All of the Second Year Advocacy forum projects were amazing and very informative. Im glad that we were still able to view the projects in light of our new online learning situation. The first project I viewed was Advocating for the Humane Treatment of Elephants by Laura Cecere. I found out how atrocious the Elephant Tourism business is. The Elephants are captured or raised as babies in captivity for human amusement. Being such big animals, it is really unhealthy for Elephants to be trapped like that. I also learned that informing people about this horrific treatment and expressing our concerns is the best way to defend the animals. The second project focused on Environmental awareness and was written by Ramez Aziz. Through examples like the great barrier reef and the declining orangutang population in Indonesia, we can see how humans are affecting nature. Corruption, business, politics, etc. are getting in the way of humans taking care of the earth they live on and this could have disastrous effects on our future. In the comments, I learned that Ohio faces issues of river pollution and the overuse of single-use plastic and that these issues are very threatening to our future. The last project I looked at was about immigration by Ryan Alvero. It specifically looked at immigration in relation to Ohio. I was surprised to learn that Ohio has been called one of the worst states for immigrants. To me, that is very scary. I really liked that Ryan gave an example of a specific case where the immigration system failed someone. I also liked that he listed ways for students to take action. He brought up volunteering with CRIS which is something I will definitely have to look into. Overall, the Second Year advocacy projects were very informative and organized.

There are definitely good ways to change congressional apportionment in the house to make it fair. First, the number of representatives in the house should be dependent on population in a more efficient way. I believe that for every 500,000 people a state has, there should be one representative. If there are 550,000 people, the state will have one representative. If there are 100,000 people the state will have two representatives. This will establish clear cut rules without bias or abnormalities. Additionally Puerto Rico, Guam, and the District of Columbia should have representation in the house as well. If people are living under American law, they should have the representation to change it. These ways will help ensure our government is more fair and inclusive. 

I interviewed my mentor Lily Goldberg. She is a second year and undecided in terms of her of her major but is leaning towards sociology. Her favorite club to be a part of is USG. She works in the health and safety branch of USG under the mental health specialty. Some of her hobbies include watching dance moms, shopping, reading, and hanging out with her friends in the dorms. Her favorite classes included: pop culture, intro to peace studies, and sociology.