The document discusses the student's responses to online discussion questions for their American Diversity and Design course. In their first response, the student discusses how the atomic bomb gave the US advantage in WWII but had negative consequences as well by annihilating Hiroshima and Nagasaki and contributing to the Cold War. In their second response, the student analyzes Obamacare as a design impacted by diversity groups by intending to provide healthcare but facing rejection.

1. University at Buffalo-State University of New York
ARC 211-American Diversity and Design-Spring 2017
Online Discussion Questions
Jonathon Harris
Pearson “Critical thinking ability.” Talentlens, 10/7/2014,
https://www.talentlens.co.uk/blog/critical-thinking/critical-thinking-important

2. I think that Design and Diversity influenced me in the biggest way was the way I think
about the questions also the way I think through the questions. Not only thinking about the
topic differently but also when answering the question, I am thinking about the potential
opposing side of the argument. That is probably what I found the most interesting about
the course. Even if everyone had the same conclusion the all had a different way of thinking
about the and arriving at that conclusion. My viewpoint on the topics have not changed in
the conclusion I would arrive to anyways, but like I talked about previously, the way in
which I arrive at the conclusion is a bit different and considers the opposing argument for
the most part.
The following pages document my responses to the online discussion questions in the spring
2017 version of ARC 211 American Diversity and Design at the University at Buffalo-State
University of New York.

3. Response to “What is design?” form Hello World
On “What is design?” from Hello World: Where Design Meets Life by Alice Rawsthron
The author opened her chapter with the example of Ying Zheng, the ruler of the Qin
empire, one of the most powerful and enduring empires I the history of China. She
explained how design innovation contributed to Ying Zheng’s success. For example, in the
development of weaponry, he resolved many problems by standardizing parts, and this
single innovation gave his armies great advantage over other armies.
For this discussion, let’s move away from 246 B.C. China, and into the U.S. Describe
an innovation or invention (can be current or historical) that gave advantage to a group of
people in the U.S. or to the population as a whole. What were the social impacts of this
innovation? Were any groups negatively impacted by this innovation? For example, the
telegraph, developed and patented in the United States in 1837 by Samuel
Morse, permitted people and commerce to transmit messages across both continents and
oceans almost instantly, with widespread social and economic impacts. This heightened
communication speed allowed business persons to make decisions with up-to-date
information, often resulting in big profits. Those without access had to rely on outdated
information, which put them at a disadvantage.
The biggest advantage that the United States gave itself would probably be the
atomic bomb during the later years of WWII. Of course, we have all heard
about Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the two Japanese cities’ that the US bombed to essentially
secure the victory of the war. But the negative effects were worse than we or anyone
expected. Those two cities’ along with their inhabitants were annihilated and the nuclear
fallout effected many more people still. This was not the end however. After Russia got
hearsay of our weapons, years later they made their own nuclear weapons which eventually
lead to the cold war between our countries.
It seemed that all the inventions that revolutionized our world were all things that
made activities in our lives easier, faster or more convenient. But we have seen this come to
light in the American economic system of capitalism. Greed drives people to make better,
smarter, faster, stronger, longer lasting machines or objects that they can then sell. Not only
benefiting from the profits of the invention, but the community is able to prosper off what
was made as well. Only to be superseded by another invention later down the line and the
process continues until a new way of completing the same task is discovered.

4. LinkedIn Coorperation, “Technology life cycle with mobile generation example,”
Slideshare.net, accessed 4/30/17, https://www.slideshare.net/rahulmanojkumar/technology-life-
cycle-30065489

5. Response to “Introduction” from Diversity and Design
On “Introduction” from Diversity and Design: Understanding Hidden Consequences
The editors state that “diverse participation in the design process, from both professionals
and public citizens alike, yields more equitable results.” This makes sense, but typically has
not been the case. Nonetheless, many marginalized groups have impacted design in ways
that have changed our visual and physical worlds as well as our systems, policies, and
institutions. For example, in the 1960s, disability rights advocates designed media events to
raise awareness about barriers in the physical environment. They persisted with their
efforts for decades, and, finally, in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act became law. It
mandated accessibility in public accommodations such as restaurants and stores, public
transportation, communication, and other areas of public life. This dramatically changed
our physical environment (from curb cuts to ramps to automatic doors) and the results
made public life more equitable.
Now it’s your turn. Describe a design that was impacted by a diversity group. How and
why did it change form and/or circumstances? (Note that a design can be anything
requiring planning and development prior to the production of an action, system, visual,
material object, or environment. Also, keep in mind that, for our purposes, a diversity
group is a group of individuals who are underrepresented in society in some way—
children, older adults, the economically disadvantaged, those with cognitive disabilities,
etc.)
The design that comes to my mind that was a good idea in theory was Obamacare.
This was supposed to bring health care to those that needed it. But with everyone's
knowledge of how well that system is working for Canada (it’s not, they come to the US
because you must wait months to see a doctor). People are rejecting the idea to the point
where one of the current president, Donald Trump's campaign promises was to rid the US
of Obamacare.
The physical form of the designs changed, but the ideology behind them was very
similar. To aid people, or in more of the cases in my discussion group were empowering people
that have lost ability’s they used to have. “limb extensions” were the most popular and in the
highest demand, as people age use of extremities are lost naturally or external forces have
stopped the uses. Namely, Braille for those without use of their sight, wheelchairs for those with
trouble walking and a step further, for people whom are bound to a wheelchair for much of their
movements, the EZ grabber was invented to extend the reach of those individuals. And my
personal favorite was the liftware, allowing people to use silverware that will stay steady and

