Week 6: Assignment #2

Howard University Organizations

H.U Peers
· Spread Health awareness to students
· Focus on health issues affecting the Africa-American community
· Issues like HIV/AIDS,STIs ,breast cancer, sexual assault, stress, nutrition, alcohol ,drug abuse, smoking, diabetes, women's and men's health and hygiene

Chicago Peoples Union
· Club for students who are from Chicago to meet other people from Chicago
· Open to people who live in Illinois


Target H.O.P.E
· Founded by Mr. Euclid Williamson in 1994
· Target H.O.P.E Howard University Chapter founded January 2005
· Committed to giving back to the Washington , D.C community and its members by fostering a family atmosphere
· Providing the necessary resources for students of all ages to successfully excel in all their aspirations

HUSA (The Howard University Student Association)
· HUSA was established in 1961
· Its purpose is to provide input into the University’s decision-making process
· To act as a spokesperson for the students
· Maintain communications concerning student interests in many segments within the University
· The office is located in Room 102, Blackburn Center.

Campus Pals
· Established 1946
· introduce freshmen to life at Howard University
· in charge of activities during freshman week

Research presentation outline

Outline
· What we want to find out?
· HBCU’s
· Majority Universities
· How schools are effected
· Howard University
· How students are effected
· A solution

Race and the Schooling of Black Americans by Claude Steele

During the civil rights movement there was a lot of change socially in America. Schools were being integrated at a time where African Americans were discriminated against. One famous case of integration in a school was the integration of Little Rock Central High School, in 1957. Nine African American high school students were enrolled in an all white high school. Each day, these students were constantly faced with being verbally and physically abused by crowds of protesters. Many students found it hard to focus on school, because of all they went through. Today, all schools across the nation are integrated. But, in some schools the ratio of blacks to white is small. Even though, these students don’t face the same troubles faced by those nine black students in Little Rock, they still experience silent racism. Claude Steele, in “Race and the Schooling of Black Americans”, talks about a number of experiments and theories that proved her argument that stereotype threats are the reason for the underachievement of some African American college students. Because of the racial perceptions of African American youth, it is apparent that stereotype threats place pressure on African American college students, inhibiting students from academically succeeding above standards of white students.
Several black students feel that they have a racial disadvantage when it comes to education. Many young black students have poor motivation and low standards. In some black public schools, students are not taught a quality education. This problem is not because the teachers are not qualified; it’s because these schools lack the proper technology and tools to ensure a quality education. “In recent years this debate has acquired a finer focus: the fate of middle-class black students. Americans have come to view the disadvantages associated with being black………..and the assumption behind it is that surely in today’s society the disadvantages of race are overcome when lower socioeconomic status is overcome.”(“Race and the Schooling of Black Americans” Claude Steele ,Paragraph 7) . In this paragraph Steele talks about how black students associate there future success with there social and economical disadvantage. African American students sometimes feel that their socioeconomic status limits their opportunities to succeed. This can lower their confidence and cause them not to try as hard. Society has placed a stereotype on African Americans that says that they perform below the standard. Presenting these stereotypes to African Americans student can discourage or stress many students out.
African American college students feel an added pressure to be the opposite of all negative stereotypes that they are faced with everyday. Sometimes they feel that they have to represent the black race to show that the negative stereotypes are wrong. So they try hard not to make any mistakes in front of white people, which add a pressure on top of the pressure they have from school. Steele performed numerous experiments where she tested the theory of stereotype threats affecting black college students and shows that they perform poorer on test when placed under this pressure to disprove stereotype. In the experiment black students were told that the test weren’t race-fair. These students test scores came back low compared to students not told that the test wasn’t race-fair. “According to the theory, Black students internalize negative stereotypes as performances anxiety and low expectations ……Which of these two process, then, causes the results of our experiments?”(“Race and the Schooling of Black Americans” Claude Steele, Paragraph 14) Meaning that at a young age, youth often are at the stage where they are worried about what people think of them. George Herbert Mead believes that when they are faced with negative views, it will cause low self-esteem and self-hatred. This issue has been around for a long time, leaving many to wonder if it can ever be solved.
Claude Steele also talks about many different ways of reducing Stereotype threats placed on African American. “What did cause the level of black students’ performance to that of equally qualified whites was reducing stereotype threat-in case by explicitly………And when they didn’t feel trust, no amount of bolstering of self- confidence helped.” (“Race and the Schooling of Black Americans” Claude Steele, Paragraph 28-29). In these paragraphs, Steele talks about different ways to lift the pressure off of black students. She talked to the students to raise their confidence, ensuring them that the test was “race-fair”. She discovered that when the students felt trust, they performed well even if she weakened their self-confidence before.
Claude Steele, in “Race and the Schooling of Black Americans”, talks about a number of experiments and theories that proved her argument that stereotype threats are the reason for the underachievement of some African American college students. She goes on to say how several black students feel that they have a racial disadvantage and feel an added pressure to be the opposite of all the negative stereotypes that they are faced with everyday. After concluding this, Steele describes the solution of raising the students’ confidence and getting the students trust that something is racially fair. Because of the racial perceptions of African American youth, it is apparent that stereotype threats place pressure on African American college students, inhibiting students from academically succeeding above standards of white students.

