K.D. is not happy about Xavier today Wednesday, Dec 10 2008

If Katherine Drexel was alive today, I think she will be impressed,  but not happy with the way Xavier has become. Drexel would be impressed by the prestige this University has, having good Pharmacy, Pre-Medical, and Physics programs. Drexel will be impressed by the University’s ability to strive even further after the destruction of Hurricane Katrina. Also, the fact that Xavier is not a party school. But I do not think she will be happy with Xavier. Xavier has become a money-driven institution who is not really interested in better providing the education of minorities. Xavier only wants to treat their students as an adult when it comes to academics and fiscal, but don’t respect them as an adult when it comes to everything else. I cannot believe a University can be interested in promoting a higher education for minorities when their version of financial assisstance involves putting them in debt to do so.  In addition, the University does not sign contracts in the interest of the students. My first example is the campus life. The student residents are treated poorly. The housing conditions borderlines that of a slum lord. The next example, the quality of the campus food services, monopolized by Sudexho, is extremely poor. The residence halls have  strictly implemented curfews, which are unnecessary if the students are adults. Xavier did not take much care when reviewing admissions applications. It seems like they accepted anybody for the money without blatantly informing us about the realities of campus life so potential students can make a better consideration whether or not this is a suitable University to attend. As a nun, I would assume that she actually cares about the wellfare of the students as well as the academics. Therefore, I don’t think Katharine Drexel will be happy of an excellent education with the students having a horrible college experience.

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my comments Wednesday, Dec 10 2008

I made five comments at the following locations:

1. vsari – “Festival”

2. msmith08 – “What is my favorite class at Xavier and why?”

3. ktran – “What is your favorite class at Xavier and why”

4. aspurloc – “Why I Decided to Come to Xavier”

5. twinlv – “Why did you chosse to come to Xavier?”

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old festivals Sunday, Dec 7 2008

You may not believe this, but I do not have a favorite festival. I will instead, tell you about a two wasted festivals  I remembered when I was younger. The first one: The Anti-Drug March. Every year, in the spring, my elementary school made all the students march around the Kettering neighborhood with signs and posters with anti-drug paraphernalia. The classes dedicated a week to design the posters. Then, at 10:00 that morning, the classes , by grade, to left the school in a parade for 30 minutes, shouting, “Say No To Drugs!” When we returned to the school property, everyone squeezed on the front yard to hear a guest speaker(s) for another 30 minutes. At the end was first lunch. Unfortunately, when we became middle school and high school students, many of my peers were involved in drugs and alcohol. Even worse, they skipped school and did them around the same neighborhood we used to march around every year. It was a good cause that was wasted. Tradition number two: the Cameroonian Festival. Every year, beginning, 200-, a bunch of Cameroonians gathered under one roof and showplace their traditions. That included traditional foods, the companies that shipped money and cargo, the music and videos, the clothing and jewelry, and last, the tribal performances. Cameroon has too many tribes for someone to sit there for many hours to see every tribe perform. Plus, knowing Cameroonians, the event started atrociously late. So of course, people only stayed to see their tribe(s) perform, then left. Last year, my mother’s tribe was near the end of the list, therefore I was there for over seven hours. That totally wasted my day.

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favorite class in my 1st semester at Xavier Sunday, Dec 7 2008

To be honest, my first 14 credits at Xavier has been a pain in my behind. In Calculus, derivatives, integrals, and the graphs in-between did not translate to english.  In English Composition & Rhetoric, I can never found the time to perfectly craft my essays to reflect my writing abilities, never-the-less possess the  “good” writing that constitutes an “A” according to my professor. In Chemistry, the drills drove me crazy. I complained about this torture to my professor and she told me the point of the class is to push me to the edge of the cliff, then pull me back inland before I jump. That’s cruel. Public Speaking is not my best subject, being an introvert,  so doing the research for the speech and doing the speech itself.  I was often so confused in Chemistry Lab because the professor told me all the directions at once and expected my brain to regurgitate it all immediately, first thing on an early Monday morning. Last, I had Freshman Seminar to stress about every week because I never had a chance to get the work done. At the end, it’s not worth it to complain about these class because it gets harder next semester. So why not say something positive, like my favorite class? My favorite class is Chemistry, not because it’s my major, but because it requires hard time and dedication. If I did not like Chemistry, I won’t be willing to put in the effort of studying it. So I conclude, I like Chemistry.

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poverty & n.o. Sunday, Dec 7 2008

New Orleans have, for history, been the residence of citizens in poverty. As the rest of society outside evolve and New Orleans stayed behind, one do wonder if poverty benefits or hurts New Orleans. Poverty, being the reason why New Orleans are behind, seems to hurt New Orleans. There is nothing worse for a community than the stigma of poverty. The effects of poverty seem to be a never-ending circle. Poverty is associated with most things wrong with communities, so I won’t state the obvious. In poverty stricken areas, the prestige is low.  New Orleans is less likely to placed on a pedistool by its own residents, than outsiders.  Poverty areas are most likely less protected legally in police enforcement and in the law, for example, the obvious corruption throughout the government.  When disaster strikes, poverty zones are less considered and on the lower end of priority when aid is desperately needed, for example, Hurricane Katrina. Poverty can also be linked to why many New Orleaneans were displaced and why too many home owners cannot return to their homes up to this present day. As long as poor is bad and rich is good, poverty will also be linked to a negative perspective. But there are indeed positives to a community being in poverty. Poverty held New Orleans in a time capsule in which all can still authentically experience the things that made New Orleans historical, such as the music, food, and traditions. Poverty has turned New Orleans into a living historical monument, which is pretty cool. That makes New Orleans unique because the modernization of rest of United States made it loose its precious historical essence. Poverty is also good for New Orleans because modernizing it will worsen the poverty situation rather then helping it. As I conclude, I wonder: what can be done to help New Orleans retain its historical value, but help its residents live above poverty?

