Homecoming 2011

As a freshman I know that I personally had A LOT of high expectations as far as the events and activities that surrounded homecoming. After being told endlessly by other students, family friends, and older alum about the "great HU homecoming" I was slightly disappointed. I did have my share of fun however nothing really lived up to its hype. It may be because I had a lot of preconceived notions, or because I've been told about the grandeur of homecoming since I told people I was applying for school.

To start most of the ticket prices were out of my budgeted range. Fifty dollars for a step show plus transportation there seemed unrealistic. One because I am a (relatively) broke college student, and two because I could just wait for my classmates to buy the tickets and then resale them, which is what I did in most cases. Another reason homecoming wasn't as spectacular as expected was the celebrities. Yes they were great however they weren't the ones I grew up with nor were they in the limelight currently with the exception of two or three. Once I got passed that and realized that homecoming is what you make of it I enjoyed myself. Homecoming left a lot to be desired but all in all I wouldn't say that the prestige team failed (they just need a little improvement).

My First Homecoming..

   My first Howard Homecoming... It was exciting and at some points anticlimactic, but overall it was a well appreciated experience. My best friend from home, Sabrina, flew in to help me celebrate. It has been months since I've seen her so her presence alone was enough to make my weekend enjoyable. I didn't attend any events during the week so homecoming truly started on Friday for me.
   Yardfest was more than expected. Not because of the performances but because of the abundance of food. The multiple options left me in a gluttonous bliss. Although Jeezy and Wale are great performance I didn't have the opportunity to see them because we had to leave early to make it to the r&b concert.
   The R&B concert of course didn't start on time; however, I know from the experience that I will be purchasing Melanie Fiona's CD when it's released. Friday night after the concert was an experience to say the least; but not an enjoyable one.
   Saturday's events topped those of the night before and my entire day was filled with entertainment. There was never a dull moment from 9AM Saturday morning to 5AM Sunday morning. Overall my weekend was more than fun and I am overjoyed for next year's homecoming.
Kristen Bailey

HOMECOMING!!!!

The only thing I can say is WOW!!!! I have never been apart of something so marvelous. This was a different experience for me because college homecoming is on a whole nother level than high school. I really did not know what to expect because this was my first college homecoming experience. It was like a festival. People were everywhere and the traffic was ridiculous. Although I did not get the entire experience it still was something new. I was excited because my family came and I have not seen them in about four months. We all just hung out in the yard and enjoyed the food and the music. We also got up early on Saturday and went to the parade. The parade was like the start of the day. It got us excited for what was to come later on in the day. The students that participated in the parade did a wonderful job. They were excited and they danced and marched with everything they had and I applaud them for a great show. That was basically all I did at Howard for homecoming because I decided to go to my brothers homecoming at the Naval Academy. Maybe next year I can get the full experience.

Niesha Bush

Freshman Seminar Overview

My overview of Freshman Seminar as a course is a positive one. I feel that freshman seminar has opened my eyes to be a more well- rounded African- American. Just a few days ago, I was having a conversation with a friend and I began to go into detail of how every individual has a communal responsibility.

Freshman Seminar has shown me a different view of how I should see how I fit into the world. I should expect out of myself, not only for myself to succeed, but the community around me to succeed with me because it is my responsibility to give back to the environment from which I came.

I have grown a respect and appreciation for Freshman Seminar and now when I look back, I am glad that it is a required course for all COAS students. Even doing these blogs every week was a good experience. These blogs allow for a reflection of how you actually felt about the lectures and your interpretations. I'm curious to see how my group project turns out, but nonetheless excited.

Jesseca Farr

iPhone 4S Rush!

Friday, October 14th was the day that the new iPhone was released. I had been planning on receiving one of these iphones but I'd missed the presale date, so my plan was to get up early Friday morning and try to get in line for one. I worked late Thursday night and had uncompleted homework due Friday, but I was determined to get my phone.

