Having this be my third Semester being a Peer Educator at UAlbany in looking back on the Semester at a glance it was an amazing Semester of educating others. By having the Lave Hate Behind take place on Indian Quad brought out an array of varying emotions and realization. Students were at times in awe with the realization that some terms that were written on the door were considered hate to another individual. Going further into the Semester we celebrated our CHARGE open house which was titled Charge'D Up and it truly was. Performance by Phenomenal Voices was held in which powerful poems and songs were spoken and sang that impacted others. Comments from attendees were "this is really amazing" and "Please invite us to your next program" and so on and so forth.
Leading into our 3 amazing dialogues, I co-facilitated the dialogue with my colleague Kadeija Brown named "It's my Little Secret" which was a conversation on STD disclosure focusing in on the legal and moral aspects of disclosure and even walking through scenarios in which individuals had to walk through disclosing a "disease" they were diagnosed with. The dialogue began with background information of true stories depicting events in which this occurred. Guest were asked to share personal opinions and reasoning behind their thoughts. After the information was given the guest were handed random envelopes containing slips of paper then asked to randomly swap 3 of the slips in their envelope with another individual. Following this they were asked to look into the envelope and see if they had "caught" a disease and then were asked to walk the crowd through the conversation with another partner. The program shed light on maybe the minority in this conversation were everyone was ready to judge those for keeping a secret it allowed other some insight as to what it was like to walk in the shoes of that individual and the hard decisions that need to be made.
I believe the past semester made an impact and its one that i truly believe needs to continue into further semesters to come.
C.P.E Vanessa Jean
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
CHARGE semester
"Sticks in a bundle are unbreakable" - Bondei Proverb
A big welcome back to the Spring 2016 semester! A lot has happened in the last couple of weeks that has already put our University in the light of the media in a national level. Three African American girls have claimed to being attacked by 10-12 White students in the bus just the past weekend. The investigation is still going on and we have yet to find more in depth about this issue. However, the focus right now should be on ways we can make a difference to end this injustice from this point on. The question we should asking ourselves is, how can we as peers of this University help create a better, more safer environment for everyone around us? How can we take charge of our actions and words and contribute to our university in a more positive way? How can we help towards ending injustice?
The first step to this would be for us peers to start having dialogues about the issues close to us. Many of us shy away from expressing ourselves because we fear judgement. However, you just never know who might be having the exact thoughts as you. As a CHARGE Peer Educator and a part of this community, I invite you to our office, our safe place to come and have a dialogue with us. Tell us how you feel and what you think can help create a better environment for our University! Yesterday (2/1) I saw our community come in an unison to support the girls that were attacked. It was refreshing and empowering to see people of different walks of life come together and defend our black women. I know that the only way to end injustice is to empower and rise as a group, a whole for a common cause. I think that if we stand up for causes as a group, take the time to educate and inform others, we can accomplish (as well as prevent) many things! So my peers, I invite you to come together with us and make a change on campus for in a way that will shine a better and brighter light on our campus but this time, more positively!
Sincerely, CPE Faerie
#DefendBlackGirlsUAlbany Movement on Alumni Quad
It is no surprise that racism is still alive and well in 2016. The behavior of the few have constituted a revival of the old. Movements based on race emerged throughout 2015, the most common being the Black Lives Matter Movement. Anyone that identified as African American or Black, was touched by the events that occurred beginning with police brutalities. The tragedy that struck UAlbany on January 30th shook the university. Three African American girls claimed that they were attacked by a group on 10-12 White students on the 11 bus, heading towards campus. As the CHARGE Peer Educator of a highly diverse quad, a sense of panic seemed to fill the air with whispers at every table in the Dining Hall. Everyone was fearful of speaking of the events that had occurred, no less at the eve of Black History Month. Questions left and right are brought up in hushed conversations and assumptions were made.
Clear facts of the whole situation were not entirely brought to light. The fear for Alumni was in the diversity of the quad. If this tragedy has taught us anything, it is that diversity does not equal inclusion. I can understand the need for safety because a female that identifies as Black, it was a little nerve-racking stepping onto an 11 bus to head uptown. You just never know. Any information that has come to light in recent days should not negate the fact that at the end of the day, 3 girls were beaten so bad that they had to go to the hospital to get checked out. Racially motivated or just an act of violence, does not stop the idea that this environment became unsafe. I did not attend the rally because I personally felt that it was premature and too hasty of a tactic without enough information on the table to present. Black women carry the double jeopardy of life by having race and gender against them in this society. This circumstance should not be taken lightly given the current state of nation on a racial level.
