Earlier this semester, I asked you to track your media intake and reflect on what media means to your life. With few exceptions, students reported that media plays an important role. Now, I want you to attempt to go through an entire 24-hour period without willfully consuming media. In other words, I’m asking you to go on a media fast. That may be difficult in the context of a global pandemic, but you may also find it refreshing to get away from the 24-hour news cycle.  I realize that it may not be possible to cut yourself off from media completely for 24 hours. I am not asking you to flake out on online classes, so this isn't a valid excuse to skip reading assignments. I am, however, asking you to make a realistic effort to live media-free for a day. So, pick a day that you think this is feasible and do the best you can. You have until April 18 to complete the fast and the written portion of this assignment, so plan ahead.  BLOG POST After you have completed your Media Fast, I want you to write a 300-400 reflection on the experience. Tell me what it was like to go without media. How did it change your life? Was it unbearable? Was it refreshing? Was relaxing with something other than a book or Netflix or Instagram a foreign experience? Did you feel out of the loop? Do you want to live your life differently after this experience or is it back to media as usual? This assignment is worth 30 points, and you will receive full credit if you meet the assignment requirements. Lisa Randoll 4/22/2019 American Government Professor Randoll Aroooooo! The Beagle Party What’s that I smell? Why, the newest and greatest political party around – the Beagle Party! With humble beginnings in my master Charlie Brown’s yard, I, Snoopy, have decided that my kind have a lot to contribute in this great country of ours, and I and my fellow beagle buddies (tri-colored, lemon, copper rose, and pocket all included) have decided that the time to get involved in our country’s future is now. Platform There are a plethora of issues that my canine comrades view as immeasurably important. These include environmental protection, a higher emphasis on education, the right to be respected – no matter how different you appear, and the importance of innovation in the workplace. The Environment Beagles are natural hunters, so we spend most of our free time outside, following our nose (and let’s be real – oftentimes, getting in trouble). Unfortunately, however, the ‘wilderness’ that we beagles used to chase rabbits in is slowly disappearing. It’s being replaced by apartment complexes and supermarkets. The fields that used to hold thousands of tasty rabbits are now full of questionably dressed Walmart shoppers. And what’s more – the wilderness that IS left is being allowed to be tainted by toxins destroyed by developers. The Beagle Party believes that nature is beautiful and beneficial. Being out in the wild enables beagles (and people) to escape the hustle and bustle o ...

1. Earlier this semester, I asked you to track your media intake and
reflect on what media means to your life. With few exceptions,
students reported that media plays an important role. Now, I
want you to attempt to go through an entire 24-hour period
without willfully consuming media. In other words, I’m asking
you to go on a media fast. That may be difficult in the context
of a global pandemic, but you may also find it refreshing to get
away from the 24-hour news cycle.
I realize that it may not be possible to cut yourself off from
media completely for 24 hours. I am not asking you to flake out
on online classes, so this isn't a valid excuse to skip reading
assignments. I am, however, asking you to make a realistic
effort to live media-free for a day. So, pick a day that you think
this is feasible and do the best you can. You have until April 18
to complete the fast and the written portion of this assignment,
so plan ahead.
BLOG POST
After you have completed your Media Fast, I want you to write
a 300-400 reflection on the experience. Tell me what it was like
to go without media. How did it change your life? Was it
unbearable? Was it refreshing? Was relaxing with something
other than a book or Netflix or Instagram a foreign experience?
Did you feel out of the loop? Do you want to live your life
differently after this experience or is it back to media as usual?
This assignment is worth 30 points, and you will receive full
credit if you meet the assignment requirements.
Lisa Randoll
4/22/2019
American Government
Professor Randoll
Aroooooo! The Beagle Party

2. What’s that I smell? Why, the newest and greatest
political party around – the Beagle Party! With humble
beginnings in my master Charlie Brown’s yard, I, Snoopy, have
decided that my kind have a lot to contribute in this great
country of ours, and I and my fellow beagle buddies (tri -
colored, lemon, copper rose, and pocket all included) have
decided that the time to get involved in our country’s future is
now.
Platform
There are a plethora of issues that my canine comrades
view as immeasurably important. These include environmental
protection, a higher emphasis on education, the right to be
respected – no matter how different you appear, and the
importance of innovation in the workplace.
The Environment
Beagles are natural hunters, so we spend most of our free
time outside, following our nose (and let’s be real – oftentimes,
getting in trouble). Unfortunately, however, the ‘wilderness’
that we beagles used to chase rabbits in is slowly disappearing.
It’s being replaced by apartment complexes and supermarkets.
The fields that used to hold thousands of tasty rabbits are now
full of questionably dressed Walmart shoppers. And what’s
more – the wilderness that IS left is being allowed to be tainted
by toxins destroyed by developers. The Beagle Party believes
that nature is beautiful and beneficial. Being out in the wild
enables beagles (and people) to escape the hustle and bustle of
everyday life and decompress, and we believe that people (and
pooches) need that. We will fight against laws that allow
pollution to ruin our rivers and will advocate legislation that
will ensure that our hunting grounds and yours will be around
for your children and theirs too.
Education
Beagles are a stubborn bunch. REALLY stubborn, and to
break us of that requires hardcore education. In a similar vein,
humans are expected to seek careers as adults and most of those

