Archive for September, 2017

Decolonizing Media

Thursday, September 28th, 2017

This semester, I am taking a class called “Decolonizing Media.” Those invested in decolonizing work acknowledge that colonialism, even after it has been dismantled, continues to deeply impact countries in which colonization occurred.

We are focusing on South Africa, where apartheid fell only recently, in 1994 (the year I was born). Even though the country is attempting to integrate black and white citizens into the same spaces, stark inequality persists. Black South Africans continue to struggle with racism, access to resources, and other instances of disenfranchisement. Aware that attending university is most likely the only way out of cyclical poverty, black students make sacrifices to enroll. However, a hike in fees and the general cost of attending college prevents many black students from completing their degrees. Although black South Africans comprise 86% of the country’s population, only 19% of university students are black.[1] South Africans students, including white allies, have rallied to protest fees and other obstructions of justice.

The South African education systems remain rooted in their history of oppression, racism, and colonialism. Students are pushing for the “decolonization” of curriculum, which involves rejecting a white-washed approach to education. Most university curriculum remains a cache of works by upper-class, white, straight males. By passing only this information on to the next generation of students, the injustice and one-sided perspectives established by the ruling class of colonization is upheld. Students are calling for a greater diversity of not only faculty, but also in curriculum, one that better reflects their lived experiences as a majority but marginalized population in South Africa.

Protests of oppressive symbols and structures is central to decolonization. For example, in 2015, the #RhodesMustFall protest resulted in the removal of a statue of Cecil John Rhodes at the University of Cape Town. A white supremacist, Rhodes was the Prime Minister of the Cape colony at the end of the 19th century. The Rhodes statue was a symbol of the worst part of colonialism: Rhodes’ racist policies toward the indigenous (black) South African people upheld apartheid. The removal of the statue is a small victory; there are still several battles to truly decolonize all aspects of society. [2]

A #RhodesMustFall protest. Courtesy LeftVoice.org.

A #RhodesMustFall protest. Courtesy LeftVoice.org.

Personally, I have been trying to practice decolonization by inspecting how I live. Do I benefit from racist or otherwise oppressive systems? The answer is an overwhelming “yes,” so I’ll try to break it down into some questions. Do I ever read books by authors of color? Does the money I spend support worthy institutions? It’s difficult to trace the impact that our actions have. While trying to practice justice in my life, I feel paralyzed by the complexity of the issues. Merely by living, I am propping up unjust systems and perpetuating colonialism. In response, I’m attempting to be aware of how my actions contribute to various systems, and try to mitigate the damage as much as possible.

My peers of color suggest that white allies try to make space, and not take it up, when discussing issues of race. By minimizing myself, I can allow others to speak. The willingness to listen is the most valuable asset found in an ally, and I’m trying to train myself to speak only when appropriate and listen much more often.

[1] Statistics as quoted in “Metalepsis in Black,” a short film on the struggle in South Africa. https://vimeo.com/193233861

[2] Further reading on Rhodes Must Fall can be found here: http://bit.ly/2xBTSpX

 

By Anna Lindner


Anna is a Campus Clipper intern and a first-year Master’s student in NYU’s Media, Culture, and Communication program. Her research interests include critical race and gender theory and their resultant intersectionality. When she’s not studying, Anna enjoys visiting friends, catching up on TV shows, and lifting weights. For over 20 years, the Campus Clipper has been offering awesome student discounts in NYC, from the East Side to Greenwich Village. Along with inspiration, the company offers students a special coupon booklet and the Official Student Guide, which encourage them to discover new places in the city and save money on food, clothing and services.

At the Campus Clipper, not only do we help our interns learn new skills, make money, and create wonderful e-books; we give them a platform to teach others. Check our website for more student savings. 

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Keeping a Journal

Thursday, September 28th, 2017

HOW I USE MY JOURNAL

 

Whenever I see people keeping journals I deeply wonder about them. In my head, they must be extremely deep, have existential thoughts and powerful opinions which force them to be set apart from other “normal” individuals like all of us. They are the type of people who have another side to them, which they keep hidden from their friends. Perhaps, they will end up being great people who change the world and their journals will be found and published long after they have passed.

