Alex Martinelli

Dr. Field

English 190

20 April 2010

The Dodge Ball Question

            Many people assume that if students attending public schools are allowed to play dodge ball some will get hurt, singled out, or left out by other students.  The proponents of making dodge ball illegal in public schools have several reasons for doing so.  According to them playing dodge ball in school will give bullies a cause to be bullies, dodge ball can isolate the students that are not as athletic as the others or those who are not popular, dodge ball promotes violence in school making students think that violence is okay, and dodge ball gives parents cause to sue the school if their child gets hurt playing dodge ball.  However, I can tell you that dodge ball should not be illegal in schools because it is a sport, and if the students want to play it than they should be able to. 

            According to those who want to ban dodge ball from school curriculum and every other aspect of public schools, including after school activities, claim that playing dodge ball in school will give bullies the excuse to bullies.  According to lawyer Ronald Miller, Jr.: “Games like dodge ball give kids the opportunity to figure out whether they are bullies or if they are victims. One way or another, kids are going to figure this out anyway. So they may as well learn in a controlled environment” (Miller, Jr.).  Miller is correct that dodge ball can help children understand whether or not they are bullies, and it is better for them to figure this out in a middle school physical education class rather than by physically abusing a fellow student when they are on the playground, at recess, or after school.  Also if bullies are bullies than they will most likely know this, and making dodge ball illegal in school because of fear of students being bullied will only cause more bullying elsewhere during the school day.  The controlled environment that Miller talks about would not only be a place to discover who is a bully and who is a victim, but also a place for bullies to release some of the tension and aggression that causes them to bully others.  So, rather than physically harming someone by hitting them or abusing them the bullies could let out their anger through dodge ball.  Therefore making dodge ball illegal in schools would only increase bullying rather than put a stop to the problem.

            According to some, playing dodge ball in public schools can cause students who are less athletic or weak, or those who are not popular to be isolated from the larger group.  While this claim holds some shaky truth to it, this claim could be applied to all other sports that students play before and after school and in physical education classes.  It wouldn’t matter if the students were playing soccer, football, or basketball some of the kids would feel left out if they weren’t picked, or some kids would feel isolated if they weren’t very good at the sport being played whether it is dodge ball or not.  Take for instance basketball, if in gym class, the new unit is basketball and the students are made to pick teams the taller, faster, and stronger kids will all be the first ones chosen.  Therefore if the argument to make dodge ball illegal in public schools is that students will feel isolated and left out, then basketball and every other sport should be made illegal to be played in school.  If dodge ball is made illegal than all of physical education classes and all of afterschool sports would have to be made illegal too because they would make students feel left out or isolated from the larger group who do play the sports.

            The advocates of banning dodge ball in public schools also feel that if dodge ball exists in public school curriculum than it will promote violence and make students feel that it is okay to be violent, possibly causing others to be injured.  Lawyer Ronald Miller, Jr. discusses a case in which a student and his family decided to sue because of injuries sustained while playing dodge ball in school, Miller says: “Apparently, the boy was in a car accident and had dental work done. The ball broke his new bridgework” (Miller, Jr.).  While Miller sheds light on the fact that the boy in question was already hurt, more emphasis should be put on the fact that because the boy was hurt he should not have been anywhere near the dodge ball court or the game in question.  It seems ridiculous to want to make a sport illegal when it should just have stricter rules placed on it so students are not hurt while playing.  Even if students do not get hurt playing dodge ball it still promotes violence and makes students feel that violence is okay.  While at first glance this claim may seem true, realistically it is not.  Dodge ball is no more violent than other sports played in school like football, basketball, wrestling, or even soccer.  If dodge ball were to be made illegal it would be unconstitutional if done so by these reasons because almost all other sports would need to be made illegal because those too are violent and may promote violence in schools.  If students want to play dodge ball they should be allowed to, if in physical education classes most students want to play but others do not those who do not shouldn’t have to.  I think that if the students themselves support playing dodge ball than they should be allowed.

