7/16 Sunkissed and Salty Hugs

*note: this blog is an entry from 7-16*

Approaching Ocean City

Early morning rise around 8:00 AM, I had a couple of errands to run before the big day at Ocean City, New Jersey. I showered, got dressed, and headed out into University City. I needed to deposit some money into my bank card at the Bank of America next to Chipotle to ensure I had enough in my account for the entire day out. On the way back, I decided to stop by the Starbucks on the corner and grab a quick breakfast before it was time to leave at 10:30 AM. I ordered an herbal mango black tea lemonade and a cinnamon raisin bagel to go and consumed it as I walked for seven minutes back into my dorm. The sun was already heating up the sky in the eighties and it was barely ten o’clock. Relieved to be back in my air conditioned dorm, I knew it wouldn’t be long before I headed back into the blazing sun.

10:30 AM finally came and everyone in Leidy, was outside in their summer gear ready to take on the beach weather. We all did role call and waited to hear our names to get checked off so we could enter the bus. The drive there was filled with many girls singing along to mainstream songs from Rihanna to warming up for the fun filled day. It took a little over two hours to get there but we finally made it to the Jersey Shore.

The weather outside was not as hot as when we left. The skies were overcast and a few drifts were flowing through the air. I first stepped out of the bus with a disappointed attitude toward the weather. I was expecting it to be bright and sunny and was bikini ready. I walked along the endless boardwalk in search to find a restroom. The boardwalk had so much going on along the sides of it. There were arcades, multiple food areas, souvenir stores, boogie board rentals, a water park, rides, and so much more along with a beach right across from it all. After finding my essential stop, I ran into Diana and Therese coming out. We all took a short break to put on some sunscreen before heading back into the hazy sun.

Therese had left to meet up with a friend who works at Ocean City leaving me and Diana. We explored from Starbucks to eating crab cakes, then the souvenir shops where we bought matching long-sleeved shirts and then off to the beach. I had not been in the soft, warm sand since I went to Santa Cruz a couple of years ago before the start of freshman year. The feeling of my feet sinking into the deep grains was one that I had dearly missed. We had walked along the beach closer and closer to the water. There was a giant empty space of sand unoccupied by no one; it was perfect for us. We laid out our towels and rested there for about twenty minutes.

Ocean City Beach

I quickly sat up to wipe the glistening sweat from off my forehead. I soon checked underneath my swimsuit to find that I had turned fifty shades darker from when I first came to the boardwalk. I turned my body over for another five minutes before I couldn’t take just lying there being cooked in the sun anymore. I got up with Diana and headed into the salty Atlantic Ocean. The water felt amazing as it splashed against my hot skin cooling it down. Knowing I can’t swim, I only allowed the water to go up a little above my knees. The waves came in rushing fast and high making contact with my entire upper body as they pulled in. This was my favorite part of the day. Diana and I were both enjoying our time in the water that almost two hours had passed by before we headed back to our beach spot. Five o’clock drew near and was the time we were all required to meet at to return home. We gathered up our things and started our way back to the flashpoint.

Finding our way there was not a problem. All of the RCs were wearing bright blue shirts and made the umbrella stands on the beach all of the American Flag. Just drying off and removing all of the sand off of us, Diana and I were extremely reluctant to step back into the sticky sand. Being forced against our will, we both stepped back into sand where roll call was taken by our building RC. Shortly, we all went back to buses to take us back to PENN. The day was short but we made it last. I was just ready to go back to my building and take a nice warm shower and rest in my bed. Ocean City was the highlight of ending my busy week. 

7/15 Backtracking Our Culture

*note: this blog is an entry from 7-15*

There have been many instances within the news involving violence against police and the brutality they inflict on other black men. This itself has led us back to the topic of race and policing. Our guest speaker of the day, Keeanga-Yamhtta Taylor, had an idea of why or how this specific group was being targeted and it roots back to the time of Jim Crow Laws and the segregated era.

