Voices of Compton: Compton Literary / Arts Journal (2014

Acknowledgements
Voices of Compton
•
Compton Literary / Arts Journal
Dr. Keith Curry, CEO
Ms. Barbara Perez, Vice President
Mr. Eric Mendoza,
Mendoza, Student Development and Athletics
Mr. Cleveland Palmer, Contributor of Student Artwork
Dr.
Dr. Chelvi Subramaniam, Student Success Dean
Dr. Donald Roach,
Roach Humanities & Math Chair
•
Humanities Faculty
Mr. Jose Bernaudo,
Reader & English Faculty
Ms. Aurora CortezCortez-Perez
Ms. Judith Crozier
Dr. Roza
Roza Ekimyan
Ms. Amber Gillis,
Advisory Team Member
& Faculty Member
Ms. Lauren Gras
Mr. Christopher
Christopher Halligan
Ms. Jennifer Hill
Ms. Dalia Juarez
Ms. Shemiran Lazar
Mr. David Maruyama,
Reader & English Faculty
Mr. Patrick McLaughlin,
First Year Experience
& English Faculty
Mr. Thomas Norton
Ms. Liza Rios
Rios
Dr. Ruth Roach,
Publication Coordinator
& English Faculty
Ms. Toni Wasserberger,
Reader & English Faculty
(Painting by Student,
Nohely Talavera)
Ms. Nikki Williams
Dr. Valerie Woodward
&
Associated Student Body
Cover Artwork:
Artwork:
• Mouth • by Laura Blackwell
Publisher:
Southern California Graphics®
2014
2014-2015
2015
©Copyright 201
20155
All rights reserved.
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Table of Contents
• What the Eye Doth See •
Eye 1 by Samuel Isidoro • Pastel & Charcoal • 12 x 19 • Page 3
Eye 2 by Joseph Ramirez • Pastel & Charcoal • 12 x 19 • Page 3
Mundane by Maor Lain • Poem • Page 3
Los Angeles: Aftermath by Diana Torres • Essay • Page 4
When in Doubt, Tweet by Silahis B. Masinag • Essay • Page 6
The Golden City by Shay Johnson • Poem • Page 8
Reminiscing: Extinct Paradise by Nancy Betancourt • Essay • Page 8
• What the Nose Doth Smell •
Nose by Joseph Ramirez • Pastel & Charcoal • 12 x 19 • Page 10
Nose by Samuel Isidoro • Pastel & Charcoal • 12 x 19 • Page 10
El Mercadito: Want to Get Away? by Miguel Villalvazo • Essay • Page 11
Writing Powerful Words by Patrick Erlandson • Spoken Word Art • Page 13
• What the Mouth Doth Tell & Sing •
Lips by Annette Scott • Pastel & Charcoal • 12 x 19 • Page 14
Extreme Poverty by Cecilia Garcia • Essay • Page 15
Compton Matters by Patrick Erlandson • Poem • Page 16
Black English in Popular Culture and Advertising by Leoneene Beasley • Essay • Page
Page 17
Bloody Black Friday by Marilu Galindo Ramirez • Essay • Page 19
Influences of Golden Hip Hop Versus Today’s Rap by Bianca Gordon • Essay • Page 21
Let Music Set Me Free by Shay Johnson • Poem & Sketch • Page 23
• What the Head Doth Think •
Head Study by Daniel Felix • Pastel & Charcoal • 12 x 19 • Page 24
Head Study by Carlos Vergara • Pastel & Charcoal • 12 x 19 • Page 24
Head Study by Edelbert Alvarado • Pastel & Charcoal • 12 x 19 • Page 24
Head Study by Nicolas Uscanga • Pastel & Charcoal • 12 x 19 • Page 24
Head Study by Egypt Muhammad • Pastel & Charcoal • 12 x 19 • Page 24
Head Study by Jazmin Rodriguez • Pastel & Charcoal • 12 x 19 • Page 24
Head Study by Laura Blackwell • Pastel & Charcoal • 12 x 19 • Page 24
Head Study by Samuel Isidoro • Pastel & Charcoal • 12 x 19 • Page 24
Religion: Expectations of Youth by Monica Hampton • Essay • Page 25
The Escape by Anthony Chuy • Short Story • Page 26
Nature Photo 3 by Camille Lovely • Photograph • Page 27
Is Peer Pressure Stronger Than Your Own Will? by Ivan Gomez • Essay • Page 29
How American Culture Has Changed Ethics and Values by Saul Rocha • Essay • Page 30
Advanced Casual Analysis: Education by Shaundeisha Johnson • Essay • Page 32
A False Education for Minorities by Aryana Bradley • Essay • Page
Page 33
Inequities in Minority Education by Muriel Collins • Essay • Page 35
The “Great Change” of Minorities within Education by Hugo Uribe • Essay • Page 36
Reparations for Blacks: What We Deserve by Tiaja Pauls • Essay • Page 38
Beauty by Michael Crockett • Poem • Page 40
• How the Male Body Doth Seem •
Male Torso Study in Pencil by Bryan Ortega • Pencil • 12 x 19 • Page 41
Why? by Tavia Patrick • Poem • Page 41
Untitled by Lulu • Essay • Page 42
Over-Advertised and Overeating by Dalmar Jibril • Essay • Page
Page 44
The Border of Youth and Health by Kehmena Ockiya • Essay • Page 46
• How the Female Body Doth Seem •
Female Body by Brian Macias • Pastel & Charcoal • 19 x 25 • Page 48
Finding Myself by Dalia Mosqueda • Poem • Page 48
Eager to Grow Up by Yessenia Gonzalez • Essay • Page 49
Gratitude by Dianne Busiere • Poem • Page 53
Adjusted by Heather Ceja • Poem • Page 53
End of Sex Trafficking by Irvin Sotelo • Essay • Page 53
Digital Self by Michelle Rivera • Digital Art • Page 56
Our Women by David Williams • Essay • Page 56
Middleaster Movement: Cultural Play / Show by Ileanna Navarro • Poem • Page 58
• What the Face Doth Show •
Face by Laura Blackwell • Pastel & Charcoal • 12 x 19 • Page 59
Idris Elba by Laura Blackwell • Pastel & Charcoal • 12 x 19 • Page 59
Kendrick Lamar by Nicole Avery • Oil Painting • 22 x 28 • Page 59
Dorothy Dandridge by Laura Blackwell • Pastel & Charcoal • 12 x 19 • Page 59
Idris Elba 2 by Laura Blackwell • Pastel & Charcoal • 12 x 19 • Page 59
Billie Holliday by Laura Blackwell • Pastel & Charcoal • 12 x 25 • Page 59
Tina Turner by Laura Blackwell • Pastel & Charcoal • 12 x 25 • Page 59
Leo Sullivan by Kimberley Deveau • Oil Painting • 22x28 • Page 59
Ricardo Montalbán by Joseph Ramirez • Pastel & Charcoal • 12 x 19 • Page 60
Father by Bryan Ortega • Pastel & Charcoal • 19 x 25 • Page 60
Paul Rodriguez by Samuel Isidoro • Oil Painting • 22 x 28 • Page 60
Bob Marley by Samuel Isidoro • Pastel & Charcoal • 12 x 19 • Page 60
Bruce Lee by Samuel Isidoro • Pastel & Charcoal • 12 x 25 • Page 60
Dorothy Dandridge by Samuel Isidoro • Pastel & Charcoal • 19 x 25 • Page 60
Creating a Superior Child by Sandra M. Gonzalez • Essay • Page 60
Kim Kardashian: Valued Without Values by Jeanine Elliot • Essay • Page 62
2 + 2 = 4 by Jeremiah Polk • Spoken Word Art • Page 63
American Trends: Plastic Surgery by Jennifer Perez • Essay • Page 64
How American Media Influences Kids on Beauty by Jesus Camacho • Essay • Page 66
“FREEDOM” by Jermaine Brown • Poem & Sketch • Page 68
≠ TO ALL WHO CROSS TARTARIAN GATES ± by Carlos Ornelas • Poem • Page 69
• Prefatory Note •
This volume of Voices of Compton: Compton Literary / Arts Journal examines
the theme of “the anatomy of thought.” For this exploration, the visual arts studies provide
a useful framework: what the eye doth see, what the nose doth smell, what the mouth doth
tell and sing, what the head doth think, how the male body doth seem, how the female body
doth seem, and what the face doth show.
-Humanities
Note: Cultural expressions are preserved as part of the art in some works.
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•
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What the Eye Doth See •
• Los Angeles:
Angeles: Aftermath •
by Diana Torres
Eye 1 by Samuel Isidoro |Pastel & Charcoal | 12 x 19
Eye 2 by Joseph Ramirez | Pastel & Charcoal | 12 x 19
• Mundane •
by Maor Lain
In a furious cloud
Set about the corners of light, there
Declined aspirations are, alive
You are set to vow.
In the Spring of such a time
Sprang the will to live
Beyond the audacities,
Beyond the plain
Orders of every day.
Summer saw the salt
In liquid form, to
Escape your body in the heat.
Autumn asked the
Reason of such a living,
Torments sought to home.
Winter froze, a few thoughts
Took speed. Breath, life
Is not, of the living, a given.
In the mirage life, a mist agrees
Come hither or away, soon
It’ll be above your head.
How would we recover from the Los Angeles storm aftermath? The storm that
stroked Los Angeles caused massive damage to our home, cars, furniture, and pets. “They
say if you have more than five inches of water in your home for five days it’s a loss,”
writes David Helvarg in his essay “The Storm This Time” (Helvarg 105). Just like in the
aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the city of Los Angeles was flooded, causing great
damage. However, the damages were not as gruesome as what Hurricane Katrina did to
New Orleans. Our storm only lasted a couple of hours that seemed like days. The storm
only hit the town of Watts. There was no electricity; the town was a complete ghost town.
Looking out my window from my house filled me with sadness.
My window is the size of a sixty-inch plasma television that gave me a view of
the entire street from corner to corner. I could no longer see the green grass that my
brothers played on or the pavement my neighbors walked through because all I could see
was a river of water. The water reached about two feet, reaching my knee. The water
current moved cars onto the sidewalk, and passing cars were jammed in the street--just like
Helvarg describes being “[u]nable to drive far in the debris choked streets” (Helvarg 104).
The city of Los Angeles was filled with things flooding everywhere. My neighbor’s
rocking chair was floating in my driveway, their pool stick was on my kitchen window, and
someone’s beach umbrella was also in my driveway. My family’s lawn mower was across
the street from my house. The inside of my house was flooded with at least three inches of
water that had made it through the sandbags. We used sandbags, blankets, pillows, and old
clothes to block the water from getting in the house. The water made it into the kitchen,
bathroom, garage, and bedrooms. All I could see was water everywhere I turned.
Xica, my two year old German shepherd, was put inside the house, but she
barked and scratched the door to go outside. Eventually, Xica got tired of barking and was
just staring out the door. Two teenage boys laughed as they played in the cold water,
splashing each other. A young lady was snapping pictures of the damages around her. I
believe she was a reporter or a journalist. My cousin was playing with the guitar my uncle
had bought for her in Tijuana, Mexico. My baby brother of six months cried non-stop. I
could hear my three younger brothers fighting in their room over a toy. My grandmother
and my mother argued about their soap opera. Our garage is filled with old stuff and junk
that my father collects throughout the year. We found a stereo that uses batteries only. We
started listening to the local news that was broadcasting live. Just like in New Orleans,
information was broadcast on the radio, “A consortium of local stations playing 24/7
information” (Helvarg 103). I have never been so interested in listening to the news.
“How cold was the water?” I asked myself as I reached down to feel the water.
The water was cold as an ice cream. The carpet in my house felt like a sponge that had just
been soaked in water. I had to pull my clothes out from my drawers because the wood was
deteriorating. We had to eat the food that was in the freezer because it was thawing. There
was no way of heating the food; we had to eat everything cold. My baby brother had to
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drink his milk cold because that was his only meal. The boots I had gotten for Christmas
were flooded with water reaching my socks and toes. Helvarg describes: “Fine yellow dust
starts rising up from under my boots” (Helvarg 104). For moments, I could not feel my toes
because they had gotten numb due to the cold water rushing through my toes. However, my
nose was the coldest part in my body, and it was red like Rudolf, the red-nose deer. No one
wanted to use the restroom, especially the women. The toilet was cold as if the toilet seat
were made out of ice. The only thing that felt warm was my mother’s hand as she caressed
my face.
Everyone was so concerned about the flood that we had forgotten to change my
baby brother’s diaper. The smell that was coming out of my brother’s diapers was so
unpleasant, as if he had eaten rotten eggs. I had to spray some baby power all over his
booty to freshen him and the odor it had caused. Through my window, I could smell fresh
wood being burned. People were burning wood to keep warm. That day, my uncle smoked
a whole pack of cigars. The only place my uncle smoked his cigar was the window I had
been staring out from. The smell from the cigar penetrated my clothes, my hair, and the
inside of the house. I remember entering the garage where I could smell the odor of
gasoline. The gasoline odor was coming from a barrel my father had filled with gasoline
for the lawnmower. There was an awful smell of urine that came from outside. We could
not figure out where the urine smell was coming from, but we sprayed the house with
Lysol. It was similar to Helvarg being “confronted with an equally noxious odor” (Helvarg
104). We were never prepared for a storm. At night, we had to use scented candles to be
able to see around the house. All of my candles were strawberry-scented. We laughed
because the males in the house said it smelled like only women lived at the house. Finally,
someone had brought pizza for dinner. We had not eaten anything all day, but when I
smelled the pizza, I felt like I was in heaven.
The storm caused great damage to the city of Los Angeles, but there were no
fatalities reported. It was heartbreaking watching the towing truck taking away our car. Our
car was a complete loss because the water had damaged the motor. We had to throw away
90% of our food that got rotten. We filled cardboard boxes with clothes that were good and
clothes that got damaged. Furniture had to be thrown away before mold could grow. Our
old red carpet was replaced by a new light-blue, fuzzy, soft carpet, but all the new items
and repairs were paid out of my father’s pocket. Just like the middle-aged couple said,
“Nationwide was not on our side” (Helvarg 107). Now, my family is ready for any future
storms, hurricanes, or anything Mother Nature brings. We have a storage box in the garage
with extra batteries, cordless radio, first aid kit, blankets, water, camping stove, and a
generator. Even though the recovery took time and money, I still had my family with me.
Xica now runs around the new full-grown lawn and has a family of her own.
Works Cited
Helvarg, David. "The Storm This Time." The Longman Reader.” New York: Pearson,
2012. 95-98.
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• When in Doubt, Tweet •
by Silahis B. Masinag
It has been three days since the super typhoon Haiyan slammed into central
Philippines, and I still was unable to hear from my father. Haiyan's path included the island
of Cebu known to local and foreign tourists due to its world-class beaches and was about
90 miles away from Tacloban City which bore the brunt of the typhoon's fury. My father,
who went back home to the Philippines for the holidays, indicated that Cebu was included
in his itinerary. It was through Facebook that I got in touch with my cousin from Manila,
which was about 350 miles north of Cebu, who got in touch with my father via a land line
phone that he gave them before he left for the resort island. The process took two and a half
hours, and only then we knew that he was fine. Hundreds of other stories were documented
during Typhoon Haiyan where citizens and relief aid workers used the internet, especially
social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and other mobile phone apps, to search for missing
loved ones, to inform loved ones that they are safe, to request for help or rescue, or to
pinpoint what kind and where the relief goods were needed most.
The poster in Figure 1 is from an online website of Laguna College of Art and
Design (LCAD) encouraging its audience to support its fundraising efforts for Typhoon
Haiyan victims.
Figure 1. Online fundraising poster for Typhoon Haiyan victims by LCAD.
Located in Laguna Beach, California, LCAD raised funds to help the victims of the
typhoon. LCAD's effort to raise money was just one of the many fundraising campaigns
organized by a broad spectrum of groups and organizations.
The use of online tools and other digital media, such as email, Facebook,
Twitter, and text messaging, has made organizing and promoting fundraising efforts easier
nowadays. Posting the announcement on a website, Facebook page, or links in a text
message or a tweet enables the group to connect easily with its members during the
organizing phase. The same method can also be utilized in promoting the event to potential
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donors in order to reach a much wider audience. In the case of this campaign where visual
arts and designs created by members of LCAD community were sold during the event, it
targets individuals who would appreciate visual arts and, therefore, are willing to buy items
from the exhibit. Postings to social network groups and Twitter accounts which promote
visual arts and designs regarding the fundraising would zero in on a broader but specific
group of individuals who are more likely to participate in the event.
In addition to this, electronic media has helped groups streamline their
manpower requirements and financial cost when organizing an event as traditional phone
brigade efforts as well as paper printing of posters are lessened if not completely
eliminated.
As indicated in the advertising poster, LCAD linking with a reputable
organization, such as UNICEF, adds credibility to the relief effort. This was done to
alleviate any second thoughts. Stories of fraudulent fundraising are common whenever a
calamity strikes. Cooperating with UNICEF not only relieves any grassroots organization
of the difficult task of sending over and delivering the donations they have collected, which
is a logistical nightmare, but it also frees up resources by assistance agencies like UNICEF
and Red Cross from doing fundraising campaigns and instead focus on the more arduous
work of getting the relief goods where they are desperately needed.
Free event admission and parking as indicated in the poster aims to give patrons
the assurance that participating in a worthy cause will cost them nothing extra, and
therefore they would be more inclined to attend.
In the case, the campaign ad that was used by LCAD in its online poster showed
pictures of children holding signs for help with total destruction on the background and
evokes strong emotional draw that hopes to appeal to the kindness of others to extend help.
The designer of the poster purposefully highlighting the help-signs in red with the black
and white photograph of children in need of help, added the feel of desperation to reflect
the urgency of the situation.
The fact that millions of people were affected by the calamity as stated in the
poster denotes the extent of destruction and emphasized the urgency of the situation which
could encourage the audience to help. Making the children as the focal point of the ad
campaign hopes to raise the desperation level of the situation that would result in a more
generous response.
In spite of the pervasive trivial ways the internet and other electric forms of
communications are being used nowadays, they still play a vital role in socially relevant
endeavors in our society as well as serve as a useful tool in our day-to-day struggles in life.
In Farhad Majoo's “Do I Really Have to Join Twitter?”, he discusses the reasons why
individuals joins online social media like Twitter. Some would probably want to join
because it is a fad or, as the author indicates, to be socially relevant in the digital
information age (Manjoo, 2009). I joined Twitter not so long ago to reach out and show
appreciation to two persons. First one was to JT, The Brick (John Tournour), the host of a
late night radio sports talk show, who, in the middle of his usual programing, pauses and
acknowledges that right at that moment, Typhoon Haiyan had just devastated the islands of
central Philippines and expects thousands of casualties. The second was to acknowledge
LA Lakers Pau Gasol's pledge to donate a $1,000 for every point he scores against the
Golden State Warriors in their November 22, 2012, game. If plans for an early earthquake
warning device come into fruition in the State of California, who knows how many lives
would be saved by just receiving a text or a tweet from the USGS, seconds before the “Big
One” hits?