6. allow people to feed themselves. This allows those people to be much more independent and
could possibly live alone where it would have been impossible for them before.
Liftware, “liftware,” liftware.com, accessed 4/30/17, https://www.liftware.com/

7. Response to Media/Society Chapter and TED Talk on Photographs
Thread 1: FROM: Chapter in Media/Society and TED Talk Photos that Changed the World
Where would you place the images shown in Photos That Changed the
World into Croteau and Hoynes' diagram entitled “Model of Media and the Social
World”? Identify a mass media photograph taken in your own lifetime that has served as
an icon of an event. (Feel free to add an attachment.) What roles does this photo play in the
communication of the event?
I think that I would place the images from Photos That Changed the World in the "Readers
or Audience" section of the Croteau and Hoynes' diagram. Klien spoke about images leading
to people’s reactions. But a picture can speak a thousand words, a thousand different words
to different people, but when enough people have similar words that are strong enough, that
ultimately leads to change. A good example of this would be just some of the images taken at
the Columbine High School Massacre. This lead to much more security and protection of
schools nationwide. These images showed just how dangerous and cruel even two high
schoolers could be.
Images are used to invoke emotions in everyone, and can do so much more effectively than
any blurb of writing would be able to do. Thus, people take advantage of the emotional
strings that can be plucked by images to band people together for a single cause. The
Vietnam war was the first televised war in America. This brought the harsh realities of war
to the homeland which
invoked many people to
enlist and join the fight,
yet on the other hand
people started strikes
against the war in
attempts to stop it. Both
are positive
repercussions of people
having a visual on the
war, instead of news
articles as it had been in
the past.

8. Wikipedia, “United States news media and the Vietnam War,” Wikipedia, 4/30/17,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_news_media_and_the_Vietnam_War
Response to Articles on Hats as Communication Design
Thread 2: FROM: “Fashioning Protest for the Women’s March on Washington” and “The
Worst Design of 2016 Was Also the Most Effective”

9. NOTE: Use the first three part of the SEE-IT method of critical thinking (State, Elaborate,
Exemplify) to address the following questions:
Typically, we do not think of hats as elements of mass media or social media. However, the
two hats (red and pink) discussed in the articles certainly have taken on that role. Why are
the two hats (red and pink) mentioned in the articles vehicles of communication design?
What meanings do each of the two hats carry? In terms of communication design, how are
they similar? And how are they different from one another?
These hats represented two opposing parties from the articles of vehicles of communication.
The red hat represented the Republican party's president elect and current United States
President Donald J. Trump and his "make America great again" campaign. The other hat
represented their opponents the "pussyhat" campaign essentially stood against Donald
Trump. They were responsible for the marches against trump that happened all over
America the days after the inauguration of President Trump.
Both hats did a very similar job, they relayed a single message both literally and figuratively.
One attempting to gain support for the presidential campaign, especially from voters and
mostly the non-democratic voters. While the other was meant to act against the beliefs of
the "Make America Great Again" campaign aimed particularly towards woman.
As discovered and discussed in the other forum on this week, we learned how visuals and
graphic representations can pull strings on people emotions. The base of the design of the
hats was thought out. The basic baseball hat, is an old design very well-known and used
frequently, used by the GOP to simply display someone’s “affiliation” with their party.
Similar idea used by the Democrats with the “pussyhat” making it more colorful and slightly
more playful, directing it towards their followers. All this thought going into an article of
clothing that goes on your head, yet represents much more once the creators of the hats use
them as signs of people all having a similar goal in mind. But because the concept behind a
hat being the symbol of a presidential campaign is so simple, it is extremely easily
recognizable in the same way people see a big yellow “M” and they know it’s a McDonalds,
or people see three black circles making a face and two ears, they know its Mickey Mouse.
Brand recognition was the name of the game and Donald Trump hit the nail on the head
with his Red Hats. The same way you can name these four company’s by quickly looking at
the logos.

10. Delphine Hirasuna, “Whats in a Name (Brand)?,” @Issue, 01/06/11,
http://www.atissuejournal.com/2011/01/06/whats-in-a-name-brand/

11. Response IDEA Awards and Cradle-to-Cradle Video
NOTE: Use the first three part of the SEE-IT method of critical thinking (State, Elaborate,
Exemplify) to address the following questions:
Which of the 2016 IDEA Gold Award products seems to defy the Cradle-to-Cradle concept
developed by architect William McDonough and chemist Dr. Michael Braungart? How does this
product resist or disregard the concept? Provide an example of any product that embraces Cradle-to-
Cradle design. Please describe and site sources.
Simply based on the fact that it is non renewable I think the 2016 IDEA gold award winner,
Hammerhead One disregards the concept of the Cradle-to-Cradle concept developed by
McDonough and Braungart. The Hammerhead One is essentially a rounded off T-shaped device.
What it does is you put wherever your destination you are biking to into your phone and this
device calculates what the safest yet still efficient route for you to take would be. But at the same
time it lights up to signal which direction you should turn so hopefully the rider never has to take
their eyes off of the road.
I think a product that embraces the idea of the Cradle-to-Cradle concept would be the Tree
Coffin. This coffin replaces the old and well known style of burying our loved ones and replaces
it with something personally I think is quite beautiful. As the persons passing date gets further in
the past the tree that sprouts from their coffin. So as their life ends new life begins. More
information on these can be found at globaltrees.org.
Ever since the baby boom of the 1900’s societies such as our own in the United States have been
concerned with making room for all of the people being born here as well as immigrants
traveling here. The consequences of doing this have put a tremendous strain on the environment
on a global scale. So it is ideas such as these that our communities need to open up to and start
utilizing ideas that will certainly change what the “normal” is, but will benefit our nations in
positive ways. Many of the IDEA gold awards are taking advantage of the renewable energy
sources, like I said, that everybody needs to start doing to maintain the environment, because
once that is gone, so are we.

