Presentation Summary

Though each one of the groups that presented in my cohort these past two weeks were very interesting, I think the one that stood out to me the most was the group that discussed the difference of Black crime in the 50s and 60s and Black crime during today’s time. The statistics that they used were really interesting and very detailed. Their presentation made me think a lot more about the differences between “then” and “now” – they emphasized the fact that no matter what the crime was, the person who was doing the crime was still part of the neighborhood family; the neighborhood always looked out for each other. The other interesting difference was the fact that years ago, people rarely used guns – their intention was never to kill the other person, unlike today. Once again, the Black community was always trying to look out for each other, they were never attempting to kill, just injure.

Another presentation that I really enjoyed was the group that focused on the field of the dramatic arts and the importance that the musicians and actors had on the rest of the Black community. While I’ve always been taught that the arts is crucial in everyone’s life as either a source of inspiration or an outlet for emotion, I never thought of the strong impact that the Black artists had on the art world. 

It was nice to see how much work people put into their projects and to see how each group interpreted the freshman seminar research question; I liked learning about what discipline or field of study each group focused on in order to answer their specific research question. I liked seeing the similarities that each group’s question and project had with my group’s project. Overall, I’d say that the presentations were very interesting and the project was a very tedious but rewarding process.

Freshman Seminar Revisited

Freshman Seminar is a mandatory course that is only worth one credit and holds a pass/fail status. From the first few lectures, most students cannot see the greater message the class holds. But looking back, I could now see the pattern each lecture furthered; the main point being the empowerment of black academics and the society as a whole.

The course also acclimates students to HU living and being a part of the "chocolate city", meaning the amount of issues facing blacks in all different circumstances could be studied and experienced at Howard. Other courses like Intro to Humanities and the Black Diaspora also look at the black academia, which is unique to most schools, even some HBCU's.

Freshman seminar also specifically applies history to current culture; it looks at the struggle of African Americans, who were not given anything, to gain equal opportunity for all minorities today. But through education we must now see that the struggle is not over and the battle needs to be rejuvenated by our generation.

Miss Evers' Boys

Although I was not pleased I needed to pay $5.00 and spend my Friday night doing school work, I am absolutely glad I did attend this production. The story was about a nurse named Miss Evers who was treating four black men who contracted syphilis. However, due to some corrupt and completely unethical government policy, the nurse was instructed not to treat them correctly. Syphilis, which is a bacterial sti, which presents in four stages which could lead to serious neurological or cardiac symptoms, including psychosis and heart failure.

This play reminded me of a case I learned of in a psychology class, known as the Tuskegee Study, where men who sometimes had and sometimes did not have syphilis were contained and "treated" for the disease. However, the directors, just like the government in this production, kept the actual cure from its patients. This is completely illegal and unethical, and seeing as again these patients were mostly black men, it seemed racially motivated, which shows the exact status of America during these times.

Luckily now there are ethical codes in place that will never allow for this to happen again. But, it is a reasonable theory that if these were not, black men would still be the guinea pigs in the United States.

The Entire HU Homecoming Experience

As a third year student, Homecoming has become mainly about seeing old friends and having family visit rather than scoping out celebrities and spending hundreds on tickets, outfits and alcohol for the week. I did attend Midnight Madness however, which happened to end early because of fights. This is also what Homecoming as grown to become; violent that harms the student body.

During the week of and the week following Homecoming, there were 5 separate incidents in which people were stabbed, shot or held at gun point. The week after Homecoming, when I was sick at home, I heard sirens 4 individual times in one day. In my own building my neighbours were held at gun point and robbed of thousands of dollars in valuable items.

There was a saying going around that, "the locals [were] going crazy". All of these crimes were committed during the day, which is extremely disturbing to me. But what I will never understand is why HU is allowed to host this week of events, without added security or monitoring, and the Caribbean Carnival is threatened annually because of its "increased crime enabling" tendencies. Vendors stand outside of Subway with "perfume" that are actually harmful toxins used to rob students, not to mention the gang activity happening right by the McDonalds. An event that was always supposed to bring the university together, promote school pride and explore DC's unique attractions has become associated with mindless killings and bold faced robberies. It's not even safe on our campus!

My First Howard Homecoming 2011

Though this week wasn’t my first Howard homecoming, it was my first one as a true Howard student. While I knew how influential Howard has been on many significant figures in our society, it did not hit me until this week when I got to see how many important people graduated from Howard. Even people who didn’t graduate from Howard, like Diddy, come back year after year just because they are proud to have some sort of affiliation with the school. Until this week, I have never been prouder to be part of such a large and loving community, such as this one.

It was great to have my parents come down and I loved being able to experience my first Howard homecoming with my sister, who is a graduating senior. Being able to share this experience with my family and my friends’ families was amazing. I feel as though homecoming is the true orientation, the real welcoming that says, “you are finally at Howard University”. I feel lucky to have experienced this homecoming because it makes me feel as though I really belong in the Howard community now. I can’t wait to experience the different events in the next three years here as a Howard Bison.

Howard Homecoming Freewrite

In the beginning, I wasn't too excited about Howard's homecoming. I was more concerned with my schoolwork and going to all my classes. I felt that Howard celebrates so many different things, and that homecoming wouldn't be as exciting because of this. However, during the week, I've started to get more into the school spirit. Seeing so many people come together in celebration of our school made me more excited and more willing to be a part of it.

The most fun I've had so far was definitely at Yardfest. I enjoyed spending time with my peers and so many others. I couldn't afford to take part in any of the other activities, so I was glad that Yardfest was free. Yardfest brought people of all ages together. There was Big Daddy Kane for the older crowd, and Young Jeezy for my generation. There were also artists for the Caribbean demographic, as well. Everyone was included in the celebration of Howard University.

I'm also really excited for the game today. Whether we win or lose, I'll still be proud of our team and our school as a whole. Every day I am glad that I came to Howard University. I've met so many positive and bright people here who have influenced me for the better. I can honestly say there is no place else I would rather be.

My Initial Misgivings about Freshman Seminar

For the first few weeks of Freshman Seminar I did not understand why this course was mandatory. To me, it seemed like just another Black History course at Howard University. As the weeks progressed I began to learn things, however, I still did not understand the significance of this course in my life; I was beginning to think it was just another ploy by this HBCU to turn us into militant Black leaders. However, as I became more acquainted with Howard University, I realized that everything about this school is about Black history and in order to make it successfully you have to know a whole lot about Black history—Black people in Germany, Russia, China, and finally Africa.

I discovered that Freshman Seminar’s purpose is to prepare you for the Black History you’re going to get in your History classes, English classes, and even German classes. I even find that the presentations that are mandated like Miss Evers’ Boys to be quite interesting. Despite my initial misgivings I am beginning to quite enjoy Freshman Seminar.