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http://wheretoget.it/explore/hipster-notebook

 

Though keeping a journal is an idea that I feel can be very much romanticized in today’s society, they can also be used as a practical tool for planning and keeping track of one’s life. In fact, I myself have been keeping a journal for the past few years. As you may have guessed, my journals will never be read by anyone, they aren’t anything exciting, filled with deep philosophical problems. More often than not I write about my feelings, make some long-term plans of where I’d like to be, or simply plan my week and give myself a to-do list.

Though they might not be grand, keeping a journal has helped me have clearer thoughts, know where I stand in life or even simply during the week, and helps me navigate my life where I would like it to be.

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https://www.christina77star.net

 

Here a few of my tips for keeping a great journal:

 

First off, I like to keep two journals. One is a small pocketbook agenda and the other a thin notebook which usually has a beautiful thin cover. (Though it’s the inside that counts, it never hurts to look at something you find beautiful.

The agenda is used for remembering important deadlines, travel plans, appointments and different miscellaneous events. Really, what goes in the agenda is anything with and expiration date, that has to be executed in a timely fashion. Specific things that always find their way into my agenda are lunch dates, application deadlines, job requirements and homework and exam dates.

Now that I’ve gotten the logistics out of the equation, I get to focus my actual journal on more substantial issues.

 

Emotional Support

To begin with, I make an effort to write in my journal every morning. This might be as soon as I wake up, after my morning workout, with my breakfast, or even in my first class of the day. I like to document my mood, and go quite in depth about how I feel that day. This doesn’t mean that I psychoanalyze myself every morning, but rather that I try to understand if what I’m feeling is sadness because I feel lonely, or because I feel incompetent, for example. The way I benefit from this little exercise is that I now become more aware of how I feel and can place myself into a certain perspective, in the right frame of mind. If I’ve understood that what I’m feeling is sadness because of loneliness I find a time in my day where I can reach out to friends and socialize. Similarly, if I feel incompetent, I try to understand what it is that makes me feel incompetent and fix it. A recent example was the fact that I was behind in readings and went over my weekly budget. As soon as I’ve identified the issue I can now move on into organizing my following week into being more budget friendly and limit my outings to give myself more time to study.

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http://www.powapowa.fr

 

Though this is not rocket science and people can usually go through these thoughts without a pen and paper, putting it on paper actually makes the thought more concrete. Seeing it on paper immediately makes it a fact rather than simply an idea. I find that when I simply think of these issues instead of writing them down, I find myself thinking of the same things all day, even though I’ve concluded countless times on what it is that I’ve had to do. On the contrary, writing it down and closing my journal gives me a sense of closure, as if now, I have to move on, stop wondering and simply act.

It might be that sometimes; the feeling you have cannot be dealt with actions. In such cases, my journal stops being a planner and transforms itself into a diary. Instead of expecting myself to do things, I simply let go, pour my heart out, close the journal, and proceed with a little less weight on my shoulders.

 

http://faithlovebooks.blogspot.com/

http://faithlovebooks.blogspot.com/

Budgeting

As a college students, I’ve come to the realization that budgeting myself and keeping track of my finances can be pretty hard at times. New York is definitely an exciting city and the numerous activities, countless hours of window shopping, and parade of new restaurants make it difficult for me to set my priorities and decide where I wish to spend my money. Because of that, I keep a page in my journal dedicated to all the things I wish to do that week. Whether that is getting a new pair of pants or trying out a new restaurant, seeing my “wish list” on paper helps me easily choose my priorities and helps me understand how much money I have to put aside for each activity.

In addition to my wish list, I keep a tab on things I hadn’t expected which caused me to spend money I hadn’t planned. For example, my phone screen cracking on the first week of school.

 

Meal Planning

Meal Planning ties in with budgeting if you prepare your own food in school. I’m lucky enough to have an apartment with an equipped kitchen I love spending time it. This means that there are plenty of things I would love to make daily, making my trip to the grocery store quite an expensive one.

