Yefrey Gomez- Assignment Blog Post #2

I was never a huge political person, but that completely changed after doing this research and presentation. Once again in Group 4, I had the pleasure of being able to research and present my part on immigration policies. I was put in charge of American vs. World views, focusing on how American policies differ from those of other countries. I dove into every news outlet I could find, soaking up as much information as possible, and WOW—the things I learned about both immigration policies and politics in general blew my mind. I felt like I had stepped into an alternate universe; I may have even gone down the rabbit hole. This was probably one of the most engaging projects I’ve done so far, and I genuinely didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did. The experience gave me a newfound appreciation for how complex and interconnected immigration issues are around the world. I’m glad to have learned so much, and I’m even more excited about applying this knowledge in the future.

  

   This time around the order of presenting was switched around, so instead of group 1 going first, my group(4) would start. Sadly we were not as ready as we thought, but thanks to Professor Sinkoff being an amazing professor, we had time to make it as best we could. So then it starts with group 3, their part in this project was the election process. They did a great job explaining how exactly the electoral system works and how it is around the world. They also explained what a caucus and primaries are, which I had no idea what they meant so I'm glad I'm already learning something new 5 minutes in. My classmate Anthony did a great job explaining what exactly happens to our votes once they are cast. I also learned a couple of new names such as Eric Foner, Gary W. Gallagher and John M. Leuchtenburg, and Jill Lepore. Kyle showed me the organizations involved with the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. Orgs. such as the ACLU, Heritage Foundation, and Planned Childhood. Of course, depending on which side the organizations lean toward, there will always be biased advertisements. I already knew that of course, but I did not know just HOW MUCH they advertise. I didn't realize just how influential these orgs (Rock the Vote and Activote) really were until I decided to look a little more into it. 

   Next up was group 2; they taught me so much about gender equality and how it can and does affect our politics. I learned many things, such as how the first women's rights convention was held in 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York, or how the old movement was about legal rights, yet the new one is more about issues like reproductive rights. It doesn't stop there; I learned about some key figures in the women's movement. Figures such as Malala Yousafzai, Gloria Steinem, and Abiy Ahmed. I had heard previously about Gloria Steinem, but I had no idea who these other key figures were. What really blew my mind is just how different it comes to gender equality around the world. What may seem perfectly normal here in America is seen, and sometimes even frowned upon, in other countries. For example, in most parts of America, it is completely normal for a woman to earn the money and have her partner stay home, whereas in countries like Asia, the norm is for the man to make the money and the wife to stay home in the traditional way. It made me realize how cultural expectations heavily influence gender roles and the pace of change in each society. Hearing about these differences opened my eyes to the challenges women face globally. I came away with a deeper understanding of the complexities involved in achieving true gender equality.

   Then there was group 1, who gave me a new way of looking at education policies. They showed me how big the difference in ideas is between the Democrats and Republicans when it comes to education and its funding. Many candidates from the Republican party believe in the system of funding schools through local property tax. They explained that this approach often leads to differences in school funding, with richer areas having more money for their schools than poorer areas. On the other hand, many Democratic candidates support using state or federal funds to make sure schools get a fair share of money, no matter how wealthy the local area is. Group 1 showed how these differences in funding ideas come from each party’s views on the role of government and fairness in education. This discussion helped me understand how politics shapes education and affects students across the country.

One of the big eye-openers for me was just how little teachers truly make compared to other college-educated workers. It's like what an old high school teacher of mine once said, " I don't do it for the money, I do it for the love of it." 

   And lastly, there was group 4, my group, presenting on immigration policies. Oh man did I learn so many new things from all this research, not only mine, but my group members as well. The amount of discussions and arguments that have stemmed from this subject throughout the years has been mind-boggling. The way Alexa explained how important the media is when it comes to politics was a real eye-opener for me. I feel like we did a really good job presenting and expanding on the controversial issues and opinions that involve immigrants and immigration. As a Cuban-born man, I feel very strongly when it comes to this topic, so it was, for lack of a better word, a surprise to see how sensitive and touching this subject can be. During my research, I learned so many new things when it comes to the immigration policies of other countries when compared to America. While there were definitely some very strict ones, like Japan and China, there were also more lenient ones like the EU. Ultimately, when put together, I learned more from these 4 presentations than I ever thought I could. 

   

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