Matthew's Honors FYE Blog: September 2019

Friday, September 27, 2019

Week 6: Diversity & Inclusion II - Documented and White People

Introduction

In this week's FYE classes we were asked to watch two documentaries "Undocumented" and "White People" and discussed the situation of undocumented immigrants in America as well as the key issues highlighted in each documentary, website or article.

Jose Antonio Vargas

Jose Antonio Vargas (1)

In the first class for this week, we were handed a paper about that film. I genuinely thought it was about the previous documentary "Which way Home" and got really confused. It's only when someone said the word "Philippines" , my brain had clicked. I knew exactly who they were talking about - for my Composition I class, we had an assignment in our textbook about Jose Antonio Vargas's New York Times essay, "My life as an undocumented immigrant" (2). I contributed to the class discussion by saying that Jose left the Philippines when has 12 to live with his grandparents in America. In class, we talked about his situation growing up in America and how he became a well-known journalist in America. Dra. McGrath showed us some video clips of Jose who visited Georgia Southern back in 2016 to discuss his views on the ethics and legality of immigration.

Documented

Documented Cover Art (3)

"Documented" is a self-produced documentary (released in 2013) about Jose Antonio Vargas and his efforts for immigration reform. As previously mentioned, I read his New York Times article (published 2011) which meant that I had prior knowledge about him before watching the film. For me, it was fascinating to learn about his life in greater detail as well as what he'd done for the two years after 2011.

June 25, 2012 cover of TIME Magazine (4)

I believe the message of the film is about understanding that there's millions of undocumented immigrants in America who pursue the same dream of a better life and want to contribute to the American economy and market but live in fear of deportation and harassment. Furthermore, there are many hardworking individuals who will never be U.S. Citizens because they don't have the papers . No matter how hard you work and what you contribute to America , you'll never be an American without the proper documentation. The only omitted message omitted that I think the Documentary avoids, is whether America has sufficient resources to support everyone if the immigrant population were to increase drastically due to more relaxed Immigration Policies.

Jose is sending this message across because he wants his American audience to be aware that the U.S. Immigration process is ineffective. He wants to appeal to our humanity in that there are plenty of undocumented immigrants who want to live the "American Dream" but can't due to their documentation status. Jose advocates for immigration reform to allow for an easier immigration process and path to citizenship.

Jose with is mother in the Philippines(5)

Jose managed to attract my attention to the message through the use of chronological sequencing by providing his story about his life in the Philippines before coming to America as well as his school and work life. Furthermore, the interviews with his family members, friends and co-workers provided more insight to Jose's life. His grandmother , Lola, was critical in telling Jose's life in America while his Mother described the Filipino life and her relationship with her son. This dysfunctional relationship is highlighted throughout the film. It's effective in showing that because of U.S. immigration laws, many Undocumented immigrants are separated from their families and will never be able to visit one another unless they had enough money to get a Visa or Green card. When I read Jose's article, the relationship with his mother is what really grabbed my attention so, to finally see that he talked to her for the first time in 2013 since 1997 was really satisfying to see the two mend their relationship and reconnect.

Other people may have different feelings towards the message - undocumented immigrants would see this video as a symbol of hope ( especially with the Dream Act) because of what Jose was able to accomplish as an undocumented immigrant whilst other people may see this film as a deterrent to migrate to the U.S. because of how lengthy and classist the process is to do it legally. Furthermore, it would make people rethink whether it's worth it to become separated with family by going to the U.S.

This film may not have the shock value or is not as depressing as Which Way Home , but it still has a deep impact on the audience and shows another way in which people illegally migrate to the U.S. Unlike Kevin, Jose lives with his grandparents in America and accomplishes most of his goals instead of being held in Washington like Kevin. It also shows us that not all immigrants are Hispanic or Latino.

Overall, this film tells a unique, unexpected story to the audience about a 12 year old leaving his old life forever.

Define American

Define American Logo(6)

In Documented, we see Jose purchase the domain for this website (7) which is used by the organization of the same name in which undocumented immigrants can tell their stories about what it means to be American.

Sydrah Al-Saegh (8)

One of the stories that interested me was about Sydrah Al-Saegh(9) who's from the Middle East. She believes that being American is whether you call America your home and also whether you contribute the same as everyone else. I choose her story because she has similar beliefs as Jose which shows that majority of immigrants want to contribute to America. There's also many videos on the website which discuss immigrant's views and stories. I chose the video "The Good Immigrant"(10) which features both documented and documented immigrants. The majority of them discuss that Good Immigrants are those that pursue tertiary education and work hard. Some also talked about that ones occupation isn't a criterion for being classified as good because there are farmers who contribute significantly to the US economy. They also express their views that not all immigrants are Mexicans and that just because someone looks different doesn't mean that they should be treated any differently. All in all, the website is a good resource as platform to speak but also to listen and to read about people's experiences as an Immigrant in America.

White People

White People Cover Art (11)

The title itself, of the documentary is pretty weird ( Imagine how ridiculous it sounds when telling your friend , "I can't go out tonight - I'm busy watching and analyzing White People "). White People, a film for the MTV's “Look Different” campaign, focuses on young, white students and teachers who who live in areas that are predominantly white or the complete opposite. The documentary shows that some people who have little interactions with African-Americans, have some perceived negative views or actions towards them such as walking on the other side of the street if an African-American is on the same side. Some scenes are pretty awkward - when a girl cries over the use of the word "Ghetto" in front of her white friend's family or when another girl felt like the statistics were attacking her. The documentary also focuses on how people feel about talking about race - some think it's better to stop talking or acknowledging other people's race while others feel uncomfortable talking about race.

