I initially thought I was going to have an easy creative process when we were first given the assignment. In the first 10 minutes of staring at the computer I realized I needed to stop thinking about this as an assignment and make it personal. I wanted to create a school that would have given a student like me a safe , productive, and progressive learning environment. Throughout my time in the states I have yet to be taught about my own heritage in an academic setting. I was ignorant of the role I played in the cruel world of capitalist America. I grew up unaware that the societal barriers that are in place to hinder my success was not by accident or chance; it is wired into the mainframe of our society. It is for this reason I chose to focus on designing a school that focuses on Afrikan culture Pan Afrikan studies would set the foundation for students to learn not only their about their heritage through a higher academic lens but also to have a sense of belonging and brotherhood. Even though this is a fictional project, I have genuine intentions on pursuing this as an academic goal in the future.
Social media & Freedom of speech
https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2016/05/31/students-value-free-expression-only-if-its-not-derogatory-or-hurtful-essay
Having discussed how at CUNY, we should be allowed “freedom of speech” (in the sense that we have academic freedom) it would seem that surveys show that students would actually like restrictions on freedom of speech.
Although in some aspects this seems strange, it would seem that the article pulls in how social media plays a role in why some students would prefer restrictions. Saying as to how, “civil” discussions on social media are not always a thing (around 60%) and how too many people are able to say things anonymously.
When it comes to free speech on school campuses, the article discusses how students are not willing to express themselves freely, mainly due to how what they might say will affect how they are identified. It would seem that with that being an issue, students will not speak with complete honestly about others, so they are able to maintain their own image.
Since I do not use social media, as often as I think I should, I often feel left out when things happen that pertain to social media. Most of what I know relating to social media often happens when a friend sends me something related to the topic of social media. Most of the social media topics I do know about, often related to “uncivil” discussions. I often think back to a “hashtag” that had gone around twitter, involving how women were proud of their abortions. Reading through that hashtag at the time, I probably would have commented with a lot of backlash since I personally felt that most of the post in the hashtag were very disturbing. Wanting to get rid of your child because ” I don’t want my pregnancy to hold me back during my vacation ” was something I personally could not stand.
In a sense I feel that having total “freedom of speech” online, might indeed tarnish your image. Although to force people to need to censor themselves is not something that is necessary. I feel that if a person, in this case possibly a student, were to write something within social media that makes themselves look bad, they should have every right to do so. They at that point are an adult and whatever they choose to say have consequences, that they need to deal with themselves.
My College Proposal
When doing the final paper for this class, many different ideas came to my mind. My original college idea, was to have a business based college, however I couldn’t find a way to make that idea unique to all the other business schools found throughout the country. I have always had an interest in numbers, however in the past I had some interest in the health field as well, mostly with the ideas of nutrition.
In high school I took an interesting nutrition course, where I got to learn a lot about the body and your body’s health. However coming to Brooklyn College I dropped the idea of majoring in something nutrition based, however I used those interest in my college proposal.
My basic set up for my college would be to have a four-year undergraduate college, where it would specialize in dietician/nutritional based courses and majors. Although my original idea had been for the college to be an institution where students who attended would be able to obtain a license to be certified. I decided that making my college a simple stepping stone to help those who were dedicated and wanted to be a nutritionist, rather than a school which is accredited to provide licenses. (partly because it would be more difficult to have a school with these programs to be run, considering the accreditation process)
Part of the idea for this stepping stone idea came from a good friend I have, who is studying to be a pharmacist at St. Johns. Most of the beginning courses my friend has to take are the simple stepping stones needed for her to become a pharmacist. I wanted to put the idea of allowing students to have a good background on what they plan to do in place. By having a school specialized in nutrition, it would open up more to different students and educate them more about how they would be able to help people.
A major thing that I had wanted to integrate into my school, would be a program to allow students to travel to countries to help those in a third world country. (somewhat like a global brigade, only more specialized) This would allow for students to learn how to handle people who need help fixing a diet that is basically minimal, as opposed to the common diets we encounter in the US where we consume too much food.
Although most of the ideas I had set within my College might not be perfect, I feel that some type of college along these lines could possibly be established, since nutrition is something that people should be worried over.
Final Paper Reflection
It was definitely easier said than done. When I first came up with ideas and plan for my ideal college, I got excited to create such a college. However, I realized that it was too idealistic and there was no way I can construct such institution despite the generous donation of $100 million. I originally wanted my college to be a combined medical/health program with all the students being part of either BA/MD, BA/DDS, BA/PA, BA/RN, and BA/Pharm D. Some colleges in New York have one of these programs but there was no college that had all. And as I worked on this project, I realized why a college like that would not exist. It would cost too much to begin a partnership with a medical school, pharmacy school, PA school, etc. and aside from money, not a lot of these graduate schools would want to save up seats for those who were selected in high school.