References
Manjoo, F. (2009). Do I really have to join Twitter? In G. Muller (Ed.),The McGraw Hill
reader: Issues across the disciplines. (pp. 148-50). New York: McGraw-Hill.
National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC). 2014. Updates re
the effects of typhoon “Yolanda” (Haiyan). Retrieved from
http://www.ndrrmc.gov.ph/attachments
• The Golden City •
by Shay Johnson
Open fields, dirt lanes, Grapefruit hearts for the colored, bitter peas for the
others. We come here to live, and here will stay, the golden city will shine, brighter than
heavens gates. Our seeds will be planted, more Grapefruits will grow, the peas will leave,
to wherever they go. In the gold city will make a change . . . From pushed down, and
segregated, to marching strong, and over populated . . . The Grapefruits will stay here , in
the golden city . . .
• Reminiscing: Extinct Paradise •
by Nancy Betancourt
Why are human-untouched, wildness, nature valleys coming to an end? Why are
we allowing this to happen? Due to the growth in population, nature valleys are being
invaded by the people. In the search of a homeland, it is inevitable. It is very hard to
maintain all of the valleys and rivers as they were 10 years ago. The changes in the
environment also evolve and make species migrate in the search of more suitable homes.
Seeing my father’s childhood valley being almost extinguished destroyed me emotionally,
but that is just the rule of life, death and spring; we live to die.
“You can exist without Spring, but it cramps your soul,” explains “Life, Death
and Spring” by Gary Kamiya (112). Nature is a beautiful form of life that impacts anyone
who has perceived it and carefully observed it. As a child, I remember running around
through the robust trees and soft grass of my father’s birthplace. It was not either a valley
or a ranch, but I can better describe it as a land full of life in which every perimeter around
you is vividly breathing. I remember feeling the breeze of the warm air touching my face as
if it could almost talk to me, pure green in every horizon around me. Everywhere I turned,
there was nature looking back at me in all different shapes: rivers, dirt, big rocks, and lousy
animals that wandered around in their own sense of freedom. I had never experienced such
tranquility and peace of mind before I was taken to my father’s place of birth.
I remember walking through a small bridge that took you across a transparent
river. Being there was as if I could taste personal satisfaction and reliability of knowing I
was in a safe place. Exploring through the forest in the land, you could find any kind of
unpredictable nature treasures, reminiscent of when Kamiya “walked on through the young
grass, where in a few weeks the lupine and a sweet pea would cover the ground with their
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exuberant bluish-purple and pink and white blossoms” (Kamiya 111). This specific quote
from the essay revives a vivid image of the offspring and blossoms Mother Nature provides
us. I feel as if I could see the wings of the birds rapidly flapping on top of them.
I recently went back to my dad’s birthplace that I often find myself happily
reminiscing about. Things have noticeably changed as the years have gone by. The grass
does not look as happy as it once did. Even the wind felt different; I could feel the pain that
the land had suffered, where “The meadow looked like a war zone, filled with dozens of
fire trucks” (Kamiya 113). Although there had not been a fire in this place, everything
looked very dry. Houses were now built in the middle of this once-beautiful place; it
seemed to me as if people had sucked the life out of the natural forest I once knew. All of
the natural melodies were changed for car engines and people talking. There were still a
few untouched spots, such as a small lake near the river. However, the water in it was not
blue as it used to be.
With my dad’s birthplace, a part of me was also gone. I am sure my dad felt this
agonizing pain inside him, too. All of his childhood memories in this nature valley were
just memories now. It was as if it all had vanished, like “[t]hey decided to cut one of the
largest sequoias down, strip off its bark, and ship it for exhibition” (Kamiya 115). Just as
the ranch from the essay, one of the most wonderful places I have been to, had been taken
away to fit the new world. I felt a deep pain inside of me to know a lot of places like this
are becoming extinct.
I finally came to realize that new upcoming generations change. People will
keep destroying natural environments and adjusting them for their own comfort. All places
and things eventually come to an end. I even thought of my own mortality; all of my
generosities and the path I have created during my life time will one day be forgotten. “On
the last day, I walked through the little meadow where we’d seen the deer. The smell was
gone. I went to look over and there was nothing, something had taken it away,” writes
Kamiya (116). Just as this quote, I felt empty after walking through the now-yellow
grasses, the trees-turned-meadow, as if age had torn them apart. Not even the rocks felt the
same; what had one day felt young and fresh was now old and agonizing.
As I came back home from the disappointment of not finding my father’s
birthplace valley as he described it to me and as I remembered from my childhood, I felt as
if an inspirational part of me shut down. Never will I see nature and human development
the same way. We cannot possibly revive what we have extinguished. As we kill all of our
human resources of life with the overpopulation and pollution, we are also slowly killing
ourselves. I do not wish me or children to be here to experience the terrible outcome of our
natural sources’ destruction.
Work Cited
Kamiya, Gary. “Life, Death, and Spring.” The Longman Reader. 9th ed. Eds. Judith
Nadell, John Langan, and Eliza A. Comodromos. New York: Pearson, 2011.
111-16.
• 10 •
•
What the Nose Doth Smell •
Nose by Joseph Ramirez | Pastel & Charcoal | 12 x 19
Nose by Samuel Isidoro | Pastel & Charcoal | 12 x 19
• 11 •
• 12 •
• El Mercadito: Want to Get
Get Away? • by Miguel Villalvazo
Living day by day, encountering the same visual boredom on your daily
commute, can take the best out of a person. Gary Kamiya talks about this in “Life, Death,
and Spring.” His life in San Francisco is dull and can sometimes cramp his soul. Kamiya
writes: “Too many buildings, too many people, too many streetlights changing
mechanically, too many thoughts changing just as mechanically” (Kamiya 112). Kamiya
escapes this hell by visiting his grandparents’ ranch. I can relate to this since going to El
Mercadito in East Los Angeles makes me feel like a bird that just got out of his cage.
Going to El Mercadito, you cannot miss the spacious and eye-catching indoor
swap-meet structure. It has a picture of about six mariachis singing right on top of the
building for all eyes to see. Looking around, it seems like a beacon, letting you know that
you’ve entered a new part of town. It is just like when Gary Kamiya talks about the first
sight of the ranch where he says, “and everything was still green, that deep, fragile green
that you wish could last forever” (Kamiya 113). I guess when you live in the city, nature is
hidden from you, so seeing it again is a pleasant surprise. Encountering new sights delights
my vision; I only wish it would be endless. This destination reminds me of my culture. It
serves as a representation of where I come from. Having such a place where I can relax and
feel at home has helped me cope with the idea of not being able to visit my hometown in a
long time.
Do not be alarmed when you first drive in. It can be intimidating once you hear
the noisy cars trying to find parking. Everyone scrambling for the first spot they find, sort
of like ants crawling too close to each other, all trying to get home. In “Life, Death, and
Spring,” Gary Kamiya says, “we love the fat bullfrogs that the heron kills. They’re musical
croakers” (Kamiya 114). As you walk into the building, you are instantly surrounded by
overlapping conversations and vendors trying to sell you goodies. It’s sort of hard trying to
make out what everyone’s saying, but to me it sounds like music to my ears. It’s like
hearing trumpets announcing your arrival. The swap meet building consists of three floors.
On the first floor you have your vendors, the second is a mixture of food courts, and finally
the third floor is a full Mexican restaurant, complete with a band of mariachis for your
entertainment. They might not have fat bullfrogs here, but I’m pretty sure a round of
coronas with some singing will do just fine. Coming from a Mexican heritage, it is in my
blood; I feel the music and just can’t help myself. I have to shout an aaaahahahahua.
Walking inside, you should feel like a kid again. You are welcomed by all the
varieties of candy, chips, shakes, drinks, desserts, and somewhere-in-between snacks that
you can imagine. Your taste buds will go into overdrive once they indulge in any of these
treats. Some might not look appetizing, but with a little courage, you might just find a new
favorite. I strongly recommend a smoothie of mamey (it’s like papaya) and nuts. They are
truly out of this world. Others include steamed corn in a cup with mayo, cheese, and hot
powder spices. Another favorite is a deep fried macho banana, topped with sweetened
condensed milk, strawberries, and caramel, talk about explosion of flavors. Sure, it’s not on
the healthy side, so try to contain yourself and just get a few things. Don’t worry, El
Mercadito has been there for a long time, and with so many attributes, it will continue to be
a staple in the city. You can always come back next time to try the other treats. El
Mercadito offers true Mexican dishes. I’m talking about the ones only a grandmother
would know how to cook. You have every dish here, like shrimp cocktails, chille reyenos
plates, all the way down to your very traditional tacos. All these and more can be found on
the second floor of the swap meet. I feel like Gary Kamiya when he sees all the trees with
the fruit, and he writes, “The old trees still bear fruit, rare and delicious varietals--King
Davids and Spitzenbergs and Winter Bananas and Black Johns” (Kamiya 113). He
describes the feeling with such passion that it resembles the way I feel when I see all those
selections of food.
Beside food, El Mercadito also offers clothes, toys, shoes, vitamin shops, and
more. It is a little mall or swap meet, very much like those in Mexico. This is as close of a
replica as it gets to the real thing. Why not grab a pancho for when you are cold or try some
guaraches (sandals). They might not look comfortable, but in Mexico, these would be the
equivalent to crocks. Also, they sell dishes and colorful accessories for your home. You
don’t need to be Mexican to appreciate the display of colors and beauty that these pieces
have on them. They are truly a work of art. These can make great presents and serve as a
great reminder of this marvelous place. Visiting his grandparents’ ranch rebuilds Kamiya’s
soul. A good example is when he writes, “You can exist without spring, but it cramps your
soul. It’s good to have a place where you can go watch the world get old and young, live
and die. Mine is the ranch” (Kamiya 112). Having a place to look forward to can give you
hope in a time when you might not have the will to keep on. It might just be a swap meet to
some people. Some might find this place a tad bit boring, but to me it’s my escape, my
home away from home, my relaxation destination.
One can tell how much the ranch meant to Gary Kamiya and his family. A good
example is when he writes, “One infamous day, we almost lost the whole place. On
September 10, 2001, a devastating forest fire roared up and out of the Stanislaus River
canyon to the east. When the flames crowned the trees on the other side of the ridge and
were visible from the meadows, my mother and my uncles simultaneously decided to tell
the firemen, ‘Save the barn before the house’” (Kamiya 113). Just the thought of losing a
place that you hold close to your heart is enough to put your mind into perspective of what
really matters. Kamiya’s family was concerned more with the ranch than anything else. I
don’t see any forest fires burning down El Mercadito any time soon, but losing this place
would be a hard blow to take. It would be as if someone took a part of you away, especially
if this place holds so many cherished memories with your loved ones. As a recap, you have
a Mexican mall complete with specialty foods and drinks. It also serves as a museum where
you can learn a little more about Mexican heritage. This place is great; I definitely would
bring my friends and family here for a visit.
In conclusion, visiting El Mercadito reminds me of my childhood. It is as close
as I can get to my hometown while living in America. Do you wish to escape monotony?
Or perhaps you want to indulge your taste buds with something new. Maybe, you are in
need of a cultural experience. Whatever the reasons, I recommend you stop by a visit to El
Mercadito. I guarantee you won’t regret coming.
Work Cited
Cited
Kamiya, Gary. “Life, Death and Spring.” The Longman Reader. New York: Pearson,
2012. 111-116.
• 13 •
• 14 •
• Writing Powerful Sentences •
by Patrick Erlandson
Your toes are bare and barely care!
Ooh look what’s there!
socks on the floor.
creating interest
by adding more or
taking back
you tinker here and tinker there
until you hack the slack.
Then you wax your car
with words not wax
from your syllables jar
you fetch a three
multiplied, why?
For tranquility!
And the socks remain
upon the floor
like a knitted stain
so you fantasize
about who you are
and you realize
your toes are bare and barely care!
•
What the Mouth Doth Tell & Sing •
Lips by Annette Scott | Pastel & Charcoal | 12 x 19
• 15 •
• Extreme Poverty •
by Cecilia Garcia
Garcia
In “Flavio’s Home” written by Gordon Parks, there is a sense of poverty that is
almost unimaginable. There is a place that has similar problems and the same struggles. I
went to visit my brother who lives in El Paso, Texas. I went there in the summer. We
decided to visit Ciudad Juarez, which is on the Mexican side of the border. There is a sense
of extreme poverty just by crossing the border from El Paso, Texas, to Ciudad Juarez,
Mexico.
We got up at 6 a.m., and after having breakfast, we left for the border. I can see
into Ciudad Juarez from El Paso. The houses are too close together and look like they
might be abandoned. They are not set up in any particular order. There are houses and
stores next to each other. As I cross the border, I can see kids asking for money. I can see
in their sad faces that they only do it because they have to. They are supposed to be in
school, trying to better their lives. They are wearing torn, dirty clothes. I wonder if they
have eaten today as I give them some change. There are other children selling souvenirs
and small toys. These children have to become responsible from bringing money home
when they should be doing homework. Further in, the streets and empty lots are littered by
trash. There are broken beer bottles that are very dangerous for people walking. Some
buildings are abandoned, have broken windows and graffiti. There was a burned building
that nobody seems to notice. There are people selling food, fruits, and candy in the street.
They walk between the cars, with no care for their own safety. They just need to sell and
get the money they so desperately need. They do not wear gloves or wash their hands.
Maybe they are not educated about sanitation. Maybe they do not have to worry about
those things.
The streets are very busy. You can hear dogs barking in the background.
Because of all the concrete, their barks have an echo. There is a lot of traffic, and angry
drivers honk their horns. People and drivers do not obey any traffic rules. People negotiate
with the merchants for a better price. The buses that drive by are old and make a lot of
noise. They sound like they are about to fall apart. When they let out black smoke, they
make funny noises. Kids are playing soccer on the street and yell at each other. They are
fighting for the ball.
The environment is not the most comfortable. It is hot and dry on this summer
day. The cars make it even hotter. The smoke coming out of the cars smells like burnt tires.
The streets have a dirty and sticky feeling. There is gum on the ground and a strange liquid
that smells like rotten milk. The poverty can be felt all around. There is also a feeling of
sadness and hopelessness in the streets of this city. The children’s faces say a lot. They do
not have the capacity to hide their feelings. They really don’t know what to expect for the
future. Could any of them really have a chance of changing their lives? These people
cannot escape this situation. I felt so impotent. What could I do for these people?
The extreme poverty in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, is like that of the favelas in
Brazil. They are similar because, in both of them, the people are not well educated about
safety or sanitation. Children are always innocent victims of the environment they are born
into. These children are the future and they should be in school, not in the streets asking for
• 16 •
money. They do not have a choice; they must remain in this situation. When are we going
to be more caring and help these people out of their misery? I will not complain again
about what I don’t have and be thankful that I have a home and always enough food to eat.
• Compton Matters •
On the Campus Reading by Robert Lee
Johnson
by Patrick Erlandson
Students drifted in
took seats, shifted
and shuffled texts and
chose those familiar or
vacancy as companions.
The speaker rose to speak
and you could hear a pin drop – NOT!
The sounds of shuffling and
boisterous hush
slowly dimmed,
dimmed,
to dim
but not to silence and
slower still to
response
and
voicing questions.
The interest grew
as Compton as
the students knew
emerged from pale fog
and Latino ranchos
of an unrecognizable past.
The first mention of gangs
and knowing chuckles rang
from an audience
acquainted more with
significant hues
than inheritance
of acres and
fertile ranches.
How much can change
when greed designs
to rearrange who're neighbors?
Like arbitrary lines
drawn on maps in
rooms removed from
danger and drought
and languages
and lineages
demanding new allegiance
to new flags
to fly over capitols
as in Africa...
led to slaughter,
remember Rwanda?
History matters.
Compton matters.
More than bleached streets
turned to tracks
for teens covering loss
with shimmering gloss
on lips with a bar-code,
owned.
How many heard,
have eyes to see,
fate here to change
within the word
of Robert Lee?
• 17 •
• The Use of Black English in Popular Culture and Advertising •
by Leoneene Beasley
Introduction
Black English has always been a prominent topic of debate in the United States.
The once highly criticized dialect is now becoming a normalcy in households across the
country, regardless of the racial identity of the household. Today’s leaders in advertisement
and popular culture are utilizing Black English to further advance their popularity and
marketing agenda. The language trends once confined to the African American community
and inter cities are now being broadcast to the world through social media, television,
radio, and music. This push in Black English has added to its popularity and familiarity
within the larger American culture.
Social Media and Marketing
Social media has become the fastest and most cost-efficient way for businesses
to reach their customers and potential customers alike. Many companies who are using
social media sites, such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, are turning to Black English
for their communications to the public through their postings.
Figure 1. This image shows IHOP using Black English in a posting on social media.
The large restaurant chain IHOP, as pictured above, used the Black English phrase “on
fleek” to describe the validity of their pancakes. IHOP was not the first company to make
this move. As Savan (2005) writes, “hip-hop-ish vernacular has become a crucial cog in the
youth market machinery” (p. 209). Many companies have grasped this concept in the social
media age.
Earning Potential
Black English has become an income driver through hip-hop music. Music is
everywhere. From television, radio, movies, quarter-breaks at football games, and speaker
systems in stores while patrons shop, music can be heard in the background creating its
soundtrack to daily life. Many hip-hop artists have crossed over to become pop artists,
making them a staple in mainstream entertainment. Savan (2005) writes: “White society
has gone from mocking black talk, as in minstrel shows, to marketing it, as in hip-hop” (p.
208). The Dallas Cowboys have adopted the term “We dem boyz” as their theme, which is
actually derived from the popular hip-hop song of the same name by rapper Wiz Khalifa.
• 18 •
Figure 2. A picture of merchandise on the NFL shop website.
The NFL is capitalizing off this phrase, made trendy by hip-hop music, in selling
merchandise with the popular phrase embossed on it.
Widely Accepted
Black English was not always looked at as a form of acceptable communication.
The vernacular that African Americans used was confined to the small number of those
within the community. However, Black English is now commonly used outside of the
African American community. Savan (2005) writes: “the language of an excluded people is
repeated by the nonexcluded in order to make themselves sound more included” (p. 208).
Previously, many people would do anything to disassociate themselves from the African
American image; however, people today are formatting their casual diction to mimic the
phrases and colloquiums made popular by the African American community. “Talking
black” has crossed so many racial, income, and ethnicity lines that those said lines have
become blurred to the point where “talking black” has become “talking American”. This
change has made Black English widely accepted throughout the country.
Conclusion
The trends in language within the African American community have now
become trends in language throughout the country. The vernacular of the minority has
since become adopted by the majority. Black English is now commonly understood and
widely used outside of the African American race. The earning potential of the phrases
made popular by Black English shows that this dialect is not just used in place of a poor
education, but that it actually has earning potential and mass appeal to the American
popular culture. Black English is constantly changing American English to the point where
the line of separation is unclear.
