The U of M makes a home in North Minneapolis...

I am so excited that the U of M has set up shop in my home community of North Minneapolis! 

Last week, I went to the grand opening of UROC, the Urban Research and Outreach/Engagement Center, a first of its kind facility located on Penn Ave. and Plymouth Ave. UROC is the result of a partnership between the Northside and the U of M. Both parties have resources, knowledge, and relationships that could benefit the other, and now they have a place to exchange and build upon those things. There are currently 12 programs housed within UROC's newly renovated building. I certainly believe it will have a profoundly positive effect on the neighborhood. I am going to look into ways that I can get the youth I know to participate in their awesome programs. It's great that both of these places so dear to my heart can partner to make the community a better place to live. 

Check out more about UROC here:

http://www1.umn.edu/news/news-releases/2010/UR_CONTENT_187252.html

-Jasmine

U of M students surprise local grocery shoppers

Have you ever seen a theatrical production while shopping for groceries? Let me guess, the answer is "no."

Neither had these unsuspecting Byerly's grocery store customers. All of a sudden, they were immersed in an engaging singing, dancing student performance. I think it is so awesome that Byerly's teamed up with U of M fine arts students for this performance, which was aimed at promoting its products and services to shoppers. The "musical" certainly seemed to have brightened up the customers' days, and it looked like the students had a lot of fun too.

That's what I like about the U of M--the classroom is not the only environment where learning takes place. Students can apply what they are learning in class to the "real world."

Check out the video below or read this KARE-11 news article see how U of M students used their talents to liven up the grocery store shopping experience!

A hip hop conference

I believe that student groups are one of the best ways to build leadership skills. This past weekend, I was able to work with others and use my skills to see a dream come to fruition.

Voices Merging (the group of which I am president); the Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies Department; Cypher Coalition; and many other University departments and organizations hosted a hip hop conference titled "From Vices to Verses: A New Era in Hip Hop and Action." This three-day conference highlighted hip hop activism and was attended by almost 500 people, not to mention the hundreds who came out for a Saturday evening concert featuring Dead Prez and other famous acts. We also brought in over 65 presenters--activists, artists, educators, and professors. Some were from Minnesota, though others traveled across the nation to participate in the conference. It was a great success and many people commented that it was the most engaging conference they had ever attended.

I love that the University offers so many options. If you have a passion for the environment, there are groups and activities for that. If you love hip hop, there are groups and ways to get involved in that. It was awesome not only to participate in the conference but also to see the planning that was required to create such an amazing event. It was challenging to keep up with all of the small details and different things happening. Thank goodness for a great team of organizers and volunteers. There were several key people who made sure things were in order, but it all came together because of a lot of people volunteering a little of their time and resources.

That's another great thing about student groups--you get to meet a lot of people who are interested in the same things that you are. I met many people at the conference who I plan to keep in contact with...some of them even attend school here. I met a foreign exchange student from France, who, coincidentally, came to the US to student hip hop culture for three months. He was overjoyed that this conference was taking place while he was here and said that he learned a lot. It is for people like him that we do this work. I am so glad that the University has outlets for me to do what I love and organize activities for others in those same areas.

Our conference even garnered some press coverage: Check out this story about the event in the Minnesota Daily.

Research at the U of M

The U of M is doing a lot of cool research. In fact, about 99% of the sponsored research that comes out of the state of Minnesota is conducted here at the University. The University's Driven to Discover campaign is designed to let everyone know about all of the interesting projects going on at the U of M, and how it might affect their lives.


You can go to the University's YouTube page to learn about what's being done to help people with Alzheimer's, the latest in robot technology, or a very interesting potential way to boost the economy. The videos feature everyday people asking questions about things that they care about, such as "Can any good from garbage?"


The videos show actual researchers and students working to answer the question. One thing that's great about the U of M is that you don't have to wait until you are in a master's or Ph. D program to do research. You can start as soon as you step on campus freshman year! I was able to do research on an area that I am passionate about--hip hop and spoken word, and how they can be used to teach English in high schools. Participating in that research was a great way to learn more about the topic and get to know a professor.

This morning I came across this interesting article about research that Professor Kathleen Vohs conducting. She has basically found that handling money, cash specifically, may be able to alleviate pain and help people deal with rejection better. Interesting, right? Well, check out the article: http://www1.umn.edu/news/features/2010/UR_CONTENT_183285.html.

Until next time,


Jasmine

2010 student fashion show

I really like that the University of Minnesota is all about hands-on learning and getting experience early. Here at the U of M, you don't have to wait until you graduate to do research, get internships, or take advantage of a ton of opportunities. 


The College of Design offers a unique way for their seniors in the apparel design program to get experience. Each year, a group of seniors are able to showcase their work in a fashion show. This show is a big deal--it has attendance of about 1,000 people and it's not just students who come, there are also faculty and actual professionals from the design industry.  