After work, I got back to my dorm around 1am Friday and began doing my homework. The apple store informed me the previous day that in order to get a phone, my best bet would be to be at the store (which opens at 8am) by 6am. I ended up doing my homework until 4am, taking a shower, and hopping on the bus (skipping sleep) just to make sure I didn't oversleep. Dozing off on the bus, I make it to Georgetown around 6:10am. There's already a line! I thought that by getting to the store before the sun even came up, I'd be at least waiting in front of the store. No dice.

News cameras and police were on the scene as well. I ended up in line about 200 yards away from the store, standing beside a lady and her canine companion. I was tired and bored, so to occupy myself I ended up playing with her dog to pass the time. Eventually Apple employees came out and started taking questions from consumers, streamlining the process which would allow us to get in and out the store faster. Apple employees also began passing out free coffee, water and donuts, which was a nice touch. Eventually, the clock struck eight and it was on!

Customers started filing into the store and making their purchases, finding their time and money well spent. After waiting about 5 minutes I was allowed into the store, and I bought my 16gb black iPhone4s! Its been 2 days, and I must say I'm in love with this phone. The rest of my weekend was spent playing with my new phone, which i thoroughly enjoyed.

M.L.K Memorial Dedication

The Martin Luther King Jr., Memorial Dedication is one of the best ways to celebrate a person of life, dreams, and legacy. This is a way that we as African Americans can show our appreciation to a man of integrity. What makes this moment so historical is that the memorial is the first in Washington, D.C to be dedicated to a person of color. King was a man of hope, love, justice, peace, and democracy.

President Obama spoke so well of King. He mentioned the things that we have overcome and yet more to come. It’s not about what we haven’t overcome but what we will overcome. Its time for us to stop complaining and get out and do what is right for African American rights. One of the things that we have to understand is there were people that paid the way for us. So what we have to do is work and fight for the things that will help the generations to come.

Niesha S.Bush

Passing Time...

With midterms finally here I've been reflecting heavily on my past few months here at Howard University. In high school, we often hear about and experience friends going to college and changing. A year ago I thought of this change in a negative light; however, after experiencing it personally I've realized change is a necessary part of life and isn't always negative. College students are forced to embrace a new lifestyle, new friends, and a new environment. It is human nature to adapt to new surroundings. While I try my hardest to keep up with people and friends back home, I find myself drowning in time conflicts. Here at Howard University there is never a dull moment. Being my first year I want to experience everything I can here and keep up with my schoolwork but I always feel as though I am being suspended between two worlds: my roots in California and my new life in DC. With the time change and schedule conflicts I am never able to have a full conversation with absent friends. Although I know I have not fully mastered this feat, I am trying hard to keep up with everything.
   One thing I know that will bring me back to the sanity I felt in California is my best friend coming to visit for homecoming. She goes to Xavier in Louisiana and I feel as though there is never enough time for us to talk anymore. Through everything she would always keep me sane and I am beyond elated that we will be able to reunite this weekend. Thinking about it makes me want to cry. I know through everything, even though we are not able to talk everyday and most times every week, she will always be my best friend.

Kristen Bailey

Practices of Freedom and Justice: A Charge to Keep

The speaker of this week's class presentation was Ms. Kimberly Worthy. She is a renowned educator, who's received "Teacher of the Year" awards at every school she's been to. Her topic for this week was "Practices of Freedom and Justice: A Charge to Keep" During this lecture, Ms. Worthy discussed the importance of teaching, as well as the various ways teaching is executed. She compared the way that students are taught in American schools with the way African students are taught. In America, we are taught information in a compartmentalized fashion, grouping and learning information by subjects. African students are taught information collectively, at the same time.

African students learn how everything is connected, and it's importance in society as a whole. African students seem more eager to learn than American students, because they understand how much of a privilege the opportunity to receive an education is. Another thing taught in African classrooms, is the importance of culture. In America, we learn very little about our own people in Africa. One of the reasons there is a disconnect between African-Americans and Africa is because of ignorance. Our school books contain very little of our heritage and culture.

