Your friendly blog administrator is a little behind this week. You see, I opted to spend some time learning instead of doing. And it was a good decision.
Every summer, FVSU and other institutions of higher learning come out with a schedule of classes for adults. Some of them are geared toward seniors, others toward teachers who need continuing education credits to stay certified. Still others are aimed to help adults in the work force improve the skills they use on the job - or gain skills that would make their jobs easier. You can find the current FVSU offerings here: http://www.fvsu.edu/academics/extended-education/continuing-education-course-schedule My understanding is that the satined glass course is really quite something.
So I spent two days this week in computer training, catching up on the software and hardware that has come out since I was in college (okay, so a fraction of it. The Internet wasn't even a thing when I was in college). I'm pleased to say I'll be back at my desk Friday, ready to put my new skills to use, feeling more effective and productive.
I'm sure the feeling will pass.
--Misty Cline works for the Office of Marketing and Communications
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
History from a personal perspective
Saturday, June 7th, has long been remembered as D-Day, a time during World War II when Allied forces secured victory against the German army in a decisive battle that took place on the shores of France. The landing began the march across Europe in a move that would ultimately contribute to the eventual ending of the war.
A fan of all of the great generals of those days; Patton, Montgomery, and Bradley to name a few, I have immersed myself over the years in the rhetoric and literature surrounding that pivotal point in history. It probably didn’t hurt that I can lay claim to one father, four uncles and a godfather who volunteered, fought and came home from the same war and were therefore a part of history - vastly more exciting than the 8 a.m. history class I took as a college freshman.
My father served under General George S. Patton. As an only child born to two people whose ideas on childrearing included treating me like a “miniature adult,” by the time I was ten I not only understood who the Allies and the Axis were, I was enamored with the persona that was George S. Patton’s legacy to the world. You know the one: the profane, loud, obnoxious, God-fearing believer in reincarnation. Yep that’s the one. What information could not be gleaned from Dad’s stories was filled in through countless viewings of the movie “Patton,” starring George C. Scott. Now before you roll your eyes along with your computer mouse while simultaneously groaning that “Oreta can’t write about anything that isn’t patriotic, connected to some movie she watched a half a dozen times, or makes us cry” - bear with me. The direction of our journey will be visible over the next horizon…where our youth are residing.
At Fort Valley State University, we as faculty and staff members have the perfect opportunity to mold the minds and shape the lives of our charges – the students. We introduce students to things that they can only learn through recantations of the past - a past that is not only found in the pages of a history book (although that is certainly a good place to start). What do you have to share that would be a first-hand account of history? We are living in a time that is moving at the speed of light in terms of politics, war, scientific discoveries and other facets of daily life. We all have something to offer.
As I pointed out in last week’s blog, I “learned” something from the student’s point of view about rap music recently. It may not be the preferred setting on the radio for me, but I now have a clearer idea of what rap is all about. Take a moment and think of where you come from both geographically and personally; someone needs to hear about your experiences, your thoughts and your views.
One of the greatest blessings here at Fort Valley State University is the diversity we share. We are all so different yet we are all bound together by a commitment to serve the university and our students. Life experiences in the classroom drive home a message and catch students' interest. In the time it has taken you to read this, you have probably mentally revisited a few educators from your own past who taught you something that you have never forgotten. Wouldn’t it be so neat to leave that sort of an imprint on the students you encounter? Think about it, and while you do, I’ll just go off and ponder the current war in Iraq and wonder: “what would Patton do?” Have a beautiful week.
--Oreta Samples is the lead veterinary technician in the Veterinary Science Department at Fort Valley State University
A fan of all of the great generals of those days; Patton, Montgomery, and Bradley to name a few, I have immersed myself over the years in the rhetoric and literature surrounding that pivotal point in history. It probably didn’t hurt that I can lay claim to one father, four uncles and a godfather who volunteered, fought and came home from the same war and were therefore a part of history - vastly more exciting than the 8 a.m. history class I took as a college freshman.