            An argument that accompanies support for banning dodge ball in schools is that parents will sue if their children are hurt playing dodge ball causing schools financial hardship.  It makes little sense to ban one single sport, dodge ball, because of fear of a lawsuit.  If a student gets hurt playing football couldn’t parents sue then? If they want to ban a sport for fear of law suit they need to ban all sports in schools where a student could be hurt.  This would cause more financial hardship than if a school was sued because millions of physical education teachers and coaches would be out of jobs.  In order to make sure that students do not get hurt certain precautions could be taken such as having parents sign a waiver allowing their child to play dodge ball or not.  This way if the child gets hurt the parent cannot sue because they agreed to let their child play.  So, if the students want to play, and the parents allow them why should they be stopped.  Additionally, if dodge ball is made illegal what reason is there to allow football, basketball, baseball, soccer, wrestling, or any other sport to exist in schools. If you make dodge ball illegal you would have to make these illegal too.

Works Cited

Miller, Jr., Ronald. “Dodgeball Lawsuit.” Maryland Lawyer Blog. The Law Offices of Miller and Zois, LLC, 18 Nov 2009. Web. 20 Apr 2010.

Alex Martinelli

Dr. Field

English 190    

28 March 2010

                                             A Mental Block

            In the sonnet “Michael Ross” Jill McDonough uses intertextual references to newspaper articles and Michael Ross’ own writings in order to show that the state of mind of a murderer should direct the decision of the courts away from an execution. 

            The sonnet starts by using excerpts from Michael Ross’ own writings in order to show that he is mentally unstable.  Michael says: “I am one of the greatest of sinners.  I have murdered eight women in a horrible way” (1 – 2).  By calling himself a “sinner” Michael acknowledges that he has sinned and committed crimes by murdering and raping eight women.  However, Michael suffers from a condition called sexual sadism in which he cannot control his actions and he hurts women, like he did when he raped and strangled his eight victims.  The interjection of his thoughts into the poem shows that he is mentally unstable because if he were normal, and not a sexual sadist, he would have not had the desire to rape, assault, and kill the eight women that he killed.  Ross confesses: “Wendy, April, Dzung, Paula, Debra, Robin, Leslie, and Tammy were dead as soon as I saw them” (4 – 6).  Ross never denies that he murdered the eight young women in question and never denies their innocence.  McDonough includes this statement from Ross in order to show that he is mentally unstable and a sexual sadist.  He says that they “were dead as soon as I saw them” because he was having the uncontrollable urge to sexually assault and kill the women in question.  McDonough and Ross both show that he could not control what he did because of his mental illness.  In the second stanza the speaker says: “A volunteer, he wanted to spare their families” (7).  After Michael has spent time on death row and he comes closer to death he refers to himself as a “volunteer” by doing so he wants to spare the families of the grief they feel because he raped and murdered their loved ones. McDonough uses Michael’s own word her in order to show that he has even deeper mental issues because he now wants to die.  He not only cannot control his sexual and physically abusive urges, but he also feels the need to die because his life is causing grief and pain in the lives of the victims’ families rather than to show he is innocent because he really could not control his actions.  McDonough characterizes Michael Ross throughout the poem as mentally unstable because of her use of quotes from Michael’s own written texts and testimonies.

