Writing

I have always written since I was a little girl. I have several journals that could be turned into books, but I haven't turned them yet. I haven't because I have been scared. I felt like I was not good enough because I wrote differently in my journalistic writing class back in collage. I let someone's opinion stop me from writing. I have this fear of not being a successful writer, so I don't write. Isn't that stupid. Right now my life is in a confusing state because I am not in control, but I am. I'm not sure if that makes since to you but I know what I have to do now. I just need to keep writing and get published. This inspiration came to me because of when I seen the commercial for the movie/book Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I wanted to be Julia Roberts. I actually wanted to go around the world and experience people's lives and write about it. This is something I always wanted to do but I didn't know it was possible until I started reading the Writer's Digest in the public library. I love to write. I love culture. I love language. I love love. I love the earth. I love art. I love it all and I just want to experience everything and put it into my writing. When I went to Elizabeth's website I was thankful for her thoughts about writing. She basically said just do it, go and get published. She also said to stop complaining about what other's think or what they want let you do. "It's not the world's fault that you want to be an artist". This is so true and from her on out I will do my best to write whenever it feels right. Like Elizabeth, I would tell myself that I would write everyday, but I didn't because I couldn't. You never know when you are going to feel inspired, which is why I always keep a notebook and a pen in my purse. I did this when I was little too. It helped me become an excellent writer. I wonder at times why I was so confident back then. Why did I not care what people thought? When I remember I will let you know, but for now I will live to write. I hope this can give you some inspiration to do what you really want to do. I think if we stop living how we think we are supposed to live, then the world would be a happier place. Stop with the "what ifs" and just do it like Nike.

Watch Out Drumline, Here Comes Cougar Cadet Core!

On a hot summer day in San Fansisco there is nothing better to keep people moving than the sound of good music and the Cougar Cadet Core of Alameda does just that.

“These kids come out almost every weekend to make money for their music school. This is an after school program that is not supported by the school district. They earn everything they have themselves. Their motto is each one, teach one but I don’t know how to play the drums. My job is to keep these kids disciplined”, said head instructor Rico Centro.

The Cadet Core played outside Forever Twenty-one in San Fransico with Gealeo Drumline on Saturday to help support one another.

“Gealeo is funded by the military. They are apart of ROTC but it’s nice to have young people supporting other young people“, said Rico Centro.

The drumline consisted of both male and female from elementary school to high school.

“[These gifted kids] just want to play, teach people how to play drums, and earn money to compete against other drumlines”, said Lenora Clark.

“This program keeps us out of trouble once we get out of school. It teaches discipline and respect for one another. I have been in this program for the past four years and I continue to help others even though I’m in college now”, said drum instructor Derrek Latchison, 18.

The Cadet Core is like a family of best friends who help and support each other in every way.

“I don’t play but I do help my father out with keeping these kids in line and making sure people don’t take advantage of them. I collect the money from the crowd inside one of the drums and make sure nobody takes it. These kids are not trying to scam people because everything go towards their program”, said Ceariaco Dixon.

Each kid in the drum line has a specific job to do. Some are different drums, some do tricks, and some play other instruments.

“I play five drums at a time but I started off as on the snear. When this program started we were given a few drums from a teacher but now we have a lot of drums. We really work hard to get where we are today”, said Cameron Leahy.

As one kid breaks it down during his solo moment the crowd goes wild.

“At first I just thought it was some loud hoodlum kids but after sitting here and watching them I realize they are truly something special. They are really good”, said spectator Ron Johnson.

“I love the music, it’s like their drums are talking. You can feel the emotion with every beat. I would support them if I could. This seems like a worthy cause because they love what they do. This is better than shopping”, said CSUEB student Josephine Igbineweka.

2nd Annual African American Education Summit

By Katice Harris

Staff Writer

CSU East Bay in collaboration with The Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce put on their Second Annual African American Summit on Saturday March 1st 2008 for ages 6-12.

“We made this event available to grades 6-12 and their parents because it is important to get the African American community excited about college. Some of these children never thought about college as an opportunity and now we are letting them know that it is an achievable possibility”, said Kelvin McCaskle, Co-Chair of this event and the Executive Director of the Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce.

This event was full of parents, teachers, students, businesses, and our university staff. This program lasted from 8am until 3pm. There was no confrontations and the atmosphere was very friendly and educational.

The main theme for this event was “Education: Live The Dream and Embrace the Future!” All the workshops, entertainment, and vendors stressed this theme.

“[The health center] feels it is important to reach out the community about health because it’s important for prospect students to know what service they can receive on campus. Even if they don’t come to CSU East Bay it is important that they know that every university has a health service that is convenient and low cost.”, said Jennifer Miranda, health educator here at CSU East Bay.

“I’ve been going here and I’ve learned something new about nutrition today that I didn’t know before”, said Samantha Johnson, a junior here at CSU East Bay.

