G'day, everybody...
New York City is simply too big and too rich of a location to fully describe; its breadth, its density through anonymity rushes into my pores every time I walk down the street or take the subway. I love it here. As a creative writer, I can see why so many artistic movements have been generated in this city; literally every square inch of this metropolis is a story laced with hope, ruin, and indefatigability.
Urban Word is no exception. Located on the third floor of a midtown studio building, the space is essentially a community center for youth spoken word artists. The organization spends much time and energy holding workshops, open mics, programs, etc. for teen and college-age spoken word artists in the NYC area, but also grassroots organizing, encouraging the students to be activists in their communities. Being an “intern” here is not sharply defined; seeing how it’s a pretty chill nonprofit, no one has clearly defined “roles” necessarily (something that their director wants to correct, but things haven’t changed too much from what I can gather); everyone sort of pitches in communally. They’re for the most part young, too: my supervisor is just a year older than me. The arrangement I have with the organization as a whole is sort of interesting... In exchange for interning and helping them with random logistical things, I conduct my research, which is a combination of ethnographic study and interviews for my senior thesis. In terms of the work, so far I’ve done only data entry, spending hours typing contact information for youth spoken word artists. But I’m to attend the multiplicity of events that they host: tonight I’ll be attending their completely youth-run open mic, where I will conduct more research and perhaps perform myself.
I'm afraid I can't sure too much from the research end, due to IRB ethics and whatnot, but suffice to say that it revolves around spoken word as a medium of art producing spaces of community where the multiplicities of identity are performed and re-mapped through the creation of the carnivalesque. From that end it's going fascinatingly. I won't share my field notes but I might post more creative responses in the future...
Friday, June 29, 2007
Greetings From NYC
Hello CSRE Summer Interns and anyone else reading this blog! My name is Christian Ngo and this summer, I will be working with the Center for the Study of Asian American Health at NYU School of Medicine. The Center attempts to remedy the paucity of research dealing with Asian American health care. The Center’s main projects are the Vietnamese Community Health Initiative and Project AsPIRE, the latter of which I am working on. The AsPIRE in Project AsPIRE stands for Asian American Partnerships in Research & Empowerment. The health initiative attempts to bring together community members, academic researchers, and community based organizations in an effort to improve cardiovascular health in the Filipino American community.
So, now that you know about the organization, I guess the next question is what exactly do I do here? I work primarily in three areas with Project AsPIRE: analysis of data, community health needs assessments, and background research for the upcoming five-year-grant proposal. Last week, I was getting oriented with the software that the Center uses to analyse its data. The software that we use is SPSS and learning to manipulate the data with this software pack has been both rewarding and not too hard. In addition to learning about SPSS, I was also introduced to the database software, Microsoft Access, and got to see the data that has been already collected. Working with the two software programs and brushing off some of my dusty Excel skills, I did some preliminary descriptive analyses of the data and compiled the findings in a presentation handout for a community brunch held in
This week, I have been working more on the background research for the proposal. I’ve set up a meta-data table reviewing a good number of the articles published on cardiovascular health in Filipino populations in North America, as well as in the
Today, I am going to be oriented with the needs assessment section of the project. I’m really looking forward to it! I hope your internships are going well, too!
Thursday, June 28, 2007
civil rights set back
8:45am
So early yet the day was already stifling, oppressive even. It only seemed to get worse as I made my seemingly endless journey from Union Station to the Supreme Court. Today the interns in my office were attending the last session of the term, knowing that a crucial decision was to be handed down. As I rode the metro, I read a primer for the case released by the NAACP LDF. their arguments were very sound and convincing to me...but given the new composition of the Court, everyone was on edge about the final decision. In fact, some court watchers and civil rights groups were bracing for a bad decision. The real wait was to see how bad the decision would be.
But let me back up for a minute. What is this case about? As I'm sure most of you have already read, the case involves two school districts: one in Seattle and the other in Louisville, Kentucky. Both districts use race as one among many criteria (e.g. siblings at a school, proximity) in assigning students to primary and secondary schools. It is important to note that neither of the programs is forced integration. Rather, the assignment plans are characterized as voluntary integration programs. Students rank their preferences, and almost all of the students receive their first or second preference. Petitioners allege that the use of race is not narrowly tailored enough to serve any state interest yet alone a compelling state interest.
With this general background in my mind, I made my way up the steps of the courthouse. One by one, step after step, I slowly ascended toward the highest courtroom in the United States. It was absolutely exhilarating.
