Organizations such as the NAACP and Black Action Society (BAS), were established to help the black community feel as if they are accepted and also connect with one another. Individuals in the minority have the chance to take part in these organizations in order to fit into a predominantly white campus.
Michelle Quinn, 20-year-old senior, took part in another organization that helped the minority. Jump Start is a program established to allow incoming freshman who are considered a minority, not just black students, to come to SRU a few days early and connect with other individuals like themselves, she said.
“I came with two very close friends from back home,” she said. “But each of us were able to get to know other individuals who will still communicate with now.”
` Quinn said it always feels nice to not feel like an outcast, especially when she planned on being at SRU for four years. It is hard meeting new people and putting yourself out there, she said.
“I’m glad for organizations the give the minority a fighting chance on a campus such as this one,” she said. “It’s not to make us feel separate but more of an equal.”
Friday, May 11, 2012
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Over-incarcerated, Under-educated in the Black Community....
Slippery Rock University's National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), hosted an event, Wednesday, about the over incarceration and under education of the black community. Over-incarcerated, Under-educated, had a very enlightening message. There are more women in college than men. In the black community the ratio from women to men in school is much higher. There are more black men in jail than seeking a degree.
SRU’s own Dr. Matambanadzo was the speaker for the evening.
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| From May 6, 2012 |
He teaches African American history among other things at SRU. He said he’s visited jails on many occasions and will be going again soon and offered for students to visit with him as well. Matambanadzo gave a lesson on what he believed was the root cause of mass incarceration of African Americans and how, if at all, it might change.
“The incarceration of African Americas all started with slavery,” he said.
According to the Bureau of Prisons, as of March 24, there are about 217,000 inmates currently incarcerated. Around 81,000 of those inmates are African Americans. The incarceration rates of African Americans is nearly three times that of Hispanic men and seven times that of white men.
Tierney Smithson, senior political science major and vice president of NAACP, believes this is a very important topic that we should be educated on. The turn out could have been better, but she appreciated those who did show up and felt it wasn’t a bad turn out, she said.
When individuals entered into the room, Terrell Foster, NAACP executive member =, directed them to either the right side or left side of the room. Those who were on the right side of the room were incarcerated. Those on the left were free and were able to pick out a lollipop to show their freedom. The exercise was supposed to show how those who are not in jail are free to make their own choices, whereas those who are not are able to reap benefits of being free.
Malik Harrison, a SRU senior, attended the event and happen to be one of the individuals incarcerated during the activity.
“I enjoyed it,” he said. “As a young black man I know the odds of my peers going to college or going to jail, it’s a wake up call.”
Monday, April 30, 2012
Black Arts Festival in Slippery Rock University Quad...
Slippery Rock University is a predominantly white campus. Minority students only make up about 5 percent of the population. Because the minority students are at such a low percentage different organizations were implemented on campus to make them feel more comfortable as well as be able to open up better to other students.
Black Action Society (BAS) mission statement is, “to promote the African American experience at a predominantly white institution, while serving as a support system for African American students.”
BAS hosted a Black Arts Festival Friday, in the University quad. The event was for, but not limited to the black students on campus. A lot of the black students showed their support for the event, but students of all ethnicities and backgrounds were enjoying the festival. It included making waxed hands, caricatures, henna tattoos, bouncy obstacle course, decorating flip flops, and photo booth for activities. The food included cotton candy, funnel cakes, hotdogs, snow cones, and caramel apples.
The fun didn’t stop there. BAS also had a rapper, a live band, and a port to finish off the festivities.
Shatona Hollingsworth, 20, put off an online quiz just so she could stay out and support and enjoy the festival. She took photos in the photo booth with each of her roommates and a few other friends. Her only disappointment was the caramel apple station ran out of apples before she could get one.
“The lines were very long for the activities,” she said. “But it was worth the wait and being out in the cold.”
Hollingsworth didn’t like the way her wax hand turned out, but she did like the process of making it. She said the iced cold water was good for sticking her hand in the wax, but even after a few dips in the wax she could feel the heat.
