INTRO
Thursday, October 22, 2020
MOVING MY WAY TOWARDS THE WORLD OF ECONOMICS
Monday, October 19, 2020
Welcome to Code.Nation
For this unit in Computer Science we dove into python coding which is a programming language. We learned the ins and outs on how to code in python, and practiced using codeskulptor and trinket.io. These platforms were a great way for us to understand how we can use what we were learning in class into an actual coding function. For this AP, we were asked to develop a python code calculator with some equation that we are currently using in our Economics class. I decided to focus on creating a calculator that allows users to get compounding interest in seconds. The second part of this AP was to create a form of letter that could be used in our Journalism class that seniors are also taking. This journalism letter will make it easier for students from wherever to construct a letter in just a few minutes after filling out some information. Check out my codes to see how they turned out!
Compounding interest calculator
Tuesday, October 13, 2020
Femicide in my America
Hello! Welcome to the first action project for the first term of my humanities class, Journalism. Throughout this unit we covered the differentiation between fake news and real news, biased or unbiased, and more. We dove into the structure of how news articles are written by looking into inverted pyramids which give an idea of where specific information can be found. We were able to virtually participate in some classes held by Northwestern University which gave us tips on how to interview people for our action projects, and what to look into. We were also able to speak with journalist Lealan Jones, the author of Our America, which we had read in class. Our America is a book that gives you a closer look into the housing projects in Chicago. This was the inspiration behind our AP. For this action project we were asked to either ask members within our community about the issues that need to be confronted on or choose a current event to report on. I decided to tailor my report on the femicides that are increasing daily in Mexico which have led to protests due to inaction by government. Read my report to learn more!
Since March of 2020, protesters have been blocking the streets of Mexico City, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has refused to speak on the rise of femicides the country has faced since the presidential election in 2018. “They say we destroy and paint things, but it’s the only way to get the government to turn to look at us,” said one woman. “What a shame that the government wants us to destroy things” According to an article published in the The Guardian, Mexican women's patience snaps at Amlo's inaction on femicide. President AMLO and his administration's inaction to this human right situation has taken a toll on the daily lives of women in Mexico. AMLO has not found it necessary to speak on behalf of the abuse of women due to the administration being male dominated, and having “machista” idealisms.
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Thayne Tuason,File:Femicide Protest Zocalo- protester with sign.jpg, 29 November 2019,https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Femicide_Protest_Zocalo-_protester_with_sign.jpg |
Back in March, a photo was released that appeared to look like a woman’s corpse throughout social media platforms which caused discussion for Mexican citizens. The photo was published by the boyfriend who killed Ingrid Escamilla after an argument. The “machista” (male dominated) presidential administration in Mexico has always overlooked sexual harassment towards women, but it’s the fact that AMLO promised possible solutions throughout his campaign that have not been met that caused an uprise, the neglecting of the safety of women.
Although others may dispute and make the claim that Mr. Lopez Obrador “won the presidency...by promising to transform Mexico into a more equal society, and...appointed the first cabinet with gender parity in Mexico’s history, giving prominent feminists top posts” as also mentioned in article by the New York Times, these actions have clearly not changed the violent actions aimed towards women for the past year. I had the opportunity to interview a member of GirlUp, an organization development program all throughout Mexico advocating for women’s rights. “President Obrador has not kept any promises when it comes to the safety of women and protecting the rights due to the administration and police protection.” says Sara, co-founder of GirlsUp.
Recently, the administration has decided to emphasize on Mexican infrastructure by creating a $14 billion dollar plan while “Ten women die on average each day as a result of violence, with 1,932 victims last year alone” mentioned by America’s Quarterly. The infrastructure plan was made to create job opportunities throughout the country, and around the world as private sector’s in Spain have also decided to contribute. How is the plan meant to function without the support of Mexico’s citizens?Once the photos of Ingrid Escamilla’s body were released, on March 8th, 2020 which marks International Women’s day, women in Mexico took the day to not go to work, roam around the streets, etc. in order for different industries to understand the much needed contribution of women throughout the entire country. This time not only marked history for Mexico, but also brought both males and females in male dominated industries together during this time. I also spoke to a close friend in Mexico City to get their perspective on the day in which she stated, “I could see outside my window, it was like a ghost town. All you could see were men walking, waiting for the bus, etc. to head to work for the day. I’m sure it was an eye opening experience for many with the machismo mentality.”
Monday, June 8, 2020
Is Social Media the New Way to Execute Power in the United States?
Friday, June 5, 2020
PLANNING OUT THE NEW BUCKTOWN
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
The Key to an Energy Efficient Home
Friday, May 8, 2020
Imagine the feeling of being watched?
Thursday, April 23, 2020
The Popsicle Bridge Challenge!