My father served under General George S. Patton. As an only child born to two people whose ideas on childrearing included treating me like a “miniature adult,” by the time I was ten I not only understood who the Allies and the Axis were, I was enamored with the persona that was George S. Patton’s legacy to the world. You know the one: the profane, loud, obnoxious, God-fearing believer in reincarnation. Yep that’s the one. What information could not be gleaned from Dad’s stories was filled in through countless viewings of the movie “Patton,” starring George C. Scott. Now before you roll your eyes along with your computer mouse while simultaneously groaning that “Oreta can’t write about anything that isn’t patriotic, connected to some movie she watched a half a dozen times, or makes us cry” - bear with me. The direction of our journey will be visible over the next horizon…where our youth are residing.
At Fort Valley State University, we as faculty and staff members have the perfect opportunity to mold the minds and shape the lives of our charges – the students. We introduce students to things that they can only learn through recantations of the past - a past that is not only found in the pages of a history book (although that is certainly a good place to start). What do you have to share that would be a first-hand account of history? We are living in a time that is moving at the speed of light in terms of politics, war, scientific discoveries and other facets of daily life. We all have something to offer.
As I pointed out in last week’s blog, I “learned” something from the student’s point of view about rap music recently. It may not be the preferred setting on the radio for me, but I now have a clearer idea of what rap is all about. Take a moment and think of where you come from both geographically and personally; someone needs to hear about your experiences, your thoughts and your views.
One of the greatest blessings here at Fort Valley State University is the diversity we share. We are all so different yet we are all bound together by a commitment to serve the university and our students. Life experiences in the classroom drive home a message and catch students' interest. In the time it has taken you to read this, you have probably mentally revisited a few educators from your own past who taught you something that you have never forgotten. Wouldn’t it be so neat to leave that sort of an imprint on the students you encounter? Think about it, and while you do, I’ll just go off and ponder the current war in Iraq and wonder: “what would Patton do?” Have a beautiful week.
--Oreta Samples is the lead veterinary technician in the Veterinary Science Department at Fort Valley State University
Monday, June 9, 2008
Wildcats to visit Atlanta
Atlanta high school graduates and non-traditional students ready to take a step toward college will receive expert advice and a tasty meal at Fort Valley State University’s Annual Blue and Gold Social Cookout. The event gives potential metro area students and their families a taste of wildcat hospitality, Saturday, June 14, from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., at Atlanta’s J.C. Birdine Center. The festive barbecue is sponsored by the Metro Atlanta FVSU Alumni Chapter. Qualified students who apply will be admitted to the university on the spot.
“We’re holding this event in an effort to seal the deal with potential Wildcats and show others that FVSU is the place to be,” said FVSU recruiter Sammie Haynes.
During the cookout, a deejay will spin tunes while parents and future Wildcats chow down on hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, and veggie burgers hot off the grill.
The Offices Recruitment and Admissions will walk individuals through the application process. Michael Dinkins – FVSU’s new scholarship coordinator – and other financial aid officers will smooth out the financial process for new students. Director of Bands Kevin Jones and Concert Choir Director Alvin Tuck will also be on hand recruiting new students.
Expect door prizes and giveaways throughout the day. Students are encouraged to RSVP prior to June 13. For more information, call (478) 825-6307.
“We’re holding this event in an effort to seal the deal with potential Wildcats and show others that FVSU is the place to be,” said FVSU recruiter Sammie Haynes.
During the cookout, a deejay will spin tunes while parents and future Wildcats chow down on hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, and veggie burgers hot off the grill.
The Offices Recruitment and Admissions will walk individuals through the application process. Michael Dinkins – FVSU’s new scholarship coordinator – and other financial aid officers will smooth out the financial process for new students. Director of Bands Kevin Jones and Concert Choir Director Alvin Tuck will also be on hand recruiting new students.
Expect door prizes and giveaways throughout the day. Students are encouraged to RSVP prior to June 13. For more information, call (478) 825-6307.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Student Loans Start to Bypass 2-Year Colleges
Forgive the re-posting of this article, but when I read it here:
new_york_times:http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/02/business/02loans.html
I had to pass it along.
