Apr 24-30

UI STEEL BAND AND I-PAN
TIM BERG, DIRECTOR
THURSDAY, APRIL 25, 2013, AT 7:30PM | COLWELL PLAYHOUSE

These groups perform calypso, soca, jazz, and popular works.

This performance will last approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes.

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I have never been to a steel band performance before so this was pretty cool for me. Some of the band members actually composed their own songs or did arrangements of some famous songs. So cool. Aside from the entertainment aspect and going to something new, I picked up on the body language of the members. In our darkroom this semester Linda often mentions how meditative photography can be and how you use your body to make the work. I found this to be the same for these performances. Every single person was using basically their entire body to make the music, count beats or move along to the tune. I mainly thought about that the entire show and somehow finally realized that maybe that's why I'm so interested in music and mesmerized by people who make music. I know this course is over but I hope to push myself to go to more of these concerts or similar shows at the krannert because I feel it helps me to meditate on my own practices plus its nice to get away from reality for a couple hours and listen to some awesomely talented students.

OH and can I just say... This event also helped make it click in my head about how happy i am to be at this school. It is filled with so many intelligent, inspiring and talented people - so why not go support others with these campus events.

Apr 17-23

Story of a Rape Survivor

Speaker A Long Walk Home, Inc.
Date Apr 23, 2013
Time 7:30 pm
Location Lincoln Hall Theater
Cost FREE
Sponsor Women's Resources Center
Contact Molly McLay
E-Mail mclay1@illinois.edu
Phone 217.333.3137
Event type WRC Program Event
Views 8
Originating Calendar Women's Resources Center
Story of a Rape Survivor (SOARS) is an award winning multimedia performance that entertains as well as educates the audience about sexual assault prevention. Featuring the music of Nina Simone, Maxwell, and Sade, SOARS tells one woman's story about how she reclaimed her body, sexuality, and self-esteem after being sexually assaulted in college. SOARS is a cutting-edge theatrical experience that stars a diverse cast of women, combining photographs, dance, spoken-word poetry and music as a way to educate about healing from sexual violence. The ultimate aim is to show that the shame, guilt and self-blame that rape victims too often experience can be eased; that the stories of rape survivors can be one of triumph and hope.


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The information provided above basically explains what happened. When I first walked in I thought it was going to be a cheesy cliche performance like that required rape event you have to attend freshman year. But to my surprise it was actually interesting to watch. The multimedia dynamic of the event was great, it really helped to convey their specific messages and you were able to feel those emotions yourself. At the end they did a QA session and each performer was an artist outside of this show which was cool and they explained a bit about their own practices. Lately I've had the urge to want to start my own or join an organization for art therapy to help people cope with their feelings through art and hearing these ladies speak about this inspired me even more. I would say this is one of the better and most meaningful events I've attended because it was highly art and specifically photography based so I could definitely relate to that aspect and pick pieces out of the performances and introductions of the performers to mold into my own photographic practices and thoughts running through my head recently. It left me with a lot to think about and I appreciate that.



Ps- waiting for Wes to add a picture of us :)

Apr 10 - 16

I went to the event Christian posted for April 16th about the Chief.

I was hoping the room for this event would be packed, but it seemed like they didnt so a good job on letting the campus know this was taking place - as I would not have known about this if it weren't for this class. Most of the group their were anti chief but there were a few that were pro.

At first there was a presentation about how the chief as a mascot is disrespectful, etc, but I felt like their arguments weren't very well researched or thought out. They seemed to be attacking the audience with their view rather than giving information to help us form an opinion. Some people in the audience spoke out and asked questions or spoke their point of view. And most of these people remained neutral and open minded to everyone in the room which I thought was great. But one of the main hosts of this event was very judgmental and it was her views or the highway which I don't think is good, especially for events like this, because compromise is a huge part of finding a workable solution for both parties involved and she wasn't wanting to hear anything from people pro chief.

While I already knew most of these arguments and have my own stance in the issue I feel like this event helped me to better understand and help me formulate better reasons for myself to choose the side I'm on.

I wouldn't mind going to other events about the chief because I think it's beneficial to hear other people's views and it's a great way to hopefully someday come to some type of solution for very one involved.

