project. For this project I was partners with Sophia and our mismanaged resource was water in San Diego. Our solution was bringing up awareness because we felt people didn't know the extent of the actual problem. We thought if they were aware they would be able to help prevent the problem. We created an abstract, a letter to a congressman, donation proposal to businesses, flyers, and we were the host for the event.

Project Proposal:

Mya Clausius-Davis
Sophia Gholson
Resource Management Project
1 Dec. 2008
Project Proposal

I. Resource
A. The current water issue (or lack there of) in San Diego, California.
II. Research Sources
A. San Diego County Water Authority (www.sdcwa.org)
B. San Diego Integrated Regional Water Management (www.rmcwater.com/clients/sdirwmp)
C. The City of San Diego Reports: City of San Diego’s Water Crisis (www.sandiego.gov/cityattorney/reports/watercrisis.shtml)
D. KPBS: Tapped Out (www.kpbs.org/tappedout)
E. US Army Corps of Engineers: Institute for Water Resources (www.iwr.usace.army.mil)
F. BBC News: World Water Crisis (news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/world/2000/world_water_crisis/default.stm)
III. End Product and Presentation
A. Documentary
1. Important figures, knowledgeable in the water crisis
2. Finding/analyzing SD citizens’ awareness of crisis
3. Examples of effects of crisis
4. Solutions to crisis
5. Theme: educational and entertaining
B. Event/Meeting
1. Present information and video at community meetings around High Tech Village
2. Hold parent information night/meeting and give presentation along with solutions and list of helpful organizations.
IV. Historical Context
A. San Diego is practically a desert with highly unreliable rainfall.
B. Problem for over two centuries.
1. Kumeyaay used irrigation systems (SD River).
2. Late 1700s/Early 1800s - Spanish Missions: dams, aqueducts, storage systems from SD River and San Luis Rey River. All had access, but water was not wasted.
3. Late 1800s - SD more popular and prosperous, so more needed water. Entrepreneurs and private companies began diverting water and setting up elaborate companies for the growing population and citrus farms.
4. Dams began to pop-up in areas owned by private investors, and bits and pieces of land became suddenly habitable (like Del Mar, which was financed by a railroad company).
5. 1901 - Municipal water system created. Private investors/companies over.
V. Current Issues/Management
A. 24 government water agencies.
B. SD population is almost 3 million, but 80% of water comes from Colorado River and Sacramento Delta.
VI. Other Situations
A. The Yellow River in Northern China
1. Holds 2/3 of country, but only 1/5 of water supply.
2. The river is polluted and running dry.
B. Catalonia, Spain
1. Over ½ Europe is using groundwater at impossible rates.
2. 4.5 million people live in Catalonia, and chronic water shortages are ruining them. Authorities are trying to construct a diversion from the Rhone in France to Barcelona.
VII. Proposed Solution
A. Awareness
1. Problem: population does not know gravity of water crisis
2. Solution: tell them.
a. We will make signs and flyers to post around neighborhoods and businesses. These will include the website where our documentary will be posted along with other sites that could be helpful.
b. In addition, we will make announcements around schools and door-to-door. We will provide simple solutions/daily ways to decrease water usage.
IIX. Timeline
A. Plan parent meeting.
Propose/approve date and time.
Gather volunteers.
Request assistance from teachers and nearby businesses.
Request speakers.
Plan night’s agenda.
Send out emails, announce at community meeting, post and pass out flyers.
B. Plan Documentary.
Contact those we wish to include in film.
Decide film’s timeline.
Create question list for public.
Research effects and solutions included in film.
C. Film.
Question public on water crisis awareness.
Conduct interviews.
Film students.
Film effects/solutions segments.
D. Edit Documentary.
E. Create flyers and signs.
Peers edit drafts.
Make copies.
F. Present documentary to school(s).
Approve community meeting.
G. Hold parent meeting.
H. Pass out flyers throughout neighborhoods and post at local businesses.
IX. Resources.
A. Documentary
1. Computer, editing software, camera, cameraman, interviewees, etc.
B. Parent Meeting
1. Computer, volunteers, projector, main commons, paper, food, etc.
C. Flyers/Signs
1. Paper, markers, pencils, computer, editors, copy machines, staple guns, tape, car, etc.

