15 Best Student Artists: Angela Washko Profile

Published in The Temple News

April 7, 2009 by Lauren Williams  
Filed under Art, Arts & Entertainment

Year: Senior
Major: Painting

Without hesitation, Angela Washko said she knew from the moment she picked up a paintbrush in kindergarten, she found her passion.

Art has become a driving force in the senior painting major’s life, a journey she hopes will lead to a career teaching young people how to express and motivate themselves through art. She hopes to sell a few of her eclectic paintings and photographs along the way.

At the moment, Washko is busy preparing for graduation, working as a student ambassador for the Tyler School of Art and serving as president of Produce Exhibitions, Tyler’s student-run exhibition program. Somehow, she still manages to find time to paint and photograph a range of subjects.

At Temple, she was encouraged to experiment with photography. She figured it would be good for her to photograph her paintings. After taking a few courses in photography, she became more interested in contemporary photography than contemporary painting because “photography allows a sense of removal that painting just doesn’t.”

Her paintings show a funny, irreverent side to the young artist: a woman who sees the playful side of life and creates attractive paintings with bursts of colors and hues.

One of her favorite paintings shows a group of baby chicks highlighted by vivid hues of pink and orange to depict the morning sun. Another painting was of a rabbit nestled beneath a set of large pink rabbit-ear slippers.

Washko said she believes she was bitten by the teaching bug during her sophomore year when she worked with Sam Rich Photo on a mural project at Sheridan Elementary School in Allentown, Pa. She loved interacting with the children, who would hang around between classes and after school to watch her paint.

With a concentration in art history, Washko said she plans to pursue a career as a teacher. She applied to teach at low-performance and -income schools with Teach for America.

“I came across a lot of applicants with portfolios that show passion and potential but lacked the necessary skills to be admitted into an art college,” Washko said of working in the admissions office at Tyler. “It’s these students I want to help.”

Milk Review

by Lauren Williams
February 15, 2009

Come out, come out wherever you are and see “Milk!”

Not just because “Milk” has received eight Oscar nominations; or because it stars Sean Penn, who won an Academy Award for  best actor in “Mystic River” and has received another best actor nod for his role in this film; or because “Milk” is the work of director/screenwriter Gus Van Sant who had you at “Good Will Hunting.”
            

No. Go see “Milk” because it is a compelling piece of storytelling that takes you back to a time in American politics, the 1970s, pre-Barack Obama, when a politician who was openly gay was able to sway people with his passion, his fiery rhetoric and his plea for civil rights for gays and lesbians. Go see it because Van Sant shows us a 1970s San Francisco in all its Haight Asbury hippie, counter-culture glory. Go because the acting is so nuanced that you can’t tell Sean Penn from the late Harvey Milk or recognize Josh Brolin as the same actor who portrays George W. Bush in “W.”  Go because “Milk” is a layered piece of storytelling that captures the fight for equal rights for gays in San Francisco in the 1970s through the life of an intelligent passionate man who refused to let his sexuality confine or define him.

Van Sant, who is openly gay, uses his film to celebrate the life and death of Milk, who became the first openly gay man elected to public office in California when he was elected City Supervisor in 1977, and was murdered in 1978 by another city supervisor.

What is so cool about the movie is its cinematography, even though it failed to get an Oscar nomination in that category. Van Sant, who was nominated for an Academy Award for achievement in directing on “Good Will Hunting” and is nominated again in directing for his work on “Milk,” shares a kind of intimacy with his film-going audience.

In “Milk,” Van Sant uses a range of camera angles to give the audience a voyeuristic view of his characters. In one particular scene, the action is not shown through the character’s eyes but mirrors. A heated discussion between Milk and his lover, Scotty, is shown through the mirror in their bedroom. In another scene, when Milk is describing the use of whistles in the gay community of Castro, and the camera pauses on a bloody whistle of a gay man who has been fatally attacked. We are able to glean volumes about Milk’s political rival, by watching the glare of Dan White, his young daughter in his arms, through a television screen watching Anita Bryant, the singer and beauty queen who became widely-known for her strong views against homosexuality, give an anti-gay speech. The film portrays White as a tortured soul who may have harbored homosexual tendencies and killed Milk because he was jealous of his popularity. White also shot and killed San Francisco Mayor George Moscone.