One major aspect that is focused on in the film, is about the belief that white people are being denied less scholarships than other races solely because they're white whilst in actuality, white people are more likely to gain scholarships than other races. This is because of a lot of socio-economic factors that determine who gets a scholarship. Whether American Universities have race quotas to meet is unknown but some questions on the CommonApp are pretty bizarre - there's a single question dedicated to ask whether you are of Hispanic/Latino descent. Outside of class, one of my white friends thinks that it's okay for Universities to have a racial preference for admission or scholarship under the condition that the other person has the same or better qualifications than him. I think that race would not be the only factor since the University will also have to see you and your parent's bank statements in order to see whether you need the financial aid or not. Furthermore, did you know that international students pay a lot more money for tuition ( $17,140) as compared to the instate ($2,185.56) and out of state tuition fees ($7,712.76) for 12 credit hours semester right here in Georgia Southern University - imagine the bigger difference at higher credit hours. This doesn't only happen in America, but in other first-world countries such as Canada and the U.K. The University of Toronto,which I had gotten accepted into, has the biggest gap that I know of - domestic(Can$14,180) and international fees (Can$58,680). It really begs the question of why should someone pay more money just because they weren't born in a certain place.

In essence, I think that scholarships and admissions don't focus too much on race. It is okay to feel uncomfortable to talk about race since you didn't chose to be a specific race and that your views don't reflect your ancestors own - what you need to do instead is dismantle the systematic oppression that prevents others from reaching the same goals. Some people are ignorant of racial inequality because they grew up in a neighbourhood where one race is predominant, but in the age of technology and information, the Internet would have made people more aware over these issues. There's this YouTube video (12) , which is satirical and filled with dark humour ,that offers an insight to the struggles African-Americans face which I watched a while ago.

Final Thoughts

This week was really interesting because I got to discuss about my culture, heritage and ethnicity (Indo-Trindadian) with my class, along with my classmate Enysa (who is Jamaican-American-Polish) which most people wouldn't think of at first glance when they look at us. We also discussed that some words have different meanings to different people - pickney (child in Jamaican English Creole) and black (which refers to anyone of African or Indian descent in my country). A lot of time was spent in the second class to discuss how I speak and what languages do I know(British Standard English and English Creole). Some words have drastic changes in pronunciation such as "Jaguar" and my favourite - "capillary" which I pronounce as "kuh·pi·luh·ree" while Americans pronounce it as "ka·puh·leh·ree". That part of the class discussion reminded of this video that I watched on Youtube(13).
I believe that everyone has a unique culture to showcase on the global stage - if you were to travel to any other country ,you'll see how unique and different your culture is to theirs. I'm happy to learn about what happened to Jose Antonio Vargas after his New York Times article together with his advocacy for immigration reform and the common belief shared among immigrants - immigrants just want to work hard to support themselves and their family. White People provides interesting views of descendants of immigrants , white people that grew up in predominantly white communities and Native Americans on the whole topic of race in America. In summary, these topics and class discussions helped us gain a better mutual understanding of each other as well as the present issues that Immigrants face and Americans face in America.

Sources and Useful Links

Article and Website Mentioned

2. My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant - https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/26/magazine/my-life-as-an-undocumented-immigrant.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1

7. Define American - https://defineamerican.com/

Videos Mentioned

9. Sydrah Al-Saegh - https://defineamerican.com/stories/view/sydrah-al-saegh/

10. The Good Immigrant - https://defineamerican.com/video/the-good-immigrant/

12. Key & Peele - Negrotown - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rg58d8opQKA

13. Top Gear - Jeremy Clarkson's American Accent - https://youtu.be/bzpPVbdRR74?t=17

Photo Credits

1. Jose Antonio Vargas to Visit Georgia Southern University - https://cah.georgiasouthern.edu/vargas/

3. Documented Cover Art - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3057836/

4. Time Magazine Cover - https://time.com/3789293/behind-the-cover-americas-undocumented-immigrants/

5. Jose with his Mother - https://static01.nyt.com/images/2011/06/26/magazine/26illegal3/26illegal3-popup.jpg

6. Define American Logo - https://defineamerican.com/about/

8. Sydrah Al-Saegh image still take from - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xobEYtVC98

11. White People Cover Art - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4846132/

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Week 5: Diversity & Inclusion I - Which Way Home & International Migration

Introduction

This week's topic is about diversity and inclusion in which we delved into the hot topic of international migration and watched an eye-opening film: 'Which Way Home'. Some parts of this Blog Post are probably going to be quite morbidly heartbreaking.

International Migration

Migrant route through Mexico to the U.S. that many Central American immigrants take(1)

When I hear the phrase 'International Migration', I think of a permanent change of residence across international borders. I've been assigned to watch some videos and articles about this issue. International Migration (2) is a well-balanced objective video which shows the advantages (diversity and replacement for workforce of an aging population) and disadvantages ( some people believe it puts a strain on the economy and the immigrants would destroy the heritage).
The Price of Immigration (3) is a YouTube video that focuses on the struggle of illegal Hispanic immigrants whose schedule revolved around work and sleep and sending remittances back to their homelands. The majority of those Hispanic Immigrants work "3D jobs" - Dirty , Dangerous and Demeaning - which are the jobs that average U.S. citizen wouldn't want to do. Dr. James Johnson (distinguished professor at Kenan Flagler Business School ) argues that the economic benefits of Hispanic immigrants outweigh the cost of taking care of them in which he quotes "The Arizona economy would shrink by $48.8 billion, or 20 percent, if all undocumented workers left the state" (Immigration Policy Center, March 2011) and "Hispanic immigrants contributed $9.2 billion to the North Carolina economy in 2006 and created 89,000 spinoff jobs" (UNC-Chapel Hill's Kenan Flagler Business School, Jan. 2006) .
Uttarakhand's Migration Woes (4) illustrates the push factors that cause some people of the Uttarakhand internally migrate in India. The video shows that some migrants are well-educated and simply want to have a more qualified job instead of facing under-employment in their hometown. This is also a similar issue in my country of Trinidad and Tobago (except that it takes place over international boundaries) whereby people, usually teenagers and young adults, pursue tertiary education in Canada, U.K. or U.S.A. and intend to live there afterwards. This is because my country's job market is over saturated and results in underemployment (a person with a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology is working at an entry-level job in a bank ) and unemployment (engineers and doctors haven't got job in 4 years after graduating from University). The video doesn't focus on the negative affects of migration .In Uttarakhand and my country, the negative effects caused by these highly educated individuals leaving (human capital flight) is called "brain drain" where the country or region's workforce loses its highly skilled and educated individuals.

