The Summer O' Fun Continues

I just got back from spending the weekend in San Antonio with my big sister and her best friend. We went to go see the amazing show, WICKED! If you have yet to see this play I highly recommend it. It's worth traveling anywhere in the country you can get tickets to see it.

We also took in the other sights of San Antonio. We had lunch on the Riverwalk before heading to the Alamo. It's funny how much smaller things get when you grow up. Upon walking up to the Alamo my sister and I both looked at each other at the same time and said, "I remember it being much bigger."

After the show we went to Pat O'Brien's for some Hurricanes and then headed back down the Riverwalk to Dick's Last Resort for some dinner.

It was a really great trip. I hate that it was so short. The only thing missing was my best friend.

Summer's Off to a Great Start

So far this summer looks to be one of the best so far...and it's only been three weeks. Here's a little run down of what has made it awesome so far:

*Steady stream of ultimate frisbee games have started. I decided to dust off my shoes and come out of retirement. My mom insists that I wear a helmet since I once got a concusion from the sport. I have chosen to defy her and go helmetless. So far no head injuries.

*We have had not one, but two amazing cookouts with Ben and Derek at the healm of the grill. We've cooked enough meat to last an entire summer. We have had steaks, pork chops, chicken, ribs, brats, hot links, burgers, and hot dogs. That's right...all that food between 2 cookouts.

*Ben and I went to the No Doubt concert. One of the best concerts I've ever seen. It's safe to say that I would rank it in my top 5. The only down side was that my knees were in pain for two days after because of all the jumping around.

*I've had the chance to spend some time with some amazing people. Nothing major, just hanging out, making dinner, stuff like that.

*I got to spend a relaxing week at home with the fam. Caught up on much needed rest and started my summer tan lounging by the pool.

*I have fallen in love with another great TV show thanks to Paige Poole. I'm addicted to Bones. If you have a chance, watch it. You won't be disappointed.

So that's just a few things that have made this summer wonderful so far. Things yet to come include a trip to San Antonio with my sister to see Wicked, a possible weekend trip to Austin with Derek, Amanda, and Ben, and who knows what else. As always I'm hoping to meet the man of my dreams. Maybe this is the summer it will happen.

Master's, Check!...Closedown, Check!

So last Friday I graduated with my Master's...what, what!! It was a pretty boring ceremony but a milestone I know I would have regretted if I didn't walk. So the painful two hours was worth it. Friday also marked the end to another year in Housing...so summer if officially here. Bring on the summer camps. Closedown was actually pretty smooth this year...no big complaints and pretty much everyone got out on time. I will say that I'm going to miss my staff tremendously. This bunch was really special and the ones that are leaving are going to be truly missed.

No other major developments in my life really. Sarah and Matt moved to Africa and I miss them dearly but still talk to them quite often, so that's a plus. Be sure to check out their blog to stay up on their African Adventures (nowery.blogspot.com).

I plan on spending this summer reading what I can, watching lots of tv, and rewatching Lost from the beginning. Exciting I know, don't be jealous. Ultimate will also play a big role in my summer plans. Game 2 is tonight...woot!

What I've Learned

I know we've all said this at one point or another, but I really enjoyed this class. I feel that I was somewhat aware of my surroundings and things that were going on, but now I feel like I make it more of a point to look for things. I'll be the first to admit that I'm still very naive about a lot of things. This class has helped to open my eyes more and make me realize that the issues of our past our still very much present. This week while walking around for my section of the diversity audit I was able to draw more conclusions or make more assumptions about my observations after all we've talked about in class. I won't go into detail at this time because I don't want to take anything away from my presentation.

I feel that this class will greatly benefit me when it comes to dealing with students in the future. I think now I'll be more prone to think twice about what they might be going through in life, especially if it's a student from a different background than myself. Before this class I would have been one of the white kids in the sample group thinking our campus had a great campus climate and was open to diversity, not saying that it's not. But now I know that my perceptions might not be entirely correct. As evident by many of our reading, student development still has a long way to go to make everyone feel completely welcomed on college campuses around the world. More than likely it will never be perfect, but at least we're trying to move in the right direction by putting our best foot forward.

It's Been A While

My apologies for lack of blogging.  I have no excuse other than I just haven't been doing it.  

I can't believe that this semester is almost over.  Where did all the time go?  