Although Harvey Milk fought for the rights of gay men and lesbians, little of the lesbian struggle is depicted in the movie. And while 1970s San Francisco was a hotbed of political and social activism, the film makes little or no reference to the other civil rights movements of the day.
That said, you can’t help but fall in love with Milk. Milk is more than a movie about the gay rights struggle. It is a movie about relationships, about politics, about everyday struggles, about our wants, our desires, our jealousies, about our achievements and our failures.

We first meet Harvey Milk as a middle-aged gay Jewish man on the streets of New York, when he encounters a much younger man, Scott Smith. Nevertheless, it is love at first sight. Together they move to San Francisco initially opening a camera shop in the Castro neighborhood. Milk soon discovers the discrimination gays face in this community and sets out to change their plight from a politically complacent, persecuted minority to an empowered activist lobby. As the self- proclaimed “Mayor of the Castro,” Milk ran for city supervisor three times before he was finally elected to the office. Milk became Mayor Moscone’s closest ally and used his position on the Board of Supervisors to sponsor legislation to outlaw the passing of Proposition 6, which encouraged discrimination based on sexual orientation. It has become one of the most stringent pieces of anti-gay legislation in the nation.

Although Milk’s story may end in tragedy, the film is anything but tragic. Van Sant has given us a film filled with laughter and hope.

Female Empowerment in R&B

Why do MALE artists always find it necessary to remix songs that WOMEN write and perform based on THEIR experiences?

If the song does not describe you or the type of man “you are”, ignore it! It’s not about you. The song has nothing to do with you anyway. It was made to encourage those WOMEN who are going through that particular situation at that time. Mary J. Blige and Keyshia Cole have made entire careers on this type of song, and their albums have helped a lot of women… –The same way Too Short and Uncle Luke have made entire careers on tearing down and degrading women, Black women at that. Yes, their mothers, sisters, aunts, etc. and still… that’s nice for them! So why can’t women have a few songs that build them up?

 Examples of these songs: 

• No scrubs- TLC/ no pigeons- sporty thieves
• Bust your windows- Jazmine Sullivan/ bust my windows- Trey Songz (I love trey songz, he’s such a cutie, but this is THE WORST song ever)
• And of course the latest edition to this wall of shame: IF I WERE A BOY- BEYONCE/ IF I WERE A BOY REMIX (not featuring but) DESTROYED BY R.KELLY

Beyonce’s account of how men act and the little things they do that women loath is 100% accurate. Now, did she say she was describing all men- even once in her original song? NOPE! So, if I had a chance to speak to “Kellz” I would ask him why he found the remix necessary.

Because he’s the jerk she’s describing.

*I would like to take this time out to commend all the “real men” out there that these songs DO NOT describe, keep doing your thing!*

TLC when interviewed about the song No Scrubs said that it came from a specific incident in time when a worthless guy tried to “get with them”; they weren’t having it. To that I say, “You go girls!” Having standards doesn’t make you a gold digger, it makes you sensible.

Destiny’s Child caught a lot of slack for their song Bills, Bills, Bills… but if you listen to the words, the song isn’t about men in general, the song about the guy Beyonce was dating that was taking advantage of her. She had had enough and asked for reparations. (Nothing’s wrong with that either!)

Bust My Windows: the Trey Songz rendition doesn’t even deserve a comment just because it sounds horrible; it doesn’t even rhyme, and is kind of pointless. He spends more time describing the car that was mutilated, than giving an actual rebuttal… CLOWN!

Men, at the end of the day when it comes to these songs, think about what your grandmother would say:  “If the shoe don’t fit, don’t wear it!”