Venezuelan Activist Yesenia Gonzales to a police officer outside the Parliament Builing of Trinidad and Tobago during a protest by Venezuelan Asylum seekers(5)

In our first FYE Class for this week, we had to write down anything we've recently read about the controversial topic of immigration and how it affects you. I choose an article by the BBC (6) which is about Venezuelan immigrants who travel to my island called Trinidad. The article shows that we have a unique immigrant where we have large number of immigrants (40,000) relative to the country's population of around 1.3 million. A large portion of my country's population are very xenophobic to Venezuelans through anti-immigrant protests or verbal abuse. To me, I think it's very hypocritical because many Trinidadians have the desire to migrate to other first world countries to escape poverty and work the same minimum wage jobs as other immigrants. Furthermore, my country is a plural society that consists of Africans( descendants of central-west African slaves) and East Indians (who migrated to Trinidad as indentured labourers to replace the slaves after slavery was abolished) whose heritage and culture mixed to create a new, rich and unique culture. In addition, Trinidad was a former Spanish Colony until it was overthrown by the British, which means that many cities and towns have Spanish names ( San Fernando, Port of Spain, Rio Seco) as well in our food, music and English Creole Language. The cultural impact of Venezuelans would not be too drastic except that more people world be fluent in Spanish. On the other hand, many people fear that the Venezuelans will take their jobs which isn't the case as the article shows a Venezuelan Judge who now works as a security guard at Gulf City Mall in Trinidad. To be honest , I'm not sure whether my country (which is one of the richest islands in the Caribbean) has the resources to support them. If we do support them, our welfare ( such as free healthcare, free education and textbooks and school-feeding programmes may be gone or reduced). However, some humanitarian groups and charitable organizations have provided food and water to them. Furthermore, land would have to be cleared to accommodate them causing deforestation. I think the problem is how do we integrate them into our system and society. I would use them to diversify the economy through other fields such as agriculture because we don't have that much resources in that area. All in all, I believe if the numbers of immigrants were smaller, we would be able to effectively help the Venezuelans who suffer under an authoritative totalitarian government as well as US trade embargoes which results in basic necessities being scarce- some Venezuelans eat their own pets because of the food shortage and there's black markets for everyday commodities such as toilet paper. Honestly, I feel great sympathy to those who are suffering.

Film - Which Way Home

Migrants travel on top of a train in Tenosique, Mexico (7)

This is the part of the blog that gets really depressing. Even talking about this film with my classmates was really difficult for me because I was so close to tears when I finish watched it. When I watched the first 15 minutes and 17 seconds of it in class, I was shocked. Also, I initially thought it was a reenactment until Dra. McGrath told us it was a documentary when class had finished. The shock value is present throughout the film ; in the first 15 minutes we saw a dead body being pulled out of a river and one of the featured kids in the documentary picking up a used cigarette to smoke. In essence, the film primarily focuses on Central-American kids and teenagers who illegally migrate to the U.S. on top trains. The film provides the unique perspective of the immigrants which is something the audience is unfamiliar with. Furthermore, I actually used to think that they would simply walk to the U.S. I believe that the purpose of the film was to clear the world's ignorance on the U.S. immigrant issue because there's so much new and horrifying pieces on information that you learn. Firstly, the age alone should be really shocking- I don't think I would have the will power and mental capacity to leave home and climb on top of trains heading North by myself. Furthermore, the kids face and see horrible things that no one should ever experience. For example, Kevin saw two women(mother and daughter) who were raped by 15 men in another boxcar on the train. He said that it was unpleasant to see women suffering. The group of boys in the documentary were assaulted and robbed by cops then kicked off the train in Mexico.

The film shows humanitarian groups like Grupo Beta and Santa Faustina House of Migrants that provide food, water , shelter and information to migrants heading to the U.S.

The kids also tell us why they left- mostly to escape poverty , abusive households, money for education and support for their family. It's really heartbreaking to see them talk about why they left. In addition , it's really shocking to see where they grew up and how Kevin's Stepfather calmly expresses his hate for his stepson. Honestly, I wish the film would also focus on what exactly are these kids escaping from, so that I can gain a better understanding of them.

The film also shows those who don't make it and their parent's reactions. It shows how happy some of the parent's are to be reunited with their kids after they got deported back to their country. On the other hand, it shows the pain and grief of families who lost their kids such as Eloy and Rosario who were found separately dead in the dessert. To see the families break down and cry when their kid arrives in a wooden casket is really painful to watch. Also, the documentary also focuses on Maria, a double leg amputee who has three kids, and could possibly work embroider

The other shocking aspect of the film are the beautiful lies that the kids believe about the U.S. For example, Freddy and Olga think the U.S. is snowy while Kevin thinks it's only big cities filled with skyscrapers.

The film also teaches us that parents spend hundreds or thousands of dollar on a smuggler to get their kid to the U.S. when in reality these smugglers do drugs and abuse, rape and abandon the boys and girls.

Filming of Which Way Home (8)

This is really an eye-opening documentary and I love that the kids recall what happened as opposed to simply filming them throughout their journey. The target audience is aimed to Americans and to a larger extent, the rest of the world in order to see what these kids go through just to have a better life.

The process of filming also intrigues me because the interviewer and people holding the camera and microphone have to keep a plain face and remain objective as possible. I don't think I could film something like this without helping the kids.

Rebecca Cammisa (9)

This film was made by Rebecca Cammisa who is an American Filmmaker. She got a grant from Sundance Documentary Fund in 2003 which was sufficient until she switched to HBO in 2004 in order to get investors and she finally got a Fullbright Fellowship to Mexico for Filming in 2006. It is truly amazing what Cammisa and her team did. Ten Years Later, this film is still relevant now and as it was back then. This documentary should have one the 2010 Academy Award for the Best Feature Documentary instead of a nomination. In essence this a good film to spark a discussion on Immigration and educate the viewers about it.

Final Thoughts

Reading these articles and watching the film made me realize how privileged I am. For instance, I've never had the desire to migrate to the U.S. yet these kids are so desperate to reach there whilst thinking it's fun, snow and cities. The thoughts of those kids have dwelled on my mind because I worry about their situation in 2009. Out of all the Kids, only Kevin was shown to gain successful entry into the U.S. On the other hand, I was worried about Olga and Freddy who were nine years old and whereabouts have gone missing at the ending of the film while Yurico lives on the street as a drug addict. The only good news is that Olga and Freddy are both alive because I thought they were dead.