“The overall event was nice and a lot of people turned out,” Hollingsworth said. “I would say BAS did a good job for getting the black students involved beyond partying.”
Black Action Society (BAS) mission statement is, “to promote the African American experience at a predominantly white institution, while serving as a support system for African American students.”
BAS hosted a Black Arts Festival Friday, in the University quad. The event was for, but not limited to the black students on campus. A lot of the black students showed their support for the event, but students of all ethnicities and backgrounds were enjoying the festival. It included making waxed hands, caricatures, henna tattoos, bouncy obstacle course, decorating flip flops, and photo booth for activities. The food included cotton candy, funnel cakes, hotdogs, snow cones, and caramel apples.
The fun didn’t stop there. BAS also had a rapper, a live band, and a port to finish off the festivities.
Shatona Hollingsworth, 20, put off an online quiz just so she could stay out and support and enjoy the festival. She took photos in the photo booth with each of her roommates and a few other friends. Her only disappointment was the caramel apple station ran out of apples before she could get one.
“The lines were very long for the activities,” she said. “But it was worth the wait and being out in the cold.”
Hollingsworth didn’t like the way her wax hand turned out, but she did like the process of making it. She said the iced cold water was good for sticking her hand in the wax, but even after a few dips in the wax she could feel the heat.
“The overall event was nice and a lot of people turned out,” Hollingsworth said. “I would say BAS did a good job for getting the black students involved beyond partying.”
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Jason Kush
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| From April 16, 2012 |
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| From April 16, 2012 |
Kush, saxophonist and professor at Slippery Rock University, has loved the saxophone as far as he could remember. To him, it was all about the look of a saxophone, the sound, and watching other’s perform.
“I used to watch the Tonight Show when Branford Marsalis was the musical director,” he said. “I just loved anything that was saxophone.”
Kush began taking saxophone lessons around the age of 11 he said. He thought saxophones were so cool and his life was all about them. He kept on playing right through college where he graduated from SRU in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education. Following his education at SRU, Kush went on to get a Masters in Music at the University of Miami, he said.
“I received my Masters in jazz saxophone,” Kush said. “While being a teaching assistant at the University of Miami I received my Doctorate in classical saxophone.”
In addition to being a professor, Kush said he’s also a performer outside of the University.
The Jason Kush Quartet is a jazz group of his own which consists of saxophone, bass, piano and drums, he said. He’s also had the pleasure of playing with the Pittsburgh Symphony which occurs five to six times out of the year. Kush said he’ll be performing with the Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra all week with a feature from Benny Golson, a jazz tenor saxophonist, who he said is one of the greatest of all time.
“I also do some traveling,” he said. “I just completed a mid-west tour with the Nathan Douds Ensemble where I played the saxophone as well as the clarinet.”
Kush’s works extended beyond teaching and performing in various groups. He’s written an article about his former teacher, Agnes McConaughy, from Johnstown, Pa., for the International Musician and a recent article for the Saxophone Journal, he said.
Another high note for Kush was the project for the Henry Mancini Institute. He said he participated in the four week long professional summer workshop in 2006. During that time he and others did a recording with jazz clarinet player, Eddie Daniels and jazz saxophonist, Tom Scott. Two of those track arrangements were nominated for the Grammy’s.
He said he feels like he has no choice because the saxophone picked him and he certainly loves his career. Not only does it make him happy, he likes to teach others and share his passion through his performances he said.
Kush said he loves everything about teaching, playing the saxophone, and his performing career, but the most important and exciting thing going on in he and his wife’s life, is the birth of their first son in July.
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| From April 16, 2012 |
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| From April 16, 2012 |
Friday, April 6, 2012
Gas on the Rise.....
Country Fair is a chain convenience store and gas station with 75 locations located in Northwestern Pennsylvania, Western New York, and Eastern Ohio. they are also in connection with Kwik Fill which has nearly 300 locations in the same areas. both companies are owned by United Refining oil company.In Eire, Pa there's almost always a Kwik Fill and Country Fair in close proximity to one another.