12. Fauna & Flora International, Botanic Gardens Conservation International, “Global Trees
Campaign,” globaltrees.org, acessed 4/30/17, http://globaltrees.org/

13. Response to “Industrial Design” by John Heskett and "The Incredible Inventions of
Intuitive AI" by Maurice Conti
In his chapter on industrial design (written in 1987), historian John Heskett claims that the
methods of mass production introduced by Henry Ford in the U.S. involved new concepts
of the standardization and integration of the production line that were adopted across the
world. With Ford’s method, work could be completed by relatively unskilled workers; it
was more efficient and with this method, products were made more quickly and cheaply
than previously possible. What were some of the social consequences of Ford’s production
line? In other words, how did this system change our U.S. society? Do any of those changes
remain with us today? Now consider Maurice Conti’s TED Talk, and the predictions he
makes about production. How do you think manufacturing processes will change in the
next twenty years? How do you think these changes will affect our U.S. society?
I think that Henry Ford’s method of production was both a curse and a blessing to society at the
same time. The production line really standardized mass produced products and the fact that
everything was the same so everything could be easily replicated is what made the parts and the
Type F's overall the cheapest car of that time. The thing that made the Ford production line
revolutionary to its time was that before its invention cars were made by hand and cost
exponentially more to buy but to also make. But since everything was cheaper and easier to
produce, the middle class, working class were then able to purchase those cars, hence they were
then able to travel further which then lead to what we know now as suburbs.
I think that with the rate at which technology is going now and how rapidly that technology is
advancing, in twenty years I think that the entirety of manufacturing will be taken over by
computers. That will have a fairly big effect on the society and the economy as well. When and
ultimately if the manufacturing process is taken over by computers the human interaction is no
longer needed, that's when people will start to lose even more jobs in that industry.
Henry Ford being the pioneer of the production line made a breakthrough that from that point
forward allowed businesses to mass produce just about anything. The same idea happened when
people started using steel to build tall buildings rather than stone. We were able to build much
taller and also, much thinner. Then the elevator complemented that by making the higher floors
much easier to access. These pioneers made a part of life much more streamlined and lead to vast
improvements in our society.

14. Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development, “The moving assembly line turns 100,”
epublishing, access 4/30/17

15. Response to Levy Article
Here is your discussion question on the Levy article. Please post your own response, and
respond to at least two other students' responses.
John Levy’s article, “An Overview: The Need for Planning,” discussed ways in which
planning can determine the characteristics of a place. For example, some smaller towns
restrict the heights of buildings to maintain a certain scale. How did planning define the
character of the place in which you grew up?
I live in Williamsville, New York one of the many suburbs on the outskirts of Buffalo. I live
about 20 minutes from the City, the planning that went on for my community was similar very
those around us. Aside from the University at Buffalo being only five minutes from my house
there are actually no buildings aside from hotels that are over two stories tall. There is actually an
addition to the I-290 that extends out creating the I-990 that reaches out to first the university but
then going into Williamsville. Our neighborhood is a very tight group of people so if anyone
needs help with just about anything someone is there to lend a hand. That comes from the way
our neighborhood was designed, and particularly for me I live on a "T-intersection" corner so we
get exposure to a much more people rather than living on a straight two lane road.
The common idea that I saw through everyone’s responses was that whether the community they
lived in had “rules” or not, the buildings in a neighborhood all looked to be planned out because
they are all built in a very similar way. Nobody generally wanted to go outside of the box and
seemed to stay within the general look of the neighborhood. To me though that is what brings up
the comradery of the communities along with the interactions that happen between neighbors.
But thankfully people are allowed to have some variation of what their houses look like, because
if houses were just made to be cookie cutter houses, lives would start to be very boring. Honestly
cookie cutter communities look like they belong on a nuclear testing site.

