The teen was killed by Zimmerman while walking back to his father's fiancés home after stepping out to buy Skittles and some iced tea during the NBA All-Star Game. After weeks of relentless pressure, the Sanford Police have decided to release emergency and non-emergency calls placed during the incident.
"These a**holes always get away," Zimmerman says in a call to a non-emergency number.
Dispatcher: "Are you following him?"
Zimmerman: "Yeah."
Dispatcher: "We don't need you to do that."
An altercation soon ensued. A few moments later a torrent of 911 calls flooded in and Martin was killed by a single bullet. Zimmerman claimed self-defense and has yet to be arrested, stoking outrage and claims of prejudice against the police department.
ABC News
"On February 26, our son Trayvon Martin was shot and killed as he walked to a family member's home from a convenience store where he had just bought some candy. He was only 17 years-old.
Trayvon's killer, George Zimmerman, admitted to police that he shot Trayvon in the chest. Zimmerman, the community's self appointed "neighborhood watch leader," called the police to report a suspicious person when he saw Travyon, a young black man, walking from the store. But Zimmerman still hasn't been charged for murdering our son."
Please Take a Minute to sign this petition for Trayvon Martin
http://www.change.org/petitions/prosecute-the-killer-of-our-son-17-year-old-trayvon-martin
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Social Media Activism: KONY 2012
My facebook news feed is covered with stories about Joesph Kony and Invisible Children's KONY2012 project. If you have not gotten a chance to see the video. Check it out below:
http://vimeo.com/37119711
While I am glad that this issue is being brought to light, I wonder about the unintended consequences of social media activism. This documentary raises a lot of unanswered questions and issues about this type of awareness. For example, is this documentary oversimplifying an issue? What about the unintended consequences? Is Invisible Children manipulating this issue?
facebook/social media as a means of activism? And the white man's burden of saving children from Africa?
In addition, is Invisible Children focus really helping stop Joseph Kony.
Amanda
http://vimeo.com/37119711
While I am glad that this issue is being brought to light, I wonder about the unintended consequences of social media activism. This documentary raises a lot of unanswered questions and issues about this type of awareness. For example, is this documentary oversimplifying an issue? What about the unintended consequences? Is Invisible Children manipulating this issue?
facebook/social media as a means of activism? And the white man's burden of saving children from Africa?
In addition, is Invisible Children focus really helping stop Joseph Kony.
Last year, the organization spent $8,676,614. Only 31% went to their charity program (page 6)*.
*For context, 31% is bad. By contrast, Direct Relief reports 98.8% of its funding goes to programming. American Red Cross reports 92.1% to programming. UNICEF USA is at 90.3%. Invisible Children reports that 80.5% of their funding goes to programming, while I report 31% based on their FY11 fiscal reports, because other NGOs would count film-making as fundraising expenses, not programming expenses.I would be interested in hearing your thoughts and opinions on this.
Amanda
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
There is a world outside RISD?
I like RISD, but...I also like the outside world. That is why, when I first came to RISD as a sophomore, I immediately took a work study job off-campus at the Providence Children's Museum. I knew I would soon be totally involved in my work and spending all my time in studio, so I wanted to ensure that I would break out of the RISD bubble every so often and interact with non-art-students. The time that I have spent outside of RISD has informed my work more than some of my classes have. Working and volunteering off-campus has provided me with valuable insight into my work and also a good helping of perspective. I have meet many people, and had many conversations that have absolutely nothing to do with art, the food at the Met, or how much we hate charcoal (gasp!).
These conversations have helped me think about my work in an entirely different way, and have sometimes sparked new fascinations or goals. I've learned that I can't think about volunteering or working off-campus as time away from studio; rather, I think of it a process that is essential to informing my work.
These conversations have helped me think about my work in an entirely different way, and have sometimes sparked new fascinations or goals. I've learned that I can't think about volunteering or working off-campus as time away from studio; rather, I think of it a process that is essential to informing my work.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
MLK Jr. Day of Service 2012
The Martin Luther King Jr. Day of service was an amazing success!! The event was well-organized and had a great turnout both from volunteers and from community participants. Speaking from personal experience, I can say that the face-painting booth was a hit with the students from Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary who participated in the event. Children enjoyed being painted like Batman, Spiderman, lions, tigers, and even bunny rabbits! In addition to having their faces painted, children could create their own jewelry at a bracelet-making station, dance to live singing and music played by two enthusiastic dj's, make their own Martin Luther King Jr. Day t-shirts, and much more!
One RISD student was responsible for facilitating the creation of a mural inspired by Dr. King. He divided his portrait into a grid, and every child and parent was able to decorate a piece of the grid by illustrating a personal 'dream' of their choosing. Thanks to the RISD student's hard work and the willingness of the community members to participate, the entire mural was assembled in just a few hours. The students seemed very proud to know that they had contributed to decoration their school with a brand-new mural honoring its namesake.
In addition, a great pizza lunch was supplied. There also were alternative options for vegetarians, vegans, and/or persons with dietary restrictions, which was thoughtful and inclusive. Families also were able to make their own splatter paintings, fruit stamps, and even have a caricature of their faces drawn! The crowd was steady throughout the event and the turnout was great, especially in light of the cold weather.