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Rue Maghreb 2.0 : What steps can Rue Maghreb take in order to engage with communities around the world effectively and authentically?
Last year was packed with collaborations with street artists from Morocco, reaching out to organizations to donate to back in countries like Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya, but most importantly, I began forming the community that I wanted Rue Maghreb to be all along. Social media interaction was beginning to happen! Members of our community posting their latest purchases from our site, commenting on any photos we posted, sharing photos on their stories for their followers to see, direct messaging us about how our community has made them feel like they have a little outlet to go to when they miss being back home! This is what I wanted Rue Maghreb to be all along. Being able to see the power of social media right before my eyes, and how you can virtually take someone to nostalgia.
This year, Rue Maghreb announced a new member to the board, Meriem Sadoun. Meriem is someone who is motivated to continue and enhance the Rue Maghreb mission. A hard worker that only wants to best for our brand, and sees the same future as me. Rue Maghreb is not just a brand, but will eventually turn into an organization that gives job opportunities for people in El Maghreb. The problem in our countries currently, is that we have a lot of civilians with degrees in medicine, law, dentistry, etc. but there are no job opportunities available. My goal is to help with that process and spark job opportunities for the public, and a handful of other projects in potentially ten years from now. A question of mine has been, what steps can Rue Maghreb take now in order to eventually become an organization of our own? Community is something very important to us because without a community, there is no one truly backing us up on our mission and goals. We see that by launching these lines, it's not only getting people excited to purchase from us, but it's also educating the pubic on Maghreb culture and also starting up conversations with people who are misinformed. Meriem and I began working on a line for this year called 3ala Rasi which basically translates to "the crown over my head". 3ala Rasi is a metaphor we are using for our ancestors. We think of our ancestors as being something we are not only proud of, but something we share with the world everyday. We hold ancestry above others standards. Carrying out our ancestry to our future children, grandchildren, and future generations is our mission. This line will commemorate important activists in the Maghreb region, spark old traditions in a modern light, and more.
Authenticity is something we try to capture within our brand, and we want our website to translate that. My guiding question for this project was, What steps can Rue Maghreb take in order to engage with communities around the world effectively and authentically? If you want culture to reflect on your brand effectively, you have to be authentic about it. Our website will be a platform to share thoughts and ideas, blog about traditions, recipes, clothing, and so on. A place to shop, but feel nostalgia. Take you back to the souk (marketplace), roam through El Maghreb virtually while capturing the true meaning of our mission statement throughout the experience. Rue Maghreb is taking the steps it needs to take now in order to turn into something bigger. We are currently working with someone who will managing the way we choose to look at marketing on social media. We are partnering with artists from Jordan and Spain on this project in order to build relationships with others and share work others from both parts of the world. Something that we have added to Rue Maghreb is a section called "Rue Maghreb & Friends" which basically works with local or foreign artists who may be from the Maghreb diaspora or not, may be Women business owners, or anyone who is in line with our mission.
Click the link that will send you to a presentation I have created a presentation that goes more into the idea of Rue Maghreb 2.0 visually!
To conclude, I think that we are currently headed to the right direction in carrying out Rue Maghreb's mission. But most importantly, I think Rue Maghreb is taking the right steps in working towards becoming an organization in the future. Rue Maghreb is progressively becoming a platform that sparks community engagement, and this community can help create job opportunities for our countries back home. Sparking opportunities for both sides of the world, the Western & Maghreb world. 3ala Rasi will launch April 3rd, including our new site, and we are so excited to see what this year looks like for Rue Maghreb 2.0.
Website: Ruemaghreb.com
Instagram: @rue.maghreb
Thursday, March 12, 2020
The Sustainable Clock
Script for video:
Imagine a world where time wasn’t the only thing on our minds? Imagine a world where time could help solve economic crises around the world. When time telling devices provide clean water in countries that need it the most.
“One in three people globally do not have access to safe drinking water”, according to the World Health Organization.
The idea goes way back to Umayyad civilization, (zoom into map) Damascus, Syria, 800 years ago the Umayyad Mosque was constructed including the Umayyad clock which was a mechanical time telling device that required two falcons to drop a copper ball through a vase each time the hour would pass. The pulley system was located in the center of the clock. This system required water in buckets in order to function because each time pulley was lifted up or down worked. The gears would shift inside of the device to mark the new hour throughout the city of Damascus. The problem that I found when looking into this device, is that they weren’t very mindful about their water usage, and would dunk the water instead of using it in communities in need. Due to the Syrian Civil war that has been going for about 10 years now, the Umayyad mosque has been destroyed.
The idea started with a similar concept as the Umayyad clock. This two leveled clock that used gears in order to change the hour using a pulley system. I knew that somehow throughout my time telling device concept, I wanted to add a pulley system using water.