By JONATHAN D. GLATER
Published: June 2, 2008 in The New York Times
Some of the nation’s biggest banks have closed their doors to students at community colleges, for-profit universities and other less competitive institutions, even as they continue to extend federally backed loans to students at the nation’s top universities.
Citibank has been among the most aggressive in paring the list of colleges it serves. JPMorgan Chase, PNC and SunTrust say they have not dropped whole categories, but are cutting colleges as well. Some less-selective four-year colleges, like Eastern Oregon University and William Jessup University in Rocklin, Calif., say they have been summarily dropped by some lenders.
The practice suggests that if the credit crisis and the ensuing turmoil in the student loan business persist, some of the nation’s neediest students will be hurt the most. The difficulty borrowing may deter them from attending school or prompt them to take a semester off. When they get student loans, they will wind up with less attractive terms and may run a greater risk of default if they have to switch lenders in the middle of their college years.
Tuition and loan amounts can be quite small at community colleges. But these institutions, which are a stepping stone to other educational programs or to better jobs, often draw students from the lower rungs of the economic ladder. More than 6.2 million of the nation’s 14.8 million undergraduates — over 40 percent — attend community colleges. According to the most recent data from the College Board, about a third of their graduates took out loans, a majority of them federally guaranteed.
“If we put too many hurdles in their way to get a loan, they’ll take a third job or use a credit card,” said Jacqueline K. Bradley, assistant dean for financial aid at Mendocino College in California. “That almost guarantees that they won’t be as successful in their college career.”
So far, financial aid administrators say they have been able to find fallback lenders that students can switch to, but the hurdles are costly to students — in money and time. The maximum interest rate on federal loans, now at 6.8 percent on the most commonly used loans, is set by Congress, but lenders are scrapping benefits, like rate cuts for borrowers who make their payments on time or allow direct withdrawals from bank accounts.
Some loan companies have exited the student loan business entirely, viewing it as unprofitable in the current environment. By splitting out community colleges and less-selective four-year institutions, some remaining lenders seem to be breaking the marketplace into tiers. Students attending elite, expensive, public and private four-year universities can expect loans to remain plentiful. The banks generally say these loans are bigger, more profitable and less risky, in part perhaps because the banks expect the universities’ graduates to earn more.
Lenders will not say how many colleges they have dropped, making it hard to determine just how many institutions have been affected. Although financial aid administrators say the trend is widespread, they are often reluctant to identify which lenders have stopped serving their colleges, for fear that it will complicate matters for current students who have taken out loans from those lenders and still need to deal with them.
Michelle McClain, 40, who is studying to become a teacher, learned on Friday that she would have to find a new lender after Citibank dropped William Jessup University. The news angered her.
“The loan is between me and the lender,” Ms. McClain said. “I’m the one that’s taking out the loan, I’m the one whose credit is in jeopardy if I don’t pay it, I am the one totally responsible for the loan, and as long as I’m going to an accredited college, I don’t understand why it would make one iota of difference where I am going to college.”
The government has been taking additional steps to keep the student loan market operating smoothly. And some lenders’ doors remain wide open. Sallie Mae and Nelnet recently reaffirmed their commitment to federal loans regardless of the institution a student attends. Kristin Shear, director of student financial services at Santa Rosa Junior College, said that days after the school was dropped by Citibank, Wells Fargo called to say it was eager to lend to students there.
The banks that are pulling out say their decisions are based on an analysis of which colleges have higher default rates, low numbers of borrowers and small loan amounts that make the business less profitable. (The average amount borrowed by community college students is about $3,200 a year, according to the College Board.) Still, the cherry-picking strikes some as peculiar; after all, the government is guaranteeing 95 percent of the value of these loans.
Mark C. Rodgers, a spokesman for Citibank, which lends through its Student Loan Corporation unit, said the bank had “temporarily suspended lending at schools which tend to have loans with lower balances and shorter periods over which we earn interest. And, in general, we are suspending lending at certain schools where we anticipate processing minimal loan volume.”