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https://www.christina77star.net

To deal with my cooking ambitions, I have devised a journaling technique to keep me from spending too much, while keeping me interested in my cooking and my food.

More precisely, I go to the grocery store every Sunday night, give myself a budget and pick out a number of different ingredients I would like to eat that week. Then, I write all my ingredients in my journal and devise a weekly plan of what I will have for breakfast, lunch and dinner throughout the week. All the while making sure that I use up all my ingredients during the week, as I do not allow myself to go to the grocery store again that week.

What I strive for is creating a meal plan that is both exciting for me to cook, time sufficient, budget friendly, and healthy.

 

Overall, keeping a journal can be a great way to organize your thoughts and your life. Of course, you can fill it up with a simple to-do list that you enjoy checking off every time you complete a task. However, as you have seen from above, I enjoy planning in my journal even more than that.

 

 

By Marina Theophanopoulou

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Marina Theophanopoulou is a Campus Clipper publishing intern who is studying Philosophy and Sociology as a junior at NYU. Passionate about healthy, food and wellness, Marina aspires to make others think of food in a more holistic way. For over 20 years, the Campus Clipper has been offering awesome student discounts in NYC,  from the East Side to Greenwich Village. Along with inspiration, the company offers students a special coupon booklet and the Official Student Guide, which encourage them to discover new places in the city and save money on food, clothing and services. 

At the Campus Clipper, not only do we help our interns learn new skills, make money, and create wonderful e-books, we give them a platform to teach others. Check our website for more student savings and watch our YouTube video showing off some of New York City’s finest students during the Welcome Week of 2015.

 

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NYC: On the Street

Thursday, September 21st, 2017

I’ve been in New York for about a month now, and what an overwhelming month it was. Between cramming everything I own into my tiny car and driving from Michigan, to meeting my ten (ten!) new housemates, to getting scammed, to getting scammed again by the stupid transit system, to navigating the New York University campus, to getting off at the wrong subway stop, to getting utterly lost while on a run– it’s been anything if not exciting.

One of the most immediately striking features of New York City is the swirl of languages, food, and dress on every corner. Of course, it would be silly for me to see this diversity as proof that NYC is post-racial or completely harmonious. New York has issues, as does every city.

A metaphor I’ve developed for thinking of the city’s culturescape is the subway. Essential yet hated by most New Yorkers, the subway is dirty, unreliable, and overall frustrating- but it’s most people’s only option. NYU is exactly 6.1 miles from my house in Brooklyn- it takes 50 minutes to commute into Manhattan, and that’s on a good day. After dodging drips from the sagging ceiling, I jump the gap between the platform and the train to squeeze in with the other haggard commuters. The subway is the great equalizer: in the dark damp, it’s hard to be superior to others when you’re lumped into a mass. Fancy clothes are at risk of being soiled, and uncomfortable shoes don’t lend themselves to the constant walking required to transverse the city.

One of the stations I frequent. Courtesy Tumblr

One of the stations I frequent. Courtesy Tumblr

 

In the subway, there are no barriers. The privileged cannot use tall gates, expensive cars, or newfangled security systems to distinguish themselves from the “rabble,” us common folk. We are the human condition, pressed into a small, shabby subway car together. We are all subjected to the same delays, the same discomfort, the same noises and smells. We all pay the same price (3 bucks a pop!) to push past the turnstile and descend.

The only method of separation available to subway passengers is a bit of flimsy plastic: earbuds that provide music, but also sound barriers against the din of the subway. Our earbuds denote a small pool of personal space- a little island of privacy in the dense crowds of people, not to mention the sometimes alarming squeal of the train on its tracks. This personal space, however, is an illusion- someone can sway into and bump you when the train jerks to a stop. Also, safety is at least at the back of each passenger’s mind- especially if the passenger happens to be of the female variation. At any point, the 1% of the crowd that harbors unsavory intent might slip a hand into a pocket or worse.

