BOTW 4/15

By Paige Waskow

White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack

By Peggy McIntosh

The book of the week is not exactly a book. Instead, I thought I would post this resource about white privilege.

What is it about?

This resource, which comes from a larger publication by McIntosh, helps identify what white privilege looks like in everyday society. This list of statements allow the reader to look at their own lives and see how they are able to interact with the world in comparison to others. White privilege does not always mean active violence, it is ingrained in every part of society.

Here are the first seven (out of 50) examples from McIntosh's list of what white privilege looks like:

"1. I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.

2. I can avoid spending time with people whom I was trained to mistrust and who have learned to mistrust my kind or me.

3. If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area which I can afford and in which I would want to live.

4. I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me.

5. I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.

6. I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented.

7. When I am told about our national heritage or about "civilization," I am shown that people of my color made it what it is" (McIntosh 1988, 2).

                                   

via GIPHY

Why did I choose it?

I think this resource is a great way to target what privilege looks like for white people. What I mean is that as a white person, I am able to ignore or more seamlessly move through society in a way that people of color cannot. I get to choose whether or not I want to think about how society is privileged to white people. I do not have to experience it.

All of the statements that McIntosh mentions are crucial to understanding what white privilege looks like, and they should make you uncomfortable- especially if you are not a person of color. I think this source challenges my normal and helps me remember to be aware of what I can do without feeling awkward, fearful, isolated, or ignored because of the color of my skin. It is so so so important that those who have privilege in society challenge themselves to see bias and then change how they act or don't act. One thing that I have learned is that listening and learning go a long way. Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack is a way to actively listen and challenge the status quo.

Where can you view it?

Right here! This is a PDF document of the list (but not the whole publication).

Is there anything else you should know?

If you would like to view another post I wrote about white privilege, you can click here. I added some resources that I have found useful to that post. Additionally, if you have any resources, comments, or questions, please leave them below. Happy reading!

References

McIntosh, Peggy. 1988. "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack." (part of "White Privilege and Male Privilege: A Personal Account of Coming To See Correspondences through Work in Women's Studies") https://www.racialequitytools.org/resourcefiles/mcintosh.pdf. April 17, 2019.

BOTW: April 10th

By: Paige Waskow

The Sun Does Shine:

How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row

By Anthony Ray Hinton

What's it about?

What is it like to be on death row? What is it like to be innocent on death row? What is it like to be a black man, innocent of a crime but convicted for it, and on death row?

Anthony Ray Hinton tells his true story of growing up as a black man in Alabama, being accused of murder, and being sentenced to death. Not only is he completely innocent, but he spends thirty years of his life on death row before getting out. His story recounts the trial, the injustice and inequality of the system, and how he grows in spite of his circumstances. Hinton fully describes the hardship of being on death row and losing so much of his life to it. He speaks of his troubles with belief in God, fear of never seeing his mother again, frequently hearing and smelling men being killed near his cell, and struggling with how to get out. He also describes his incredibly journey in being able to make friends and share his knowledge with fellow men near his cell. He even starts a book club. Although he is in the worst of situations, he is able to serve the people who are on death row through kindness and compassion.

Why did I choose it?

This book affected me so deeply and profoundly. As mentioned above, it is not simply a story of injustice, but also one of strength and growth. Hinton has to face what I can only imagine as one of the most entirely life shattering and deeply horrifying experiences a person can live through. And yet, even after losing it all, he is still able to help other people. It is hard to describe the book without giving too much away, but I promise it is worth the read. I love books that challenge the status quo, and Hinton absolutely does this. But, he does it through love and compassion, which are seemingly impossible from being in the circumstances that he was put through. I highly recommend this book as it will challenge you, probably make you cry (or at least feel some serious emotions), and shares a powerful example about how love wins over racism, privilege, pain, sorrow, and inequality.

Where can you get it?

The Sun Does Shine is available at the Cedar Rapids Public Library (CRPL). You can get a CRPL card anytime for free.

Is there anything else you should know?

A part of the book recounts Hinton's journey to get off death row with help from lawyer Bryan Stevenson. I have written a few posts before mentioning Stevenson, specifically the BOTW post on Just Mercy which he wrote. If you are interested, you can view that post here. Additionally, I highly recommend checking out Stevenson's firm the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI). You can view their website here.

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References

Equal Justice Initiative. EJI. 2019. https://eji.org/

Hinton, Anthony Ray. Hardin, Lara Love. The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row. St. Martin's Press, 2018.

