Feel free to use this blog post as a place to share thoughts and gather information on your Grapes of Wrath Action Project. The project specifics are listed below. Use this blog post as a way to get your thoughts about this project out there. This will also allow you to see what your classmates are thinking about doing. You don't necessarily have to have an axe to grind. Use this space to throw ideas around for contacts and questions! Have fun. There is no minimum word requirement for this blog.
Posts for this blog are due by Sunday, 1 April by 11:59 PM EST.
Get excited.
You are about to embark on an adventure.
Your task:
• Select a large national or international corporation or organization.
• Come up with an authentic question that you would like to ask the main figure of authority or very high ranking official of the corporation.
Think BIG!!!
• Devise a plan that will enable you to speak to or directly contact this figurehead.
• Chart your attempts/communications. (You should come up with a chart on your own.)
• Compose a blog post of at least 700 words. Be sure to address any obstacles encountered, successes, thoughts, etc. Posts should appear on your personal AP Lit blog. In addition to a chronicle of your experience, see what you can come up with as a connection to The Grapes of Wrath. Why did I assign this?
35 comments:
For my project I'm thinking of getting ahold of lawmakers to discuss why bullying hasn't been made illegal in most of the states. I'm not sure how to dig into this project but I think that this project will create hopefully positive results.
I am planning on contacting Bath and Body Works for my project. I know it sounds sort of silly, but I've spent a lot of money on their products without even really thinking about the consumerism aspect. I originally just focused on how I enjoy their products. However, this project made me think about all of the information that corporations do not make available to the public that consumers would be interested to know. Therefore, because I am concerned with environmental awareness, I am writing to B&BW to ask how they are improving their products to make them environmentally friendly/if they are thinking of any all-natural products like another brand I favor for being all-natural. I feel that this will both increase my knowledge on the products I buy, and maybe even inspire B&BW to create a more environmentally friendly product!
I'm planning on contacting a high ranking official in my phone company, Virgin Mobile. They used to have many phone plans where you could pick and choose what you want, but now there are only three plan options and they're all rather expensive. I would like to know why this is and if I could change it. They are forcing everybody into a media plan. I plan on calling the company and seeing where I can get. Maybe I can even lower my own phone bill. I don't have much of a plan yet, just the basic idea.
I have no idea what I really want to do for my project. My first thought was to contact the pope and discuss with him the reasoning behind not convicting pedophile priests, but I think that might be thinking too largely. Another thought was to call Time Warner Cable and to complain about their internet service. All of their commercials boast how they never have buffering and etc. when in fact they have a slow network and the cable connection never seems to work right. I am thinking possible false advertising on their part, but it is also a way of advertising in general, showing the best case scenarios. I am not really sure what I want to do yet, and I am open to suggestions.
The organization that I want to work with for the project is the Girl Scout Association of America. I am not too sure what information I am going to try to obtain and who I am going to obtain it from. However, I am an active participant in the association, and I am sure that at some point inspiration will strike me.
Lately, I have been researching a lot about a dog's diet and the dog food brands on the market. My dog has been having some reactions to several different brands of food and treats that are out there. Recently, there has been a lot of bad publicity from these companies because of all the fillers that they have put in their pet foods. Most of them are made in China where there are no real regulations as to what they could put into the food. This has been worrying me a lot lately, and I would like to try to contact a major pet food supply brand to find out if they have any real regulations as to what they put in to the products sold on the market. I have a feeling that they're using products that are potentially harmful to some pets, and would like to hear what they have to say.
Because it seems like college is the only thing that anyone talks about anymore - why not contact a few people as to why college tuition is so high? I mean, countries like Greece and Argentina provide free education at all levels, including college and university. (Why can't I live there?!) If the people I contact can't answer me as to why tuition is so high, I'd at least like to know where my money is going. What percentage goes to new buildings, research, advertisements, paychecks, etc.? Maybe I'll contact the SUNY system - even though they are the "affordable" option when compared to private universities. I'm not sure what qualifies as a "large national or international corporation or organization" as far as college tuition goes - I'll need help on that one.
I'm not quite sure what I would like to do for this project. Originally I was going to do the college that I am attending. However, I recently tried to get in contact with a high ranking offical at Canisius and simply didn't have the patience to be constantly on hold. I ended up simply going to the college to get the questions I wanted answered. I think that perhaps I would like to call a well-known company and ask the simple question that this project is about. If businesses are based around the cutomer, then why is it that its so hard to get in touch with the high ranking officials in a company? If thats what the customer wants, why aren't they tripping over themselves to oblidge the customer?