References
Dallas Cowboys image. http://www.nflshop.com/Dallas_Cowboys_TShirts/Mens_Dallas_
Cowboys_Navy_Blue_We_Dem_Boyz_T-Shirt
IHOP tweet. http://theshaderoom.com/theshaderoom/2014/10/ihop-responds-to-fleektweet
it-was-all-intentional-learn-why/
Savan, L. (2005). Black talk and pop culture. The Longman reader. (pp. 206-213). New
York: Pearson Education, Inc.
• 19 •
• 20 •
• Bloody
Bloody Black Friday •
by Marilu Galindo Ramirez
I love Thanksgiving, not only for all the delicious food, but also that sense of
peace and chaos you get when you have your family around you. Unfortunately, for the
past couple of years, my family has come up with a slightly different tradition, reviewing
the Black Friday deals--otherwise known as the shopping event of the year. I never took
part in this madness because I would always see the news reports that, in past years, people
have been so caught up in the frenzy that there have been fatal incidents, such as people
being trampled in the store, stabbings, shootings, and hundreds if not thousands of
robberies. This year, I wanted to get the hottest gadgets at the best prices, and I eagerly
awaited the sales, but I was ill-prepared for the lesson I was going to learn about myself
and how it would change my perspective on life.
I mean, in reality, who wants to get up before the crack of dawn, fight the
traffic, search for a parking spot, wait in a ridiculous line that circles the store, then rush
into said store scrambling to find the sales and have to deal with the crowds of people
battling to get the same thing? This lady, that’s who. I was guilty of it all this past year, all
in an effort to make this Christmas an unforgettable one. I’ve never had the resources to
buy my kids exactly what they wanted, and so I was going to take advantage of all
available sales. Competition between retailers is more aggressive every year, and this year
was no exception. With cutthroat pricing throughout the market this year, I was going to
partake in the mania. My first planned stop was to Wal-Mart, and there was my initial
mistake…. I was going to Wal-Mart. This was not just any Wal-Mart. I was going to the
one in the city of Paramount on Rosecrans and Lakewood Blvd. This place was chaotic
enough on regular days, but now it was a whole new landscape of anarchic despair.
My day started at 4 a.m. sharp. Yes, that was the beginning of my day. Before
any of the birds outside got up to sing their melodious tunes, I was already awakened by
my annoying buzzer. I took a look around and saw my boys nestled comfortably in their
beds, dreaming away with a kind of smirk on their faces that mocked my drowsy mind. I
turned to my snoring husband and felt almost resentful knowing that he was going to get to
sleep in late while I went out to battle crowds. Reluctantly, I got dressed and left my
pajamas as an extra layer. The forecast called for a bitterly cold morning, and I already felt
the familiar chill in my right knee; it was going to be a cold one. I made myself a strong
coffee and grabbed a piece of Mexican sweet bread and proceeded to make my way out,
and as soon as I opened the door, I wanted to go running back inside. It was so cold. I just
wanted to forget about all the sales and wrap myself in my blanket, but I was already up,
and this was no longer an option for me. As I took my first breath, the steam blew out of
my nose. I remember thinking, “Really, my nose?” On the way to the store, I noticed the
people on the roads; I wasn’t the only one after the sales. There were a lot of cars on the
road, racing to get to the stores and their sales. I should have turned back once I saw the
ominous sign that there was no parking whatsoever in the shopping center. Shoppers were
dropping off their partners at the front of the store and continuing to circle the lot in a
grueling effort to find a parking spot. I forged ahead despite the regrettable loss of my
patience and sanity. Luckily, I spotted a couple who seemingly bought out half of Aisle 5.
They had two carts full of merchandise and what looked like two big screen TVs. No
doubt, I was going to get my parking spot now. I waited for them to load up, and there was
a sense of peace that I felt when I turned off my engine, although that didn’t last long at all.
I go ahead, and the line outside the store is moving rather quickly. I thought to
myself, “Finally, something good,” but that was also short-lived as I realized how many
people were packing into the store. Once I’m in, I’m unstoppable. I had a map of the store,
and I knew where I was going and what I was buying. Physically getting to where I needed
to go, however, was a different story. The aisles’ floors were so cluttered with items
everywhere, my cart kept hitting random items on the floor, such as toys, shoes, and
anything else you could think of. Through it all, I stuck to my list and budget, a fact that I
am very proud of because I usually linger around and end up taking things I don’t need,
especially at this store, but there was no time for nonsense today. My cart and I were up
and down the aisles, checking things off left and right, and you know if you have ever been
in a Wal-Mart for one of these sales, it is packed. There are people everywhere. It was hard
to breathe at one point, much less walk freely with a big shopping cart. There were so
many people that I felt a bit claustrophobic, at one point, while trying to get my hands on
some underwear for my boys. It shouldn’t be so stressful to buy underwear. I was running
out of breath with so many people packed in the aisle. It was extremely uncomfortable. It
reminded me of those outdoor markets where people are sprawling everywhere, calling out
to each other. “Hey, Sonia, you want towels? They only two dollars,” some guy called out
to a woman by the pajamas. I needed to get out of there fast, so I moved around the women
clogging up the way as if I were a linebacker for the Broncos. I just needed some air, or I
was going to pass out. As I made my way to electronics, I already knew it was going to be
chaotic, so I braced myself, parked my cart along the aisle, and made my move into the
crowd.
There were a lot of people trying to get their hands on everything from TVs, to
game consoles, video games, DVDs, iPhones, and tablets. It was like a war zone;
suddenly, I was transported to some crazed third world country fighting for a bag of rice. It
was a haze of riotous movement and voices where I could not distinguish faces in the
crowd anymore. It was all a blur. I already found the fourth game out of the six that I was
set to buy: Batman Origins for the Xbox 360. Suddenly, I felt a tug at my arm. It was
another woman who had snatched a game that I had in my hands. “What is your
problem?!” I turned my whole body and marched up to her. She was clear in my sights.
From her bleached-blonde hair and two-inch black roots to her baggy, stained, grey
sweatpants and converse sneakers, I knew exactly who I was going to deal with, or so I
thought. Suddenly everyone turned, like a shot had rung out in the building. “That was my
game first!” she exclaimed to my surprise. “You need to keep out my business, what you
going to do?”
I stood there for a moment and soaked it all in. Some customers were pulling
out their camera phones and getting ready for some action; others simply ignored her and
kept to their business. In a split second, without saying a word, I was taking off my earing
and pulling back my hair into a ponytail. “No! You snatched that out my hand, fool!” I
was in full-out defense mode. I was ready for whatever happened next. I am not a stranger
to conflict, and I won’t run from a fight, especially if it’s something to do with my children.
• 21 •
• 22 •
“Give me my damn game, you dumb ass.” I was not in any mood to sit and argue over
this. I was determined to get that game back. Sure, there were still plenty of copies left on
the shelf, but this was my copy, and no one was taking it from me, especially in that way.
As she was putting up her hair, she took a step back and knocked down a
toddler. The baby boy was so small and fragile and started crying very loud. He was still
dressed in his blue footie pajamas with rockets and stars, as if he had just woken up. His
face was kind of dirty with a little crust in his eyes and his curly hair in a mess. His cheeks
were still a bright rosy pink, and his eyes looked tired. She bent down quickly, and with
one hand, she snatched him up and rolled up her sleeve. A giant 310 in old English script
was tattooed on her right forearm, and she was clutching the stupid video game with her
other hand. I suddenly realized this was her son. She was getting ready to fight me, calling
me names, over a $15 video game in front of her toddler--who she nearly trampled herself.
Suddenly, I woke from my rage, reality sank in, and my gaze turned from fury to pity.
That single moment seemed like an eternity to me: “The world had taken a deep breath and
was having doubts about continuing to revolve” (Angelou 14). I felt like someone pushed
pause on my life and gave me an opportunity to think, “Do I really want to do this?” I took
a deep breath and turned my back. I heard her taunt me as I walked away, “Yeah, that’s
what I thought!” I kept walking because I knew what she was capable of; she would have
taken a swing at me with that baby in her arms and not have a second thought about it. I
was somewhat saddened by this incident because I took one look at that boy and I knew
what kind of person he would eventually turn into, someone just like her.
People like that pretend to know what love for their children is, but their pride
and ego always take priority. What’s worse, I almost became like her. I am a lot of things-opinionated, bossy, pushy--but I am not like her. I wasn’t scared to do what I had to do to
save face, but once I saw him, I just knew. There are more important things in this world
than having all the latest gadgets and “being up” on latest versions of the phones in our
pockets. I didn’t get all the things I wanted that morning, but I did learn something that
day: our humanity is being replaced by cheap empty plastic vessels, and we need to wake
up and realize it. I now think twice before getting into potential confrontations, and I try to
show my kids what really matters in life. My kids were incredibly happy with all their gifts
last year, and so was I.
Work Cited
Angelou, Maya. “Grandmother’s Victory.” 75 Readings: An Anthology. Eds. Santi V.
Buscemi and Charlotte Smith. Dubuque: McGraw-Hill, 2013. Print.
During the Golden Age Era, hip hop was used to form social protest. Another well known
hip hop group, Public Enemy, discussed political and social views to its audience. Public
Enemy’s “Fight the Power” is one of the most influential songs, describing freedom of
speech and motivation. Their lyrical skills attracted adolescents and young adults in the
early 80s.
• Influences of Golden Hip Hop Era Versus Today’s Rap Genre •
by Bianca Gordon
In the late 1980s, there were many highly influential hip hop artists who catered
to a brighter, more positive perspective to the youth. Hip Hop artists, such as KRS-One,
educated young blacks on how to become better individuals. While hip hop was becoming
more commercialized, KRS-One refused to be a part of anything that was opposite. His
movement consisted of exposing love, education, peace, and life. In many of his lyrics,
he’s taught the youth about self creation and having fun in a safe, responsible way.
Figure 1 Public Enemy
Chuck D, the leading member of Public Enemy, taught many young African-Americans
how to be successful and fight for what’s right in their communities. At an early age of 10,
both artists taught me to fight for what’s right in society.
In “Tweens: Ten Going on Sixteen,” Hymowitz (2012) writes: “There’s no question
there’s a deep trend, not a passing fad, toward kids getting older younger” (p.164). Youth
nowadays are consumed with new trends, such as the latest clothing, drug dealing, and
degrading women. This behavior comes from the new trending rap artists, such as Lil
Wayne and Rick Ross.
Figure 2. Lil Wayne
The youth of today are more focused on having swag and money than gaining knowledge
of self and education. In 2014, we are not influencing the next generation on how to be
focused on their education and endeavors. Today’s music is influencing our children on
how to be unsuccessful and not being a leader.
Growing up in the 1980s, I was heavily influenced by KRS-One and Public Enemy.
These legendary hip hop artists taught me how to be myself and be active in my
community. Lyrics, such as KRS-One’s “Love’s Gonna Getcha,” influenced me on how to
• 23 •
keep striving for the best, even though I may be going through a setback. I wasn’t thinking
about having sex or using drugs while “[d]rugs and alcohol are also seeping into tween
culture” (p. 166). I took their lyrics and learned something from it. Music outlets, such as
MTV Jams and BET’s 106 & Park, have a huge impact on kids wanting to be adults instead
of innocent teenagers. Lil Wayne has made it cool to sip syrup and gangbang. The majority
of the youth are following his trend because they think it’s cool and they will gain
popularity.
The Golden Era of Hip Hop has a much more positive approach. It has taught me and
many others in my age group, how to be self defiant and self conscious. The new rap genre
of today teaches the youth of today how to be materialistic and glorifies the negative things
in life. If these rap artists, such as Lil Wayne and Rick Ross, took time out to see how they
are influencing the bad things to these kids, they would have a totally different outlook on
everything they rhyme about. The youth of today should take a minute and listen to KRSOne and Public Enemy. They will gain knowledge of self and confidence, instead of bottle
popping and getting high.
References
Golden era image. Retrieved from Pitchfork.com/content/arikrschuck624.jpg
Hymowitz, K. (2010). “Tweens: Ten going on sixteen.” The Longman reader. New York:
Pearson.
Wayne image. Retrieved from Xxlmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/wayne-ross.jpg
• 24 •
•
What the Head Doth Think •
Head Study
by Daniel Felix
Head Study
by Nicolas Uscanga
Head Study
by Laura Blackwell
• Let Music Set Me Free •
by Shay Johnson
My heart is in these drums, my soul move with my feet, my words come from scratch to
this intensifying beat.
Head Study
by Samuel Isidoro
Head Study
by Carlos Vergara
Head Study
by Egypt Muhammad
I suddenly blank out, but through the rhythm I see. Im a slave now, but with music I’m
free.
The foul names become lyrically sweet.
The whips on my back become strings on a banjow playing something soft to ease my pain.
My family was hung, lynched, shot, and
burned, but this music in my soul forms a
union.
No more room for whips, not time im done,
but I got to escape god gide me through my
last run. Let the drums pick up my feet as I run
with this beat, I am a slave now but this music
will set me free.
Head Study
by Edelbert Alvarado
Head Study
by Jazmin Rodriguez
• 25 •
• Religion: Expectations of Youth •
by Monica Hampton
I assumed this Sunday would be like any other Sunday before. My grandmother,
older brother, and I would sit through the sermon quietly until it ended. We would then go to
Sunday school, go home, and relax from our long day at church. However, by the end of this
Sunday, I would realize something that rang true about not only my religion, but also all
spiritual belief systems. Everyone has their own time when they feel ready for the responsibility
to fully accept the religious traditions of their family.
Every first Sunday, my pastor gave the opportunity at the end of service to come to
the front of the church and, in his words, "accept Christ as your Lord and Savior." This is
basically asking if anyone that isn't already baptized if they want to get baptized. I am Christian,
but my family raised me in the denomination and practices of a Baptist Christian. A part of that
belief is that until you get baptized, you have not fully accepted The Lord as Christ, your savior.
This is a very important step to make as a Baptist.
This Sunday was first Sunday. I sat quietly between my grandmother and older
brother as the service proceeded as normal. There was nothing to me special about the sermon
that day. As normal, everyone around me, including my grandmother, said their “Amens” and
“Hallelujahs” as the pastor spoke his inspirational words. As the service started to come to a
close, the pastor stood in the front of the pews and asked that infamous question: “Would
anyone like to come and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior?” All of a sudden, I felt a surge
of urgency to stand up before his commencement began. In the narrative "Salvation" by
Langston Hughes, his aunt describes coming to The Lord as: “You saw a light, and something
happened to you inside! And Jesus came into your life!” This surge of urgency I felt in some
way was the light she spoke of.
This was a new feeling for me. In some way, it scared me a little. I turned to my
older brother who I did almost everything with and asked would he come up to the front with
me. His face looked annoyed as he said, “I don't feel like it. Wait until next Sunday.” I
struggled inside with deciding to go up today alone or wait for my brother and go another
Sunday. My feeling of urgency did not go away. So I stood and scooted past my grandmother,
whose face was a mixture of shock and pride, and made my way to the front of the church.
Unlike in “Salvation,” where young Langston felt pressure to accept The Lord, I did not get that
same pressure from my grandmother.
As I stood in the front and looked back into the pews, I saw my grandmother
nudging my brother to get up also. He looked at me resentfully, and I immediately felt bad,
thinking maybe I should have waited for him. Later, after service, he told me he wasn't mad at
me at all and was glad I went up for my own reasons. He took another seven Sundays to go up
to the front. Inside, I always felt he waited so long just out of spite for my grandmother rushing
him. This is not uncommon in most religiously traditional families-- for the elder to pressure the
younger generation to follow in the beliefs at a young age.
From the perspective of my grandmother--or in the narrative “Salvation,” the aunt--I
do believe the pressure put on young people is coming from a good place. They want the young
people of the family to accept their traditions young. With time, traditions can very easily get
changed, but if you get a child or someone young to accept the older traditions early in life
• 26 •
there is less chance of them changing from that later. Some people may even believe that in
order to keep tradition, it is gained through the youth and not the elders. Nonetheless, every
person is different and should be on their own time, or the pressure can affect them.
There is a pressure for young people worldwide to accept the traditions of their
family’s religion before they may feel ready. The generational gap in families largely plays a
role in this. It is the never-ending battle of youth versus tradition. In my personal experience, I
did not get any pressure, so I was ready at age 12 to “accept The Lord as my Christ and Savior.”
On the other hand, my older brother was pressured, so it took him a little longer. It’s important
that today’s elder family members allow tradition to be naturally accepted and not forced.
• THE ESCAPE •
by Anthony Chuy
I looked out into the open sea from the edge of the cliff, breathless and tired. I had run as
much as I could but realized that now there was nowhere to run. I looked down at the drop from
the cliff. The sea roared as it crashed against the side of the cliff. This was not the welcoming I
was expecting. Now, the sun was hidden behind the clouds, the wind howled loudly, and the
fog from the water floated gently over it, making it hard to see anything up ahead.
"Look up ahead," said Gullibility, "up ahead. It's the place we have been searching for. It's
the island, the one where you never suffer and live in paradise. It’s a bit of a swim, but if we
believe hard enough, I'll bet we can swim to it. You hear what I am saying?! We can make it to
the island and leave our past behind. That is where we must be. That is where we will be safe."
I turned to Faith. He looked rather worn down, pale, and sick. I realized that in my life I
never made Faith strong. I had also downplayed it due to all the misfortunes that happened. I
never gave Faith a fighting chance. I had weakened myself by never feeding Faith, courage.
And now it stared at me, hoping today was the chance it was waiting for.
I stared down at the drop. I never liked heights, and it didn't seem too promising that I would
be safe if I made the jump. I looked ahead, desperately hoping to see the island, but saw
nothing, except fog.
I turned to Faith, "We can't do this! I don't see anything. There is nothing there. Nothing!"
Faith stared back at me and then looked towards the sea. How I wished I could have fixed my
errors I made in life. If only I had been an optimist in life and had seen opportunities instead of
problems, but now it was late.
"I can't fix anything!" I yelled. "I have been nothing but a mess-up and a burden. Now, I am
forced to live with these chains in my life!" All of my bad memories suddenly reflected from
the sea. One after the other, showing no mercy. Showing only how pathetic I have been in life.
Showing only the black sheep I had been born as and will die as.
Gullibility grabbed me by the shoulders. "That isn't True! Watch! Once we get to the island,
you will see! You will be a someone in life, the pride and joy of your parents. You will be
happy. Come on. You got to trust me. You got to jump."
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• 28 •
I was tired of hearing this. "Enough!" I yelled. "Be realistic now! All good things in life do
not just happen to good people. The world is not fair, ok? You can fight your battle by giving it
your all, but you won't always win. And guess what? When you lose, no one will see your
effort. You either won or you lost. You are either a winner or loser. You are either somebody in
life or a no one."
Faith looked at me in shock. I realized I had started becoming my own demons that hurt me
in life.
"I'm sorry. It was not my intention to say that. I just-" I was unable to finish my sentence
when I saw that they had caught up to us. I thought I could escape them, but no one can run
away from their problems. My demons that roamed my life and haunted me every night had
finally caught up to me, and by the way things looked, they were in no mood to negotiate. They
were all right there, waiting to take me back.
