Rough Thesis

The ability to speak openly has always been a factor and a basis of American society. However, this seemingly harmless and usually positive ideal of the United States has led to fluctuating enforcement of unlawful activities across the country. In many places, such as conservative Southern areas, the idea of free speech is restricted. On the other hand, on a campus like UCF, policies and restrictions towards free speech appear relaxed and less enforced. This can be attributed to an overall more liberal attitude toward the subject of speech. Due to the ability of lawmakers and enforcers to interpret the rights given to the people through time, a grey area has formed across the U.S. in which certain locations, such as the University of Central Florida campus, have gained the ability to present ideals pertaining to activities deemed unlawful or taboo by a majority of society.

Rough Outline

I-The Pro-Marijuana Campus Life
A- Introduction
1- Show example of "Tent City"
a- Personal encounter and quotes
b- Move story towards campus
B- Thesis Paragraph and College Setup
1- Marijuana life on campus has become a driving force in the community and influences a large portion of students
a- Provide opinion of speech involved with Marijuana on campus
C- Sanctions and laws nationaly and state wide
1- State the laws
a- Follow up with penalties
2- Move into "grey" area of amendment one involved with speech
a- Express a stretching of amendment on here on campus
D- NORML at UCF
1- Club involved in Marijuana legalization activities
a- will provide facts of groups activities and sponsored events
b- Look into opposition the club faces
c- ask those involved of hardships from campus
E- Tent City Event Contd
1- Explain the location and size of the event
a- Explain the duration
b- Explain the people involved
D- UCF on the issue
1- Ask UCF senators how they feel about the issue
a- Ask what prompted it qulaification
2- Look into the people involved in the clubs and campuses
a- Ask about Majors as well as other questions
E- Brief Personal Involvement
1- My exposure
2- Corruption of a friend
F- Conclusion

Letter to a friend

Dear Jessica,

I was wondering how things have been going back in Melbourne. Things here have been going great. It's a completely different experience here than High School was. UCF has completely different social norms than we did back home. You wouldn't believe the view on Marijuana here. There is so much support for its use on campus. Did you know that they have a club here that actually supports its use. I was unaware that they could have clubs that support illegal drugs. The club is very open about its views on restrictions they view as wrong. I have seen several demonstrations outside of the student union in support of the drug. This includes a band as well as a public speaker talking about the positives associated with it. They also have other events on campus such as this thing called tent city. A bunch of students who support Marijuana on campus meet in this place called Memory Mall. It's a large open grass lawn. The students brought tents and then camped out for several days. I am not sure but I believe they even spent the night. I got a chance to ask one of them why they were camping out and they told me it was "just for fun". I later found out while listening to one of the bands they had playing there that they were there to support Marijuana use. I heard the lead singer say "this is just like Woodstock, except we have more weeeeeeeed". It is so different here than Melbourne. Can you think of anytime where Marijuana was so openly expressed to the public? I remember several times where are friends were arrested back home. Here it's almost as if each user has a huge sign over there head saying "I smoke". I've never seen so much backing for something like this back home. The only clubs we had in High school were sports clubs and maybe a few religiously backed clubs. I can't imagine what would happen if a student were to introduce such a club. Have you ever heard of anything like that before? I've even been approached a couple times with people looking for connections to get weed. Back home they usually just stuck to their core groups of smoker and hookups. Here it seems like they're always people looking around to score some Marijuana. I wonder if the police here are working to do anything about this or if it is protected by free speech. I wonder if maybe the kids could be tested for use even though they are only expressing free speech. After seeing what happened to our friend back home I wish they would crack down a little harder on the use of the drug. He ended up losing out on his chance to go to College. He didn't even go to a community college. He started doing pills and other drugs. I just wish he would get back on the right track but with Marijuana in his life I don't think he will ever be able to get on the right track.