16. Worldpress, “My Middle Class White Neighborhood: A Village Of Zombies,” worldpress, acess
4/30/17 https://saboteur365.wordpress.com/2014/10/page/2/

17. Response to F.L. Olmsted
Displaying his plan at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Frederick Law
Olmsted stated that "Buffalo is the best planned city, as to its streets, public places, and
grounds, in the United States, if not in the world." What was the basis for this claim?
Would Olmsted still make that claim today? Why or why not?
Frederick Olmsted's claim that Buffalo was the best planned city in the United States came from
the design of the city having to do with its "interconnected" parks. The main reason he probably
said this about Buffalo is because the design was the first of its kind. Buffalo was the very first
city to have this coordinated system of parkways and public parks throughout the streets. These
parks had to be very strategically placed to try to grasp as many people as he could with these
parks. The Buffalo Olmsted Park System consisted of six parks, eight landscaped circles, seven
parkways and many more individual spaces for people to contemplate.
For Olmsted to make the same claim about the city today would most likley not happen. This is
because where the parks were, either the nessesity of expressways took over, or the parks were
neglected after the second World War and thus deteriorated. But of corse the inhabitants of this
city were not going to let that go. The Buffalo Friends of Olmsted Parks was formed to conserve
and restore the parks in 1978. This organization later evolved to become the Buffalo Olmsted
Parks Conservancy that we know today.
Without Olmsted himself staying around in Buffalo, and of course with his passing, people were
able to start implementing their own ideas into the layout of the city of Buffalo. Obviously
people were more concerned with the building up of the city and allowing the most people to live
there as possible, thus using up the available spaces they had to construct those buildings. Those
available spaces...the parks previously conserved by Olmsted. So of course he would think
poorly of the decisions, but now that people are realizing Buffalo has lost its “green” facade, they
are doing more to resurrect the ideologies of Olmsted with projects such as Canalside.

18. Buffaflo Rising Inc, “The Faces of Canalside,” Buffalo Rising, 12/18/2014,
https://www.buffalorising.com/2014/12/the-faces-of-canalside/

19. Responce to Walter Hood’s Work
Identify something that should be memorialized either on UB's campus or in your
hometown. Imagine that you are the person who will oversee this project, and that you are
using Walter Hood's 'triad of investigations' as your approach to the project. What would
your landscape intervention commemorate/memorialize? How will you use Hood's 'triad of
investigations' to design a new landscape intervention? What do you imagine that the
design will be? (Either written or visual descriptions are acceptable).
One thing that I would memorialize would have to be something on the UB North Campus the
practice football field. I think that naming the field something along the lines of Soloman
Jackson field would be very appropriate. One of my good friends from high school had and is
still currently playing on the UB football team. Especially after this had happened he was as well
as his teammates were all saddened the most by this tragic event. I remember meeting Soloman
once and the only thing i remember about the short conversation I had with him was how much
positive energy he gave out, even to a stranger. The part of the triad I would be focusing on
would be commemoration from Walter Hood's 'triad of investigations'. To oversee the project not
only renaming the field but also adding something along the lines of some small monument in
his memory. Something like a plaque with some of the information like the position he played
along with other high school and extracurricular teams he may have participated in. That could
go anywhere in the Alumni gymnasium building on the first floor so that everyone that passes
through there would be able to observe the plaque.
It is too often that memorials are made for somebody that has passed away, but positive changes
are made in society’s in attempt to not have situations come about more than once. Another
example of this is directly across the street from UB North. On Maple Rd., they are constructing
a new skate park in memory of the High school girl, and one of my former Williamsville north
classmates, Alix Rice, a rumored name of the park, Alix Rice park. Hopefully not only giving a
place for kids to once again enjoy skateboarding, but create more awareness of drivers passing
this park much more often now.

20. Concept drawing of the memorial park
Britinni Smallwood, “Alix Rice’s family unveils location of memorial skatepark,” WIVB,
07/13/2014, http://wivb.com/2014/07/13/alix-rices-family-unveils-location-of-memorial-
skatepark/

21. Response to Charles Davis and equityXdesign’s Work:
Critique either the MLK Memorial or the National Museum of African American History
and Culture using equityXdesign’s core beliefs and/or design principles.
One of EquityXdesign's principles is that any movement must start with an individual or group
of individuals, but rather than memorializing that person or group of people, the entire
population of the movement should be celebrated instead. That is why the National Museum of
African American History is a great example of this. The earliest efforts for the concepts started
around 1910, but the modern push for the organization started around 1970 (very soon after the
Jim Crow Laws were passed) and the legislation of the United States started pushing for the
building around 1980. Around a year and a half ago the museum was opened and the first thing
you feel walking inside is the experience of an African king. But, rather than only including
artifacts from royalty the museum includes items from nearly everyone from every walk of life.
This gives the museum a more "grounded" and relatable sense for the visitors. I feel this is
amplified by the fact that the museum does not exclude other cultures rather exhibits them as
well. African, African American and even European backgrounds are exhibited there though art
as well as artifacts.
The concept that comes to my mind is history classes from when we were little. It seemed that
we were told that one person was responsible for an event in time. Louis XVI was responsible
for the beheadings in France, or Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the sole reason WWI started.
Come to find out in following years that there were many more people and many more events
that led up to those things happening. So why not commemorate an entire group or entire
civilization versus one person and require research to find out that there was of course more
people that contributed.