Every time I curse the faulty public transit system, I know I should remember that this is how most of the world travels- via feet, bicycle, bus, or creaky subway train. At the very least, I should take it as a reminder of privilege, and that my entitlement is as illusory as that personal space we try to claim when crushed in amongst the crowd.

By Anna Lindner


Anna is a Campus Clipper intern and a first-year Master’s student in NYU’s Media, Culture, and Communication program. Her research interests include critical race and gender theory and their resultant intersectionality. When she’s not studying, Anna enjoys visiting friends, catching up on TV shows, and lifting weights. For over 20 years, the Campus Clipper has been offering awesome student discounts in NYC, from the East Side to Greenwich Village. Along with inspiration, the company offers students a special coupon booklet and the Official Student Guide, which encourage them to discover new places in the city and save money on food, clothing and services.

At the Campus Clipper, not only do we help our interns learn new skills, make money, and create wonderful e-books; we give them a platform to teach others. Check our website for more student savings. 

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Interracial Relationships: Do Those Count?

Thursday, September 14th, 2017

As a part of my white-denial phase as outlined in my previous post, during late high school/early college, I decided that I was only attracted to men of color. No more blondes for me- I liked dark skin and eyes, and definitely only dark hair was going to cut it.

This impulse arose from a mixture of factors. For one, part of denying my whiteness involved asserting that I wasn’t attracted to white men. Secondly, I was just exiting that thrash-around-and-shock-other-people-until-you-figure-out-who-you-are stage that many teenagers go through. I rather enjoyed announcing to my friends that I didn’t date white boys- not that boys of any type were lining up to date me. Of course, thinking about those conversations now makes me cringe, but I suppose it’s all a part of the process. And finally, I had a vague sense that I was fighting white hegemony and homogeneity by turning my attention to men of color. If I had kids with and married a non-white man, not only would I avoid contributing more white people to the world, but I would also have a life partner who would constantly be able to check my privilege and curb any racist tendencies I might have.

Of these impulses, the last one was getting at something important. It was good that I was able to see men of color as potential partners, as desirable. However, despite my good intentions, there was a dark side to this instinct that was very dangerous. By only giving attention to men of color, I was risking fetishizing them- wanting them because of their color, not for the people they were. Furthermore, I was elevating myself through my association of people of color. Because I only like men of color, I was determinedly “not-racist” and, thereby, better than most whites. Rather that pursuing justice, I was feeding my own ego, upheld by my identity as a white ally to people of color.

Once I realized this, I tried to evaluate my intentions each time I met a potential partner. Was I interested in him, or had I trained myself to only look for dark skin in a crowd of white? I eventually found that I was attracted to a wide range of men- black, Latino, Asian, and more (remember, identity is complicated!) And yes, the joke’s on me: I fell for a white guy, hard. After that, I had to admit that it was stupid of me to try to cut white guys out of my spectrum of interest.

During my senior year of college, I was talking to one of my Mexican friends. A self-professed dater of white girls only, my friend commented, “You know, I feel like several of the white women I’ve been with have only dated me because I’m Latino and speak Spanish.” I had always made fun of him for only dating white girls, but this made me think- wasn’t that exactly what I had done when I refused to date white guys?

These past two years, I have been able to reconcile my openness to white guys while remaining aware of my tendency to fetishize men of color. Even though I had fallen for a white guy, my history was statistically stacked against him- the majority of my interests just happened to be men of color.

Given this fact, it didn’t come as much of a surprise when, upon meeting my current boyfriend, he happened to be an Asian man with olive skin and dark features. His dad is white and his mom moved to the States from Japan, but you wouldn’t be able to tell by merely looking at him (phenotypes can be reeeally misleading). He was born and raised in Los Angeles, and with his affinity for guns and cars, I joke that he’s more American than I am. We sometimes talk about identity and race, but it’s usually not in the context of our relationship. When we do discuss it, I’m certainly not as obnoxious as I used to be. The more I get to know him, the more I feel confident that I’m with him not because of the misguided ideas from my youth, but because of the wonderful person he is.