During the early 1900’s, Blacks were trying to move out of the inferior South and into the North. People made it difficult for this to happen because around this time, the government allowed people to do whatever they want with their property, sell it to whoever they want, and fluctuate the prices however they pleased. If people did not want to sell you property because of your race, they were allowed to. Many Blacks were sold overpriced, low quality housing in the North and their landlords would not maintain their homes in a fair or livable condition. Landowners thought of ways on how they could make more money so they removed many of the restrooms and kitchens in homes owned by colored people and transformed them into bedrooms where it could fit more people. 40% of homes did not have indoor plumbing within and made the hygiene of the area plummet. Many families that were overcrowded in these homes were forced to live on the streets because of lack of space. The housing separation allowed for foul stereotypes to flourish and made it seem as if people of color had poor hygiene. Not until 1968, where the Fair Housing Act was implemented, did this stop. 

Afro-Caribbean Mural 

Since no one really cared about what happened in the Black areas, this allowed violence, drug trade, and police brutality to occur. Poor people were always held in suspicion while being on the street. Categories of crimes began to develop in specific to targeting Black people leading to higher arrest rates, violence against them, and a way of degrading their race. They spent days in jail waiting to be convicted for a crime they “committed.” Riots began against Black people led by Whites killing fifty-five of them with the police joining in during the Red Summer. The larger the police force grew, the more unsafe it became for Blacks. Instead of the police protecting the people, they hurt them. It ensured poverty, criminal records, and brutality against them. Even today this is still occurring. So far in the year of 2016, 571 people were killed by the police. Nothing is changing while history continues to repeat.

Returning back to class in the afternoon, we were to embark upon another field trip to a Puerto Rican neighborhood in North Philadelphia called El Barrio. When I got off the train and exited the station, I knew that this wasn’t a well maintained neighborhood. Walking down the streets there was garbage and litter lying around the streets and sidewalks. The streets were quiet and vacant and have not been repaved in a long time. The small number of people you did see, you can tell they were in poverty. There were fire hydrants busted open with water gushing into the air and buildings were worn down and old in need of some remodeling. The area itself reminded me a lot of areas back home like Richmond, East Oakland, San Leandro, and certain parts of Vallejo. There were many corner stores and restaurants open on nearby blocks. Cars parked on the sides of the street were run down or damaged.  On occasion there would be some nice brand new car. Children played in the streets on their bikes and scooters while others hung out on the stoops of buildings.

Community Center in El Barrio

Ten to fifteen minutes of walking through the neighborhood, we all finally reached our destination. We stopped in front of a building that had beautiful mosaics and paintings along its walls. A man had stepped out, Rafael Damast, and welcomed us graciously inside of the center. There were tables and seats all placed out and around ready for our arrival. Over 50 us there, fit all together in seated in the nicely air conditioned room. Surrounding us were art pieces designed and created by young children from the ages of six to fourteen along with a black empty stage with different background pieces laying in the shadows. Mr. Damast had told us that this center we were in, was home to many children. It was created as a community center for young children to find an outlet or passion and teach their Latin history using the arts. They took classes on photography, painting, performing, etc. and at the end of each day they would perform for their parents in a talent show of what they learned and enjoyed the most. Once he finished speaking, he gathered us outside to take us on a tour of the different murals and culture of their community.

Rafael Damast Explaining One of the Murals

The feeling I had exiting the building was not a pleasant one. The heat of the sun had beat me down in the face so hard, I was already in need of a sip of water. No longer protected by the cool air of the air conditioned space, it was a struggle not passing out along the walk through the streets. He explained to us about each mural we had paused at. They all were painted to tell a story of their struggles being accepted coming into Philly and how they came about living there. Many of the people were discriminated against for their Afro-Caribbean culture. They used this negativity and hardships of adapting into a positive reaction by painting these murals around the community. The people shaped their culture into a proud manner and continued this throughout town until it finally felt like home.

