Summer Housing

Let’s face it: the cost of college is on the rise. For many college students, attending school for more than four years is not an option. On the other hand the pressure of balancing more than the average number of credit hours adds to the growing mound of student debt. The option of summer school  is a great way to achieve all of the necessary credits for graduation in a timely manner. But if a university cannot provide students with detailed accessible information about tuition and housing, it’s useless.

While tuition never hesitates to declare itself, housing lies on the outskirts. To take classes over the summer, students need a place to live. To live on campus means to have a short walk to and from all academic buildings, a walk that will cost $15-30 a day.

Before we can even get to the numbers, the problem of communication needs to be addressed. Several students have complained about not recieveing summer school information. Who is responsible? The one email that was sent out to students, easily buried by the plethora of other university sent emails, suggests Stefanie Alvarez, the Assistant Director of Residence Life, and only her. How can one person be expected to accommodate every student with summer housing concerns?

If it was feasible, which it’s not, other faculty and staff members should know to send students her way. Now we are left with not only outdated online information and allegedly unprofessional staff, but with the knowledge that one person is undertaking the job of 2 or 3 individuals to try to meet our needs.

Back to the numbers: for a tool that helps cut down on the years spent in school it does no such favor for the money in the bank. While the numbers continue to rise, they just don’t appear to add up. The rent, without factoring in food costs because the commons will not be open, $450 for a 4-person apartment and $900 for a 2-person apartment. 

Students should not have to dig for information that staff should have lying around. Websites should be updated regularly; timestamps exceeding 2 years are unacceptable.

Southwestern needs to re-evaluate its’ summer school program and improve its communication with students. This will make admission and housing processes more efficient and will allow students to take advantage of SU opportunities like summer school.

My way or the highway

For as long as I could remember I had maintained a firm grasp onto the illusion of control. By the sixth grade I decided my high school and college schedules, the college I would attend, my major, and my career. Hour by hour I would write out my activities and work for the day. I practiced conversations before hand to predict what people would say and how they would respond to what I say. I figured if I had everything planned and kept to the plan my life would be under my control.

Fast-forward to my sophomore year in high school. With things still going my way control laid comfortably in my hand. It was a good time; I could see the end of the long road to an improved smile. The plan was to combine the next two steps into one: they were going to remove all four of my wisdom teeth and transfer their bone to the locations of my missing teeth so the implants would be secure. With every passing day my excitement built; until the night before the procedure.

I did not want to be put to sleep. My stomach clenched at the idea of being forced to shut down. What would happen when I was asleep? What if I did or said something strange? How long will it last? What if I don’t wake up? There wasn’t a satisfying answer I could offer myself. I tossed and turned the whole night, curled around my churning stomach. My breathing refused to calm and my eyes shed tears on their own accord. The next morning I felt sick. I hadn’t slept and my nerves had multiplied. I kept quiet the entire ride to the hospital.

Here’s how the next few hours unfolded: I arrived, they put me under, they performed the procedure, I woke up, and I went home.

It was as if nothing had ever happened, but it had. There was a period of time where I had no control over my life. I surrendered my life, my wellbeing to my doctor. I let him take control.

And just like that, my fingers loosened and control slipped free.

Transcending Race: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Individuals inadvertently derive morality from established social facts. Consequently, morality has less to do with what one truly perceives as “right and wrong” and more to do with what society considers acceptable. The influence of social facts – values, cultural norms, and socioeconomic structures – exercises dominance over the beliefs and consciousness’s of individuals. Despite the egregious nature of particular social facts, their deep roots in culture warrant their prevalence. They do not, however, entirely conceal their impropriety. Perhaps in response to this phenomenon, many works of American literature feature an individual’s escape from civilization and liberation from the moral requirements of society. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huck abandons his home and, eventually rejects what he believes to be his social obligations. In doing so, he stumbles upon an unexpected, and previously unacceptable, friendship. By socially isolating a poor white boy still enveloped in childhood’s innocence and a runaway slave rich with compassion, Twain constructed a relationship that transcended race.

