Student Life Activity

Student Life Activity

For the student/campus held event, I chose to go to the open mic night. It promised to be a night of fun, joy, and relaxation, as it was a way for students to loosen up before midterms. It started at 7:30pm and anyone could go up and perform. After a few dark poems and acoustic singing, it proved to hold up as a fun night. Everyone was enjoying the warm evening as we listen to live songs performed by our peers. However being that the presidential race had just ended the night before, once enough people came, it turned into a ranting session. Having no real side on the matter, it seemed odd that it was a night that promised fun and excitement, and it turned into anger, jealousy, and sadness. After about 30 minutes of this had passed, I considered leaving. But after all the time I invested I knew i had to stay until the end. After the politics, the night once again proved to hold up to its promises and we continued singing and dancing. This sparked a loving relationship between myself and the programs the students have put on, convincing me that these were the events worth going to. Since then Ive gone to multiple student held activities like Pie Eating contests, the building of gingerbread houses, and also movie night. These type of activities are essential for the growth and stability of a student, as it shows the brighter side of college life. 

Social Justice Speaker

Social Justice Speaker

My experience with the social justice speaker Rose Jacobs-Gibson, was a particularly short one. I was told to be there by 7 or 7:30 as the video/movie would begin, but like most presentations, there were bumps. They were expecting more people I suppose, and so we waited. I didn't even get to catch her name as I was on my phone waiting for the guests to show. She gave a little background about herself, and her contributions to the community and presentations but couldn't seem to get the presentation itself running. If it wasn't for my classmates attending the first conference, I most likely wouldn't have know what the topic was on. Having the prior engagement of driving my sister to San Fransisco, I couldn't stay long. About 45 mins later the film began. I watched 15 mins of it and I think it had something to do with gun control and the difficulties we as a community, society, and country face with guns. Never owning a gun myself, or even knowing someone who has one, Im not familiar of the feeling you get when you shoot, hold, or even possess a firearm, but I do have opinions on this. 

In terms of stricter gun control, its true that not everyone should be able to own a gun, but those who can should be able to receive one at a reasonable cost in a reasonable time. The problem isn't that we need stricter gun control policies, the problem is we are allowing those with mental health issues obtain firearms when the fact is, not everyone is mentally stable or responsible enough to own one. This country has a MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEM disguised as a gun control problem, and a TYRANNY problem disguised as a security problem. 

Freshman Research Conference Reflection

For the Freshman Research Conference there was a lot of different, interesting ideas. The perspective that also came with the presentations was another valuable asset in fully understanding what the topics had to offer. I learn many things, manly that even though our classes were separate and on specifically different details, the overall impact the presentations emitted was one of unity among the teams. Our learning throughout the classes were collaborative, connective, and intuitive as it allowed us to make the connection from learning to understanding its practicality. Also, something i think is the most important thing, is that it allowed us to see from class to class how intertwined and interdependent these subject matters have to each of our topics. As a listener i could tell how much the presenters knew about there subjects as they not only spoke well, but also answered the questions with clarity and decisiveness. Overall this was a very eye-opening experience that taught me a lot about not only the subject matter, but on how to understand that all things regardless of similarity, is related. 

Call to Action Reflection

Considering that I was not presently a part of this Call to Action field trip, I will be talking about the pre-reflection and/or first thoughts as I signed up for my own volunteering. Because of golf, and the insanely demanding schedule, I was not able to attend the activity and be apart of the learning experience. So instead I signed up for a different, yet equally important issue to service my community, presidential voting. Voting is one of the most fundamental rights we have as a democracy and through the sweet talking of Professor and the nice women advertising it on the table, I committed to the 14 hour duty of helping the polls. Had I known this prior, I still would've signed up but I would've been able to safe myself the embarrassment I suffered when I shrieked after hearing the requirements. Signing up for this particular event gives me many different feelings of patriotism, nationalism, and of course egoism. The women at the voting table outside of the cafe couldn't have been more pleasant or informative, making it very approachable and simple to sign up. The site where I was directed to was very straight-forward and efficient, which seems unusually unfair when dealing with a government based site. Im told that I will be receiving an email within the upcoming weeks and it will contain directions and information so I can better prepare myself with what is expected at this job. I am excited and motivated to be apart of such a ground-breaking event and although I will be most likely signing people in, I will somehow feel that I contributed to the results that follow. 

