It's my sister's birthday!

My sister, Naomi, turns 26 years old today! In celebratory post, I wanted to review a few accomplishments that my sister has, well, accomplished in her short stint of life.

Here's the skinny, in no order of importance. She has completed multiple ultra-marathons, marathons, triathlons, and centuries. Soon, she'll be competing in age-group nationals in the Olympic Distance triathlon.  As of last fall, she is a proud house owner of a quaint, yet spacious three bedroom house.  Since then, she's made several renovations (e.g., bathroom, kitchen). As a teacher, she has four years experience, and her next will be at a brand new high school. She's also in lifelong partnership with Lou, who I really enjoy. And she's a UGA Alumni (a few times over). The list goes on... excellent student, teacher, athlete, partner... By now the only people reading may be my own family who know all of this. But it bears repeating.

In the last few years, Naomi and I have grown really close. We talk weekly; she helps me train for races; she provides advice on a variety of academic, athletic, relationship issues; and finally, she is always up for a sibling wrestling match or competition. All the way in California, I really appreciate an older sister.

Importantly, her most commendable achievement is that she beat me on the SAT by 30 measly points.

Me and Naomi involved in a recent banana pudding competition

Happy 26th Naomi!

Mountains... Meet my new bike.

After a year of deliberating, four months of shopping, and scores of gchat conversations with Louie (my brother-in-law and personal advisor of all things cycling), I have made the leap to mountain biking. So, mountains, I'd like to introduce you to Marin; Marin, meet the mountains.

Regarding the question posed in my last blog--Will buying a mountain bike delay my pursuit of a Ph.D.?-- the answer evades me. For now, I am just pumped to head for the hills. Who knows, it could be the cure for writer's block!

The Real Question

Would buying a mountain bike delay my pursuit of a Ph.D.? 

The Perils of Road Cycling

CNN recently posted a video titled Road Cycling: Too Dangerous. It combines disquieting statistics with two cathartic anecdotes about the perils of cycling and all too frequent negligence of drivers. The video drives home the importance of driver awareness and of local governments to provide a safe place for bike/motorist coexistence.

I would like to note that, in the video, a silent ride is held in memory of those cyclists who have been killed on the road. Disturbingly, one of the cyclists shown on this ride is shown not wearing a helmet. This is irritating, because, after all, the onus of keeping cyclists safe is on both the motorists and the cyclists. It seems that as citizens, we should advocate for more bike lanes; as drivers, we should be more courteous and cautious; and as cyclists, we should take more ownership of our own safety (e.g., riding single file, wearing helmets).

 A picture from my crash in 2007

Happy (Safe) Riding...

Holistic and Ongoing Care for Our Veterans

What happens to soldiers when they return from combat?

This is important issue for the psychology and military communities, and it should be a pressing issue for all Americans. Without speaking from experience, the lasting effects of war and its socialization can be be both physically and psychologically profound (e.g., Fort Carson Report: Combat Stress Contributed to Soldiers' Crimes Back Home)

As reported in a recent CNN article, President Obama emphasizes our nation's past negligence of the psychological externalities that our soldiers experience long after serving. It is my most optimistic hope that this is not a mere talking point; and the prospect of less rigorous/stigmatizing procedures for getting help and a revamping of the VA hospital system appear to be promising first steps.  

For or against our nation's foreign policy, we should all value our soldiers' healthy return to civility. 

Assigning Culpability to Mehserle in Oscar Grant Killing

I have written in a previous post about the cultural and contextual specificity of assigning culpability. That is, in the previous post, our decision to point blame to adolescents is relative to our historical and social contexts of Latino Americans, and middle and high school students. With the release of the verdict in the Oscar Grant trial, I could not help but to situate this verdict of White, civil servant's quasi-culpability within its proper social milieu.

Today in Los Angeles, a jury decided to convict Mehserle, a White officer, for the involuntary manslaughter of Oscar Grant, an unarmed Black male in the first day of 2009 (See SFGate article). Although harsher than an acquittal (c.f., Rodney King's assailants), the verdict falls short of a second degree murder charger, which the prosecution sought. The verdict will likely produce 5-16 years of prison for Mehserle.

No one wins in these cases. There is no way to bring back Oscar, and there is little that can assuage the racial undertones in this case (and in Oakland or America). Without opining, it is my hope to highlight this decision as another one swayed by history and context. American society has typically assigned less fault to civil servants. Further, there is strong evidence that supports a legal and social leniency for the Whites accused of violating Blacks. Given this, is a man-slaughter verdict incremental progress toward equal protection under the law? Without a murder charge, have we again fallen short of vindicating the victim's family? Or have we  poorly equiped and placed a well-intentioned man into a hectic, cortisol-driven situation and then cast blame on his shoulders? The issue is highly valenced and complex.

Regardless of your opinion or my own, with today's verdict and the subsequent social and media reaction, we will define and redefine society's stance of individual culpability, especially for White, civil servants. Collectively, we will shape the parameters and definitions of right and wrong (and magnitude of rightness and wrongness). In doing so, we socialize a new generation and provide a history and ecology for the future Americans to reconcile with.

Highschooler Wisdom

One of my more enjoyable endeavors this summer has been teaching a Sociology course to gifted/talented high school students. As my first true teaching endeavor (outside of subbing and special ed paraprofessional), I have had the liberty to create a course from scratch. With such freedom comes absolute responsibility!

I have taken several measures to get feedback from my students. I want to make sure that they're learning, having fun, and being challenged. One measure has been a notecard activity to conclude each class period. It works like this: I pass out a blank notecard to each student. They are asked to annonymously write any feedback on the card. It can range from activities they enjoyed, suggestions for improvement, aspects of the material that they still find confusing, or more holistic updates on themselves as people.

As a result, I have received some very helpful feedback! Students are free to tell me what works and what does not work. Some students, however, have taken the opportunity to write some very funny comments on their cards. Here, I would like to share a few with you! Soon, you will be nostalgic for the awkwardness that we all embodied as highschoolers (maybe me more than others)! Enjoy.

"You are fairly bipolar."

[Next day's notecard--presumably from the same student]
"Not bipolar! You were high all day today."

"Great explanations of Marx. Do you gel your hair?"

"Start using Southeastern terms. Dance and sing, too."

"There were lots of crumbs on the table today."

Again, anomolies from some very constructive feedback, but funny anomolies nonetheless.