So, I thought of a pretty good idea on Friday, but I just can't remember it. I told Mr. Currin about it, but I'm not sure if he would remember it either. I also thought about contacting the "Lays" company because the chips bags I buy are always half full. I just get so upset with myself after I eat some chips because it seems like I ate half the bag after eating twelve chips. I just want to know why they force us to pay for a whole bag of chips, but only give us half. I know this isn't the most serious of problems, but I wanted to do something different and I couldn't remember my other idea.
Emily S, I like your first idea a lot. There's too many dark cover-ups in that area and I don't think enough people understand the seriousness of the issue. That is a little bit of a large one to take on and I'm not so sure you could have a one-on-one with the pope, but it would be interesting to see how far you could get.
I like Julie's idea too. "Socialized" education is so effective in many countries and when you come here it's just outrageous how bad the expenses can be without extensive financial aid.
I have a few ideas for this project that I think could prove interesting. I would like to ask a big oil or gas company exactly what's going on. If American oil consumption has been on the decline for 10 years, and oil production is at an all time high, then why are expenses still so excessive?
I was also originally thinking about posing a question of ethics to the Fox News Channel on the basis of it's claims of being "fair and balanced" while I've personally observed quite obvious biases. This could even go up to their owners, News Corporation, and specifically Robert Murdoch over his ruthless business tactics and phone tapping scandals. This is probably a pretty 'easy target' because of the way so many already ridicule them but I think it's important that we continue asking such questions.
Besides these, it could be good to ask Google or Facebook about their invading privacy policies or big pharmaceutical companies about possible hurting of real progress fighting disease.
I thought that Julie's idea concerning some investigation as to the outrageous pricing of higher education institutions was quite interesting. Although, Julie, i'm not sure who you'd have to contact either on the larger scale.
I think I'm going to contact a competitor in the food industry. I've been thinking a lot lately about nutrition info on food because of health. My question would really concern, why food is created with a serving size recommendation even though that serving size often contains more of an ingredient, for example sugar or fat, than a person should consume daily, or very nearly that value. Sort of trite I guess, but maybe I'll find out something I didn't know.
Being in the workforce, I'm really curious as to know what is going on with this whole discussion about raising the minimum wage. Hearing a little bit about it made me really excited because it would be nice to be working hard and have the money to actually prove it. Sure, that would probably raise the prices of many goods and services, but I do not think it is an acceptable rate.
Recently in the news there has been stories about pink slime which is additive to beef products. I was thinking about contacting the FDA and asking how/why it was approved (if it was because I can’t seem to find if it has been or not. I can only find that the process of making the pink slime is FDA approved but it doesn’t say that the pink slime itself is FDA approved.) and to get the real facts about it instead of everything you hear in the news that isn’t always true.
You all have really great ideas for this project!
As for me, I may very well change what I'd like to do this project on, but I do currently have one idea. I'm really curious to learn more about the reasoning behind the constantly changing airline regulations. I'll be riding an airplane in a few days for the first time in a very long time. Things have obviously changed in past years regarding what is allowed and what is not allowed in carry-ons. Curious to know what we could and could not bring in our carry-ons, my mom printed off a list of regulations. As I looked through the pages and pages of information, I really began to wonder what the reasoning was behind some of the regulations. It was interesting; no more than 3.4 ounces of shampoo is permitted, but items such as safety matches, disposable razors, and toy weapons are permitted. I really just wonder why only certain things are considered "dangerous". I assume that the companies have done their research on this subject, but I would still like to hear what they have to say to support it. I'm not approaching this project in a way where I hope to expose any "evils" of the airline industry. Rather, I would like to hear what they have to say. More than anything, I am curious to learn more about this important topic.
I've really been having a hard time deciding who i want to try to talk to, but I've decided I'm going to make an attempt to communicate with the President about how and why government today is or is seen as being so corrupt and how it therefore compares to other governments. I think there is a lot of pride in the label "American" and I really hope it stays that way, because every time I hear of a government scandal I feel like it dirties the term a little bit more and it kind of makes me upset. This isn't to say that I'm pointing fingers at any politician now or saying that America is an awful place, because I'm not. I just worry that things will continue to become more corrupt as we continue into the future and I really hope that such scandals are stopped is all.
In response to Jordan H, really incredible point. That's definitely an issue that needs to be tackled. Good job!
In response to Sarah C: I really liked your idea because bullying is a real problem nowadays and I think that you will get a good response from the lawmakers!
