Sociology portfolio By: Jessica Everson

Expert group: gays, elderly & people with disabilities. Information on Gays: In Utah, gay couples can adopt children, but gay singles can not. The irrational fear of gay people is called Homophobia. Sexual orientation is based on a combination of hormones, genetics and environmental factors. In 2008 a study found that 17% of all hate crimes were due to sexual orientation. It is true that approximately 1/2 of all americans believe that homosexuality is morally wrong.

Expert group: gays, elderly & people with disabilities. Cont… Information on the elderly. ALL Americans will eventually become apart of the elderly minority group. Elderly have the highest voter registration and highest turnout of any age group. Every day nearly 6,000 Americans reach the age of 65 years old. Two major reasons for the growing population of older people are increased life expectancy and a decreased birth rate. The manifestation of prejudice aversion and hatred toward the elderly is called ageism.

Expert group: gays, elderly & people with disabilities. Cont… Information on people with disabilities. It is true that people with disabilities are less likely to socialize, eat out or attend a religious service. A disability is classified as a combination of any physical or mental impairment. In the U.S. approximately 56 million people have some type of disability. Until the 19th century, most cultures viewed people with disabilities as bad people being punished by god. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 marked the turning point for social treatment of people with disabilities.

Book report: "Hidden Talent" by Mark Lengnick-hall. The theme of the book "Hidden Talent" is meant to be informational and teach people about people with disabilities in the work place and why they can be beneficial to a company. The book is about how companies and businesses should value people with disabilities more. The book talks about the hidden talents that people with disabilities bring to the table that people may not know about because they just assume they aren't fit for the job. The main idea or purpose of this book is to inform people to not discriminate against people with disabilities in the work place. The book answers a few questions such as why companies will benefit from hiring people with disabilities. The reasonings are based on studies that have been preformed and research done on people with disabilities in the work place.

News articles No votes from Asian Americans ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Cruel Prank I read an article in the news about a cruel prank played on a teenager with autism. This 15 year old boy who attends high school in Ohio thought that he was participating the the ALS ice bucket challenge. In the article there is a video showing the boy stripped down into his underwear and a bucket of what the boy thought was water being dumped onto him. What actually happened was his so called "friends" had actually dumped a collection of urine, feces, saliva and cigarette butts. This boy was humiliated and hurt by these boys who clearly think they are better than him and thought they could take advantage of a boy with disabilities. The family of the unnamed boy with autism is taking action and the boys will have charges filed.  I read an article that said asian-americans are least likely to be contacted by political parties. A director of voting said that they "just aren't seen as potential voters". This usually is because their culture and language is so different and they just don't tend to lean to the politics side. They did say that they want them to vote and need to find ways to entice them. They will try to target the age group 18-35 for , they are more likely to be american born and have more interest in american politics. This relates to how asians are so diverse and really into their native culture, it makes sense that older asian americans would probably not be interested in american politics. It is smart of them to target the younger age group and maybe try to spike their interest in politics and voting a bit more. 

More news articles Protest For Michael Brown Legalizing Gay Marriage At a St. Louis Rams vs. San Fransisco 49ers NFL football game, Rams fans held up signs in protest for Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager who was shot by a police officer.  There signs said "Rams fans know, on and off the field, black lives matter". I think this is very powerful that people are standing up for themselves and other people. Just because of a persons skin color, doesn't mean they can be stereotyped. If Michael were to have been a white person, the encounter with the police may have gone a bit different and he may have never even been shot. It is annoying how there are still people today to judge people by their race or color of their skin and just assume they are a certain type of person.  "The Supreme Court rejected appeals from five states looking to ban same-sex marriage, effectively allowing gay marriage in as many as 11 new states." This was said in an article from NBC news. Now more states are allowing for same sex couples to receive a marriage license. The article talked about couples in Nevada who had been waiting for a long time to finally be legally married to their significant other. It has made many people so happy to finally be able to do something that had been denied to them. I think this is great that people who love each other are being able to celebrate it through a legal marriage. Back in the day multi- racial couples were not allowed to marry legally and now that has changed. I don't see why it should be different with same sex couples.

News articles cont… Warriors on Wheels Immigrants in Miami I recently read an article about a guy named Ned Norton, who has opened a gym in Albany, New York. The gym is called "Warriors On Wheels" and it was created in order for disabled people to be able to go and work out. Norton was previously a trainer for the olympic athletes, but he got the idea for Warriors On Wheels when a guy with an injured spinal cord came and asked for his help. The gym is a non profit organization but if members can afford it he asks for a small $25 a month. He never turns anyone down who has a disability and he claims it has helped people with disabilities, not only physically, but mentally they have become stronger. I think this is a great thing that he is doing and hope that other people across the states would open up a gym like this to help the disabled people.  Miami has a lot of immigrants living there, and a lot of them are hispanic. In an article I read they stated in 2012 most of the immigrants were eligible for U.S citizenship but many of them refused. They said that the language was too hard and made it difficult for them to pass the english and U.S history tests that are required for citizenship. Also the cost of everything is very expensive and takes many years. A lot of immigrants come here to work for a while then hope to move back to their home country. Many hispanics come into the united states as undocumented aliens, they come here for work mostly. It makes sense why a lot of them come here without becoming citizens, they just don't think it is worth.