Research Paper:

Mya Clausius-Davis
Sophia Gholson
Resource Research Paper
10 Dec. 2008
Wasted
Nearly every successful population relies on technology, but what happens when that technology becomes so much the main focus that other resources are neglected? That is the issue currently at hand around the world, in the United States, and, specifically, San Diego. Despite the fact that the amount of water has always been an issue in this city, not many are of aware of the situation. That is a problem we are hoping to fix. Through the forceful thrust of the water crisis into the public eye, our hope is to create somewhat of a change, even if it is as minor as modest knowledge.
Every successful population needs water, and San Diego is no exception. From the Kumeyaays to the present day populace, water has been our “fountain of youth” and, as when any large body of people locate a miracle, they use it and use it until there is none left. Well, now is that time: our wells have dried up. This is only speaking figuratively, seeing as how wells have not been used in San Diego since missionaries first made their mark. Working their way over from Spain in the Late 1700s, missionaries were the ones to update the Native Americans’ archaic irrigation systems. Through the implementation of dams, aqueducts, and storage systems from the San Diego and San Luis Rey Rivers, all had access to water, but none of it was wasted. As the Southern California city began to gain popularity, it grew more prosperous and, as a result, more thirsty. Entrepreneurs and private companies began to sense the value of expanding the water system, especially when the water moved in their favor. So, the rich and hopeful began diverting the resource via dams to suddenly habitable areas like Del Mar, financed by a railroad company with tracks that “happened” to pass through that area. While profits from water diversion were circling between a select few throughout the late 1800s, it all changed in 1901 when the Municipal System was created (Burkhard “San Diego”). This allowed for equal and fair water distribution, which could very well be the cause of the water crisis San Diego currently faces. However, California is not the only area with a history of “dry days.”
Every piece of land is unique and presents its own challenges: in tropical areas like Cambodia, water seems plentiful. However, there are areas of this country that lack a non-saltwater version of this resource. The solution: recycling. While it has not been implemented yet, the idea is to have all water recycled through a system that converts it into a clean source (Conway “Local Solutions”). Because Cambodia is a comparatively small country, the area being covered is much less and therefore a great deal easier to manage. But, for larger areas, this system can be a difficult one to control because there is always the possibility that a small percentage of the water will be unsanitary and essentially unsafe for use by the public. This is a well-suited option for smaller communities or countries, but, unfortunately, it would not prove beneficial in the United States.
Another such example is in India, where gullies – ditches that are gradually eroded into the land -- hold the water, preventing it from spreading. Because this is so obviously hindering, the country has decided to fill and flatten these gullies, allowing the water to expand to areas earlier untouched. This provides a more usable – as in farmable – soil, along with preventing the growth of water-born insects like mosquitoes, which can be carriers of deadly diseases. Because every drop of water is being used, this is one of the best and most effective solutions. Currently, America is not using water wisely. Instead, they are going through as though it is an easily renewable resource, while it is a known fact that water is not. India understands that water is limited, and has demonstrated this by utilizing it in a way that benefits more than one aspect (Conway “Local Solutions”). Again, while this is a truly useful system in India, a more rural country, America is too technologically advanced for it to prove helpful.
While these are both decent examples of quality water management, some countries hit more close to home, both figuratively and physically: In desert areas like Mexico, water has always been an issue. The difference is they know how to control their consumption. The country uses an aquifer from which they pump water; but, to be sure that the valuable source never runs out, regulations have been created and sustained. These rules make sure that the pumping is under the inflow of water rate (Conway “Local Solutions”). Of course, when guidelines are set in place, it is always difficult to judge whether the public will follow them. Luckily, what with the obvious lack of water in the hot, dry climate, most understand the preciousness of water and refuse to let it go to waste. Which is why this is the sort of example may work in the United States: even if many are not aware of the water crisis now, they soon will be, and a solution will be necessary to protect even a small part of our extravagant way of life.
When water has been around since earth’s creation, it seems almost silly that its present availability is such an issue. The truth is -- and it may be ugly -- that up until now, water has played such a huge part of man’s everyday life that it has come to be ignored, almost even disregarded. That is largely the reason that this crisis exists today. Because water has been so thoughtlessly devoured in the United States -- along with many other countries throughout the world -- the time of luxury has come to a standstill. If a solution is not found soon, more than our lawns and half-hour showers will be at stake: our social, economic, and environmental ways of life will be completely changed. Because water will not only become depleted in America, the conflict over the resource could escalate into a full-on war, which is one of the greatest worries when it comes to this issue (“Effects of Drought”). As if WWI and WWII were not bad enough, imagine going to war over something as seemingly insignificant as water? The United States could easily drop two spots to a third-world country. This is the precise reason we are searching for a solution.
We know that we want to raise awareness, but that can be difficult. Every day, people watch, read, or hear ads spouting speeches on all sorts of worthy causes; it hardly ever makes a difference. What the public needs is to truly see how much of a difference our lifestyle is affecting the world. If people fully understood how much their future is going to be affected by this issue, they would surely be much more willing to address this situation and the crisis would become a great deal more manageable. Thus, our solution is to force awareness on the public, because the simple ads are not working. We will place flyers and posters throughout family neighborhoods and local businesses, while speaking one-on-one with the public through door-to-door conversations. Hopefully, all of this will have the effect of compelling people to at least be conscious of this almost personal issue, if not responsible. Although, with the issue being openly pushed on them daily, the goal is to create a gradual growth into a more conservative lifestyle. Once this issue is completely addressed and forced into the eyes of the everyday person, a real change could occur and, no matter how minor, any change is a good one.
Two thirds of the world is covered with water, but only 2.5% of it does not contain salt; and, to top it off, two thirds of that is frozen (“World Water”). We are in dire need of some sort of system to help us regain control and gain the ability to rescue our water. If we do not address this situation, and soon, it is realistic to say that we may have no water in our future. Now, whether we like it or not, we have a choice to make: we can either continue ignoring the problem or set about finding a solution. We must understand that water cannot be used as a luxury for so many years without having to eventually pay the consequences. The days of instant satisfaction are over and it is time that we prepare for the future effects this crisis may bring. Water is not everlasting.
Works Cited

