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/