THE CRISIS OF CREDIT VISUALIZED

more about "THE CRISIS OF CREDIT VISUALIZED", posted with vodpod

This is a short and simple story of the credit crisis. The goal of giving form to a complex situation like the credit crisis is to quickly supply the essence of the situation to those unfamiliar and uninitiated.

This project by Jonathan Jarvis was completed as part of his thesis work in the Media Design Program, a graduate studio at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.

Click here for more info. on Jonathan Jarvis and his broader thesis work exploring the use of new media to make sense of an increasingly complex world.

Le Provoc: Multicultural Affairs Article #5

"It has arrived! The semester has finally come to an end, and with it a whole lot of reflections. It is always wise to allow ourselves to take a moment and reflect back on the semester up to this point in order to improve if necessary.

It is impossible to reflect back on the past three months without taking notice of our historic presidential election. And so I begin my reflection with a quotation from our president-to-be, Barack Obama. It reads:

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek."

This excerpt is very truthful in that it allows for our minds to wander and think of the possible changes that we are capable of making. Young people are often associated with having poor awareness of society and are often characterized as careless individuals, as my American Government professor would reiterate. Observation and criticism are always in effect from older people and we often serve as targets of misjudgment. Despite these stereotypes, we have proven to be a driving force behind the outcome of the presidential election last month.

According to a recent article, entitled, "Youth vote may have been key in Obama's win" written by MSNBC.com's Melissa Dahl, the record turnout of the youth vote may have had a big impact on the results. Dahl affirms that "young voters preferred Obama over McCain by 68 percent to 30 percent- the highest share of the youth vote obtained by any candidate since exit polls began reporting results by age in 1976." This is a mind-changing turnout. Any citizen who witnessed the progress of the elections had to have witnessed the eagerness and fervor of those who cast their votes.

Personally, I had the opportunity to witness my fellow peers campaign for their candidate and carry out debates in dormitories and other social places around campus. The desire to seek change in our political sphere and to have our voices heard in relation to distinct social issues brought about the record breaking number of votes. Every checkmark signified a determination to seek out change.

This did not only include the presidential election, but also issues which have arisen in our communities, issues such as Question 1, regarding the Massachusetts State Income Tax Repeal, which aimed at ending the current 5.3 percent income tax on wages, interest, dividends, and capital gains. This decision would have had a major effect on young people per se, since there would have been a decrease in funding for education, an increase in class sizes, and cuts for after-school programs. Luckily we were able to overturn that decision, and it will not affect our communities as much. This serves as an illustration of the power not only of the youth vote, but also the vote of everyone in accord.

The ability to know our strength as dynamic individuals has made a historic impact on the past election. We can now rejoice and continue to be attentive to the decisions that will affect us all in the near future. This past election has also enabled us to realize the power of hope. Hope is what many young people held throughout the election and what president-elect Obama utilizes in his rhetoric.

With that said, I invite you all to come to our African-Latino-Asian and Native-American Network (ALANA) meetings every Thursdays at 5 p.m. in the Student Activities room. Come experience the power of our open forums, which aim at creating a change within ourselves and communities of how we view the world."

Marely Garcia '11

Community Outreach, ALANA Network

"When Are We Going to Get Over It?" by Dr. Andrew Manis

The author of five books, Dr. Andrew Manis is a frequent lecturer and has become one of Central Georgia's leading authorities on the history of race relations, especially in the South. His most recent book, Macon Black and White: An Unutterable Separation of the American Century, published in 2004 by Mercer University Press and the Tubman African American Museum, earned him the 2005 Georgia Author of the Year (History Division) award, and he was a semifinalist for the 2005 Robert F. Kennedy Book Award.

An ordained minister, Manis received his bachelor's degree from Samford University, and his Master's of Divinity and Ph.D. from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been at Macon State College since 2000 and previously served as editor for religion and Southern Studies with Mercer University Press; was associate professor of religion at Averett College in Virginia; was a fellow in the Department of History at the University of Pennsylvania; and an assistant professor of theology at Xavier University of Louisiana.

Dr. Manis recently wrote an article which has been circulating the internet for the past month, and has most recently been featured on a blog titled "The Cotton Field Chronicle: Echoes from the Rural South..." The article touches on some important issues concerning race relations in America and it is definitely worth the read.

Read below for the article.

"For much of the last forty years, ever since America "fixed" its race problem in the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts, we white people have been impatient with African Americans who continued to blame race for their difficulties. Often we have heard whites ask, "When are African Americans finally going to get over it?

Now I want to ask: "When are we White Americans going to get over our ridiculous obsession with skin color?