In the movie Thor: Ragnarok , Thor says "I choose to run toward my problems and not away from them because that's what heroes do." We have to start tackling the problems of countries which have lots of migrants instead of avoiding them.

I honestly think we should have a greater focus on the push factors which cause people to migrate out of their countries. In Venezuela and those Central-American countries, these people live in abject poverty because of their corrupt Governments that practise nepotism and cronyism. If it were up to me, these countries all need a constitutional reform in which they are supervised by a body or their former colony in order to maximize transparency and reestablish a democracy. In the era of Globalization, trade embargoes need to be lifted and richer countries need trade more with the poorer ones in order for the poorer country to flourish since they need foreign exchange for development.

All in all, this week's topic made me more aware of the economic and cultural impact of immigration.

Sources

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Week 4: Growth Mindset, Academic Basics, and Academic Integrity

Introduction

This week's topic is about Growth Mindset, Academic Basics, and Academic Integrity. In our FYE classes, we discussed In-Class Discussion, Free Speech , Growth Mindset Vs Fixed Mindset as well as the differences between plagiarism and cheating. These classes changed my perception and viewpoints about the topics being discussed.

Reflection

In our first FYE class for this week, we got a chance to recap and talk to each other about Free Speech and In-class Discussions because we didn't have any classes that week due to Hurricane Dorian which never physically affected the campus. One of the activities in this class was to first fill out a table on what you believe to be an effective and ineffective class discussion. I simply reiterated my viewpoints from Week 3's blog in regards to being concise, clear and respectful in order to achieve something, such as a common ground. Next, we had to write down an effective class discussion and an ineffective one. I chose the FYE class on time management and some of my highschool classes respectively. On the other side of the page, we were given a list of "12 essential communication skills that aren't taught in schools at All" (1) where we had to choose which applied to what you and your classmates would or would not use.

Afterwards, we paired off into assigned groups of two to discuss what we wrote down on our paper. The other person in my group was Enysa. We had a few common choices, but most of our answers were different. Despite this, we used some of the effective communication and class discussion skills from last week. As a result, we were both understanding of each other's choices whereby we could agree on why choose one of the skills.

After filling out the table and discussing it, the class talked about how to deal with students or professors who have different views which some may consider offensive or inappropriate. Some solutions were to directly confront it or visit the professor during office hours. Some of the members of my class also talked about how they were treated unfairly in high school by their teacher. Some of those instances were really shocking to know that some people were treated unfairly just because they're not a 'smart kid'. Out of all my classmates' contributions and responses, Emma's was the most interesting. Euphemistically speaking, her contributions were very garrulous, vocal and zealous , but they were really interesting and applicable to the class discussion. All in all, that class was a good recap of week 3's topic.

In our second FYE class for this week , we were given a table that we had to write down the example of a growth mindset and a fixed mindset. In general most of our answers were about giving up doing a certain task vs. trying to improve on it or change their way of thinking. I watched a short video (2) on neuroplasticity which further developed my understanding of how our brains work. What I found most interesting about it was that our brains simply reroute connections to generate new ways of thinking and storing memory. Because of our neuroplasticity, we mentally change over time such as our thought process or analytical skills, viewpoints and short and long-term memory. London Cab drivers take neuroplasticity to the extreme; they actually have to learn approximately all 25,000 streets and 20,000 attractions in London(3). They actually have a larger hippocampus in their brains. I also watched a video called "Growth Mindset Introduction: What it is. how it Works and Why it matters."(4) The video taught me that people with a fixed mindset are mediocre and complacent whilst "growth mindset is the foundation for learning". Furthermore there are four things to focus on with a growth mindset: effort, challenges, mistakes and feedback. Personally, I have a mix of both because my short and long-term goals change over time but I'm still scared to make mistakes or receive negative feedback about it.

Next our class went over the basics of academics of Georgia Southern such as learning the difference between a course dropping and a withdrawal as well as other academic terminology and student resources. This was extremely helpful because it helped us clear any misunderstandings or concerns. We were also assigned some apps to help us study more effectively. The one that stood out from the rest was Khan Academy(5). I had previously used this app when studying for the SAT exams last year. Khan Academy has a nice layout and tests which focus on your weaknesses. It has a myriad of videos to watch that covers a wide range of topics such as languages, humanities, business,maths and science.

Afterwards we discussed academic integrity and wrote down and shared some examples of plagiarism and cheating. Furthermore we discussed the harsh consequences of getting caught. I personally think that studying for the exam is miles easier than attempting to cheat without getting caught. We also talked about what to do when you see someone cheating. The rule on 'the streets' is "don't snitch" but in an academic context we could tell someone directly or leave an anonymous report. Plagiarism on the other hand, can be easily caught thanks to Turnitin. It's a really useful tool to see the originality and sources on submitted assignments by showing a percentile score.. I actually got scared and confused once when I saw 25% on one of my Composition I assignments ; I had copied and pasted the questions as well as included and extremely long quote from a book. It's also weird that it considers words such as 'the' , 'because' , 'and' , 'therefore' depending on those words' sequencing. When I was around 11, I used to think that plagiarism was simply copying someone else's work word for word. I would actually copy and paste then change the words with other synonyms. Over time, I learnt that plagiarism was more than just copying words ; it was copying other people's ideas without giving any credit or sources.

The final activity we did was discuss some case studies with the persons sitting next to you about hypothetical situations where students may have breached academic integrity. Most of the cases were straightforward while others were ambiguous as you needed more information to assess the situation with fairness.

Mr. Bean merely admiring the look of his classmate's fingers against backdrop of the white answer sheet (6)

In summary, I have learnt to change the way I think to positively affect how I react to challenges , mistakes and feedback. Furthermore I have grasped a better understanding of Academic Basics and Academic Integrity.