In the past few months the gas prices have been on a rise. Just a week ago gas prices were only $3.89 at the 38th and McClellan Street location. The price of regular unleaded gas is now $3.99. In New York regular unleaded has already reached over four dollars at $4.06. In Ohio is it only $3.79 a gallon.
Country Fair offers customers a way to save money on every gallon. Gas Cards, also known as Cash Cards, used at the pump or prepaid in the store save a customer five cents on every gallon of gas. These cards are also good for in store purchases. There are signs located on the building and at each pump. The employees offer the card as well to make sure customers can save every penny they can.
Markel Hubbart, a 23-year-old sales associate for Country Fair, believes even as little as five cents off goes a long way. He said working for the company for six years has shown him just how valuable and popular gas cards have become. With the rise in gas prices, gas card sales have increased as well.
"Some people become upset when they come in to prepay and realize you didn't give them a gas card," he said.
"About one out of every three customers gets a gas card," Hubbart said. "But some customers don't think five cents off a gallon is much, so they just use their credit cards."
April 6, 2012
3:10p.pm.
In the past few months the gas prices have been on a rise. Just a week ago gas prices were only $3.89 at the 38th and McClellan Street location. The price of regular unleaded gas is now $3.99. In New York regular unleaded has already reached over four dollars at $4.06. In Ohio is it only $3.79 a gallon.
Country Fair offers customers a way to save money on every gallon. Gas Cards, also known as Cash Cards, used at the pump or prepaid in the store save a customer five cents on every gallon of gas. These cards are also good for in store purchases. There are signs located on the building and at each pump. The employees offer the card as well to make sure customers can save every penny they can.
Markel Hubbart, a 23-year-old sales associate for Country Fair, believes even as little as five cents off goes a long way. He said working for the company for six years has shown him just how valuable and popular gas cards have become. With the rise in gas prices, gas card sales have increased as well.
"Some people become upset when they come in to prepay and realize you didn't give them a gas card," he said.
"About one out of every three customers gets a gas card," Hubbart said. "But some customers don't think five cents off a gallon is much, so they just use their credit cards."
April 6, 2012
3:10p.pm.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Pennsylvania Intramural and Recreational Sports Association (PIRSA), held its west basketball championship games for the third year at Slippery Rock University arc, Saturday, March 24. It consisted of seven surrounding schools. The girls only had two teams, Slippery Rock and Clarion. It's low cost and the teams are fed. The championship teams are made up of the winners of the playoff intramural teams.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Latex or Baby?
Joseph Spears and Samantha Parks, HOPE(Healthy Outreach through Peer Education) leaders are set up and promoting safe sex at Teen Mom's, Maci Bookout's speech.
The table is lined with brochures and pamphlets as well as free condoms and a safe sex game-board!
The backstage UPB workers swipe in students, a growing crowd of mostly females, as they filter in to listen to the speaker of the night, Maci Bookout.
Young lady of the hour, Maci Bookout, 20, begins to talk to the crowd about her journey as not only a teen mom, but also how it was in the spotlight.
Maci allowed a portion of her time with SRU to be dedicated to questions, she said nothing was off limits. So students, even one guy, lined up for question time.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
Mr. Prevention....
Condoms:
The Controversy:
On one hand people believe that young adults should be educated in sex. Where to buy condoms. how to properly put them on....
Then there are others who believe that it's a sign of encouragement for young adults to engage in sex.....
Lets take the show 16 and Pregnant for instance. This show is about young ladies who have gotten pregnant in their teenage lives. Some of them drop out of high school while some struggle through it. They tell the story of how their lives are officially over, no more hanging out, loss of friends, and how some of the fathers aren't pulling their weight. The show was designed to show how hard it is for the young women after having a baby. But is it working?
A spin off of the show came later with Teen Mom 2. This show stars the cast of the second season of 16 and Pregnant. It shows the struggles of being a young mother, marriage, relationships, adoption, finances, graduating high school, college, independence. These two shows are supposed to show the struggle and hardships that come with being a young mother and the challenges that lay around every corner.
Their underlying message is practice safe sex, right?