Anger with its eyes burning red and fist balled up. Oh how it made me say things I never
meant. Depression and suicidal thoughts were there waiting with a blade and noose. How
because of them I never saw the joys in life and hurt myself.
Neglect was next to Anger. It always made me feel unwanted. It was the reason I never had
any friends to turn to, or anyone to have a good time with.
Then, there was Self-Esteem. What a pessimist. Always making me feel bad about my
mistakes. Always making it hard for me to make other people understand my problems. Always
making me feel worthless and with no chance to get ahead in life.
• Nature Shot 3 • by Camille Lovely
I took a step back and turned towards the sea. There was nothing else I could do but give in.
"It’s time you let go of this and started fresh. The island will promise you that. They won't
be able to get you there. You will never have to see them again," said Gullibility.
"I am sorry, but I cannot go with you. I am scared to jump. I am scared that I may not land
well down there," I said as the gang started walking towards us.
"Well, you others take a chance or die regretting you never did." As Gullibility finished
telling me this, he jumped over the edge and into the ocean. I turned to Faith and saw he was at
the edge of the cliff.
"Don't do it! Don't you there jump! There is no island. It is a lie! IT DOES NOT EXIST.
IT’S JUST A HOAX!" I cried.
But Faith just pointed out into the mist and said, "There," as he, too, jumped over the edge
and into the ocean.
I rushed towards the edge and looked down, hoping they were alright. It was hard to tell
what was down there through all that fog. I had started giving them up for dead when I noticed
two silhouettes swimming against the waves further out into the sea.
I turned and saw the group was walking closer to me. They were spread out, so there would
be no way I can run away from them again.
"Nowhere to run now."
"You have no choice but to give in."
"You are weak and worthless. Do not feel bad about yourself for giving up."
"Come back with us, and we can continue our daily routine with you. Face it, you are no one
in life."
"You are wrong," I cried, "have all been wrong about me! You guys did nothing but hold me
back in life. You guys are the reason for all this."
"But you were the one who held onto us," they said. "Now, you shall come back to us, for
your two friends now abandoned you."
They were only inches away at this point.
"I'm not going back," I said to myself as I turned and jumped over into the sea.
As I splashed into the sea, water swallowed me whole. I soon found myself struggling to
swim to the top and, as I made it, I took in a deep breath and searched for Faith and Gullibility.
I had soon spotted them and started swimming towards them, fighting against the waves trying
to push me back. I soon caught up with them, and we swam on, not daring to look back.
It had been ten minutes since the jump, and I could see nothing ahead of me at all. My body
started growing numb.
After twenty minutes since the jump, all I still saw was fog and nothing more around us. I
started feeling my arms go tired.
Thirty minutes after the jump, we were all blinded by the fog and no sight of anything up
ahead. My legs started to hurt.
Soon, it felt as if every minute I swam, I sank an inch deeper in the water. I found myself
spitting water out of my mouth and struggling to keep my head above the ocean.
"Hey," I said to Gullibility, "I can't feel my body anymore. My muscles are starting to get
sore. I don't think I can swim on for much longer."
He looked at me with a worried expression and said, "But the island..... It has to be real......
We deserve....... to be happy. We tried and have done.... nothing bad in life.... We just..... got to
But then came the leader of the group. The reason I
bumped into the group to begin with, the very same
reason I escape to any place, which led me to the cliff.
Failure.
The worst one of them all.
Failure was the one that led me to anger.
Failure was the reason depression psychologically got to me.
Failure was the one that made suicidal thoughts provocative.
It was Failure who told Neglect how to make me feel.
It was Failure, the one who is to blame for why Self-Esteem was always so negative.
Failure was the one who always fed Gullible false illusions that things would always get
better just because it made effort in life, and it was a good person.
But mainly it was Failure that caused me to hurt my closest friend of all, Faith. Despite what
I have done to it, Faith still stood right by me. Faith was truly a good friend.
"We finally have you now," said the gang. "There is nowhere to run now. Come back to us,
for this is where you all belong. We are your future now. We are your life. We are the only
friends you will ever have. And when the time comes, you will soon learn to live with us. You
can never fit in."
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• 30 •
keep..... positive. We...just got...to keep calm.....and swim on." He, too, was getting tired of
swimming and starting to doubt the existence of this paradise.
I turned to Faith, and he, too, started having trouble keeping afloat. "I am sorry," he said.
"You were right....We should not.....have jumped....We should have....given up....I should
have....listened."
I never noticed how I affected Faith. I realized that if Faith thought we should have given up,
it was all due to the fact that I never attempted to stand up and fight. I needed Faith to be strong
now more than ever. I needed it for myself. "No....I'm sorry." I said "I....should have....never...
pushed you away."
"It doesn't....matter now....I don't think I'm....able to...go on."
"Me either," said Gullibility, as he started to sob.
"It was...great...to have...stood next...to you...in...hard times," said Faith as tears started
rolling, and he started to sink a bit.
"Yes," sobbed Gullibility, "it was....good...to know...that…you...were smart...enough...to
let…go....and to...have...had you...by our...side." He, too, started to sink a bit.
I did not want them to be a quitter like I was. Like I would never want to be in life, or ever
be anymore.
I looked up ahead and said, "The island.....I can see it...Come on!"
As we are stepping out of the party, I notice something is wrong. I glanced to my left
and noticed my friends were whispering to each other. I knew something was up. We huddle up
without me knowing that we were all getting together to smoke. I was not aware that was the
plan all along. It took me by surprise. I was in a situation where I didn’t know what to do. To
make things worse, it wasn’t even a cigar; it was marijuana. As the marijuana was going
around, I can smell it coming closer to me and taking my fresh air. It got closer and closer to
me; bad and good thoughts were running around my mind. At that moment is when I realize I
had another person speaking to me inside my head, telling me different types of things that got
me really confused and disoriented. That’s when I thought to myself, “Is that my conscious?”
It finally got to me, and I stood there just holding it as if I were frozen. I felt peer
pressure by my friends just staring at me. Then, after, came the verbal pressure. I was thinking
to myself if I didn’t do it, they might just end up not talking to me anymore. They were getting
upset because I was just there and wasn’t doing much. They began to pressure me more and
tried to manipulate my mind, and even began to curse at me as well. They continued to tell me,
“Hurry up, scary boy. We don’t have time for you. Just do it.” At that moment, I felt trapped
inside a box with no way out. But then those positive thoughts started to kick in. I thought to
myself, “If I was to do this and my parents were able to find out, they would be so disappointed,
and I would lose their trust.” I had to man up to them and say, “No, I’m not going to do it,” and
I did. I left immediately and called my older brother to pick me up. I told my brother and my
parents about the situation I was in, and they were extremely happy and proud of how I handled
the situation and made my correct decision in saying, “No.”
I have never felt so good and relieved inside. I knew I was in a tough situation, but
my conscious didn’t let me down. I know I did the right thing, and I didn’t let peer pressure
overcome my own will. Even though your conscious can be tricky, sometimes you must go
with it in order to get out of situations where you feel peer pressure. George Orwell didn’t trust
his own will and decided to just kill the elephant merely to impress the crowd that was cheering
him from behind as he shot down the elephant. His mistake was made, and he had to carry it
through his life. That’s something I can look back and proudly talk about it.
• Is Peer Pressure Stronger Than Your Own Will?
Will? •
by Ivan Gomez
In “Shooting an Elephant,” George Orwell is a police officer with low self-esteem,
and he was peer pressured to go out and to shoot down an enormous elephant rampaging
through the village. Peer pressure teaches you to have your own voice in situations where it
awakens your conscience. I can relate to this because I experienced peer pressure on an
occasion where it was unexpected. Never have I been asked so many times to smoke marijuana.
I have never had my own will be tested in a situation where positive and negative thoughts
come in and out of my head. For once, I had to think for myself and not let my acquaintances
decide for me. As George Orwell said, “it was a damn shame to shoot an elephant [ . . . ] just to
look good in front of the crowd” (Orwell 151).
It was an early Saturday morning, and I had just woken up. I came into the living
room to have some breakfast. As I’m there eating, I receive a text message from my friend
inviting me to go to a party that night. I thought it was a great idea since I’d been working a lot,
so I go and ask my parents for permission, and they were okay with me going. Then, I waited
the whole day and was really looking forward to it. When it was time to leave, my friends were
already waiting for me outside to take me. I stepped out my house really excited and got in the
car and took off to the party.
We arrived at the party, and we had to park a bit far because it was packed. As we’re
going inside, I can sense a good vibe by just hearing the music and observing how people are
socializing. I decided to start dancing right away because that’s how good the party was. My
friends tagged along with me because they saw I was dancing with girls, so we danced for quite
a while. The place began to get really hot, and I was becoming sweaty. My friends notice it,
too, and they stepped out to get some fresh air, so I went along.
• How American Culture HHas
as Changed Ethics and Values •
by Saul Rocha
Introduction
Everyone is influenced one way or another to do things and think things, without thinking
about it. Someone can be watching a movie and get more from it than just entertainment. Even driving
down the freeway can impact a person’s point of view, causing them to think a certain way to make
them change their opinion in certain matters. Many people these days are willing to rationalize ideas that
they themselves do not agree with, due to the many influences that media, current American cultures,
and mass marketing create.
In the media today in America, one sees that many entities and companies have the power to
influence how the general public changes their attitudes towards certain problems. One way that is
prevalent is the news. The news is in the eyes and ears of many through TV and radio. When news
companies choose to showcase a topic, it is known that many trigger words and images are used to
induce a feeling in the public. This is what leads to many problems of people rationalizing actions.
People can say that maybe invading a country can be good, even though war has a consequence. To
rationalize war or even invading to prevent a probability that the news has told people might be possible
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is a way that the media has used its reach to convince and change how people react towards things like
that. In reality, “Humans rationalize because it is convenient and it suits our interests” (Sykes, 2005, p.
202). If given enough choice, people will rationalize anything to fit their needs. News companies and
general media instill fear and misinformation to push people to a certain attitude. As their values are
tested also is the way that they see things as bad or good.
Pop Culture
Pop culture is another way that the American culture has impacted how we see things and
also react to them. Reality shows and such appeal to teenagers who are sometimes regarded as the
future. It is interesting to see that even things that the shows advocate, such as lying and stealing, are
also ever present in the professional world. Many publishing scientists have a problem of plagiarism and
authorship identification as shown in the APS article (Fig. 1). It seems that even if one is a teenager
dealing with school and home life or a professional in the field, many of these subjects still carry power
and affect us all.
References
Benos, D. J. (2005, June). Ethics and scientific publication. Retrieved from
http://advan.physiology.org/content/29/2/59#abstract-1
Sykes, C. (2005). The ‘values’ wasteland. Longman reader. 9th ed. (pp. 197-204). New York:
Pearson.
Figure 1. Breakdown of accusations reported in the scientific community
Since culture is what surrounds us and affects us in our daily lives both negatively and positively, it is
seen that it can transcend many boundaries. As these shows influence us deeply, even though we do not
think about their influence as harmful as we might think, we see the effect of it in multiple places such
as in schools and in higher education.
Marketing
Marketing is one of the most powerful tools for persuading teens and the general public.
Companies are in charge of making image a big concern for teens and adults alike. Body image is a big
issue that affects teens most of all. This also changes how people will value certain things. Like for
voting, companies and political parties alike blast the airways and visual cues about going against a law
or a proposition. These marketing campaigns will sway how someone will vote.
Conclusion
American culture has shaped how people choose their way of living. With these many
choices has also come the way of rationalizing things seen as negative. Many forces contribute to how
decisions are made and overall affect our daily lives. Simple yes and no, black and white, bad and good
decisions are made into a gray area of uncertainty thanks to the way that rationalization of issues can
make a bad thing be an ok thing in the eyes of teens, professionals, and adults. One can only hope that in
the coming ages, a moral and ethical compass can be set to be an example for generations to come.
• Advanced Casual Analysis: Education •
by Shaundeisha Johnson
In order for one to function as a contributor to today’s society, an individual must be
well rounded with multiple aspects of educational practices. Nowadays, this country is a
melting pot of multiple cultures and sub-cultures all meeting in one place designated for
learning in the first 18 years or so of one’s life. Various educational practices are what aid in
shaping and molding a person from their pre-kinder years all the way to a competent adult in
society. More so, without a combination of all these practices, it will be unlikely for individuals
to achieve high levels of success in their lifetime. The effect of a successful, functional adult in
society stems from the causes brought upon a combination of good education, true education,
contemporary education, liberal education, and traditional education from early childhood.
Having multiple educational practices are contributory causes to success in society.
Today’s world does not just require “tech-savviness” when filling out an application online,
listing technological experience in a resume, writing and emailing a term paper via the internet.
It also does not aid a student when cheating for the answer to a simple multiplication question
or a complex physics problem to which the solution can just be googled or “youtubed.” It is a
contribution of several educational practices all shaped into one that allow for maximum
achievement and fully developing the identity of the individual. A high school education is the
minimum requirement in this country for the majority of jobs leading to careers in adulthood. It
is but a minimum standard set by our government that sets expectations for the individual in
society. A high school education is to be as broad as possible in that it is required to have
students acquire certain standards of education on topics ranging from math, to English, to
leadership, to arts & music, and more. The contributions of these subjects learned with various
teaching methods--technology, reading books, idea forming and concept building projects--aid
the individual to then make a more educated choice on what career path to take. In David
Gelernter’s “Unplugged: The Myth of Computers in the Classroom,” he claims “Because to
misspell is human; to have no idea of correct spelling is to be semiliterate” as a prime example
of the need for traditional and contemporary education working together for an individual’s
ultimate success (283). Whether it’d be for comfort and interest, or achieving further goals and
challenges set, one could not have the learned knowledge to do so without the combined
learning methods. Richard Rodriguez states in “The Lonely, Good Company of Books” that
“these books have made me all that I am” (262). Combined educational practices do the same.
There is a need for an individual to become a working, contributing adult to society.
It is an expectation set by one’s environment. From the astronaut and firefighter heroes in the
stories read to the elementary school kids, to old folk ways in third world country villages; it is
those societal ways that circumstantially surround one, which set the standard for the
individuals’ goals and successful achievements in society. In this country, for example, a
“white-collar” working individual must know how and what task is needed to ask of its service
• 33 •
• 34 •
to the “blue-collar” individual. As is the opposite, for a “blue-collar” individual, they must
know the needs and wants of the service in question to provide that to the “white-collar”
individual seeking the service. The communication required to succeed in either role is
necessary. It is a great need to have a broad array of knowledge through multiple sources of
education as one will not know when their environment will change and will need them to adapt
previously acquired knowledge. The various educational methods now become tools, not just
for the individual, but also aid in their function and what they provide to society. “Reading
enabled me to sense something of the shape, to major concerns,” illustrates Richard Rodriguez
in “The Lonely, Good Company of Books,” a fine example of how the previously acquired
knowledge elsewhere allowed him to succeed in his present everyday life (267).
There is a sense of innate survival for an individual in society. The need for
achievement and the want for recognition are very important factors throughout an individual’s
life. Whether it is recognition from a girl to a boy in their teenage years, or star-shaped stickers
at the teacher’s desk for the dreaded math homework to be turned in on time, if there is
sufficient need and reward, the individual will achieve max success from all educational
practices they are exposed to. Without math or science, there is no astronaut. Or without the
teaching of liberal arts, there would be no symphonies or art masterpieces in the world.
Therefore, if there was no reward of satisfaction or recognition after a combination of
educational achievements through distinct learned practices, there would not be a functional,
contributing, and successful member of society in today’s world.
In conclusion, all these educational practices--whether good, true, traditional,
contemporary, liberal, or otherwise--all play a key role in the success and identity of one.
Whether minority or majority, it does not make a difference as it is the combination of
education and environment, such as necessary and sufficient conditions, along with
contributory causes, that lead to the effect of a functional individual in society. It is through
various learning outlets that one can begin to form an identity, views, and opinions.
names of two or three of those little boys, a testimony of gratitude and affection I bear them;
but prudence forbids…it is almost an unpardonable offense to teach slaves to read in this
Christian country” (Douglass 186). Naturally, physical slavery could not last forever and
eventually Africans were granted the will to learn to read and write. However, as a minority, we
are placed in ghettos where communities, including schools, lack resources. Schools in the
inner-cities of America have less money, older books, bigger classrooms, and an overall nonlearning environment. School for us inner-city students is not targeted to us as young children
as a place that we want to be, but rather somewhere we dread being.
Moreover, the educational system for minority students in grade school is dispensing
false information. I wrote and performed a poem this summer entitled “African Woman.” In it, I
state: “History teacher said I used to be a slave, forgot to mention how I used to be brave, forgot
to mention I was still born a slave, mentally brainwashed not physically chain sawed”. This line
is significant because in grade school they taught us that our history began with slavery, not
acknowledging that humanity originated in Africa. The American school system does not allow
us truth into our own history, and teaches us through the eyes of the oppressor. All our life, we
heard how Christopher Columbus discovered America, when, in fact, there were inhabitants
here far before Columbus who did not even land on the continental United States, but in Cuba.
Columbus was also led here by Moorish men of Africa. We were also taught that humanity
used to believe the world was flat, when in reality most Europeans believed that when Africans
and other cultures knew the world was round. We were taught about the greatness of the ancient
Greeks and men, such as Socrates and Aristotle, but we were never taught who their teachers
were; they were taught by African men. We were taught in school that we used to pick cotton
but never taught how we built dynasties that lasted thousands of years. The late Malcolm X has
a quote where he states: “Only a fool lets his enemy teach his children.” I do not believe in
playing the blame game; in fact, I believe that would get us nowhere, but we must wake up and
pick ourselves up. Our parents, their parents before them, and community leaders embedded
into us all as children that in order to be great we must go to school; but in our special case, our
school system is meant to deter us, not allow us to grow.
In addition to the lack of school resources and the not-so-welcoming school
environment, students have no aspiration to want to go to school in the inner-cities. School has
turned into the “babysitters club” while the parents are at work. When there is writing in every
textbook, gum under every seat, and trash in every hallway, naturally students will not have a
welcoming experience when attending school. Most of us have no sense in knowing thyself
simply because we were never taught and the truth has been hidden. The school system does
produce failures, which is why many minorities never even graduate from high school.
However, on the contrary, the school system also produces revolutionaries. Not everyone stays
in the dark and for those of us who become revolutionaries after piecing together the lies told to
us, we are beating the odds. In this way, we benefit from a false education because we then
learn to question everything we have ever learned and will learn. In most cases, including my
own, we will have to unlearn everything we have ever learned and then re-learn at later ages in
life, like at twenty for myself.
In conclusion, minorities must break away from the education of the oppressor. If
we were truly educated, we would not refer to ourselves as minorities. If we are lacking
knowledge of self, then we could never rise above the harsh treatment and lack of resources
• A False Education for Minorities •
by Aryana Bradley
I was twenty years old and already a college student when I realized that everything
I had learned in grade school was a lie. In the United States of America, one is considered a
minority if their ancestry does not descend from Europe. Surely these groups, including myself,
are targeted as victims of false education. Knowledge is power; therefore, the lack thereof is to
be powerless, which is precisely the aim for those of us considered minorities by the elite class
in America.
