Research Methodology

After going to Dr. Carr's lecture on research methodology, I can see why he's such a hot commodity and everyone wants to take his classes. Dr. Carr obviously knows his stuff. you can see that through the way he presents the material, he's very passionate about Africana Studies. Like Professor Long-White, he's very down to earth. From beginning to end he proceded to throw it down, answering questions such as what is methodology and who are Africans to each other. It was interesting to here Dr. Carr's thoughts on the election that occurred two nights before. He related a majority of the presentation to the election and Barack Obama. This allowed the audience to make their own connections from his lecture on a process to what's going on in the world today.

Another thing Dr. Carr touched on was multi-, intra-, and interdisciplinary research. This is a topic I am very interested in as I am trying to combine my studies in the fine arts with philosophy. These types of research allow you to make connections in different disciplines and give you a broader range in thinking. Also, different disciplines have different methods and methodology so you can approach issues from all different angles through multi-, intra-, and interdisciplinary research.

At the end of Dr. Carr's outstanding lecture, the spoken word artist Anna Mwalagho performed two of her poems. They were very entertaining. Her poem where she referred to her accent and the problems she encounters really touched me. I enjoyed all parts of the show.

Sister Stars

Last night, I went to a Sister Stars empowerment session where Dr. Debyii Sababu Thomas presented to the “sisters” some encouraging advice on overcoming obstacles. Dr. Thomas presented to us the guidelines for dealing with obstacles. What makes a woman a woman, she noted, is the way that they handle obstacles. But before we began, we were asked to write down obstacles that we have had in our life. My obstacles ranged from physical attributes to academic struggles. Being able to write down my obstacles allowed me to analyze how what I’ve gone through has helped define me as a person. We then defined the word obstacle and came up with this definition: an obstacle is something that gets in front of you that takes time to deal with it; it’s a barrier, it’s something that stands between you and a goal, and its nebulous – something that you can’t always see.

Furthermore, she gave us 4 words to describe what obstacles do: disappoint, distract, deform, and discourage. These four words perfectly paint a picture of how obstacles get in the way. She then said that obstacles come at different angles and she gave us the 5 ways to deal with obstacles. First we regroup, then reexamine, redirect, rethink, and then recommunicate. In the regrouping process, you must collect yourself. Moreover, in the reexamining process, one should distinguish between an internal or external obstacle. Rethinking involves finding another way. And finally you recommunicate by speaking to the obstacle and preventing it from standing between you and your goal again.

Dr. Thomas gave some very helpful advice. She communicated to the sisters about obstacles – something we deal with every day – and how to properly handle them. Many times, we are faced with obstacles and are confused about how to handle them. This session was very empowering and enlightening.

STI Panel

On Wednesday night, I went to an STI panel presented by the ladies of NCNW where health science Professor Deneen Long-White was the lead panelist. The panel was very informative and even had free HIV testing at the end.

The ladies of NCNW opened with a few handouts on STIs, contraceptives, common lines people use to have unprotected sex. Most people could relate to the information. It wasn't too stiff, nor was it too comical in trying to be colloquial.

When Professor Long-White took the floor, that's when the program really started. She has a way of dispersing information that makes it easily accessible to the students. She's very down to earth and had a way of telling the students like it is. The first thing she talked about was STIs and their prevalence among college students. She also passed around a poster with pictures of also the infection looked so we as students know what to look for and when to get help. Some of the pictures were a little graphic, but they had flaps to cover them and it was nothing that we as young adults couldn't handle.

After talking about STIs, Professor Long-White went on to discuss methods of contraception such as condoms and oral contraceptives. She talked about the pros and cons of each and the proper way to use them. For example, there's no point in taking birth control if you don't follow the dosage schedule. That makes it ineffective. With condoms, both male and female, she demonstrated the proper way to use them. She had a few props which garnered more than a few giggles from the crowd. The female condom was a new sight to many people. They had heard of it but never seen it. So it caused a lot of reactions among the crowd, even more so than the finger condoms she pulled out. Although some of the information wasn't new, a lot of it was. The session was very informative. All in all, it was a great presentation.

Opening Convocation 2008

Being that this is my junior year at Howard and I attended the Opening Convocation my freshman year in 2006, I decided to sit this one out and let the newly enrolled freshies enjoy this significant experience. I planned to watch it on WHUT at 11:00 but was unaware of the scheduling changes. So I caught it online. I felt that the way President Ribeau addressed the audience in a casual way was fitting for the wide range in audience. One of his first statements was an acknowledgement of the young audience (some elementary schoolers) and the diversity in the audience. His theme was "Now is the Time." He was very down to earth. He made jokes about his family and preparing his speech. He claimed he was part of the class of 2012, "these are my classmates." In saying that he made himself very accessible to the students. He attempted to give the audience a sense of who his was beyond what's written in his bio and on his resume. I felt he accomplished that by letting the audience in with his personality. He also wanted to talk about the spirit of Howard, what intangibles Howard is driven by. What makes it significant to society. He also wanted to talk about how to make Howard the university of the 21st century. I felt that the topics he addressed and the way in which he addressed them resonated with the students and he was able to connect with us in a way that President Swygert didn’t. His speech was excellent. My grade: A.

Cultural Heritage Tour

This is my junior year at Howard. I’ve been in DC for three years and haven’t seen even half of all DC has to offer. Over the summer, my best friend and I decided to do more cultural activities this year. Not to say I haven’t done anything, but that I would like to do more. I’ve been to plays and musicals, art galleries, many museums, and restaurants with live music. These kinds of things excite me and I was excited by the Heritage tour. It allowed me to become more aware of the historical resonance of the grounds that I walk on. I’ve passed by some of these buildings and landmarks multiple times over the 2+ years that I’ve been a student at Howard, without really knowing their history and significance outside of general knowledge. For example, take the Minor building; I pass it on my way down the hill to A-Building and up the hill on my way to Burr Gymnasium. I knew it was old, but I didn’t know it was a teacher’s college. Nor did I know where the Howard Hospital stands was once Griffith Stadium. Howard Hall is the oldest building on Howard's campus and it was the home of Gen. Oliver Otis Howard, one of the founders of Howard. (Lol, he stayed on campus just like me.) I liked learning these little not well-known tidbits about my school. I feel enlightened. Howard has such a rich history and when I think about it, I feel inspired to be here because of that history.

Blogging for Class

For one of my classes we have to do E-journals and we can do it in blog format. So instead of creating a new blog just for this assignment, I'm going to post the entries on here. I guess I'll change the color of the post or something to distinguish them. Idk, I'll figure somethin out.

Peace out