I thoroughly enjoyed this class lecture, and it made me realize that our way may not necessarily be the best way. I believe that if we were taught similarly to how African students are taught, collectively we would be able to grasp real-world concepts and apply the knowledge we gain to tasks in our everyday lives. It also made me realize how much we as African-Americans take for granted. We should want to know more about our history, and take the steps necessary to make that a reality.

Miss Evers' Boys

The play titled "Miss Evers' Boys" was about a group of blacks who were selected to participate in a study for syphilis. This was known as the Tuskegee Experiments, and went on in the 1930s'. The government deceived the participants by leading to believe that they were being treated for the disease, when in reality they were not. The main characters of the play all had the disease, and one even had HIV/AIDS. They start off receiving "treatment" as normal, but after a while the funding for the program is cut short. The subjects are proposed the idea of allowing the doctors to monitor the effects of the disease, and compensating them for it later. Two of the main characters end up dying, and one has suffered greatly from the effects of not receiving treatment for the syphilis. The other main character was treated effectively.

This play made me think about how unfairly african-americans were treated in this country, even after slavery. It was later declared that conducting human experiments is illegal, but for them to even attempt to try using us as guinea pigs is degrading. The case of Troy Davis is a more recent example of the unfair treatment we as african-americans receive. We are fed misinformation and lies all the time, just as the black men of the Tuskegee experiments were then, as displayed in Miss Evers' Boys. These thoughts were accompanied by the thought that we as African-Americans have to be strong-willed and determined, because everything is shifted away from our favor. We have to work twice as hard to achieve the success and/or recognition of our white counterparts, which has made us stronger individuals. I believe that if we could come together as a unit, as we have in the past, we can put a stop to this type of treatment.

Miss Evers' Boys

Miss Evers' Boys tells the story of four men who instill their trust in a nurse from a similar background as them as they receive "free doctoring" if they take place in a government study of Negroes . This particular crew of men are chosen because they have what is known to them as "bad blood". After a few mere blood test their "bad blood" is diagnosed as syphilis. The men then decide it is in their best interest to take part in the study. At first the studies intentions are well, they treat the men with care in efforts to cure the growing syphilis epidemic. Once funding runs short the team of doctors decide that they will continue to study the men but instead of trying to cure them they will monitor the damaging effects of syphilis in black men. The study keeps the men by promising them life insurance and keeping them around with false pretenses like "back shots". Forty years later two of the men have died, and the other two have survived. One of which has suffered greatly from not being administered penicillin when it became readily available.

After watching the play I thought about other times in African-American history where as a people we were lied to, mistreated, and abused only to be made examples out of. It would be nice to say that racism like this doesn't still exist. However it does. Instances like "Jena 6", Troy Davis, and many more happen all the time sadly. Some go unreported, others receive national response. And though it seems as if we keep fighting for causes like this we cant stop there. We as a people shouldn't have to wait until its too late to step in and protest. Stories like "Miss Evers' Boys" angers me because the government would never (in a hundred years) allow that to happen to a group of country white men. All of these examples are reasons why as a people we need to come together. As its been said many times African Americans must stop acting like crabs in a barrel.

10.4.11

This lecture actually indirectly discussed the topic it was scheduled to teach. The subject at hand was culturally relevant teaching. Our speaker did not necessarily discussed culturally relevant thinking directly ,but told us about an amazing school in Africa called L.E.A.P. The L.E.A.P. school is an institution that is student ran and provides a kind of safe haven for its students. The students at this school were the first generation to actually have the freedom to practice their own culture in school and give themselves an education level higher than sixth grade.

These students were the true definition of "Ubuntu". Ubuntu means humanity and that " a person is a person through other persons". These kids not only relied on the responsibility of each other inside the walls of the school, but also in their poverty stricken communities. With the support of each other, the students are able to receive an education everyday of the week and build up the community around them.

I feel that culturally relevant teaching should be more prominent in the United States. Growing up in the South, a lot of information about my culture was held from me in school. I was only taught the white traditions of education. Our speaker really showed me the importance of learning, at a young age, what it truly means to be an African first and an African- American second.