My Resume

Kiara Brumfield
Kikib2009@yahoo.com

Objective

Homicide Medical Examiner

Education

Undergraduate, Biology, Howard University, Washington, D.C 2013

Skills

Personal Skills: Leadership, good people skills, organized, responsible, creative and hard working

Computer Skills- Microsoft word, PowerPoint

Employment

Chicago Parks Districts: Program: Neighborhood Sport

Linblom Park

6054 S. Damen Ave. Chicago, IL 60636
Took score for Basketball games

After School Matters
Chicago, IL
Taught and Played Football and Basketball
Summer 2007

Interests

Biology, Physics, Art, Fashion, Sports, dance, volunteering and working
with children.

Community Servive

Girls Scouts
I helped teach and facilitate classes when leaders are not present at meetings. I also participated in a number of service projects and events.

Organized an event to give Christmas gifts to the elderly at Bronzeville Nursing Home
Winter of 2006

Jane Adams Hull House Association
I assist in crime victim programs such as Project Hope and Parkway Domestic

Violence Program
2004- Present

Chicago Police Department
Domestic Violence Subcommittees (3rd and 7th Districts)
I assist at Domestic violence Subcommittee community activities.

Achievements

Star talk
2007
Chinese language program at DePaul University for 4 weeks and earned 4 credit hours.

I received a scholarship to study abroad for 6 weeks in Shanghai , China where I studied Chinese at East China Normal University and lived with a Chinese family for 2 weeks

Howard University's 142th Opening Convacation

Dr. Ewart F. Brown

For this years convocation, Dr. Ewart Brown was the guest speaker. He gave a very interesting speech that actual kept me interested the entire time. During the beginning of the convocation , i found it hard to stay up. It seemed like it took 30 minutes for all faculty to march in. The music also made me sleepy and seemed to go on for ever.
Dr. Brown talked about the seats your sitting in , may have been sitting in by famous and successful Howard graduates. I can tell that everyone in the room was moved by his speech. It was like he set a atmosphere or hope and pride. At the end of the ceremony everyone stood united and held hands, while singing the Alma Mater. So , even though it was boring in the beginning , i felt it was a overall good experience.

HBCU's VS. Majority Universities?

My group decided to tackle the argument that HBCU'S are underfunded, compared to Majority Universities . We plan to follow this outline to successfully carry out this research topic in a efficient manner.