Sources and Useful Links

Articles Mentioned

1. Twelve Essential Communication Skills That Aren't Taught in Schools at All - https://www.lifehack.org/582780/12-essential-communication-skills-that-arent-taught-in-schools-at-all
3. https://qz.com/470156/a-london-taxi-driver-needs-to-memorize-25000-streets-an-uber-driver-just-needs-a-phone/amp/

Videos

2. Neuroplasticity - https://youtu.be/ELpfYCZa87g

4.Growth Mindset Introduction: What it is. how it Works and Why it matters. https://youtu.be/75GFzikmRY0

6. The Exam | Mr. Bean Official Growth Mindset Introduction: What it is. how it Works and Why it matters.

Useful Links

5. Khan Academy - https://www.khanacademy.org

Sunday, September 8, 2019

Week 3: In-Class Discussions & Speech on Campus and Beyond

Introduction

This week's blog is quite a bit different from the previous ones due to 'hurrication' for Dorian in which classes were cancelled for the week. Despite this, we still had to write our blogs on what we would have discussed in class. The two topics were In-Class Discussions (how ironic because we never had one this week) and the highly controversial Speech on Campus and Beyond.

In-Class Discussion

Whether you're shy or outgoing, we've all taken part in class discussions throughout our academic life. Some discussions feel tedious and mundane in which no progress is actually made whilst other discussions are thoughtful and engaging. The following four readings, really changed my perspective and behavior in carrying out class discussions for the better.

"I Take Your Point - Entering Class Discussion"

This chapter taken from Cathy Birkenstein and Gerald Graff's book, They Say, I Say (1) , illustrates the persistent problems we face with classroom discussions and useful tips to solve those problems. Firstly, they talk about the lack of linkage between each other's contribution by members of the classroom. To solve this problem, they said that we need to connect what we're about to say with something that has been previously said. When connected, the ideas in the conversation becomes clear and strong. Another helpful piece of advice is to re-summarize what the previous speaker said where appropriate as well as to specify the previous speaker's previous point. This technique helps remind the class about the present discussion, especially those who weren't paying attention.

The next tip was to explicitly indicate that you're going to change the subject. Failure to do this would make your comment appear to be irrelevant.

Another useful technique was to be more pedantic since the listeners can't reread what you said. Furthermore, you must limit your contribution to one point with examples or unite them under one larger point. If you were to bundle the points together, your contribution would get less attention than it deserved.

Finally , Graff and Birkenstein suggest that we use meta commentary to highlight points with phrases such as "My point is" or "In other words". Before I read this article, I don't think that I had previously applied any of those techniques presented by Graff and Birkenstein.

From the knowledge gained from this reading, I believe that when providing a contribution to an ongoing class discussion, will strive to make my point concise, detailed ,relevant and appealing to the listeners in order to keep the listeners' attention to the discussion.

"Power of Dialogue"

London's article (2) focuses upon society's inability to communicate properly because we talk to each other without any understanding and it's simply"noise"

With respect to an effective in-class discussion, London would define it as the respectful sharing of thoughts and ideas on preferably a system in which a common ground is reached by all parties and understood. He believes that "genuine understanding seems to be the exception rather than the norm in everyday communication" With respect to "when participants trust and respect each other", he wants people "to reveal their own insights and assumptions before speculating on those of others". In addition, London wants this discussion to achieve a purpose instead of wasting time over mindless banter. He would want classmates to start "analyzing ideas, finding the inconsistencies and never attacking" in order to form a "discussion aimed at fostering much insight and common purpose".

Out of all the reasons London gives,I believe the most valid reason for moving from "din" culture to a "dialogue" culture is that "genuine understanding seems to be the exception rather than the norm in everyday communication". This is because it's mostly "cross talk" and "din" which caused the divide and hate. If "people at odds with one another can come into alignment on objectives and strategies" , then this divide will be reduced or eliminated instead of "arguing for a point of view, defending a set of assumptions or critiquing the position of others". I believe that London wants us to focus on the actual issue at hand instead of attacking each other which would only make the situation worse.

"The trouble with much of what passes for communication today is that it's all crosstalk. It's a din not a dialogue. We fire
salvos of information across the internet, or shoot each other text messages or blog or Twitter about ourselves. But is anyone paying attention? And if they are, do they catch it drift?" This quote resonates with me because it precisely summarizes the issue of our modern society's communication problem. London also uses an interesting word choice such as the words "din" and "salvos" to illustrate war imagery which grabbed my attention but also reflects how society is today.

Microaggression

An image from the "I, Too, Am Harvard" photo campaign.

An example of a statement that's considered to be microaggression

taken from the "I, Too, Am Harvard" photo campaign(3)

Microaggression refers to simple behaviors, actions or comments which are directed as a hidden insult to marginalized groups. At first glance, they may not appear to be harmful but after reading the article (4) and watching the video (5) about it, you start to see the deep psychological wounds that it causes. In a classroom discussion, it hinders progress through false assumptions and doubts based on a student's demographic in which microaggression causes confusion and wastes time. Also, the members of the classroom may focus more on the microaggression rather than the actual class discussion which leads to a lack of focus. More importantly, it can lead to severe depression and anxiety for the targeted student especially if they have experienced prejudice. Microaggression can be dealt with by addressing it directly or privately when you're the victim and by trying to make a conscious effort to not display microaggression to anyone by thinking about how your words and actions affect other people.

Twelve Essential Communication Skills That aren't Taught in Schools at All

From the skills mentioned in that article (6), I believe the most effective skills when communicating with members of the University community are showing empathy, asking great questions and using body language. I try to show some empathy by trying to understand and acknowledge other people's viewpoint when engaging in a classroom discussion. I attempt to ask great questions by talking my confusions, contradictions,alternatives or any interesting information relevant to the classroom discussion. For example, I would ask my Maths professor if I can use an alternative method to solve a problem. With respect to body language, I demonstrate that I'm paying attention by trying to face my head at whoever is talking and nodding my head to what is being said.

These are good skills for First Year students to master because they give you a good impression, clears misunderstandings and is needed for effective communication so that messages aren't distorted. One other useful skill for first year students that wasn't on the list would be to know what level of formality to use in language when writing or speaking so that the message is respectful and not awkward.

Asking great questions is useful for First Year students because it clears up confusions and displays their curiosity. They can easily use this skill during classroom discussions or during a lecture when the professor asks the students if they have any questions.