There were enormous crowds of youth and adults that were interacting with each other on a educational level. Mostly everyone stayed until the end of the program but people really came together socially during the step show by the Fraternity Iota Phi Theta.

Their performance was very educational because it promoted black history month and each member stated what their major was and if they were graduating soon. It was a positive message for African American men because it showed that success in college is possible.

“[Iota Phi Theta] decided to contribute to this summit because [they] wanted to give back to their community by motivating black men to pursue education. [They] wanted to show that there are more alternatives than ending up in jail like education. It is important to represent the African American community, especially male in a positive light because we are representing not just ourselves but our community at large.”, said Iota Phi Theta Fraternity.

They really accomplished their goal because everyone was listening intently to their message about being strong men and African American queens by holding their fist up and chanting an affirmation in the Swahili language.

“We learned a lot from our first summit last year. One thing that was extremely important to stress this year was college availability by reaching out to the community to help promote this event. We collaborated with Super-Sunday churches, private schools, local school districts, and many other organizations to promote this event. We wanted to show that new college students do not have to go through college alone, so these student workshops were set up to help them understand college resources. The parent and educator workshops were set up to show parents that it was ok for them to motivate their children about college and to understand what the college process was like as well.”, said Stan Hebert, Co-chair of this event and Associated Vice President of Student Affairs at CSU East Bay.

The parent and student workshops were spread all around campus and every room was filled to its extent. Some parents had to stand since all the seats were taken.

The student workshops were broken down by grades and represented by colors. The sixth and seventh grade students were represented by the color red. Their workshops were: High School Preparation for a College Experience, College Making it Happen, and Save Me a Spot in College. The eighth and ninth graders were represented by the color yellow. Their workshops were: “Got Plans”, California High School Exit Exam, and The Real World: College. The 10th and 11th graders were represented by the color green. Their workshops were: Alphabet Soup(a-g requirements), “Got SAT?”, and The Real World: College. The last group, the 12th graders were represented by the color orange. Their workshops were: Get Accepted to Cal State East Bay TODAY! (On-The-Spot-Admissions), Financial Aid, Senioritis: Don’t Get Bit, Other College Options, and Education and I: American Male Workshop.

The parent and educator workshops were at first together and then later broken down into two groups. The program for both parents and educators was “Creating a Pathway to College for African American Students by Closing the Achievement Gap”. The parent workshops were “Empowering Parents to Support College Going and Accessing Resources”, and “ It Takes a Village”. The educator workshops consisted of “Developing a College Going Culture for African American Students in your School Community: Successful Programs and Practices”, and “ Collaborating for Student Success: Southern Alameda County Regional Educational Alliance (SACREA)”.

“This is truly and event to change [the African American] community. This is the first time I’ve been around youth besides my own children who are actually motivated and excited about getting to college”, said one parent who did not want their name in the paper.

“[ The Planning Committee’s] goal was to promote educational opportunity, and to show case the importance of education now and in the future by collaborating with the community and I think we pulled it off this year. Having our educational and business partners get involved by putting flyers out, word-of-mouth, and e-mail blast really helped this summit be a success. I am proud to be apart of helping the community through education.”, said Enrique Mendoza, a committee member to this event.

This event was really an evolutionary experience to a lot of adults because it was more African American youth wanting to do better for themselves. Like Stan Hebert many parents felt that today’s youth is saying “I want, I can, and I will”, about getting an education.

Along with CSU East Bay, our community is letting youth know that they are 100 percent behind these students if they choose the path of educational success. This is something many students here at CSU East Bay wish they had before they started college. If anyone reading this article did not go to this event the educational community and CSU East Bay encourage you to attend with your whole family next year. This event even had child care for parents who had younger children and free food was provided. CSU East Bay and The Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce wants their community to feel welcomed and this year they did an outstanding job of accomplishing just that.

What's in a Divaz' Patch?

By Katice A. Harris

Every academic and social club has a logo or patch that represents what their organization is about. Divaz Au Naturel SMC has a patch that they put on their arm-bands, jackets, shirts, and other accessories. The Divaz Patch defines the women that make up the organization. The background of the patch is lime green because it represents the growth and prosperity within and outside of their club. The three women on the patch represent equality of race, gender, and status. The accessories worn by the women on the patch represent that women are versatile enough to be educated, beautiful, free, and a Diva no matter what. The woman on the bike represents that regardless of who you are socially and professionally, you can still enjoy the sport and empowerment of riding a motorcycle. The colors black and white symbolize erasing racism because together they make gray. It also brings Divaz back to celebrating unity and equality of all women. The women on this patch are close together showing that once Divaz are united they can make a real difference in the world. Every patch does have its meaning but it is up to the members of that organization to live up to their life mission. If you look at the patch a little closer you will see that these women have no face. This is because Divaz Au Natural SMC want you to envision yourself within this organization because every woman is a Diva.