Jesseca Farr

Miss Evers' Boys

The play Miss Evers’ Boys took place in the 1930s Alabama. This was a time when racism still existed especially in the southern states. The play is about the consequences of the Tuskegee syphilis experiment. There where hundreds of black men that were misled by the government into believing that they were undergoing treatment for syphilis. These men were lured into a “Medicaid” type program. They were only being allowed to die. If they died then the deterioration would be documented. When they first started this experimentation they knew first hand that it was immoral and illegal.

The government plays a big part in this because they actually misled illiterate black men who didn’t know any better. One of the most horrible things about this play is that this went on for forty years before it was investigated. Even though this is hard to watch, it's an important part of American history and shows how people's ignorance can harm others. From this I started thinking about European diseases and how the purpose was to kill the African American Race. One of the main ones are HIV/AIDS. From seeing this play it makes me think about all the things that have happened to African Americans and how the government went all long with it such as slavery. One thing I know is anger will not solve anything we as blacks need to come together to make a change.

Niesha S.Bush

Practices of Freedom and Justice: A Charge to Keep

Who ever came up with the idea of the Leap program did an awesome job because Ms. Kimberly Worthy talked about how the school creates an empowering educational environment that enables each learner to develop fully as a human being with a positive caring lifestyle, and healthy work ethic. This is very important because each student has the opportunity to open up and not be afraid of what the world has to offer. The purpose of the school was mainly to ensure each student academic success but it also helps socially and emotionally.

The effort to live by “Ubuntu” can enhance teaching, learning, and the overall quality of life of the community because it’s a code of good deeds. The codes are things like being honest, look good, never give up, etc. These are the things that make a great community long as the people follow the code, “Ubuntu”.

Although places in Africa are not safe the students are inspiring because they score off the charts on test. From this I get the idea that they don’t let their circumstances defeat them in getting an education. Another important thing about the Leap Program is the validation of cultural experiences. It is a place of not being ashamed, as they say abandon all fears. This is great thing because having fear can actually harm a person in the long run. Also Ms. Kimberly talked about how they correct each other when they are wrong. This only allow them to become better people. One of the things that really caught me was the part about not having clocks. Africans feel that clocks are an European thing. With a clock I think it actually stop the learning process which is like breaking a bond or separation. Just by the results from the students test shows how powerful the Leap program is.

Niesha S. Bush

Miss Evers' Boys

   Miss Evers' Boys is a play about the very essence of racism. Not the classic form of racism that we see every day-the product of classic Jim Crow-but racism as more than just a social function. The scene was set in the 1930's. Slavery had ended but there still lived a large number of uneducated African Americans undergoing numerous social issues. The main issue of the play was the spread of syphilis; primarily in African Americans. The government played a large part in this social injustice by permitting doctors to deceive illiterate African Americans in order to use their bodies for an unsafe experiment.
  What is most angering about this play was the audacity of the American government to blatantly lie to African Americans to use them for experiments. They subjected them to harmful treatments such as back shots and mercury rubs to attempt to cure them; however, even after a safe, effective cure had been discovered they would not make it available to the patients.
   These misgivings continued all the way until the 1970's, and the debt against African Americans involved amounted to a measly $10 million settlement. Just 40 years ago, America was still committing inhumane transgressions against the oppressed.
    Although unjust experiments aren't being held on African American's today, a lot of underprivileged are still not receiving adequate health care. How is this not another form of modern racism?
    In conclusion, this play successfully ignited an unforgiving anger within me. Not anger for revenge, but anger to make a change.

Kristen Bailey

Practices of Freedom and Justice: A Change To Keep

   This week's lecture focused on the functionality of teaching; more specifically the many effective techniques of teaching children of different races. One main point is the five main tenets of teaching African Americans. These include African logic, African epistemological styles (symbols, images, rhythm), African axiology (values/relationships), and cultural visibility in the curriculum. All these factors naturally play an important role in the education of African American's. If we are not able to relate to the material how would we be able to value it.
   Another key point was culturally relevant teaching. The school systems must teach children from an alternative paradigm, one that validates and exalts culture. The days of forced assimilation and the colonial classroom are long gone; thus, we must make it a priority to teach the youth to value their culture as well as the culture of others. Instead of tearing the culture down and degrading traditions as we have done in the past, we must now use facets of these cultures to educate.
   A third point was communal responsibility. As we have learned in previous lectures, this is a big part of what Howard tries to endure in its students. With these three initiatives, America can make a huge impact in educating its disadvantaged.

