Third Monthly Community Learninig Colloquial

The third monthly community learning colloquial was the last one of the semester. Unlike the previous two Colloquials the third one was hosted by Dr. Fatimah Linda Collier Jackson. She is a professor of Anthropology and Director of the Institute of African American research at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She was imperative in the mapping of the human genome as well as a researcher in the origins of humanity. She coordinates the research for the African Burial ground located in New York. In 2002 she founded the first human DNA bank in Africa in an attempt to revolutionize DNA research on the continent of Africa. She believes "interdisciplinary research"is key component to the uplift of the African Diaspora.

One of the key components of freshmen seminar is interdisciplinary research. From High school students don't necessarily have the best researching habits. The purpose of Freshmen Seminar is to teach students how to do independent research and then apply this to a real life problem. This research should be done by interdisciplinary research as freshmen seminar brings freshmen of different academic disciplines together. Dr. Jackson spoke on the importance of this type of research. She accredited most of her success to the usage of interdisciplinary research.

2nd Freshmen Seminar Lecture

The topic of the second freshmen seminar lecture was Health and Fitness. The four main points that were emphasized were body, mind, spirit, and environment. The purpose of this lecture was to help deal with the mental stress of college and fighting the dreaded freshmen 15 (for most of my drew brothers we are losing weight). The importance of exercising frequently and balancing your fitness were heavily stressed. This is where the FITT factors were introduced: frequency, intensity, time, type. We were also introduced to the fitness components; cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, and body composition. Some activities discussed in staying fit was walking, swimming, and jogging. This lecture held special importance for me because I recently quit the track team. Thus, for the first time in years I do not have a daily exercise routine. I realize that I now should put a more concerned effort in staying in shape. Also, I have always been concerned with looking like a physical specimen. Sadly I have a slim body time that I have come to accept and love as long as I have definition. Thats the problem; How can I maintain a slim built without exercise. To increase my chest size (basically to look more appealing to the ladies) Ive began to do 50 push-ups a night. The major concern I have is keeping the abs looking sexy. I gotta keep that sexy slimness that the ladies love. One of my experiments was doing jumping jacks in the shower. However, the most important concern is that of maintaining mental health.

College is an amazing experiences that exposes people to several new situations and lifestyles. This experience can put stress on a person and reveal issues that were held deep inside. One of the best ways to avoid this is to keep a strong base. Students should keep in contact with their parents to stay mentally stable. Writing a 5 year plan to keep you focus will also benefit your mental health. Grades are important but it is even more imperative that you maintain your sanity.

Intellectual Exemplars

Charles Drew was a physician, ground breaker, and professor at Howard university. As a youth he was a very talented athlete. Early on in his 20s he had lots of success as an athletic director. He is most famous for his work with blood transfusions and his creations of huge blood banks that save thousands of lives during WW2. At Howard Drew is something of a legend. The freshmen male dormitory is names after him and he is considered the ideal of man. Drew worked at Howard as a Professor and a doctor. Even his death involved his ever present need to help. He fell asleep at the wheel of a car as he drove three of his students to a conference in Alabama. During his years at Howard Charles Drew helped build the medicine department at Howard. He received several awards during his tenure and influenced a number of young lives. Today his legacy can be seen by the several schools named after him most noteworthy the Charles Drew school of medicine in California.

International Consciouness

This assignment is inspired by United Nations Day which was near the end of October. The assignment was to identify a country outside of the US and discuss its strengths and weaknesses. The country I choose was Ghana. Ghana is an African nation in West Africa. It gained its independence in 1957 from Britain which resulted to the independence of several other African nations on the 60s. The word Ghana means "Warrior King". Before it's colonization the area was inhabited by the people of the Akan kingdoms. Its name was chosen to represent the ancient empire of Ghana that existed c. 790-1076. The empire was the result of the Trans Saharan trade of salt and gold. Its most recent claim of fame is defeating the U.S. team in the world cup and earning a spot in the field of 16. It also was the most recent winner of the U-20 world cup.

Sadly, its recent athletic success doesn't cure the problems that face the nation (and most African nations). Some of these problems is poverty of citizens, debt of the nation, disease, and an overall lack of resources. The problems are not as exaggerated as news clippings of the practice of Juju and killing children and goats in backwoods traditions would suggest. Its capitol city of Accra is similar to any city that you would see in America. Economically, Ghana is twice as rich as the poorer African nations. However, 30% of its population live below the international poverty line. As a nation Ghana is rich in natural resources. Sadly, the nation is not in control of these resources and relies on economic assistance from other nations and independent investing from the Ghanaian diaspora.

Ghana is one of the most important nations in Africa. Its respected for its historical greatness and it being the first nation to gain independence. It is a member of the United Nations and the African Union. It's politics were imperative in the Pan African movement in the 60s. It is considered to be one of the top ten nations in Africa.