Topic

Government funding to HBCU's and Majority Universities

Methodology

• Research Government Annual funding for HBCU's and Majority Universities
• This year and previous years
• Study trends
• compare and contrast majority university funding to HBCU's
• research effects of underfunded schools (for example: education ,programs, financial aid, tuition, equipment,etc.)
• interview people for opinions or knowledge of topic ( Treasurer,professors,department chairs, etc.)

Chinese Group Project

On Saturday, September 25th, my group went to the Freer and Sackler art gallery. We were late for the tour at 12 o’clock, so we were able to catch the end of the tour. But we still walked around and look at the art. The gallery was full of different rooms that were full of different types of art work and artifacts. The one thing I noticed about the art is that they have similar characteristics. All the pots have same shape and handle on them. All the pots have detailed designs on them.
I also noticed that all Chinese paintings have similar style. All the paintings seem to be made up with a lot of lines and no shading. There was also a sculpture of a horse that had a story behind it. There were two countries at war and one of the countries sent a solider to a country on the other side of their enemy country. In the process of traveling to this country he was caught and put in jail for 18 years. When he was released from jail, instead of returning home he kept on with his mission. He finally reached the other country and asked them if they wanted to partner with them in the war. But they declined his offer so he returned home with only the story of their horses.
I really didn’t like the Freer Gallery. It was boring to me. The only paintings that stuck out to me were the three painting of women sitting with instruments. But the overall gallery was nice and different. I liked this group project and all my group member s participated.

Light skin versus Dark skin -Clarisse Jones

Clarisse Jones’s essay, “Light skin versus Dark skin”, talks about a common controversy present in black society. Jones recalls her painful encounters with this topic, which she refers to as Colorism. All most all African American have encountered this haunting problem. Colorism is still a prevalent issue among blacks in today's society; furthermore, this deeply rooted issue has been, and still is, the cause for black on black discrimination

“Colorism --and its subtext of self-- began during slavery on plantations where white masters favored lighter –skin blacks…” Many people, including Clarisse Jones, feel that skin discrimination stemmed from slavery. The whole concept that light skinned slaves were better than darker skinned slaves, brought on slave divisions. Light skinned slaves were called “House Slaves” because lighter slaves were given duties indoors. Leaving darker skinned slaves, called “Field Slaves”, to do all the hard work out side. After slavery, the "brown paper bag test" was created. This test was mainly used by African Americans in fraternities or sororities to discriminate against darker skinned blacks. Sororities or fraternities would not let anyone darker than a paper lunch bag into their society. Colorism send out the wrong idea of light skin being more acceptable compared with dark skin. It’s test like this, which cause division and discrimination within the black community.

You can see Colorism present everywhere in today’s society. “Some African Americans, dark and light, prefer light-skinned mates so they can have a “pretty baby.” In black America light skin is seen as beautiful. So many African Americans want there children to be of a light skin complexion. Clarisse Jones gives another example of colorism’s present in today’s society. She talks about how skin lighting creams used, even though they are advertised as blemish fades. Light skin is seen as clean or wealthier and dark skin is seen as dirty or poor. Colorism is also present in hip hop. In music videos, most video girls are of light skin complexion. All of this Colorism in the media and in everyday life causes blacks to discriminate against other blacks, based on their skin color.