On to the readings.  This week I found it hard to stay focused on the readings.  I'm not sure why.  I guess I just had a hard time finding them as interesting as previous readings, which is odd since most of these readings seemed to deal with actually implementing things we've been reading about in class and trying to make campuses more inclusive.  I did like Understanding Leadership Strategies.  I feel like the sample obtained for this study was one that was truly diverse.  I like that 50% of those that actually were interviewed were people of color and that women made up a good portion of interviewees as well.  It made me believe more in the study since they made it a point to really diversify and find programs that have tried embracing diversity.  I feel like most of our earlier readings focused on colleges or universities that would have an obvious outcome when it came to measuring diversity or campus climate.  For instance, when you survey the minority and a PWI you know that those surveyed are going to feel negatively about the racial climate.

Another topic that seemed to keep popping up was that of the role of affirmative action and the admittance of students of color to college based on their race/ethnicity.  To me this would seem like a double edged sword.  While I believe that a student population should be diverse I also think that a University should still be able to have standards that they wish for students to meet.  I'm sure this is a hot topic for debate but I can't say that I strongly support one side over the other.  

On a complete side note...as we have all mentioned at one point or the other, being in this class has made me look at things in a different way.  The other day I was at the UNT bookstore.  There have been numerous occasions where I've been there and seen people leaving that set off the security system near the entrances.  More often than not the sales people don't even acknowledge the sound and if they do they give a courtesy wave to those walking out that implies, "it's cool we know you didn't take anything."  The other day I was at the bookstore and this occurred.  A young, African American gentleman set off the alarm.  Upon doing so an older sales associate, who happened to be a Caucasian female, rushed over to him and immediately questioned what he was doing.  The guy informed her that he had nothing on him that would make him set off the alarm.  The lady continued to question him and even asked to search through his bag and show his pockets.  This just took me a little by surprise, especially since I've seen students in the same situation be totally disregarded.  So it just made me wonder if this was an act of racial profiling or if the sales associate had a good reason for her actions.

Lots of Little Thoughts

Reading through the various sections of the Rothenberg book this week, I seemed to have a comment on most of the readings. In Smells Like Racism I thought it was interesting that a small portion focused on accents. I never really considered basing an opinion on an accent to be racisist but I can see how in some cases it is. The thing that first popped into my mind after reading this was the idea of the English accent. I feel that the English typically are viewed as pompous or overly propper, in large part due to their accent. In numerous interviews I've seen, mainly with British actors, they tend to comment on the fact that everyone believes they're prim and proper just because they're from England.



One of the points from the Opression article kind of bugged me a little bit. I felt like too much was being made about the man opening the door for a woman. Call me old fashioned but if I'm with a guy I feel like he should open the door for me. I see this as a common courtesy. I know I can open the door on my own and I'm happy to do so if necessary. But I don't feel that a man opening a door for me means that he thinks I'm "weak" in some way. But maybe this has to do with the way that I was raised and the fact that I don't feel I've experienced a lot of oppression in my life because of the time in which I was raised. I know that women have had it rough in the past and that it still continues today. I've been fortunate enough to work in a field that is typically dominated by women. If fact, for the past 5 years or so by direct supervisor has always been a woman. I'm sure at some point in my future I will experience opression but luckily I have yet to be affected by it.

Recurring Thought

As I was doing the reading for this week, one thought kept coming to mind.  Are those that are discriminating always doing so on purpose?  Don't get me wrong.  I understand that there are hateful, racist people in the world who discriminate and do it knowingly.  But this can't always be the case.  It just makes me wonder if people are discriminating or just acting in accordance with the way they were brought up or raised. (does that make sense?)  And if so then whose to blame for their acts of discrimination?  The person themselves because they should know better?  Their parent's for teaching them that attitude?  The grandparents for teaching the parents?  You see where I'm going with this.  Anyway...just a thought I felt like sharing.

I enjoyed all the readings this week.  Like I mentioned last week I like the Rothenberg book and how it's broken down into anecdotes, news stories, and short articles.  Now a days I don't ever think about discrimination against women, but thanks to the Women in the State Police article I realize it's still very prevalent.  It was shocking some of the things that happened to the female officers.  To be honest all the readings made me think and realize even more how much I take for granted.

I really liked the two articles that we had to read as well.  I like how both studies had personal aspects to them.  Using personal stories and experiences made the articles much more enjoyable to read.