Uh, It’s been along week. However, after my gauntlet of back to back quiz, exam and quiz again on friday I’m feeling a little drained. I’ve been thinking a lot about grad school too, thinking about how hard I try in all my classes with the idea of it in mind. I think of how I’m overloading on mostly gen-eds(general educational requirements), and as I reflect on a few careless mistakes I made on my Organic quiz I cant help but think that I’m becoming more of a jack of all trades than a master of one. Though I know why we have gen-eds I cant help but think how much more time I would have for chemistry classes or other classes that I would be interested in. Though these classes may seem like a leisurely task to complete for a student who’s major is ~36 credits, it is however like trying to juggle chain saws for science majors with 70+ credits. Though I think it’s a little excessive I guess there is always grad school to be a better chemist.
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Could We Get Much HIGHER!!!
Enough is enough.
When the hate came by way of Facebook, I laughed. It’s Facebook, what can you do? People will say the craziest things when they’re hidden behind a computer screen. Many students voiced their disapproval of the music of rapper J.Cole on the Student Association Programming Board group on Facebook. They don’t understand the skill level he possesses; that’s nothing new. Same story, different wall post. But, then one contributing writer to the Oswegonian fell victim to the madness too. ::Gasp:: not the school paper, the Heralded Oswegonian! I just wrote an article for them, how could this be?
Well, they did. That’s where the problems start but don’t end. One student correlated J.Cole’s music to hate crimes, his constant rapping about the ghetto (Ahh, the good old inflammatory “ghetto”), and my favorite: “He puts down anyone trying to make an honest living, saying there is no hope.”
I know! I know! I couldn’t believe it either.
Believe it or not, Jessica… Ms. Jessica Bagdovitz, your article seems more likely to cause hate crimes to me. Your piece was not only biased it was widely inaccurate. Your research into who J.Cole is apparently went no farther than to provide a picture of him from jcolemusic.com. Had you taken the time to read on who Jermaine Cole is before running off to quote songs out of context, you would have seen that this artist who “puts down honest living” graduated from St. Johns University. In fact, Mr. Cole graduated Magna Cum Laude. Read even further and you’ll find out that although J.Cole always had aspirations to be a rapper he knew that in this world… A world where journalists MAY find you to be no more than a hate crime inciting artist, an education is valued and even essential to success. So, without sacrificing one for the other, he managed to succeed at both.
I guess you can now see that J.Cole doesn’t make music that’s only tolerable to those who share in his decadent lifestyle. Although, I’m not sure if having four years worth of student loans is typically considered decadent. Whatever. You call it “ta-may-toe” I call it “to-mah-to.”
Ms. Bagdovitz…and hopefully you don’t mind me calling you so. 🙂
The conversation over the “n-word” is incredibly complex and convoluted. Its history and impact laps our lifetime more than four-fold. So, I will not engage in the argument of if there is ever an appropriate usage or if the word is ever socially/generationally accepted. The place for that conversation is not here nor does time, or my word count permit. However, know this: Your out-of-context usage of J.Cole’s lyrics was borderline disrespectful, egregious, and out of line. Let me see how to better phrase this: You played yourself. You took less than 16 bars from a song to paint an artist known to uplift, excite and amaze listeners with his broad views, clear insight, humbleness and inspirational background and managed to turn him into a race hating, misogynist.
Look ma, get your act together. We all go to the same school and in my time here I’ve learned the importance of doing my research and not rushing to rash judgment and the importance of integrity; even more so in my writing. All I can do is suggest you do the same. Make it one of the commitments of your spring semester to become an accurate, well versed (pun intended), writer who contributes to this campus’s need for unity. Because right now, you’re “so far gone”.
Good LUCK.
In properly quoting J.Cole ” science can tell us how/ but they can’t tell us why” and WHY you chose to write such an inconsistent and biased article that can potentially divide a student body is an answer I’m currently in search of.Know this. A formal response with an ACCURATE depiction of J.Cole will be submitted to the Oswegonian this week. I only hope you and the rest of the school are afforded the opportunity to read it . You might learn a thing or two.
My First Reaction to the J.Cole article
Reads the Headline:
Reads “tendency to include racial slurs and often makes references to the ghetto”
Reads all the verses taken out of context to portray him as a misogynist and hatemonger:
Finishes reading the rest of the wild claims:
….this can’t be
Let Me See You Network It
Ever wonder what it’s like to go behind the scenes of an Oswego State Hockey game? I wish I could speak for those who get to really see what goes down behind locker room doors, but instead let me tell you about how I wound up getting paid to watch and help others enjoy the game of hockey 😀
Since I was an energetic, Oswego-crazy freshman, I’ve worked for the Athletic Department at SUNY Oswego with their men’s and women’s hockey teams. A former Laker Leader and graduate of Oswego had introduced me to the ushering program and by my 6th week into the semester, I was donning a yellow fleece, khakis, and a smile as I greeted spectators arriving for the 7pm hockey game. Since then, I’ve been hooked. I get to watch hockey, chat with spectators, network with visiting teams and help make the game run smoothly… all while getting paid.