10:00am
After being herded into the courtroom like elementary children, the court convened right on time. what i found to be a little shocking is that immediately after taking his seat, the Chief Justice went right into the discussion of the cases. It was a little disheartening to observe the demeanor of some of the justices on the Court. The minute Justice Thomas took his seat, he immediately leaned back into a reclining position and seemed to not even pay attention to what was happening. Justice Alito looked bored and seemed to be on the verge of falling asleep. It was rather unsettling to see such a lack of professionalism in the Supreme Court...
The first case concerned an 96-year old antitrust doctrine that the majority decided to overturn. After the majority opinion, Justice Breyer gave a short dissent. Though it was not very long, the dissent was exciting because reading dissents from the bench happens very rarely (though more often in the recent cases; such as when Justice Ginsburg read her fiery dissent in the Ledbetter case). The second case concerned the death penalty and the mentally impaired. This liberal wing of the Court prevailed in the case.
10:30am
Here it is. The case I'd been waiting for. Chief Justice Roberts begins reading the decision. Not a good sign. As the Chief Justice continued, I heard the decision to reverse the lower courts' decision to uphold the schools' integration plans. I felt sick. My stomach was in knots. It wasn't that the decision was a shock. It was that the decision will have such a deep impact across the nation. An impact that could result in the unraveling of decades of civil rights work. The Chief Justice continued. The reasoning seemed to mischaracterize the facts and ignored the historical context race plays in our nation....
Justice Kennedy reads his concurring opinion. He agrees with the decision by disagrees with the majority's overreaching notion that race can never be used as a factor in school assignment. Stating the full name of each of the dissenting associate justices, Justice Breyer solemnly begins his lengthy dissent. He is angry. He is livid. He doesn't just disagree with the Court; he outright announces that the majority is wrong. It was so bittersweet to listen to Justice Breyer's dissent. On the one hand, it is reassuring to know that sound legal arguments that take account of historical context still exist on the Court. However, it is not the prevailing view; it is not the view to which we will be bound....
Though the decision was very disappointing, I'm very grateful to have had the opportunity to watch the Supreme Court hand down a landmark decision. It will be very interesting to see how the Roberts Court will decide future cases...
So early yet the day was already stifling, oppressive even. It only seemed to get worse as I made my seemingly endless journey from Union Station to the Supreme Court. Today the interns in my office were attending the last session of the term, knowing that a crucial decision was to be handed down. As I rode the metro, I read a primer for the case released by the NAACP LDF. their arguments were very sound and convincing to me...but given the new composition of the Court, everyone was on edge about the final decision. In fact, some court watchers and civil rights groups were bracing for a bad decision. The real wait was to see how bad the decision would be.
But let me back up for a minute. What is this case about? As I'm sure most of you have already read, the case involves two school districts: one in Seattle and the other in Louisville, Kentucky. Both districts use race as one among many criteria (e.g. siblings at a school, proximity) in assigning students to primary and secondary schools. It is important to note that neither of the programs is forced integration. Rather, the assignment plans are characterized as voluntary integration programs. Students rank their preferences, and almost all of the students receive their first or second preference. Petitioners allege that the use of race is not narrowly tailored enough to serve any state interest yet alone a compelling state interest.
With this general background in my mind, I made my way up the steps of the courthouse. One by one, step after step, I slowly ascended toward the highest courtroom in the United States. It was absolutely exhilarating.
10:00am
After being herded into the courtroom like elementary children, the court convened right on time. what i found to be a little shocking is that immediately after taking his seat, the Chief Justice went right into the discussion of the cases. It was a little disheartening to observe the demeanor of some of the justices on the Court. The minute Justice Thomas took his seat, he immediately leaned back into a reclining position and seemed to not even pay attention to what was happening. Justice Alito looked bored and seemed to be on the verge of falling asleep. It was rather unsettling to see such a lack of professionalism in the Supreme Court...
The first case concerned an 96-year old antitrust doctrine that the majority decided to overturn. After the majority opinion, Justice Breyer gave a short dissent. Though it was not very long, the dissent was exciting because reading dissents from the bench happens very rarely (though more often in the recent cases; such as when Justice Ginsburg read her fiery dissent in the Ledbetter case). The second case concerned the death penalty and the mentally impaired. This liberal wing of the Court prevailed in the case.
10:30am
Here it is. The case I'd been waiting for. Chief Justice Roberts begins reading the decision. Not a good sign. As the Chief Justice continued, I heard the decision to reverse the lower courts' decision to uphold the schools' integration plans. I felt sick. My stomach was in knots. It wasn't that the decision was a shock. It was that the decision will have such a deep impact across the nation. An impact that could result in the unraveling of decades of civil rights work. The Chief Justice continued. The reasoning seemed to mischaracterize the facts and ignored the historical context race plays in our nation....