What is Coe's Center for Creativity and Careers?

By Paige Waskow



Many people know or have heard of C3 here at Coe, but what do they do and how can they help you? How can you get that internship you've always wanted or make a lasting impression at a job? I talked with Joe Demarest, an Internship Specialist at C3, to ask some questions about what C3 does and how everyone can take steps towards having a successful post college career.

What is your job at C3?

So my title is Internship Specialist, but I deal with a lot more than just that. All the C3 consultants help with career exploration and consulting. We all help students get connected to Cedar Rapids and engage with community members.

What can students get help with?

I think it really is about meeting the student where they are at. One of the first questions I ask is: How can I help you? Not every student needs the same interaction and has the same needs. For some students it can be an interest inventory (like looking at majors) or job shadowing. Sophomores and Juniors typically do cover letters, job searching, and networking. It could be making the transition from the academic environment to real world.

What opportunity should every student take at C3?

I think every student should meet with us at least once to see where they want to be in the future. Different career paths may change how much a student interacts with C3. Their experience, if in the hard sciences, may be more professor based versus a student who wants to be in social work and needs help connecting with nonprofits. My biggest fear is a student leaving thinking that they are going to be happy but not having experiences and not having it figured out. Outside input is great for every student.

What are the most important things a student should do each year?

Freshman:

Freshman year is really about transition to college, 1st semester is getting into the new environment, and learning what you need to do to be successful. Asking: what might my future hold? And thinking about thing long term. Freshman should start trying different things and doing networking opportunities through C3.

Sophomore:

Sophomore year can often get lost in the mix. Ideally a Sophomore should start thinking more about how they can do some real exploration along the lines of summer opportunities and research. They should have more conversation about things like LinkedIn and start thinking about audience. Asking: How am I starting to engage? Some themes include: Internships to just get some experience. A working cover letter. More leadership opportunities in clubs. Considering life after college. (Grad school, working, etc.)

Junior:

Junior year is very important, you don’t want to slip through and not pay attention. It is a continuation of what has been done Sophomore year.

Senior:

Senior year is a lot about tying up loose ends such as practicums and ensuring that you are able to graduate. There should be more focus on life after college but still finishing strong.

via GIPHY

In your experience, what kind of students stand out the most when applying for internships, jobs, etc.?

Those that start early (and it doesn’t need to be full throttle but it does need to be engaged.) Acknowledging time and how important it is and how fast it really goes. If you always think you have more time, you don’t realize how quickly it goes until it is gone.

What C3 event should every student attend?

You should attend all of them. The career fair is one that would be really good to go to. Getting to know local employers and opportunities even for 1st year students is very important. Getting on the company’s radar as an interested student and making connections can be really helpful. Sip and Socialize is another good event to attend. So many jobs are being landed through networking and being able to connect with alumni. Data shows that networking is key. It’s also about learning how to have those conversations with professionals when you leave college.

Thanks to Joe for taking the time to answer my questions!

Why Does Reading Matter?

By: Paige Waskow

What is the importance of reading? Why should we spend our time reading, especially as busy college students? In reading, there are both many educational and personal benefits. Additionally, it is important to remember how valuable being able to read really is and experience fiction worlds, true stories, and what is going on in the world. Let's dive a bit deeper into what this all means through some key points.

via GIPHY

1. Reading is a good escape and can be incredibly relaxing.
Life can be busy, overwhelming, and uncontrollable, especially if you have lots of classes, work, and sports. Managing it can be incredibly difficult and working through the stress that comes with it can often be much worse. One benefit of reading is that is it is an escape and break from that stress. Finding a good book can take you to new world, explore complex problems, and provide hours of entertainment. Reading is a choice. You can choose what you want to read and explore without fear of getting to a certain page number or writing a paper about thematic character actions. Additionally, reading may help you feel understood and understanding. As author John Green simply stated, "Great books help you understand, and they help you to feel understood".

2. Reading helps you see the world in new ways (and challenge it).
There is a reason books are criticized, praised, or incredibly popular. Books are complex and provide a voice to ideas and concepts. From banned books to those that provide criticism on culture, reading opens the door to the world. We all come from different backgrounds and experiences; we each have our own story. Through reading, you have the opportunity to expand your bubble and even break the expectations you have of yourself and the world. Additionally, it brings you closer to others. Reading is special in that even if we know of a concept or idea, by exploring and reading we gain new knowledge and learn from a new perspective. We are able to grow into people who care more about ideas, humanity, and solutions.

