Blackface

I was surprised to see blackface make news headlines for the second time in the past two weeks, thinking that the first instance was an anomaly, a once in a blue moon kind of thing. Some Australian talent show showed white individuals who put on black face and fake afro wigs parading around as the "Jackson Jive" and now French Vogue is celebrating "super models" and parading them around in black face and 'culturally inspired dress' (when ironically enough no black models 'made the cut' as supermodels). Ironically enough, Japan has had performers sing in blackface and Mexico produced a national stamp that was honoring a comic book where the main character is an offensive, monkey looking, black youth and despite US pleas to not produce the stamp, they wre produced anyways. (all of these occurences are discussed in the CNN hyperlink posted below).

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2009/10/14/am.carroll.vogue.blackface.cnn

We know, most of us anyways, that in the US blackface is not something that is taken lightly AT ALL and I know that this part of our history probably isn't very well read or learned in other parts of the world so is it our responsibility to educate other communities as to why blackface is degrading? Is it our responsibility to say that it was used to portray the black community as idiots, buffoons, subservient, less human, etc. What do you all think? I know in the US a lot of people don’t take the histories of other communities seriously and a large part of that is ignorance. If people were to speak up and say, “Hey, that’s not right and this is why...” wouldn’t we listen? Maybe if we raised our voices collectively people would finally get the fact that blackface is simply NOT entertainment...

Introduction to Fairhaven College, Introduction to Me

Hey. I’m Jenna. I am a first year student at Fairhaven College and I’ve lived in Bellingham for most of my life. I ended up staying here after much initial resistance (little did I know that when I was little and told my parents I would go to Western “because I never wanted to move away from them,” the first part would be true).

I am SUPER happy with my decision. I love it here. The other day I was walking around campus and suddenly got the urge to have a big spoon to eat it all up: my excitement was that tangible! And at Fairhaven, I get the small class sizes and experience of a liberal arts education for a state school price. I can also spend a semester at any of their sister schools, which probably means I will spend some time at Hampshire College in MA. Right now, I am taking the Five Senses Critical and Inquiry class and Applied Human Ecology at Fairhaven, as well as Honors 103 [Major Cultural Traditions] on main campus.

I am interested in philosophy, art, finding patterns, asking questions, contrasting cultures, psychology, nutrition, wellness, forms of personal expression, yoga, hiking, sustainable living practices, dance parties, day dreaming, going to bookstores or the public library, parks, swings, and sunny days, writing, hugs, new experiences, stars, the universe, most social sciences, exploring and funny stories.

One thing that really screams Fairhaven to me is a sign I saw posted on one of the bulletin boards. It read:
FRESHMAN- if any of you are not reading your copy of The Omnivore’s Dilemma please give it to me. [phone number] P.S. We could be friends!!!

Fairhaven IS different… but in a good way. It is the difference we need! :)

School is around the corner

It's amazing that I have been on summer vacation for over two and a half months and still haven't done all the things I set out to do before school ended.

I was going to finish up this ISP from spring quarter that I was psyched about in March - before I realized that I wanted to devote more of my time to other projects - I postponed that.

I was going to go to the Olympics and backpack for a few days - before I realized at a two-day layover at Lake Phillips that I'd forgotten my sleeping pads and the food - I postponed that too.

I was going to read a whole host of academic books that I was really excited about - before I realized that I was really into science-fiction - You guessed it, I postponed that too (I did read a lot of science fiction though).

I was going to work on my Adventure Learning Grant proposal, and I did that, and I like what I have, despite only having finished a first draft.

I was going to go on a kayaking trip in the San Juans, and I'm still going to do that. As far as I know at least.

While I had some plans I didn't quite follow through on, I have had a really great summer in a lot of respects. Amazingly enough, I have yet to get really bored and wish for school to come. That said, I'm really excited for school to start in 24 days. There's just something about starting school again, people returning from their summers, and the beginning of fall.

Alex

Yesterday was full of genetically modified pets, extremely-cute goat-kids leaping from compost piles and lots and lots lettuce seedlings, because my Ecology of Eating class visited Galactic Organics, a local farm. The mizuna we sampled was sweet, thickly tender (well, for a leaf). I was dead on my feet without sleep, so I didn't help mix the concoction of cow-dung, nettles, egg shells and other special ingredients, but I wish I had. Guess this mystic compost is so potent just a pinch swirled clockwise counter clockwise, does wonders for plantlife. I'd love to see it in action.