The Twin Cities is home to a lot of designers and a hot spot for people interested in the fashion industry. It's great that students on our campus can connect with and learn from them. You can check out a snippet of the 2010 in(sight) Fashion Show by clicking on the link below!

http://fashionshow.design.umn.edu/

Voices Merging

Being a part of student groups on campus has certainly been the highlight of my undergraduate experience. In fact, I am currently president of a group called Voices Merging (VM). 


We are the U of M's only student group centered around spoken word and the urban arts. We host a variety of events on campus, varying from our popular open mics, to workshops, to a big event we held last Monday night. That event was our 7th Annual Poetry Slam and MC Battle. Every other year, it had been held at The Whole, a really sweet performance venue inside of Coffman Memorial Union (the University's student union). However, lately we have been consistently getting 300-400 attendees, so for capacity reasons, we had to move it to Coffman Theater in the same building. The theater is pretty awesome, it has cool seats and a large stage, which provided lots of room for our DJ to spin on stage, the Skizzmatics (the U of M Breakdance Club) to dance and artists to perform.


For those who are unfamiliar with what this event entails, here is a small description:


"A Poetry Slam is a competition in which poets compete in several rounds for a prize or award. They are allotted 3 minutes to spit (this term is used to describe any spoken-word artist saying their piece) and a team of judges reviews the criteria and gives them scores from 1-10. The highest and lowest scores are dropped, meaning the highest score they can get is a 30. In our competition, we awarded cash prizes to the first, second, and third place winners."


This year, we had some really awesome poets--the winners had close scores. The topics they discussed ranged from confidence in being a woman, to tragedy, to love, to everyday mundane things. The creativity, wordplay, and the language that the artists selected was quite impressive. It's a really fun event for people who like spoken word.


After the Poetry Slam, we had a guest comedian, Ty Sosina, and following his performance was the MC Battle. An "MC" is another name for a rapper or lyricist. An MC Battle is where two rappers go head-to-head for 30 seconds each to a beat of the DJ's selection. They have 30 seconds to impress the crowd with lyrical creativity and prove that they are better than their opponent. The crowd votes by applause and the winner moves on to the next round. The winner of our MC Battle, Bobby Richardson, took home the $100 cash prize. There were some really funny punchlines and and cool ideas presented in the battle. The crowd got very excited in some rounds, with people standing up and cheering for the MC they liked the best.


Overall, it was a very exciting evening and we had a great turnout, especially for it being our very first time having it in Coffman Theater. It's cool that on this campus, there is so much to do. This event is one that people look forward to every year, and it's a guarantee that they were not disappointed. It is great to see fellow students on stage expressing themselves and showcasing their work. It's even more amazing to witness the creativity and hear the wordplay. Spoken word is a passion of mine and I am overjoyed that I could find a community of people on campus who love it as much as I do. Hopefully, the 8th Annual Poetry Slam and MC Battle will be even better!


Here are a few pics from the event:

1st place winner Sam Cook

Hello!

Hi everyone!

I'm Jasmine, a new blogger here, and I am so happy that I get to share my experiences with you. I am here to give you the inside scoop on the life of a student at the U of M. 

Let's start with a little about me. I am a graduating senior in the University Honors Program and studying communications the College of Liberal Arts (CLA) here at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. I am originally from North Minneapolis and graduated from the International Baccalaureate (IB) program at Patrick Henry High School. 

I decided that I wanted to come to the U of M long ago. I am definitely a "big city" type of person, and wanted that same atmosphere at college. There is so much to do in the Twin Cities that I knew I would keep busy and be close enough to my family and friends that I could still see them often. I was also excited to jump right in to student life at the U of M. One of my main reasons for attending the U of M was because of a visit to my high school in tenth grade by a group of current U of M students called Voices Merging.

They performed spoken word (performance poetry) at a time where I had just begun to get into writing and performing. When I saw this group of multicultural students in college who were having fun performing together, I knew that I wanted to be a part of the U of M. The cool thing is that I am now president of Voices Merging, and have gone back to my high school to perform several times! It is funny how things come full circle--now I am inspiring others to consider to the U of M as well.

Time flies so quickly; it's hard to believe that I have spent almost four years here. I have absolutely loved it! I have taken advantage of many of the opportunities available on campus including study abroad, living on campus, and being a leader of a student group. Getting involved has definitely enhanced my undergraduate experience. Wondering how? Don't worry, I'll talk more about all of those experiences in future posts.

When I was getting ready to graduate high school, I was bombarded with questions about my future: 

"Where are you going to go to college?" 

"What are you going to major in?" 

I finally found the answers to those questions and four years later, with just days left until I graduate, I am being bombarded with questions again, however this time they are more like:

"What are you going to do after graduation?"

"Where are you going to graduate school?" 

I am certainly glad that the University has resources to help me figure all of this out because these questions are not so easy to answer. Nearing graduation is an anxious, yet exciting time in my life and on this blog over the couple months, I'll be sharing all the highlights, learning experiences, and cool things that go along with it.

Until next time,

Jasmine