22. Yuka Yoneda, “National Museum of African American History and Culture opens in
Washington, DC,” LLAAAIIIIAAADD, 09/26/2016, http://inhabitat.com/national-museum-of-
african-american-history-and-culture-opens-today-in-washington-dc/

23. Response to the Brookes:
The abolitionist poster, the Brookes, is an iconic image that often is included in exhibits that
explore issues of race and power. It was commissioned by Thomas Clarkson in 1788, and
the Committee of the Abolition of Slavery used it to inform and shock the public. While
some consider the poster as an important component of the abolitionist campaign, it
recently “has been strongly criticized by some individuals and groups of African heritage
as providing a very limited view of the history of the transatlantic slave trade, resistance
and abolition (Hudson 2007).” The lesson here is that how a viewer sees an image is
dependent upon his/her social, economic, and cultural position. Keeping this in mind, find
another iconic graphic that addresses racial issues and post it for others in your group to
view. (Add it to your response by clicking on the picture in the tools section. Do not add it
as an attachment that needs to be opened.) How do you interpret the graphic? What is its
meaning? Now imagine that someone from a racial and cultural background different
than your own is looking at the same graphic. Briefly describe this person. How might s/he
interpret its meaning? How might this differ from your interpretation? What are the
possible reasons for these differences? (Consider the three assessment principles mentioned
in the article to help you: a technology of vision, an instrument of empathy, and a symbol of
control.)
This graphic has roots that take us to the 1900's after the African Americans achieved their
freedom and had slavery banned throughout the United States. The problem was originally
because people were still very bias at the time they passed a "separate but equal" law.
Everywhere people went nearly everything was segregated by either white or color. Which of
course by human nature even having them be separate already, to me makes them not equal. My
interpretation of the graphic is just that. Because those laws that were passed stating that it was
legal to segregate people and since the "whites" where far better off financially at the time there
was no equality in that.
For somebody else most likely of an African American background would have interpreted the
image slightly different. Based on the graphic only containing one help wanted sign that is
clearly looking for "whites only" is clearly not equal segregation because there is no other help
wanted sign. The other person observing especially if they were of African American decent
would feel that there was no equality at all. That after the slaves got their freedom they were still
being punished just by everyday people that might not have participated in the slave trade, but
now the government is allowing it.

24. WETA and American Lives II Film
Project, “Civil Rights,” PBS, Sept
2007,
https://www.pbs.org/thewar/at_home_civil_rights_minorities.htm
We can see this ideology still finding its way into society today. Because those were such firm
beliefs that were taught in schools and in the household, we can see that as the generations pass,
the more tolerant and accepting people are. The example that comes to my mind is at a car
dealership me and my brother were walking around looking at all the cars on the showroom floor
and an elder salesman walked over to me and said the vehicle we were looking at was purchased
mainly by African Americans and that we may be interested in the other car he wanted to show
us. At that point we left, but for someone to still think like that, the way he thinks was taught to
him, that was normal for him in his childhood. But for me to think that was any way normal was
absurd, and thus we see the divide in thinking between generations.

25. Response to “Landscape Stories” Chapter
First, let’s start with your own home. Describe a place in your home (indoors and/or
outdoors) that you think of as representative of your own ethnic background and discuss
why you consider this place to be ‘ethnic’. –OR-- Describe an object in your home that you
think of as representative of your ethnic background and discuss why this object is
considered to be ‘ethnic’. (If possible, add photo/s.) Is this object or place something that
you will keep or continue when you establish your own home? Why or why not?
Now let’s move into your community. In “Landscape Stories,” the authors show how
landscape architects develop a historical narrative that sifts through and interpets the
culture and material of underrepresented groups. Think about the community where you
grew up. Describe and discuss any evidence of cultural influences on the physical
environment in your community. If possible, describe evidence of the cultural influence of
an underrepresented group. (If possible, add photo/s.) Is this cultural influence being
acknowledged or preserved from future generations? Why or why not?
My family comes from a variety of ethnic backgrounds the strongest being German then
closely followed by Irish. Both having strong catholic roots within themselves. So in my house
the main thing that can be found in everybody's bedroom is a small cross hanging from the wall.
Though we are not very religious, this is just one of the traditions passed down from
generation to generation that I will probably continue.
The only example from my neighborhood that I could think of would be the building of more
non-Christian religious’ "houses" in my area. It is becoming more evident that Christianity is not
the extremely dominant religion in the United States. With that, those people need a place to
worship, so those mosques, or temples, or anything else is being build which is displaying a
much more diverse community that we live in today. Which hopefully this is acknowledged for
generations to come, welcoming people’s differences, and instead of fighting them, learning to
live with people that have different beliefs than us.
I think that this discussion is closely tied to another we had that talked much about the planning
of a community. The thing I enjoy about most neighborhoods is the variation among the
similarities of the homes. Generally, the same size and shaped, but beyond that the patterns of
not only facades but slightly varying styles of homes allows people to express themselves much
more than a boring “cookie cutter” neighborhood. To support that because everyone can be
different they are much more open to expression of their true beliefs, and in my opinion making
those beliefs much stronger. Buffalo being one of the most diverse places you can live in

26. strengthens beliefs even more.
WIVB, “Taste of Buffalo,” LIN Television Corp., 08/2015,
http://interactives.wivb.com/photomojo/gallery/36129/617694/taste-of-buffalo/the-2015-taste-of-
buffalo/

