Omoluabi (Gladys)

Dr. Gbadegesin’s lecture on Omoluabi was very inspiring. I really liked how he preached that students should always do their best and be their own self. I also enjoyed how he highlights the importance of having a good character and getting a good  education.

Gbadegesin says that part of life requires one to have a good education due to its impact on not only your life, but your human condition. He also says that education can also affect your place in society by what you decide to use that education. This the definition of Omo Olu Iwa Bi, which means “A person of character, disciplined, and self-improving, thus earning the respect of peers and community on account of practical wisdom, putting knowledge acquired through education to the service of the community, and not shying away from personal sacrifices when needed” (personal communication, September 5, 2011).

            Gbadegesin also discusses the different types of Iwa. There is Iwa as existence, Iwa as a character, and Iwa  as it relates to endurance. I believe this was a way of describing people according to their endurance, character and responsibility towards themselves and their community. I believe that this is very important because nowadays, it seems like society is always looking for a scapegoat to balme things on, whereas if we were to look at ourselves instead, we would be able to better our own issues rather than to blame other people or the government for it.

            Gbadegesin also discussed why education is so important. He explains that by gaining education, we would be able to pass it on to the many generations to come. This would allow us all to stay educated for centuries to come and also allow us to prepare future generations for the various task needed to keep things in the world and in the government running which is really necessary to surviving.

            I really enjoyed the lecture because it made me realize that everyone affects their community in some way. But if we learn to use our education and knowledge to the full extent, we may be able to make more good impacts rather than bad.

Tuesday MLK papers (Steeve)

I'm doing great in Freshman seminar this semester. I've finished my blogs on time, and I've gone to class every day. So why, might you ask, did I attend the extra credit lecture on Tuesday? Is it because I'm such a good student that I would entertain any opportunity to learn? Not quite. I really went to support my friend, who wasn't doing so great, expecting an exaggerated lecture about Martin Luther King's Jr.'s fantastic accomplishments and the like.

This, however, was not the case at all. Once I walked in, I didn't go straight to my phone and start playing Angry Birds. The lecturer, Dr. Crawford from Morehouse College, was already talking about a topic about Dr. King that I've never heard about: his papers. To think that Dr. King had thousands of papers containing his thoughts and ideas really made me appreciate his ideas and their fruition much more. Dr. Crawford showed several examples of his writings, which contained typos and many scratched off words, on different surfaces like tissue paper and the back of documents. She went on to discuss the importance we should put on Dr. King's ideas rather than Dr. King himself.

However, this collection of papers isn't the only one. Dr. Crawford mentioned that Dr. King also donated a set of papers to Boston University. Although these papers only accounted for his life until 1964, they combined with the King Collection at Morehouse give a comprehensive look into Dr. King's evolution into civil rights and theologically-based speeches. One great example Dr. Crawford gave of this evolution is Dr. King's rejection letter to Howard's President Mordecai Johnson stating how he could not work here while he still had unfinished business in the south.

It is rare to have newfound respect for someone you already know much about. This lecture unveiled a new way for me to find more about Dr. King from the man himself. Once students and the public have access to the digitized collection of Dr. King from Morehouse, it will open many interesting new doors for historical research into one of the most influential men in the 20th century: Martin Luther King Jr.

Homecoming (Steeve)

Homecoming. From Sunday's Gospel Show to last night's Step Show, it was obvious that the Howard University campus was taking on a whole new social atmosphere.

Though none of my friend accompanied me to the Gospel Show, I simply made some new ones while I was there. The show was phenomenal. It started off a little rough with a few off beat praise dancers, but then the Howard Gospel Choir (HGC) came on the stage and brought the whole audience to its feet. I especially loved the guest performance, former HGC director, Clifton Ross III who retired this June. His voice is one of a kind and I was very excited to hear it firsthand. I have to admit I was a little upset with how the seating was set up. So many seats were reserved, even getting to the show really early only allowed me to sit somewhere near the middle where I could barely take in the presence of the performers as much as I wanted to. What made it slightly worse is that everyone performed fantastically. At the end, Shirley Caesar made me stand on my feet watching her and her group's performance s enthusiastically that I almost went up there to sing when she asked Howard students to do just that. About 1500 people attended this event, and this was just the beginning.

For the most part, the week was a regular week with tests, quizzes and papers all normally scheduled. Once it hit Thursday, however, anyone could tell that D.C., let alone HU, was no longer the same. Yardfest was on everyone's mind (mostly because it was free) and the facebook pages were blasted with people selling for the homecoming game, the R&B show, and the stepshow. At the most, I've only ever seen about a thousand people on the yard at once. That was during freshman week when some of the main events were going on at the yard and most of the freshman class was participating so they wouldn't be bored. This time, the entire school was privy to coming and also the community, alumni, media, and distinguished guests were also coming. Though I'm upset I had an appointment to go to a museum right in the middle of Yardfest's activities, I still managed to see the size of the crowd of people that attended. I must say it was insane.

Thousands upon thousands of people were present. From children to adults, greeks, students and locals, walking through the yard was nearly impossible. I really wanted to find some high ground somewhere and just take a look at the yard from a distance and watch in amazement the real HU's homecoming activities. Followed by the stepshow and the R&B show, the weekend was something to remember. The thing is it wasn't all fun and joy. Plenty of fights broke out and many people were just acting stupidly for stupidity's sake. In my first year of HowardU's homecoming, I at least learned that everything is affected by it, people and businesses alike, specifically the metro. I cannot wait for next year's homecoming, where I will actually go to the game and make sure I go to yardfest and really enjoy everything I can take from Howard's Homecoming.