Apr 3 - 9

"Evolution of Life Histories, Indeterminate Growth, and Perceptions of Age in Turtles"
Dr. Justin Congdon - Savannah River Ecology Lab
Apr 9, 2013
3:00 pm
1816 S. Oak St Champaign, IL

The singular life-history trait of attaining maturity combined with the relative contributions of juvenile and adult growth combine to shape the suite of life-history traits of organisms with indeterminate growth. Although the assumption that indeterminate growth is a general trait of reptiles is widely accepted, data are scarce (particularly for long-lived individuals.)

We examined patterns of variation in adult growth using over a hundred years of mark-recapture data on 13 populations of 9 species (3 families) of freshwater turtles from studies in South Carolina, Michigan, and Arizona in the USA and in Ontario, Canada. The influence of growth on life-history trait values indicated that increases in body size (and associated reproductive output) resulting from indeterminate growth are not substantial enough to represent a major factor in the evolution of life histories in general or the evolution of longevity and aging specifically.

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I was a little confused with the description of this event, even though I was a huge bio nerd in high school. But attending the event really clarified everything for me, and while some parts were a little boring to listen to I feel like I learned something new about traits and lifespan in turtles and can relate and compare those to that of humans.

It was held in a small room, that was actually full of people (usually the events I've gone to are lacking in the audience department). So it was cool to see all these people coming together to learn about something they're all interested in. Everyone was laid back and they even had a party afterward at one persons house (we didn't go though hah). It reminded me a lot of my hometown and my biology classes in high school, because once or twice we had people come in to lecture about turtles - but not as in depth as this event.

Everyone also had a good sense of humor and no one was uptight or formally dressed like some of the events I've gone to previously, which was nice because I felt more at ease being there. The speaker kept cracking jokes during his presentation and I surprisingly understood them.

Overall I actually enjoyed this event because it gave me a chance to continue learning about things in the science field that I use to love but don't have time to take electives in while at college

Sadly the only picture I have is of the buffalo statue in the front of the building. We got there just before the event started and sat in the front so I didn't want to disrupt and take pictures.

Mar 27-Apr 2

April 2, 7pm, Diversity and Social Justice Ed (703 S Wright)

Screening of "City of Borders"

City of Borders goes inside the vibrant community at the only gay bar in Jerusalem where people of opposing nationalities, religions, and sexual orientations create a sanctuary among people typically viewed as each other’s enemy. Co-sponsored by the LGBT Resource Center and Building Bridges.

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 I didn't realize it until we were a few minutes into the movie, but several things in my life right now have been revolving around these topics of religion and sexual orientation and this movie kind of rounded it all out.

I've recently found myself watching shows or documentaries on religion, specifically Christianity, since I've been raised a Lutheran yet still question it and religion in general.  Sexual orientation is also something I think about a lot recently because many of my friends are not heterosexual and are having to deal with all the political drama about same sex marriage and the opposing religious views people add on top it. So this movie kind of combined both of these, and gave me a perspective of these issues outside of the United States.

I guess I have never really thought about how these issues are laid out in other countries, and assume that they are different from how they are in the United States.  But actually, they were pretty similar.  I won't go into a lot of detail because I think we all know how religion and sexual orientation is thought about in the US, so just imagine that we aren't some superior country because other people are going through the same struggles we are, in almost identical manners.

Most of this movie though focused on how this gay bar brought people of different nationalities, religions, and sexual orientations together.  This was a pretty amazing thing.  Practically enemies would come to this bar and be free of all stress, judgments and hate from their everyday lives and come together as one - only needing to be there for happiness and love.  I think this is something other people from these countries and countries that aren't even neighbors can learn from.  If you put all the violence and hate aside, everything would be a lot more simple and everyone could work together as one to solve problems. Of course we know it's not that easy...

Another thing I found people could learn from, and was humorous, was one guy was walking along a fenced boarder with his dog.  The dog crossed the boarder, and the owner said something how dogs (animals) don't know the difference/being different isn't a worry of theirs.  I thought this was true.  Most dogs and animals are so loving and forgiving, and this is exactly how people should be too, definitely when it comes to fighting religions and sexual orientations (and other issues I suppose)... because technically we are all the same... so why should any of this be an issue? 

I really enjoyed watching this film, and found in beneficial for things I am currently questioning in my life.  I'm glad I checked the main blog one last time to see Harrison posted this.