Financial aid officials in California said that Citibank had stopped making loans to students at all community colleges in the state. Mr. Rodgers said the bank would not provide details about which schools were affected.
The financial aid director at William Jessup, Korey Compaan, said he did not understand the bank’s explanation.
“The logic is so flawed, that for us to have volume with them in the future, we have to have had volume with them in the past,” Mr. Compaan said. Simply to cut off students at a college, he continued, “I find it totally and completely unethical.”
The government sets the criteria for college participation in federal loan programs, requiring that colleges be accredited and have low default rates to participate, for example. Now lenders are being more selective than the government.
“There’s been a certain amount of market segmentation going on, but this is the first time we’ve seen a lender, especially as large as Citibank, saying, ‘We don’t want to do business with you,’ ” said Samuel F. Collie, director of financial aid at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande, Ore.
“There’s a fundamental issue of fairness and equity that’s certainly not being addressed in this,” Mr. Collie said. “But short of completely revamping the way that financial aid, especially loans, is being delivered to students in this country, I don’t know that we have any easy answers.”
The credit crisis, which has made it harder for some lenders to raise money, and a reduction in the government’s subsidy to lenders have contributed to the reevaluations by the lenders.
“This is one of those perfect storm situations,” said Susan L. Mead, director of financial aid at Dutchess Community College in New York. She said her institution had been dropped by no less than six lenders: HSBC, Citibank, M&T, Chase, Citizens Bank and Student Loan Xpress.
Christine Holevas, a spokeswoman for Chase, said that the bank considered several factors in deciding whether to lend to a particular college’s students. “The repayment rate, you look at the size and length of the loan,” she said. “We have tightened credit standards, yes, but we haven’t cut off any category of school.”
Hugh Suhr, a spokesman for SunTrust, said it was “stepping away from some relationships” with universities, but that this was “not based on any particular type of school.” Mr. Suhr said the bank continued to lend to students at a range of institutions.
Another danger for students is that as they are forced to find and switch to replacement lenders, they may lose track of some debt obligations and miss a few payments.
“It might put them in default,” said Claudia Martin, director of financial aid at Monterey Peninsula College, a community college in California that was dropped by Citibank and two other lenders. “We always recommend that a student stay with the same lender all through school.”
Commercial colleges, among the first to suffer when lenders withdrew from the market, have been openly critical of the new differentiation.
“From what I can tell from our lawyers, it’s not technically illegal for them to reject schools,” said Harris N. Miller, the president of the Career College Association in Washington, a trade group for commercial colleges. “I just think that’s very objectionable.”
new_york_times:http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/02/business/02loans.html
I had to pass it along.
By JONATHAN D. GLATER
Published: June 2, 2008 in The New York Times
Some of the nation’s biggest banks have closed their doors to students at community colleges, for-profit universities and other less competitive institutions, even as they continue to extend federally backed loans to students at the nation’s top universities.
Citibank has been among the most aggressive in paring the list of colleges it serves. JPMorgan Chase, PNC and SunTrust say they have not dropped whole categories, but are cutting colleges as well. Some less-selective four-year colleges, like Eastern Oregon University and William Jessup University in Rocklin, Calif., say they have been summarily dropped by some lenders.
The practice suggests that if the credit crisis and the ensuing turmoil in the student loan business persist, some of the nation’s neediest students will be hurt the most. The difficulty borrowing may deter them from attending school or prompt them to take a semester off. When they get student loans, they will wind up with less attractive terms and may run a greater risk of default if they have to switch lenders in the middle of their college years.
Tuition and loan amounts can be quite small at community colleges. But these institutions, which are a stepping stone to other educational programs or to better jobs, often draw students from the lower rungs of the economic ladder. More than 6.2 million of the nation’s 14.8 million undergraduates — over 40 percent — attend community colleges. According to the most recent data from the College Board, about a third of their graduates took out loans, a majority of them federally guaranteed.
“If we put too many hurdles in their way to get a loan, they’ll take a third job or use a credit card,” said Jacqueline K. Bradley, assistant dean for financial aid at Mendocino College in California. “That almost guarantees that they won’t be as successful in their college career.”