Gladys Free Write

My first semester of college has so far been a little challenging for me. However, I have realized the things I need to do in order to stay on top of my work and grades.

One of the things I have discovered is that time management is very important. This is something I have heard a lot of people say but I never really understood it until now. It seems like it is so easy to loose track of time and work in college. I was so shocked because I have never experienced this before. This probably because I don’t have a teacher constantly reminding me of what is due and when it is due.

I also realized that you can never study too much. In high school I barely had to study in order to get a good grade. But nowadays, I find myself doing so much that I easily forget everything I learned that previous day. That’s why I have started trying to review my notes every chance I get so I don’t completely forget everything. College is definitely teaching me more than just academics.

I am slowly getting a hang of things, but there’s still something’s I have to work on. Things definitely seem better then they did before. Hopefully, I will be able to carry these lessons throughout my years in college. I know I definitely don’t want t relearn them again.

The Joy Of Homecoming (Gladys)

I have heard people talk about how Howard's Homecoming is so amazing, but i never really understood the hype about it. I always thought that every homecoming was the same and now, let's just say my view has changed.
I have never seen a homecoming like Howard's. There were so many people there that didn't even attend the school. From Howard alumni to people who traveled from far just to attend this legendary celebration, everyone seemed to get along. I especially enjoyed the concert. I liked that they had a wide range of performers and also that even some Howard students preformed.  
Though i do not listen to rap music much, i did really appreciate the fact that rappers such as Jezzy and Wale tok time to come celebrate with us. It really shows how Howard is known and appreciated by everyone to the point that they would go out of there way just to preform for us students.
Another highlight was the Homecoming game. I have never ever been to any type of football game, so this was a true experience for me. On top of us winning the game in overtime, i also got to see Calvin from "Tyler Perry's House of Payne." He was just walking around hugging people and just having fun like the rest of us. Showtime's performance was also very memorable. I liked how they didn't back down from the other team's band just because they were a larger band. They truly have a lot of heart and enjoy what they do. 
All in all, i loved homecoming week. It is by so far the most amazing college experience i have had so far. I definitely can't wait for other special events at Howard.

Homecoming Blog

This week was one of the most interesting weeks of my life. I experienced my first college homecoming. However, it wasn’t just any homecoming. It was THE REAL HU’s homecoming. In the beginning of the week I was not very excited, because I still had many projects and tests due. It wasn’t until after my morning class on Thursday that the excitement hit. I was done with all work for the week. When Friday rolled around I was beyond excited. After my afternoon biology class, I headed straight to the yard and saw so many vendors, and Greeks. For a second I just stood and took it all in. As I watched the performers I realized that it was going to be a good weekend. During YardFest I also realized that I want to host an event at Howard, like Jae Murphy. In a way, I admire him. He is well known on campus, and hosts spectacular events. By the time I am a graduating senior I would like to have hosted an event on the Howard campus. Once Big Daddy Kane emerged I was so excited. I had the chance to see an older Emcee perform, and take me back to the roots of rap, and what it used to be. Before all the drugs, gangs and negative images. When Jeezy and Wale came out I didn’t want to leave. But I had to leave early during Wale’s performance to head to the R&B show.

            After YardFest, my floormates and I headed straight to the R&B show. I could not wait to see some of my favorite singers on stage. Tyrese, Avant, Joe, Monica, and Melanie Fiona were all great. Melanie’s voice was heavenly! As for Tyrese, well its safe to say he has complete control over the Howard girl’s minds. The R&B show as a whole was amazing. I cannot wait for next years. My final Howard homecoming experience was the magnificent step show. I loved the step show. It was an amazing experience. While I do not agree with the winners I still enjoyed it. The DREW HALL step team was fantastic. They were perfectly in sync. If they had been in the competition they would’ve won hands down. The Kappa’s, Sigma’s, and Que’s were great. I am still waiting for the day I can see the Alpha’s of Howard. The NC Alpha’s were good though. All in All the step show enhanced my Howard experience 100 fold. I feel bad for all the people that left after the Sigma performance. They missed the Travis Porter performance and the announcement of the winners.

            Overall, I enjoyed my first Howard Homecoming and cannot wait for next year. I also think this is the most concerts I’ve seen in one week ever.

Homecoming 2011!!

Man, oh man. Homecoming was an experience for the books. I didn't really attend too many events during the week, my homecoming started Friday at YardFest. My classes were cancelled so I slept in until 12 p.m. so I could prepare myself for the night and what would take place. I got up and went to band practice at 3 p.m., to prepare for Saturday's activities. After that, I showered and met up with my friends and went to YardFest. There were so many people there. Old people, young people, and even small children were there to enjoy the festivities. After a long night of "wholesome" fun it was time for sleep so I could be prepare for the longest day of my musical career. Saturday started at 6 a.m. with me walking to the Fine Arts building to put my uniform on for earlier morning rehearsal. We got out to the field by 8 a.m. and ran through the show a few more times. The parade started at around 10 a.m., and my instrument didn't leave my hands until 7 p.m. that night. it was one of the longest experiences ever, but I'm glad I was able to participate in it. Our drumline show was phenomenal and everyone enjoyed it. Homecoming was amazing, I can't wait until next year when I can do it all over again.