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Miss Representation Film Screening

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Chapman’s chapter of Alpha Phi, Panhellenic as a whole, and the organization I Am That Girl hosted a screening of the incredibly empowering and thought-provoking documentary “Miss Representation” this afternoon. Absolutely elated, filled with joy, and bursting to share what I had learned with others, I quickly texted one of my closest friends to go watch it. The conversation goes something like this:

Me: “Hey! Go watch the documentary ‘Miss Representation’ it’s amazing!”

Him: “It’s about women empowerment?”

Me: “Yep!”

Him: “I’m not a lady so I’m not inspired.”

This reaction epitomizes the issue the documentary addresses – gender equality pertains to our entire society.

For those of you unfamiliar with the documentary, it essentially addresses all of the major gender issues in today’s society. From unequal pay to the lack of female CEOs to the media’s incredibly biased coverage of women to the sexual objectification of women in rap/hip-hop videos, this film covers it all. Not only is it a call to action, it’s a call back to reality. It asks the questions, “Why are we okay with what is happening?” “When will somebody take a stand?” “How is this STILL an issue?”

“Miss Representation” explores the effect mainstream media has on the under-representation of women in America – especially those in influential positions. It challenges the limiting image of women the media portrays. It illustrates how difficult it is as young women to be strong, independent, and powerful when all we see are conflicting images in the media. Watch the trailer for the film here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gkIiV6konY

I left the screening of this documentary buzzing with excitement and encouragement. I suddenly began re-thinking all of my life choices and reconsidering my career path. As somebody studying public relations and advertising as well as marketing, I have always been highly aware of the issue of women being objectified and misrepresented in the media. However, I had never taken the time to consider how this would effect my future career choice. I need to find a way to channel my passion and expertise into something productive and beneficial to society. As Katie Couric (a personal role model of mine) eloquently describes, “the media can be an instrument of change, it can maintain the status quo and reflect the views of the society or it can, hopefully, awaken people and change minds. I think it depends on who’s piloting the plane.” We see this every day whether we watch E! News as our guilty pleasure, scan BBC’s website each morning, scroll through Twitter while waiting in line at the pharmacy, or listen to the radio at work: the media has the power to influence society in incredibly destructive and beneficial ways. This documentary highlights the destructive tendency the media has to destroy our self-worth and diminish our role in society. I know that I must find a way to channel my skills into something that turns this theory on its head and further empowers women (and all under-represented people!). I’m not sure what that is yet, but I know now that is my new focus and anchoring point.

Another aspect of this documentary that really hit home was the concept of women perpetuating these negative images and feelings towards women in our society. We constantly compete against one another to fit men’s ideal and further ourselves. What we don’t realize is that by consistently putting each other down, it sends a message to men that it is acceptable to think of women this way. Instead of competing against each other, we need to be encouraging mentors and role models to each other – lifting our peers higher. The only way any change will happen is if we all work together to be the best versions of ourselves possible.

A girl in our discussion offered up the simple first step of avoiding the word “bitch” for a week. This word often describes assertive women in power such as Hillary Clinton or Condoleezza Rice – dehumanizing them and diminishing their power. If we work on eliminating that word from our vocabulary, we will be less likely to contribute to this problem. If we also stand up to people we hear perpetuating these negative terms and tearing down women, we will also show our solidarity – making us stronger as a whole.

Another simple way we can help each other is to seek out female mentors. We can learn so much from each other, why not take advantage of it? Instead of feeling competitive with the woman who has a better internship than you and then talking badly behind her back, ask her out to coffee and seek advice on how she was able to get such a great internship. It’s so simple, yet we rarely do it.

Overall, I was so impressed and inspired by “Miss Representation.” I need to take a step back myself and really pay attention to what I’m doing to help resolve this issue. I also need to figure out how my career path can benefit society more and how I can direct my life into a more positive path.

I feel incredibly blessed to be part of a community that appreciates these messages and encourages participation in social justice movements. I can’t wait to see where we go from here!

For more information:

http://film.missrepresentation.org/

@RepresentPledge
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November 7, 2013 by
Lifestyle

Meal Prep: Salad Jars

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Eating healthy while in college or having a hectic schedule is extremely difficult. One of the ways to avoid fast food, snacking, and starving is to plan out your meals for the week. As a busy college student, my class and work schedule doesn’t allow for me to make it to the cafeteria for lunch during the week. Because of this, I have to pack my lunch for the day. I could easily just pack peanut butter sandwiches or Easy Mac. But after living off those freshman year (and gaining the typical freshman 15), I have no desire to continue this unhealthy lifestyle. Yes, planning out your meals for the week requires extra time and thought. But I promise it’s worth it.