So far, financial aid administrators say they have been able to find fallback lenders that students can switch to, but the hurdles are costly to students — in money and time. The maximum interest rate on federal loans, now at 6.8 percent on the most commonly used loans, is set by Congress, but lenders are scrapping benefits, like rate cuts for borrowers who make their payments on time or allow direct withdrawals from bank accounts.
Some loan companies have exited the student loan business entirely, viewing it as unprofitable in the current environment. By splitting out community colleges and less-selective four-year institutions, some remaining lenders seem to be breaking the marketplace into tiers. Students attending elite, expensive, public and private four-year universities can expect loans to remain plentiful. The banks generally say these loans are bigger, more profitable and less risky, in part perhaps because the banks expect the universities’ graduates to earn more.
Lenders will not say how many colleges they have dropped, making it hard to determine just how many institutions have been affected. Although financial aid administrators say the trend is widespread, they are often reluctant to identify which lenders have stopped serving their colleges, for fear that it will complicate matters for current students who have taken out loans from those lenders and still need to deal with them.
Michelle McClain, 40, who is studying to become a teacher, learned on Friday that she would have to find a new lender after Citibank dropped William Jessup University. The news angered her.
“The loan is between me and the lender,” Ms. McClain said. “I’m the one that’s taking out the loan, I’m the one whose credit is in jeopardy if I don’t pay it, I am the one totally responsible for the loan, and as long as I’m going to an accredited college, I don’t understand why it would make one iota of difference where I am going to college.”
The government has been taking additional steps to keep the student loan market operating smoothly. And some lenders’ doors remain wide open. Sallie Mae and Nelnet recently reaffirmed their commitment to federal loans regardless of the institution a student attends. Kristin Shear, director of student financial services at Santa Rosa Junior College, said that days after the school was dropped by Citibank, Wells Fargo called to say it was eager to lend to students there.
The banks that are pulling out say their decisions are based on an analysis of which colleges have higher default rates, low numbers of borrowers and small loan amounts that make the business less profitable. (The average amount borrowed by community college students is about $3,200 a year, according to the College Board.) Still, the cherry-picking strikes some as peculiar; after all, the government is guaranteeing 95 percent of the value of these loans.
Mark C. Rodgers, a spokesman for Citibank, which lends through its Student Loan Corporation unit, said the bank had “temporarily suspended lending at schools which tend to have loans with lower balances and shorter periods over which we earn interest. And, in general, we are suspending lending at certain schools where we anticipate processing minimal loan volume.”
Financial aid officials in California said that Citibank had stopped making loans to students at all community colleges in the state. Mr. Rodgers said the bank would not provide details about which schools were affected.
The financial aid director at William Jessup, Korey Compaan, said he did not understand the bank’s explanation.
“The logic is so flawed, that for us to have volume with them in the future, we have to have had volume with them in the past,” Mr. Compaan said. Simply to cut off students at a college, he continued, “I find it totally and completely unethical.”
The government sets the criteria for college participation in federal loan programs, requiring that colleges be accredited and have low default rates to participate, for example. Now lenders are being more selective than the government.
“There’s been a certain amount of market segmentation going on, but this is the first time we’ve seen a lender, especially as large as Citibank, saying, ‘We don’t want to do business with you,’ ” said Samuel F. Collie, director of financial aid at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande, Ore.
“There’s a fundamental issue of fairness and equity that’s certainly not being addressed in this,” Mr. Collie said. “But short of completely revamping the way that financial aid, especially loans, is being delivered to students in this country, I don’t know that we have any easy answers.”
The credit crisis, which has made it harder for some lenders to raise money, and a reduction in the government’s subsidy to lenders have contributed to the reevaluations by the lenders.
“This is one of those perfect storm situations,” said Susan L. Mead, director of financial aid at Dutchess Community College in New York. She said her institution had been dropped by no less than six lenders: HSBC, Citibank, M&T, Chase, Citizens Bank and Student Loan Xpress.