Rejecting the southern apologists’ propaganda “that depicted a contented slave living in happy innocence,” Twain molded Jim, a runaway slave “nurtured by a callous and cruel system,” with intelligence and compassion (Barksdale, 50-51). He proceeded to go against the grain in his characterization of Huck, a poor white boy, estranged from a society because the aristocrats found him considered inferior. By putting the two in close approximation, while “removed far enough from the corrupting influences of ‘sivilization,’” ‘against all odds’ the two become friends (Barksdale, 53).

Though both Jim and Huck sustain relatable hardships, their relationship goes against the social norm. In fact, in their time the only people who hated blacks more than whites were “poor white trash like the Finns,” primarily because the elevation of blacks would leave them at the very bottom of the socioeconomic ladder (Barksdale, 54). Already relegated as “economic and social outcasts by ‘respectable’ society” they employed hatred and brutality to resist falling any lower (Barksdale, 54).

Detached from the influence of socioeconomic standing, the only issue Huck had with befriending Jim was the idea of not returning someone’s property. When he was disentangled from the clout of social facts Huck began to see the Truth; Huck began to see Jim as a human being, as his equal. Therein lies the point: society does not tolerate a relationship between Huck and Jim; yet, outside of society nothing hinders the cultivation of such an intimate companionship.

Their blossoming friendship feels natural. The friendship begins on quite level ground, rather than with strife and, in conclusion, acceptance. The boy and the man do not battle against each other until reaching a mutual understanding. The boy and the man “who, under civilization’s auspices, were normally inveterate enemies,” intuitively become friends just as two whites, or two blacks, would do; they built a relationship on trust and compassion (Barksdale, 54). The differences in the color of their skin were irrelevant; when they were “on a socially isolated raft in the middle of the nation’s biggest and longest river, and thus as far from the shores ruled by law and order as a person could get in middle America” with no one telling them it was wrong, it was not wrong (Barksdale 54). It felt right.

Through means of Huck and Jim, “…Twain conclude[s] that…a friendship of that kind could develop only outside the normal areas of civil and social discourse;” that nothing apart from society hinders interracial friendships (Barksdale 54). Therefore, there is no inherent ailment within a race that prevents or prohibits community with another race. The people are not ill. Yes, the disease dwells within society, but not within man’s essential character.

 

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Barksdale, Richard K. “History, Slavery, and Thematic Irony in Huckleberry Finn.” Satire or Evasion?: Black Perspectives on Huckleberry Finn. Ed. J. S. Leonard, Thomas Asa. Tenney, and Thadious M. Davis. Durham: Duke UP, 1992. 49-55. Print.

Mark, Twain. “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” Concise Anthology of American Literature. Ed. George L. McMichael and James S. Leonard. New York: Macmillan, 1985. 1187-365. Print.

The Dream Lives

On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the University and Georgetown communities gathered together for an evening of remembrance and celebration. After a few performances by students and Georgetown citizens, Larry Haynes, Southwestern graduate of 1972, spoke about Dr. King and the movement that he inspired.

“[During my childhood] we rarely saw colored people on the television. You can imagine what we experienced on that day in August 1963 – the March on Washington. Of the two hundred thousand people there that day, eighty percent were black people, the other twenty percent were people of good will,” Haynes said. “They were white, brown, people from all over the country who came there with the same thing in mind: how do we get our government to make America a place where all can be a part of democracy?”

Haynes noted that before any progress towards equality could be made a complete change in the mindsets of blacks and whites needed to occur.

“Most days, by virtue of our low level jobs, we were reminded that we were held in low esteem, seen as not very smart, with no desire to improve our condition,” Haynes said.

Dr. King was able to transcend this ideological roadblock and provide inspiration to Haynes and many others.

“I couldn’t imagine that a person of color could speak [that] way, could move people in [that] way,” Haynes said.

Haynes also reminded those in attendance that, although the success of the civil rights movement is largely attributed to Dr. King, he was not alone in his efforts.

“To be clear, these were not the achievements of one man. Dr. King was the inspiration,” Haynes said. “There were many others who gave their hearts and souls and put themselves in dangerous situations in the pursuit of equality, freedom, justice, righteousness, and service to humanity.”

He urged recognition of the entirety of the movement, in addition to recognizing its leaders.

