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Post by faithndegwa03 on Apr 25, 2022 0:52:34 GMT
Weekend Journals Below
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Post by faithndegwa03 on Apr 25, 2022 5:06:07 GMT
My Big/Little Weekend was quite eventful.
Prior to the hangout, my Big asked my co-little, Korra, and I what days we would be most available so we could set up a day to meet. We all ended up agreeing to go out on Saturday night. Elaine had rented a zip-car and told us that we would be going to a “place” but later revealed that she had planned to take us to Little Tokyo. I had woken up in the early afternoon - though I usually wake up in the early morning - because of the long night I had prior to Saturday. I got out of bed, only to realize my roommate had already left for her flight back to Seattle. I cleaned up my room from the long night of studying that I had done the night prior. I took a shower, did my entire morning routine, then began to get ready for my Big/Little date. I took way too long decidedig on an outfit, per usual, only to end up picking an outfit I have worn a million times. I chose to do my makeup for our day out as well. Although I wear make-up a lot for our professional meetings at Kappa Alpha Pi, I rarely wear makeup outside of the fraternity - with the exception of when I chose to go out with my friends (and then, I do not wear it too often). However, I feel like putting make up on definitely helps boost my morale for the day to come.
Elaine had notified us the day of to meet her at the parking lot in Saxon. I left from my house - with my pledge pin securely fastened and my pledge binder under my arm - and made my way down the hill. My anxiety gets pretty bad when I leave my room because I am scared of accidentally passing an active without shaking their hand and earning an aftermath. However, after already receiving an aftermath, I am learning that the punishments are not excruciating and that it is not something to have tremendous anxiety over. I was the first one of the littles to the parking lot. Elaine and I discussed out week as we waited for Korra’s arrival. When she had came to the car, we made our way to Little Tokyo.
Although my co-little had been to numerous parts of LA, including Little Tokoyo, it was Elaine and I’s first time going. We parked in the parking structure next to a mall then walked over to Little Tokyo. From the moment we walked into the area, I heard a beautiful sing being played by a lady who was busking on the street corner. I loved to be around the tall buildings and infrastructure, especially since I grew up in the suburbs and wasn’t around that type of architect until I moved to Los Angeles for college. We started by getting food at one of the local shops. I tried many foods for the first time that day, but my favorite was takoyaki from that same little store. We got to see a lot of cool parts of the city. I am usually not the biggest fan of matcha, but the blueberry matcha that we got from the cafes was delicious. After we left, we decided to watch the sunset at one of the many views at UCLA. We talked for hours and I felt I really got to get to know both Elaine and Korra a lot more - especially about their backgrounds and upbringing. It was really interesting learning about the different parts of the Chicago area that Elaine was from since I do not have any friends that are not from the East Coast. Overall, the day and night we all spent together was great.
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Post by faithndegwa03 on Apr 25, 2022 6:22:06 GMT
To make up for missing the Alpha Pi pledge class’s social event, I was assigned to write an additional weekend journal about the event. Although I did not attend the event, I heard from our VPR, the actives, and my pledge brothers that the event went great!
The preparation of the event was quite interesting. Our social chairs brought up the event and their plans surrounding it during our general body meeting on Tuesday. My pledge brothers and I had helped them discuss a budget to propose to the general body of Kappa Alpha Pi. We aided them in deciding the decade that each class would be assigned, changing a few of them to the preference that some of the members had. We later found out that we were given a budget of $60 to execute the social event the following day. Although some of my pledge brothers and I were stressed, I knew they would manage to execute it well.
The following morning, I had woken up feeling unwell. However, because of the lack of sleep or time to eat I faced throughout the course of the week, this was a pretty normal occurance, so I did not think too much of it. I went about my day, doing homework and cleaning up, assuming that I would feel better before the evening. I had planned to leave the house around 5 so I could help my pledge brothers set up. They had texted in the groupchat saying that the rooftop they had planned to host the event at was pretty messy and they needed more hands to help clean and set up before 7pm. They followed this up by sending photos of the rooftop they had planned to use. The rooftop needed a bit of work, as they had stated, but I could see the potential in it that they did.
At this point of the day, I was practically bed-ridden. My cough had gotten pretty bad and although I had tested negative for COVID-19, I thought it would have been best if I had just stayed. I immediately texted my groupchat and emailed Suzy that I would not be attending the social event. Although Cya and I could not attend, good amount of my pledge brothers, luckily, were still able to show up early enough to help clean up the rooftop and set up the other material needed for the decade movie night.