Burkhard, Pat Finn. “San Diego has a History of Water Challenges.” KPBS.org. 17 Oct. 2007. KPBS Local News. 30 Nov. 2008. .

Conway, Kevin. “Local Solutions to the Global Water Crisis.” The International Development Resource Centre. IDRC Archive. 6 Dec. 2008. <>.

“Effects of Drought.” Library.ThinkQuest.org. Drought. 7 Dec. 2008. .

“World Water Crisis.” News.bbc.co.uk. BBC News. 6 Dec. 2008. .

Abstract: We are focusing on the San Diego water Crisis. There aren’t laws restricted water use and if they are they are too open-ended and lenient.

For this project we were all about awareness. So we created two flyers for our event.

Since we were hosting an event we wanted to have the guests feel comfortable and it was also an incentive for them to come. We created a donation letter to hand out to businesses in the libery station area.

Donation Letter:

Dear _________________,
My name is Sophia Gholson and I am writing to you as a student of High Tech High International. My partner, Mya Clausius-Davis, and I are hosting a Water Conservation presentation at our school-wide exhibition on Feb. 11 from 6 to 8 pm. Parents as well as the public and local business-owners/managers will be invited to learn about the growing water crisis in San Diego and everyday solutions that can help. We are inviting you to join and learn about this concern, as well as things you as a business can do to lessen your usage.
Because this is a not-for-profit event, we are also asking that you donate any items that would be helpful. We are expecting ______________ visitors and would appreciate _____________________________________ in whatever amount you could provide. Your business’ name would be announced and you may display any signs/other forms of advertisement you wish. We thank you for your time and hope you approve our proposal. It is an important cause that my partner and I wish to raise heavy awareness of and your donations would greatly help us in doing so.

Thank you,
Sophia Gholson
12th grade student at HTHI