Comps: Necessary Evil or Just Plain Evil?

“So Dave, what did you think of Comprehensive Exams?” I asked.

He pauses for a minute, takes a deep breath and rants, “there’s no incentive to study. If everyone eventually passes what is the point? At what other point in your life will you do something for three months, do it well, and four years later be tested on it again? That’s not much different than asking, what did you eat in the cafeteria on January 16, 2004? You care when you are taking classes, but if it’s not related to what you are going to do in life, what’s the point? I could have spent all the time I spent studying for Comps,” pause: laugh, “studying for my Series 7 exam, instead. Really, what’s the point of me studying the ISLM curve? No one is going to come into my office next year asking about the long run equilibrium of money supply and money demand in the economy. It seems like another thing that K throws at you to seem like not everyone can make it here.”

Dave Kelly, a senior economics major, who has a job working for Edward Jones Investments in Chicago starting in July, took comprehensive exams three times before finally passing. For him, it added stress to an already busy Senior Spring for, seemingly, no reason.

Most departments allow their students to retake comps as many times necessary to pass. As the number of do-overs increases, the amount of information students must know decreases. This practice of “dumbing” down the content begs the question: if everyone eventually passes, why have them in the first place, it only wastes, both students’ and faculty members’ time?

Thomas Evans, Music Professor, and member of the Committee for Kalamazoo College Future’s (CKFC) Distinctive Task Force Initiative sees Comps as another graduation requirement. He said, “If you can take them [Comps] as many times as you need, it dilutes the purpose. They have no teeth.” He recalled his experience at the University of Michigan for his doctorate and remarked, “there if you didn’t pass you didn’t graduate, you better believe people prepared for them.” He agrees with Kelly, in that, students have no real incentive to study and it just ends up another hurdle, through which, to jump to obtain a diploma.

Paul Sotherland, Biology Professor, and also member of the CKFC’s Distinctive Task Force Initiative, argues that comps are also a good way to measure professor aptitude in terms of preparing students on a national scale, while comparing current students with past results. It provides a standardized scale and performance can be judged against other schools, instead of comparing students within one department.

The Biology Department, for example, uses a standardized test similar to subject exams on the GRE in conjunction with an oral examination to help students hone their ability to verbally express themselves.

Sotherland comments, “oral exams scare a lot of students. Others rise to the occasion and surprise themselves. For those who go on to grad school they help them to pull stuff together and make connections that the SIP does not always do.” For him, SIPs are specialized and generally cover one area of research. Comprehensive Exams, on the contrary, force students to consider four years of acquired material.

Students tend to have a different and elevated opinion of their SIPs because of the tremendous amount of work required. Jennifer Thomson, Chemistry major, who plans to attend the University of Michigan in the fall, says, “I loved my SIP. You need math and English on the GREs. Comps in the sciences do nothing, except waste time” she laments. She sees her SIP as an integral part of her K-Plan, whereas many other students cannot see the same value of Comprehensive Exams.

In comparison, the SIP, for many, represents hundreds of hours of work experience and/or research connected to knowledge attained during their individual K- Plan. Contrary, comprehensive exams are nothing more than a superficial regurgitation of information. Religion majors, for instance, answered prompts written by professors, on a Moodle site. Since students submitted their responses over the internet, they could prepare essays or outlines ahead of time, from the privacy and comfort of any computer. Without a uniform structure it places into question how useful Comps can be to determine either professor’s or student’s abilities.

However, regardless of the structure or department, students have the opportunity to earn Honors for an outstanding performance on the exam. Doing well on the exam shows a particular student’s aptitude for their field, while giving the school another opportunity to venerate the hard work of an undergraduate.

“So Dave, what about students who achieve Honors for Comps?” I asked.
Kelly jokes, “I have problems with those people in general. We’re just not on the same wavelength. If they can’t sleep at night until they have honors on Comps for grad school, all the power to them. I know I got honors on the third try. I got at least 44 of 50 multiple choice questions correct.” The question arises in the legitimacy of achievement: are we testing an individual’s grasp complex material or just a particular student’s willingness to take the extra time study? Does the drive towards Honors, indicate a greater tendency of stress on campus due to high the expectations and aspirations of students on campus?

The future of comprehensive exams hangs in the balance. CKCF will continue to review what aspects makes this college distinctive from other schools. Currently, each department is expected to provide assessment plans to the committee for evaluation. Hopefully, members will reach a conclusion about the value and necessity of Comps; answering an age old question do Comprehensive Exams enhance the experience of students or do they only add to “the pressure cooker” high stress culture that defines K College?

For years, rumors have raced around campus saying, that with each graduating class, comprehensive exams will be abolished. Depending on the decisions of administration students may or may not have to waste their time preparing or not preparing in the future. However, one thing remains certain, each graduating member of the Class of 2007 will, indefinitely, have passed Comps by Sunday, June 11: Graduation Day.

Comps: Necessary Evil or Just Plain Evil?

“So Dave, what did you think of Comprehensive Exams?” I asked.

He pauses for a minute, takes a deep breath and rants, “there’s no incentive to study. If everyone eventually passes what is the point? At what other point in your life will you do something for three months, do it well, and four years later be tested on it again? That’s not much different than asking, what did you eat in the cafeteria on January 16, 2004? You care when you are taking classes, but if it’s not related to what you are going to do in life, what’s the point? I could have spent all the time I spent studying for Comps,” pause: laugh, “studying for my Series 7 exam, instead. Really, what’s the point of me studying the ISLM curve? No one is going to come into my office next year asking about the long run equilibrium of money supply and money demand in the economy. It seems like another thing that K throws at you to seem like not everyone can make it here.”