Through research, I realized Touro Institution had several divisions in the health industry such as medical school, during school, dental school which they opened in 2016, pharmacy school and many more. Touro College was also running an online undergraduate program so the idea of creating another undergraduate division of Touro College might make my idea to possible. Being a division of Touro College would naturally gift a partnership with the rest of the divisions which would allow certain combined programs to be created.
Based on this, I created the Touro Hainline College of Queens to focus on higher education for students who are interested in pursuing careers in the health industry. THCQ can help you succeed with its small classes, dedicated faculty and beautiful campus in addition to all the opportunities available in New York City. Touro Hainline College of Queens is a non-profit private institution that provides a firm foundation in the liberal arts and sciences, which is designed for well-roundedness of the individual. The core curriculum is, however, more concentrated on the sciences since the college is dedicate to the pre-health professional programs that support career aspirations in the health field. THCQ promotes academic freedom and warmly welcome students from all backgrounds and circumstances. It strives to cultivate the future leaders of New York.
To integrate my original idea into the college I created several special programs that partner with currently existing institutions for the students.
4+4 Programs:
BA/MD– This is an eight year honors program where students accepted will Complete their undergraduate portion in THCQ and matriculate into New York Medical College if all requirements are met.
BA/DDS- This is an eight year honors program where students accepted will complete their undergraduate portion in THCQ and matriculate into Touro College of Dental Medicine if all requirements are met.
Special Option FlexMed:
Students who are not in the combined programs may apply to any health profession graduate school of Touro College during their second year and can be offered a seat in those schools based on High School GPA, SAT Scores, First year GPA, extracurricular activities, recommendation letters, and essays. Those who are offered a seat must maintain the required GPA and receive the minimum required standardized test in order to secure their spot.
EO-Permit
Students can apply for EO-Permit to take “Touro College Online Courses”. Students can receive up to 28 credits from this undergraduate division system of Touro College.
This project allowed me to look into the different types of colleges around New York and I’m glad that I’ve found a very interesting institution that is somewhat similar to that of CUNY.
Have a great summer!
Non-profit or For-Profit. Necessary Evil?
Employers are more likely to hire non-profit college alumni than a person with a for-profit college degree. What exactly is the difference between the two? What is the stigma that comes along with for-profit college degrees?
Most colleges are non-profit. State and many private colleges are nonprofit which charges their students tuition but they spend that money on educating the students. The money is used to pay the salaries of professors and instructors. Brooklyn College would be an example of non-profit institution. On the other hand, a for-profit college charges on tuition but doesn’t always use all that money on the student’s education, but rather marketing and recruiting. This would lead to lower salaries of the professors and less quality of education for the students.
It is inevitable, therefore, that non-profit schools have better accreditation by the employers in the real world. For-profit schools are usually easier to get accepted to especially if one has the money. This is where the stigma play its role. Does their degree have a significant value? Is it worth it to go to a for-profit college? It isn’t uncommon that some of them can run out of business at anytime.
Student Activism
I recently came across this piece, first published electronically and to be published in the New Yorker magazine, which discusses student activism in an era of new socially aware movements like Black Lives Matter in both an on and off campus context. The piece focuses on students at Oberlin College, a traditionally liberal institution, but also includes commentary from the school’s president. It is a very in-depth article that highlights contemporary issues for both students and professors in higher education.
The overall student outlook was that they were sold a college dream of complete happiness, but are in actuality incredibly alienated and frustrated with their education and the structure, especially concerning student activism. Many Oberlin students were active in the Black Lives Matter movements after a nearby shooting and their studies suffered. They felt that the school focused on the wrong things, not accepting their demands or appreciating the importance of activism. Disillusioned, some were clinically depressed, some dropped out, some plan to move away from the US and the “broken” higher education system.
Faculty had a different view on the topic, dismissed by their students, they were not able to understand their convictions. Many were alarmed at the general lack of interest in the classroom and the college environment. After decades of teaching, one theatre professor couldn’t understand his students demand for a feeling “safety” in his classes. This unevenness is promoting singular study or simply not promoting learning at all, especially with real-world opportunities in activism.
Although lengthy, I recommend this piece as it touches upon a lot of interesting information on millennial students without too much bias. It also enlightens us on an institution different than Brooklyn College, with different values and modes of communication between power structures. Student activism is on the rise and deserves some further investigation on its purpose and effects.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/05/30/the-new-activism-of-liberal-arts-colleges
NCAA scandals
We spent some time in class discussing the disgusting things that colleges do in order to make their sports teams better so that they could generate more money, including inflating SAT/ACT grades, paying money under the table, etc. This shows several significant college sporting scandals, and it really shows how unfortunately prevalent this problem is in college sports, and its not just several cases here and there; its a major problem that is widespread and it will require major changes to the system if it is to be solved.
http://www.usatoday.com/picture-gallery/sports/ncaaf/2013/09/13/most-significant-college-sports-scandals/2792053/
Final Paper Reflection- My Ideal College
As many other classmates have also posted a reflection of their final paper, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to do so myself. I copied and pasted my mission statement and final notes below, along with my final reflections.