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NB. Design 4 of Sustainable Clock. 2020 |
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NB. Design 3 of Sustainable Clock. 2020 |
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NB. Design 5 of Sustainable Clock. 2020 |
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NB. Arc Length. 2020 |
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NB. Volume of clock. 2020 |
Conclusion
To conclude, this term allowed me to think more about time on a philosophical level, and see time in a different light. This is why I designed the sustainable clock. Especially nowadays, our main focus is put on things that distract us or harm us, rather than educate us and allows us to use our time productively. I think something that plays a key role in that is that the fact seeing when the hour is about to end can put us in this funk that leads to not be productive. This device will keep people on their toes, and make sure that they use their time efficiently, while also creating job opportunities for people within communities in need.
Monday, March 9, 2020
More flex time, better grades, better students
Throughout my time at GCE, I have come to realize that students are given many opportunities. One of those opportunities include students being about to make an emphasis or change something in the Student Handbook. Each year, GCE students are required to sign off the student handbook in order to show that students understand certain policies that the school will follow throughout the year.
One of the points given is,
“Most students do not have a lot of unallocated time in their daily schedule. Opportunities to manage their own time increase in junior and senior years. Students are encouraged to use their time productively. Sometimes they should be studying, doing homework, or meeting with teachers. Other times, it is entirely appropriate to socialize or relax. Students who are having trouble completing work satisfactorily may be assigned to Sanctuary.”
Syllogism the current handbook,
P1: Students get opportunities to manage their own time.
P2: Students should be using their time productively.
P3: Students are allowed flex time during Sanctuary, which is after school.
C: Students do not have time set aside on their daily schedule for flex time, except for Juniors and Seniors.
As a junior student, I do not see opportunities to manage my own time implemented into my daily schedule. Junior year is a crucial year for high school students in order to have students start looking into colleges they’re interested in, taking the ACT, managing prep time for tests like ACT/SAT, getting assignments in on time to keep grades up and GPA’s, and the list goes on. Senior year is also the year to start applying for college applications and ending the year off right. Being a part of a project-based school requires students to be 100% attentive in class in order to be able to show what they have learned through Action Projects. Personally speaking, I think this “rule” is unjust. The fact that GCE junior and senior students are not given the opportunity to have flex time or free periods where they are able to get work done, study, etc. If you were to consider this “flextime/free period” as advisory, many students are participating in group activities at that time or cooking for community lunch, and are not given the opportunity to get work done. Sanctuary is an after school program given to students, but staff may disregard the fact that many students, especially juniors and seniors, have other after school programs to attend after school. Many students are either getting community service hours done, headed to work, a part of a dual enrollment program, Marwen, or other programs that will make an impact in perfecting their college applications. I have constructed my own amendment, Juniors and Seniors should be given the opportunity to have at least an hour of flex time incorporated into their daily schedule.
Syllogism:
P1. Junior students have brought up the fact that they often feel stressed to the school counselor, especially because junior year requires you to be more on top of your grades, APs, etc.
P2. Some students have flex time in advisory.
P3. Sanctuary, an after school flex time program, is considered “flex time”, but not all students can attend due to jobs, extracurricular activities, and more.
C: Junior and senior cohorts should have a flex time period in their school day in order for them to get work done in school, and participate actively in any after school programs they are a part of, without feeling stressed.
If a student gets their device taken away or is not actively participating in class discussion throughout the week or is almost an hour late to school, those students should NOT be given flex time. The Fourteenth Amendment states that no state can, “ deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” GCE is currently setting up a standard for junior and senior students. Students should be looking into colleges/universities they are interested in, advancing their college portfolios with extracurricular activities, etc. If Freshman and Sophomores are given more flex time than it seems as though Juniors and Seniors are not being given the same opportunities as shown through the student handbook, “Opportunities to manage their own time increase in junior and senior years.” Juniors and Seniors should be given the opportunity to have at least an hour of flex time incorporated into their daily schedule. The Fourteenth Amendment states that no state can, “ deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” GCE is currently setting up a standard for junior and senior students. Students should be looking into colleges/universities they are interested in, advancing their college portfolios with extracurricular activities, etc.
Furthermore, my other peer, SN, agreed to go forward and sign this amendment!
GRAND CHALLENGE: ECONOMICAL SPACE ACCESS
For my last unit of Frontiers and my final action project at GCE, we worked on researching a grand challenge in space exploration and try t...

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For my last unit of Frontiers and my final action project at GCE, we worked on researching a grand challenge in space exploration and try t...
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INTRO MY PRESENTATION To conclude, with the help of Chicago Scholars program, I was able to have onsite interviews with five differ...