Slowly by slowly, the active began to show up to the social event. Many of my pledge brothers started switching off at the door to let the actives and the remainder of the pledges know how to get to the rooftop. A little over an hour into the event, my pledge brothers left from the door as no one else showed up, to enjoy the event they had all put so much work into. Although I was not at the event, my pledge brothers were kind enough to let me know some of the things that took place. There was a table with a variety of foods (chips, different types of cookies, raw vegetables, soda, etc). They had set up a place with shiny hot pink streamers and letter balloons to create a background for any person to take pictures in front of. There were an assortment of games and even karaoke for individuals to do. I heard a pledge brother of mine even preformed a ballad of one of Adelle’s major hits. From what I hear, the highlight of the night was Jonalyn’s cencsored/family-friendly version of Anaconda by Nicki Manaj. From the short video I saw, I knew no one else in the Kappa Alpha Pi Pre-Law Coed Fraternity would be able to top it. Although I could not attend, I am happy the active and my pledge brothers had a good time.
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Post by faithndegwa03 on Apr 25, 2022 7:00:05 GMT
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Post by faithndegwa03 on May 2, 2022 4:28:35 GMT
In the many ways that people of color are systematically oppressed, the justice system, in particular, is one that I have been fascinated about since middle school. Stricter gun laws, first introduced to me as a child after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, was now a debate topic in my seventh-grade classroom. Assigned to argue in agreement, I let my curiosity drive my research and immediately found myself drawn to race-related inequalities in gun control. In one article, the author discussed the death of Tamir Rice, a twelve-year old boy killed on a playground by police. Since I was Tamir’s age, the lack of justice this boy received baffled me, despite the criminal system in the United States advocating for fair trials and “justice for all”. To this day, the officers responsible for his death have not been indicted on any criminal charges. Since then, I have learned that the justice system is one of the biggest oppressors to people of color and want to combat the harm it’s caused as a criminal defense attorney in the future.
As one of the fastest growing field of law, criminal defense deals with the body of law related to committed crimes. As a criminal defense lawyer, I will be tasked with representing individuals who are accused of committing a crime. To become a defense attorney, typically, an individual completes a bachelor’s degree (undergrad) and then moves on to get their Juris Doctorate (law degree). With the connections and networking experience, an individual obtains throughout their time in undergrad and law school, usually, they are then able to find a job within the field they desire most. Even in the field of criminal law, there are multiple occupations one can hold. For example, a public defender - a lawyer who represents an individual who cannot afford an attorney - is considered a defense attorney. However, private defense attorneys - who are hired by the defendant - are also considered defense attorneys despite the pay gap between them and public defenders.
My passion for solving systemic inequalities stem from being raised on the southside of my city. Once serving as an entrance point for immigrants, Roseland is one of the most culturally enriched yet under-resourced neighborhoods in Santa Rosa. A lot of the residents share common struggles, most of them first generation Mexican American, sons and daughters of immigrant parents forced to drop out of school due to their outside responsibilities. With Hispanics accounting for 94% of my school district’s population, the resources and opportunities they provided were often geared towards individuals within that ethnic group. I grew accustomed to the limited support I received, being a part of the less than one percent of African Americans students, but as the daughter of Kenyan immigrants, was taught to be thankful for everything provided without complaint. While I understood the need for adequate resources for the Latinx community, the lack of representation and sufficient support as an ethnic minority caused me to further anticipate the day I would start anew in university.
Experiencing and learning of the systemic inequalities that people of color experience on a daily basis has also made me want to pursue a career in policy. There are many careers one can go into under the branch of public policy, but the one that interests me most is probably a career as a policy analyst (PA). Oftentimes, PAs specialize within certain fields, including criminal law, education, health services, and many more. Unlike law, there is not a set path of requirements that one needs in order to pursue a career in this field. Most entry-level positions only require a bachelor's degree while higher-ranking positions often require a master's degree or higher. Although policy analyst is one of my top picks of careers in policy, if given the chance, I would love to pursue a career in higher branches of government, like Congress.
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Post by faithndegwa03 on May 9, 2022 5:29:44 GMT
I have three schools that I have yearned to attend to complete my Juris Doctor degree: Howard Univesity, UPenn, and Harvard University.
Howard University is the number one historically Black college/university. Additionally, they are the number one producer of Black lawyers in the country. There are two main factors that have made me interested in attending this school for my law degree: its prominent Black presence and its location. At every top university in the country, including all Ivy Leagues and every school in the UC System, Black students typically make up less than 10 percent of the student population. I have learned throughout my time attending HSIs and PWIs that lacking a community of people who understand the mundane struggles you go through can have negative effects on one’s mental well-being - which can, in turn, go on to affect their academic performance. Additionally, the fact that the school is located in Washington D.C. is another appealing factor. I am really interested in pursuing either law or policy, and the capital is arguably one of the, if not the best, places to find opportunities within those fields. I feel as though studying law in the political capital of the country would motivate me to push past any obstacle I face as I complete my law degree.