As I finish out my third year with the Athletic Department, I do so as an usher for 2 years who is now an Event Liaison. This means I arrive at the arena 2 1/2 hours prior to game time, hang around for a bit post-game, all in the name of behind-the-scenes game management. 🙂
First, I’ll unlock the bathrooms and referee locker room on the home side. Then I’ll head over to the visitor’s side and maybe have a chat with Jay, one of the Zamboni/ice maintenance guys (they’re all such cool guys to chat with!) and wait for the visiting team’s bus to arrive. Once they arrive, I introduce myself to the team and their coaches, lead them to their locker rooms and hand them their key. Then I’ll head back over to our side of the arena and wait for the officials to arrive, and do the same thing.
I hang with my ushers for a little while as we await the doors opening at 6pm, and then it’s all hands on deck as we handle the huge line of people looking to get into the arena. GAME TIME! I float around the arena with my cool Britney Spears headset and check in with my ushers to make sure everyone’s on their A-game. I also run errands for Malcolm, my boss and a really cool guy to chill with. By the end of the 2nd period, I head to the Box Office for the official spectator count and pass it along to Bill Foley, the PA Announcer for men’s hockey who announces it and deems our fans to be “FANNNNNN-TASTIC!” 🙂 As the 3rd period winds down, I head to the official’s tunnel and finish out the game there. When the refs come off the ice I let them head into their locker room and grab their key so they can take their time to leave. I wait for the scoresheets to be completed and distribute them among the officials, our coaches, and Adele Burk in the Press Box for Sports Information. Lastly, I bring the visiting team their copy of the scoresheet, collect their key, and wish them well on their trip home. And that’s all she wrote. 🙂
Being involved with the hockey programs has also granted me other opportunities, which came about when the Assistant Athletic Director Cora Brumley approached me about PA Announcing for Laker Softball. I passed up the opportunity my freshman year because I was unsure of how busy I would be, but I decided to do it during my sophomore year and I am so glad I did. I played softball for almost 13 years and I also am a broadcasting major so by combining the two, I feel really lucky to have this opportunity.
So anyway, moral of the story: I’ve achieved all of this by networking. By knowing the people that I knew through the things I was interested in, I was able to land two awesome jobs in my college career that have enriched and improved my time here. Believe me, it’s who you know!
Professional Procrastinator
This is a tribute to all my fellow procrastinators. We all live for the rush(anxiety) of scrambling to complete assignments and study for test that we put off till its just to late.
I see ya Homies :
This ones for you!
How are You Feeling?
The Desire
The desire to succeed may start in the heart but it ends in the Effort.
Happy Valentines Day
A very Happy Valentine to those who partake and celebrate.
For those who don’t. Its ok…go do some homework you’ll be alright.
Ac-Ti-O-N
Got a lot done this week started resumed research and tutoring,I read untold hours of history (two classes), and last but not least I went to Oswego’s own 36 hour film festival. For clarification the films didn’t last 36 hours but the competitors had only 36 hours to make an approximately 10 minuet film. Even with their coursework and varying schedules they all managed to create some amazing films. Though I was a little sceptical at first I was quickly converted into a fan after the first movie. Something about having past pretty much all of the actors in the halls and seeing the familiar campus locals made the films a lot more intriguing. The event itself had popcorn, candy, kids kicking the back of peoples seats, everything a movie go-er would come to expect. I definitely think that it is an event that everyone should go to at least once.
Embassy protesting: just another day on the job
I am so much in love with life right now. I truly am. La vie est tres tres tres bonne! Je l’aime tourjours!
I’m having a blast being down here in D.C. It’s an amazing city with tons to do. Just the other night we were at a place called Madam’s Organ (seemingly a former brothel), for a fundraiser for Amnesty’s Mid-Atlantic Region. It was a good time hanging out with interns and such. Afterward we went to a hooka bar where we hung out with our friends from the Middle-East while we watched the news about Egypt.
This weekend I just went skiing in Pennsylvania with my brother and dad, and that too was a blast. Just a note, though, whoever lives in Pennsylvania – I’m sorry. Your roads are the most poorly marked roads ever! Honestly, who puts exits 40 miles from each other without warning you that if you miss your exit you have to drive an hour just to turn back and drive another hour to get back to where you were coming from! Sheesh. This is near Pittsburgh too. I think the Steelers lost the SuperBowl because Pennsylvania roads are bad. Just a thought.
Anyway – my internship is going great. I spoke to a lot of Congressmen and women this week to get them to sign a letter to Secretary Clinton urging her to tell the Mexican government that they need to stop abusing human rights in their country. We’ve also been doing a lot with Egypt. We’ve had press conferences, press releases, interviews, rallies and more all covering the past two weeks of mayhem in Egypt.
Here I am with a fellow intern, Heba (whose family lives in Cairo and was giving us updated information):
photo courtesy of Lanna Ripp.
We got to protest outside of the Egyptian embassy in D.C. to encourage them to help maintain human rights in Eygpt.
Here’s a picture of us with Aasif Mandvi from the Daily Show:
photo posted on Facebook.com by Maggie Carroll.
So, good news is that President Mubarak has decided to step down as president of Egypt. After 60 years or however long he was in power, it’s about time for change. The only thing we’re kind of nervous of is that the military rule will be something undesirable and too strict. We’ll see. We can hope for a strong democracy in Egypt for everyone’s sakes, but most importantly the Egyptian people’s sakes.
One month into the internship, woot! Wish me luck! I’ll keep you posted.
Oh, yea. Here’s another picture of me that a Reuters photographer took at the rally.
Photo credit: Molly from Reuters