Nonetheless, many people would refuse the idea that everything they were ever
taught were false tales because knowledge can hurt; the truth hurts when you have been lied to.
However, as minorities in the United States, we must understand that we are living in a system
institutionalized to keep us in the dark on issues so that the elite class can continue to reign.
This reasoning is precisely why, in the time of physical slavery in America, the slaves were not
allowed to read or write; this would keep them hindered. Frederick Douglass was a former slave
turned American abolitionist, lecturer, and journalist; in an excerpt from his book, “Learning to
Read and Write,” he states: “This bread I used to bestow upon the hungry little urchins, who, in
return, would give me that more valuable bread of knowledge. I am strongly tempted to give the
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• 36 •
bestowed upon us. We will inevitably stay oppressed if we continue to allow the oppressor to
educate our children!
Works Cited
Bradley, Aryana. “African Woman.” 2014.
Douglass, Frederick. “Learning to Read and Write.” The McGraw-Hill Reader. New York:
McGraw-Hill, 2014. 184-189.
X, Malcolm. “Founding Rally of the Organization of Afro-American Unity.” New York: 1964.
because they have grown up in the absence of models that represent them. Walker’s message is
simple: The life we save is our own (621). If racism, segregation, and discrimination have
compromised positive influences for minorities seeking a better education, then one must find
the value within and/or discover the compromised, distorted, lost, and marginalized models
hidden in the footnotes of history (Walker 621).
One model inspiring the inner student in us all is Frederick Douglass. Through his
personal narratives of slavery, torment, and eventually freedom, we learn that knowledge can be
a blessing and a burden. Douglass details his struggles learning to read and write, but
emphasizes that once he gained knowledge he “envied [his] fellow slaves for their stupidity”
and ignorance because knowledge had, “opened [his] eyes to the horrible pit [of slavery], but no
ladder upon which to get out” (261). The circumstances of slavery created a necessary cause for
Douglass that exposed him to the harsh realities of his condition and place in the world.
Education can be a blessing and a curse for it gives you the tools to fight your oppressors, but it
exposes the truth about injustice. This can cause torment, discontent, and discouragement for
minorities, even in modern day America.
There are many causes that contribute to the inequities of minority education in the
United States. Knowledge is a double-edged sword, which can enlighten and uplift while
divulging a vicious reality. If minorities saw themselves represented equally in all facets of life,
perhaps the drive to excel within the institution of education would not seem as daunting.
Instead, the marginalization of minorities in education has been deeply engrained in political,
economic, and social movements whose intentions undermined the root of the problem.
Minorities seeking a better education for themselves and their children do not fail because they
cannot conform or master the standards; rather, these underrepresented people tire getting
caught in a system that has failed them.
Works Cited
Cited
Brown v. Board of Education. 347 US 483. Supreme Court of the US. 1954. Print.
Carson, Clayborne. “Two Cheers for Brown v. Board of Education.” McGraw Hill Reader:
Issues across the Disciplines. Ed. Gilbert H. Mueller. New York: McGraw Hill,
2011. 283-285. Print.
Douglass, Frederick. “Learning to Read and Write.” McGraw-Hill Reader: Issues across the
Disciplines. Ed. Gilbert H. Mueller. New York: McGraw Hill, 2011. 258-263. Print.
Plessy v. Ferguson. 163 US 537. Supreme Court of the US. 1896. Print
Walker, Alice. “Saving the Life That Is Your Own: The Importance of Models in the
Artist’s Life.” McGraw-Hill Reader: Issues across the Disciplines. Ed.
Gilbert H. Mueller. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. 614-623. Print.
• Inequities in Minority Education •
by Muriel Collins
In the United States, education for minorities has always been disadvantaged and
marginalized, despite the political and social efforts made to alter this travesty. Brown Versus
the Board of Education (1954) attempted to solve the problem while simultaneously ignoring
the root of the issue, causing “persistent disputes about the nation’s civil rights policies”
(Carson 286). Insufficient minority role models have also been a contributing cause in widening
the education gap because so often, “the life we save is our own” (Walker 621), and we must
learn to be our own inspiration when not represented. However, despite efforts for equality,
knowledge has been seen as a curse, rather than a blessing, exposing the truth about a
“wretched condition without remedy” (Douglass 260). The past inequities in minority education
have deep-rooted causes and effects that still resonate in modern society.
Brown Versus the Board of Education was a contributory cause that forced the
desegregation of schools, but ignored the inequalities in black community institutions (Carson
290). Ideally the court’s decision to integrate schools should have reshaped attitudes about
education for minorities. However, the civil rights issues that resulted from the Brown decision
created lasting problems for minorities seeking an education in the United States. The verdict
never addressed the need for predominately African American institutions needing better
learning environments, comparable to white counterparts. Sixty years later, “only a minority of
Americans has experienced the promised land of truly integrated public education” (Carson
289). Brown v. Board of Education has compromised minority education in America because it
was a one-track solution to a very diverse issue. While the court case moved away from
“separate but equal” (Plessey v. Ferguson, 1896), it never fought for changes at inferior
minority institutions. These ramifications remain evident in modern America as most urban
schools disproportionately service only Blacks and Latinos. These schools tend to have
insufficient materials for learning and lack proper, clean, and equal learning facilities. In
modern day America, no one should have to compromise between “overcoming racial barriers
and improving [minority] community institutions” (Carson 290).
Although Brown v. Board of Education intended to set an example in America, most
minorities still lack widespread leaders, writers, professors, and political figures as role models.
This has caused a sufficient condition for underrepresented people becoming their own models,
for better or for worse. Alice Walker, famous author and civil rights activist, claims that the
absence of minority role models means that minorities do not have someone to “enrich and
enlarge [their] own existence” (615). That is why people, like author Toni Morrison, write the
tales they would want to read, and become their own inspiration which, in turn, inspires future
generations (Walker 617). Perhaps minorities struggle, disproportionally, in higher education
• The “Great Change” of Education within
within Minorities •
by Hugo Uribe
Throughout history, the United States of America has focused on the improvement
of integration between cultures. Since Brown vs. Board of Education, the focus has been to
join together the minorities and majority and make a greater nation. However, this united force
has failed at developing a fair and equal educational system for minorities. In comparison to the
majorities, throughout history and now, minorities have received a basic education due to
school’s financial status, segregated living areas, and overlooked stereotypes.
• 37 •
• 38 •
Although separate but equal was overturned in the famous case of Brown vs. Board
of Education, the effect it had on society is still present within education for minorities.
Resmovits, Joy. "American Schools Are STILL Racist, Government Report Finds." The
Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 21 Mar. 2014. Web. 07 Oct. 2014.
Walker, Alice. "Saving the Life That Is Your Own: The Importance of Models in the Artist's
Life." In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: Womanist Prose. San Diego: Harcourt
Brace Jovanovich, 1983. N. pag. Web. 07 Oct. 2014
According to “Two Cheers for Brown,” “both Latino students and black students still attend
schools where members of minority groups are predominant” (Carson, 2004). This statistic
shows how although the law doesn’t segregate areas today, there are still boundaries between
them. This separation between the minorities and majorities tends to cause a difference in the
education minorities receive. According to Dennis Van Roekel, "Unfortunately, too many
children don’t have equitable access to experienced and fully licensed teachers, as has again
been proven by the data in this report” (Resmovits, 2014). For example, if a person is part of a
minority living in East Los Angeles, they are less likely to travel to Downey where there is a
greater Caucasian population just to go to school. With this said, there is a greater chance that
the education given at East Los Angeles will not be as good as the one in Downey, making it
inherently unequal.
A school’s financial status is very important when discussing the education of a
student. While Beverly Hills’ schools have money for iPads, schools within the Compton area
may only have enough for class projectors. Although the iPads may not seem necessary to
some, they come with a great learning benefit to the students. With most minorities attending
schools in low-income areas like Compton, they do not receive a higher level of education and
are therefore stuck to the basic “old school” way of learning, consisting of books, books, and
more books. Carson mentions that the case of Brown vs. Board of Education fails to mention
“the concerns of the majority of African American students who have been unable...to seek
better educational opportunities by leaving black schools for white ones” (Carson, 2004).
Another way in which minorities’ education can be seen as basic in comparison to a
majority’s education is how minority students are continuously said to be the “bad students” in
class. Teachers tend to say the students are troublemakers, loud, or not listening to instructions
or not following the rules in class. According to a Huffington Post article, supported by the U.S.
Education Department, “public school students of color get more punishment” (Resmovits,
2014). By this, they mean that a majority of children that get in trouble in school are of color or
minorities. According to the statistics, African American students tend to be expelled or
suspended from their schools at a rate that is three times the rate for Caucasians. A majority of
stereotypes stating that African Americans are more dangerous, or minorities tend to be the
“troublemakers,” have caused them to receive a lower education than the rest.
Although there is not an official line of segregation, minorities tend to stay within
the minority community and deal with the same struggles as the generation before them has. A
school’s financial status can help further a child’s education in many ways. The place where a
child lives has a lot of influence on where they go to school. Lastly, just the fact that a child is a
minority can make them stereotyped as troublemakers in school. Minorities have more troubles
and tend to struggle more on a daily basis in order to receive the same education as the
majority.
Works Cited
Carson, Clayborne. "Two Cheers for Brown v. Board of Education." Journal of American
History. 91.1 (2004): n. pag. Web. 07 Oct. 2014.
• Reparations
Reparations for Blacks: What We Deserve •
by Tiaja Pauls
Imagine being kidnapped from a comfortable and familiar home and being taken far
away to the home of a stranger who looks nothing like you. The kidnapper lives differently,
speaks differently, and acts differently. By force and fear, you spend day and night working for
their profit. You learn only what they allow you to learn. If you ask any questions, you forfeit
your once-a-day meal and possibly invite yourself for a brutal beating. Multiple offspring are
brought into this environment to experience the same cruelty. Years later, after you have been
found and freed, your family who suffered while you were in captivity files and wins a civil law
suit against your kidnapper for the pain and suffering endured by both. Is this justifiable? Is
reparation due to the family? If so, then reparations are owed to African Americans who
suffered from and still suffer from the effects and oppression of slavery.
In the early 1800s, Thomas Jefferson was one of the first to suggest reparations for
black slaves. His proposal was to abolish slavery and deport them to their own country. The
idea was to set them up in their own land as “free and independent people” (Boxill 1). For
Jefferson to suggest freeing the slaves, he makes known the wrongdoing of slavery. He
acknowledges the captivity and treatment of slaves was inhumane and therefore was in favor of
change. To suggest both the freeing of slaves and making provisions for them to have land to
live on and grow crops on for survival comes from the guilt of his conscience. Jefferson wanted
to make right the wrongs and injustice of his country.
After the Civil War, it was the expectation of many freed slaves that the government
would provide ex-slaves with the land they had toiled as compensation for the years of unpaid
laboring (“Sharecropping” 1). The Abraham Lincoln Administration met the expectations of the
former slaves by supporting the “Forty Acres and a Mule” policy (Arceneaux 141-42). Freed
slaves, post-Civil War, were given forty acres of land and a mule to help in tending the land
(“Sharecropping” 1). This compensation was to repair the damage that was done while blacks
were enslaved. It was to make up for the lost time and opportunity blacks could have had to
establish a means of stability. According to an article, owning land was the key to economic
independence and autonomy (“Sharecropping” 1). Lincoln understood and supported African
Americans in obtaining such a status. Unfortunately, after the assassination of President
Abraham Lincoln, his successor, President Andrew Johnson, overturned the 40 Acre and a
Mule policy, known as Special Field Order Number 15. This occurred during the reconstruction
era and forced blacks into a different kind of slavery with continued economic and social
injustices, such as the Sharecropper system (“Sharecropping” 1).
Therefore, Black reparations are due for the years of slavery that deprived Blacks of
economic and social development. The lack of education, lack of freedom, lack of love, and
lack of civil rights resulted in stolen opportunity. Arceneaux puts it best in the article “The
Review of Black Political Economy”: “The institution of slavery has denied Black Americans
• 39 •
• 40 •
of a social equality, of private property rights and civil rights alike. Slavery has dissociated
Black Americans from the market and economics, and the cause for reparations simply aims to
provide Black Americans with the economic and social property that has been denied them by
the institution of slavery” (144). Although slavery was abolished, Blacks were still enslaved as
they suffered in new ways by Jim Crow laws, lynchings, and discrimination by governmental
and private entities in regards to home ownership (Arceneaux 142). Black people were
unjustifiably disregarded from the home-mortgage market leaving them susceptible to scams.
The lack of education made Blacks easily manipulated where they would seek what looked like
a glorious opportunity to live the American dream of owning a home. Except with common
practice of contract peddling, white people would buy property at a lesser rate and enter in a
contract sale with a Black family at an inflated rate. If a month of payment was missed, the
contract would be void, and the family would be evicted (Coates 2-3). As a form of oppression
white people did this often, and the government, fully aware, allowed this injustice to occur
with no repercussions for the violator.
Slavery not only rendered physical exhaustion and alteration, but it also affected the
mental state of slaves, in turn creating a chain of events for generations to follow. According to
a psychologist, Dr. Anthony Sutton, “Black people have an inferiority complex as a result of
internalizing the behaviors and attitudes of their enslaved ancestors” (Flaherty and Carlisle 23).
The inferiority complex subconsciously prevents blacks from demanding their rights, furthering
oppression. Sekou Mims, Larry Higgerbotham, and Omar G. Reid, public service professionals,
believe in the diagnosis of PTSD--Post Traumatic Slavery Disorder within the black community
(Flaherty and Carlisle 23). Crime and promiscuity are due to the absence of black men, unable
to care and provide for their families. The lack of black men being present for their families is a
result of white slaveholders breaking the families apart to sell the slaves individually. The lack
of education in the black community is a trickling effect of slaves being punished for wanting to
educate themselves by learning to read and write, or by simply asking a question. PTSD
whether meant as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or Post Traumatic Slavery Disorder is often
discredited by one who may have survived PTSD unknowingly, but when history shows the
linking factors, we must not ignore or discredit its effects.
As a black community, today, although not slaves, they have been and continue to
be enslaved. The “Harm Argument” states: “Slavery involved many transgressions against the
slaves. The slaves were harmed by these transgressions. These harms initiated an unbroken
chain of harms linked as cause and effect that persist to the present day. Since present-day
African Americans therefore suffer from harms caused by the transgressions of slavery, it
follows from the reparative that they deserve reparation for those harms” (Boxill 9). Blacks are
harmed by the injustices of the government, public education, and discrimination. America does
not live up to its constitution ensuring justice and freedom for all. When the quality of life and
the value of blacks are unequivocally unimportant, there is harm. When public education in the
black communities fails to educate in a manner that fosters success starting with healthy racial
identity development and affirmation that Blackness matters, there is harm (Smith 45-48).
Scientist Andrew Hacker profoundly writes: “Despite more than a century of searching, we
have no evidence that any…pools of race-based genes have a larger quotient of what we choose
to call intelligence or organizational ability or creative capacities. So if more members of some
races end up doing better in some spheres, it is because more of them grew up in environments
that prepared them for those endeavors (Hacker 36). Oppression continues to harm the black
community.
Inheritance is the acquisition of a possession, condition, or trait from past
generations. The “Inheritance Argument” states: “The slaveholders wrongly harmed their slaves
and the slaves deserved reparation for those harms; but they were never given that reparation.
Consequently, it passes by the right of inheritance to present day African Americans who are
the descendants and heirs of the slaves” (Boxhill 9). With ancestors of slavery, it is only right,
by the means of which America is supposed to be governed by--fairness and equality--that
Blacks of today be given the reparation which was owed to their fathers and forefathers.
Inheritance is the main way in which families stay wealthy and continue to excel and develop.
The denial of reparation inheritance for African Americans only supports the claim of modern
day oppression, continuing to cause harm for Black people.
The American government acknowledges that slavery was one of the greatest crimes
in history and that enslaved, unpaid labor created the prosperity of the United States
(Arceneaux 147). If the wrong doing of slavery can be acknowledged, it should be atoned for.
America should provide resources, both monetary and otherwise, to Black Americans to repair
the state of black people. Black people should be able to live a life with equal preparation for
quality living in a society that values the lives of all people--Black, white, and mixed races.
Until there is an America where people of color are not disproportionally negatively affected
and are given the same opportunity to excel as whites, reparations will always be due to Black
Americans.
Works Cited
Arceneaux, Taniecea. “Reparations for Slavery: A Cause for Reparations, A Case against David
Horowitz.” The Review of Black Political Economy. (2005): 141-147. CQ
Researcher. Web. 25 Nov. 2014.
Boxill, Bernard. “Black Reparations.” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2011 ed. Ed.
Edward N. Zalta. Web. 30 Nov. 2014.
Carlisle, John and Peter Flaherty. The Case against Slave Reparations. Falls Church, Virginia:
National Legal and Policy Center. NLPC, 1991. Web. 30 Nov. 2014.
Coates, Ta-Nehisi. “The Case for Reparations.” Atlantic Monthly. Jun. 2014: 54. SIRS Issues
Researcher. Web. 30 Nov. 2014.
Hacker, Andrew. Two Nations. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2003. Print.
“Sharecropping.” History.com. Web. 1 Dec. 2014.
Smith, Darron T. “A New Case for African American Reparations: A Simple Three-Part Plan.”
Huffington Post. 2003. Web. 1 Dec. 2014.
• Beauty •
by Michael Crockett
Beauty is within
can not be defined nor disguised
feel it in your heart
beauty is a light in the heart.
• 41 •
• 42 •
• Untitled •
by Lulu
Lulu
•
How the Male Body Doth Seem •
Male Torso | by Bryan Ortega
• Why? •
by Tavia Patrick
Why is the world so corrupt
Why we can't just calm down and love
Why are there all these killings
With things like this we will never experience healing
Why are there so many Dirty cops
Do they know they are the reasons blacks are getting shot
Why we don't walk around and give hugs
Is it cause everyone wants to be thugs
Why is it not justice when its a killing
Do they not realize all these negative feelings
My question is why, when will that be answered
*Language and punctuation deliberately preserved
To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest
accomplishment.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
By virtue of being born a boy in America, African American boys become part of the
endangered species called “BLACK MEN.” The odds are immediately stacked against him. Not
having any importance where the child grew up, suburbs or city, failure and hardship are
expected.
Do any of you know what it’s like to be born into an already predetermined
disadvantaged life? In a life where from your point of conception you had already become a
statistic, a statistic with very high failure rates? Where the outcome of your life would be not to
reach the legal age of adulthood? And if you did, the statistic probability of being in and out of
jail the rest of your life would be extremely high? Imagine what it would be like to be born into
a society where it would already be assumed and expected for you be a high school drop-out,
have children out of wedlock, have joined a gang, do illegal drugs, and end up in jail or, worse,
dead.