Dave Kelly, a senior economics major, who has a job working for Edward Jones Investments in Chicago starting in July, took comprehensive exams three times before finally passing. For him, it added stress to an already busy Senior Spring for, seemingly, no reason.

Most departments allow their students to retake comps as many times necessary to pass. As the number of do-overs increases, the amount of information students must know decreases. This practice of “dumbing” down the content begs the question: if everyone eventually passes, why have them in the first place, it only wastes, both students’ and faculty members’ time?

Thomas Evans, Music Professor, and member of the Committee for Kalamazoo College Future’s (CKFC) Distinctive Task Force Initiative sees Comps as another graduation requirement. He said, “If you can take them [Comps] as many times as you need, it dilutes the purpose. They have no teeth.” He recalled his experience at the University of Michigan for his doctorate and remarked, “there if you didn’t pass you didn’t graduate, you better believe people prepared for them.” He agrees with Kelly, in that, students have no real incentive to study and it just ends up another hurdle, through which, to jump to obtain a diploma.

Paul Sotherland, Biology Professor, and also member of the CKFC’s Distinctive Task Force Initiative, argues that comps are also a good way to measure professor aptitude in terms of preparing students on a national scale, while comparing current students with past results. It provides a standardized scale and performance can be judged against other schools, instead of comparing students within one department. The Biology Department at Kalamazoo uses a standardized test similar to subject exams on the GRE in conjunction with an oral examination to help students hone their ability to verbally express themselves.

Sotherland comments, “oral exams scare a lot of students. Others rise to the occasion and surprise themselves. For those who go on to grad school they help them to pull stuff together and make connections that the SIP does not always do.” For him, SIPs are specialized and generally cover one area of research. Comprehensive Exams, on the contrary, force students to consider four years of acquired material.

Students tend to have a different and elevated opinion of their SIPs because of the tremendous amount of work required. Jennifer Thomson, Chemistry major, who plans to attend the University of Michigan in the fall, says, “I loved my SIP. You need math and English on the GREs. Comps in the sciences do nothing, except waste time” she laments. She sees her SIP as an integral part of her K-Plan, whereas many other students cannot see the same value of Comprehensive Exams.

In comparison, the SIP, for many, represents hundreds of hours of work experience and/or research connected to knowledge attained during their individual K- Plan. Contrary, comprehensive exams are nothing more than a superficial regurgitation of information. Religion majors, for instance, answered prompts written by professors, on a Moodle site. Since students submitted their responses over the internet, they could prepare essays or outlines ahead of time, from the privacy and comfort of any computer. Without a uniform structure it places into question how useful Comps can be to determine either professor’s or student’s abilities.

However, regardless of the structure or department, students have the opportunity to earn Honors for an outstanding performance on the exam. Doing well on the exam shows a particular student’s aptitude for their field, while giving the school another opportunity to venerate the hard work of an undergraduate.

“So Dave, what about students who achieve Honors for Comps?” I asked.
Kelly jokes, “I have problems with those people in general. We’re just not on the same wavelength. If they can’t sleep at night until they have honors on Comps for grad school, all the power to them. I know I got honors on the third try. I got at least 44 of 50 multiple choice questions correct.” The question arises in the legitimacy of achievement: are we testing an individual’s grasp complex material or just a particular student’s willingness to take the extra time study? Does the drive towards Honors, indicate a greater tendency of stress on campus due to high the expectations and aspirations of students on campus?

The future of comprehensive exams hangs in the balance. CKCF will continue to review what aspects makes this college distinctive from other schools. Currently, each department is expected to provide assessment plans to the committee for evaluation. Hopefully, members will reach a conclusion about the value and necessity of Comps; answering an age old question do Comprehensive Exams enhance the experience of students or do they only add to “the pressure cooker” high stress culture that defines K College?

For years, rumors have raced around campus saying, that with each graduating class, comprehensive exams will be abolished. Depending on the decisions of administration students may or may not have to waste their time preparing or not preparing in the future. However, one thing remains certain, each member of the Class of 2007 will, indefinitely, have passed Comps by Sunday, June 11: Graduation Day.

Comps Suck, but so does my title

Graduating from Kalamazoo College is like a circus, in which any senior or alumni can attest to the series of fiery hoops to jump through or the dangerous trapeze acts. The culminating year of a college student allows little room for the deadly disease, commonly referred to as senioritous, with SIPs, finishing requirements, coursework, extra-curricular activities, job and/or graduate school searches, and the infamous comprehensive exams. With so many activities on a typical fourth year’s plate- students, faculty, and administration has started wondering… what benefit exists for students when taking “comps?”

[Insert reportage about initial purpose]

“Everyone thinks comps are stupid,” boasts Thomas Greer, economics major. Having already obtained a job in Chicago next year, passing the exam on the first try did not finish high on his list of priorities. Recently, he took it for the third time. However, Greer shares good company with a number of students who chose not to take the test seriously. He, along with many of his classmates, subscribe to the “no one has ever not graduated because of failing comps” philosophy.

[Insert Dave Kelly]

Most departments allow their students to retake comps as many times necessary to pass. As the number of do-overs increases, the amount of information students must know decreases. For example, comps in the economics department first consist of the administration of the ______________, a national standardized test focused on the information covered during the first two classes plus an essay section comprised of six prompts based on the concepts of the three required upper level courses. The second round consists of five essays of a similar nature to those in the first. The next exam has only fifty multiple choice questions. This practice of “dumbing” down the content begs the question: if everyone eventually passes, why have them in the first place, it only wastes, both students’ and faculty members’ time?