Eventually, I will be posting the post-reflection on how my Call to Action day went. 

Call to Action Reflection

Considering that I was not presently a part of this Call to Action field trip, I will be talking about the pre-reflection and/or first thoughts as I signed up for my own volunteering. Because of golf, and the insanely demanding schedule, I was not able to attend the activity and be apart of the learning experience. So instead I signed up for a different, yet equally important issue to service my community, presidential voting. Voting is one of the most fundamental rights we have as a democracy and through the sweet talking of Professor and the nice women advertising it on the table, I committed to the 14 hour duty of helping the polls. Had I known this prior, I still would've signed up but I would've been able to safe myself the embarrassment I suffered when I shrieked after hearing the requirements. Signing up for this particular event gives me many different feelings of patriotism, nationalism, and of course egoism. The women at the voting table outside of the cafe couldn't have been more pleasant or informative, making it very approachable and simple to sign up. The site where I was directed to was very straight-forward and efficient, which seems unusually unfair when dealing with a government based site. Im told that I will be receiving an email within the upcoming weeks and it will contain directions and information so I can better prepare myself with what is expected at this job. I am excited and motivated to be apart of such a ground-breaking event and although I will be most likely signing people in, I will somehow feel that I contributed to the results that follow. 

Eventually, I will be posting the post-reflection on how my Call to Action day went. 

Taking notes

Joseph Condry

11 am.

September 27th Blog

1. When you type notes, you aren't really getting engaged with the lecture or the notes. You aren't physically writing the words down because when you do, something goes off in your brain that soaks up more information and retains it for much longer. When you write down notes, you can almost feel the speech and when reviewing it, you start to have the same ideas you had when you were first writing it down. When you read electronic notes, it feels almost foreign. 
2. Another danger of using it in a classroom, is that it is a major distraction. You are way more likely to use your laptop for other programs rather then an intended note taking device. Also another concern is not only getting distracted when taking notes, but also the fear of getting distracted while reviewing those notes, and ultimately not doing much. 

1. One of the biggest advantages of reading paper versus electronic is that when you read electronically, your eyes skip over words, searching only for keys. You retain much less, and because of this, people gain comfort when they seem to be reading faster. Also, reading paper allows you to annotate in your own handwriting, which found in the last question, helps you remember better anyways. 
2. These explanations are simple. On computers, there are just way too many words, sentences, numbers on the screen for us to not only fully read, but fully understand. So because of this, we scan and skim, finding key words that catch our eyes and then search once more. Also when you are actively taking note in the book while you're reading, you will retain and understand more always. 

how poverty affects the brain

Joseph Condry

8am

How Poverty Affects the Brain

1. For the first study, it showed a recurring theme in the children’s MRI showing that those growing up exposed to higher levels of violence, have weaker skills to do things such as having good judgment, awareness, and ethical and emotional processing. Also this was a direct correlation to the second study, finding that things like chaos at home, parent without jobs, malnutrition, and abuse, can affect interactions and eventually, blocking the connections in the brain. In another study Venessa, a teenage girl, was view to see what type of an effect being in such a violent environment everyday had on her brain and its development. It was found that it impeded the development stem cells, the connective process, and the usage of neurons. Overall the studies concluded that those exposed to constant violence etc. had a less organized brain activity. 
2. Based on this new finding, you can then generalize certain areas and help these kids become not only become aware but also get a different, more selective education. For example, if you know a certain school is in a more violent area, you then could plan accordingly their lesson plans, instruction, and teaching approach to best help them. 
3. The major dangers of having this research without context is that how could you know what brain is what? You can't do this research without having the prior knowledge of what these kids have been exposed to. Basically without that prior knowledge you cannot make accurate decisions/conclusion on the study. 
4. This relates to our call of action activity because we then ourselves will know how to teach, speak, and overall interact with these kids based on where they are from. This will insure that they not only feel comfortable, but also learn as effectively as they can. 
5. Mainly, my concerns lie only in the findings. Its troubling to think that growing up in poverty had a direct relationship not only on the physical being, but also the brain and its development. But knowing this, i can plan not only my present accordingly, but also my future.