27. Response to Article on Sports Branding
Recent controversies about sports branding focus on ethnicity. The Washington
Redskins team is just one example of the larger controversy, but it receives the
most public attention due to the name itself being defined as derogatory or
insulting in modern dictionaries, and the prominence of the team representing the
nation’s capital. Should sports team branding designers use ethnic references
(Fighting Irish, Boston Celtics, Atlanta Braves, etc.)? Why? Why not? What are
some of the complexities of this issue?
I grew up playing many different sports on even more teams all with differing names and
"mascots". Personally, I think that people are becoming too sensitive to what everybody else
thinks and sometimes they blow examples such as Colin Kaepernick way out of proportion. With
that said, I think that team names are nothing more than that, just a name and a mascot that your
group is identified as. I have been on a "redskin’s" team before and never did I or anyone else on
my or the teams we faced be offended by the name of our team. So, should ethnicity be
incorporated into team names, I think that if that is what the organization naming itself wants,
then sure, but it should be up to them, and people should pay less attention to the name and focus
on what is important which is the activity being played, not the meaningless name one of the
teams goes by that year.
I feel that many people read a name such as the Redskins and they automatically jump to the
negative meaning of the word. Which is completely understandable for someone who is of the
nationality that such a word has been used in the past as a derogatory term. But for some
Caucasian person to say they are offended and they want the name to be changed, to me I think
they jumped on a bandwagon of people to start a fuss wherever they can. An easy solution to this
would of course to be change all the “derogatory” sports team names to ones that could not be
considered harmful. But I am one of the believers that our society is being coddled too much at
this point with things such as this, and there are much larger issues at hand than what a sports
team calls themselves. Lastly, I found an article that by this logic would require all 32 NFL
teams to change their names because they are offensive in some way.

28. Austin, “How Every Other NFL Team Name Is Offensive,” Korked Bats, 09/04/2014,
http://www.korkedbats.com/2014/09/04/how-every-other-nfl-team-name-is-offensive/

29. Response to Bathroom Bill
Last year, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signed into law a bill that repealed local
LGBT anti-discrimination laws, and required people to use the bathroom that
corresponded with the biological gender written on their birth certificates. This prompted
massive backlash. McCrory stated, “You know, we all have to make adjustments in life.
And we’ve had the proper etiquette situation for decades in our country, and all of a
sudden through political correctness we’re throwing away basic etiquette.” Just this past
Thursday, the North Carolina General Assembly passed a bill to repeal the law while
placing a moratorium on nondiscrimination measures.
Should people be required to use the bathroom that corresponds with the biological gender
written on their birth certificate? State why AND state why not. In other words, to receive
full credit for this question, you need to present an argument for both sides of the issue. As
a designer, how would you solve this gender dilemma?
To force somebody to use a restroom should be the least of that person’s issues at their current
stage of life. If that person was using that restroom for years before they changed their gender
identity, to me, where they go to the bathroom should be the least of their worries. But in my
opinion I think that people should use the restroom corresponding to the gender on their birth
certificate. This would eliminate people taking advantage of the more lenient laws and for
example, a male pretending to identity as a female goes into the female restroom. To go along
with that the females in the woman’s restroom may feel uncomfortable if they have a "male"
self-identifying as a female in the restroom with them. To make the laws equal, which is what
the LGBT community wants they should use the restroom corresponding to their birth certificate
just like everyone else.
To look at the other side of the argument, for the LGBT community to feel better about
themselves, and to allow them to fully "transform" into the person and the gender that they truly
feel they are a part of, they should be able to use the restroom that they identify as at the time.
They should be able to express themselves in the way they see fit, so if that means using a
restroom they might not have their entire life, then so be it.
As a designer to solve this highly-debated issue, in my opinion, people should use the restroom
that correspond to their gender on their birth certificate.

30. People in my discussion group were split right down the middle, half of the people were leaning
more towards saying everyone should use the bathroom that corresponds to the gender people
identify as. The other half said that a person should use the restroom that corresponds to their
gender on their birth certificate. The evidence people provided could support the side of the
argument I believe in, people should use the restroom that was given to them on their birth
certificate. One, they had to have used that restroom previously in their lives, and two more for
the other people’s comfort in the restroom. After talking to several people, the consensus was
that no one wants a person that was a guy, now identifying as a female to be in the restroom with
their daughter potentially.
Curve Staff, “’Bathroom Predator’ Myth and Anti-LGBT Laws,” Curve, 04/13/2016,
http://www.curvemag.com/News/Bathroom-Predator-Myth-And-Anti-LGBT-Laws-1106/

31. Response to “Visualizing Gender” Chapter
In their chapter “Communicating Gender,” Maya Ganesh and Gabi Sobliye discuss two
primary visual advocacy approaches: 1) get the idea, and 2) stories in data. Find a new
example of either of the two visual advocacy approaches to gender issues, and post it in this
thread. Cite the source.
First, identify the approach. Then explain how the designer uses the approach to
communicate a gender issue. Is the approach effective in this example? Why or why not?
How could this graphic be improved?
In this image, we see the clear imbalance of the average salary at a workplace. Data taken from
the years 1979-2005 shows that as the participants age increases, so does the gap in the
percentage of which the woman make as a percentage of what the male workers of the same age
group are making. The approach here is quite simple, which makes the artists message
extremely clear. The women's hand is holding up less "money" than the male hand is holding,
which makes the scale drop to the male’s side, which is not how it should be. I think by using the
generic scale commonly associated with judiciary rulings which should be balanced. Since the
scale here is not balanced the artist is showing the wealth is not balanced how it should be, which
to me is effective and very clear. The way I would improve this graphic would be to potentially
add some sort of statistic to back up the "theory".
It was very clear that not only from the graphics everyone provided, but the things we see in
everyday life are examples of the separation and the hierarchy between genders. It is okay for a
male to hit another male, a female to hit another female, and even for a female to hit a male, but
if a male ever hits a female it becomes the next media story for a week. Females will not be
selected for the draft if our county needed troops for another war. Now, woman will still deal
with sexual harassment, which is unfortunate that people exist that take advantage of other
people like that, but going back to the LGBT restroom laws, by saying people can choose which
restroom they would like to use empowers those predators and gives them another potential
“tool”. Lastly, woman’s careers are not as highly regarded as men’s. We saw this in the past
presidential election, Hillary, coming with her many downfalls, was clearly the more qualified
candidate. But because people seemed to be voting against candidates in this election rather than
for a candidate, she lost to a businessman.