One answer to that question exists in the awarding of honors to students for exemplary performance on their comprehensive exam. Doing well on the exam shows a particular student’s aptitude for their field, while giving the school another opportunity to venerate the hard work of an undergraduate. [Insert reportage based on honors received from comprehensive exams]

Some also argue that comps are a good way to measure professor aptitude in terms of preparing students on a national scale. It provides a standardized scale and performance can be judged against other schools, instead of comparing students within one department. Additionally, if Kalamazoo College students are outperforming others attending schools of the same caliber, it is an excellent marketing tool for the continued recruitment of the best and the brightest students.

Finally, in some areas, with specialized grad school entrance exams, studying for comps can essentially kill two birds with one stone. The Psychology department uses the Psychology specific GRE to help to better prepare students who plan on attending graduate programs after graduation. In some instances, this required students to learn new information that would help them in the long run, if their path followed the common psychology trajectory. However, not every department bases its examination off a national model.

Seemingly beneficial for science students, with graduate school in mind, comps would seem like a good refresher. Jennifer Thomson, Chemistry major, who will attend the University of Michigan in the fall, disagrees. “I loved my SIP- you need math and English on the GREs. Comps in the sciences do nothing, except waste time” she laments. She sees her SIP as an integral part of her K-Plan, as many other students and cannot see the value of comprehensive exams.

Holly Muir, Religion and Psychology dual major, who will attend law school at the University of Detroit Mercy agrees, “if you do a SIP in your department you shouldn’t have to take comps to prove that you’ve learned something.” In comparison, the SIP, for many, represents hundreds of hours of work experience and/or research connected to knowledge attained during their individual K- Plan. Contrary, comprehensive exams are nothing more than a superficial regurgitation of information. Religion majors, for instance, answered prompts written by professors, on a moodle site. Since the responses were submitted over the internet students could prepare essays or outlines ahead of time, from the privacy and comfort of any computer.

The future of comprehensive exams hangs in the balance. The Committee for Kalamazoo College’s Future, has this graduation requirement under review. Thomas Evans, music professor and committee member, asked his students for their opinions. Most of the seniors in the class, either “boo-ed,” laughed, or provided strong arguments for why they seem useless. A few talked of how they prepared them for other examinations. However, a consensus remained that each department should choose whether or not to force their students to take them. Evans, an advocate for students, promised to share their thoughts with his colleagues.

[Insert reportage from the CKCF]

For years, rumors have raced around campus, saying that with each graduating class, the abolishment of comprehensive exams. Depending on the decisions of administration students may or may not have to waste their time preparing. However, one thing remains certain, each member of the Class of 2007 will, indefinitely, have passed comps by Sunday, June 11: graduation day.

Munchie Mart: More than a Liquor Store?

The Munchie Mart convenience store stands at the corner of Stadium and Lovell, with its walls plastered with advertisements for liquor, beer, wine, and kegs. Situated between the student ghetto and Kalamazoo College’s campus, in close proximity to Western Michigan University, a number of students elect to purchase their night’s entertainment. During the daylight hours, empty parking spots await occupation, creating a cracked asphalt desert with a few wanderers. At night traffic increases dramatically, as cars filled with students, line the perimeter of the building. The hustle and bustle does not only consist of customers, but also a contingency of homeless soliciting sympathetic passers by for spare change.

Inside the store, handwritten daily specials decorate the wall above the refrigerator that houses 40 oz malt liquors, and smaller packages of beer. At the back, behind a glass door littered with cardboard Milwaukee’s Best cut-outs, sit the dirty thirty packs anticipating purchase by some barely legal co-ed. Walking up to the counter, a wall of fifths line the shelves, shouting their worth to anyone willing and able to spend some extra money on alcohol. Organized by type, the bottom-shelves have an extensive collection of Burnetts, Popov, Five O’clock, and any other inexpensive poison. Despite advertising wine on the outside of the building, the limited selection does not inspire the wine aficionado. Snack foods occupy one row of the store, collecting dust.

The types of people coming to Munchie, seem like night and day, as different as the times they frequent the store. Nick Curwen, 22, cashier says, “alcoholics buy booze during the day with change from collecting bottles from the night before, everyone else buys at night with credit cards.” He works on Fridays from 6 p.m. until 2 a.m. and on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and experiences both spectrums within 48 hours. Fridays are filled with a barrage of drunken college antics, contrasting greatly with the crowd on Sundays. Curwen jokes, “There are the church-goers, followed by the bums at noon with their bottle returns and change for buying pints, and the college kids returning empty kegs.”

At 2 a.m. on almost any night, there is a rush of students as the bars shut down coming in to buy more alcohol, similar to the bum rush at noon on Sundays when Michigan law allows stores to sell hooch. On this particular Friday, a tall fratastic guy with an athletic build stumbles into the store, donning an Armani Exchange tee-shirt. His glazed and half cocked eyes scan the bottles on the back wall debating what type of booze he wants to taste before passing out. A fifth of Southern Comfort, a fine choice for a late night cocktail, is purchased with a 20 dollar bill, put in a brown paper bag and the drunkard exits the store.

Outside he walks past a man in a Detroit Pistons hat and jacket, who questions, “Hey man, do you have like 2 dollars I could have to put gas in my car. My mom is sick and I just need to get to the hospital.” The kid lies, stammering that he has no cash and continues to a car and leaves the store. Interactions like this happen on a nightly basis on the parking lot of the store. Sometimes money changes hands, most times, people walk past quickly with their heads down. Soliciting in the parking lot is in close proximity to the goal, the purchase of a liquid blanket.

The contents of the backroom symbolizes why people come to Munchie. Empty returned kegs line the periphery. An old wooden bookcase holds its back-stock, which consists of their most popular liquors; several flavors of Burnetts and Smirnoff, Five O’Clock in gin and vodka, and any other cheap booze that cost under 20 dollars. Boxes filled with cans and bottles, mostly of beer cans. Store policy allows the return of containers with a limit of 5 dollars per customer to keep store attendants from filing away hundreds of dollars of returns, likely coming from a college kegger. Rather, it’s the homeless who bring in bottles diligently collected around various parts of Kalamazoo, in order to obtain a meager 10 cents per can.