It was great to be a part of such a positive, engaging, and inclusive community event on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It was a great success for all involved!
One RISD student was responsible for facilitating the creation of a mural inspired by Dr. King. He divided his portrait into a grid, and every child and parent was able to decorate a piece of the grid by illustrating a personal 'dream' of their choosing. Thanks to the RISD student's hard work and the willingness of the community members to participate, the entire mural was assembled in just a few hours. The students seemed very proud to know that they had contributed to decoration their school with a brand-new mural honoring its namesake.
In addition, a great pizza lunch was supplied. There also were alternative options for vegetarians, vegans, and/or persons with dietary restrictions, which was thoughtful and inclusive. Families also were able to make their own splatter paintings, fruit stamps, and even have a caricature of their faces drawn! The crowd was steady throughout the event and the turnout was great, especially in light of the cold weather.
It was great to be a part of such a positive, engaging, and inclusive community event on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It was a great success for all involved!
Monday, January 9, 2012
december story of service
i mostly observed during the cityarts empty bowls project. i photographed the kids who had brought their families into the pottery studio. they worked to create bowls that would benefit the amos house. i had never met these kids before but i could tell how invested they are in the after-school programs at cityarts. i was really interested in how the different ages of children affected the dynamic of the studio. they shared their spaces & the pieces they had made with me.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
December Service Stories
As December is coming to an end, I look forward to the end of finals and getting to go home and relax with friends and family. One of the highlights of going home is spending time with my "little sister" Passion. Two years ago, I volunteered at my local Boys and Girls Club. During this time, I met a young mother during my time of service and developed a close relationship with her daughter. We have kept in contact for the past two years and I make it a point to see her every time I am at home on break. Mentoring Passion over the past two years has taught me a lot about myself and serving my community. While I hope to develop a long term relationship with all the children that I mentor, I realize that this is something that I cannot force and it has to happen naturally.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
November Community Service Story
After reading the articles "To Hell With Good Intentions", by Ivan Illich, and "Why Servanthood is Bad" by John McKnight, my perspectives on community service were altered. These articles, while very inflammatory, made good points and while I did not agree with all of the ideas expressed in these essays, I felt they did have some good things to say about the importance of one's intentions when performing community service.
As far as good vs. bad intentions go, I feel it is important to come at your community service with a respect for and a certain understanding of the people you are serving. This means that you must look at things through their perspectives, not yours. You must not make assumptions. The people you are serving have a lot in common with you, but there are also often a lot of things about their experience that you have not experienced and thus cannot directly relate to. It is important to consider the different life experiences these people may be having.
For example, while I was at my tutoring job in a 3rd-grade classroom of a local elementary school, I was having a conversation with an 8-year-old boy who had a lot of questions about my nosering. At one point, he declared, "I'm going to get a nosering too, when I am a teenager!" I said, "Do you think your mom would let you??" He replied, "I don't have a mom." I felt terrible. It was uncomfortable because I had made the assumption that this boy had a mom. I was looking at his life from my perspective, assuming that his experience matched up with mine as a child in a certain, critical way. I should not have made this assumption. It put both of us in an awkward situation which highlighted our differences rather than our similarities, and it killed what had been a pleasant and interesting conversation. However, I am glad that it happened because it illustrated for me an important point made by the authors of the essays we read--the idea of serving people by considering their perspectives, and not making assumptions.
Moving forward, I will make an effort to be more thoughtful and careful about the way I interact with the people I work with in my volunteer jobs. I will try to make less assumptions about their lives, especially as they relate to my own experiences. My experiences are not universal, and do not apply to all people. To become a better volunteer, I must remember this.
As far as good vs. bad intentions go, I feel it is important to come at your community service with a respect for and a certain understanding of the people you are serving. This means that you must look at things through their perspectives, not yours. You must not make assumptions. The people you are serving have a lot in common with you, but there are also often a lot of things about their experience that you have not experienced and thus cannot directly relate to. It is important to consider the different life experiences these people may be having.
For example, while I was at my tutoring job in a 3rd-grade classroom of a local elementary school, I was having a conversation with an 8-year-old boy who had a lot of questions about my nosering. At one point, he declared, "I'm going to get a nosering too, when I am a teenager!" I said, "Do you think your mom would let you??" He replied, "I don't have a mom." I felt terrible. It was uncomfortable because I had made the assumption that this boy had a mom. I was looking at his life from my perspective, assuming that his experience matched up with mine as a child in a certain, critical way. I should not have made this assumption. It put both of us in an awkward situation which highlighted our differences rather than our similarities, and it killed what had been a pleasant and interesting conversation. However, I am glad that it happened because it illustrated for me an important point made by the authors of the essays we read--the idea of serving people by considering their perspectives, and not making assumptions.
Moving forward, I will make an effort to be more thoughtful and careful about the way I interact with the people I work with in my volunteer jobs. I will try to make less assumptions about their lives, especially as they relate to my own experiences. My experiences are not universal, and do not apply to all people. To become a better volunteer, I must remember this.
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