7/14 Knowledge is Power

*note: this blog is an entry from 7-14*

Education is an entitlement for everyone, at least in the present of today. Back in time from before the 17^th Century until around 1955 -1965 education was only for the white and privileged. Since the Constitution itself does not cover education within it, it made it even harder for this right to be even considered. Laws such as the Separate but Equal Act (Plessy v. Ferguson), are evidence from the past proving the difficulties in receiving an equal and fair education as the rest of the more favored students. Cases like Brown v. The Board of Education in 1954, challenged this problem residing within the society.  Brown had challenged the idea of segregating schools proving how unconstitutional it all was. By 1955, the Supreme Court ordered public schools to be desegregated. Even with this massive change, equal school education still remained unrepresented.

If you were a minority, life in school was much harder. Students were grouped into a school based on where they lived. This made it easier for people in poorer areas having fewer resources to have a qualifying education. Because of a lack in funding, many students were neglected or left behind in the system such as girls, LGBTQ, low-income, special needs, non-native speakers, immigrants/refugees, etc. They were more likely to get suspended or expelled and have fewer qualified teachers to instruct them versus privileged students. Their education was not corrected until the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act. It was implemented by President Lyndon Johnson and provided “compensatory education” to poor and minority students. Even with this implemented, many students were already so far behind the privileged students that it would make it extremely difficult in trying to catch up.

Reviewing this, I found it easier to apply this to our education system today. Many of our schools are stuck with little to no resources to help students learn on the same field as others across the nation because of the lack of money. In these areas, many of us are minorities. Even with all of the reforms that have been implemented such as Common Core, teacher training, charter schools, anti-bullying campaigns, etc., there are many schools with students who are still struggling to have a safe and a learning enriched environment. The areas or private schools with financial wealth are filled with a greater quality and amount of facilities for students to learn in. It’s surprising but interesting how things seem to still continue until present day even with all of the changes put into effect throughout the years.

We broke into groups to participate into an activity facilitated by the student teachers. In these groups, we would talk about the school systems we were learning in such as a public school, private, home school, charter, international, etc. and listen to how different schools were throughout the nation and world. We described our own personal experiences, the advantages, weaknesses, the quality of education everyone received and if everyone in the school and town receive the same value, and who received the better or worse education depending on their wealth/class, race/ethnicity, gender/sexual identity, and special needs/disabled.

Group Presenting Their Ideal Education System

As I listened to others speak, I learned unexpected things about other schools. Unlike what I’m used to in the Bay Area, many schools do not have diversity incorporated within them. A lot of the public schools in Philadelphia are predominantly Black with very few white people. Most of the private schools are consistent with White and Asian students. At schools which do have a variety of ethnicities rep[resented, the white students would group together and all of the other races would stick with each other. 

In schools in China, they would go to school from 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM, the time they would go to bed. What seemed to be consistent with most of the schools is the people who had more money to send their children to private schools or well-funded public schools, received the better education than most. 

Learning for people with special attention or disabilities seemed to isolate those students from the rest of the school; they were taught separately and did not socialize out of that group. If there were no separate classes for students with learning disabilities, they would struggle trying to receive help or the attention needed in the average classroom. The LGBTQ+ community were treated the same way as any other students at the school; they became more socially accepted among their peers.

At my school, we are privileged in ways that a lot of schools aren’t. The administration that we have makes the student support strong and flexible. Our principal is always dedicating his time to make my school the best that it could be. He makes time accessible to students and parents who need his support along with the other vice principals and some staff. There aren’t many schools which are eligible or have people like that at their schools and long for someone to actually come in and make a change to correct that. I am lucky enough to have administration who actually care and put effort into supporting the needs of the students. 

We have different program resources in our district such as The Ivy League Connection, Upward Bound (program allowing students to take math and science classes at UC Berkeley and live on campus), EAOP (UC Berkeley program where students commute there and pick classes to take over the summer), and more. The student diversity is high, we learn from one another, and adapt to our given environment making the most of what we have.

Our disadvantages are our facilities, some teachers, and lack of money. We have class in portables as we wait for our new school to be built and don’t have much of a campus. Many of our well qualified teachers are leaving for multiple reasons and we will be getting a large number of new staff, which can either make or break the school. Everything may not be perfect about it, and we do lack in some areas, but I believe that there is plenty of room for improvement that we are still pushing and progressing in profoundly.