Another university I would love to attend is the University of Pennsylvania - or UPenn. This is a school that I really wish I put the effort into applying to during my senior year. The Univesity of Pennsylvania, although still less than ten percent, holds one of the highest Black student populations - although the school as a whole is about seven percent African American. Although this can be a bit discouraging, the fact that it is located in Philadelphia is a big appeal. Being the birthplace of individuals like Octavius Catto and Caroline Lecount, Philadelphia epitomizes Black excellence. Growing up with a lack of community made me yearn to live in a city with stronger ties to Black culture - and Philly is just that. Additionally, I have yearned to move to the East Coast to be a part of an urban area with a higher Black population and learning that UPenn has the highest employment rate of that city makes me yearn to live there more. Additionally, I remember reading recently about some of the great accomplishments their Black student population has achieved. I know being in an environment like UPenn’s in a city that epitimozes so much Black culture would really boost my morale in achieving a degree in law.
Lastly, like most high-hoping students, I yearn to attend Harvard. There are endless reasons why I want to attend a school like this. One of my first memories of Harvard University was in a news clip I had watched on Youtube about their law school. The news anchor stated that despite Nigerians making up about 1% of the 13% of Black individuals in America, they made up a majority of their law school class at that time. Although I am Kenyan, seeing such Black excellence from another African country really boosted my morale in attending University. Additionally, similar to Howard and the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard is located in a city with an abundance of opportunities (Boston, Massachusetts). While this is one of my top schools in terms of my education, I think of all the schools I want to attend, this is the school with the location that is the least appealing of the others. However, the networking and opportunities this school would offer me do not compare in the slightest to the other schools mentioned previously. Having a Harvard J.D attached to my name in addition to my undergraduate degree from UCLA would give me opportunities that I would not have otherwise had access to.
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Post by faithndegwa03 on May 23, 2022 6:54:41 GMT
I was assigned to research a non-governmental organization (NGO) for today’s themed journal. As someone who has experienced the inequalities of being an immigrant darkskin Black woman in America, I was naturally attracted to research the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The NAACP is dedicated to abolotioing systemic discrimination and segregation against the Black community. Personally, I think I am most interested in working in criminal justice, housing, and education reform - which are all areas that the NAACP aim to fix. These are all fields and areas where I have seen massive systemic oppression towards Black individuals.
The prison industrial complex is clearly one of the most corrupted systems in America - hence why I yearned to become a criminal defense attorney for a large portion of my life. Racial inequalities can be found in nearly every aspect of the system from the differences in sentencing lengths to the differences in bailing amounts. It is pretty common knowledge that the criminal justice system is one of the biggest oppressors of people of color, and the NAACP works to solve these challenges every day. The NAACP not only acknowledges the anti-Blackness that is rooted within the unfair judicial precedents and bias policies, but the financial/physical/mental/emotional impacts that it has on the Black community as a whole. The NAACP’s main goals when it comes to justice reform is to create an equitable judiciary system, terminate economic/racial biases, and end mass incarceration as a whole.
I can go on and on about the disparities that the Black community faces within housing. Since the “removal” of racial segregation, this country has still done everything in its power to systemically oppress the Black community so that individuals will never truly be able to reach the same heights as their white counterparts. In housing policy, this is often done through housing segregation and redlining. Statistically, it is harder for a Black family to get a mortgage or home loan than it is for a white family. Additionally, since home ownership is one of the major factors that determine an individual's wealth, because of the inequalities in housing, statistically, Black households, regardless of the income scale, typically have a small fraction of family wealth that whie households have. Like justice reform, this is another inequality the NAACP aims to address and solve. The organization acknowledges the ways that Black Americans have been robbed from accessing the housing and opportunities and benefits that have propelled many white Americans into the middle/upper class. They have gone on to create a five-point policy plan that would likely solve these inequalities: infrastructure investment, prioritizing communities that have been historically neglected, enforcement of Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing, enforcement of Title Vi for federal funds, and environmental justice.
Every single individual, no matter the identities they hold, should be able to have access to a quality education with the resources needed to help students reach their full potential. Especially in today’s day and age, I think it has become especially apparent to individuals how many inequalities that the educational system holds - I think it has been shown most through the efforts of many individuals to integrate Critical Race Theory into school’s curriculum. The fact that so many people are so adamant about not teaching their kids about the ways race can plays a factor both socially & systemically just shows how much we are indoor need of it. The NAACP’s goal is to create “equitable ;ocal, state, and federal policies that establish education standards, allocate resources, and set priorities for education and workforce systems”.
I think the main reason I yearn to one day work with the NAACP is because they work to solve systematic disparities for the Black community on a widespread scale rather than focussing on one specific inequality. As someone who has been affected by these disparities on a daily basis, I understand first hand the emotional, mental, and physical impacts it can have on an individual - which only makes me yearn to solve these issues more for the generations to come.
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