            McDonough uses intertextual references to newspapers in order to show that Michael Ross was mentally unstable and should not have been executed.  The speaker states: “or he had Death Row Syndrome” (8 – 9). By including the excerpt from a news report saying that Michael Ross had Death Row Syndrome, McDonough shows that he was mentally unstable even up to the time of his death.  Michael wanted to die, and no longer wished to appeal for life sentences because he would rather die than put the families through any more pain and torment by opening another case about his death sentence.  Ross, a sexual sadist, and a sufferer of death row syndrome he was unable to fight for his life because he thought dying was the correct choice.  Michael is shown as being mentally unstable because the speaker feels that because of his mental issues (Death Row Syndrome and Sexual Sadism) Ross should not have been executed but been in a mental health facility receiving treatment for his mental illnesses.  Also, McDonough shows that if he has been treated for his Sexual Sadism he would have not killed eight women and would not have been put on death row and therefore he would not have acquired Death Row Syndrome and would still be alive.  The speaker includes a news report from the point of view of those supporting the execution of Michael Ross that says: “What do we do with trash? We bury it” (11).  The speaker shows that if people understood that Michael was unable to control his actions because he was mentally ill they would not think in such an irrational manner.  The supporters of his execution show that they think he is scum, and garbage however, McDonough wishes to show that he is actually very disturbed and mentally ill and was unable to control his actions when he killed eight women, and when he stopped fighting for his right to life.

I went to McCissik and saw the film tonight and I thought it was great.  I didn’t think I would like it as much when I heard what it was about because not being very religious I figured that it was going to preach to me and I don’t like that.  I was wrong.  The film was great and I think that Godshaw did a great job with so little resources.  Did anyone else have any other opinions on it?

Alex Martinelli

Dr. Field         

English 190    

31 January 2010

Cookie Break from a Cultural Event Paper

            January 31^st 2010 sets the scene for my description of a common gathering for all Clemson students known more readily as Cookie Break.  Although Cookie Break occurs every weekday from 9:30 pm until 10:30 pm I very seldom attend the event that many others go to every night.  However this cold Sunday I got the opportunity to attend Cookie Break with my cultural event paper very much in mind. 

            For me, this particular Cookie Break started completely unplanned or organized when I was asked by one of my friends if I would like to join him and a larger group of people at Harcombe.  I accepted his request and our journey to Cookie Break started with my friend Aaron and I going to meet with his friends before we headed to the dining hall.  After gathering Aaron’s friends we all made our way to Harcombe.

            The initial task in any Cookie Break is giving the attendant at the door your CUID and having him or her, in this case it was a him, scan it.  After this first step of Cookie Break security the next thing any attendee of the event receives are two freshly made cookies warmly wrapped in a napkin, and an empty cup for milk.  After receiving the cookies and the cup for milk the next step is to fill the cup with either whole, 2%, or chocolate milk and find a table that can accommodate the entire group of people that plan to sit together. 

            Not being a fan of regular milk I chose chocolate milk as my beverage for the night and all five of us that were together found a table in the middle of Harcombe.  Upon sitting down I unwrapped my napkin to find two cookies: one a delicious soft freshly made chocolate chip, and the other a crunchier but still delicious sugar cookie.  A common mistake among cookie eaters at Cookie Break is that they will too readily devour their cookie and not savor the precious time they have to relax and talk to their friends while they enjoy one of the finer culinary creations offered by the Clemson Dining Service. On my visit tonight I quickly broke apart my cookies, starting with the gooey chocolate chip and dipped them in the cold chocolate milk.  To my delight the cookies were delicious, but unfortunately I made the common mistake of eating them too fast. 

            However, one member of our party stealthily brought with him his own stash of Oreo cookies well hidden within his backpack.  After everyone’s cookies were gone he pulled out his container of Oreo’s and we all continued enjoying cookies and milk in Harcombe even though we had run out of the fresh homemade creations we had received earlier. 

            At the end of Cookie Break it is hard to say what the usual attendee would do.  Most likely go on with their studying or whatever it was they were doing until the next night.  In my case the Cookie Break had done more than just being a break, but rather it became the inspiration for my work tonight.

Name: Alex Martinelli

Major: English with film minor

Hometown: Sykesville, MD

Favorite Book(s): Tim O’brien The Things They Carried Russell Banks Rule of the Bone and Continental Drift

Favorite Movie: Kill Bill vol. 1 & 2 and The Hangover

Favorite Band: Nirvana, Neutral Milk Hotel, Animal Collective