Podcast #1 The Experiences of the "Other" on Campus

This Podcast is about my experience as a woman of color attending West Chester University a (PWI). predominantly white institution. I spoke about the feeling of living in multiple worlds/schools due to being a woman of color. I believe that being a woman of color can be seen as a access card to navigate the many worlds and subcommittees of West Chester University. I am an active member of general university life, multicultural life, fraternity/sorority life of the Divine Nine, and the music community of West Chester. Although, the access is amazing the constant feeling of "otherness" has also shaped my experience here are WCU, due to my skin color certain people tend to unconsciously speak to me in a one dimensional manner, by talking to me in "slang", projecting what they think a person of color should talk like or be like ( due to the misrepresentation of people of color in the media). Those experience of people calling me "girlfriend" "girl" "home girl" are actions of ignorance and denial, denying my human right to complexity and difference. I don't assume anyone one is alike and by no means would I ever speak to someone due to the images projected in the media.

All in all I have had an array of experiences on this campus which differ due to situations and my composition as a androgynous, bisexual, woman of color, all apart of my intersectionality and humanity.



What are some of your experiences as a person of color on West Chester University?

#college #westchesteruniversity #wcu #narratives

Famous Women on their College Experiences Via New York Magazine

Over 30% of the American population is seeking some form of post secondary education, even celebrities. Since this blog is about the College Experiences of people here at West Chester University I wanted to broaden the scope so that we could see that the college experience spans and differ according to gender, race, age and social status. 

For More on the Article 

Michelle Obama, Princeton 1985"My experiences at Princeton have made me far more aware of my 'blackness' than ever before. I have found that at Princeton, no matter how liberal and open-minded some of my white professors and classmates try to be toward me, I sometimes feel like a visitor on campus; as if I really don't belong. Regardless of the circumstances under which I interact with whites at Princeton, it often seems as if, to them, I will always be black first and a student second."
Michelle Obama, college thesis titled Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community, 1985

Lena Dunham, Oberlin 2008"There I am in my long sleeping-bag coat, shuffling to class twenty minutes late on a Tuesday morning. There I am in what used to be the video store, piling my arms high with VHSs. There I am in the diner, ordering not one but two egg sandwiches. There I am in the gym, riding an Exercycle from the early '80s and reading a book called Bosnian Rape. And there I am, drunk on a spring night, yanking my tampon out and hurling it into a bush outside the church. There I am falling in love by the bike rack. There I am slowly realizing my bike has gone missing from the same rack, stolen while I was sleeping. There I am calling my father from the steps of the art museum. There I am half listening to a professor when she tells me I need to start attending class more regularly. And I'm there, too, dragging a torn sofa into the black-box theater with my 'set designer.' If I had known how much I would miss these sensations I might have experienced them differently, recognized their shabby glamour, respected the ticking clock that defined this experience. I would have put aside my resentment, dropped my defenses. I might have a basic understanding of European history or economics. More abstractly, I might feel I had truly been somewhere, open and porous and hungry to learn. Because being a student was an enviable identity and one I can only reclaim by attending community college late in life for a bookmaking class or something." —Not That Kind of Girl

Tina Fey, University of Virginia 1992"Let me start off by saying that at the University of Virginia in 1990, I was Mexican. I looked Mexican, that is, next to my fifteen thousand blond and blue-eyed classmates, most of whom owned horses, or at least resembled them. I had grown up as the 'whitest' girl in a very Greek neighborhood, but in the eyes of my new classmates, I was Frida Kahlo in leggings." —Bossypants

My college experience has been a tortuous one, full of laughter, grief, and happiness. Similar to First Lady Michelle Obama, I was and am confronted with my "blackness" daily. Through attending WCU I was able to discover my race identity in America, explore my sexuality and create an environment for all people to come together through my leadership roles.

