Word of the Week #10

TARPAULIN

In the article, “Somalia famine baby back from brink of death”, it discusses the homes of Somalian families in Northern Kenya.

“Domes made from dirty tarpaulins and scraps of cloth mushroomed on the scrublands of northern Kenya and the U.N.'s famine announcement brought planeloads of television crews to capture images of their suffering.”

tar·pau·lin noun a protective covering of canvas or other material waterproofed with tar, paint, or wax

The family used a tarpaulin to protect their belongings from the rain they expected later that day.

Fish Out of Water

Participating as a fish out of water, I attended a dance practice hosted by the Pride of the Pacific club here on campus.

The organization is for Pacific Islanders but they invite any one to participate in their show which they have already started practicing for.

I found this campus organization by asking my friends Richard Hernal and Ben Staley about the organization before hand since I knew they were members.

The group holds dance practices every Monday night and for any one’s first practice they ask that you sit and observe a little before you attempt to dance along side them.

The boys and girls are separated and I was thrown in with a group of strangers but everyone had a smile on their face waiting to share their knowledge of the night’s lesson, Tahitian dancing.

They also practice other Pacific Island dances from Aotearoa, Fiji, Hawaii, Samoa, and Tonga but focus on one per week.

After watching a few girls perform the dance, the rest of us who were less knowledgeable of the dance stood up and learned the basics.

Most Pacific Islands appear to be just shaking their hips to the music of a ukulele but I was mistaken when I attempted to do the same with my hips.

The girls were able to teach us in small groups and try to get the basic moves down as well as feel the music.

Dancing Tahitian I learned you have to use your knees in circles for hips to move, this was challenging but I did not feel alone because other girls struggled with it too.

I had no previous experience dancing this way and even though I felt ridiculous, it was enjoyable attempting the dance with dancers with similar skill levels.

Growing up I did dance ballet and jazz and compared to those two styles, Tahitian was different because in ballet your body must stay up where in Tahitian your center of gravity is concentrated in a lower area.

At the end of the practice, everyone came together to show what they had learned it was how they ended practice supporting everyone who participated.

I enjoyed seeing everyone perform it allowed me to see what was accomplished in two hours.

No one was “performance ready” but everyone acted like this was a full performance with costumes and live music.

By ending practice this way, it emphasized that no matter how good or how bad you are you are welcome to participate so that when it is time to perform you know how it feels.

Everyone encourages you to do your best and at least try to perform with the right facials and steps you can participate in the luau in April.

The luau is the organizations largest event of the year where they invite students, faculty and families to see them perform and eat a traditional Pacific Islander dinner.

Even though I do not think I will be particpating in this year’s luau I will attend their luau to see what progress they make in the next five months.

Word of the Week #9

unilateral

The article, “US freezes UNEWSCO funds for recognizing Palestine”, written by Khaled Abu Toameh, uses the word unilateral multiple times to describe Palestine’s acceptance into the United Nations.

“The US and Israel have opposed all such unilateral bids and have argued that statehood should be achieved through a negotiated peace deal with Israel.”

u·ni·lat·er·al adjective (of an action or decision) Performed by or affecting only one person, group, or country involved in a particular situation

The unilateral course of action the group decided on affected the school as a whole.

Japanese American Internment Memorial

At the Japanese American Interment Memorial, there are multiple vignettes that portray the ordeals Japanese American citizens faced in the internment camps.

The vignettes started by showing the migration of Japanese Americans through the end of their internment depicting how their lives changed.

There were two sides of the memorial that showed the lives of Japanese Americans before internment and how their lives were during internment.

The vignette I wanted to discuss more was on the side depicting how the lives of Japanese Americans were at the internment camps.

The dining hall or ‘mess hall’ was a place where families would come together to eat their meals assisting each other in feeding the younger children and sharing what food they have.

I noticed that in this depiction there is not enough for room for everyone to sit, men line the walls waiting for their turn to eat.

I am guessing that in the interment camps there was an order of who ate and when, and this reflected the homes the Japanese Americans lived in.

With limited space, those in the camp must have gotten to know each other quickly which made the mess hall depiction a strong sense of community for the camp.

This must have been an important place for all to gather at least three times a day to be together and be a real community in a place that the Japanese Americans faced many challenges just to survive.

Word of the Week #8

STAGNANT

I found the word stagnant in an article on Yahoo! News titled “College costs shot up 8 percent this year”.

“College tuition costs have nearly tripled since 1980, accounting for inflation, even as median wages have remained stagnant over the same period.

stag·nant adjective characterized by lack of development, advancement, or progressive movement.

Students have been greatly affected by the stagnant economy.

Word of the Week #7

BESET

In an article about the funding cuts community colleges have received from the state and local communities from the San Jose Mercury News.

“Some schools are holding off on tax and bond measure because voters beset by their own financial troubles simply can’t afford to pay more, said Kris Voburg, executive director of the anti-tax Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.”

be·set verb to attack on all sides, assault.

Promoters beset students the first week of school promoting organizations and events on campus.

In My Humble Opinion

For weeks the movement, Occupy Wall Street, has protested against where the wealth of America lies in our economic state.

From New York City to the Bay Area, protesters have been in front of banks letting the nation, government and bank systems know they are unhappy with the unemployment rate and foreclosure rate on homes.

In my opinion, the recent protests have reminded us of how the government set to fix the economy through economic bailouts.

In 2008, when the bailouts were given many experts supported the actions but soon after reality set in and banks were winning and home-owners were losing.

The bailout were meant to protect home-owners from losing their homes but according to Father Eduardo Samaniego he ha seen nearly one in eight homes foreclosed in his community since 2008.

Banks are supposed to be on the side of their customers but it is evident that these protests are correct in bringing up how the banks are not protecting people and their homes.

The economic downward spiral has only increased the separation between the wealthy and those that go without.

These protests are attempting to create a change in the corrupt and mismanaged U.S. capitol to better protect the 99 percent.

Protesters hope to create a change that will let the majority be the voice and face of our nation, changes have to be made in Washington for there to be any hope for change in our economic state.

It seems as though more arrests have been made because of these protests and fewer actions have been made from the government or banks.

I feel that the number of protests occurring across the nation should be garnering enough attention for law-makers and bank officials to start thinking on how they can protect the 99 percent.

We must be the change we want to be and these protests are pointing out that our economic situation can be controlled and influence by the 99 percent.

Sources:
http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_19100787
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/occupy-wall-street-and-th_b_1007609.html