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a good political leader Sunday, Dec 7 2008

What makes a good political leader? In the American world of politics, the Democrats are wolves that tell people (sheep) everything the people want to hear in order to disguise themselves in the people’s clothing then devour the people as soon after they voted for them.  Republicans, on the other hand, are foxes who will tell the people (prey) straightforward that they intend to devour them. As far as the value content, Conservatives are seen as stuck up on traditional values who will never let up to modernization, while the Liberals’ objectives seem to eliminate all existence of anything that institutes any sense of moral values. So where am I in answering this question? Nowhere yet. Given what I just said, don’t expect me to throw out a bunch of adjectives. In this historical election, I was deeply disappointed. The general media covered Obama like a celebrity and treated McCain with the short end of the stick with minimum coverage, and even to that, with harsh connotation. Most Black Democrats dumped Clinton for Obama with absolutely no question and basically worshiped Obama like he’s Jesus. Then, they felt they had the right to question a fellow Black person who actually paid attention to what Obama said and don’t support it. In addition, most Blacks were completely biased against McCain, labeling him just like Bush without even taking any consideration to pay attention to the differences. As far as the Republican camp, even if the general America was more anti-Republican then they were last election, when they only reason they were reinstated in the White House was because the Democrats nominated the two-faced flip-flopper Kerry, they could have at least ended their reign in a dignified fashion. The Republican camp was obviously dis-unified and disorganized. Their most crucial mistake was when McCain had the oppurtunity to counter Obama’s VP pick at the Republican convention, he chose this airhead, Palin. I was extremely disappointed that this HBCU, Xavier, a supposedly educational environment, could be so politically ignorant this election.  I voted for what I believed is the best approach to fix America’s problems, and that’s what truly matters at the end. A good political leader is the person one believes will uphold and carry out what that one believes in. That, is a different answer to whoever that one is. As a D.C. native, I’m not bitter about the election results; rather praying our new incoming resident can be good political leader for this nation’s sake.

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my professional plans Monday, Sep 29 2008

My professional goal is to become a Pharmacologist.  Pharmacology is generally the study of the effects of medicine to the body. I became interested in this field when I watch either a 20/20 or 60 Minutes special on the Food and Drug Administration. The issue was on drugs that became unsafe in the human bodies after long term use. Many people reported to have had serious medical effects from taking certain drugs. The news media and lawyers turned to the FDA, that is responsible for the regulation of pharmaceuticals in the market. Of course, the FDA denied having responsibility for the incidents, but one Pharmacist, who was employed by the FDA, stepped up and said that his research found certain drugs dangerous but the FDA overlooked his findings and approved them to go on the market reluctantly. When I saw that special, I was inspired to become a Pharmacologist in order to ensure that the drugs, whether prescription or over-the-counter, are safe for people to take. I do not believe the world be a safer place if the medicines are safe. Unfortunately there is a new epidemic in the pharmaceutical world: people take medicines to cure or control one complicated illness to end up with an even more serious illness, caused by the medicines they took. I am concerned that most medicines being taken for a long time and/or causes dependency have fatal side effects. I believe that most illness would be avoided if people would consume healthier diets and practice healthier behaviors. This is where Xavier’s mission effects my career plans. As a Pharmacologist, I will promote a healthy society by taking a lead role in advocating better. Though drugs is my profession, it is still my responsibility to tell people to live better life styles to avoid being dependent on medications.

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why i came to xavier Tuesday, Sep 23 2008

If you get a plane ticket to get away from home, take it – it is well worth it. Being accepted to Xavier was my plane ticket away from home. Other than the obvious reason, to study my major [Pharmacy], I really came this far just to get away from Maryland. I did not grow up in peaceful home, and everytime I turned around, there was new drama. I was a child of divorce, plus have a little brother with special needs. I have been through a lot through my seventeen years, and I knew the best thing for my life was just to get away. I ran away from home a few times, but then realized that there is a better way to escape. While I was waiting for a reasonable method to escape, there was even more drama. I was very stressed in high school because of the situations at home. My academic and attendance records suffered due to my manifested bad habbits. My Guidance Counselor saw I was a specially intelligent child. I have great learning and testing abilities. I was an International Baccalaureate candidate, and also took Advanced Placement senior year. I was one of the few students in Ms. Yearwood’s case load that pushed and was very eager to take any advanced and accelerated coarses in high school. Ms. Yearwood knew that I knew what I wanted to be, but saw a greater potential in me. She pushed me to apply to Xavier as Chemistry, Pre-medical, because she has great confidence that I will excel in medical school. I got accepted, but changed my major to Pre-pharmacy in the summer. That is why I am here today, at Xavier.

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