Bottle returns at Munchie Mart annoy Curwen. Each type of beer belongs in a box earmarked by brand, then filed away by hand, highly more arduous than the electronic variety found in grocery stores. A cleanly dressed man, with black pants and a shirt tucked in, with a sweater draped around his shoulders in the fashion of a golfer at a country club, came into the store carrying a plastic bag of bottles. Since store policy dictates that bottles kept in garbage bags will not be accepted, the man left the store and climbed into the dumpster, and returned several minutes later with a cardboard container.

He complained for a few minutes about the policy, and upon finding it fruitless proceeded to pool his money together in order to make his purchase. He eyed the liquor on the back wall, but decided that a pint of Arrow Peppermint Schnapps fit his price range. The man smiled as he left revealing a massive gap in his teeth. “Have a nice day, and remember about the boxes,” Curwen said, then after the man left he remarked, “I’ve started brushing my teeth so much more now that I work here.”

Spending a little time at Munchie Mart shows the spectrum of people living in Kalamazoo, brought together by one store and one common purpose, drinking. However, society condones the habits of the binge drinking students, as a right of passage, while judging the purchases of the impoverished. Interactions occurring around one party store symbolizes greater issues of social stratification within the community. Curwen comments, “When I don’t have money, I don’t buy cigarettes. Sure it’s sad that people are homeless, but I almost feel bad selling them booze and cigarettes when it only makes their situation worse.” Frankly, most people don’t go into Munchie to purchase Taquitos or soft drinks, but rather highly taxed items to help people escape from their lives for a couple of hours.

Sex Drugs and Updating your Blog

This article was extremely interesting. However, it felt like it dragged on a little bit too much. Around the third page I started to get bored and slightly disinterested. This could be because I am slightly averse to the heavy reliance on technology. I am freaked out by myspace and I am not a huge fan of blogging. I listen to music on the radio and not underground music.

The article was well reported, but I thought the pace dragged on. I think part of it was the length of the paragraphs that had so much information that I had to sift through. The dialogue didn’t really enhance the story. For me the most poignant quotation is the where he writes [“People always think that when you’re a musician you’re sitting around strumming your guitar, and that’s your job,” he said. “But this” — he clicked his keyboard theatrically — “this is my job” ] That explains the dedication that it takes to make it to internet stardom. The author finally connected the bigger picture when he talks about how forums on the internet can be a place for the more introverted to find their place in the world.

Overall the article was well written, but I just think that there was too much crammed into one article. Not enough time was spent on the big picture. The message for me was almost clouded by too much useless information and discussion. If I were reading that in a newspaper most likely I wouldn't have finished it at all.

Writing through a Cinematic Lens

The most interesting aspect of the readings for this week was the reoccurring theme of writing for an audience, specifically referencing the process of screenwriting. Writing in order to allow the reader to “see” the scenes, actions, and story allows her to connect with the characters and find deeper meaning within a greater context. Complex stories are a combination of narrative, reporting, personal profiles, and news all rolled into one. It is important to relate all of these separate aspects into a greater social context to derive its meaning.

Like in a movie about a historical event, the characters written, costume chosen, location, setting, and scenes must show the audience the author’s reporting without directly stating “this is important because…” In the same way, when describing aspects of character or a scene, certain elements are introduced, while others are left out. A wealth of information is collected in order to sort through it and determine the significance of certain interactions, objects, and/or places.


An explanatory narrative piece should cause the reader to think, through telling a story in intricate details and sentences that are intertwined and connected to pull the reader from the beginning to the end. While reading, I kept thinking about when Marin mentioned in class that the biggest insult to a writer occurs when someone stops reading their piece. If you can’t get the reader engrossed to want to grab onto what you are writing, they will put your piece away. It’s just like movies without plots on commercial television, if the viewer has no interest they will change the channel, much to the dismay of the network.


Coming around to the last assignment, I’m finding it difficult to find a topic. There is a wealth of writing and stories on probably any given topic, but how do I pick one that will allow me to explore uncharted territory. I recognize that no two pieces will be exactly the same, because writing is an art form, but can I make a statement that has not already been made?

Munchie Mart Profile (title needs work)

The Munchie Mart convenience store stands at the corner of Stadium and Lovell, with its walls plastered with advertisements for liquor, beer, wine, and kegs. Situated between the student ghetto and Kalamazoo College’s campus, in close proximity to Western Michigan University, a number of students elect to purchase their night’s entertainment. During the daylight hours, empty parking spots await occupation, creating a cracked asphalt desert with a few wanderers. At night traffic increases dramatically, as cars filled with students, line the perimeter of the building. The hustle and bustle does not only consist of proprietors of the store, but also a contingency of homeless soliciting sympathetic passers by for spare change, who oftentimes take their panhandling to the windows of parked vehicles.

Inside the store, handwritten daily specials decorate the wall above the refrigerator that houses 40 oz malt liquors, and smaller packages of beer. At the back, behind a glass door littered with cardboard Milwaukee’s Best cut-outs, sit the dirty thirty packs anticipating purchase by some barely legal co-ed. Walking up to the counter, a wall of fifths line the shelves, shouting their worth to anyone willing and able to spend some extra money on alcohol. Organized by type, the bottom-shelves have an extensive collection of Burnetts, Popov, Five O’clock, and any other inexpensive poison. The bottles, both composed of glass and plastic, leave gaps between the edge of the shelf and the container’s edge, leaving the wall with a sloppy and disorganized appearance. Despite advertising wine on the outside of the building, the limited selection does not inspire the wine aficionado.