To clarify: the GM pets were not on the farm (now that would be quite the contradiction...not that that's stopped anyone...). Actually, a biologist came and spoke in my Research for Creative Writer's class, talked about genetic modification (specifically of plants). It was a little frustrating because, while she tried to remain unbiased, she made sure to let us know that our bulging word-population cannot be fed sustainably (frustrating because I've heard the exact opposite from a trusted professor) and that a farm can't be productive, unless it has the added input of pesticides, fertilizers, etc. Hm...I've seen and read otherwise.


Still a great and vibrant speaker and person, though-- eg: I needed a logical explanation for blue goo leaking from a body and she gave me some ideas.

Onto the genetically modified pets. One of my classmates in RCW found this:

... ... ...

G e n p e t s !

... ... ... ...

And, to calm the masses:

... ... ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genpet

When in Doubt

College overall is a wonderful experience. You met new people, new groups, new challenges and new EVERYTHING. But like all new academic things that you are passionate about or interested in. They get hard!!! A week ago, I had a very tough week. Midterms, papers and readings to do. I was very stressed. To my surprise and luck it all changed with one little action. a Hug. A simple hug and " Hey Mario, I hope you feel better" made my day ten times better!!! In college life you get very stressed, thats very normal. Always remember, that when in doubt you are not alone!!! People are here to guide, love you and care about you. Who would of thought a simple hug can change the way a person feels and thinks. So the moral is, if your upset or blue. Know that people here in Fairhaven College will take care of you!!! With a smile, a chat, a laugh or even a hug. WE are all part of the same family.... Till next time.

All the best,
Mario

Wheatberries

Amazing, isn't it, how a single conversation can open up so much untrodden ground? In Ecology of Eating, we were plastering a classroom with all the food we eat (not literally...just written on paper) and I got to talking about rice milk vs. cow milk, which lead to a short, but amazing conversation on eating locally in Bellingham. This is how I discovered my idiocy (well, discovered it again-- these sort of discoveries seem to come in cycles...really, really repetitive ones).

This thing, this concept of eating locally is supposedly quite a basic one. But I've discovered that I'm sustainable within the sphere of my own knowledge. There's so much more I could and should be doing. But this wonderful, wonderful conversation opened my eyes, lead me to new horizons, to speak in cliche. One thing I learned about? Wheatberries.

See, I have this obsession with this cereal, specifically Heritage O's, of which I occasionally rave about on my other blog. There're the...the...epitome of delicious. They're are made of spelt, quinoa and kamut, I think. An extremely tasty cereal that stays crunchy to the last bite (and makes chewing so loud you can be heard from across the room).

They've reached cereal-nirvana...or maybe this makes more sense: when I eat them, I reach cereal-nirvana. So...that sounds a bit odd, coming from me, even. But in other words, they're really good. And relatively regional (produced in Richmond, BC, though the ingredients are far flung across Canada and the US). I don't ever actually buy them myself, but make sure a few of the so-called 'eco-bags' (I'd beg to differ) make their way into the grocery basket whenever I'm at home, shopping with my mother.

But I think I have a new beau of cereal: wheatberries. Er...well, I haven't actually tried them yet, but I know I'm going to love them. I swear, I can feel it. Feel it in my bones and all that. Can already imagine them with nutbutter and my grandmother's homemade pear honey (which isn't actually honey, but extremely excellent jam)...they're going to be wonderful. They're local, in bulk, can be cooked, eaten instead of rice and all sort of wondrous things. I haven't eaten them yet, but they're the best.

(I'm going to go into some sort of hyper-depressive stupor if they don't turn out to be all I've imagined them to be...)

Its Sunny in Fairhaven :D

When it rains in Fairhaven it is such a blessing. Our beautiful college is surrounded by green trees, plants AND well… NATURE! The problem with rain in Fairhaven is, it rains a lot! That is why having a sunny day with the light blue sky is wonderful! Today I experienced my first FULL DAY OF SUN at Fairhaven. Not only did the day seem bright and happy, Fairhaven kids were out and about. Take a wild guess on what you think they were doing. DANCING!!! Many of the Fairhaven College students play an instrument (drums, guitars, banjos, violins, pianos) and love to go out on the green and soft grass outside of Fairhaven and start playing. Not only were they playing an instrument, many of the students and teachers… THAT’S RIGHT TEACHERS were singing. I was bedazzled and so honored that a small liberal college was so unified. Let’s` just say I fell back in love with my college. So the moral is, when it’s sunny in Western Washington University, don’t go to main campus. Take a little walk to Fairhaven and join not only the singing and dancing, but our family.

All the best,
Mario