Undergraduate / 'The first constitutional amendment is the best law ever' - TUFTS SUPP grammar [NEW]

Prompt: Science, math, and society are filled with postulates, laws, and theories like the Ninth Commandment, PV=nRT, Occam's Razor, and H.R. 3541. Warm air rises. Good (English) grammar requires 'i' before 'e' except after 'c.' So pick a law, any law, and explain its significance to you.

I believe that the first amendment is the best law ever written. This is because it protects my right to free exercise of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of press, and a separation of church and state. It allows us to read what others have written and hear what others have spoken. It also gives us the important right to protest.

It feels good to be able to believe in whatever religion I want without being afraid of being rebuked for it. In France for example there was a ban on religious symbols and apparel in public schools. The ban included Muslim headscarves, Sikh turbans, Jewish skullcaps, and large Christian crosses. The main focus of the ban however was on Muslim headscarves. Coming from a religious background with friends and family who wear Muslim headscarves the issue is important to me. I am extremely thankful to be living in a country where this can not occur because of the first amendment. Many of my friends wear "hijabs" to public schools and I would hate to have to see them chose between religion and an education. Thanks to the first amendment they are free to express their religious beliefs as they please.

Thanks to the first amendment we are allowed to have debates and speak freely as we please. The best thing about debates is that you are allowed to hear both sides of the story and are free to interpret the facts and opinions in your own way. Without the first amendment there would be only one side to every idea and we would be forced to accept that once side. There also wouldn't be newspapers because newspapers require freedom of press. Without it life would be like the society of Oceania in George Orwell's novel 1984. As Orwell puts it, we would be speaking in Newspeak with the list of words being shortened daily. Big Brother would really be watching us...

One of the best things that results from the first amendment is a right to protest. With Occupy Boston currently going on I understand the importance of a right to protest. The protestors are occupying Boston for a change in the financial districts of Boston similarly to the individuals occupying Wall Street. Without the first amendment these individuals would not be able to have a say in government and would certainly not be allowed to protest. Indifferent towards political views it is great to be able to protest against what we find unfair in our government and to be able to have a say and maybe even an impact.

Without the first amendment I wouldn't be surprised to see a country similar to that of Nazi Germany

Undergraduate / Tufts Supplement - "consider the world within yourself" [4]

3. For the second short response, we asked you to consider the world around you. Now, consider the world within. Taste in music, food, and clothing can make a statement while politics, sports, religion, and ethnicity are often defining attributes. Are you a vegetarian? A poet? Do you prefer YouTube or test tubes, Mac or PC? Are you the drummer in an all-girl rock band? Do you tinker? Use the richness of your identity to frame your personal outlook. (200-250 words)

As long as I can remember I have been a certified nerd. While children were begging their parents for action figures and Barbie's I was begging my parents for books. I remember staying up all night as a child reading the latest Harry Potter novels and eagerly awaiting to discuss the novel with my fellow nerdy MIT STEM summer program buddies. As I got older I began to replace my love for Harry with Charles Dickens (still a Harry fan at heart). I can recall spending my entire summer vacation reading and rereading A Tale of Two Cities. Now I find myself longing for those days when I had time to just sit down relax and read. Coming home at 4:30 from a long day of school and after school activities I prefer to nap and get started on the homework. I look forward to English class and the assignment of a new novel. While my classmates sigh in sync I await to get started on the latest novel. I would much rather stay in and find myself in a new world within a novel than go out. The best thing about reading is that it allows you to escape from reality and whatever you are going through to somewhere quite enjoyable. While my friends praise sites like Sparknotes I dislike them because they defeat the purpose of reading the novel. They can be helpful after reading the novel but I would never recommend it as a replacement. My friends on the other hand would disagree...