Confiscated identifications garnish the side of the door frame, sternly cautioning an underage person attempting to use a fake for a purchase. Cashiers are encouraged by the State of Michigan to question and take suspicious ID, by an incentive program that pays the store $10 for every one acquired. Under the front counter sits a guidebook for determining the legitimacy for driver’s licenses issued in the United States. The contents of some employees drink discolored and wrinkled the pages. The manager of the store had come in to pick up a keg for delivery and he told the story of his latest capture, in which the kid with the fake chose not to memorize any of the information. When questioned about his supposed address and birth date, none of which he could recall, he offered nothing except excuses and pleading.

Similarly to the store, the backroom does not suggest an aura of organization. Empty returned kegs line the periphery. Boxes filled with cans and bottles, mostly of the beer variety. Store policy allows the return of containers with a limit of $5 per customer. This keeps the store attendant from filing away hundreds of dollars of bottle returns that likely come from a college kegger. Rather, it’s the homeless who bring with them bottles diligently collected around various parts of Kalamazoo, in order to obtain a meager sum of $0.10 per can.

The types of people coming to Munchie, seem like night and day, as different as the times they frequent the store. Nick Curwen, 22, cashier says, “alcoholics buy booze during the day with change from collecting bottles from the night before, everyone else buys at night with credit cards.” He works on Fridays from 6 p.m. until 2.am and on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and experiences both spectrums within 48 hours. Fridays are filled with a barrage of drunken college antics, contrasting greatly with the crowd on Sundays. Curwen jokes, “There are the church-goers, followed by the bums at noon with their bottle returns and change for buying pints, and the college kids returning empty kegs.”

Bottle returns at Munchie Mart annoy Curwen. Each type of beer belongs in a box earmarked by brand, then filed away by hand, highly more arduous than the electronic variety found in grocery stores. A cleanly dressed man, with black pants and a shirt tucked in, with a sweater draped around his shoulders in the fashion of a golfer at a country club, came into the store carrying a plastic bag of bottles. Since store policy dictates that bottles kept in garbage bags will not be accepted, the man left the store and climbed into the dumpster, and returned several minutes later with a cardboard container.

He complained for a few minutes about the policy, and upon finding it fruitless proceeded to pool his money together in order to make his purchase. He eyed the liquor on the back wall, but decided that a pint of Arrow Peppermint Schnapps fit his price range. The man smiled as he left revealing a massive gap in his teeth. “Have a nice day, and remember about the boxes,” Curwen said, then after the man left he remarked, “I’ve started brushing my teeth so much more now that I work here.”

A few moments later, the next customer entered the store. Donning shorts with the words St. Martin tattooed on the fabric across her butt with a matching Under Armor tee-shirt and her eye make-up lining her under lid as if her face had rubbed into her pillow for several hours, she brought with her a half barrel keg from a previous party. Like the man before her, she needed money her deposit back. Her demeanor appeared shy, but irritated that someone elected her to take care of the errand. Curwen punched the proper keys on the register, the drawer opens, and he hands the girl a $10. She gave the typical goodbye, in a polite manner, and exited the store immediately, buying nothing.

Spending a little time at Munchie Mart, shows the spectrum of people living in Kalamazoo, brought together by one store. Within it, one sees the social stratification that exists in the community, even in the size of the deposit of returns from two customers on a Sunday. Curwen commented, “When I don’t have money, I don’t buy cigarettes. Sure it’s sad that people are homeless, but I almost feel bad selling them booze and cigarettes when it only makes their situation worse.” He describes regulars that come into the store, with the same shift, week to week he notices the people that shop and despite appearances they share more in common than meets the eye. Most people don’t go into Munchie to purchase Taquitos or soft drinks, but rather highly taxed items to help people escape from their lives for a couple of hours.

Writing for Story or Truth

Jon Franklin is an incredible writer, no doubt. His idea that good nonfiction comes from writing coherent, well developed, and interesting short stories makes a ton of sense. The difference between fiction and nonfiction is just that one exists, while the other is a figment of the author’s imagination. The writing styles are so similar and the goal is to create writing that is believable and interesting for the reader. It is especially interesting how he chose to refer to people in nonfiction stories as characters. For me, that codifies the connection between the two genres. For me, the hardest part is trying to find an interesting angle to present a story that will connect to the audience.

The idea of conflict resolution and working backwards to find to determine the conflict from the resolution is extremely interesting. In looking at the case of Mrs. Kelly, she died in surgery, yet out of her death, comes the story of a doctor and HIS conflict with AVM, referred to in the article, as the “monster.” At first, the story appears to be about Mrs. Kelly and her brain. Soon the reader is pulled into the story by a play-by-play of the surgery that puts you in scrubs standing over her body. Once she is put under, she remains in the story only as the “pop, pop, pop” of the heart monitor, while Dr. Ducker emerges as the hero fighting against the dark-side. This story made me wonder how the story would be written if Mrs. Kelly had survived. Most likely, her husband, who told her good-bye, would play a more central role. However, he used the circumstances of Edna’s demise to tell a story of hope through the dedication of the “good” doctor.

For me, the hardest part of writing is determining what my audience is determining how to teach my readers a lesson through my writing. It is hard when writing to tell a story, especially when certain choices lead to certain consequences, to not moralize the ending to the reader. In reporting certain truths, won’t a degree of judging always occur on the part of the writer? If someone is telling someone else’s the story, there is always an outside perspective and bias that will determine what and how the story will inevitably become. The story of the author may not be the truth, but rather the truth through his lens.