Commentary Questions and Survey

Five Questions for Commentary: Marijuana Related Events and Groups and their effects on campus life

-What do you think about Pro-Marijuana groups on Campus?
-Are you aware of Marijuana Related events such as Tent City?
-Have these things changed your view of Marijuana use since you’ve been on Campus?
-Have you experienced Marijuana use on campus or been asked to use?
-How does the use of Marijuana on campus vary from what you experienced before you came to UCF?

Other Questions to Ask
a. How do you know what you know? (evidence)
b. Who are you to the subject? (perspective)
c. How is this event connected to other events? (patterns or opposing forces)
d. What if things were different? (suppositions/predictions)
e. Why is this important? (significance)

Peer Survey Answers:

1)I think they are stupid because the chance of it getting legalized is low because it is hard to regulate who grows what.
2)Yes
3)No, because I believe I have seen people do it more before I came to UCF but I do live off campus so that could effect it.
4)Not on campus but yes
5)Yes I believe it is more prevalent at home
a.I’ve been around users and my ex boyfriend used Marijuana
b.I have had several friends use it and be involved
c.It’s connected to memory loss and stupidity
d.If marijuana use was looked at different I still would not do it. I don’t enjoy what people do when they smoke
e.I don’t think these groups on campus are important

Marijuana On Campus

Marijuana has been one of the most controversial issues in the United States when it comes to its legality. It serves as a symbol of crime, stupidity, and abuse. However, it also is viewed as a medical asset as well as large opportunity to create revenue for the Government should it become legal. As it stands today the illegal use of Marijuana has become relatively common throughout the nation today. The use of this drug on campus is no exception.
Walking around campus I've seen several instances of an almost acceptance of Marijuana from the general population. One such occasion was several days where users camped out in tents in the middle of the campus to relax and support legalization. It is almost impossible to go into college and not find Marijuana usage. However, a lot of the time Marijuana usage begins not in college but in High School.
I once tried Marijuana my Senior of High School. The effects are almost a numbing of the senses. You feel light headed and on top of the world. This is also known as the "high" feeling. The drug is characterized by a smell sort of like burnt grass. There are several ways I have seen people use the drug. Whether it be through a bong or hookah, the goal is almost always the same. The user comes down slowly from being high and does not crash. However, there has been evidence to support that brain cells are lost in the process of smoking weed. A fact that has not stopped a large portion of today's youth from indulging in it.

Commentary Ideas

Marijuana on Campus- As one becomes accustomed to the College lifestyle there are certain things that one can't help but come across. Marijuana is no exception. As I have been on campus I have experienced people smoking weed in dorms, outside, and even off campus apartments. I have seen marijuana usage back home but never to such an extent or seen such a prevalent backing for it either. There is even a club on campus for it. Generally I feel a larger acceptance to it on campus than back home. I have dabbled in the forbidden fruit a couple times in my life. The smell is rank and is very distinct to the plant. The effects, although enjoyable, leave the user dumb founded and rather susceptible to manipulation.

Skateboarding on campus- Before coming to UCF I visited several Universities to find that each seems to have a different mode of transportation. UF for instance is known for its use of scooters as means of traveling around. UCF on the other hand focuses mainly on using skateboards to travel. I am currently not a user. I prefer to walk all around campus. However, I have spent much of my time dodging these bullets on wheels. I have also seen several falls that do at a bit of enjoyment to a day. They almost seem to believe that because they move a bit faster than a walker they are supreme. It's just the feeling I get when I walk around.

College Eating Habits- Before coming to UCF I would have a steady supply of food at home. Thanks to my parents I never had to worry about going more than 5 yards to get a good meal. Now, I have started to eat almost nothing. I have a food plan but barely seem to use it at campus. It seems that campus eating habits change as you come on campus. Whether it be eating more or eating less it definitely doesn't seem the same as it did back home. Ramen has become a staple food of my diet and water is my main drink of choice.