In the afternoon, coming back from lunch, we spent the rest of the time designing our own education system for a new country ran by us. We were counted off into groups like the first time we were split up. In my group, we didn’t get much accomplished. People were disagreeing on who should be taxed and the amount, what type of schools would be incorporated such as private, public etc., how much money each school would be funded, and still be able to make it competitive against other countries. Some were saying we should tax the rich more, but others were against the idea. We only had a few points jotted down before it was time for us to present to the class for two minutes. Our group pulled through while presenting but ended up annoying one another. Doing this not only showed how hard it was for us to form an education system but to actually work together as a team and find mutual ground for all of our different views. Even though it was rough, I wish we could have more activities like this in the future. 

Home Sweet Home

The dreaded day was finally upon us. The day where we said bye to our home for the past three weeks was here and I was not thrilled about it. On the one hand I was going to see my family and my kitties again but on the other, I would leave the friends I made behind and the environment that is nurturing in more than one way.  Despite the mixed feelings, I had no choice but to pack and be ready to leave at 10 AM to the airport.

I woke up at 7 AM to say bye to Betty who was returning to China. We hugged and made plans to visit each other in the future. At 7:15 AM, all teary eyed, we said goodbye for the last time and I watched her walk onto the airport shuttle and disappear into the streets of Philly. After sitting in bed for a while thinking about my roommate, I decided to get ready so I could finalize my packing.

Once I showered and got ready, Therese came to my room and we chatted about how we would miss the school and each other. She helped me close my luggage by sitting on it and giving me encouraging words as I forced the zipper closed. Isn’t it funny how luggage can grow so much in three small weeks? Anyways, we went to say goodbye to some of the kids from the math academy and walked around the quad until we decided we wanted the comfort of the AC. When we got to my room I pulled out my polaroid camera and we decided to have a photo shoot. We took all kinds of pictures from silly to artsy. And like the saying goes, time flies when you're having fun. 10 AM had crept up behind our backs and without warning it jumped up and surprised us both.

Some of our artsy pictures 

With sad faces, we made our way down with my luggage. I turned in my keys and waited for the shuttle to come. I spotted John all too soon and with Therese still helping me with my luggage, made my way to the shuttle. We hugged and said our goodbyes. It was very sad having to leave friends that you may not see in person ever again but I tried to stay positive because after all, I was on the way to seeing my family. Once in the shuttle, we made our way to the airport and got checked in. We were way too early so we went for a nice sit down dinner where I had a crab cake sandwich that was delicious. After our meal we waited to be called to line up for the flight.

At around 4 PM we got called up and we made our way to the plane not knowing what was ahead of us. The plane was boarded and everyone was seated when a thunderstorm hit the airport delaying us. From that point on, the storm was the only thing that happened quickly. We waited until we were clear from the storm to depart but just when we were the 5th in line to take off, the pilot said we had burned too much fuel so we had to go back and refuel! This once again delayed us. The pilot said we would be on our way in about 30 minutes. So not that bad… WRONG! After the 30 minutes went by, the pilot said that there were 35 planes trying to leave so we would have to once again wait. This time without a time estimate. All in all we spent almost 4 hours just sitting on the plane starving and unable to move.

After forever we took off and we could finally get something to eat. By this time I was starving so I devoured the not so good pastrami sandwich I got. From this point on it was smooth sailing. I took a nap to prevent myself from becoming sick and in no time we were landing in SFO. We rounded up our luggage and met the shuttle driver who took us to EC safely. There I met my mom and dad who were very happy to see me. The UPenn cohort took one last group picture and we parted ways. I got home and slept like a rock for a very long time.

All Good Things Must Come To An End

Last day selfie with professor Hansen 

Friday, our last day. I don’t believe how fast these three weeks went by. I got so engulfed in everything that I forgot that it was going to end at some point but now that the end is right around the corner, I can't help but feel sad. This morning I woke up, took  a shower and let the warm water melt away my sadness and instead fill me with happiness because my capstone project was finalized. I quickly got ready and headed for College Hall where my small group discussion was going to present.