Man Behind the Mustache

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/sacha_baron_cohen_the_real_borat_finally_speaks/page/2

The Man Behind the Mustache

This is a profile of the comedian Sacha Baron Cohen who stars in the feature film Borat and on the Da Ali G show. The most interesting aspect of this piece is how the author juxtaposed the characters created by Cohen and the comedian, himself. The lede of the piece shows how Strauss, the writer for Rolling Stone, was let into the world of his subject, as he described how the mustached character of Borat introduced himself as "Sacha" something never done prior to this meeting.

He contrasts the physical appearance of the two characters by describing the demeanor of the Kazahki reporter as donning a "shit-eating grin," with Ali G's riduculous questions and faux hip-hop persona to the private and preppy nature of Cohen. This article sets up an interesting perspective on a very complex man. Through usage of language in devling into Cohen's personal history, he seeks to understand and dissect the origins of his unique character comedy. Strauss was able to coherently create a character and picked meaningful details to support the character that he decided to show.

The conflict between Borat, Ali G, Bruno, and Cohen show how controversy can bring attention to greater social issues like racism. By portraying an anti-anti Semite, Borat is able to bring about awareness and expose subconscious prejudices or indifference towards anti-semitism. To explain he uses an example from an episode of Ali G, in which, Borat goes to a club in Tuscon and starts singing, "Throw the Jew Down the Well," soon to be accompanied by those in the bar.

Strauss contrasts the characters and Cohen by using dialogue about the movie, which indicates the insecurity of Cohen about the film. Throughout the entire profile, the comedian is portrayed as extremely quiet, shy, and extremely religious. This bifurcation of character reflects his desire to be "greedy" by having a private and a public life.

I really enjoyed this article. It was interesting to learn about his history; what he was like in school, the trouble he got into while in school, his family life, and personality. Strauss does a really good job of developing the character and using those supporting details to craft an interesting subject. His notoriety as Borat, has given him an opportunity to expose the darker side of American culture. It was also interesting to learn about all of the legal interworkings of his film, which have made news, because of the number of lawsuits that have followed the release of the film.

The end of the piece is the most interesting part for me because it reveals Cohen's desires to stay out of the press. Additionally, it further causes the reader to wonder with all of the pressures and coverage of his characters, if it is even a possibility to make a follow-up movie. With so much of his comedy based on shock and interviewing, one might wonder how that will be possible in the future, while maintaining the level of honesty that was portrayed in his first film.

Spacing

I'm sorry my blog is hard to read. On m personal essay I had at least 3 spaces in between paragraphs, but whenever I post the spaces disappear. Any suggestions? Please help me. I do not like how it looks...

High School High?

Student Council Class President, two years; Class Treasurer, two years; Captain of the Varsity Soccer Team, three years; Most Valuable Player, two years; Most Valuable Freshman on the Varsity Soccer Team; Who’s Who Among High School Students of America, three years; National Honor Society, three years; 3.95 GPA at graduation… That is an excerpt from the Resume that got me in to Kalamazoo, College. Where I go from this place and who I am now, can be traced to my formative years at West Bloomfield High School, either for better or worse.

Walking through the huge entry doors into the two story atrium at seven on any day Monday to Friday, you would see the “popular kids.” The cute, well dressed freshman girls, waiting for the older boys to notice them, had their own little corner. The senior girls who resented presence of underclassmen girls within their circles huddled next to their male counterparts, marking their territory. In season athletes stood, donning their green and white jackets and gym bags, talking about an upcoming game or amazing play. Sounds typical, I recognize, but throw in designer handbags and expensive cars, and the scene resembles a cheesy Hollywood exaggeration of high school portrayed in some Freddie Prinze Jr. film. Little did I know of cruel high school politics when I walked into school on the first day of my freshman year.

My mom had woken up with me at 5:30 that morning to dry my hair and help me get ready for my first day of classes. I wore a pink XOXO sweater with my new grey Z. Cavaricci pants with my new Calvin Klein messenger bag, the fact that I still remember that demonstrates my attention to detail in presentation. I felt like I blended well with my surroundings, except of course my athletic build that did not match the slender dancer’s bodies of so many of the other girls. Despite my less than graceful, almost boyish walk, people had taken notice of “Jenn, the tall blonde girl.”

It was always flattering when I introduced myself to someone new, and encountered a look of recognition. Within the first couple of months of school, I was brought into the clique with the “popular girls.” When I would walk into school, I confronted a screaming group of girls who complimented my outfit, haircut, or any other superficial conversation piece. I had traveled into a foreign territory, bringing with me a few of my friends that would fit the mold, and leaving behind those who did not. Weekends full of birthday parties and social gatherings were like a dream come true to a once awkward adolescent. I was adopted into a world because of my looks and like anything else superficial, the novelty wore off.

On the surface, everything seemed perfect, but I realized early, I could not play that part forever. For the first time in my life, I started to feel insecure. It seemed that all of those other girls had more dates, better grades, cuter clothes, and more connections. To keep up and stand out, I learned to accessorize, laugh loudly at everything, keep my personal life private, and walk with my head high surrounded by an aura of self-assurance. Outwardly, confident and poised, I was intimidating to others, while inside I was always on my guard, waiting for the delicate balance between illusion and reality to crumble.

It never bothered me that people misperceived me as stuck-up or bitchy. Rather, it proved that I had succeeded in hiding my own insecurities and dissatisfaction with the shallow nature of my relationships. In adopting the motto, “you look good, you feel good,” I learned to appear put together and collected, like the duck on the pond that seems calm, but under the surface his webbed feet are paddling furiously to stay afloat. By masking my inner disapproval, I disconnected myself from any experience, and able to elevate myself above the superficiality.