Research

Many graduate students began to learn and complete research of their own in graduate school. But many faculty of Howard University feel that research should also be completed during your undergraduate years, too. So for the first year, Howard University requires all freshman seminar classes to complete a research project. The main objective of doing this research is to pursue the option of doing research in a career or to understand the importance of research. At the end of this freshman seminar, I expect to have a better understanding of research, learn more about my topic and to consider research in the future.
So many students make the assumption that research in college is like high school research projects. Research, to me, means to investigate and try to solve a problem. To get information, students sometimes only rely on internet to find information. The Internet can be used, but not as a main source. Other sources such as books, people and article are helpful sources to find information. Students are also puzzled with the many ways to build a research topic. First, I will have to find a problem or issue that catches my interest the most and come up with an argument regarding this problem. Then once I have that, I can start to look for information on my problem. When looking for information I should learn and look for background or the history of my topic. Then I should look for present information and factors that contribute to my problem. When I’m done with looking up information, I can then start to build my argument. I should then use all your valuable information to build a strong argument. Once I have a strong argument and successfully proved it, I will have effectively completed research.
I chose to research “HBCU’s V.S Majority Universities”. This topic drew my attention because I constantly have this debate with my friends who attend majority universities. They constantly say that their schools are diverse and mine is not. Having this debate always seems to upset me. My friends have always had a preconceived judgment of HBCU’s. Despite all the claims I make defending HBCU’s, they never listen. So I hope this research project will help me to be able present a counter argument to this and many other claims.
I wouldn’t mind doing research in the near future after I graduate. After graduating I plan on attending medical school. So it might look good and be a benefit to have done a lot of research. If my research topics are good, I can get a lot of publicity. Many researchers get that research published and get national and even world attention. Having that achievement can open up a lot of doors for me, like it’s done for many other famous researchers.
The field of research has become more in demand. Many researchers are needed to solve many of today’s problems. Many students are considering research as career. So I believe I can benefit from Freshman Seminar .At the end of this freshman seminar, I expect to have a better understanding of research, learn more about my topic and to consider research in the future.

HBCU's VS. Majority Universities?

HBCU's VS. Majority Universities?...... This is a constant argument brought up in today's society. I immediately wanted to research this topic when i saw it. I constantly argue with my friends who attend majority universities. They always bring the argument that my school isn't diverse and that my education is less that standard. They always say that we won't be able to communicate with the fast diverse world. At the end of this research project I hope to be able to convince my friends that HBCU's are diverse and teach higher than standard learning. So i ask you , what do think?

What is your dream and how are you pursing that dream through your major?

When I complete college , I plan on becoming a Medical Examiner. I don't want to be just any Medical Examiner , I want to be a Homicide Medical Examiner. In order to become a Medical Examiner , I have to major in a science while at Howard. I'm currently majoring in Biology and plan on keeping this major until i graduate .I will also have to maintain a good GPA and score high on the MCAT , in order to get into a Medical School.

What is the orgin of HBCU's and are they neccessary in today's global time frame

Most HBCU's were created after the American Civil War. The oldest HBCU dates back to 1867. In today's society, some people don't feel that HBCU's are acceptable universities. But, i think in today's global time frame, HBCU's are acceptable. They help to educated thousands of African American students each year. I also feel that HBCU's help teach students of their past and help them determine their future. It also gives students example of strong black successful alumni in each field ,to give students some since of pride and hope.

Are HBCU's a living legacy or a thing of the past?

When ever you here about many of today's top HBCU's , you are first sold the legacy of the university. When it comes to Howard University , you are constantly told of successful alumni ; for example Thurgood Marshall , Debbie Allen, Sean Combs ,etc. You are also told about historical events that took place on Campus. But, you are never told of the past four graduating classes success. Never are up and coming alumni shown off like earlier alumni. In today's economy ,it is harder for even graduates to get jobs. So ,Universities should display how their graduates are able to get jobs in this economy. Therefore, i have come to the conclusion that HBCU's are somewhat a living legacy and at the same time a thing of the past.

The legacy of Howard University

Well known HU scholars

Before - 1960

Zora Neale Hurston (author)

Dr. Ossie Davis ( producer, director and actor)

1960 - 1980

Phylicia Rashad (actress)

Debbie Allen (dancer)

1980 - present
Tracie Nicole Thomas

Wendy Raquel Robinson (actress)

African American Heritage Trail - Howard University

Howard Hall

Founders Library and Moorland - Springarm Research Center

Gallery of Art

Miner Teachers College Building

1. Was there any social resistant in building and expanding Howard University?

2. How often does the Founders Libary add new historic info and artifacts ?
3. How many visitors a year actually come to visit Howard Univeristy 's Historical Landmarks?