Helen, Betty Therese and
I at the photo booth

When I got there, I saw that I was going to present last. I didn’t want to be the last one but that’s how it played out. The nice thing was that I got to sit back and watch everyone’s presentation before I got to go up. Some of the capstone projects were very interesting. One of them was about violence against men and how no one drew attention to it because of the societal standards that men are supposed to follow that prohibit any weakness from being shown. After everyone had presented their projects, we went back to the lecture hall where pizza was awaiting. We enjoyed the break with the whole class and then we dove into our reflection section.

We broke off into small groups and talked about what we were thankful for. I said that I was thankful for all the knowledge that I had gained because it helped me see different perspectives for the same issues. After we wrote down things that we had learned and how we would make the program better. I think that if there was more discussion time it would be better because it would give the students more time to process the information. Once the reflections were done, we got our certificates of completion. We got called up one by one like a graduation to get our certificate from professor Hansen and everyone clapped. To top it all off we got cupcakes!

When I was done saying my goodbyes, I went back to pack my things and made plans with Helen and Therese to go eat out for one last time. We decided to go to Noodle Bar which was close to the movie theater. It was a really good decision because the noodles were very good. We chatted about our plans for the program but eventually it came time to go back to the Quad. We got there around 7 PM so we decided to watch an episode of Orange Is The New Black before the carnival started. The carnival was planned by the RCs as a last day treat for all of us. When it was time, we decided to go to the palm reader first which already had a huge line. We waited for a bit but people were cutting so we decided to come back later and went to the candy bar. There we stocked up on all types of sweets and went to get a popsicle and once again got in line for the palm reader and waited.

Photo Booth picture with Jenna

After what seemed forever, it was my turn. The palm reader told me I would get home safely and that I had a business in the future. She also said that I was going to have three kids (I’m not so sure about that prediction). After getting our palms read we went to the photo booth where we took a picture with our RC Jenna. All too soon it was time to get back to the dorm and keep packing. Before then I got a chance to meet some of the kids from the math class which was really nice and welcoming (except that kid that said Richmond was a horrible place). I wish I had met them earlier! With that, I went to my room to finish packing and get some sleep for the journey the next day.

Friends

Organized We Stand Strong

Thursday, the issue of environmental justice continued with a new speaker. This time the speaker, Sarah E. Light specialized in environmental justice through law and policy. She was a practicing lawyer for about 10 years and interested in environmental justice was a case that she got about a company dumping chemicals in a river. Ever since then she has been involved in the field and now teaches two classes at UPenn.

Her lecture was about challenging assumptions about social justice. For example, when we think of who pollutes, we often think of private companies but often times it's not just them. Same goes with who makes policies that control pollution. We often think of the government but big chains like Walmart can set trends that are healthier for the world. An example is Wal-Mart switching to 100% sustainable fish. This makes fisheries become sustainable in order to be able to do business with Walmart.

She also talked about chance and how to fear factors into what issues people think are important. She made up a scenario for the class. We were going to die but we could choose between being killed by a shark and being killed by a coconut to the head. Most of the class said that they would rather be killed by a coconut. When asked why they said it was a way a safer way to die because they knew what was going to happen while with the shark they don’t know if they would bleed out or get eaten. Statistically, death by coconut is way more common than death by the shark but people are more likely to make a law about sharks because they are more feared. This can happen in more serious situations like making laws about pollution.

That afternoon we had another speaker. It was a CPC representative. He played a film about Chinatown and how they organized to save a church and a school when the city decided to put a highway right in the middle of their town. Much like Fence Line, it was going to divide families and the community they had worked so hard to form. Thankfully, Chinatown is a very close knit community that wants to conserve their culture so they organized the protest and they got a “chair in the big table”. They drew attention to their cause so that the city had no way of refusing them taking part in the decision making for the highway. They couldn’t stop the building of the highway completely but they made it smaller. This allowed them to save the church and school. The town has had many successes through organizing and is now working on nurturing the city through the building of a community center and creating more green spaces.