Justice Kennedy reads his concurring opinion. He agrees with the decision by disagrees with the majority's overreaching notion that race can never be used as a factor in school assignment. Stating the full name of each of the dissenting associate justices, Justice Breyer solemnly begins his lengthy dissent. He is angry. He is livid. He doesn't just disagree with the Court; he outright announces that the majority is wrong. It was so bittersweet to listen to Justice Breyer's dissent. On the one hand, it is reassuring to know that sound legal arguments that take account of historical context still exist on the Court. However, it is not the prevailing view; it is not the view to which we will be bound....
Though the decision was very disappointing, I'm very grateful to have had the opportunity to watch the Supreme Court hand down a landmark decision. It will be very interesting to see how the Roberts Court will decide future cases...
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
The beginning
Hi everyone!
I hope you are all off to a smooth start. Me, I’m just getting there. This week I have reserved for organizing my project and what I intend to do with it. I’m waiting on a couple key contacts to push me in a certain direction, but next week should clear all that up when they get back in touch with me. My project is a little different than most everyone else’s, as it will be a pressing challenge to set goals, manage my time and organize my work efficiently because I’m working very independently. Looking at the calendar, it seems like a ridiculously short period for me to produce anything of great effect, so this prep time will be certainly valuable.
In preparing for what is just up the road, I’ve begun browsing both MLB.com and the leading Sports in Society websites to acquaint myself with what’s out there, and how I can make my site original in content but capitalize on the work that has already been done. I read a book about one of my advisors, and Five Minutes to Midnight was a real eye opener to how long the intersection of politics, sports and education has been studied. It intimidates me a great deal to be asking help from the man who basically invented the field, Professor Lapchick, but hopefully he will have the time to point me in the right direction.
I am in
I hope to be more detailed next time; I know this is a little vague but that’s what this week is all about. I’m looking forward to hearing about all of your great summers, and I hope that mine will at least be full of entertainment.
matt
Greetings!
Hello everyone! I'm Jessica Covarrubias and I am working on several programs with the National Hispanic Institute. I will be working with high school freshman in a program called Young Leaders Conference, sophomores in a program called the Lorenzo de Zavala Youth Legislative Session, and with juniors in a program called Collegiate World Series.
This past week was my first week working with the National Hispanic Institute (NHI) and I began working with the Young Leaders Conference. Since I am in Chicago, I was assigned the task of preparing the Chicago team for the initial conference in July. As a means of preparation for the Young Leaders Conference, the coordinators (about 6) meet with the students everyday during the week at different locations and practice different types of oral communication skills. We usually meet at one of the coordinator's house. This past week I got to know the 20 Chicago freshman that make up the Chicago team. The majority of the week's focus was on mock trials and the topics were about Latinos in higher education. The students were to use actual evidence from different organizations that focus on the promotion of Latinos in higher education. Since the majority of the students are shy, it was a challenge to try and have them speak up, especially with conviction. We are slowly getting there! For this week, I will continue preparation with the freshman, but then I must briefly break for a week to work with the sophomores!
This past week was my first week working with the National Hispanic Institute (NHI) and I began working with the Young Leaders Conference. Since I am in Chicago, I was assigned the task of preparing the Chicago team for the initial conference in July. As a means of preparation for the Young Leaders Conference, the coordinators (about 6) meet with the students everyday during the week at different locations and practice different types of oral communication skills. We usually meet at one of the coordinator's house. This past week I got to know the 20 Chicago freshman that make up the Chicago team. The majority of the week's focus was on mock trials and the topics were about Latinos in higher education. The students were to use actual evidence from different organizations that focus on the promotion of Latinos in higher education. Since the majority of the students are shy, it was a challenge to try and have them speak up, especially with conviction. We are slowly getting there! For this week, I will continue preparation with the freshman, but then I must briefly break for a week to work with the sophomores!
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Hi from the Lawyers' Committee!
Hi everyone,
I'm Tony Dang, and I'm continuing my internship this summer at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. I work in the Voting Rights Project on a wide array of projects and the more mundane background research that needs to get done around the office.
For the past couple of months, I had been filling in for the vacant Campaign Manager position for the Committee's National Campaign for Fair Elections. This includes managing the website (you can check it out here), writing press releases and updates for the website, and assisting the Director with our lobbying efforts for election reform. One of the projects I completed that I am most proud of is our brand new Congressional telephone campaign system. Using our website and some software, I matched the all the zip codes in the United States to their respective Congressional districts. From there, I match the districts up to the correct Congressman's office. The purpose of all this is to be able to give constituents one single toll-free phone number with which they could reach their Congressman by simply punching in their zip code.