“We selectively remember Dr. King’s [I Have a Dream] speech; however, he gave over four hundred and fifty speeches,” Haynes said.

In remembrance of Dr. King, Haynes asked students to consider what he asked of society and how his dreams can continue to be carried out today.

“[Dr. King] called for us to do four things: to transcend race, class, and religion; to eradicate at home, and globally, the evils of racism, poverty and militarism; to curb materialism and turn from a ‘thing’ motivated society to a ‘people’ motivated society; and to resist social injustice,” Haynes said.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day provides an opportunity to reflect on the work that still needs to be done to continue to better society.

In the words of James Weldon Johnson, “Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us; facing the rising sun of our new day begun, let us march on till victory is won.
”

 

Larry Haynes

Larry Haynes, a member of the 1972 graduating class, was no stranger to adversity before coming to Southwestern University. Upon his arrival he was warned by another black student to not attend school here because he would not be able to pass. Despite the odds being far from in his favor, hard work and dedication to his studies set him on a road to success that led to a very bright future.

Haynes’ journey started with the death of his grandfather, after which his grandmother relied on him to help her get by.

“When my grandfather died [my grandmother] became destitute because he had no insurance. I lived with her to be the man of the house. As the man of the house I had to do the dishes, sweep the floor, wash the clothes; I had to do everything she did,” Haynes said.

From that point forward his grandmother played a crucial role in his life and became his inspiration to continue moving forward regardless of what roadblocks stood in his way. With her support, Haynes decided to pursue his dream of playing baseball.

“In 1955 I went from an all black school to an all white school. I went because I wanted to play baseball. I told my grandmother – I was 14 or 15 years old – I said, ‘I’m going to a white school next year.’ For 3 years I was at that school. My grandmother was very fearful for me. She knew that I was not wanted over there,” Haynes said.

Looking after his best interest, Hayne’s grandmother painted him an honest picture of what he was about to experience and prepared him to respond appropriately.

“[My grandmother] told me, ‘when you go there people will be treat you with great disrespect. They will not talk to you; they will walk right past you; you will be invisible. But, here’s the thing: it will be okay because you have the Lord in you so that you will be able to rise above, and no matter what happens you will not act in a disrespectful way. You will just forgive the people and carry on,’” Haynes said.

Even at such a young age, he decided that the color of his skin would not hold him back from going to the places he wanted to go and being the person he wanted to be. To the surprise of his peers he quickly began to flourish academically.

“I’ll never forget when we had this Geometry test. If you made more than 100 you got called up to the front of the room. I made 107. When he called my name I walked up to get my paper and the class was completely silent. No one could believe a black person could have a higher grade than all the white people,” Haynes said. “It was shocking to everyone.”

After graduation Haynes was offered a baseball scholarship at Southwestern, which he accepted. Having already experienced life at an all white school he was prepared for any difficulties he might face. The difficulties, however, were not what he had expected.

“In my time at Southwestern my greatest challenges were trying to compete. Every day. With baseball and all the stuff we were required to do,” Haynes said.

In keeping with his successful academic track record, he accumulated numerous awards and acknowledgements from his professors throughout his college career.

“Mr. Giesecke was the head of economics here at the university. In his classes – I took Macro and Microeconomics – I wrote a paper. After I turned it in he called me to his office and said, ‘this is the best paper I have ever seen. This paper would be an A in Harvard, in Chicago, this is a fabulous paper, fabulous work,’” Haynes said.

While Haynes was soaring academically he was also building strong relationships that would last long after he graduated – relationships he still fosters today.

“I have so many wonderful experiences here; I have so many great friends. The people here are people who try to do the right thing, who are trying to do their best. No hidden agendas. There were lots of people of good will here,” Haynes said.

Haynes quickly fell in love with the University and the people it attracted. However, out of all of the experiences Haynes had at Southwestern, he had no trouble picking out a favorite.

“My favorite memory is the night that I met my wife. She was a freshman, I was a sophomore. We had this sensitivity session. You were told to walk around and when you meet a person, you stop, look them in their eyes, and let all of your defenses go. Your mask, you had to let it drop. You showed them who you are through your eyes. I’m walking along and doing this and I see this young lady. I walked toward her; I looked at her, she looked at me and we both immediately turned away,” Haynes said.