In response to Sarah M's project:
I think that this is a great project idea. I think that it is a bit disgusting that a company might be doing this and a good thing to find out more about.
Jordan, concerning foods you might want to look into the leniency nutrition labels have. You would probably be surprised how inaccurate they can be with the number of calories and so on. Consider contacting the FDA.
If people are still looking for ideas someone could contact Monsanto because they are hurting small farms and copyrighting plants and using lots of pesticides. I am not sure if that helps anyone.
Ethan I really like your idea. I like that your thinking big and I appreciate the fact that it's a question that is on everyone's mind. I really wonder how far you will get with such a question.
Megan I really think that your question is very interesting. I have never thought about it before. Thinking about what is considered dangerous for an airline is quite interesting and mind boggling, good call.
I haven't posted any type of idea yet so...here it is. I am going to use my twitter account and see how long it takes to get a celebrity to respond to me. I will start with the contestants of american idol. They are often responding to people but only certain types of people, specifically fan blogs (ex. CarrieUnderwoodArmy). I will make a fan blog for all American Idol contestants and use that to talk to the contestants. I will also use my own twitter account to see how long it takes for them to respond to me, a regular fan, and my fan twitter.
In response, to Sarah M, your idea is very interesting. I had sort of heard in a sort of passing way, about the pink slime thing and it's...gross. I'd be very interesting to see what you find out.
Sarah C,
I think that much of the reason that bullying has remained unaddressed is because it is hard to identify exactly what is bullied. This is not to mention that mainly minors would be charged which is hard for people to deal with. However, I agree something should be done. I would start by contacting our representatives in Congress and the Senate. You can find contact info on the Internet I believe. I would suggest approaching them with a suggestion to answer some of the above questions. Good luck with it!
Tony, I really like your idea about Fox News. That is something that really should be addressed. If you do end up traveling down that road, or anyone else reading this who might, let me know and I can talk to my dad about the best person to try to talk to in order to get in (whether it be a director or simply the front desk). He may also know about any other company that owns Fox. Just ask! :-)
In response to Sarah M: I think your project is a great idea, people should be aware of what they're actually eating.
In response to Madeline:
I really like your question. I also have a dog and wonder what is in her food. I know that my father goes out of his way to buy a certain type of dog food that is supposed to be the "best." An idea: try calling different brands. You could try a higher end food as well as a lesser brand.
In response to Julie, your idea is interesting. As I've already said. Hopefully you can make some headway. Yeah.
Sarah Hanson-
I really like your idea! I am also curious about this issue. Environmental issues are at the forefront of the news nowadays, so it would be very interesting to learn more about how one company affects this issue.
Madeline, I'm very intrigued to find out your results! I think you are covering a very important issue, especially when it deals with the health of pets. I'm also interested to see what Kelly finds out about minimum wage, seeing as I also work.
Ethan - I really like your idea about questioning the corruption in government. You might want to start on a smaller scale and work your way up though, instead of trying for the president right away. I would just trying contacting the offices of politicians and asking the simple question: "Why is politics so corrupt?"
Amber - This chip issue is outrageous and WE NEED ANSWERS! Why aren't chips in boxes?! Surely there must be a more efficient means of packaging!!! Give them a piece of your mind!!!
Emily S- I think it would be interesting if you could get a hold of, if not the pope, then another high ranking official in the catholic church. Those issues are very important.
Sarah H- maybe along with asking about environmental issues you could ask about prices too.
I am going to call Time Warner Cable and ask why the cable costs what it does when it seems like 90% of the channels are repeats. Also, every time I try to watch primetime or free movies on demand, the picture skips and eventually turns off completely. I have called in the past and all they do is reset the box which will work for about 30 minutes. When we asked for a new box, they claimed that it is unnecessary. When I call, I hope to receive help to permanently solve this issue in the future and most importantly, to find out who "they" are.
In response to Amber Breyer, your idea is brilliant. It's a question that we've all thought about, and I think it's time to get the answer.
Julie Fetzer, I'd like a 50% discount on college, by next Sunday.
Kidding, that is a really good idea, it should be interesting to see how it turns out.
Meg, I really like your idea about the airport. After 9/11, the airport regulations have drastically changed. So I am excited to see what results you come up with. I am also somewhat curious to maybe know what's in the future for the airports.
I liked Kelly's idea of talking about minimum wage because that is something that effects all of us who are getting our first jobs.
I also liked julie's idea because we are all faced with the price of tuition and I think that the price of college is too high.
I would like to learn more about both of these because they are both things that effect me and somewhat relate to each other.
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