What was really challenging to me about the article was that we need show emotions through empathy when communicating but when we're solving conflict, we can't let emotions get in the way of our thoughts and actions. Provocative listening is interesting to me as I have never thought about how listening to someone actually affects their self esteem.

All in all, this article was truly helpful.

Speech on Campus and Beyond

(7)

Free Speech is not only a controversial topic but it's also shrouded in Ambiguity from what I read due to the First Amendment(8). Many people are divided over whether the legal definition of free speech should be changed or not. Some people are upset that others are allowed to spread hate speech as it's protected under free speech whilst others think that censoring offensive or hate speech is a direct contradiction of free speech.

Protesters, students, and media fill Traditions Plaza at the University of Missouri (9)

Dra. McGrath assigned my class three articles of varying perspectives on the topic of free speech on a public campus. "Hate Speech is Protected Free Speech: Even at College Campuses" , written by Erwin Chemerinsky (10), focuses on the legality of hate speech permitted on public campuses. "On Speech and Belonging" , written by John A. Powell (11), focuses on both the legality of students and how it relates to the safety of all students in a school environment. "Race and the Free Speech Diversion" , written by Jelani Cobb (12), focuses on the tensions and negative effects of hate speech as well as the way people respond differently to hate speech against different groups or entities or organizations.

Protesters clash on the University of Utah campus where conservative commentator Ben Shapiro spoke on September 27, 2017 (13)

The strengths of Chemerinsky's arguments stems from his focus on the matter at hand from a legal perspective. He relates the First Amendment to how it's applied in Universities. One of his main points is that the Government cannot punish speech on the grounds that it is offensive. He also stated that the criteria for what is deemed hate speech in a professional or academic setting would be different to speaking in public.

However, the weaknesses of Chemerinsky's argument are that he failed to acknowledge the negative effects of hate speech on marginalized groups. More specifically, he doesn't offer a way as to how should people and campuses treat hate speech since it's allowed.

The strengths of Powell's argument stems from his use of Pathos,legal stance with respect to the First Amendment and what are the intentions of people who use hate speech in which he believes it is "carefully crafted to harm, to demonize, to disparage, to create a sense of fear about anyone they deem 'Other' ".

Although Powell mentioned the first amendment , he doesn't really focus on the legality of hate speech, free speech and the 1st Amendment as much as he talked about the negative effects of hate speech.

The strength of Cobb's argument to illustrate that "the freedom to offend the powerful is not equivalent to the freedom to bully the relatively disempowered" is his use of well known examples and analogies to others such as the University protests in relation to the Trayvon Martin - George Zimmerman case.

The weaknesses of Cobb's argument is that he solely focuses and critiques on Yale and Missouri Protests. Cobb doesn't explicitly state his views on hate speech and free speech with respect to the first amendment. Furthermore, the average reader may be confused about the purpose of his article since it doesn't follow any known organizational strategy.

To me, Powell's argument seems to be the most persuasive because of his thoughts on the negative impact of hate speech, Pathos and also the belief that hate speech is protected under free speech because of the first amendment.

PBS Videos

Schools are watching students' social media, raising questions about free speech

After watching the video (14), I was shocked to know that schools were spying on students online. I've heard that employers and Universities go through an applicant's social media profiles but I didn't actually know that they would still monitor their own students. The only positive thing I can see about this is that it allows school officials and authorities to see any red flags, bullying, drug sale/use and anything else that is harmful to students.

However, this can backfire as some students were found "guilty by association" for being in a group chat where someone posted something offensive even if they did nothing wrong. Moreover, those schools failed to realize that people behave differently online and what the school sees may not be an accurate reflection of the students. Furthermore, it stifles free speech as students now take careful consideration about what they post or do online. In addition, it's intrusive on the student's privacy and this monitoring also brings a light on how there isn't any laws preventing schools from doing this. Finally, the money used on monitoring these students online could have been used to improve the schools' infrastructures and programs.

Free Speech vs. Hate Speech on College Campuses

This video (15) was a well-balanced argument which talks about how limits of free speech such as: blackmail, making a threat, soliciting a crime, inciting violence, lying under oath and violations of copyright. In other words, if hate speech involves any of the limits,then it can be legally dealt with. On the other hand, the video also talks about how regulating free speech is undesirable because the Government(one body) would then be in control of everything we would be permitted to say.

Final Thoughts

In-Class Discussions are an integral part of learning to me. Because of the assigned readings, I believe that I have learnt the problems facing modern day communication which are the lack of understanding and consideration for the reader. Furthermore, I think that I now possess better techniques for the communication process in University and professional settings. Learning about microaggression made me sad to know what some people go through on a daily basis and I sometimes wonder if I give off any microaggression or received any microaggression. Even though there are still mixed views about hate speech and it's place in free speech on campus, we can't stop people from expressing their opinions, no matter how much we may disagree with them. What we can do is be open-minded and ensure that college is a safe place for everyone to learn effectively regardless of their identity. During my leisure time on YouTube, I was watching this video clip(16) taken from a TV show called Top Gear (UK) in which the presenters of the show had to paint "offensive slogans" on each other's cars and then drive through the state of Alabama. I realized that those "offensive slogans" would have been received positively in other States of America. It made me think that some forms of hate speech is subjective. For example, if I were to say that "Women should have the right to vote" back in the 1910's many people would consider it hate speech(which may be hard to believe) since some of the offended people would believe that my statement was unpopular, unnecessarily divisive or an attack on men. This is because hate speech is subjective since it's about how speech threatens, attacks or insults a person. If we were to pick and choose which opinions were hateful and which ones were not based on our own opinions, everyone would have a different perception on what they considered hate speech. That's why hate speech is really confusing and divisive.

All in all, we should still aim to be respectful and open-minded in whatever we say or do as everyone reacts and thinks differently.

Sources

Book Mentioned

1. Birkenstein C. and Graff G. (2005) "They Say, I Say Chapter 11 I Take Your Point - Entering Class Discussion", New York City ,Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.