Training with Scott Yarborough

It was a sunny day on the soccer pitch in my hometown of Melbourne, Florida. I was playing midfield which happened to be my favorite position at the time. As I turned to my right the ball comes to a stop by my feet. Contemplating what to do next, I realize the other team coming at me with their full speed. I quickly turn and head for the goal. I can hear the crowd shouting loud roars of mixed excitement and frustration. As I approach the goal I can feel the intensity of everyone around me as they waited for the outcome of my run. My mind raced with the lessons I had learned from my coach; the basics of course. I looked up, saw my target, and shot. As the ball made contact with the back of the net I felt a sensation of excitement and then, unfortunately, dread. I had just scored on my own teams goal. I was quickly benched and spent the rest of the day going over the game in my head.
Although this seems like any eight year olds nightmare, I was use to it. The teams I played on in my early years of soccer were always known as the losers of the division. The score was always skewed in the direction of our opponent to where the slaughter rule, a score of nine to zero, became my teams only saving grace. Even though my team was not very good, I was still one of the worst players on it. I always played the position of left bench and occasionally played right bench should the opportunity present itself. The game results of these years spoke volumes of my self-confidence and pride.
My parents were always adamant about me playing sports. I don't know if it was my weight problem or the fact that I wasn't very good at anything that didn't involve a classroom or a controller but I had no objection. I loved soccer. I was just no good at it. Finally, I confessed my wish to be able to make the Junior Varsity team my freshman year of High School. My parents were ecstatic. The next day they were on the phone with my new trainer; Scott Yarborough. Little did I know that Scott's training style and approach to social situations would change my life on and off the soccer pitch forever.
The first day I met Scott was one of fear and admiration. As I walked onto the field, that I would soon know as our own, I began to analyze him. He was in his upper twenties with a height of around five foot eight. He wore a pair of soccer shorts and a raggedy shirt that probably had to do with drinking or women; something I came to know him by. His hair was dark brown and stubby and his eyes appeared almost bloodshot (I wasn't aware at the time but Scott spent much of his later hours partying around the town).
We soon began with some simple drills. My nervousness ever so visible, I was able to make a mess of the drills with ease. However, Scott didn't seem to care at all. The whole time I tried to not mess up he just watched and would ask the occasional question. The questions, although in the middle of a session, were all about my family, friends, and what I enjoyed to do on my free time. It was almost as if he was more interested in my life than how bad I was screwing up a simple drill. I soon realized that this would not be anything that I expected.
Scott's training style involved first beginning with the basics and then moving progressively to harder and harder drills. My first few days of training were all about the simple things such as passing, dribbles, and shots. The sessions would usually last around an hour and a half. The first hour would be straight drills and special games designed to target these specifics. However, the last half hour would consist of an easy game where we would spend time talking about life. Scott taught me things in that half hour that I would of never of learned on my own. I learned how to ask girls out, how to deal with overbearing parental supervision, how to drive stick shift, where to take girls for a first date, and even how to get a kiss. Scott was literally my very own personal Will Smith from the movie "Hitch". To a perfectionist high strung nerd like myself, this man was a genius.
As high school tryouts came ever so close, Scott picked up the training sessions to three or four times a week for two and a half hours each. It was during this time that I saw a change in Scott. Scott no longer seemed care free during our training. It was almost as if he had done a complete one eighty in his style. It became all about pushing me to the brink of my abilities. If I felt like I was on my last breathe, Scott wanted one more. Our talks were no longer about learning about social skills but about what to do in any situation that may arise on the field. I don't think I've ever pushed myself so hard as I did those few weeks and it was no exaggeration that I had no life but soccer. I didn't care about school. I didn't care about my free time. All that I cared about was making that team; and I did.
I was able to take one of the freshman spots for the high school junior varsity team. I would go on to make the varsity team the following year and played all the way through high school. I owe all of this to Scott. He single handedly gave me the skills to make it on the team. However, he also gave me the ability to feel like I could be more than some nerd. Ever since that first day when he talked to me I think he knew all along what he was doing. Scott had been giving me the confidence I never thought I would have. I was proud of what I could do on the field and I was proud of what I could now accomplish off of it. I owe it all to Scott Yarborough and the several years he was there for me. Scott was not only my trainer, but my friend.