TOW #30: Letter to a Future APELC Student

Dear future APELC students,

            When I first walked into AP English last year, Mr. Yost told us that our grades wouldn’t be as high as I expected them to be. He told us that some A students will get B’s, and some B students will get C’s. I must be honest with you when I say that he didn’t lie. Even though I ended the year with a B, I can tell you that this class was worth it. Some people may tell you not to take APELC because it is hard, and trying hard doesn’t always get you the A you want on your transcript. However, I can tell you that working hard at your writing every day and through every TOW, will increase your grades and help you write better in future classes.

            Of course there were times during this course when I was discouraged. When I came in, I could barely tell you what rhetoric or rhetorical analysis was. There were times when I had to write about things that I knew nothing about. However, if you put in the effort and work your way through, you will be able to turn in a well-written finished product in the end.

            When Mr. Yost tells you to take your TOWs seriously, you should keep that in mind and heed his advice. If you don’t know what a TOW is at the moment, you are most likely about to find out. Many of you will start slacking off on your TOWs after the first few, sometimes off of the advice of past students. Some will say that they had no point, and aren’t worth anyone’s time. You will find, however, that these TOWs exist in order to provide vital practice of things learned in the class. When it comes time to take the AP exam, you will be very glad that you took the time to obtain such practice and experience.

            Don’t be afraid of Mr. Yost. If you need help as far as how to write something, finding an idea, or picking out an IRB, Mr. Yost is someone you should go see. Although some may have told you that he is scary, he is not as scary as you think. Talking to him about your papers can only improve your grades, as he is the one who grades them. However, it is also important to remember that it isn’t always about the immediate result. You may get something back that you wrote and not be particularly pleased with the grade that you received. However, if you talk to Mr. Yost and see what you did wrong, you can fix things in your paper and increase your grade for the next paper. Doing badly on one assignment is truly not the end of the world. Everyone receives multiple opportunities throughout each marking period to raise their grade.

            Even though grades are everything, they also aren’t. Yes they may help you get into the school that you wish to go to, but a B in a class where you learned something looks a lot better then an A in a class in which you learned nothing. Many of you are most likely taking more then one AP course, and if that is the case, you are going to have some work to do this year. Junior year is not as bad as some of your friends may have told you. If you take it one day at a time, and actually try to get some sleep, it can be just like any other year.

TOW #29- The Invisible War Argument

In the Armed Forces, the issue of rape has been overlooked and covered up for a significant amount of time. Rape should not be an occupational hazard of serving in what is supposed to be an honorable institution, but a crime that deserves ample punishment. The Army should have a justice system equivalent to that of other citizens due to their constitutional rights and the fact that the system under which justice is served now is failing.

The Army needs to have an equivalent justice system to the one provided for normal citizens because the lack of this is infringing on the constitutional rights of army members. All citizens have the right to due process, a fair trial by jury, and rights against self-incrimination. Although these rights are meant for defendants, they are also rights of victims.  In the current justice system of an army, the leading officer has the power to decide whether or not a claim by another official gets investigated. Allowing them this gives them the right to deny and cover up things that happens within the army, thus illegally denying lower ranking army officers their rights.. By allowing this system to go on, the army goes against the very principles of the country that it dedicates itself to defending.

The current system by which the army currently serves justice upon is failing, thus justifying a new system equivalent to that of the common citizen. The current system is structured so that a commanding officer gets to decide whether a not a fellow officer’s claim is taken seriously and investigated, with no regard to who committed the crime, even if the accused is the commanding officer themself. Officers must always report first to their commander, leaving a lot of room for corruption and failure. I have read that one out of twenty-five people are statistically sociopaths. This means that these people have no morals and therefore don’t feel guilt after doing something wrong. Now most men in the military are considered to be “Alfa-males” or men who like to be in control. Put these two traits together, and you have 1 out of every 25 commanding officers who could commit a crime and feel absolutely no guilt covering it up. While not every one of these people will commit a crime, there is a considerable risk that the current justice system is not equipped to handle. For example, how is it possible that 1 in 5 women receives help for an assault related injury, but only 1/10 cases receives an investigation that results in punishment (takepart.com). A justice system in which one person is equipped to cover up countless crimes is not one that can be acceptable, especially in such a powerful institution.

A justice system cannot successfully exist when it allows people the power to deliberately cover up crimes of all sorts. The justice system in the army must be swapped for one equivalent to that of normal civilians due to the fact that the current system infringes upon officer’s constitutional rights and the fact that it is failing to deliver justice.