Articles Mentioned

2.Power of Dialogue http://scott.london/articles/ondialogue.html
4.What exactly is a microaggression? https://www.vox.com/2015/2/16/8031073/what-are-microaggressions
6.12 Essential Communication Skills That Aren’t Taught in Schools at All https://www.lifehack.org/582780/12-essential-communication-skills-that-arent-taught-in-schools-at-all
8.First Amendment https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/first_amendment
10.Hate speech is protected free speech, even on college campuses https://www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2017/10/25/16524832/campus-free-speech-first-amendment-protest
11.On speech and belonging https://blogs.berkeley.edu/2017/09/18/on-speech-and-belonging/
12.Race and the Free-Speech Diversion https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/race-and-the-free-speech-diversion

Videos Mentioned

5.SNIPPET: Microaggressions in the Classroom https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ji8Qae9keY
14.Schools are watching students’ social media, raising questions about free speech https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/schools-watching-students-social-media-raising-questions-free-speech
15.Free Speech vs Hate Speech on College Campuses https://www.pbs.org/video/free-speech-vs-hate-speech-on-college-campuses-gkjvrl/
16.Run out of Alabama! | Offensive cars | Top Gear | Series 9 | BBC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKcJ-0bAHB4

Photo Credits

3. Image taken from "I, Too, Am Harvard" photo campaign https://itooamharvard.tumblr.com/
7.Javier Zarracina/Vox
9.Photograph by Michael Cali / San Diego Union-Tribune / TNS via Landov
13.George Frey/Getty Images

Sunday, September 1, 2019

Week 2: Intro to Honors and Time Management

Introduction

In our second week of Honors FYE , we were paid a special visit by three members of the Honors Staff (Dr. Steven Engel, Dr. Francis Desiderio and Erin Martin) to discuss the overview of the Honors Program and in the second class we engaged in experiential learning about Time Management lead by our Peer Leader, Taylor Close.

Intro to Honors

When people think of Honors Students, they think of students who are smarter than average or quite frankly "a bunch of nerds" which may or may not be entirely accurate. Before I started to apply to universities, I had no idea as to what an Honors program was. This all changed when I learnt about the four foundations of Georgia Southern's Honors Program which were "to foster and develop a critical sense of inquiry, a spirit of creativity, a global perspective and an ethic of civic responsibility". In our first Honors FYE Class of the second week, we had a nice discussion with the Honors Staff about the Honors Program and its requirements.

Erin Martin

Erin Martin is the academic advising coordinator of the Honors program. She showed us how to look up and schedule an appointment with our academic advisors on the myGeorigiaSouthern website through the EAB navigate under advisement resources. She also said that we would have to schedule an appointment with her later this semester.

Dr. Francis Desiderio

Dr. Francis Desiderio is the associate director of the Honors Program. Firstly he asked us what do we think is experiential learning. We replied that it is learning outside the classroom, hands-on experience and study abroad. He then told us that it also includes research and the Honors Thesis. He then brought to our attention that people with higher credit hours such as the people in our class who are classified as sophomores would have to do their Honors Thesis earlier than other people.

He then discussed leadership/volunteering and their relationship with the sense of civic responsibility and a global perspective.He said that for our first year we would have to do at least 25 hours. Furthermore, he said that there are opportunities on and off campus to volunteer. He said that it is easy to find volunteering opportunities through Serve912 and MyInvolvement which are run by the Office of Leadership and Civic Engagement and the Office of Leadership and Volunteering Bureau respectively.

Dr. Steven Engel

Dr. Steven Engel is the director of the Honors Program. He entered midway during our class. He jokingly said that he was planning to give a fifty minute lecture. Instead, he gave a concise summary of the Honors Program and wished us all the best in this term and our future endeavors.

My thoughts on the discussion about the Honors Program and requirements

I'm indecisive at the moment as there are many opportunities but I intend to do something that involves tutoring, the community and nature conservation through Serve912 and MyInvolvement which Dr. Desiderio mentioned. Overall this discussion helped clarify any misconceptions or uncertainties about the Honors Program for everyone in my class.

Time management

In Wednesday's class, our Peer Leader Taylor lead the class on the topic of time management. She explained to us that time management for College is much different from High School and that many freshmen sacrifice sleep or forget to eat. This is something I can relate to as last week Sunday when I forgotten to eat anything for the day and had a late dinner. She then drew a triangle on the board and labelled the edges with Social Life, Sleep and good Grades then wrote choose two. Some of my classmates jokingly said that they don't have any of the three. Taylor told us that it doesn't have to be this way. Through time management and prioritizing, we can have all three and much more.

"Effective Time Management"

Afterwards, Taylor showed us a short film from YouTube entitled "Effective Time Management" directed by Brook Linder .The video shows the struggle of a student who has to write a five thousand word Philosophy essay on Ludwig Wittgenstein which is due tomorrow. The video was stuffed with humor throughout because the main character was so easily distracted by everyday objects around him. For example a rubber band caused him to waste time by using it as a rubber band gun to shoot at objects. After procrastinating long enough, he plagiarized his essay using the information from Wikipedia. The next day, he wakes up at 12 and hustles to get to school whilst driving like a maniac only to see the car park empty. He then mutters, "it's Saturday" then slams his head on the car horn. The video showed us that not only do we need to manage our time but also have a sense of time. I'm guilty of having no sense of time because if you were to ask me the digits of today's date, I would have to look at my phone or watch.

Group Activity

Afterwards we had a group activity in which we were split into groups of four or three and were handed a paper of tasks to accomplish.

The tasks that my team accomplished were doing a lap around the room, singing "Let it Go" , making a paper airplane, giving everyone group names(which were Thing 1,Thing 2, Thing 3 and thing 4), making a name tag for everyone in our group (in which bonus points were awarded for using our nicknames), coming up with a team name and motto ( our team name was called "Team" and our motto was "The teamiest team"), saying something unique about yourself and counting the total number of pets we owned in our group.

The things we didn't accomplish were making a 2ft tower using our belongings, getting a piece of paper signed by everyone, doing a conga line and convincing someone to join our group.

Afterwards, we discussed how hectic it was and whether there any leaders in the group as well as obstacles. Each team then tallied up their points which were written on the board. My team got 95 points. I believe that my team could have gotten full points if we planned out everything in the beginning as well as multi-tasked. We were all strangers to each other in my team which made some tasks feel awkward such as singing "Let it Go" . What added to the difficulty of the activity were the distractions of other teams when they tried to convince you to join their team or when they were doing their own tasks such as getting people to sign their paper.