Haynes and his wife left the university with very similar outlooks on life. They had developed very strong work ethics and were very appreciative of the power of a liberal arts education: an appreciation they make a point of passing forward.

“I take my insights, my experiences, my knowledge and pass it on. When I get up every day I know I must pass it on and I must keep growing and learning so I can continue passing it on,” Haynes said.

Haynes’ time at Southwestern didn’t end with his graduation. He is now a member of the University’s Board of Trustees, where serves as a member of both the Board’s Executive Committee and the Fiscal Affairs Committee. He also chairs the Audit Committee.

Starting off as a young boy growing up in Bellmead, Texas, too poor to afford a car or indoor plumbing, Haynes’ story is proof that even with the afflictions that age, race, and socioeconomic standing may bring, with persistence and hard work nothing is impossible.

Mental Illness as a Metaphor

It is in the nature of humans to feel uncomfortable about things they cannot find the cause of. It is also just as uncomfortable to be accepting of the idea of not being able to have a comprehensive grasp on any particular idea or situation. This is the most common cause for metaphors: to explain something that feels incomprehensible in terms that can be more easily understood. James Geary brings up a great example of this in his I Is an Other: The Secret Life of a Metaphor and How It Shapes the Way We See the World by demonstrating the way metaphors have been used to describe economical trends, which, for most people, are too complex to understand in the term that an economist would use to explain it. Unfortunately, in some situations, putting a metaphorical spin on a topic can be harmful to that which it describes. An often-overlooked example of this is mental illness, in this case depression. The usage of metaphorical terms in regard to depression has belittled the disease as well as alienated those who have it.

First of all, the medical and metaphorical descriptions of depression have existed for quite some time. Today, depression is seen as ‘darkness,’ ‘enclosure,’ ‘loss of direction or purpose.’ What started off as a metaphorical description, often used in poetry or other literary works, has turned into an interchangeable definition for what depression is. That is the primary problem; what should have remained a device to enhance emotional provocation in literature is now “treated as literal fact.” According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual depression can be described as a depressed mood during the majority of the day, loss of interest in day to day activities, extreme weight loss or gain, fatigue, etc. (qtd. in Rosenman p2). Due to the now accepted definition of depression, which simplifies the illness down to mere ‘darkness,’ the seriousness of the disease is belittled and synonymous with ‘having a bad day.’ We see this particularly in commercials for antidepressant medication. For example: in one commercial a woman is covered by a dark cloud that is raining on her, which is supposed to represent how people who suffer from depression feel. Though this can encourage people to buy their product, it also endorses the idea that having a ‘rainy day’ is the equivalent to suffering from depression. This completely ignores the basis of what depression really is and pays no attention to the alienation, pain, dread, horror, and racing thoughts it induces.

Due to the difficulty of understanding these complex feelings, it is understandable that people would prefer to just apply a metaphor to such a complex situation. In fact, now professionals in the field use metaphorical terms to describe depression as well, as they can find no other way to put the patients feelings into words. This does, however, differ from phrasing that makes depression out to be less that it is. Rather than trying to describe the condition that is depression they use metaphors to describe some of the emotional symptoms. For example: they will describe fluctuations of emotions as ‘highs’ and ‘lows’ and forms of emotional response to something as being ‘touched’ or ‘moved.’ In this sense, the use of metaphors in relation to depression is perfectly okay, as it’s not trying to make assumptions as to what is being felt; instead it is simply trying to give a name to what is being felt.

It is true that metaphors help people to “see things we cannot see” and aid in the understanding of things we previously could not understand. How we can possibly understand an experience that we have never had nor imagined without the use of a metaphor? The answer is quite simple: we can’t. Who exactly would it help if people pretended to understand something they didn’t? It would benefit no one. If your goal is to be helpful to a friend or a colleague, the worst thing you could imply is that ‘you know what they mean,’ especially when it is apparent that you don’t. I will never forget the time when my grandmother passed away and a friend tried to tell me ‘I understand how you feel. It will get better” when all of her grandparents were still living. It brought about a difficult situation: whether to express gratitude for the effort, or frustration. When it comes down to it, that is the main problem with this entire situation: instead of simply being there, supporting, and being understanding, people obsess over the desire to ‘know how one feels.’

