Academic Blog for Animal Cruelty- Horse Carriage

Hello NYS assembly member Michael Cusick, 

My name is Shannon Hui and today I’d like to talk to you about banning horse carriages in NYC.

I would like to start with a statistic, close to 70 horses are unaccounted for at the end of each year in New York City. Horses aren’t protected under the Animal Welfare act so the only protection that they have come from local animal control officials. The problem with this is that according to the experts, the anti-cruelty laws aren’t even ideal for horses. The officials also don’t have the resources to monitor whether or not the operators are following the regulations. This makes the whole process unenforceable and difficult to regulate.

Second, I would like to inform you of the instances in which horse carriages create dangerous situations for themselves and the people. Being that NYC is one of the most fast-paced cities in the world, these slow-paced carriages don’t stand a chance. Horses are prey animals and they fall victim to loud noises and startling situations. Because they are thrust into the danger of NYC transportation and traffic, they can easily be scared into making sudden movements and hurting themselves and others. NYC has the highest horse carriage accident rate in the country.

I would also like to mention the conditions in which horses are forced to work in. By law, horses can work for up to nine hours a day, seven days a week. With that being said, I want you to remember how they are literally nose to tail pipe for the majority of their workday. Sucking up exhaust fumes can cause respiratory illness and death. In addition to this, horses in New York City are forced to walk around with steel shoes on concrete floor. This is an unnaturally hard surface and can cause lameness. After a long day of work, most of these horses are forced to go back into stables less than half the recommended size by horse experts. This makes it virtually impossible for them to lay down or stretch their legs after a long day of work. It is barbaric the way we treat these poor, innocent animals and it’s time we made a difference.

To end my statement, I wanted to share a quote with you by Milan Kindera. “Humanity’s true moral test, its fundamental test, consists of its attitude towards those who are at its mercy: animals. “ With that being said, I ask that you, assembly member Michael Cusick have the heart and morality to sign the petition to pass the bill to ban horse-carriages in New York City for in order for us to create a difference, we must lead by example. 

Animal Testing According to BUZZFEED

Animal Testing and what we can do instead!

WARNING: IMAGES THAT MIGHT BE HARD TO SWALLOW

Look at this little guy! Do you see how cute his teensy little hands are? Doesn't he look like he just wants to be loved?

Now look at this guy. This is image they want you to see. This is what they want you to think animal testing looks like. 

This is what it ACTUALLY looks like.

Each year, more than 100 million animals—including mice, rats, frogs, dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, monkeys, fish, and birds are killed in U.S. Scientists like to use the excuse that it's a small price to pay for science but these animals are forced to pay by inhaling toxic fumes, having to endure getting their skulls drilled in, and have their skin burned off. 

They are treated as if they are disposible. They are forced to live in cages, aren't allowed to socialize, and are tortured. 

IT'S JUST NOT NECESSARY!!!

Animals are biologically different than people. The test results are unreliable and inaccurate. The drugs/cosmetics they try on animals just can cause a different reaction in people! 

Aysha Aktar (a neurologist) states: No two humans are alike in their physiology. Even identical twins differ in their susceptibility to diseases and their responses to medications. If we can't reliably extrapolate from one identical twin to another, how can we expect to extrapolate results from different species to humans?

ALTERNATIVES

Scientists could use more modern vitro/silico methods which consist of studies with human volunteers, advanced computer modeling techniques, and using human cells/ tissues. By doing these methods, studies would be more cost/time efficient and more accurate. 

YAY!!!!!

Academic Blog

Social media has an all-consuming relationship with it's users. Social media has transitioned into a hobby being used solely for social purposes, into being heavily relied on for classes and for future careers. Social media impacts young people who are enrolled in academia. Social media sites, like Facebook, are now used as an interactive communicative resource for students and professors to swap and exchange information quickly and efficiently. Most courses now incorporate social media websites like Facebook and Twitter as class requirements, especially classes focused solely on communication. 
However, there should be more classes focused specifically on social media. These courses should not only be targeted just for communication majors, but should also be offered for business and marketing courses. The use of social media should be offered as general education course because of its permanence and relevance in almost every young person's life. Even if some people are reluctant to join social media sites like Instagram, almost every young professional has a Linkeden, which is used as a networking site. Being able to navigate the social media climate is integral for businesses to market their products. It is important for young college students to be offered courses on social media and how to use it to their advantage, either for personal branding or for business marketing.
Universities should offer more courses on social media because there is specific language that makes communication most effective depending on what site you are using, as well as there is a specific audience. If you are active on Instagram, the communication cues you would use would be visuals with filters appropriate to your layout. If you are on twitter, the language you would use would have to be short and concise, as you only have 140 characters to get your point across. It is important to know which language to use in each social media forum. With each social media site there is multiple channels you can communicate through, whether it be video, pictures, or text. All of these sites use hashtags, which help you communicate with a broader audience, especially if the hashtag is trending.
Social media classes should be taught on college Universities because many businesses are active on social media and use it to promote their businessness. Social media is an integral part of a young professionals life- socially, academically, and professionally. Social media can be used for self-promotion regarding jobs, especially now that employers will do background checks on social sites and generally require employees to have some skill in computer mediated communication. Social Media has become a profession and career in its own right and there should be classes on how to navigate the social media climate to most efficiently market yourself.