XKCD - Charity

I'm excited to have a shout out to one of my favorite comics - XKCD, "a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language".



Above is XKCD's most recent Friday webcomic (they post every Monday, Wednesday and Friday). Titled "Charity", I think it highlights a delicate issue.

What's the best way to raise money for a 'good cause'?

I know a ton of people, myself even occasionally being one of them, that are proud of a purchase that donated some of the proceeds to an organization. Some benefits of this are fairly clear: it's a product that can be appreciated by the consumer and works as publicity. However, I do believe it can be used as a cover.

Take a moment. Ask yourself if you have any organizations that you care about. Have you ever donated something, be it time or money, without expecting something in return? Now ask yourself if you've ever donated to a 'random' charity, one that you weren't personally attached to, without receiving some token? I wouldn't be surprised if there were quite a few yes-es, but I don't think anyone would blame me for asking this question and expecting some no-s either.

There's underlying incentives for people to take certain actions within our culture. Whether they're implicit or explicit can vary, but to be successful when fund raising there becomes a need to have a gimmick of some sorts. I'm not saying it's bad; as I said, I can be a proud owner of some of these items. They're enjoyable, can spread the word about a certain cause, and will get some people to give money who otherwise wouldn't have. At the same time, I can't help but dwell on that last point. The people who wouldn't have donated otherwise. With that, it still makes me wonder, how many people go beyond this first level of donations? I would imagine not enough.

Don't buy something that claims to donate to charity expecting to make a huge difference. It's not that simple. If you really want to feel proud, take the extra step to follow through. Do something because you believe in the cause, not always because you can get something snazzy out of it.

One of my friend's favorite charities is the organization Falling Whistles, which raises awareness about, and aid for, child soldiers. Buying one of the whistles to wear around one's neck is the expected way to donate. They certainly encourage it, using it as a sign of protest. An outcry. This is a great example of when purchasing something can be incredibly generous and helpful. In the end though, how many people buy more than one - to give away to friends? How many will donate money in addition to buying one?

How often is charity selfish?

Women in Engineering

REPRESENT.

I had a visit to the University of Illinois this past weekend (since we had school off Monday for Polaski Day). I've been accepted into their Bioengineering program (yay me).

I had the usual admitted student presentation and tour; however, because I was a "Woman in Engineering" (let's call it WE to save my fingers) I had a few other opportunities. The most blatant was the WE luncheon. Now, I'm not one to turn down free food or free information, but at the same time, I felt odd being part of this group. They were very helpful but I thought it was odd to have a need for such a group.

I may be biased because I've grown up with only brothers and boy cousins, taking the selective math classes, in debate, and other stereotypical "guy things." I may also not understand since my major by far has the most women engineers in it - about 1/2. Other majors such as mechanical can have roughly only 10%.

With that said, let me reiterate: I liked going to this group. I like having it available just liked the Living-Learning Community of WIMSE. I think my opinion can be reflective of most Feminist views; having support systems aren't bad, especially if they make women feel more comfortable in such a male dominated domain. However, I hope one day it wouldn't be necessary to have such groups and select activities. Wouldn't it be nice for it to be normal to be a woman in engineering? Maybe we aren't at that point yet, but maybe not drawing attention to an issue will help eliminate it - not making it out of the ordinary, and not making the woman seem like they need added help.

Fire away the attacks or comments about anything related to this post!

HoFlo

Homewood Flossmoore (affectionately dubbed HoFlo) is a high school located in the south side of Chicago. Saturday, it is where I ended a four year commitment to debate.

Now, the year is not over and I still have responsibilities to my other teammates; however, I myself will never have another debate round. High school feels like it's ending already.

Freshman year I had enrolled in "Argumentation and Debate 101" not knowing the grip it would hold on me. I used to do gymnastics for ten years, but I decided against joining the high school team because of the conflicts it had with something I was in for just a few months. High school seemed like it was full of making decisions and commitments. Now that my Model UN responsibilities are also quieting down with our last conference finished, it seems the end is in sight.

As cheesy as it sounds, I want to remind my readers that the end isn't "the end."

I had debate coaches approach me and apologize to me for my 4-2 showing, just missing having one more debate, and leaving on a slightly sour note.

If I didn't say it then, I'd like to say thank you to all of those coaches. Regardless of if I was on their team, they supported and helped me as I tried to be the best debater I could. I truly felt like part of the community that I loved so much, and with those ending remarks, I realized it won't ever be the end. I can choose to judge a tournament here or there, I can choose to visit. And, lastly, debate has been such a part of my life that it has helped change who I am. Although it may be subconsciously, debate will continue to influence my life even when I'm in college (although - thank goodness I won't be debating there!) :]