Born in the 1980s to a young teenage mother who was left to fend for herself and forced to
drop out of high school to birth and care for her newborn son with no help or support from her
immediate family or the father of her unborn child, her life and that of her African American
son jumped faster onto the track for the dead-end route to failure. No high school diploma in
hand, this unwed, single, black mother faced and overcame many challenges at such an early
point that made her push forward and protect her young son from the route that was socially
expected of him to follow.
I’ve been told that African American boys born into this day and age are already at a
disadvantage, crippled by the expectations of failure. This young mother, having no experience
herself and having become a statistic already by not graduating from high school, fought tooth
and nail to protect her son and provide for him a better life and better education opportunities.
A very different lifestyle to what was their dead-end expectancy. She worked hard, she had two
jobs, she took on public assistance to help make ends meet to be able to provide shelter, food
and clothing for her son, and give him a fighting chance in this world that was just waiting for
him to double-over and fall at the easiest temptation of the forbidden. When she became a
young black mother, another statistic, she lost her high school years, she lost the opportunity to
go to prom and walk across the stage to graduate in that common rite of passage. Her life
became her son’s, and it became her mission to keep him off the streets and give him
everything she never had. Something that was very unlikely and undetermined from a single
black teenage mother.
Tasha. She worked hard, she sent her child to school, and she pushed him to learn to read
at the age of 3. Learn his multiplication tables by the age of 7. She instilled such a sense of
educational hunger and thirst that gave him a fighting chance and the fighting tools in the dark,
gang-filled streets of Watts and in the unsatisfied and unmotivated enclosures of the projects.
• 43 •
• 44 •
She did all sorts of menial jobs to be able to provide for her child. She worked security jobs, she
worked in construction, she worked telemarketing jobs, and endless others. She studied and
earned many certificates in the nursing field. She stopped short of selling her body to be able to
provide an income for her son. She still says that if she would have HAD to sell herself to be
able to feed and send him to school, she would have done whatever was necessary for her to do.
Having no positive male role model to show a young boy the “ropes” of life or what
it would be like to play ball, fish, fly airplanes, the typical and expected things that little boys
like to do with their daddies: there was none. The child learned early on that the only person
that was “dad” was unreliable, and he learned that “dad” was the man who left you waiting on
your doorstep, with a backpack filled with clothes; because he never came to pick you up, even
though he sat for hours waiting and eagerly expecting him to show. He didn’t. Dad was the
person who on the very few occasions who actually did show up, he picked him up and took
him to places that no child should have to see so young because he went with “the homies” or
to sit on the many different couches he was taken to “spend quality time” with Dad, but only to
have Dad just sit him there as he went with “his girls.” At such a young age, Danny learned
disappointment and learned not to count on someone who should have been such an important
factor for any young boy. Danny learned not to wait on his doorstep for dad who made him wait
and eventually stopped showing up.
When her son worked on his homework in the evenings, Tasha sat right along with
him and worked on hers, studying to get her diploma. She pushed her son so far academically
that he quickly surpassed her intellectually, but not just her, his peers and those who were
around him. She kept him off the streets and kept him in school. He was advanced in all his
classes, and for middle school, she sent him off to a magnet school in East Los Angeles, so he
could get a better academic challenge and opportunity away from the gang and drug filled
jungles of the Watts projects. Danny excelled in middle school. He defied everyone’s
expectations.
Living in the dark projects of Watts didn’t come without incidents. Danny faced
many challenges with the wrong peers. He stayed off drugs, but he was shot at on more than
one occasion, just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people. He
was chased by gang members, jumped, and even stabbed once. He was stopped more times than
one could count, walking to and from school, by police because he looked like a “suspicious
black male” with a “suspicious backpack that could have been filled with guns and drugs,”
where, on the contrary, he carried his typical load: math, finance, or some advanced science
book that he was trying to devour for that week. It happened so many times, that he knew the
routine from the time he was in middle school.
Danny graduated from high school, an achievement that had already surpassed all the
failure-ridden pathways of his childhood and teenage years. But that wasn’t it. The hunger and
thirst that Tasha had inculcated in her son went beyond high school, beyond meager dreams of
graduating and getting a job. Right after high school, Danny took some time off to get a job and
help at home with bills. He then began his next challenge, college. He had to work two jobs
while studying full time to help around home and pay for school. Danny knew the importance
of education, and did not take it lightly. He never listened when he was told he wasn’t going to
accomplish anything in life while growing up by those family members that never bothered to
help him or his mother while they struggled. He never believed that his life was to be broke. He
never gave up all those times he felt like there was no escape to the violence and decrepit arms
from the projects that seemed to just be able to swallow boys whole and spit out drug addicts or
convicts. He struggled, and he worked hard and graduated from C.S.U.L.B. with a bachelor’s in
business and accounting with a concentration in finance. At that point, not only had he become
the only one in his family to graduate from high school, but to graduate from a university.
All his life, he was told by everyone that he would not amount to anything--that he
would just end up in the streets, proving everyone right about being a statistic and being a
failure and end up being like the negative stereotypical expectancy for an African American
male.
By this point, there was nothing that anyone could tell Tasha, anything negative that
would even register any validity when it came to her son. He is her pride and joy. She worked
hard and did everything that she had to do to keep him off the streets and turn him into a real
man, even when there was no man around for either of them to learn or take tips from. He
didn’t stop there; he continued to study and work hard to support his family and children to be
able to provide a different, financially stable lifestyle and family structure from what he grew
up with. He worked full-time while studying full-time for his master’s degree and raising a
family. He graduated from Florida Tech in 2011 with his very hard earned M.B.A. with a
concentration in finance and investments.
He is my “babydaddy,” the typical stereotype that African American men get titled
because somewhere the meaning of the word “father” has been lost. He is my husband and
father of my children. He is my hero. He has taught me so much about perseverance and not
taking things for granted. “You make your own path. You make your own life,” he says all the
time. But most importantly he is a superhero in my children’s eyes. They are his pride and joy
and the reason to keep working hard. There is nothing that Daddy can’t do, and everything that
Daddy does is cool. My heart swells with pride to see him with our children and just see the
love in their eyes for him. He is the person I look up to, the man I admire. The person I want to
be like.
I’ve heard that in Africa it takes a village to raise a child, but in America, it takes a
village to ruin a child, especially when the “village” is the ghetto, drug-filled projects that have
taken so many lives and dreams and told their victims over and over again that that is what will
become of them. All it takes is the hunger to not want to be broke, to not want to be part of that
negative statistic. You just have to want it bad enough to have it. I know. I’ve seen it. I live it.
• Overiet •
Over-Advertised and Overeating:
Overeating: How Advertising Changed the American DDiet
by Dalmar Jibril
From dawn till dusk and through the night hours, a human being needs energy. We
have hearts that need to beat and brains that need to think. There’s only one way to fuel all that
work, and that’s food. The American diet has slowly been evolving since the very start of the
country, but in recent decades, the changes have been drastic and unpredictable. From the
1970s, the per capita consumption of calories has increased by nearly a quarter in the United
States and heavily advertised convenience foods, like frozen dinners and drive-thru meals, have
become staples in the eating habits of regular Americans. These trends are a part of a wider
effect that food advertising has had on the way that we eat, and it is wreaking havoc on our
nation’s health. Similar to the way in which language permeates a culture as exemplified in the
• 45 •
• 46 •
article “Black Talk and Pop Culture,” advertising influences us such that we see ourselves as
identified with certain products. Companies like Coca-Cola and Pepsi have the goal of forcing
themselves into public consciousness and turning their brands into common, everyday
colloquialisms. The commercial efforts of advertising manifests itself in three ways that will
illustrate how the current state of affairs has been arrived at: the first is the extensive market
research that is done whenever a new product is developed to ensure that it has mass appeal, the
second is the manufacturing of every supermarket to promote consumption, and the third is the
way that products manage to infiltrate public consciousness through the use of mass media.
Fast food is usually supremely unhealthy for you, but it is undeniable that it tastes
good. Your brain is wired to respond to the ingredients of fat, sugar, and salt which are loaded
in every Burger King meal. Sodas, like Coke, Mountain-Dew, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, are all the
result of intense experimentation to figure out how to bring you the perfect dose of sweettasting, syrupy goodness. Market research is a devoted career field where professionals hired by
food corporations carefully study how people react to their products so that they can ensure it
will have widespread appeal in the marketplace. Focus groups are consulted to taste-test
different flavours, and only the best make it through the intense scrutiny. These products are
laden with cheap sweeteners, like high-fructose corn syrup, which are meant to be semiaddictive, and the effect that they have on the body is incredibly detrimental. Unfortunately, the
things that taste the best are often the worse for us.
Each facet of our dietary lives is now influenced by the commercial exploits of our
major food distributors, and the effect is practically unavoidable. Every trip to the store, you are
met with an onslaught of advertising messages that are specially designed to entice your wallet.
It’s not by accident that major supermarkets are all set up the same way, and all seem like
endless wormholes of polished floors and vaulted ceilings. Since the birth of the self-service
grocery store in 1916 in Memphis, Tennessee, careful thought and consideration by companies
has been put into the layout of these stores so that you spend more time than you intended
inside. Things like eggs, milk, bread, vegetables, meat, and cheese, which we need, are all
placed far away from the entrance in order to make sure that a trip to the store always involves
meandering through lanes filled with less than necessary snacks and treats. Even the height of
each aisle is manipulated to be well over 7 feet, making it possible to lose sight of the way you
came in and get lost amid the most tantalizing foodstuffs. Furthermore, the bright packaging
and bold words are made to scream at your subconscious as you walk the aisles with the most
expensive and the unhealthiest products at eye-level and the ones that might be better for you at
the bottom.
If there is one thing that characterizes and distinguishes the modern 21st century, it is
advertising. Every form of entertainment and media is part of a machine that is made to sell
products, a great deal of which is food. Commercials on T.V. use the power of suggestion to
infiltrate your mind while you’re sitting on your couch and impact the eating choices you make
later. It may not seem like you can be so easily swayed, but there is a reason that companies pay
so much for advertising space. Fast food restaurants, like McDonalds, routinely spend millions
of dollars on ad campaigns and have successfully entered the public consciousness. The jingle,
“I’m lovin’ it,” can be recited by American children all over the country, preparing them for a
lifetime as loyal customers at the restaurant. The massive and unmistakable golden arches can
be seen from anywhere on the road, and it would be unsurprising if the mere sight of the logo
could illicit a sort of Pavlov response in conditioning where people associate the advertising
symbol with the sensation of good tasting food.
To conclude, food advertising has forever changed the landscape of the American
diet. We make eating decisions every day that are easily susceptible to the production efforts of
corporations, and so long as they remain the amoral capitalistic institutions that they are,
unhealthy products will be pushed onto us. It is up to the consumer to fight off the perpetual
suggestions in order stave off the growing epidemic of behavioural health problems, like
obesity and heart disease, caused by poor eating habits.
• The Border of Youth and Health •
by Kehmena Ockiya
Human bodies, all composed of near-identical inner-workings when compared to
other human bodies, are commonly subjected to dissatisfaction due to various physical and
mental standards set by society. Ellen Goodman’s “I Worked Hard for That Furrowed Brow”
and Dinesh D’Souza’s “Staying Human,” for example, describe two aspects of the human body
that have been targets of unnatural modifications in hopes of meeting the previously alleged
standards. As Goodman rejects the idea of Botox for cosmetic purposes and D’Souza
discourages genetic engineering for the purpose of building near-perfect humans, it becomes
clear that we as humans should seek out more natural methods when it comes to changing
oneself in hopes of meeting society’s standards. If desired, one of the ways these standards can
be met is through improving the physical aspect of the body by improving eating habits. Given
my young age and physically in-shape body, however, it becomes difficult to decide whether to
develop healthy eating habits now, whether to develop better eating habits when health and
weight start to pose an issue, or to aim for a change with the required effort being in between
the previous two. A careful analysis of these three choices would contribute in making the best
decision that could ultimately reflect the state of my own health in the future.
Developing healthy eating habits now, as in when weight and health are not a
problem, has many advantages and disadvantages. The main advantage of getting started now
include being able to easily make healthy decisions at an older age as well as being able to
maintain society’s highly sought-after, physically-fit body along the way. If I do not start
practicing healthy eating habits now, I could end up like my grandmother, now eighty-seven
years old, who did not monitor nor consider what she put in her body. My mother tells me
stories of how my grandmother would wake up at midnight sometimes to bake and eat cake or
to defrost, cook up, and eat a steak. As a result of her unhealthy eating habits, about ten years
ago, she suffered from a life-changing stroke and now suffers from stroke-related dementia due
to high blood pressure from high sodium intake. Aside from the bodily health aspect, however,
developing healthy eating habits could get in the way during a wider variety of social situations
involving food. If I’m in some sort of situation that involves the consumption of relatively
unhealthy food in a group setting, for example, I might feel uncomfortable and enjoy the food
less if someone says they are on a diet. If I were on the opposite end of the spectrum, I could
also cause others to experience uncomfortable emotions within similar situations (Sundblad).
Another choice, in contrast to the previous, and a more difficult decision effort-wise,
involves developing healthy eating habits later. On one hand, the main advantage to delaying
the change is that I would be able to take advantage of a high metabolism during my youth. I
• 47 •
would be able to enjoy the foods that I would not be able to eat at an older age with a lower
metabolism and would not have to hold back during social situations involving food. Careless
eating is also generally easier to do as it is something I am already good at, and I would not
have to devote extra time and effort towards making sure what I eat is appropriate. However,
since metabolism is said to drastically change upon entering the middle-age years, it would
become difficult to switch, and I could end up like my grandmother. As mentioned by Sarah
Baldauf, a U.S. News Health writer, “lifestyle counts, and in stroke prevention, the sum of one's
efforts appears to be greater than singular prevention elements” (Baldauf). Because of this, my
mother frequently encourages me to develop healthier eating habits as she admits to the
difficulty of eating differently and frequently mentions that she would be “in trouble,” meaning
unhealthily out-of-shape, if she were to eat some of the foods I do on a regular basis. Although
resorting to this decision results in the least strain due to virtually no extra commitment
required, there remains another possible choice.
The last choice involves developing some sort of habit with an effort value in
between the previous two. This could easily be done by changing a few lifestyle habits, such as
suspending ritual eating before or during events, or by knowing the potential harmful effects of
certain ingredients in certain foods. The main advantage of making these seemingly small
changes is that making an effort, even if small, is better than no effort which could, in turn,
have an effect on my health in the future. My sister who undoubtedly owns one of society’s
highly sought after bodies, for example, eats only when hungry and claims it is actually more
difficult to do than it seems. Social situations, emotional distress, and habitual practices, such as
eating just because it’s lunch time, have caused me to sometimes eat even when not hungry.
The only problem with this decision, however, is that, given its small effort requirement, it
would be relatively easy to slip back into previous habits.
Although the most realistic choice effort-wise would have been the last, the best
decision overall would be the first, which involves changing my habits now. As I am frequently
encouraged to change by my mother, have seen what unhealthy eating habits have done to my
grandmother, and am exposed to society’s bodily expectations from the media on a day-to-day
basis, making an effort to improve my eating habits would be good for both the now and future.
Given my busy college schedule, however, it may seem unrealistic to make a sudden change in
eating habits, as careless eating is also very convenient. Nonetheless, knowing how to eat
healthily will be an essential skill if I am to live a healthy, natural life in the future.
Works Cited
Baldauf, Sarah. "Stroke Prevention: 5 Ways to Prevent a Brain Attack." U.S. News & World
Report. 12 May 2009. Web. 28 Apr. 2013. <http://health.usnews.com/health-news/
familyhealth/heart/articles/2009/05/12/stroke-prevention-5-ways-to-prevent-a-brain
attack>.
Sundblad, Donna. "Disadvantages of Eating Healthy." LoveToKnow. n.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr.
2013. <http://diet.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Disadvantage_ of_Eating_Healthy>.
• 48 •
•
How the Female Body Doth Seem •
Female Body | by Brian Macias
• Finding Myself •
by Dalia Mosqueda
I began an adventure that appears to not have an ending
All I wanted was to stop pretending
And be able to find myself
Not to end up inside this shelf
I’m so lost that am not sure if am moving forward
I was too busy trying to not be so awkward
Not to run in circles in the same space
This makes me forget who I was in the first place
Success it’s not an option at this time
I was acting like if being happy was a crime
But my opinions look to worth a dime
But I will find myself after this last rhyme.
• 49 •
• Eager to Grow Up • by Yessenia Gonzalez
Introduction
Nowadays, children seem to be so eager to grow up. These little darlings are being
embarrassed of their toys. In the essay “Tweens: Ten Going On Sixteen,” Hymowitz (2013)
writes, “the last rites for her childhood came when, embarrassed at reminders of her foolish
past, she pulled a sheet over her years-in-the-making American Girl doll collection, now dead
to the world” (p.190). Children are reaching their adolescence sooner than ever, they are
consuming too many hormones in their foods, parents are pointing fingers towards the media,
and the little ones no longer want to be seen as children.
Feeling Older
Children want to look and feel older; they wear provocative clothes and are wearing
makeup. Hymowitz shared, “The Nickelodeon-Yankelovich Youth Monitor found that by the
time they are 12, children describe themselves as “flirtatious, sexy, trendy, athletic, cool”
(Hymowitz, 2013, p. 191). My ten year old niece, Lisa, spends more time in the mirror than
anyone else in the house. She also likes to dress with short skirts and wears makeup. In an
ABC News article, “Are Tweens Too Young for Makeup?” by Vanallen, Weber, and Kunnin,
they write, “The new tween makeup line from Wal-Mart, geo-girl, aims to speak the language
of technologically savvy youngsters. The line also includes mascara, eye shadow and even an
exfoliate. But makeup is not where tweens end their beauty regiments. There are now spa
treatments, eyebrow waxing, facials and massages geared towards young teens.” I believe it’s
fine for girls to paint their nails and to get massages, but I don’t think that little girls under the
age of 12 should be wearing makeup.
New Normal
Is there a change in young girls’ body that is helping them develop sooner? Studies
show that girls’ puberty has changed throughout the years. About a century ago, girls would
start their menstrual cycle in their teen years; now, there is a “new normal.” Hymowitz writes,
“Many note that kids are reaching puberty at earlier ages” (p. 194). Physician Aviva Romm,
M.D., explains on her website:
Girls are getting their periods earlier. Many about a year earlier, according to a 2007
article in the Journal of Adolescent Health. But a study published in Pediatrics in
2011 found that in the United States, 15% of American girls begin puberty at age 7.
Their breasts are starting to grow at a younger age, too. Black and Latina girls are
the most affected, but it is happening in all populations. (Romm)
Figure 1. A new branch of Kotex hygiene products for young girls, Kotex Young advertises
character Kita.
• 50 •
Romm, M.D., concludes: “It’s not just that having your period in second grade, or your breasts
develop in kindergarten really sucks for all of the obvious social and emotional reasons. It’s
also a sign that something is seriously wrong in our daughters’ endocrine (hormonal) systems.”
It seems to be a dangerous thing that is happening with our young girls. I don’t believe it
should be labeled as the new normal, because I don’t believe that girls’ getting their menstrual
cycle at age 7 is a natural process. Something has to be changing our girls.