'$86400'

Next, Taylor wrote '$86400' on the board and I immediately knew that
this would be about the magical bank metaphor which I had discussed in my previous blog. After explaining the rules, she asked us to write down what we would do with it. I decided to spend it on charity, luxury such as getting servants and chefs and finally, starting a campfire with literally the money that I didn't use. When we were asked to share our answers, some people told funny answers such as spending it on life insurance then hiring a hit-man, buying large quantities of Mac and cheese and Flex Tape or using it to get the tools and people needed to rob a bank. On the other hand, some of my classmates had some really thoughtful plans. They decided to spend it on their family, charity, houses,cars and education. Taylor then revealed that the money represents the seconds in a day to which some of my classmates were amazed. We then had a discussion on how time is precious and shouldn't be wasted. We already lose a third of this 'money' to sleep so we have to make the most out of the rest.

Websites for Time Management

Current Student Resources for Honors students

This is a very helpful website for Honors students as it provides an overview of the Honors Program as well as specific links to help themselves. For example, it has the Thesis Handbook and Proposal Form which will assist students with formulating their thesis. The webpage also has opportunities for experiential learning such as Study Abroad or Alternative Break Trips such as the one to Costa Rica lead by Dra. McGrath. Those Experiential Learning activities as well as College in general may sound costly. Luckily the webpage provides links to Honors Study Abroad Scholarship and Nationally Competitive Scholarships to ease the cost of education and experience. If you are confused about any aspect of the honors program, this website can certainly help.

GPA of time management

The principle of this helpful and effective concept is to have goals which have a plan to achieve them. As previously stated, the first thing to do would be to envision your goals and become self-aware of them. The webpage provides a guide to on how track what you're doing through a spreadsheet. From the spreadsheet, you will be able to see where time is wasted. From those results, you can alter or make a new plan. The webpage also suggests using a planner. Finally, it reminds that ,"we don't manage time - it will do its own thing with our without us. We manage ourselves!"

The Counseling Center's Strategies for Good Time Management

In essence, the strategies include using a planner, prioritizing the need for sleep and food as well as classes before any other activity. It shows you the need to take care of yourself before anything else. It also accounts for time to enjoy yourself besides work and study as well as not stress yourself by having long study hours and being realistic with your goals.

Time Management Apps

Some of the Time Management Apps That I tested on my Phone

You might think that Time management apps are pretty self-explanatory ( they manage time). However, they can also be used to eliminate distractions, to focus and to relieve stress. Everyone thinks differently and is susceptible to different forms of distractions.The following are basic reviews of those apps.

For those who are easily distracted by their phone or computer, there specific apps targeted to eliminate or limit distractions.

Forest is an app that allows you to grow trees in your virtual forest by not using your phone for a chosen period of time on the timer.During this time, you are not allowed to use any other apps unless they’re white-listed. Otherwise, the tree you planted would immediately die. Some nice touches to the app are the music it plays to help you focus and motivational quotes that it displays.

Freedom is another app with the same purpose. It comes with 7 free sessions or a premium plan which offers unlimited sessions as well as the ability to schedule them. With Freedom, you can choose which genre of websites to block such as social media,entertainment,sports and news during your session.

Self Control is a browser extension for MAC devices and has similar functions as Freedom but it takes it a step further.If you decide to restart the computer, the extension will still continue to work.
Stay Focused is a chrome extension which limits time on websites deemed distracting by the user. This app unlike the other three enables the user to have fun as well as work instead of strictly work.

Now that you got rid of the distractions, time to focus.

Focus@will can help with that by playing music designed to help you focus where you can choose different instruments and genres of instrumental music to be played.The music is specifically designed to soothe our ‘fight or flight’ response whilst showing picturesque backgrounds such as rolling hillsides,beaches and fields of barley . You can get a free 7 day premium trial which comes with the full music library, productivity tracker and the ability to skip or see the name of tracks.

Stop, Breathe & Think: Meditation & Mindfulness is an app that literally allows you to stop , breathe and think through the use of meditation and breathing exercises . It also helps with your mental health as it includes ways to deal with depression and anxiety.This app also comes with various premium plans.

Any.do is a brilliant to-do or reminder app because it has a refined selection for different types of reminders or checklists such as grocery lists.

Remember the milk is also another reminder app which will send your reminders across all your devices and can sync to Google Calendar.

Rescue Time is an app that shows how you spend time on your phone so that you'll know how to better plan your day to avoid wasting time.

Overall, the apps that eliminate distractions are not useful to me as I’m not easily distracted by phone or computer. Instead, they may hinder productivity as I quite often use my phone or computer to do schoolwork or to study. The apps used to improve focus or relaxation don’t help me as I find the music on Focus@Will to be distracting and I feel indifferent after meditation.The Rescue Time app is redundant as most smartphones nowadays show the time spent on apps under battery usage in settings. Any.do and Remember the Milk are too complex for remembering simple tasks. Furthermore, most smartphones come with a checklist or notes app. To anyone who feels the same about the apps, a small notebook or planner will do just fine.

Final Thoughts

I am really glad to be a part of The Honors Program and wish to further develop my ethic of civic responsibility through volunteering. I effectively learnt a lot about time management thanks to my Peer Leader, Taylor, through different mediums such as videos and group activities and discussions. The things I learnt from these two classes can be linked together.I believe the concept of time management can be applied to the volunteering requirement of the honors program. For example, 25 hours may seem like a tall order to complete but volunteering a couple hours each week will lessen the load you have to carry. Whilst on the topic of time management,I am immune to external distractions like my phone, computer or video games yet I have a unique problem where I get so distracted by my day-dreaming,thoughts and ideas. As a result, I often get internally distracted between typing paragraphs or sentences when doing assignments even with the use of the focusing apps. Luckily, there is a Time Management Workshop by the Academic Success Center on Wednesday September 4th which I intend to go to which will remedy the problem. Furthermore, everyone has there own unique goals and tasks to accomplish in which we have our own special ways of reaching there through planners,apps ,meditation and many other ways. In other words, we all have different but effective methods of time management available to us to choose from. I would like to end with a quote from the description of the YouTube video we watched in class, "are you working hard, or hardly working?"