32. Emma Sarran Webster, “5 Ways Women Still Aren’t Equal To Men,” TeenVogue, 08/26/2016,
http://www.teenvogue.com/story/5-ways-women-are-not-equal-to-men

33. Response to Hidden Ways
Author Steven Flusty categorized five types of disciplinary architecture that perpetuate
what he calls urban spatial injustice: 1) stealthy, 2) slippery, 3) crusty, 4) prickly, and 5)
jittery. Go out into the city of Buffalo, and find/photograph two examples from the list of
five. Identify what type of space you've photographed and why it might discriminate
against a specific population. List the location of where you took the photograph, and make
certain that you are in at least one of the two pictures.
This image of looking straight up at the Guaranty Building would be considered prickly to me
because of its unique nature. The coloums that extend all the way up the face of the building as
well as a lot of the decoration put on the face of the building as well. This is right in the middle
of the city of Buffalo, but this site as well as the inside of the building is easily assessable so it
does not discriminate against anyone particularly.
The image of me was taken from inside of one of the grain Silo's, this is considered slippery
architecture because I had to go somewhere that is "off limits" to reach it. Along with the silos
not actually being used for what they were initially built for is also a part of why this would be
considered slippery. This is located along the Buffalo river, right inside of the outer harbor, and
this site unlike the guaranty building is not nearly as easily assessable, so this would discriminate
against most elderly and disabled people.
Curiosity gets the better of everyone, admit it yourself. So, when people see architecture and it is
not immediately obvious where the entrance points are, or how the floors line up with each other
for buildings such as the Ellicott dormitory’s on UB’s North Campus. Most of the people in my
discussion group used examples of “slippery” architecture. People feel more comfortable when
their surroundings are known. That also invokes the interest in people stemming from the
mystery of how a building truly works.

34. Architect age, “What is Architecture in the Age of Digital Networking,” Architect Age,
04/07/2014, https://architectage.com/articles/what-architecture-age-digital-networking

35. Response to People Like Us
After almost two decades of public assistance, Tammy Crabtree took herself and her family
off the welfare rolls. But her job cleaning bathrooms at a local Burger King barely paid the
bills. Crabtree wanted to do better and hopes to go to college and become a teacher.
Imagine this scenario. You are a designer who works at the well-known
firm, iPD (Integrated Planning and Design). You work on a team with planners, urban
designers, policy designers, architects, and social designers. You have been tasked to
develop/design a way for Tammy Crabtree and her family (and others with situations
similar to Tammy’s) to move themselves out of poverty. What will your team to do to help
Tammy and her family achieve their goals? What approach will your team take to address
this difficult problem?
The thing that I have always thought of is that people that are homeless face a problem that
prevents them from even getting a job, which is a residence. So, to tackle this problem from the
ground up, places of employment should start taking in people that are less fortunate and letting
them have jobs similar to the one that Tammy is described as having. But not requiring them to
have a place of residence to start at the job, and hopefully after a while they are able to get
themselves in a situation where they can get a place to live alongside a "steady" income to allow
those people to then either, like Tammy, go to school, or move up the corporate ladder and make
a living for themselves that way.
Our society is attempting to take the steps necessary to make it more easily possible for people in
Tammy’s situation get escape poverty. We can see this especially here in New York State,
becoming the first State to offer free college tuition. Now, it is not free for everyone, but if you
fall into the category that is eligible, which will generally be the lower class, the free tuition is a
huge help and a step in the right direction making it possible for people such as Tammy. The
other thing that I have seen is in other country’s such as France or Denmark that resort to
“handing out” things that in short term combat the poverty situation, rather people need to work
to find a solution to the root of the problem.

36. Jordan Weissmann, “Comparted With Other Rich Countries, the United States Is Pretty Bad at
Fighting Poverty,” Moneybox, 02/03/2016,
http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2016/02/03/the_countries_that_are_best_at_fighting_pov
erty.html

37. Response to Titicut Follies:
The state of Massachusetts tried to ban the 1967 documentary Titicut Follies, arguing that
director Frederick Wiseman had violated the patients’ rights by not getting written
permission to film them. The case went to court, and Wiseman argued that he had consent
from their legal guardian, the institution. After a judge ruled in favor of the state, the legal
appeals carried on for several years: in 1969, Massachusetts allowed the film to be shown to
doctors, lawyers, and health care professionals; in 1991, a superior court judge ruled it
could be released for the “general public,” as privacy concerns were no longer at issue, so
many years later.
Should Wiseman have been allowed to film the residents of Bridgewater Massachusetts
Correctional Facility? Why or why not? How might this film be of value to designers
(communication designers, product, designers, architects, interior designers, planners,
landscape designers, systems designers, and/or social designers)? In other words, what
might they gain from this film that they could use in their work?
I think that Wiseman should have been allowed to film the residents at the correctional facility.
But rather than just getting permission to film from the facility itself, I feel that he should have
attempted to get permission from the inmates themselves to "cover is own skin" and to take the
extra step to not get sued. Contrary to the beliefs of my classmates, the film showed the "dark"
side of the Prison system here in the united states. But I believe that was the whole point in this
film was to bring those darkness’s to light and show the general population what really happens
behind those closed doors. To go along with that not just showing people what happens to
inmates, but to attempt to incite a movement for change in the prison system to go from a
punishment that the United States, to move towards rehabilitation.

