Delaware Tech Discuss Armed Teachers and Student Protest

Over a month has pass since the Parkland Florida school shooting and citizens are still buzzing about the event. Debates ranging fro arming teachers with handguns and students leading the protest on banning certain gun regulations have taken over social media.

On Feb. 14, 2018, 17 students and staff members of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School were gunned down by student, Nikolas Cruz. A few days after this event, students began to rally together to make lawmaker change the current gun policy.

President Donald Trump has spoken about arming certain teachers with small hand guns such as pistols to keep the students safe.

Conservative Political Action Conference outside of Washington, DC, in which he also suggested that teachers should be armed. Photo Credit: NBC News

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As a response, President Donald Trump tweeted, “Armed Educators (and trusted people who work within a school) love our students and will protect them. Very smart people. Must be firearms adept & have annual training. Should get yearly bonus. Shootings will not happen again - a big and very inexpensive deterrent. Up to States.”

Students and Staff at Delaware Technical Community College have voiced their opinions on the matter.

“That’s crazy.” Said Criminal Justice student Amir Kellam, “Why would you arm teachers with guns in the classrooms. They’re going to hurt themselves and the students.”’

Human Service student Alex DeRemier said “That’s a band-aid to a much larger problem. You’re just adding to the fire.”

Social media has exploded with all types of opinions about teachers being armed with guns. Some are opposing the idea of teachers being armed. However, not everyone believes that.

“I think that teachers should have guns instead of hiding and throwing a desk.” Entrepreneurship student Shamirah Smith said. “You never know what is going to happen and they can protect themselves more with it.”

Those who oppose to the idea of arming teachers with guns have suggested hiring retired veterans to work as security for the school.

One of the many opinions tweeted in response to the Donald Trump tweet about arming teachers. Photo Credit: DailyMail

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“I’m not up for arming teachers because some of them aren’t capable to do it for safety reasons.” Information Security student Cole Revel said. “Instead I’m up for more security. Meaning actual retire veterans or officers who know the regulations and firearms. Especially if a teacher misfires and accidentally shoots a student.”

As the debate with arming teachers continue on social media, the victims of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting have planned a nationwide walk out and, “March for our Lives” march at Washington D.C.

A banner for the national walk out from the Women's March Youth Empowerment. Photo Credit: Action Network

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Many citizens have been supportive with the student’s decisions to do a walkout, stating how it is their amendment right as a United States citizen.

“I agree with it. Every voice needs to be heard.” Paralegal student Devon Hinton said. “The children and students are crying for help because they don’t know what is going to happen and no one is listening to them.”

The national walk out was a memorial for the fallen staff and students while also an action for their protest. The students will stand outside of their school grounds for 17 minutes to represent the number of students and staff killed.

Students from all over the nation are participating in some way to help support the Stoneman students to make a change for the future generations.

Confirmation Bias on Social Platforms

This graph shows how people value the information present to them.

Photo credit : http://jamesclear.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/confirmation-bias.jpg

Everyone knows the amount of media consumption is off the charts. What we read on Facebook, Twitter, or even watch on YouTube helps us to conclude our own ideas. However, when we are presented with facts that may disprove our beliefs/ideas, we automatically shut it down with no consideration. This is known as confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is taking any information presented in front of you and using that piece of information to help "confirm" your standpoint on a topic.

The major problem with confirmation bias is trying to accept facts that disproves someone's belief. Of course, no one likes to be proven wrong, so it makes it harder for individuals to become lenient. Using social media has made it difficult to find reliable sources among the many news feed.

This photo shows the way people take in new information concerning their beliefs and how they choose to ignore the facts.

Photo Credit: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/378091331211163696/

Using social platforms such as Facebook and Twitter has made it possible to connect with each other easily. What use to take weeks to send a message now only takes a few seconds. However, it is very possible that we have isolated ourselves with what we are familiar with. In the article, "How Facebook Actually Makes Us More Narrow-Minded," Aj Willingham explains how Facebook users find content for a specific topic and share the information over and over again with friends. This creates a cycle of the same content being shared making the intake of new information hard. This can also be known as a echo chamber which is the repetition of of media reinforcing your beliefs within a group.

