Self-Evaluation

At the beginning of the semester, I lamented having to take this class again. Yes, again. As a 23 year old, I've had to come and go from Howard University because of financial issues without ever passing Freshman Seminar. I knew if it was anything like the first time taking it, I was going to regret it. It was honestly quite the opposite. The setup of Freshman Seminar was not only convenient but I thought it was very useful, even for me. I learned facts about the buildings on the campus and the instrumental African-Americans who it is our honor to name those buildings after. I learned about the African burial ground and have been given new inspiration to move through life with purpose because there is no age restriction on greatness. From Dr. Pollard's talk on the hip-hop culture to Dr. Gbadegesin's Iwa story on character, everything not only tied in but gave me the tools to finish my Howard career strong, even though I'm not a freshman. Most of the presentations in the class were done thoroughly enough for me to gain insight on things I never even considered to be problems today, like cyber bullying on teens. Many of the freshmen in the class were learning like I was so it was really cool to see us learning the same. I know that I came to Howard University to be exposed to a different way of thinking to aid in becoming the critical intellectual that I know I can be. I know that this new set up of Freshmen seminar has done that for me and I'm sure will serve as the same for many freshmen classes to come. I loved this course!

Faculty Interview with Fine Arts Chairman, Professor Joe Selmon

For our group presentation, we were supposed to interview a faculty memeber about our topic. My group, New Group 5, chose to discuss the discussion of how Black America views Hip-Hop. Every generation has had some type of music that has revolutionized their generation but that has also been rejected by those older than them. Even watching "Ray" (starring Jamie Foxx and Kerry Washington), there were scenes where Ray Charles was screamed at to leave the stage because he was playing "that devil music". He was taking traditional church songs and turning them into soul music and people didn't like that. Is that the same thing that is happening to us? I asked my chairman in the Theatre Arts Department, Joe Selmon, about how Black America views Hip-Hop. Oddly enough, he not only gave me great insight to take back to my group for our presentations but he mentioned many of the things that Dr. Pollard said in his presentation on hip-hop. While he said he doesn't care for hip-hop too much because of the images that it comes with, he said there is no denying the impact that it carries and there is also no denying that have made a positive impact in this world. The first name out of this mouth happened to be Public Enemy and their star track "Fight the Power". He said coming from a militant background where Black people in this country were proactive about their concerns, Public Enemy was instrumental in the "changing of the guard". He sees a lot of positivity in hip hop but he is beginning to see the problems with it. It doesn't promote education, it objectifies women, and it doesn't promote wise financial decisions. I would argue that much of the music before it did the same thing but that discussion is for another day. It was encouraging hearing from another source, especially the chairman of my department, that he appreciates the contributions that hip-hop has had on the world he continues to live in. Great interview!

Actualizing Self

Dr. Segun Gbadegesin had a great presentation today about self-actualization and the story surrounding it. First, I was really feeling that well today and wasn't sure if Iwas going to come to class. I am now happy that I did. Dr. Gbadegesin was very captivating and knew his material, which I always appreciate in an instructor's presentation. He was very passionate about his material. Dr. Gbadegesin narrated on the story of Iwa. The story of Iwa is an African story that has been passed down through the generations. It was a story that signified the principles that was important in their society. To be honest, being of African descent, it is now a story the story of Iwa signified the principles that ARE important to our society. Basically, she was the wife of Orunmila and just wanted to be respected by him. Facing the realities of their relationship, she left him and eventually devastated him. It turned out that he could not handle life without her and became a statistic by losing everything that he had. Even after searching for her, he came up with nothing. Iwa, according to Dr. Gbadegesin, embodies the concept of character and it is our job to keep her around. If we lose "her", we lose everything. I learned so much from this presentation.