Students Make a Difference Abroad

Published in The Temple News

March 10, 2009 by Lauren Williams  
Filed under Articles, Featured, News, Web Exclusives

With spring break underway, many students plan to unwind from their classes and professors, but some are championing a much nobler cause.

These students are choosing to spend their spring breaks serving as volunteers in various community projects through the Alternative Spring Break program.

The program sends students to communities that need services domestically and internationally. Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit housing organization, is one of the programs organizations that build affordable housing for low-income families.

This year, Temple’s Encontour group is traveling to Guatemala where it will complete a reforestation project and build stoves. The project was designed to reduce forest fires in Guatemala where food is often prepared over open fires in highly vegetated areas.

The group left Saturday and is spending the entire week in Guatemala.

The group is lead by senior BTMM major Miafere Jones. Jones first became interested in restoring under-privileged communities after receiving a grant to complete a media project in Tanzania.

As the trip leader, Jones’ responsibilities include recruiting students to go on the trip, guiding them through the process, conducting meetings and serving as the liaison between the group and other organizations involved.

Jones considered spending her break working with children but chose Encontour because she wanted to do something that would have a lasting impact on her, as well as others.

Monica Hankins-Padilla, assistant director for community relations for Temple Volunteers, said her favorite spring break experience was a trip to Belize, where she worked on a variety of community-building projects.

She considers Belize her “baby” because she planned the trip, coordinating projects for students and arranging travel plans.
“I’ve been on a few [trips], but I’m more partial to Belize because I developed it,” she said. “I got to see the project worked from scratch.”

Hankins-Padilla said the difference between Alternative Spring Break program and other community service programs is students work side-by-side with the communities they serve, allowing them to be engulfed in the culture.

Alternative Spring Break is open to full-time students in good academic standing.

Hankins-Padilla said the majority of the money used to underwrite the program comes from fundraising. Students who participate in the program must raise $500.

Hankins-Padilla said it has become difficult to coordinate trips because of the current economy.

Companies aren’t donating as much as they used to, and some students don’t have as much money.

“It’s sad,” Hankins said.

Jones estimates this year’s Guatemala trip cost between $1,200 and $1,500. Most participants finance the trip out of pocket. The group has tried to get sponsors and sponsored fundraisers.

When students return from the trip, they plan on selling Guatemalan coffee to subsidize the cost of the trip.

Domestic Abuse more Prevalent among Young Adults

Published in The Temple News

February 27, 2009 by Lauren Williams  
Filed under Articles, News, Web Exclusives

Michael Hanowitz, a coordinator at Temple’s Tuttleman Counseling Center, says he thinks that domestic abuse is more common than reported among college students.

Internet blogs and chat rooms were abuzz two weeks ago, after news circulated that 19-year-old R&B singer Chris Brown, was arrested Feb. 8 for allegedly assaulting Rihanna, 20, his pop-star girlfriend.
Brown turned himself into police and was booked on suspicion of making criminal threats.
But domestic violence doesn’t just happen among young adult superstars.

According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, one in five female high school students report being abused by a dating partner, whether physically, sexually or both.

The National Center for Victims of Crime found 32 percent of college students report experiencing dating violence with a former partner and 21 percent report they experienced violence inflicted by a current partner.

College-age women between 20 and 24 were found to be at the greatest risk of nonfatal intimate partner violence, according to findings of the Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Data Brief.
The problem crosses racial, ethnic, class and gender lines, and Temple students aren’t immune from this disturbing pattern.

Michael Hanowitz, coordinator of Temple’s Tuttleman Counseling Services’ sexual assault counseling and education program, said the most common forms of abuse are emotional and verbal, followed by physical abuse.

Hanowitz said he thinks dating violence is an under-reported problem on campus.
In order to protect more people from falling victim to this issue, he said, “The key is removing the stigma of being a victim would be a step in the right direction, and education on the issue.”

At Temple, this education is provided at Tuttleman Counseling Center on Liacouras Walk.
A major part of Tuttleman SACE’s mission is to get students to recognize partner violence when they see or experience it.