Autobiographical Presentations

According to the syllabus every student has to do an autobiographical presentation on their academic journey. Personally, I feel my academic journey took off near the end of 1st grade when I took a placement/IQ test thing. Back then I had no idea what that test was about. I guessed on most of the questions because most of them had no words (seriously what type of test has no words). Looking back I realize that I was took a complex aptitude test. When the results of this test came in it suggested that certain members of the class should be in the magnet school program. Thus, when it was time to start second grade I was at a new school and as part of the TAG program (talented and gifted). My next important moment in my academic life came after elementary school. Instead of sending me to the local middle school my mother thought it would be a good idea to send her 12 year old son to boarding school (I was entering the seventh grade). My academic life didn't take any big jumps until around the tenth grade. It was at that time in my life that i began to mature as a person. I lost my attitude problem and began to act as the person today who always "handles his business". This maturity period is what i credit for my boom in grades. I also believe it played a huge role in my high SAT scores which allowed me to receive the legacy scholarship.

Howard University begins my next step in academia. The overall college experience seems regular to me. I believe that is because I went to boarding school. However, this university is full of many new experiences for me. I've noticed that I have better study habits than most of my peers and a clear understanding of what I want to do with my life and the purpose of college. In addition I'm slightly disappointed in college in general. I thought it would be this large world of knowledge and next level thinking but that just isn't the case. I'm beginning to understand that undergrad has more to do with networking and learning job skills rather than increasing intellect. Sadly, I've yet to find any organizations that have sparked my interest and have lost an interest in my Track which I once loved. Still, their are some academic challenges that I have faced in college.

One of my biggest challenges is the perception of me as a student. I've always been somewhat of a jokester and a little bit of a class clown but people knew me in High school and understood that I took my academics seriously. Now I feel like some of my professors have a bad view of me or generally don't like me. I hope this doesn't reflect on my as I haven't missed any classes or assignments yet this fall. Another issue that I have is in math. It seems that every freshmen is failing or withdrawing from math. There is a theory that you must be a math genius to do well in college. What surprised me the most is not being allowed to use a calculator on test. I thought the purpose of graphing calculators was college. I understand the want for students to comprehend the material completely and to learn and display a knowledge of concepts. However, this is college; I feel like its my job to show you the answer. Losing points for not showing work and denying the use of calculators seems like high school stuff to me. My hope is that my work speaks for itself. Even if professors are arrogant or don't like me as a person my work should still stand on its own. Anything below a 3.5 this semester would be considered a failure.

Fields of Study

Its always good to rewrite your notes so I decided to rewrite my notes on my blog

Fields of Human Study

Natural Sciences

Social Sciences

Humanities

Natural Sciences: the study of the natural universe; natural environment

logical sciences: structure and functions of organisms

Digestive functions

Reproduction systems

Nervous systems

Physical Sciences: the study of the physical universe

matter, motion, and velocity

Social Sciences: the social universe

politics, philosophy, economics, and history

Political Science: the study of power and how we as individuals in society govern ourselves

Power: the ability of a person to control and influence the actions of a person

Political Science: the distribution of advantages and disadvantages

Politics: who gets what, when, and how

Economics: the study of how to make money

production

consumption

utilization of goods and services

Anthropology: the study of the way we look

physical traits: recurring characteristics

cultural aspects

Sociology: the study of human society

relationship from individual to individual

relationship between individuals and groups

relationship between groups and individuals

poverty, crime, justice, etc

Psychology: the study of behavior of mental process

HU Groups/Organizations

As a freshman at Howard you quickly realize there are several opportunities for leadership through the various clubs and organizations. Many students use these outlets to refine their skills and prepare for their future works. These clubs and organizations also provide networking opportunities for the future. For Freshmen seminar, students are required to look up some of these groups and research them. We are then asked to post our research on this blog.

Progressive Black Men: A non-profit organization dedicated to serving the community through collective knowledge. This organization has been around for 20 years and has chapters in Gainesville, Tampa, Washington D.C., and its headquarters in Tallahassee.

Gentlemen of Drew Social Club: This is Howard's largest men organization and was created in1982. The groups main goal is to mentor young males and promote higher education.

Campus Pals: An organization that main purpose is to introduce freshmen to Howard University. This is accomplished through several social events that allow student networking opportunities.

International Pals: This group was started in 1985 and its main goal is to introduce international students to Howard. Its quote that perfectly summon the groups purpose is "Bridging boundaries...forging families".

Black Law Students: This organization was created to demonstrate the needs of black law students. It is based upon the lacking of those of African descent in advanced careers such as law. Its main purpose is to help the black law student continue the fight for justice.