The Effects of Young People

Young People like me. Young people like me have made a difference in this world that continue to affect the generation we live in now! Dr. Pollard's presentation on the impact that young people have made was mind-blowing. There are a lot of people who would not want to recognize that many of the movements that have been significan in the history of the African-American negro have come because of the wisdom of the older generation and the action of the younger. There were so many names that Dr. Pollard mentioned in his presentation with amazing perspective on why they are significant. From Lauryn Hill, A Tribe Called Quest, Afrika Bambaataa, Curtis Mayfield, James Brown, to Jay-Z, Nas, Tupac Shakur, Notorious B.I.G., and Kanye West. He mentioned many of the thinkers, philosophers, and idealists who will shape this generation. He began speaking about the consciousness of our generation and the responsibility that is required from all of the people are privy to this information. Within our generation, we have socially conscious artists who not only shape the way that we think, dress, and act, but are an artistic outlet for those of us who don't have the voice to project to millions of people at a time. He finished off the presentation with one of my favorite videos from Jadakiss, "Why", which happens to be one of my favorite songs. The song is filled with questions about the government and many of the questions that people our age should be talking about. I appreciated this presentation so much because I just knew that it was from the heart. It inspired to look more into the impact that I can make right now. Because people my age are doing it now....

African Burial Ground

Going to the African Burial Grounds in NY has been one of the most unexpected and rewarding experiences of my life. I knew that Dr. Carr would take us to an establishment that was culturally and spiritually significant to the history and advancement to us as African-Americans but I wasn't quite expecting this. The whole environment from leaving in Washington, DC felt like a scene right out of one of my favorite movies, "Remember the Titans". There is a scene where all of the students, black and white, run in the camp without knowing where they are headed. In the cold, they stop at a place which served for the War of Gettysburg. In the cold leaving from DC, I wasn't sure what to expect. But seeing the burial ground was earth-shattering for me. The most instrumental part for me was the stories of how these people respected the legacies of their loved ones even with limited resources. In an era now where we have access to so much, it seems as though our respect for our ancestors and their legacy has gone away but that was a main priority to these Africans. It was very sad to hear how these Africans were treated by those who didn't even see them as humans. Many of their stories ended with being tossed to the side or not even being buried properly. The harsh realities of that life came over me as I stood there. Being confined in a small space, being chained to another person who might be seeing their dying day, no nourishment, and having the soul sucked out of me in bondage is utterly unimaginable to me. The sad part is the guide said for them that was just a way of life.

Self Evaluation

Freshmen Seminar wasn’t the worst class in the world. As a sophomore this is my second time taking this class. Overall, the class is much improved and ran a lot smoother than last year. First the lecture series in the beginning of the semester were a good idea. It introduced me to several different speakers and ideals. Even though some speakers were difficult to understand I feel like the variety of speakers at Howard is one of the schools greatest assets. Sadly, I feel as though many students don’t take full advantage of this resource at the university and having it in freshmen seminar introduces this concept to students. Moreover, as the class progressed I thought it was a great move to explain to the students the purpose of freshmen seminar. It puts the work required of students into perspective. Then there was the second half of the course that was designed around group presentations. In the workplace group skills is necessary to succeed. These projects were actually a lot more interesting than I thought they were going to be. Students actually focused on contemporary issues such as bullying, nutrition, and depression. My group focused on the cliché topic of Hip Hop. However, we tried to make it original by focusing on how Black America views Hip Hop. Through the project we had discussions, debates, and found new paradigms on the topic. I actually enjoyed the project and giving the final presentation. I think this class aided to my confidence in my ideas and beliefs and I’m excited for the rest of my academic career.

By: Stanford Fraser

Genome system

On September 6th, 2010 we had a female speaker come in and speak amongst us about genomes. This had to be the most exciting lecture in the whole course beside Dr. Alton B. Pollard lecture with the Jadakiss video. Both of these lectures were my favorite. While most people felt that the genome lecture was incredibility boring I found it beyond interesting. I love science and always will and that’s probably why I’m a chemistry major.
I already knew everything she was speaking on so it made it easier to take notes on my mbongi form and follow along. She explained to us that a DNA molecule consists of two strands that wrap around each other to resemble a twisted ladder whose sides, made of sugar and phosphate molecules. The DNA molecule is most commonly known as the double helix. The strands are connected by rings of nitrogen containing chemicals that our known as bases. There are 4 different bases that are present in DNA which are Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine, and Guanine. These bases are always paired where Adenine connects to Thymine, and Cytosine connects to Guanine. These pairings produce 4 different base pair possibilities—A to T, T to A, G to C, and C to G. This sequence is grouped into 23 distinct parts known as chromosome pairs. Science proves that the human genome is the latest in a long line of evolution, which can and is usually considered, by many, to be the architectural blueprint for human life.