"Of 100 typical users who start out the year
employing a given method of contraception,
the number who will be pregnant by the end
of that year will be _________."
So asking whether access to condoms prevent teen pregnancy is a bad question... In some cases it does. In others obviously not, we have shows about teen moms.
rubbers, love gloves, sheaths, raincoat, jimmy hat, and numerous other, sometimes more vulgar, terms.
The Controversy:
On one hand people believe that young adults should be educated in sex. Where to buy condoms. how to properly put them on....
Then there are others who believe that it's a sign of encouragement for young adults to engage in sex.....
Lets take the show 16 and Pregnant for instance. This show is about young ladies who have gotten pregnant in their teenage lives. Some of them drop out of high school while some struggle through it. They tell the story of how their lives are officially over, no more hanging out, loss of friends, and how some of the fathers aren't pulling their weight. The show was designed to show how hard it is for the young women after having a baby. But is it working?
A spin off of the show came later with Teen Mom 2. This show stars the cast of the second season of 16 and Pregnant. It shows the struggles of being a young mother, marriage, relationships, adoption, finances, graduating high school, college, independence. These two shows are supposed to show the struggle and hardships that come with being a young mother and the challenges that lay around every corner.
Their underlying message is practice safe sex, right?
"Of 100 typical users who start out the year
employing a given method of contraception,
the number who will be pregnant by the end
of that year will be _________."
So asking whether access to condoms prevent teen pregnancy is a bad question... In some cases it does. In others obviously not, we have shows about teen moms.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Monkey See, Monkey Do....
Great Apes Trust is a science center dedicated to studying the intelligence and behavior or great apes. Dr. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh, joined the Great Apes trust in 2005, she's the executive director of the center has dedicated her time to teaching apes how to communicate. She has taught these animals how to complete computer tasks, use symbols, type on keyboards, decode structures and learn concepts of quantity and numbers. Who said we didn't evolve from the same ancestors as apes? Savage - Rumbaugh asked the question, "What is a bonobo?" She then asked the question, "What is a human?" Her journey began with those two simple questions to discover the difference or if there is a difference between how an ape learns and communicates to how a human learns and communicates. In her mind there isn't much of a difference, but for apes it may be a little harder and take a little longer. Overall a young ape learns like that of a human child. The first question I would ask her would have to be, Do you believe we evolved from the same ancestors as apes?
Sue Savage - Rumbaugh first success story was an ape named Kanzi.
My sources that I found most valuable and reliable were:
1. Great Apes Trust - This is the centers main site hosting a lot of videos of apes doing some amazing things as well as discussing more of what they do and how they do it. They introduce the scientists teaching the apes how to communicate similar to the way humans do.
2. Time Magazine - I found Time magazine to be another valuable source because Savage-Rumbaugh was named by them one of the world's 100 top most influential people. The article discusses in more detail about Kanzi, then a 29 year old male ape, and a little of Savage-Rambaugh's work with him.
3. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development (1993) - Some of her work on Language Comprehension in Ape and Child was published in this journal. Kanzi was the first ape to learn in the same manner as children do. By reading her work in great detail I learned the tools used to teach specifically Kanzi, but other apes that followed as well.
4. The My Hero Project - This site gives statistics on bonobos, considered to be one of the most intelligent apes of all. They are considered to be our closest living relatives. The site tells the story of just how Savage - Rumbaugh came across Kanzi and her quest to discover his and other apes intelligence.
5. On the Human - a project of the National Humanities Center. Because she believes humans and apes learn similarly, Savage - Rumbaugh does a forum on human language and human consciousness, comparing and contrasting learning capabilities and how human infants and ape infants develop.
Sue Savage - Rumbaugh first success story was an ape named Kanzi.
1. Great Apes Trust - This is the centers main site hosting a lot of videos of apes doing some amazing things as well as discussing more of what they do and how they do it. They introduce the scientists teaching the apes how to communicate similar to the way humans do.
