Last Tuesday, I attended the talk “Activism and Resilience During and Since the AIDS Crisis.” Mr. Matthew Burns, Dean of Students at the University of Rochester and a member of the Out Alliance gave the talk. Although this talk was mainly about the history of AIDS and how the disease affected the LGBTQ+ community, Mr. Burns talked about a lot of issues that we have talked about in class. Continue reading “The AIDS Crisis”
To Help or Not to Help
Throughout the course, one of the most important topics we have discussed is consent. Recently, Dr. McCoy sent us an article about consent regarding a very uncomfortable topic: death. Continue reading “To Help or Not to Help”
Finding Justice Without Death
In Zone One, there is death written into every page. One death in particular from Zone One has really stuck in my mind — Gary’s death. His death is vivid and violent, and it seems to mark when Zone One falls. I have been pondering an important question: does Gary (and the other characters we have read about in our other novels) “deserve” to die?
A Controversial Issue
Like others in class, I have also been thinking about the morality of killing the skels and stragglers, human beings who have been completely changed by a horrible and seemingly incurable disease. What bothers me most about them, and the idea of a “zombie” in general, is that they are human beings that need to be killed if anyone not infected wants a chance to live. Continue reading “A Controversial Issue”
Dooming the World
The ending of Clay’s Ark has really stuck with me and I find myself still trying to find meaning in it. In particular, I have been thinking a lot about a character that I know many others in class are also thinking about: Blake. Continue reading “Dooming the World”
What does it mean to be “human?”
After finishing Clay’s Ark, I have been thinking a lot about what it means to be “human.” Continue reading “What does it mean to be “human?””
A Thank You Note to Everett
When I finished Zulus, I was left confused and (unsurprisingly) disappointed. Like I mentioned in my last post, it is important for us to examine why the novels we read make us feel the way that we do. We can simply close the book and walk away from it, we can read something that we know may be more fulfilling, but little growth will come from doing that. Continue reading “A Thank You Note to Everett”
An Answer to an Important Question
As we have been reading Zulus and having discussions about the novel in class, I have noticed a common feeling among our class: we do not like being confused. Continue reading “An Answer to an Important Question”
What does it mean to be “healed?”
As I was reading the end of Home, I came across the quote that I knew I would pick as the one that meant the most to me from the novel. The quote struck me because it not only has a lot of significance to the book, but also to the overall topics that we are discussing in class. The quote I chose was a popular one; several other people also chose it (or at least a part of it) and I think that goes to show just how significant it is.
Continue reading “What does it mean to be “healed?””
Why has DACA been repealed?
Ever since we discussed the strategy of the “both/and,” found examples of it from Medical Apartheid, and watched Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED Talk, I have been thinking a lot about how I can apply these concepts to other areas in my life. Continue reading “Why has DACA been repealed?”