Signed, C.P.E Carmel Joseph of Alumni Quad
Friday, December 4, 2015
A Look Back on Fall 2015 on Alumni Quad
My first program with CPE Faerie was Mirror Mirror which specifically focused on the issue of body image in America. It was a moving program with a great turn out. The students that attended readily spoke up about how irritating it is to look a certain way or be a certain way to receive the attention they want. We discussed topics ranging from plastic surgery to makeup to music to clothing options that accentuated specific body parts. This dialogue was not merely a conversation for women, many of the male students identified with the beauty standards that this society pushes on them and how these pressures have effected them as well. The interactive activity was having a few volunteers write on a mirror all the positive and negative things they see in themselves. Afterwards, the remaining audience openly spoke up about all the beauties they saw in the volunteers from personal experiences and first time impressions. It was heart warming to see the community of Alumni come together to ignore the standards of society.
In The "F" Word program, I took it upon myself to address the bullying towards the LGBT community that was still occurring. After witnessing an incident where some words ended up hurting a member of the LGBT community, a program like this was necessary. Again, turnout was amazing and all of the students were very engaging. First, I took a moment to debunk some of the remaining myths of the LGBT community. Then, we did the four corners exercise to get a chance to understand one another and openly express our feelings on many issues. Shocking things were shared and stories were appreciated, all over hot cups of coffee.
Sushi Night was my favorite program because it was our second annual program. It was more successful than before and a great way to continue building the community down on Alumni. Another RA and I explained the cultural significance of sushi to Asian countries and then taught the students how to make it themselves. We provided rice, crab, avocados, shrimp, cucumbers, and nori to make them. We explained the process and watched as some students made their first sushi rolls ever. RDs and the QC of Alumni even made some rolls. It was a great bonding experience with a couple 30 people.
Honestly, this semester was intense for me and that significantly inspired the programming I pushed wanted to do. I have experiences trauma and loss while dealing with the pursuit to a higher education. It was tough, but I know that just as I am going through somethings, others are experiencing things too. I have personally dealt with body image issues and it has affected the way I feel about myself and acted around others. It took a long time for me to become happy with the person I am. I think that can really relate to The "F" Word program and obviously Mirror Mirror. It can be annoying when someone else who barely knows you tried to state who you are. But, getting upset about these comments and critiques only continue the cycle. Gaining confidence, being consoled by friends, and believing in yourself makes it easier to push past all of it and pursue my own goals. And, I want the same for others who have felt this way or still do feel this way.
Carmel Joseph- Alumni Quad CHARGE Peer Educator
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Leave Hate Behind Reflection
The Leave Hate Behind program has been an deeply, emotional way for students to share what they have been through as they go about their life. Bullying is a serious topic and it begins with name-calling. People usually do not think of how hurtful the words are that they use on a daily basis. I understand that there is freedom of speech and expression, but there is also respect for the human beings as a whole. The program opens my eyes to the new words that people come up with to degrade another person. The evolution and the backgrounds of these words are baffling. I can recall from the Leave Hate Behind program last spring, a student explained to me what a "sand n***a" was. It was a derogatory term used to insult darker people of a Middle Eastern descent. The origin of the derogatory term is from America and how the whites of the time, used this term, to keep African Americans down. But, how the person evolved this term to degrade this student was powerful. So much strength and courage was displayed by these students that participated from this program. It was so empowering to see people leave these types of words in the past and look toward a better future that encourages respect for all. Thank you to those that came out and supported CHARGE and this program we put on in hopes of educating and empowering students.
Carmel Joseph, CPE for Alumni Quad
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
For the leave the hate program I thought it was truly powerful. My favorite part was getting closer to the ending because there this one girl was really passionate about covering the word faggot. She was like faggot I hate that word. She was going hard. In terms of changes I would have it on a different quads so it could affect more people. Also to make it better invite faculty to stop by. It's truly powerful to see students getting fired up. It is truly appreciating to see.
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