I had finished the technical part of this system about a month ago, preparing for its first major use with our efforts to gather support for the H.R. 1281, the Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act. This act stipulates criminal penalties for deceptive practices and intimidation of voters on or near election days. This week, we had received word that the bill was back on the calendar and was to be introduced on the floor for a vote on Monday. So working with our newly hired Campaign Manager (after spending a lot of time bringing him up to speed), I drafted the letters we would send out to our campaign, as well as the appropriate pages for our website. Unfortunately, on Friday we learned that the House leadership had decided to put the bill on suspension calendar (meaning that House rules would be suspended for the bill and that generating support would not be necessary). Even though we won't be able to test out the new system yet, I'm glad that I was able to create the infrastructure necessary for our lobbying campaigns.
On Wednesday, I also attended our bi-weekly legal staff meeting. For me, this was an interesting experience because funding is a major concern to our organization. The Executive Director of the program reminded all the project directors to remain on the lookout for any possible grants and to scout likely donors. Later in the day, I attended a meeting with a website consultant. The project directors were meeting with the consultant to review the current website to the Lawyers' Committee (that needs much updating) and to discuss design approaches. I'll probably be helping with the redesign of the website in the near future.
On Thursday, I attended a talk at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund on constitutional challenges to the Voting Rights Act. The current case is called North Austin Municipal Utility District No. 1 v. Gonzales, on which the Lawyers' Committee is also working. In this case, a small town is trying to remove itself from the jurisdiction of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Though this may not seem like a big deal, the outcome of this case would have huge implications on how the Department of Justice would enforce the Voting Rights Act in the future. I plan to write a paper on this topic this summer.
Well, that sums up last week. Sorry for the very long post. Now that this whole blogging thing seems to be working, I will update more frequently rather than all at once. Good luck to everyone at their internships!
I'm Tony Dang, and I'm continuing my internship this summer at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. I work in the Voting Rights Project on a wide array of projects and the more mundane background research that needs to get done around the office.
For the past couple of months, I had been filling in for the vacant Campaign Manager position for the Committee's National Campaign for Fair Elections. This includes managing the website (you can check it out here), writing press releases and updates for the website, and assisting the Director with our lobbying efforts for election reform. One of the projects I completed that I am most proud of is our brand new Congressional telephone campaign system. Using our website and some software, I matched the all the zip codes in the United States to their respective Congressional districts. From there, I match the districts up to the correct Congressman's office. The purpose of all this is to be able to give constituents one single toll-free phone number with which they could reach their Congressman by simply punching in their zip code.
I had finished the technical part of this system about a month ago, preparing for its first major use with our efforts to gather support for the H.R. 1281, the Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act. This act stipulates criminal penalties for deceptive practices and intimidation of voters on or near election days. This week, we had received word that the bill was back on the calendar and was to be introduced on the floor for a vote on Monday. So working with our newly hired Campaign Manager (after spending a lot of time bringing him up to speed), I drafted the letters we would send out to our campaign, as well as the appropriate pages for our website. Unfortunately, on Friday we learned that the House leadership had decided to put the bill on suspension calendar (meaning that House rules would be suspended for the bill and that generating support would not be necessary). Even though we won't be able to test out the new system yet, I'm glad that I was able to create the infrastructure necessary for our lobbying campaigns.
On Wednesday, I also attended our bi-weekly legal staff meeting. For me, this was an interesting experience because funding is a major concern to our organization. The Executive Director of the program reminded all the project directors to remain on the lookout for any possible grants and to scout likely donors. Later in the day, I attended a meeting with a website consultant. The project directors were meeting with the consultant to review the current website to the Lawyers' Committee (that needs much updating) and to discuss design approaches. I'll probably be helping with the redesign of the website in the near future.
On Thursday, I attended a talk at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund on constitutional challenges to the Voting Rights Act. The current case is called North Austin Municipal Utility District No. 1 v. Gonzales, on which the Lawyers' Committee is also working. In this case, a small town is trying to remove itself from the jurisdiction of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Though this may not seem like a big deal, the outcome of this case would have huge implications on how the Department of Justice would enforce the Voting Rights Act in the future. I plan to write a paper on this topic this summer.
Well, that sums up last week. Sorry for the very long post. Now that this whole blogging thing seems to be working, I will update more frequently rather than all at once. Good luck to everyone at their internships!
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