On graduation day I walked up to the podium to address my classmates and their families for one last time. It was in that moment, when I looked over the sea of green and white caps, that I realized that the next chapter of my life gave me a chance to start all over. After commencement I watched my girlfriends bawling, hugging one another, and taking pictures. For me high school is a series of photographs, where I exist as static figure, smiling, and blending in. It is easy to fake a life when you have all the attributes of popularity and facades are more important than substance.

The distinction between people knowing you and knowing who you are is subtle and recognizable through retrospect. When I think about my high school friends, with a few exceptions, I cannot remember any details about their lives. I can recall an outfit from nine years ago in infinite detail, yet I can’t remember old inside jokes or memories from those four years. My experiences in high school encouraged me to bifurcate my personality into a private and a public life. Even now, I am still learning how to reconcile the two by allowing people to see my vulnerabilities, while dressing well, but actually feeling confident at all the same time.

The Character of Colin Duffy

Susan Orlean, in her piece, “The American Man at Age Ten” provides an interesting perspective on the life and concerns of the average ten year old boy. She paints the picture extremely well. The language evokes clear images from her strong uses of metaphors “each one comes as a fresh, hard surprise, like finding a razor blade in a candy apple” (102). Her descriptions clearly paint pictures of both the character of Colin and his surroundings.

The story is woven through an interesting tapestry of detail that creates a character that is representative of the youthful boys of days past. It brings older female readers back to a time when their male counterparts stole, hit, and bullied girls to get their attention, when crushes and cooties ran rampant on the playground. For me, bringing in the gender relations when discussing Colin, did not make a lot of sense. True, at that age, a conception of the opposite sex is developed, but he is such a dynamic character I would much rather see her bring in extra information about the age, in which, children really formulate substantive world views.

For me the discussion of the difference between AIDS and HIV, the emphasis on recycling, or the propensity towards imaginary games based on videogame or comic book characters would be more relevant to the story. The gender relations would be more telling for an profile on Japeth, who seems to be a womanizer in the making. It would be interesting to me to see what he is like at age twenty, probably still game playing with women and, most likely, Nintendo 360.

Overall, I think the piece is extremely engaging. The reader follows the experience of Colin to discover what he is going to say next. Colin’s precocious nature would suit him well for an appearance on “Kids Say the Darndest Things.” She does an extremely good job of portraying Colin with the right amount of detail so that the reader can really relate to the character, whose coherent and consistent, creation is important in creating a relationship of exchange between the author and her audience.

Women Blogging

I thought that this website was interesting. I that it is designed to discuss issues that are pressing for women; socially, financially, politically, and even spiritually. This gives women a voice to talk about their various experiences in a non biased environment. You can find posts, articles, responses, and lists to other blogs on a single website.

However, the one aspect of this that I think is a little bit awkward the concept of a blogger conference. What does it look like? What happens there? With such a wide range of topics, what are the bloggers going to talk about? If they wear name tags, is their alias on it or their real name? As much as I am weirded out by the idea of Internet interactions becoming personal (in terms of online dating), the more I think about this idea, the more I think it might work. I think it may be a good way to make the Internet a little bit more personal. This will force more accountability in their writing and will put a face to an online alias and bring a personal aspect to an otherwise anonymous medium.

http://blogher.org/links/media-and-journalism-blogs

REALLY rough draft

Student Council Class President, two years; Class Treasurer, two years; Captain of the Varsity Soccer Team, three years; Most Valuable Player, two years; Most Valuable Freshman on the Varsity Soccer Team; Who’s Who Among High School Students of America, three years; National Honor Society, three years; 3.95 GPA at graduation… That is an excerpt from the Resume that got me in to Kalamazoo, College, where I am about to graduate for years later, with a much less loaded list of extra-curricular activities. Where I go from this place and who I am now, can be traced to my formative years at West Bloomfield High School, either for better or worse.

Walking through the huge entry doors into the two story atrium at seven on any day Monday to Friday, you would see the “popular kids.” The cute, well dressed freshman girls, waiting for the older boys to notice them, had their own little corner. The senior girls who resented their existence huddled next to their older male counterparts. In season athletes stood in circles donning their green and white jackets, talking about an upcoming game or amazing play. Sounds typical of any high school, I recognize, but throw in designer handbags, expensive cars, and a tumultuous racial mix of students, and arises an interesting situation filled with its own set of pressures, separate from the typical adolescent experience.

It is not often that a white Christian girl feels like a minority in her community. I walked through those great doors on the first day of my freshman year, with little idea of what I would encounter. Our school district is composed of two middle schools, one far less diverse than other. Since I had not spent my summers at sleep-away camp with them, or studied at Temple Israel, for a bat mitzvah that my religion did not dictate, I had no connection anyone other than my immediate classmates.

My mom had woken up with me at 5:30 that morning to dry my hair and help me get ready for my first day of classes. I wore a pink XOXO sweater with my new grey Z. Cavaricci pants with my new Calvin Klein messenger bag, the fact that I still remember that is sickening. I felt like I blended well with my surroundings, except of course my athletic build that did not match the slender dancer’s bodies of so many of the other girls. Within the first weeks of school, I had earned a reputation, not a bad one, but one of curiosity.

It was always flattering when I introduced myself to someone new, and countered a look of recognition. Within the first couple of months of school, I was brought into the clique with the “popular girls.” When I walked into school, I would confront a screaming group of girls who would compliment my outfit, haircut, or any other superficial conversation piece. The notoriety I gained encouraged me to begin to run for positions within Student Council and won. On the surface, everything seemed perfect, but I realized early, I could not play that part forever. For the first time in my life, I started to feel insecure. It seemed that all of those other girls had more dates, better grades, cuter clothes, and more connections. I abandoned my best friends, most of whom I had known since elementary school because they ran in different circles. I appeared confident because I did everything I could, but felt shallow and different on the inside.