This video explains what confirmation bias is and gives examples on how we use confirmation bias

Most of the issues concerning confirmation bias stem from politics. In the election of 2016, both the democrats and republicans suffered from a variety of fake news about each other. One of the most popular of these fake news would be the Donald Trump quote from the People magazine,"If I were to run, I'd run as a Republican. They're the dumbest group of voters in the country. They believe anything on Fox News. I could lie and they'd still eat it up. I bet my numbers would be terrific."

This post had made many individuals upset however, when proven that this post was indeed fake, many people still kept the post as part of their reason to dislike Donald Trump as the upcoming president.

This photo is an example of the fake post about the Donald Trump quote to the People magazine.

Photo credit:https://www.aol.com/article/news/2016/11/09/truth-behind-the- donald-trump-quote-from-1998-thats-rapidly-going-viral/21602449/

In any case, the disease that is social media's confirmation bias can be cured. One of the best ways to overcome confirmation bias in social media is to always keep an open mind. Even though this idea may seem hard, it can be very helpful to come up with alternative ideas about a topic. Another way to not fall victim to confirmation bias is to expect to be proven wrong. This can help you to create another solution about your beliefs without being 100 percent wrong or right.

Is it wrong to fall for the same beliefs as your friends? No, of course not. However, falling for confirmation bias is not the best thing, especially when all of the facts presented are proving you wrong. Not to say that you should not believe everything you see on social media but also look for ways that the information is wrong. Do some extensive research and gather your thoughts to create the best conclusion you can.

This photo gives an example of how confirmation bias is presented to the viewers on social media

Photo credit: http://theday.co.uk/technology/research-reveals-facebook-echo-chambers

Communications Students Attend IMAX Theater Tour Followed by "Black Panther"

Delaware Tech Communication students attended a behind the scenes tour of the IMAX theater on Thursday, February 22, 2018 before watching Black Panther.

Students were shown around the Penn Cinema Riverfront IMAX theater in Wilmington, Delaware. The computers, stereos, and projectors used to create the theater experience was broken down for the students to fully understand how it works.

Students were given a behind the scenes look around the IMAX theater. Manager of the IMAX theater Thomas Potter explained how the theater works. "I've been in the business for 25 years," said Thomas Potter. "Even though the ways to project movies have changed, I still enjoy my job very much." Students were show the three most important machines that help to create the best movie experience for the audience.

Thomas Potter explained to the students the different methods used to change films. "Over the years, what use to take 16 hours to change the feature film, takes only an hour nowadays," said Thomas Potter. Students learned that because the process time has shortened exponentially, the amount of job positions have declined as well.

During the tour, students had learned that the theater actually makes most of its' money from the concession stands. "Believe it or not, the reason why the prices at the concession stands are so expensive is because that's were most of our money comes from," said Thomas Potter. "The money made from the tickets actually goes towards the movie studios."After the tour, students were given the chance to grab a snack from the concession stand before the movie.

While waiting in line for the concession stand, many students talked about their excitement to see Black Panther in IMAX format. With IMAX theaters, the screen is much bigger than a regular theater's screen. It allows the viewers to see the screen better and feel the full effect of the film.

After students had the opportunity to grab something to snack on, students prepare to watch Black Panther in IMAX format. For some students it was the first time seeing the film, while for others it was either their second or third time. "The Black Panther trip was the first time I have ever seen a movie in IMAX format," said Communication student Howard Mumford Jr. "The size and color of the screen felt otherworldly." Being released the previous week, Black Panther is breaking box records, hitting $65.7 million in its' first week

When Black Panther finished, students gathered together to talk about the film. Students talked about their favorite aspects of the film while others talked about their dislikes. Overall, the trip seemed to be a success. Communications Department Chairmen Rob Rector, who has seen the film over three times, enjoyed watching it all over. "This trip was important for the students to make connections anywhere they go," said Rob Rector. " A person can never anticipate where their connections may lead them."