HOUSTON!!!

Houston was AMAZING. The art, the play, everything. The city reminded me of a very watered down New York. (yeah, sort of an exaggeration) Anyways, we visited an art museum which I provided pictures for some of my favorite pieces. We also watched a play titled Intelligence Slave. This play depicts a different story of what occurred during the Holocaust. Instead of being centered around death of millions, the play displayed a deeper view of what the Holocaust effected. This aspect is what I enjoyed the most because of the different experience. It showed what was underneath all the death and exposed the emotion behind it.

Overall, I was really glad I was able to visit Houston in the way that I did. I had never seen the artsy district of Houston and I was glad to be able to see that in my lifetime. It seems that since I have come here, I have learned so much not only from the people around me but from the new surrounding. Being placed in an environment that I did not know really forced me to learn about new things. It excites me and it's bittersweet at the same time because we only have one week left and I don't want it to be over. I can't wait to see what the next week holds. :)

Rules of interpretation

Before we leave for the Houston trip that is very art-driven, Dr. Carpenter gave us three questions we must ask when looking at art.

• What do you see?
• What does it mean?
• How do you know?

These questions are very important because they really work when looking at a very unusual object. Even though interpretation is subjective, these three questions can guide you to a make a good one. I look forward to putting these questions into action tomorrow in Houston.

Food Inc.

In ethics today, we talked about a film titled Food Inc. The film talks about the wrongdoings of the food industry and how it can be detrimental to humans. A case that was shown in the film explained how a simple hamburger killed a 2 year old child. This film is trying to highlight just that in regard to wrongdoing. This film is trying to show light to the negativity the food industry holds. The tagline for the film is "You'll never look at dinner in the same way." This tagline is perfect as many of us who watched the film were disgusted. The way they treated the animals and what they do just to simply have a chicken finger at dinner is disgusting. We have a couple vegetarians and they expressed how videos like this inclined them to go vegetarian.

In regard to ethics, we had to discover and question if the way the meat companies are treating the animals is ethical. To me, it is very unethical to treat animals just for the sake of eating meat that probably isn't safe anyway. We discussed in class alternatives to produce meat that would ultimately help us out and diminish this problem. Overall, I have enjoyed this class and what it offers.

Multicultural Reflection

Today, we discussed first impressions. Ms. Rose presented us with slides of four different people. Each of a different race. This was shocking as our ideals of each race differed from what was actually real. I really enjoyed this activity because of what it represents to us. We all look at the color of the skin but not at the character. We judge people based on their race and not what they present beyond the color. This activity opened my eyes to see in a different perspective. We all discussed after the activity why we thought the way we did. We all had something different to say and it was all really well thought out. From what I have experienced, we are all very interested in the subject of multicultural studies and what it entails. We all thirst for the different perspective and we all enjoy what we have to say. This class is so much fun and I can't wait for more!

Visual Culture - 6.14.10

Today, in visual culture we learned about a street artist named Banksy. Now, I don't want to say too much about him because I feel that his work needs to be interpreted on your own terms. Every work has a different meaning to every individual. What do you think?

AUSTIN!!!

Woooooohooooooo! I've never been to Austin and it was exciting to go. It felt so weird - Austin doesn't seem like it belongs to Texas. The environment seemed fun and playful and still down to earth. After the two hour drive, we met up with Dr. Slattery's daughter, Michelle Slattery. Michele talked to us about her experience as an urban architect and what exactly she does. I found it really interesting because she turns areas that are really slow and sad into an area of excitement. In a way, she is doing a service to the community by providing a place to go and have fun. That aspect of her job excited me the most because she seemed really passionate about what she did. Michelle genuinely wanted to help her city through her architectural talent. This really helped me see architectural side of urban leadership. Architects can be urban leaders in their environments by creating good.

After a visit to the Blanton Museum where they had AMAZING art, we had our own private concert outside of a restaurant. This concert was awesome! Everybody was totally into it and enjoying their time there. This really made me happy because I felt that there was a type of unity among us all. Even though we all came from different parts of Texas we could all join together and have fun at a concert. People were dancing and all the fun was recorded! This is one of the memories that will really stick out when remembering the Governor's School.