Christine Holevas, a spokeswoman for Chase, said that the bank considered several factors in deciding whether to lend to a particular college’s students. “The repayment rate, you look at the size and length of the loan,” she said. “We have tightened credit standards, yes, but we haven’t cut off any category of school.”
Hugh Suhr, a spokesman for SunTrust, said it was “stepping away from some relationships” with universities, but that this was “not based on any particular type of school.” Mr. Suhr said the bank continued to lend to students at a range of institutions.
Another danger for students is that as they are forced to find and switch to replacement lenders, they may lose track of some debt obligations and miss a few payments.
“It might put them in default,” said Claudia Martin, director of financial aid at Monterey Peninsula College, a community college in California that was dropped by Citibank and two other lenders. “We always recommend that a student stay with the same lender all through school.”
Commercial colleges, among the first to suffer when lenders withdrew from the market, have been openly critical of the new differentiation.
“From what I can tell from our lawyers, it’s not technically illegal for them to reject schools,” said Harris N. Miller, the president of the Career College Association in Washington, a trade group for commercial colleges. “I just think that’s very objectionable.”
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Hindsight is 20/20, part II
In an effort to protect the tellers of these tales, I will share some stories that have come my way following the "What did you wish you knew before you went to college" post.
A coworker here in The Valley told me that, prior to entering college, she had never had to make a bed. "I wish I had known how to do that," she confessed. Which brings up a whole list of life skills that college freshmen need before going off to live in a dorm. Moms and dads, here's your homework: Teach the kiddies how to
1. Do laundry
2. Grocery shop - on a budget
3. Create a budget (and live on it)
4. Cook basic meals - boil water, use an oven without catching anything on fire
5. Put out a fire - with a fire extinguisher and with salt (for those in-oven disasters)
6. Clean a bathroom
7. Patch small nail holes in a wall (so that's what spackle is for!)
8. Sew on a button, repair the hem in a skirt or pants
Any other suggestions?
A coworker here in The Valley told me that, prior to entering college, she had never had to make a bed. "I wish I had known how to do that," she confessed. Which brings up a whole list of life skills that college freshmen need before going off to live in a dorm. Moms and dads, here's your homework: Teach the kiddies how to
1. Do laundry
2. Grocery shop - on a budget
3. Create a budget (and live on it)
4. Cook basic meals - boil water, use an oven without catching anything on fire
5. Put out a fire - with a fire extinguisher and with salt (for those in-oven disasters)
6. Clean a bathroom
7. Patch small nail holes in a wall (so that's what spackle is for!)
8. Sew on a button, repair the hem in a skirt or pants
Any other suggestions?
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Rap on
“Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get."
And with those words launched perhaps one of the most lovable goofy characters to hit the big screen in a long time – Forrest Gump. For years the cinema has entertained, provoked and at times frightened all of us. My last blog detailed my own fascination with the legend of Bigfoot and the introduction of this believe-it-or-not creature to me when I was ten years old and saw “The Legend of Boggy Creek.” Perhaps you remember your first dinner and a movie date with that special someone; while the “someone” may not still be a part of your life, they never leave your memory.
Movies and music affect all of us in different ways and, as someone who has spent the last thirteen years of her life on our beautiful campus, I recently had the opportunity to both listen to and read some rap music. I have a bit of a hearing impediment, actually a 90% loss in high frequency, so lyrics have always escaped me as I find myself straining to understand what is being sung, or in this case, rapped.
Last week, during a visit to one of the local nail salons where I was having my bi-weekly pedicure-pamper session, the television was tuned to rap videos when someone hit the closed caption button and the words began to stream across the screen like a manic Dow-Jones Report at the closing of a big day on Wall Street. I started reading while enjoying the beat. I don’t remember the name of the first artist but the song was called “Silly.” As that song faded into another, then another, I found myself enraged, entrenched, romanced and then with a blinding headache that even the warm waters swirling around my toes would not erase. While some lyrics were profoundly disgusting and profane, others were a love story set to a drum beat with nary a profane remark in the entire story: losing the girl, finding the girl and holding the girl through eternity.