To pay tribute to Lena Durman experience, I will adopt her approach “ There I am”

There I am standing assuring my mother I would be okay my first day of ADP (Academic Devolvement Program), at that time I wasn’t aware my presence on campus was apart of their mission statement to being “diverse”. There I am standing introducing my self to everyone on the grass in front of McCarthy without a care in the world, creating a multicultural peer group that would become my closest friends in WCU. There I am actively plotting to meet this sexy guy through befriending his roommate. There I am in class loud, happy and American to a classroom separated through the social construct of color. There I am standing outside of a party wanting to enjoy the college experience but was denied because “ there wasn’t any room,” yet another group of 6 random white college students were ushered quickly in. There I am confused and peeved as to why my friends and I couldn’t get into any “open” parties on Walnut. There I am sweaty, twerking with my bestfriend at a party thrown by a fraternity of the Divine Nine, feeling good and having a good time, but the party was shut down for some reason.  As I walked out into the brisk air, sweat turning into dry white spots, I could hear the symphony of the hundreds of other louder parties; there and then I was introduced to White Privilege.   There I am standing at a house party, saved, surrounded by modern day hippies who were dead heads, festival goers who saw me for Me. There I am philosophizing about creation and listening to a blued eyed dred king tells me he thinks god farted the world into existence. There I am standing and given a necklace from a Hawaiian man who just felt compelled to give me something. There I am pushing along side a sea of musky guys in a mosh pit to a random band I feel in love with for the night.  Here I am understanding college is what you make of it, how you define it, and how you live it. I was set free…

Student Profile "What Did You Learn Today"?

Name:Yesenia Hinkle
Major: Art Therapy
From: Norristown

 What did you learn today in your Principles of Counseling class? 

"First I think the purpose of the class is to identify who you are as a person in order to better help another person. You need to know yourself and be confidant in self before trying to help another"

What quotes stand out to you?

 "Rather than trusting our-self to search within and find our own answers to the conflicts in our life, we sell out by becoming what others expect of us. Our being becomes rooted in their expectations and we become strangers to our-self." (Theory and Practice of Conseling and Psychotherapy by Gerald Core)

Why did you like it?

"I think that it comes to show that people just try to please people rather than pleasing theirselfs,  for some reason we are so caught up in how people think of ourselves"

 What area in life do you think people are insincere?

 I would say relationships, because people are sacred of being along, yet its ironic because being alone is the best thing for you, its when you learn the most about yourself"


Thank you Yesenia for Sharing!

Do you agree with Yesenia?

Are humans afraid of being alone?
Do we care to much about what people think?
Is the fear of loneliness keeping us away from knowing true self?

Broke College Student

This spoken word performance is from Jasmin Johnson, she speaks about the financial burden that going to college can sometimes be, and through that "brokenness" our connection. 


     

Looking Good on a Budget!!!

Many people stop me on the street to ask me where I get my clothing and I always chuckle and smile and say " the thrift store." I am talking about the gritty, stale smelling thrift stores which smells like a n old persons shack, those are where all the goodies are.  I don't like the  fancy thrift and consignment shops  Mackamore sang about in his popular song Thrift Shop. Yet through attending West Chester I have noticed that getting dressed or just looking professional isn't priority here, Uggs, hoodies, sweatshirts, leggings and fleeces are the uniform of the land and preferred by the majority.  Ever since I was little I used fashion as a way to express myself, and It has become my form of expression to communicate my values and views of the world. I believe must understand that fashion, or ones style,  is non verbal communication which often times is the first thing a bystander notices about you. Dressing well translates, discipline, decorum and professionalism.

I understand the financial burden fashion can sometimes be, so I complied this list of affordable stores you can go to, to buy essential pieces for professionalism and even daily wear. 


 Unisex List of Essential Clothing a College Student Should Have:

1. Blazer (Dark Pinstripe, Tweed, Solid Colors)
2. Jackets (Sports Jacket, Suit Jacket, Solid Colors)
3. Button Down Shirt ( Blue, White, Funky Designs (Depends on Job or Environment), Black)
4. Dress Pants
5. Pencil Skirts
6. Little Black Dress ( Coco Chanel swears by it)
7.  Polo Sweaters
8. Collard Shirts
9. Cardigan
10. Shoes ( Dress Shoes, Mary Jane Heels
11. Fitted Suit ( Blue, Black, Navy, Solid Colors

List of Affordable Stores in the West Chester Area:


Salvation Army

Address: 250 E Market St #1, West Chester, PA 19382

Phone:(610) 692-0380

   

• When thrifing be sure to think quality over quantity, look out for great brands and fabrics

Church Thrift Store
Hours: Every Friday from 9am to 2pm
Address: Near the 7/11 on High Street 




Plato's Closet 

Address: 213 W Lincoln Hwy, Exton, PA 19341

Phone:(610) 524-6000

http://www.platosclosetexton.com/