Ethics Water Video

This video was shown in our Ethics class today. I think it has important message behind it and I believe it's a problem I can fix in my own surrounding. It really brings ethics into play when first attempting to fix the problem. What is an ethical way to conserve water? This issue is important and it really left an important influence on me. We discussed alternatives and how we think water is such a small problem in our world when in reality, as shown in the video, water conservation is huge.

Rain? - 6.9.10

We got rained in! :( Consequentially, classes were canceled and we all got soaked. After waiting in the dining hall for about 2 hours, we were then advised to go to Scoates Hall for a lecture.
This lecture was being given by Dr. Slatter and Dr. Carpenter. This is like a tag team of amazing people. They both contain so much knowledge and impact. I feel like they understand us as students and make themselves relate able for what we believe. The lecture they were given centered around how art is perceived. They expressed that ART HAS TO MAKE AN IMPACT to be called art. Art should entail discussion and thought. I completely agree with both as I believe that when looking at art if no inclination to think is made, it is not art.

After the discussion about art they presented us with a video about Hurrican Katrina. Instead of a documentary, it was more of an art film. It sparked a lot of tears in the class as many students felt that they personally connected with what the film was depicting. Afterwards, we discussed our thoughts on the film and, again, I was surprised by the deep discussion. Having a room full of 100 kids and still be able to have a good discussion among them all is an amazing feat. I'm really starting to like the people here and enjoy what they have to say and I'm excited for tomorrow. :-)

Ethics is Awesome! - 6.8.10

When I looked at the types of classes that we were going to have on a regular basis, I specifically noted Ethics as being one that I was looking forward to. I was not let down. Ethics was presented as being the study of what is morally correct or incorrect. Our teachers, Mr. Rivers and Mr. Ortwein, presented us with dilemmas which instigated discussion amongst us. I'm always down for a good discussion. What I learned was that peoples environment and experience influence what they believe is good and bad. What one person believes is good another can view it as immoral or disgusting. This aspect of our ethics class group is intriguing to me because of what it presents. It presents an opportunity to view a problem through a different ethical eye. I can see a problem through what some body else believes. It was good to hear different points of view and to just absorb it all. Through this class I think I'll be able to gain so much perspective of how to dictate ethical solutions. I'm so excited for what it may hold and how much I can learn.

First Day of Classes - 6.7.10

First day of classes today! Exciting!! We are alternating between 4 classes and 4 groups. Today we have technology and multicultural studies. On first impression, multicultural studies became my favorite class. We talk about biases that are held against different types of ethnicity. This is really one of my favorite classes because of what it presents. It is allowing us to see not what is in front of us but what is behind a persons skin color. This class will really help me see things from different perspective. The discussion we had had lots of different input from many different people and that is what makes me so excited about this class. Discussion is always good and I have a feeling that in multicultural studies a lot of good discussion will occur.

My First Thoughts - 6.6.10

Arriving at TAMU's Governor's School was a bit like being placed in a whole different environment - which is what I was expecting. The vast grasslands and cows surrounding the university is completely different from my hometown Arlington, Texas. Upon arrival the first thing that popped out to me was the diversity among the whole group. Every race was equally represented allowing a variety of views.

Our Resident Advisors introduced themselves to us and split us up into four groups. (Group 4 is the best, by the way.) Each of the group members had to introduce themselves and say two interesting facts. (Sylvia doesn't like ketchup, Dante is on the verge of getting his aviator license, and Felix is a Paramore fanatic. Cool, huh?) We then met up with the Co-Directors of the program Dr. Slattery and Dr. Carpenter. Their reasons for creating this program is amazing. They want to change and inspire students to "make history." They want to put the power in our hands and make us lead change through arts and humanities - and ideal I can totally agree with. They're inspiring, motivating, and most of all, leaders for all of us.

After introductions we were presented with a documentary titled Green. This documentary was made by an A&M undergraduate. It attempts to expose the wrongdoings of the chemical plants who spill their chemicals into the Mississippi River. This dangerous practice causes cancer and many other diseases to those who surround the river. This film seemed to impact each of us in a certain way. After the film, a discussion ensued. The discussion was heated as everybody had something to say about the situation of the victims in the film. People had a lot to say and everybody had such good points. The discussion was amazing and proved that I am surrounded by people I can learn from and interact with academically.

This first day really set the tone for the rest of the camp as I really expect it to be discussion oriented and I'm excited to hear what people have to say. I'm excited for the arts aspect of this camp and I'm ready to meet new people and learn from them. :)