Kristen Bailey

The Eloquence of the Scribes

This week's presentation, led by Dr. Thornton, was about self-actualization and recognizing our past in order to effectively plan for our future. He elaborated on how history repeats itself, and that in order to be successful in the future we have to strive for excellence.

Here at Howard University, we have an excellent staff, full of top-rate professors. The game plan is drawn out for us, we just have to create our own lane and work hard to achieve the goals that we set for ourselves. Being that we are already climbing the ladder of success by attending a university, we owe it to those that came before us, and those to come after us to succeed in our endeavors. As African-American students, it is important to give back to our community.

I feel that if I had to choose a profound representative thinker of Howard University, I would pick Dr. Carr. Dr. Carr is not only an a profound professor, but an excellent motivator. He has the ability to make a 50 minute class feel like 15 minutes. Aside from being a great professor inside of the classroom, Dr. Carr also participates in numerous community service activities and organizations. He has inspired so many Howard University students with his teachings, and I am honored to have listened to him speak. My wish is that I can be an influential member of our society, so that I can give back to my school and my community.

The Eloquence of the Scribes

   This weeks lecture focused around the concept of Self-Actualization. Self-actualization can be described as the search for truth and service. This topic required introspection of the part of the audience.
   What can I do to be a part of the best and the brightest at Howard? Being a university, striving academically is an obvious prerequisite for being part of the "best and the brightest", but there are also other facets of life at a university that students should excel in. These include community service and extracurricular activities. Community service is not only a leisurely activity, but a requirement for educated African Americans. It is our responsibility to attempt to better the African American community as a whole. We can do this by joining organizations based on improving important issues and spreading awareness.
   To be a citizen of the world means to be socially and politically responsible; not only for oneself but also the surrounding community by making ones voice heard. It means being informed about issues the affect the world as a whole and working to improve them.
   Representative thinkers of Howard University who have impacted me most would be the professors in the chemistry department; more specifically Dr. Hosten and Dr. Raghavan. This is because they are truly invested in the education of their students. They go above and beyond to provide extra resources for their students success while at the same time the take on a somewhat parental role by standing back and letting us learn by making mistakes in the lab. Their approach for teaching is helpful guidance. They offer key advice, but let us take the reigns in our learning.

Kristen Bailey

The Eloquence of the Scribes

I found this week's lecture very interesting. Dr. Alvin Thornton is a very powerful speaker and is very engaging to listen to. To be the best and brightest at Howard University we must prepare ourselves for the future and confront what lies ahead of us. Dr. Thornton stressed the aspect that history repeats itself so with that being said we already know what's going to take place and can equip ourselves to take on the future.

Dr. Thornton stated a quote that was very powerful, "It is out of truth we get freedom." We gain our citizenship through knowledge. We become citizens of the world when we open to ourselves to not only what is in front of us, but what is around us also. Through knowledge we are free. We must make our own definitions of certain morals or someone will soon make them for us. Ignorance will only cause us to lose all freedoms.

Dr. Carr is a perfect example of someone at Howard who is a representative thinker. Dr. Carr empowers all he speaks to with the motivation to reach back in time and discover themselves so that they can transform the future. When Dr. Carr spoke to my freshman seminar class, I was instantly interested in finding more information about my ancestors and my history and not only being a student at Howard ,but a student who will transform Howard.

Out of all the lectures we have had thus far, I find Dr. Carr and Dr. Thornton's lectures most interesting. I leave having a feeling of wanting to be something bigger than myself. I really enjoy that feeling. :-)

Jesseca Farr