Changes in Hormones
What is it that is changing young girls’ endocrine? There are a few factors why
children are blooming at such a young age. Children nowadays have higher stress levels, there
is an obesity pandemic, and there are more toxins surrounding us. Romm, M.D., states:
The 3 biggest contributors to early puberty are:
Obesity: About 20% or more of U.S. kids are now obese.
Exposure to environmental toxins that act as estrogen in the body: Many substances
used in flame retardant fabrics, cosmetics, plastics, pesticides, detergents and other
common household and industrial products can mimic the effect of estrogen in our
bodies.
Stress: Stress can wreak havoc on the endocrine system. (Romm)
I was passing by a major street where elementary children walk before and after school. I came
across a few girls who were in the third and fourth grade, who looked as if they were ready for
high school; their bodies were very developed at such an early age. I wondered why they
developed so early, and thought it has to be all of the hormones that are being infused into the
meats they are consuming. In the article “Can Hormones in Meat Affect Puberty in Girls?”
from livestrong.com, Ogunjimi A. explains:
That Cornell report, from 2003, along with another early report from the
International Food Safety Network, touched on the subject of steroid hormones in
meat and an early puberty for girls. The Cornell report said at the time that there
hadn’t been large-scale studies to prove that girls had been exposed to higher than
normal levels of hormone through hormone-treated meat. Other studies have even
investigated the possible link between residual estrogen in meat and breast
enlargement in boys.
Figure 2. Hormones added to meats affect those who consume them.
• 51 •
• 52 •
Hormones in food are a huge factor why children are developing at such a young age.
Hormones in meats seem to be harming all of the people who consume them, and we can see
how dangerous they are by looking at the youth and the changes their bodies are having, due to
the hormones.
Polluted Society
Why is it that children are so anxious to grow up? Who should be blamed for the
antsy tweens? Should it be T.V. and movie actors, music artists, and their music videos? Can
clothing designers and toy manufacturers be considered at fault? An article titled “Almost 9 out
of 10 Parents Think Children Are Being Forced to Grow up Too Quickly” said:
“A survey of over 1,000 parents of all backgrounds has revealed that 88% think that
children are under pressure to grow up too quickly. Findings from the survey show
that:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/almost9-out-of-10-parents
think-children-are-being forced-to-grow-up-too-quickly
"Are Tweens Too Young for Makeup?" (2011, Jan. 27). Retrieved May 14, 2013, from
http://abcnews.go.com/US/tweens-young-makeup/story?id=12777008.
“Can hormones in meat affect puberty in girls?” (2011, September 8). Retrieved May 14,
2013, from http://www.livestrong.com/article/539009-can-hormones-in-meat-affect
puberty-in-girls/#ixzz2TIi535RE
Hormone cartoon. Figure 2. Retrieved May 14, 2013, from
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=hormones+in+meat+cartoons&hl=en&biw=102
&bih=571&tbm=isch&tbnid=swiPLZzYfSHc3M:&imgrefurl=http://www.anonym
usartofrevolution.com/2013/01/i-warned-you-about-hormones-in-all-that.html&
docid=mmDSBMdV8xp9KM&imgurl=http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mDLNxEVNxkg
/UPPbVGP2NBI/AAAAAAAAXs4/T7D4ybebPqw/s1600/I%252Bwarned%252B
ou%252Babout%252Bthe%252Bhormones%252Bin%252Ball%252Bthat%252Bm
at%252B%2526%252Bdairy%252Byou%252Beat.jpg&w=569&h=676&ei=es6aU
6sBOqAiALpj4Eg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=597&vpy=101&dur=110&hovh=245
hovw=206&tx=106&ty=148&page=1&tbnh=143&tbnw=120&start=0&ndsp=16&
ed=1t:429,r:3,s:0,i:89
Hymowitz, K. (2013). Tweens: ten going on sixteen. The Longman reader. (pp. 190-195). New
York: Pearson and Longman.
Kotex
image.
Figure
1.
Retrieved
May
14,
2013,
from
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=kotex+young&sa=X&hl=en&biw=1024&bih=5
1&tbm=isch&tbnid=_kA7JhstceGuqM:&imgrefurl=http://trolley.ae/index.php%3F
oute%3Dproduct/manufacturer/product%26manufacturer_id%3D595&docid=DR2
uRQprzAxvM&imgurl=http://trolley.ae/image/data/products/6281002430635.jpg
w=500&h=507&ei=kseaUbf9J6-MigK7loCoDg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=125&page
=1&tbnh=141&tbnw=153&start=0&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:14,s:0,i:139&tx=85&t
=79
“What’s a mom to do? Preventing early puberty and hormone problems in our daughters- here’s
the why and how” (2012, November 27). Retrieved May 14, 2013, from
http://avivaromm.com/preventing-early-puberty-and-hormone-problems-in-our
daughters-heres-the-why-and-how
40% of parents said they had seen things in public places (shop window displays,
advertising hoardings) that they felt were inappropriate for children to see because
of their sexual content.
41% of parents said they had seen programmes or adverts on TV before 9 p.m. that
they felt were unsuitable or inappropriate for children due to their sexual content.
Clothes to be clearly age appropriate and not simply scaled down versions of adult
fashion.
Increasingly sexualized content in music videos and pre-watershed TV with ‘too
adult’ themes in some soap operas.
Pressure to buy non-essential items for their children so they don’t feel left out.
Parents should be concerned what their children are exposed to, but there are too many factors
to be pointing fingers. I believe parents should do the best they can with their children inside
the home, but they should also understand that the outside world is different, and it has changed
through time. A family friend, Veronica has cable in her home; she has three boys, and every
channel she believes is not suitable for her children, she blocks. Veronica is trying to have some
sort of control over what her boys view, even though the outside world is still polluted with
sexuality.
Conclusion
What can be done to avoid or diminish rapid maturation? It is a fact that our society
is being overwhelmed with sexual content, and our food is contaminated with dangerous toxins.
How can the youth be helped, so they are not affected as much by it? I believe that parents can
talk to their offspring about sex and educate them at an earlier age. If possible, parents could
change the diet and purchase organic foods, maybe even speaking up, and forming support
groups to help one another, and sharing different ideas and points of view on keeping their
young ones young a bit longer. One cannot change the world overnight, but we sure can speak
up to make positive changes little by little.
References
“Almost 9 out of 10 Parents Think Children Are Being Forced to Grow up
Too Quickly.” (2011, April 11). Retrieved May 14, 2013, from
• 53 •
• 54 •
• End of Sex Trafficking •
by Irvin Sotelo
The world continues to strive to be a better place; however, the world is very far
from perfection. There are many international conflicts, such as sex trafficking, which is an
ongoing activity every day. In a human trafficking statistics report by the Polaris Project in
2007, the report states that 27 million people were trafficked worldwide. Of those 27
million victims, 80 percent of them turned out to be girls and women. Amongst that
percentage, 70 percent of the women and girls were trafficked into the commercial sex
industry. This phenomenon has become an issue of great importance and has drawn major
attention; the United Nations along with the United States have passed anti-trafficking laws
as a result. Nevertheless, both the United Nations and the United States have lacked to
enforce the laws and ensure that the laws are indeed effective (“Human” 85). At a
grassroots level, victims are being empowered, but fail to succeed in cultures that
marginalize them due to the norms and practices of an already established society. Sex
trafficking is dealt with at a macro-level and with grassroots approaches, and they are both
effective to a certain extent. The reality is that the focus should rather be making dynamic
changes in cultural norms and practices in societies affected the most by sex trafficking.
Policymakers and advocates make an effort to develop laws that will combat
sex trafficking, which is seen as an organized crime. In a broad spectrum, these laws are
supposed to limit the trafficking of girls and women. Despite the adoption of laws, it is
difficult to prosecute traffickers (Kaye 27). Without being able to prosecute, the authors of
the crime cannot be punished. This is especially true when “governance is often poor, so
the regulation is ineffective” (Kristof 26). Important steps have been taken with policy, for
example, requiring the State Department to expose a Trafficking in Persons Report
annually (Kristof 32) which led to “passing laws, staging crackdowns, and compiling fact
sheets” (Kristof 33). Other measures like border control and visa regulation have been
implemented; not only that, but prostitution has been proposed to be legalized (Schuckman
86). Unfortunately, these legal mechanisms are not as efficient alone. The academic
journal, Anti-trafficking Policies in Asia and the Russian Far East, states that with
regulations, such as border control, women are more exposed to extreme measures when
being transported across borders. Not only that, but with laws to criminalize traffickers,
issues like police complicity are not taken into account, and police are bribed or can simply
choose to not pursue a trafficker because of lack of resources or will (Schuckman 87).
Policy-making alone is not capable of stopping sex trafficking, is a great step towards
trying to prevent it, but far from individuals and victims. That is when activists step in to
try and help victims at a grassroots level and one-on-one.
Many organizations prefer to advocate at grassroots levels, they “work directly
with victims, and their focus is identifying victims and helping their recovery” (Perkins
55). These organizations help empower women and girls affected by the sex trafficking.
Organizations as such focus on teaching basics, like reading and writing, and will extend to
teaching skills that can be used in the workforce. Organizations like this also provide social
services, legal assistance, and assistance to recover from physical and psychological abuse
(Perkins 55). They have a great impact on the majority of the victims but are not efficient
to everyone. Like it states in Half the Sky written by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl
WuDunn, “It’s enormously dispiriting for well-meaning aid workers who oversee a brothel
raid to take the girls back to a shelter and give them food and medical care only to see girls
climb over the back wall” (Kristof 35). As much as organizations work to help empower
women and reinstate their lives, sometimes it is nearly impossible.
Coming to realize that policy-making and grassroots organizations can be
somewhat efficient, but not fully, one must look deeper at the problem. The problem is in
• Gratitude •
by Dianne Busiere
I
ran among the thorny bushes
tearing my fluffy coat apart
I
stood among the dirt, my fellow
crushed upon scorning birds
singing songs of my father's shoes
I
was thirsty to find my rest
dragging my foot to mushy bayous
• Adjusted •
deep sorrow sips down to the root
and I hear it is screaming
"Wake up! Wake up!"
It screams
In all the bustle
of daily living,
the people moving effortlessly.
I feel out of sync.
Wallpaper curling down in pieces.
A sunburn peeling off raw skin.
"I am beautiful!"
It screams
"I am unbelievable fiery flower
let me show you feathery white castle
let me create stones of fire
unleash under their heavy gusty wind
They will ask me what's your name?
I am beautiful dandelion.
by Heather Ceja
They know their roles
their duties
the proper places.
I am trapped in a field of static.
My head glued to my feet.
My body glued to this bed.
I am not in tuned with this society.
• 55 •
• 56 •
the culture; it is the way one is raised that contributes to international conflicts as such.
There’s a “variety of social, cultural, economic and political factors that work against
them” (Torri 32). For instance, sex trafficking occurs heavily in dominant Muslim
societies. The women there are often kept from obtaining an education or being in the
workplace (Kristof 149). These societies are socially constructed to where the woman is
obedient to men. A woman must be docile, she must abide by what men dictate, and this is
“drilled into girls in much of the world from the time they are babies, and they often do as
they are instructed” (Kristof 47). The other factor is cultural. Looking again at the Muslim
societies, the majority have tradition and are not to the benefit of women. Tradition rather
demeans women, like in the case of Woinshet, a girl from Ethiopia: “She grew up in a rural
area where kidnapping and raping girls is a time-honored tradition” (Kristof 62). That is
how many women are perceived in the majority of these cultural societies. Women are not
equivalent to men, and men can decide what they want over them. This is where sex
trafficking is facilitated and the women become victims without a struggle. The economy is
also a key factor to be taken into account. Many countries with high sex trafficking obtain
the women and girls from poverty regions. It is easy to take women from poor regions,
especially once they are offered a job. They often leave their families hoping to help them
and are tricked into sex trafficking. Politics in most of these countries unfortunately do not
favor women because they don’t deal with aspects of inequality (Torri 36). Laws are
favorable to men and even the way government is set up, women are at a loss. All these
factors together affect women and they play a major role in sex trafficking because
altogether they decrease the value of women. Instead, women are objectified and used in
matters like sex trafficking.
Just as Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “We must straighten our backs and work
for our freedom. A man can’t ride you unless your back is bent.” This is true. Cultures need
to change as a whole in order to straighten that back. Ideology and traditions of societies
must be revised in order for that change and implemented with the idea of equality among
women and men. Once women begin to be viewed differently, other than as an object, they
will be valued more and not used for sex commerce. Instead, societies can benefit from
women’s potential and will make a dynamic change. As long as this is not addressed from
the roots, policies will continue to be written and grassroots organizations will make an
effort to make a difference in sex trafficking, but neither one will succeed as much as
policymakers and advocates would like. It is time for that change or else the oppression
towards woman will never end, and societies’ backs will continue bent.
Works Cited
"Human Trafficking Statistics." Polaris Project, n.d. Web. <http://www.cicatelli.org/titlex/
downloadable/human%20traffick ng%20statistics.pdf>.
Kaye, Julie, John Winterdyk, and Lara Quarterman. “Beyond Criminal Justice: A Case
Study of Responding to Human Trafficking in Canada 1.” Canadian Journal of
Criminology & Criminal Justice. 56.1 (2014): 23-48. Academic Search
Premier. Web.
Kristof, Nicholas D. and Sheryl WuDunn. Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into
Opportunity for Women Worldwide. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2009. Print.
Perkins, Wenchi Yu. “Vital Voices: Advocacy and Service Work of NGOs in the Fight
against Human Trafficking..” UN Chronicle. 42.1 (2005): 54-55. Web.
Schuckman, Emily E. “Antitrafficking Policies in Asia and the Russian Far East: A
Comparative Perspective.” Demokratizatsiya. 14.1 (2006): 85-102. Academic
Search Premier. Web. 26 April 2014.
Torri, Maria Constanza and Andrea Martinez. “Women’s Empowerment and Micro
Entrepreneurship in India: Constructing a New Development Paradigm.”
Progress in Development Studies. 14.1 (2014): 31-48. Academic Search
Premier. Web.
• Digital Self •
by Michelle Rivera
• Our Women •
by David Williams
“And since we all came from a woman, got our name from a woman and our
game from a woman, I wonder why we take from our women, why we rape our women, do
we hate our women? I think it's time to kill for our women, time to heal our women, be real
to our women.” These lyrics by late politically conscious rapper and poet Tupac Shakur
question and explicitly imply the realities of women, not only in popular culture, but in the
real, every day world. Today, I will be discussing the blatant “oversexualization” of women
in pop culture and how these hasty generalizations come across to the mass media, by
dissecting the appeals used. First, I will be highlighting rational appeals by illustrating the
amount of music videos across genres that hypersexualize women in order to sell more.
Then, I will be discussing the emotional tactics used by social media to gain the audience’s
trust and attention. Lastly, I will be illustrating the magnificent formula that pop culture has
• 57 •
• 58 •
concocted in order to sell the over-sexed, under-educated women whilst convincing the
audience that this is indeed what they want.
Women have always been viewed as lesser than men. In Victorian times,
women were seen as vessels of regeneration through child-bearing, and now, women are
portrayed as play things needed only for sex. This narrow-minded attitude about women
and their roles in the world as a whole has changed very little over the course of the
introduction of pop culture in the 60’s to now. It is evident that women are objects only to
be used for enjoyment and then meagerly tossed aside until they are seen as useful again.
As it pertains to the media, rarely do they illustrate what is identified as a rational appeal,
or an appeal to logic using mainly facts in order to convince the audience to purchase
something that the producer is attempting to sell. In an extended Olay beauty product
commercial, the dialogue is jam-packed full of medical jargon accompanied by statistics
comparing their products to those of similar companies; however, visually, there is clear
evidence of hyper-sexualization present. Things that are subtle, such as the color scheme of
black and red--black, usually symbolizing something enticing and mysterious and red
representing heat and passion--gives an attitude of something “naughty”, for lack of better
terms, occurring. In addition, there is a very beautiful woman placing her finger in the jar
of face product, slightly in slow motion, while a Barry White-esque instrumental plays in
the background, which also contributes to the sexual aspect of the commercial. Although
on the surface the commercial seems straightforward hitting you with facts and logical
arguments, there is still an inherent sexuality present that secularizes the message.
Unlike rational appeals, emotional appeals essentially “tug the heartstrings” of
the consumer in order to convince them to buy a product. In 2008, an ad campaign for
violence ran in Russia, entitled “Victim of Beauty,” whose purpose was to raise awareness
for domestic violence and intrigue traffic to their information site. However, even through
the fabrics of this ad, there are subtle yet wholly prominent to the analytical eye examples
of hyper-sexualization present. The ad features a beautiful woman who has been beaten.
This victim, on initial sight, generates feelings of pain, sympathy, empathy, and fear into
the average consumer. However, looking past the black eye, you see the evidence of sex in
this ad as gripping as those in a bikini Burger King commercial. First of all, the woman is
beautiful, her face decorated by flattering makeup and her body decorated by a low-cut,
body hugging red dress. Her lips are adorned by a sensual shade of red lipstick and even
though the look in her eye initially evokes sadness, there is also a twinge of “come hither”
behind the unbeaten eye. This only goes to further illustrate the inherent oversexualization
of women in the mass media. These ideas are being digested by women every day, and
these ads perpetuate these generalizations continuously.
Finally, differing from both rational and emotional appeals is the ethical appeal,
or the appeals to what is important to a person. Traditionally, ethical appeals take root in
general ideals that apply to the mass public, such as appeals to tradition, time, money, and
family. But it is an undisputed fact that the most widespread and common ethical appeal is
the appeal to sex, and as it turns out, men are the targets. There are so many examples of
women being objectified in all forms of mass media, whether in movies, lyrics and
magazines, but for the purpose of this essay, we will be analyzing the most degrading
avenue: rap music. Henry Louis Gates Jr. wrote an enticing article entitled “2 Live Crew,
Decoded” about the popular rap group’s hyper objectified visualization of women. Gates
writes: “For centuries, African Americans have been forced to develop coded ways of
communicating to protect them from danger. Allegories and double-meanings, words
redefined to mean their opposites (“bad” meaning “good”), even neologisms (“bodacious”)
have enabled blacks to share messages only the initiated understand.” This quote clearly
indicates the attitude of women in pop culture and how they are seen. Popular music videos
from both men and women, such as Nelly’s “Tip Drill” and Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball”
perpetuate those generalizations about women and their sexual roles in the media. As Gates
also says, “their sexism is so flagrant … it recalls the inter-sexual jousting in Zora Neale
Hurston’s novels. Still many of us look toward the emergence of female rappers to redress
sexual stereotypes.”
To conclude, the media has continuously and will continuously objectify
women in efforts to sell products and project ideals into the general public. Women have
always been seen as objects even in the early 20th century. It wasn’t until the 1970s
movement, where the idea of a woman transformed from property to being with human
rights. The smallest gain of rights for women comes with reward of a new role and attitude.