I found it very interesting how they were able to organize so many people to accomplish their goal. He said that it all came down to three things: communication, dedication, and a common end goal. To make sure the protest were actually organized they needed to communicate with all the people in the town. This created a smoother protest. Dedication is an overarching force that kept them going even if it seemed like they couldn't do it. lastly , a common end goal helped them have their visions set on a way to measure their success because a movement is not any good if they protest just for protesting.


All in all, it was a very good last day of speakers before we had to present our capstone projects to our groups. After class, I went to the library to work on the last things for my capstone project but I took a break to hang out with my small discussion group. Diamond, our TA took us to Lil’ Pop Shop to get delicious popsicles! I was thankful 
All in all, it was a very good last day of speakers before we had to present our capstone projects to our groups. After class, I went to the library to work on the last things for my capstone project but I took a break to hang out with my small discussion group. Diamond, our TA took us to Lil’ Pop Shop to get delicious popsicles! I was thankful for the break to destress. 

House of Diamonds 

7/13 #GirlPower

*note: this blog is an entry from 07-13*

In our class discussion, the main focus we had was on women's rights and violence against women. As an introduction to this, we watched a film called "Difret." I was confused by the title and not understanding its context but as soon as the first ten minutes passed my attention and eyes were glued to the screen. The story is about a fourteen-year-old girl who gets abducted by a group of men on the way home from school as part of the traditions in certain areas of where she was living. One of them had knocked her unconscious then proceeded to rape her and then make her his wife. She had escaped and killed the man using his own rifle and awaits a trial where she is being prosecuted for murder. Being forced to leave her family and home to be in protective custody for her own safety from the men who want her dead, she struggles fighting for her rights as a human and a woman along with the help of her attorney. 

This story literally broke my heart while watching it. I could not imagine the pain and sorrow she must have been after going through all of that. If I was in her position I don't even have faith that I would be able to stay strong myself. I knew about the hardships it was in other countries with rape and loss of human rights, but I never understood it until actually witnessing it with my own two eyes even though they're just actors. It was a true culture shock that I believe many people need to see. 

Once the movie was finished Angie had given us a lecture about the Women's Movement and Feminism along with intersectionality. Throughout time women were left out of equality movements and weren't taken seriously as people especially during the 18th-19th Centuries when we struggled for suffrage. Throughout different aspects in time, women made different movements that contributed to claiming their rights as citizens and to me their own choices such as the first women's rights convention in 1848 and the Declaration of Sediments where men and women were finally made equal on a written document.  A lot of the times women were not given the credit that they deserved for the work they’ve done such as the labor in the factories during WWII and being such strong abolitionists protesting in the march for the Civil Rights movements. Women were judged based on the stereotypes and social construct of what they are "expected" to do. In 1966, the National Organization of Women was established to kill these false and misleading images of women and reinstate new ones.

As time went on women slowly began gaining their rights throughout time. In 1964, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibited discrimination based on gender and by 1972, Title IX of the Education Amendment bars bias due to gender too. This allowed more of an equal opportunity for women to get into college, find a job, play on a sports team, etc.  If women had not protested and raised awareness about NOW, I am not even sure if we would have our rights now. They used intersectionality (theory used to describe people who are being discriminated or have violence against them in multiple forms) as a way of unity and the Stand Point Theory (common experiences or challenges that join people together). Women may still not be completely equal to men as of today, but at least we are more respected than before.

In the afternoon, the guest speaker Dr. Salamishah Tillet, showed us a presentation on the different types of ways freedom was incorporated into music. From past to present day music is used to send messages of different meanings in an artistic and influential way. She introduced to us artists such as Nina Simone, Shirley Verrett, Abbey Lincoln, Aretha Franklin, and Beyonce and how their music has shown strong influence in their own definitions of freedom and justice. Other leaders such as Harriett Tubman, Harriett Jacobs, Sojourner Truth, and Ida B. Wells are also major influences who expressed their truths in different ways, most of which were associated with freedom for slaves and make peace with those lynched or passed.

It’s hard listening to the hardships and struggles of those from the past as well as the present. The reality of the world is so much harsher than what it is perceived to be. I have the most respect for these people and I appreciate their effort in making a social change within their society. Hopefully all of us will learn from these activists and push forward a better future not allowing history to repeat itself.