38. Response to PPT, The Architecture of Autism, Public Space
Prelude: Wolf Wolfensberger's seminal work "The Origin and Nature of Our Institutional
Models" posited that society characterizes people with intellectual disabilities as sub-human and
burdens of charity, He argued that this dehumanization, and the segregated institutions that result
from it, ignored the potential productive contributions that all people can make to society. He
pushed for a shift in policy and practice that recognized the human needs of those with
intellectual challenges and provided the same basic human rights as for the rest of the population.
The Scenario: Imagine that you and your four children live in Amherst, New York in a
$650,000 home at the end of a cul-de-sac on the edge of a ten acre woods. The town has
purchased a one acre lot three houses away from yours, and plans to build a group home for ten
intellectually challenged adults.
As a resident of the neighborhood, would you support or oppose this proposal and why?
You've learned additional information about the residents of the proposed group home in your
neighborhood. In 2013, three of the ten intended residents exhibited challenging behaviors
including screaming, public masturbation, repetitive rocking, and echolalia (elective
incontinence). However, these behaviors have not occurred since then.
How would this change your opinion about the construction of the group home in your
neighborhood?
The residents in your neighborhood voted (14-3) to reject the town of Amherst’s proposal to
build a group home in the neighborhood. Town officials agreed that the home would not be built
in your neighborhood if you and your neighbors could develop a workable alternative.
What are some possible solutions that would allow the residents of the home to be provided
with “the same basic human rights as the rest of the population”?
As a resident and in this scenario having to think about the children not only in my own
household but the rest of the neighborhood as well, with someone in the house that has been
known for public masturbation I would also have big concerns about the town building a
residential home for those people three houses away from my own. Even though the behaviors
have not happened for about four years there still lies a possibility they could resurface.
For the almost unanimous vote against the home is very persuasive but the thing that I think the
home needs would be a overseeing staff that could help the residents and also on another level
make sure that they are acting appropriately around the neighborhood. That is what I think the
home would need, if they had that, then I feel the home would be a good addition to the area.

39. Response to The Connection Between Religion and Urban Planning by David Engwicht
In his article, David Engwicht discusses the fact that religions (of all types) have played
major roles in the development of our cities. Today, places of worship are primary
components of almost all urban centers. Author Lorne Daniel writes “From their often
active role in supporting people who live in city centers to their iconic influence on design
and use of space, religious structures tell us a lot about our history, our current needs, and
where we might be headed in the future. This is an aspect of our urban future that
planners and urbanists should attend to.”
Identify a place of worship with which you are somewhat familiar. (If you are not familiar
with any places of worship, do a bit of research on one in your own city or town.) Show a
photograph of this religious structure. (You may use photographs from the web.) What
roles has this place served in the development of your city/town? How has it influenced the
design of the area around it? How has its role changed over time? What roles could this
place of worship play in the future development of your city/town?
This is St. John Maron maronite church, being that the
population of this church including the leading priest are all
from Lebanon or have extremely strong Lebanese ties, they are
very unrecieving of outsiders. When someone that is not "like
them" tries to come in the elder people are the worst in almost
shunning them during services. So as far as influencing the
community there are not very many interactions between them
and the surrounding peoples. They built a recreation hall for
their own special events. But honestly I feel that the separation
of church and state has served the population well, so the
development of the suburbs of buffalo should continue in the
direction it is headed with the growing medical and
architectural research and development.

40. Response to Prospects for the Future of Diversity and Design
Consider the quote in your syllabus from educator Michael J. Shannon: “Design, as vision
in action--the intersection of understanding and creation--is a universal human capability that
can play a fundamental role in social evolution, in the process that transforms resources,
energy, and information to make our world.”
At the beginning of this course, we discussed the idea that we are all designers regardless of
our profession or field of study. We’ve asked some big questions along the way, and the
conclusion section of our textbook raises additional issues that require input from people
who might not consider themselves to be part of the formalized design professions.
Think about your own major and/or future profession. What is the biggest challenge,
problem, or question that your field needs to tackle right now? What do you plan to do to
address this challenge, problem, or question either as part of your studies or professional
life?
In my opinion architecture has gone from allowing form to follow function to making everything
feel too artificial. Even in my friends work at Rich Products along Niagara Street, Buffalo they
renovated their atrium so that people talking makes the place sound and "feel" full which makes
people end up talking to each other less. Architecture has gone too far in attempting to make
everything too "efficient" where I feel that sometimes efficacy is good, but that should not be
allowed to take over the feeling of the space. I feel that our society has gone far away from basic
interaction and too focused on the individual. So that is what I want to change about our built
environment is taking a step back to having people interact and work with and also around others
versus with just themselves.