References
Burger King commercial. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
Cyrus, M. “Wrecking ball.” Music video.
Gates, H. L. (2014). “2 Live Crew, Decoded.” The McGraw Hill Reader.
Olay Commercial.
Nelly. Tip drill. Music video.
Victim of beauty campaign.
• Middleaster Movement:
Movement:
Cultural
Cultural Play / Show •
by Ileanna Navarro
Her floating arms
Her hypnotic gypsy gestures
It seems so soft
Yet, all so pretty
Glancing eyes
We watch, he’s too shy to look
She smiles
Dancing, dancing natural and fluid
Her body spins
Cultures and memories
She non stop spinning
She bows.
• 59 •
•
• 60 •
What the Face Doth Show •
Face by Laura
Blackwell | 12x19 |
Pastel & Charcoal
Dorothy Dandridge by
Laura Blackwell | 12 x
19 | Pastel & Charcoal
Idris Elba by Laura
Blackwell | 12x19 |
Pastel & Charcoal
Idris Elba 2 by Laura
Blackwell | 12 x 25 |
Pastel & Charcoal
Billie Holliday by
Laura Blackwell |
12x25 | Pastel &
Charcoal
Tina Turner by Laura
Blackwell | 12x25 |
Pastel & Charcoal
• Collection of
Faces of Fame •
Kendrick Lamar by
Nicole Avery | 22x28 |
Oil Painting
Leo Sullivan by
Kimberley Deveau |
22x28 | Oil Painting
Ricardo Montalbán by
Joseph Ramirez |Pastel
& Charcoal | 12 x 25
Father by Bryan
Ortega | Pastel &
Charcoal | 19 x 25
Paul Rodriguez by
Samuel Isidoro | Oil
Painting | 22 x 28
Bob Marley by
Samuel Isidoro | Pastel
& Charcoal | 12 x 19
Bruce Lee by Samuel
Isidoro | Pastel &
Charcoal | 19 x 25
Dorothy Dandridge by
Samuel Isidoro |
Pastel & Charcoal | 19
x 25
• Creating a Superior
Superior Child •
by Sandra M.
M. Gonzalez
Genetically creating a child through the process of selecting certain traits for
your offspring to have and omitting those you don’t want is highly controversial; you either
agree or disagree, in my opinion. After reading “Staying Human” by Dinesh D'Souza, I
found myself set on the decision that, if given the opportunity, I would genetically create
my child. It is an essay about genetically creating our children and the opinions and ideas
of people that are both for it and against it. Genetically creating children would involve
parents being able to screen out their genes and choose to create a child who is more
susceptible to be more intelligent and less susceptible to certain ailments and diseases in
life. Of course, there would be the option to choose what sex your child would be, as well
as hair, eye, and skin color, basically giving you the opportunity to create your child based
on your idea of what a beautiful person is.
• 61 •
• 62 •
People are judged based on their looks and making a great first impression is
kind of a big deal. Whether we like it or not, being physically attractive, intelligent, and
beautiful are considered important things in our society. Everywhere we look in magazines
and on television, it is being broadcasted that beauty is affiliated with success and being
happy. I don’t completely agree with this; however, I do feel that being beautiful and
having an ideal body weight gives a person an advantage in life over others.
Advertisements are constantly using beauty to sell their products even though the item has
nothing to do with beauty. Television and radio commercials are bombarded with cosmetic
surgeons promising you a new you, looking younger and more attractive, resulting in a
happier life.
Genetically creating a child would give them an advantage over other children
who are not. Being a woman myself, I see this treatment by society all the time, whether it
be at your local grocery store, the mall, or a fancy restaurant. I would want my child to
have an advantage over other people’s children; this is what every parent wants. Dinesh
D’Souza clearly states that two classes already exist: “The techno-utopians are also not
very concerned [. . .] will create two classes [. . .] two such classes exist now, even in
absence of new therapies” (819). Looking more beautiful gives a person more confidence,
being treated well by society with them ultimately living a happier life. I am not saying that
beauty is everything, but it is beneficial and gives a person leverage over others who are
not so attractive. People can do well in life as well even if they are not considered to be
beautiful. Many individuals are truly great people from within, and their personality and
energy are what attract others and that, too, can make a person beautiful as well.
Being unique is just as important as beauty is; we all want to stand out amongst
others. We would still be diverse and unique because what we define as beauty depends on
who you ask and where in the world. The only thing that would change, in my opinion, is
we would be a more superior species that will give our future a better chance of survival.
Creating children who are more intelligent would create a world where we finally treat our
planet with the respect it deserves; we would be creating children who value a quality of
life versus one that is full of greed, complications, and a desire for materialistic things.
Beauty is more than skin deep, in my opinion. It’s also about health and quality
of life. When we decide to create a child genetically beautiful, what do we really mean?
Depending on who you ask, there are countless answers. For me, not only is it being
physically attractive but creating a child who can live a long life with the lowest risk of
becoming ill, a child who can excel at every sport and be physically fit throughout life. A
healthy child in the mind, body, and soul, who cares about his or her looks, obviously will
also being concerned about what they consume and the products they use, which also
means they must care about the source of these products, our planet, and the air they
breathe. Creating children who are genetically beautiful and fit would change the way we
live and the way we treat our planet.
A genetically created child is not only about the individual; it is about the
survival of the human species, the health of our planet. It is only right we give them this
advantage after all the pollution and destruction we have caused to ourselves and our
planet. One such example was set forth by physicist Stephen Hawking as “genetic
engineering could be used to reduce aggression” (D’Souza 817). For those who are against
it, I think if they were more educated and open minded, then they would see the benefits of
it and feel differently. Dinesh D’Souza is aware of this when he says, “We are not used to
genetic engineering, so it seems ‘unnatural’” (819). We humans have a tendency to be
afraid of the unknown, but we shouldn’t let our fears stop us from moving forward.
Works Cited
D’Souza, Dinesh. “Staying Human.” The McGraw-Hill Reader Issues across the
Disciplines. Ed. Gilbert H. Muller. New York: McGraw Hill, 2011. Print.
• Kim Kardashian: Valued Without Values •
by Jeanine Elliot
What talent does Kim Kardashian hold? How can someone so talentless, effortlessly
become a wealthy celebrity? The website diaryofastreetking.com displays a cartoon that is against
the self-made fame of Kim Kardashian, which she has won without merit. The basis of the
advertisement is worthwhile and necessary.
The rational appeal for the ad is a call for the public to wake up and realize that some
famous people are receiving undo praise, and we need to be more selective of those we celebrate
and the reasons why. According to an article, “Through a series of distasteful and carefully planned
publicity stunts, beginning with a strategically released sex tape, a scripted ‘reality’ show, and now
a (for profit) 72 day marriage, Kim Kardashian continues to bait the media into giving her more
unjustified coverage and allowing her to cash in financially” (“No More Kardashian”). These are
reasons, more so, not to support her brand without any other reason or achievements.
The emotional appeal is a call to be insulted and react to the audacity of Kim’s methods
of self-imposed fame. In the cartoon, it shows Ms. Kardashian saying, “Sex tape? Publicity stunt
wedding? So long as I get free attention I WILL DO ANYTHING! –Why not! Brands pay me big
to use my fame and sell junk to stupid Americans.”
Our own self-worth should call for us to recognize when we are being deceived and should
take action. We should not feed into her fame by watching her shows and purchasing her
products.
In the ad, it displays a provocatively dressed, overtly voluptuous woman cartoon
character, which is obviously Kim Kardashian. I find this demeaning, and she sets a very
poor example to women. This bothers me that this is what is recognized and valued in our
society today. In the essay “Mirror, Mirror on the Web,” Lakshmi Chaudhry states: “Fame
• 63 •
is now reduced to its most basic ingredient: public attention. And the attention doesn’t need
to be positive either” (159). This is a call for a moral stand for celebrating one’s fame in a
need for celebrities to do something worthwhile to win or deserve public attention.
Society by and large is unaware of the last four Nobel Prize winners, aside from
Barak Obama, and it is an understatement that these are the people who are positively
contributing to society. At the rate in which “celebretude” is going, people are less apt to
do things of any value. If this is how society views success, then why try accomplishing
any significant achievements?
References
Chaudhry, L. (2007). Mirror, mirror on the web. The McGrawHill reader: Issues across the
disciplines. New York: McGraw Hill.
“No more Kardashian” petition gets 100k signatures in less than 48 hours. Retrieved
from http://diaryofahollywoodstreetking.com/kardashian-petition-100k
signatures-48-hours/
• 64 •
But how could I stay
And go through this pain
I swear that you are everything that I have longed for
Everything that I have waited for
Everything that I adore
Loving you is like two left shoes
I can’t wear the shoes
And neither should I be in love with you
Love is not as easy as 1-2-3
Love is blurry
Even for those of us who can see
Two plus two is not always common sense
Love is not pellucid
•2+2=4•
by Jeremiah Polk
Two plus two does not always equal four
It is very, very dense
A pessimistic outlook can be perceived from the shore
• American Trends: Plastic Surgery •
by Jennifer Perez
Perez
Loving you is like walking on thin ice
Praying our love last
Ultimately, it’s a roll of the dice
Holding on to you
Is like holding on to air
Your love cannot be seen by the naked eye
Yet, I know it’s there
I wish I could explain this whole love thing
Our love cannot be captured by a mere diamond ring
Our love is like a dream come true
But, I’m awakened by my tears
I will always love you boo
Even though these tears keep falling
I’m emotionally bruised
I have lost my cool
I’m walking on water
Hoping our love doesn’t shatter
It seems crazy to be in love with you
But how could I not be in love with you
How could I walk away from sunshine in the rain
Introduction
Just as Hymowitz (2010) suggests in “Tweens: Ten Going on Sixteen” when
she writes, “Down came the posters of adorable puppies and the drawings from art class;
up went the airbrushed faces of Leonardo di Caprio and Kate Winslet” (Hymowitz, 2010,
p.189), when most girls are teens, they tend to idolize very attractive and beautiful people.
This is also true for many girls even as they grow older. Although they may no longer put
up posters of the people they idolize, they read about them in the magazines and even
follow them on their social networks. With all the media attention and love that beautiful,
curvy women receive, it has become a trend amongst woman to try and achieve the perfect
body and perfect look. In reality, some people may go about that by exercising and toning
up, but some choose the easy way out; plastic surgery, since it is something that is
extremely common nowadays, especially with celebrities.
Kim Kardashian
Someone that is very well known and loved by the media is Kim Kardashian.
Exactly why is Kim Kardashian famous? First, she got everyone’s attention with that
gigantic butt of hers in a sex tape with a rapper. After that, she became a sex icon, and later
went on to have her own reality show. Her curvy figure, along with her beautiful, exotic
look, is why women idolize Kim Kardashian, and some will go as far as getting butt
implants to achieve those sexy curves like hers. The point is illustrated in the following
picture.
• 65 •
Figure 1. Turned around buttock implant
According to the Huffington Post online, buttock augmentation procedures increased by
about sixteen percent in the year 2013.
The Real Housewives
Just like Kim Kardashians’ reality show, The Real Housewives is a very
popular reality show amongst women because it gives women an insight on what it is like
to be a very wealthy housewife. Woman look up to these sophisticated women on this show
because of their grace, class, and beauty, which can even be seen in scenes as they cry,
with motionless faces because of the Botox. This is shown in the following picture.
Figure 2. Real Housewives attempting to cry through Botox.
Watching all these beautiful women on television, looking like Barbies, sends women that
watch the show a subconscious message that in order to look youthful past a particular age
you must undergo Botox injections. As Hymowitz writes, “If a popular kid is talking about
this stuff at school, it has a big effect” (Hymowitz, 2010, p. 193). This can also mean, in
this case, that celebrities can have an influence on others because of their social status.
Kate Upton
Kate Upton may not have a show on television like Kim and the Real
Housewives do, but she is still of much influence to women because she is a popular
supermodel. It is true when Hymowitz says, “You go on chat rooms and find ten and
eleven year olds who know every [fashion] model and every statistic about them”
(Hymowitz, 2010, p. 193). Although Kate is a beautiful model, the one thing that makes
her very popular with the media are her big natural boobs. Similarly, what has made Kate
Upton loved by women is the fact that she is beautiful, and not the typical, size-one model.
For her fans that idolize and envy her big breasts, the only means to get big feminine boobs
• 66 •
like hers is by plastic surgery. Having large breasts makes women feel sexy and feminine.
For this reason, breast augmentation is the most popular cosmetic surgery in the United
States.
Conclusion
With all our medical advances nowadays, we can not only have surgery when it
is a life and death situation, but also simply in order to change our physical appearance for
those who are not too satisfied with it. Yes, it is very important for everybody to have a
good sense of self esteem, but it is not necessary to go through extreme lengths to
accomplish that. Simply because the media is very sexualized, it sends women a message
that if they are not “sexy” they are not attractive. Since the television media and gossip
have become very popular because of people's interest in celebrities’ lives, so has the
interest to look just like their celebrity idols.
References
Buttox implant picture. Retrieved April 27, 2014, from google images.
Hymowitz, K. (2010). Tweens: Ten going on sixteen. The Longman reader. (pp.189-193).
New York: Pearson, Inc.
Real Housewives image. Retrieved April 28, 2014, from www.popdust.com
• How American Media Influences Kids on What Is Beauty
Beauty •
by Jesus Camacho
In my opinion, American culture is influenced heavily by the media and what
people see on a day-to-day basis. I think it starts early, especially with the kind of shows
that kids watch on television and the commercials that we see. For example, most little
girls grow up watching images of thin, fair-skinned, mostly Caucasian beauty queens and
superheroes with long flowing (blond) hair. These images affect most little girls, especially
those of color who do not look like the images of beauty they see on a regular basis. I'm
sure that has a lot to do with women who feel like they are out of shape--even if they are
slightly overweight or ugly--because their hair is not long enough or not the same texture.
The images are not that different for boys. Most images of a handsome prince are strong,
muscular, fair-skinned men who appear to have superhuman strength or powers as a result
of their physique. As those same children grow up, they continue to see images of adults
who are just older versions of the beauty princesses and princes or superheroes that they
saw as children.
Years ago, Kenneth and Maimie Clark conducted an experiment to see what
type of doll young African-American girls preferred if they could choose between a black
one and a white one. Unfortunately, the study concluded that the majority of them
preferred white dolls and referred to them as the pretty and good doll. They referred to the
black dolls as ugly or bad although that was the doll that most resembled them. This
experiment was conducted again most recently in 2006 by filmmaker Kiri Davis who also
came to the same conclusions. What this tells me is that the media is still influencing
society in a way that makes people view their body and self image according to what the
majority of America views as beautiful. While these young girls should have loved the
beautiful brown skin they were born in, they couldn't appreciate their beauty and preferred
something
other
than
what
represented
them.
• 67 •
My reason for putting so much emphasis on children is because one's view of
oneself often begins early in childhood. The influence that American culture has on how
we view and/or approve of our body image plays a very important role in our day-to-day
actions, ranging from how we dress to who gets chosen for a particular job. I think the most
important emphasis is placed on a person's weight. In American culture, weight seems to
be the determining factor in whether or not a person is perceived as attractive and/or
healthy. There are hundreds of commercials promoting weight loss through dieting,
exercising, plastic surgery, and over-the-counter pills. Some advertisers suggest that it
would be great for a person's health, and, although that's true, I personally believe that they
are appealing to those with low self-esteem and negative images of themselves while trying
to make money off of vulnerable and desperate people.
Through music videos, beauty pageants, reality T.V., and magazines, we
express our American culture through images of beauty that are not always a true
representation of the diversity in American culture. We come in various shapes, sizes, and
skin tones, but that doesn't appear to be true if one picks up the latest Cosmopolitan or
People magazine. We express our culture with our bodies by how we dress, how we
workout, or what kind of significant other we are attracted to. Some men prefer curvy
women, others prefer thin, and some prefer women with "meat on their bones." I am
married to what I consider a curvy African-American woman. I think my wife is beautiful
just the way she is, but after giving birth to two children, she often complains about her
body weight and overall self image. She refers to herself as fat, but she is far from being
fat. She watches television shows where the women are what she considers in shape after
having children, and it makes her feel bad because she's not as small as she was prior to our
son. Despite me telling my wife that she is beautiful, she, too, is heavily influenced by the
part of our American culture that makes people, especially women, think that one of
beauty's main characteristics is having a thin body.
Overall, I believe that it's important for a person to want to live a healthy
lifestyle which, most of the time, results in having a healthy body with little to no body fat.
Some might say the American culture stresses the importance of a healthy lifestyle, but I
believe it stresses the importance of being thin regardless of what a person has to do to look
that way. As a husband and father, I want my family to know that good health is extremely
important, but knowing that I love them regardless of how they look is what's most
important to me.
• 68 •
• “FREEDOM” •
by Jermaine Brown
Close your eyes & let me walk you through
When your mind can’t decide
I’ll be your guide,
Freedom
If you hold out your hand
As our fingers interlock
Let me carry you into,
Freedom
Let the power gaze us into the world
When our eyes see how happy we can be,
Freedom
As we walk out far with our hearts
Live in the moment,
Freedom
Make it so delightful
That it will be worth remembering,
Freedom
Power to the people
Who let us see,
Freedom
• 69 •
• ≠ TO ALL WHO CROSS TARTARIAN GATES ± •
by Carlos Ornelas
Let it be known for the record
That I too, came out of crumbling townships
Of famine, malnourished peoples
Where the good get frowned upon
And thuggery is venerated,
Thievery congratulated,
Guns and scales are calibrated,
Success is underestimated;
I too came out of crumbling townships.
I too entered Tartarian gates;
Defeated, deposed, a ghost of all I’ve ever known.
I entered; walked down paths that led
To He with bow and arrowheadPointed towards the Northern-east.
I immediately was pleased
Though a burden, unreleased,
Remained prudent underneath
I had reached,
Beyond crumbling townships,
Tartaria.
The land of promise
With hands of knowledge;
From crumbling townships
To handsome province
I had made it here, alive.
Rooms were full and pools were empty:
A new movement filled the air.
And the storm clouds started forming,
And the stars began performing,
An environment transforming
As Tartaria awakes.
Woken up from brief mistakes
The jagged teeth of grief it takes
To gather up our keep-less sakes
And to rebalance, each, this place.
For we all had to reach this place
And know the feel of being misplaced
Never mind the kings in plays
• 70 •
Know how many dreams it takes
To make it out from crumbling townships?
Limping through Tartarian gates
I too came and did remain
To see the spark of life regained
And proudly walked down paths that led
To He with bow and arrowheadPointed towards the northern-east.
Oh how we, the underrated,
Look at buildings renovated
And befriend the isolated;
Reinstated mere belief.
To those who have also come,
Whom have paved and paid in sum,
Shall one day be bathed in sun
For the givers shall receive.
But as for me, my time has come;
For all my labor here is done.
Now I leave you, dear Tartaria;
Headed back to crumbling area
Where a broken past awaits
Way beyond Tartarian gates.
Entered empty; left fulfilled
Now I’ve townships to rebuild.
P.X
3.1.14
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