For the 121 million sufferers worldwide, depression is not darkness or enclosure, nor is it a loss of direction or purpose. Depression is a mental illness, which has symptoms, as does any disease. From these symptoms came the metaphors behind depression, however, they should not define depression. In this case in particular, the metaphorical references should be limited to a literary capacity. The last thing we want is to make people feel as if they can lose their ‘battle’ against depression.

Works Cited

Geary, James. I Is an Other: The Secret Life of Metaphor and How It Shapes the Way We See the World. New York: HarperCollins, 2011. Print.

Rosenman, Stephen. “Metaphor, Meaning And Psychiatry.” Australasian Psychiatry 16.6 (2008): 391-396. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Web. 16 Sept. 2013.

Here comes trouble!

Having experienced bad luck as far as health goes this past week, I found myself spending more time on social media. To say it was an eye opening experience doesn’t even begin to cover it. During my teenage years I constantly found myself generally indifferent to the topics and issues that enthralled my peers. Whether it was the latest celebrity gossip, controversial politics, or anything in between I managed to remain oblivious. No more.

News, beliefs, technological advances, scientific innovation, anthropological discoveries… the list goes on. Before, I found myself bored with social media; I love my friends and family but reading about their lives online left me feeling more disconnected rather than informed. Now, I feel appalled that I belittled social media to merely a tool of communication. In just a few days this experience rekindled my passion for discussion and thirst for information.

My mind is overflowing with information and ideas. Clearly the only way to settle that is to organize what is quickly becoming a jumbled mess into words! (: I’ve decided to start a blog. Not only because it’s another opportunity to write (okay, maybe just a little bit) but also it gives me a reason, and reward, to stay plugged in.

I am interested in a plethora of things and the list is only growing. When I become passionate about something, I tend to not hold back any of my enthusiasm. I like to jump in with both feet. Sometimes that gets me in trouble but I find the reward tends to be worth the risk.

I do not want to remain comfortable blanketed in ignorance. I am no longer a child. And while it’s not quite time to put away all youthful things, it is time to grow; it’s time to challenge what I believe; it’s time to be involved; it’s time to care. The discussions that are being had on a day-to-day basis will influence my life today and in the future. I have a responsibility to be informed; I have a responsibility to not just have a voice but to use it; I have a responsibility to keep a check on those who hold power. This is my life; what better time to seize the wheel than now?

We the People

I don’t think I’ve ever been more blown away by a single statement. While scrolling down my newsfeed I came across an article about the Baggy Pants Ban that was just passed in NJ (and believe me I will get into that in a later post) and asked how that law was constitutional. Seconds later I got my answer, and I quote, “Wearing a belt has nothing to do w freedom of speech.” After an intense conversation that was going nowhere fast another person chimed in stating, “The first thing that you need to learn is that the constitution doesn’t always mean anything.”

Head in my hands, I felt sick to my stomach. Is this where we have fallen as a society? Is this really considered acceptable? To have no knowledge of the constitution; to submit to inexcusable corruption and encourage others to do so; to diminish a document produced by our finding fathers in an attempt to preserve the nation to a weathered scrap of paper. This infuriated me!

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

We the people. We are the people. If we don’t stand up for ourselves who will? We cannot just kneel down before the government and when our cries fall on deaf ears. We the people establish justice. We promote the general welfare. We insure domestic tranquility. What are we doing? Who are we waiting for?

I feel as if I need to make signs and run around cities encouraging people to open their eyes. I know mine have been shut for way too long.

Perhaps, before pointing fingers at the government, we need to point one at ourselves. Americans complain of government corruption. They gripe that the government doesn’t listen to them. But what are the people saying? Where are the people saying it?

As the years go on the inevitable storm grows stronger and darker. With the influx of social media more people are joining together to declare “no more!” But congress isn’t going to read your FaceBook page; the president isn’t going to follow you on Twitter. We the people have to do more.

Get angry; get loud; get informed. And get registered to vote for goodness sake!