Recent reports that "Election Spurs Hundreds' of Race Threats, Crimes" should frighten and infuriate every one of us. Having grown up in "Bombingham," Alabama in the 1960s, I remember overhearing an avalanche of comments about what many white classmates and their parents wanted to do to John and Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King. Eventually, as you may recall, in all three cases, someone decided to do more than "talk the talk."

Since our recent presidential election, to our eternal shame we are once again hearing the same reprehensible talk I remember from my boyhood.

We white people have controlled political life in the disunited colonies and United States for some 400 years on this continent. Conservative whites have been in power 28 of the last 40 years. Even during the eight Clinton years, conservatives in Congress blocked most of his agenda and pulled him to the right. Yet never in that period did I read any headlines suggesting that anyone was calling for the assassinations of presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan, or either of the Bushes. Criticize them, yes. Call for their impeachment, perhaps.

But there were no bounties on their heads. And even when someone did try to kill Ronald Reagan, the perpetrator was non-political mental case who wanted merely to impress Jody Foster.

But elect a liberal who happens to be Black and we're back in the sixties again. At this point in our history, we should be proud that we've proven what conservatives are always saying -that in America anything is possible, EVEN electing a black man as president. But instead we now hear that schoolchildren from Maine to California are talking about wanting to "assassinate Obama."

Fighting the urge to throw up, I can only ask, "How long?" How long before we white people realize we can't make our nation, much less the whole world, look like us? How long until we white people can -once and for all- get over this hell-conceived preoccupation with skin color? How long until we white people get over the demonic conviction that white skin makes us superior? How long before we white people get over our bitter resentments about being demoted to the status of equality with non-whites?

How long before we get over our expectations that we should be at the head of the line merely because of our white skin? How long until we white people end our silence and call out our peers when they share the latest racist jokes in the privacy of our white-only conversations?

I believe in free speech, but how long until we white people start making racist loudmouths as socially uncomfortable as we do flag burners? How long until we white people will stop insisting that blacks exercise personal responsibility, build strong families, educate themselves enough to edit the Harvard Law Review, and work hard enough to become President of the United States, only to threaten to assassinate them when they do?

How long before we starting "living out the true meaning" of our creeds, both civil and religious, that all men and women are created equal and that "red and yellow, black and white" all are precious in God's sight?

Until this past November 4, I didn't believe this country would ever elect an African American to the presidency. I still don't believe I'll live long enough to see us white people get over our racism problem. But here's my three-point plan:

First, everyday that Barack Obama lives in the White House that Black Slaves Built I'm going to pray that God (and the Secret Service) will protect him and his family from us white people.

Second, I'm going to report to the FBI any white person I overhear saying, in seriousness or in jest, anything of a threatening nature about President Obama.

Third, I'm going to pray to live long enough to see America surprise the world once again, when white people can "in spirit and in truth" sing of our damnable color prejudice, "We HAVE overcome.""

For more info on Dr. Andrew Manis and "The Cotton Field Chronicle: Echoes from the Rural South..." click here.

ALANA Network E-board Dinner

At the end of the Fall semester, the ALANA Network Executive Board decided to get together for one last time before the holidays. At the request of Brenda Safford, Director of Multicultural Affairs, the e-board went out for dinner at Tribeca Restaurant, one of the newest upscale restaurants in the Worcester area.

The ALANA Network e-board, along with Brenda Safford, and Charlaine St. Charles, Graduate Assistant for the Office of Multicultural Affairs, were all in attendance at the dinner. It was a pleasure to have the entire ALANA Network e-board all together in such a serene setting for the last time in the year.

The highlight of the dinner was probably the gift-giving occasion for Secret Santa. The limit to how much could be spent on a gift was $5.00, and it was quite interesting to see what each person got as a gift. Gifts ranged from Barrack Obama’s The Audacity of Hope, to Planter’s Honey Roasted Peanuts, but all the gifts received were suitably picked.

All in all, the e-board dinner was a great success and a very memorable moment. Here are some pictures from the dinner.

HOW TO SOLVE ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

more about "HOW TO SOLVE ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION", posted with vodpod.Illegal immigration is one of the most divisive issues in America today. In this episode, Pinky asks Daisy for his take on what's really going on. In addition, Daisy tells us how to solve the whole problem in 5 minutes.Don’t let the title of this YouTube video fool you. This is an educational, thought-provoking video that raises a lot of valid points and arguments concerning the issue of immigration. The video is provided by the PinkyShow.org
The Pinky Show is an original super lo-tech hand-drawn educational TV show. They focus on information & ideas that have been misrepresented, suppressed, ignored, or otherwise excluded from mainstream discussion. Pinky, the show’s host, presents and analyzes the material in an informal, easy-to-understand way, with helpful illustrations that she draws herself. Episodes are available on the internet for free at http://www.pinkyshow.org/.
Enjoy!