2. Time Magazine - I found Time magazine to be another valuable source because Savage-Rumbaugh was named by them one of the world's 100 top most influential people. The article discusses in more detail about Kanzi, then a 29 year old male ape, and a little of Savage-Rambaugh's work with him.
3. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development (1993) - Some of her work on Language Comprehension in Ape and Child was published in this journal. Kanzi was the first ape to learn in the same manner as children do. By reading her work in great detail I learned the tools used to teach specifically Kanzi, but other apes that followed as well.
4. The My Hero Project - This site gives statistics on bonobos, considered to be one of the most intelligent apes of all. They are considered to be our closest living relatives. The site tells the story of just how Savage - Rumbaugh came across Kanzi and her quest to discover his and other apes intelligence.
5. On the Human - a project of the National Humanities Center. Because she believes humans and apes learn similarly, Savage - Rumbaugh does a forum on human language and human consciousness, comparing and contrasting learning capabilities and how human infants and ape infants develop.
“We do not realize how deeply our starting assumptions affect the way we go about looking for and interpreting the data we collect. We should recognize that nonhuman organisms need not meet every new definition of human language, tool use, mind, or consciousness in order to have versions of their own that are worthy of serious study. We have set ourselves too much apart, grasping for definitions that will distinguish man from all other life on the planet. We must rejoin the great stream of life from whence we arose and strive to see within it the seeds of all we are and all we may become.”
― E. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh, Kanzi: The Ape at the Brink of the Human Mind Thursday, February 2, 2012
Let's Talk About Me.....
I am not a blogger. I like to read blogs and I think it's a good way to talk about what you like and find interesting as well as keep up with society. Hopefully this whole blogging thing goes well, I'm excited.
Hi. My name is Shiara. Pronounced Shy-ra. My friends call me Shy. I am a Junior at Slippery Rock University. If all goes as planned I'll be graduating from the Slimy Pebble with BS in Communication/Journalism December 2012. On top of being a student, I work. I am a sales associate at Country Fair, which is a convenient store/gas station. I've been working for the company for five years, talk about dedication. I love to write poetry, draw, and read novels. Instead of going into the creative writing field, I chose journalism. I'm not even sure why. I will say it is definitely a fun and interesting form of writing, but will I make it a career?
Initially I took New-Media Journalism because I needed another journalism course. Then I discovered what we would be partaking in and the excitement kicked in. Twitter and Facebook are good ways of saying what you want and reading other people's post but here's a way to say more and learn more. News is traveling faster online than newpapers these days. I look at The Washington Post online a lot. Thanks to Advance Reporting and Broadcast Journalism I have to keep up on news. I like the thought of being a blogger and sharing what I consider news, but I'm not sure if I'll be that good. Hopefully this class will continue to be interesting and I will take on the world of blogging with a vengeance. I've learned different ways of journalism, so blogging won't be too different, right?
I hope this class will keep me up on all the news and ways of the world. Now days everything is so fast paced, I just want to stay as caught up and close as possible.
Hi. My name is Shiara. Pronounced Shy-ra. My friends call me Shy. I am a Junior at Slippery Rock University. If all goes as planned I'll be graduating from the Slimy Pebble with BS in Communication/Journalism December 2012. On top of being a student, I work. I am a sales associate at Country Fair, which is a convenient store/gas station. I've been working for the company for five years, talk about dedication. I love to write poetry, draw, and read novels. Instead of going into the creative writing field, I chose journalism. I'm not even sure why. I will say it is definitely a fun and interesting form of writing, but will I make it a career?
Initially I took New-Media Journalism because I needed another journalism course. Then I discovered what we would be partaking in and the excitement kicked in. Twitter and Facebook are good ways of saying what you want and reading other people's post but here's a way to say more and learn more. News is traveling faster online than newpapers these days. I look at The Washington Post online a lot. Thanks to Advance Reporting and Broadcast Journalism I have to keep up on news. I like the thought of being a blogger and sharing what I consider news, but I'm not sure if I'll be that good. Hopefully this class will continue to be interesting and I will take on the world of blogging with a vengeance. I've learned different ways of journalism, so blogging won't be too different, right?
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