Too often, victims are reluctant to label certain behaviors as violent, Hanowitz said.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline defines battery as “a behavior that physically harms, arouses fear, prevents a person from doing what they choose to do or forces them to behave in ways they do not want through the use of physical and/or sexual violence, threats and intimidation, emotional abuse and economic deprivation.” Physically abused teens are three times more likely than their non-abused peers to experience violence during college, and the stress victims feel may lead to eating disorders and even contemplation of suicide.

Although Brown and Rihanna’s case is fodder for gossip columnists and Internet bloggers, it has also focused attention on the issue of partner violence and may raise awareness about this often taboo topic.

Running for More than a Good Cause

Published in The Temple News

February 10, 2009 by Lauren Williams  
Filed under Arts & Entertainment, Philadelphia

Teenagers in Philadelphia aren’t any different than teens in other cities. Their idea of “running” is hopping on SEPTA to meet friends. But with nearly half of kids under the age of 18 overweight, the organization Students Run Philly Style is trying to coax them out of the mall, away from their computers and off the couch to run toward a healthier lifestyle.

SRPS was created to improve the health of teens at risk for obesity, diabetes, asthma and drug and alcohol abuse by having them train and complete a marathon.

Heather McDanel, program director for SRPS who is an advent runner, said she chartered the program in Philadelphia to give something valuable to the community.

“I had some tough things happen, and during that time, it was the people that I ran with [who] made the hugest difference in my life,” McDanel said. “I knew [there] was something unique about long-distance running and the amount of time you spend with people, sharing and becoming close in a non-threatening way.”

The program is available to teenagers in predominantly low-income, minority communities in North and West Philadelphia, where rates of childhood and adult obesity are high and access to athletic facilities are low.

“There’s something unique about the way a relationship is formed through running that’s particularly helpful to teenagers,” McDanel said.

SRPS is affiliated with the National Nursing Centers Consortium, which receives help from the School District of Philadelphia, various charities, youth organizations and Temple.

The program is funded through a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and resources that include private donations from the community.

The program’s concept is simple: to use adult mentors to show young people the benefits running has on improving health, lifestyle, physical fitness and education. It teaches students how to set and achieve goals through the running of a marathon. It also shows youths who have been labeled as slackers, underachievers and misfits that they can go the distance with the right amount of training, discipline and help from friends.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, obesity among ages 12 to 19 increased from 5 percent in 1980 to 17.6 percent in 2006. The NCHS data also show that at least 80 percent of children who were overweight at ages 10 to 15 became obese by age 25.

The pilot program, Students Run L.A., began in 1987 when a Los Angeles high school teacher challenged six of his students to train and run with him in the city’s marathon in order to prove they can achieve their goals. Not only did the six complete the city’s marathon, they received their high school diplomas and went on to college.

The success of the Students Run L.A. didn’t go unnoticed. By 1993, the program was being incorporated in school districts around the country, including the Philly chapter.

SRPS has increased high school graduation rates, helped improve students’ health and provided a safer after-school choice for hundreds of teens.

It has also helped build self-esteem and positive relationships between local teens and their adult mentors.

North Philadelphia native Isaiah Smith, 14, had never run long distance when he signed on to compete in the SRPS marathon.

He said his friends thought he was crazy, but he decided to give it a try, despite admittedly having self-esteem issues and feeling sensitive about his weight.

“If you realize that you can work hard for nine months and come to practice every day and complete a marathon when you’re only 14, you realize that you are capable of really great things beyond that,” Smith said. “You know that you are able to ace your tests, or go to college – whatever it may be. You see that there are bigger goals for you.”

Hello world!

As my first post I feel that I should just introduce myself, and my blog. As a third year journalism student, a blog seems like a great way to get my work out to the world. I will be posting works that have been published already, as well as, posts that are important to me.  Thank you for visiting the blog, and come back soon!

 

Lauren