While this form of music is not one of my personal choosing, just like most everything else that mankind creates, there is a mix of the good, the bad and the ugly and truly one has to subject oneself to a sampling to be able to separate them. I worry about the children and the young adults who hold those entertainers in high esteem who glorify murder, degradation of women and disrespect for authority through their abuse of a God-given talent. And while this musical form (and yes it is a culturally induced form of music, just like Sinatra was a cultural icon in the fifties, Elvis and the Beatles in the sixties and on and on) is not one that is necessarily of my preference, it does illustrate something about America that makes us great – freedom of expression. And while I don’t think that the framers of the Constitution or the United States military are presently defending our countries right to “rap on,” they did and still do protect our freedom of choice and the freedom of individual expression, which includes the freedom to rap about distasteful subject matter.
So if anybody out there knows someone with a head for writing rap music lyrics, how about a good and decent rap anthem to salute both the United States and our military - you know the ones that are protecting your right to…rap. Any takers?
--Oreta Samples is the lead veterinary technician in the Veterinary Science Department at Fort Valley State University
And with those words launched perhaps one of the most lovable goofy characters to hit the big screen in a long time – Forrest Gump. For years the cinema has entertained, provoked and at times frightened all of us. My last blog detailed my own fascination with the legend of Bigfoot and the introduction of this believe-it-or-not creature to me when I was ten years old and saw “The Legend of Boggy Creek.” Perhaps you remember your first dinner and a movie date with that special someone; while the “someone” may not still be a part of your life, they never leave your memory.
Movies and music affect all of us in different ways and, as someone who has spent the last thirteen years of her life on our beautiful campus, I recently had the opportunity to both listen to and read some rap music. I have a bit of a hearing impediment, actually a 90% loss in high frequency, so lyrics have always escaped me as I find myself straining to understand what is being sung, or in this case, rapped.
Last week, during a visit to one of the local nail salons where I was having my bi-weekly pedicure-pamper session, the television was tuned to rap videos when someone hit the closed caption button and the words began to stream across the screen like a manic Dow-Jones Report at the closing of a big day on Wall Street. I started reading while enjoying the beat. I don’t remember the name of the first artist but the song was called “Silly.” As that song faded into another, then another, I found myself enraged, entrenched, romanced and then with a blinding headache that even the warm waters swirling around my toes would not erase. While some lyrics were profoundly disgusting and profane, others were a love story set to a drum beat with nary a profane remark in the entire story: losing the girl, finding the girl and holding the girl through eternity.
While this form of music is not one of my personal choosing, just like most everything else that mankind creates, there is a mix of the good, the bad and the ugly and truly one has to subject oneself to a sampling to be able to separate them. I worry about the children and the young adults who hold those entertainers in high esteem who glorify murder, degradation of women and disrespect for authority through their abuse of a God-given talent. And while this musical form (and yes it is a culturally induced form of music, just like Sinatra was a cultural icon in the fifties, Elvis and the Beatles in the sixties and on and on) is not one that is necessarily of my preference, it does illustrate something about America that makes us great – freedom of expression. And while I don’t think that the framers of the Constitution or the United States military are presently defending our countries right to “rap on,” they did and still do protect our freedom of choice and the freedom of individual expression, which includes the freedom to rap about distasteful subject matter.
So if anybody out there knows someone with a head for writing rap music lyrics, how about a good and decent rap anthem to salute both the United States and our military - you know the ones that are protecting your right to…rap. Any takers?
--Oreta Samples is the lead veterinary technician in the Veterinary Science Department at Fort Valley State University
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
My Space and Facebook
There's been a lot of buzz lately about colleges using social networking sites MySpace and Facebook to connect with their students and potential students. FVSU President Dr. Larry E. Rivers set up a page last fall to better keep in touch with both students and alumni, and has had success in addressing concerns, keeping in touch, and sharing information with the millennial generation. Find him here:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=190854309
http://www.facebook.com/srch.php?nm=Larry+E.+Rivers
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=190854309
http://www.facebook.com/srch.php?nm=Larry+E.+Rivers
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