3. require some type of education – most jobs require college-level
degrees or something similar. Despite this fact, college tuition
costs continue to rise while the median wage across the country
stays the same. Students’ eligibility for financial aid is (in
large part) dependent on their parents’ ability to help (whether
they actually intend to or not is irrelevant according to the IRS).
Students often pursue degrees but then find it hard to secure a
job right out of college. All of these problems result in a huge
population of unemployed, educated people buried under a pile
of debt.
The Beagle Party wants to ensure that college degrees (or
certifications) are affordable. We will push Congress to enact
tax breaks for businesses who agree to pay for students to go to
school to achieve this goal. We also believe that it’s time to
encourage students to pursue degrees where there’s a high
demand for employees (like nursing, education, and the like).
We believe that students should be told, up front, what fields
are currently looking for people and which fields students will
find that securing a job might be more difficult. Choosing to go
to school and what to study is a big decision, and students
should have as much information as possible when they make
those choices.
While all of these things would help current and prospective
students, we also need to help out those who have graduated but
are buried in debt. I believe that, as a society that knows that a
higher education degree (in most cases) is required to get a
career-type job, we need to stop treating college as a privilege
when it’s very nearly a requirement. For this reason, I propose
that the federal income tax levels for all taxpayers making more
than $500,000 a year would increase in order to pay for tuition
for all public institutions. The reason our proposal affects
taxpayers and the national level and not the state level is that
many states are smaller and poorer and thus, by themselves,
would financially be unable to provide the level of education
that the more affluent and populated states would be capable of.
Education is an investment in our future. It helps encourage

4. future entrepreneurs, train future teachers, arm military officers
and so on. We owe it to ourselves to build a generation of
young people that can cope and master the challenges of the
future.
Equality and Respect
We are all so different, and it is those differences that
make this country what it is – a vegetable soup of people,
cultures, and perspectives. Unfortunately, far too many people
are judged based on their race, ethnicity, who they love, where
they come from, or what they can offer society. The Beagle
Party believes that it is our differences that make us valuable.
Your culture is part of your story and, therefore part of ours.
Everyone should be respected and treated equally. We would
support equal opportunity legislation for LGBT members, we
believe anyone should be able to serve in the military, and we
believe that all races and religions have a place and a positive
impact on our communities and we would fight to protect your
right to be who you are and say what you think. American
democracy is not an ala carte deal. We believe that everyone
should have rights – period.
Innovation in the Workplace
We beagles are a curious bunch. We’ve always got our
nose into something, and we believe that your average American
should be the same. Curiosity encourages creativity, and an
open mind and the freedom to use it oftentimes leads to some of
the world’s greatest discoveries. We should encourage young
people to think outside the box. Students going into STEM
subjects, who seek to make advancements in education, or who
develop a new, less expensive method of dealing with an
expensive current problem. We would provide colleges with
extra funding to offer these students stipends and scholarships
to pursue these goals, for it is our young people who will shape
the future if we are courageous enough to let them and

5. encourage them in that endeavor.
Demographics
Our party would be supported by a wide range of people.
This party’s platform puts a lot of emphasis on the value of
young people, so we assume that individuals between 18 and 25
would support us. They would fight alongside us to ensure that
our future would be more secure and much simpler.
Outdoor enthusiasts and environmentally aware individual s
also would stand with us. Since one of our key messages is to
protect the environment, it only makes sense that advocates of
that issue would be on board with the beagles.
Minority groups, the underprivileged, and the forgotten
would find a home in our party. The people who feel like no
one is listening would have our ears (our very long, droopy
ears), and we would fight to protect their right to be seen and
heard (and trust me, you can’t miss a beagle’s howl).
Finally, I believe that members of business community
would stand with us. Businesses are always fighting to create
the next new thing, and our party platform encourages that type
of innovation. CEOs and mom and pop shops across the country
would be bandwagoning with the beagles.
Interest Groups and Media Outlets
The Beagle Party is garnering a lot of attention both by
advocacy groups and by the media. The Humane Society – an
animal rights group – ardently supports me and my four legged
friends in our goals to make America better. The Huma ne
Society, aside from being an advocate for animal adoption and
rescue, also takes in wild animals in more remote areas. They
have, in a small way, ensured the continued existence of several
threatened species.
Another interest group that would support us would be the
PTO (parent teacher organization). As an organization found in
schools across the country, this group not only fights for an
expanded access to quality education but also works to ensure
that the students of today have the tools to create the better
world of tomorrow. They’re better than my favorite treats!

6. The media has begun to watch our ascension, and a couple
networks have given us significant airtime. Animal Planet has
been the most supportive and was quick to show how ambitious
and yet how driven The Beagle Party is. CNN and MSNBC
have also lent us airtime to discuss our plans. As liberal
networks, it only makes sense that our liberal-ish ideology
would appeal to their viewers.
Mainstream Because…
The Beagle Party is a moderate one ideologically speaking.
Some of our positions fall on the conservative end of things, but
others lend themselves to more liberal thought. For this reason,
we believe that we would be a mainstream party. We believe
that our platform appeals to a wide range of people with varying
political persuasions, and we hope to continue to do so in the
future.
Mascot
The Beagle Party’s mascot is a collar with a name tag that
reads ‘America’ on the front. The back reads, “Oh, shit. I’m
lost. Call this number because my mom is ugly crying right
now. 1-800-Beagles2020.” The phone number is a real, dialable
number that connects the interested person with a member of
their respective state party office should anyone be interested in
volunteering on our behalf.
Slogan
Our campaign slogan is, “We follow our nose wherever it
goes.” It means that we aren’t afraid of new things, of
challenging paths, or the unknown. Nothing is certain in life
except that you will get nowhere new if you don’t ever start.
We, the followers of scent trails, aren’t afraid to start long
journeys and we persist until we find what we are searching for.
So we promise you.
Presidential Candidate

7. An esteemed international lawyer, a WW1 veteran, a
famous doctor and a professional athlete – now aspiring to be
your next president – Snoopy! Charlie Brown frequently asked,
“Why can’t I have a normal dog like everyone else?” The
answer is simple: an ordinary dog can’t get the job done, but
this beagle’s got his nose to the ground in pursuit of the highest
office in the land.