In one of her articles about the importance of reading, Brain Pickings writer Maria Popova quotes author Neil Gaiman on his perspective of fiction's value. "'Fiction can show you a different world. It can take you somewhere you’ve never been. Once you’ve visited other worlds, like those who ate fairy fruit, you can never be entirely content with the world that you grew up in. And discontent is a good thing: people can modify and improve their worlds, leave them better, leave them different, if they’re discontented,'" (Popova, Gaiman).

3. Reading opens the door to community.
Although books are often seen as a personal and introverted activity, they can also be used as a way to socialize and grow friendships with others. Take book clubs, recommending books to others, and popular culture references as examples. Books and stories bring people together while helping challenge us in our experience and being willing to share it with others.

4. Reading can educate you in what you need to know and help give you more information about what you care about.
Books are a form of media, and like all media, they are biased in some way. But, they also take more time to write and often more care before publishing. Books can provide information that is easily compared with other sources, insight, and perspective. In regards to non-fiction, reading a lot of books allows for the opportunity to learn more about issues that matter to you. Additionally, they may help you have the ability to understand and be less overwhelmed by issues in culture, then being able to formulate opinions and solutions. This then can be useful in classes, as you have more sources and understanding about why you believe something, as well as knowledge to share with other people.

5. Not reading all together undermines the value of books in society.
According to Pew Research,"About a quarter of American adults (24%) say they haven’t read a book in whole or in part in the past year, whether in print, electronic or audio form," (Perrin 2016). This is definitely at least a whelming statement. Books are such a rich source of knowledge and can provide and bring so much into people's lives and experiences, as stated in the points above. When we do not read or use books, we may begin to believe that they are of less worth than they provide. This is not to enact fear of a Fahrenheit 451 or 1984 like society, but it is important to note that how we gain information matters. How we communicate and grow as people is where we get information and how we process it in our daily lives. We should not read out of fear of losing books but out of enjoyment and pursuit of learning. What we give attention to is what grows and flourishes.

Additional note: I want to share this NPR article about reading literacy in the US and how many people are learning to read for the first time as adults.

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References:

Perrin, A. (2018, March 23). Who doesn't read books in America? Retrieved October 29, 2018, from http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/03/23/who-doesnt-read-books-in-america/

DesMarais, C. (2018, March 15). Why Reading Books Should Be Your Priority, According to Science. Retrieved October 29, 2018, from https://www.inc.com/christina-desmarais/why-reading-books-should-be-your-priority-according-to-science.html

Popova, M. (2016, September 06). Neil Gaiman on Why We Read and What Books Do for the Human Experience. Retrieved October 29, 2018, from https://www.brainpickings.org/2016/08/03/neil-gaiman-view-from-the-cheap-seats-reading/

Block, M., & Peñaloza, M. (2018, April 26). Casting Aside Shame And Stigma, Adults Tackle Struggles With Literacy. Retrieved October 30, 2018, from https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2018/04/26/602797769/casting-aside-shame-and-stigma-adults-tackle-struggles-with-literacy

Image made with Canva

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Why Should You Read?: An Introduction

By: Paige Waskow

Reading matters.

     Of course, you have heard this, had teachers tell you to read more, had classes where the curriculum is “reading intensive”, or heard of its magical benefits. But why does it matter if you read and how does doing so outside of a class during your precious free time actually benefit you? How can you enjoy it?

     Perhaps you are like me and enjoy reading. A. Lot. I grew up hauling as many books as my arms could carry down city blocks to my house from my local public library. But, in my educational experience, whether in middle or high school, reading was about being a better student in the short term and doing well on tests, rather than enjoying it and thinking about it in the long term. My educational experience did not really make me want to read outside of class. My personal experience and exploration as a child did. As students, I believe we have lost touch with the importance of reading for pleasure. I have friends explicitly tell me that they hate reading. Books mostly meant grades, tests, assignments, and skimming. Maybe you feel the same.

     There is immense value in reading in school, and this is not to undermine that. In fact, it is necessary to read in class and have deep conversations about texts. I think that our problem with reading is that we see it as something for school, something that can make us pass or fail, not as something that can be enjoyable, relaxing, and exciting. So, how do we take back that love for reading? How do we read more?

In the next few posts, we are going to look at:

1. Why reading matters

2. How to actually enjoy reading

3. Books you can read

4. Book favorites of the Learning Commons blog writers.

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