For two years, I kept up the charade. I continued to isolate myself from those I had always considered my closest friends to have a Sweet Sixteen Party with fifty guests, maybe two of which, I’ve kept in contact. Trying to keep with the trends, gossip, and being set up on dates/ or told who to date took its toll. Even now, as embarrassing as it is, I hate recycling outfits. Despite how lousy I felt, I dressed up and dressed well to mask any inner turmoil. In adopting the motto, “you look good, you feel good,” I have learned to appear put together and collected, like the duck on the pond that seems calm, but under the surface his webbed feet are paddling furiously to stay afloat.

The start of my junior year, proved pivotal. That summer I spent time rekindling relationships with old friends, while also pulling away from others and making new ones. I began to feel like a floater, bouncing from one group to the next, never having a close-knit group of friends, while also knowing the value of lots of acquaintances. Walking past the cafeteria during lunch, each grouping of students had a designated area of the cafeteria, mostly based on race or ethnicity; black, Chaldeon, or Jewish. Without the visual clues guiding me to the appropriate table, where an empty seat waited for me, I felt awkward and out of place no matter where or with whom I sat. During those years I learned to act and I did it well.

On graduation, I walked up to the podium to address my classmates and their families for one last time. It was in that moment, when I looked over the sea of green and white caps, that I realized that the next chapter of my life gave me a chance to start all over. Walking across the stage felt liberating, and exciting because I could go someplace different; start off on my own, walk away from the familiar, confront new challenges, and discover who I am, which after twenty-two years is still maturing and changing. Leaving college is a much different situation with more loaded questions, but I am lucky that I learned, at a young age, to keep up appearances, it will make my professional life a lot easier.

The Personal Essay HAS to be about ME?

When I first read about the assignment I didn’t think that it would be really challenging to fill 850 words talking about some of my life experiences. It seems like I have more than enough to focus on. So I sat down and started to write in the stream of consciousness manner, of which, I am usually absolutely averse. I decided to write about my relationship with my much older sister, Christina.

As I started to write, I realized that the anecdotes that I had thought about using were not that significant and/or relevant, and my essay was more about her than me. The purpose of a personal essay is to delve into and develop MY character, not discuss why from my sisters’ experiences a certain level of tension exists in our relationship.

I looked at her motivations and changes with little acknowledgement of my feelings or emotions. I started to paint the picture of myself as the innocent bystander, and the complicated nature of my blended family as the culprit. In extricating myself from any blame, am I really being honest with myself about my part or have I somehow been brainwashed into thinking that what I feel as tension is nothing more than a case of sibling rivalry?

I am starting to wonder if this piece wouldn’t be better to write later in the quarter when I have the tools and ability to find my voice and learn to report on someone else’s perspective. I think that I will use this topic for the last assignment, where I can examine our dynamic relationship with more honesty and clarity than I am prepared to do now. For the first assignment, I think I will put aside what I have already written and focus on “defining my I” and using that definition for a piece that will come later in the quarter or in life.

Rules of Literary Journalism?

After reading the Kramer's "Eight Breakable Rules for Literary Journalists," as the title suggests, I began to see them as nothing more than boundaries, either of thought or practice for the journalist. These parameters are determined by how the writer wishes to come across to his readers and source. Reconciling the truth of the occurrence and emotion is the key to maintaining the integrity of a piece. Subjectivity, inherent within the act of writing, allows people to explore the world and people within their existing realm of understanding, while also discovering entirely new lenses, through which to see the world.

The story he chooses to sculpt from his experiences depends on his depth of introspection of his experience during the writing process. Kramer writes, “This is the level that we think about our own everyday lives, when we’re not fooling ourselves.” Although this level of understanding is necessary to portray the drama of everyday people, it is impossible to understand every nuance, mannerism, and idiosyncrasy of a person’s character.

For me, the salient point of the articles is the importance of a definitive voice. The tone of a piece is determined by the personality of the journalist, who may put any spin on the person or event he observes. They are people watchers observing and painting a portrait of life for others to view and react.

Literary journalism is constructed to bring forth a certain perspective that cannot, by definition, emerge as objective. In writing a personal essay, it is almost impossible to write without bias. You are the one deciding what aspects of yourself to show the reader. What events you choose to seems significant must not detract from the main focus of your piece. Narrative journalism is supposed to convey a part of the human experience. To neglect to portray the subject, whether it is yourself or another person, honestly with imperfections and vulnerabilities, keeps the audience from connecting to your writing.

In the articles read for this week, the writers brought real meaning and personal connection to their audiences. I really related to the “Migration” one, because my parents recently uprooted and moved to North Carolina from my hometown, that I was not particularly sad to leave. The simple act of moving was taken into a bigger realm of existence, questing the value placed on different parts of experience. The “Badge of Courage” article also does the same as it describes a woman’s search for a symbolic physical representation of her battle with cancer. Her description of the YES moment has led me to think about times in my life where I had the sort of epiphany that requires capital letters.

For me, writing the personal essay is a terrifying thought. I can think off the top of my head three or four different experiences that have greatly shaped my life, forming a convoluted tapestry of events that has brought me to my current disposition. However, it’s hard to separate them and focus on maybe one with clues to how subsequent events all relate to one another.

Also it scares me to put myself out there, on the internet, so nakedly. This project requires me to reflect and determine how an experience has affected me and honestly write about it. As someone, who rarely has a loss for words, yet internalizes and keeps quiet her real emotions, I cannot fathom writing my feelings in a forum where other people will actually read them. In the meantime, I will have to do a lot of thinking about how to relate to others through my writing. Defining my “I” will prove to be an interesting and, I hope, liberating experience.