By Anna Lindner


Anna is a Campus Clipper intern and a first-year Master’s student in NYU’s Media, Culture, and Communication program. Her research interests include critical race and gender theory and their resultant intersectionality. When she’s not studying, Anna enjoys visiting friends, catching up on TV shows, and lifting weights. For over 20 years, the Campus Clipper has been offering awesome student discounts in NYC, from the East Side to Greenwich Village. Along with inspiration, the company offers students a special coupon booklet and the Official Student Guide, which encourage them to discover new places in the city and save money on food, clothing and services.

At the Campus Clipper, not only do we help our interns learn new skills, make money, and create wonderful e-books; we give them a platform to teach others. Check our website for more student savings. 

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How to Navigate White Identity

Friday, September 8th, 2017

When I was first exposed to racial justice work, I went through a serious white-guilt phase. I was learning about institutional racism and other obstacles people of color faced, and I became uncomfortably aware of how I might be indirectly contributing to oppression. I dealt with that guilt by trying to distance myself from other whites. This of course wasn’t really possible, given the amount of white people surrounding me on a daily basis, but my friends started to notice. In response to my denouncement of white culture, my friends would say, “Anna hates white people.” I would weakly deny it, but they did have a point.

As a 14-year-old, I was confusedly trying to compensate for white privilege by clumsily embracing other cultures. It was a little misguided, but I was on to something. By distancing myself from white culture, I was able to better understand other cultures. Being stuck in white guilt was debilitating, but it was a necessary step in my growth as an ally. If I had stayed in that phase, bitterness and a skewed sense of the world would have kept me from forming friendships with not only whites, but with everyone. I had to come to terms with my whiteness because it was something that was never going to change. At the same time, because I had distanced myself from white culture, I was able to see more clearly the parts that were problematic. White culture becomes problematic when it is so dominant that all other cultures become the “other,” standing in contrast to the “norm,” white culture. The “othering” of non-white cultures results in the alienation of people of color, leading to stereotypes and discrimination.

During college, I realized that I could claim the majority of my white culture, while dismissing the problematic aspects. For example, I could acknowledge that I was white, but challenge the privileged way I was treated simply due to skin color. I could protest when my friends of color were mistreated, and use my privilege to help rather than hurt. Of course, this is a broad commitment which is difficult to enact in concrete ways, and I’ve struggled to find a way to respectfully do this work. For example, I reject the idea that the only acceptable form of “family” is a nuclear (mom, dad, fewer than 4 kids) one. However, it would be playing into stereotypes to assume that all Latino families are extended (including grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.) or that all black families have only one parent in the home.

As you can probably tell, there are several lines to toe here. If you’re a wypipo (white person,) the best guiding bit of advice is to do a lot of listening. Every one of your friends will have a different opinion, and it’s a good idea to gather knowledge from each of these perspectives. Also, prepare to be uncomfortable! Part of the white privilege I try to surrender is always being the majority. This involves putting myself into situations where I’m in the minority. Although I’m still protected by my white privilege, I need these moments in order to understand what it feels like to the outsider. If you’re uncomfortable, you’re doing something right.

My apartmentmates and I poked fun at white culture with our Basic White Culture shoot (note the pumpkin)

My apartment mates and I poking fun at white culture with our Basic White Girl shoot (note the pumpkin).

By Anna Lindner


Anna is a Campus Clipper intern and a first-year Master’s student in NYU’s Media, Culture, and Communication program. Her research interests include critical race and gender theory and their resultant intersectionality. When she’s not studying, Anna enjoys visiting friends, catching up on TV shows, and lifting weights. For over 20 years, the Campus Clipper has been offering awesome student discounts in NYC, from the East Side to Greenwich Village. Along with inspiration, the company offers students a special coupon booklet and the Official Student Guide, which encourage them to discover new places in the city and save money on food, clothing and services.

At the Campus Clipper, not only do we help our interns learn new skills, make money, and create wonderful e-books; we give them a platform to teach others. Check our website for more student savings. 

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