Mission Statement
Shanqu College serves to provide equal opportunity for all, regardless of geography or cultural background, through a comprehensive liberal arts education.
As an innovative addition to the Greater New York area, we hope to break boundaries by adopting a flexible system that will support our students in their academic endeavors. As a nonconventional higher education institution situated in the City of New York, the city is our campus, that is, the College is able to draw upon the architectural and multicultural resources of the city. Moreover, we welcome students from all walks of life, and inspire them to develop their potential beyond what they imagined when the first enter. Understanding our students’ different circumstances, we seek to provide a flexible style of learning by allowing them to take classes either online, or in one of our many access points throughout the city. Drawing inspiration from the underdeveloped mountainous regions of Mainland China, our founder Ms. Jennifer Tam hopes to provide a quality education for all disadvantaged and underserved individuals, who otherwise would not have this opportunity.
Through its dedicated faculty and staff, Shanqu College provides students with a personal touch to their educational experience, in hopes of promoting academic excellence while stimulating their personal development.
Final Notes
I drew inspiration from my wish to serve underprivileged children in the mountainous regions of Mainland China. As an aspiring teacher, I believe that every child deserves to have an education, but this is unfortunately not the case for children living in poverty. In the mountainous and rural regions of China, few have this privilege. However, there are some impressive individuals who hope to better these children’s lives by setting up a small school that comprises children of all ages. The teacher as well the children typically walk two hours to and from school each day on rocky, unpaved roads of China’s mountain ranges. They may not have the privilege that children and teacher living in urban areas may have, but they definitely have more willpower and motivation to thrive and improve their conditions. The name of my college, Shanqu, is the English Romanization for the Chinese term 山区, meaning mountainous regions.
While working on my final paper, I struggled with taking such an idealistic and somewhat impractical approach and make it seem achievable. Although this WAS supposed to be the blueprint for an ideal college, I had hoped that I could design an institution that would be able to thrive despite the social and financial aggressions of New York City. I designed my college with good intentions, and hope that such a model could be adopted in the future because I strongly believe education (elementary, secondary, or higher) shouldn’t be solely about profit.
Destigmatizing Mental Heath Struggles on the College Campus
President Santa J. Ono’s disclosure about his past suicide attempts has taken social media and college campuses across the nation by storm- for very good reasons. It isn’t everyday a public figure courageously confesses to their struggles, let alone a higher education administrator, let alone an Asian American one. With an increasing acceptance in speaking up about traditionally taboo issues, many public speakers are stepping up to the plate as advocates raising awareness, and as role models encouraging transparency.
There are many people who are afraid of speaking up about their struggles or seeking help due to stigmas placed on mental health issues. This pertains even more so to Asian Americans, who due to cultural reasons are even more reluctant to share their stories. Moreover, many mental health disorders, especially Major Depressive Disorder (or what we commonly refer to as depression), have age of onset during early to late adolescence. MDD is also a leading reason for college dropouts. When faced with such a seemingly alarming and permeating issue, wouldn’t it be logical to address these issues by presenting a safe environment for open discussion? However, this is hardly the case. Instead, everything is kept “hush-hush” and swept under the table.
Mr. Ono’s confession is commendable for a variety of reasons, but most importantly, it presents us with solution; the college campus is a place that many regard as a safe haven for respectful, mature, and comfortable discussions, and we should make every effort to ensure every student has a place and/or trusted individual to confide to, or to simply seek help from. Lessen stigma, and by doing so, we can truly cultivate healthier, happier individuals with immeasurable potential.
http://chronicle.com/article/Discussing-Past-Suicide/236573
Woman expelled from Washington U. after being falsely accused of Assault
A woman, who had sex with a man after a college party, is being expelled from school because he is accusing her of assault. The woman maintains that this is not true, and was still expelled anyway. She believes that the man is only doing this because his friends teased him for sleeping with her.
She was eventually proclaimed guilty and was kicked out of school. She has filed 2 appeals with a counterclaim against the man who is accusing her. The first one has been denied, and the second one is still being investigated.
I feel that this situation is very extreme, but it is interesting that the man was conveyed as innocent, while the woman is proclaimed guilty. Usually, the woman is considered passive, and the man would eventually look bad on his part. But in this case, the opposite is true. Right now, we need to wait and see what the outcome of the second counterclaim is. I think this goes to show that even women can be accused of assault, even with no definitive proof. If she is being falsely accused, hopefully the tables will eventually turn.