One of the easiest meals to prep for the week is mason jar salads! These are really popular on Pinterest and one of my coworkers makes them regularly. So I decided to try it out for myself and have been pleased to find that it is a life-saver! Not only are they super quick to prepare, they are extremely healthy and convenient.

What you need:
– a mason jar or any kind of air-tight jar
– salad ingredients of your choice

How to pack your mason jar salad

Step 1: dressing
– add one or two tablespoons of your choice of dressing first to the bottom of the jar

Step 2: non-soluble (non-absorbent) veggies
– add any kind of non-absorbent veggies such as corn, carrots, etc.

Step 3: beans, grains, pasta, seeds
– pour in your source of carbs or vegetarian protein by adding beans (rinsed and drained), grains, pasta, whatever you choose

Step 4: cheese, eggs, meat, protein
– add in whatever cheese or hard boiled eggs, chicken, meat, or tofu you’d like

Step 5: absorbent veggies and fruit
– add your fruit or more soluble veggies such at tomatoes
– if you are prepping these for the week, add these ingredients the morning you plan to eat the salad just so they stay as fresh as possible

Step 6: absorbent grains, nuts, and seeds
– this is where you can add more absorbent products such as quinoa and flaxseed

Step 7: salad greens
– now you can add your fresh spinach or lettuce
– this should fill your jar to the brim. Pack it fairly tightly

Ta-da! You’re done! Now seal the jars and store them in the fridge. You can make these on Sunday night and they will remain fresh until Friday afternoon! Keep in mind, although they are stored in air-tight containers, they will only stay fresh for 5 days. When you are ready to eat your salad, pour the contents into a bowl, toss, and enjoy!
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November 4, 2013 by
Lifestyle

Why My Generation Sucks at the Internet

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The #1 reason my generation sucks at the Internet is not because we don’t know how to use it – it’s because we don’t know how to use it correctly.

DISCLAIMER: I’m not saying everybody in my generation sucks at the Internet or that everybody else is perfect. Just some people. There are SO many people who use the Internet and social media for amazing things. And this also is by no means trying to be a rule book or anything. I just wanted to explain some of my personal pet peeves and suggestions to remedy those.

Let me preface by saying that my online social presence is in no way shape or form perfect. However, I would like to believe that I’m above average when it comes to presenting myself professionally and appropriately online. I check for spelling. I avoid swear words. I do not post about how much my ex boyfriends suck, how that one girl smells terrible, how much I hate Obama, how all Christians are insane, or about that crazy wild party I went to last night where I hooked up with the boy with the blue hat. No. I try to post about my professional development, success in school, exciting personal events, funny jokes, and inspirational sayings. I am conscious of what people perceive when they look at your social media personality, especially professionally.

I’m 99.99% positive that every young adult wants to appear educated and classy – especially online where so much of your reputation is within your control. I would also assume that 100% of young adults want to have a job. Well guess what? 68% of employers will look at your Facebook. Companies use social media for filling 80% of job openings. Your online presence is everything. Oh, your profiles are all on private? There are ways around that, I guarantee. Nothing is private or anonymous anymore.

So here we go – here’s what my generation does wrong online:

  • We are very verbal about our political beliefs —> Okay seriously, nobody cares that you hate (or love) Obama. Nobody is going to change their own personal political belief just because John Smith hates ObamaCare and posted a status about it.
  • We swear too much (not that swearing is necessarily a bad thing….see bullet below) –> There is a time and place for swearing. For comedic effect. For emphasis on something. It’s only effective when it’s used in moderation and appropriately. There is a fine line. It is not cute or funny or useful when you insert particular four letter words into every sentence.
  • We are negative assholes —> Example A of why swearing is appropriate in that sense – it’s true! Why do we feel the need to complain about every single thing in our lives online? Whatever happened to spreading positivity? Yeah, yeah, I know – sometimes you just need to vent somewhere. The occasional tweet about how the barista spelled your name wrong is fine. Normal. But when did social media become an outlet for you to spew your negativity into everybody’s newsfeeds?
  • We like to have “debates” online —> This irritates me, but I also find it pretty hilarious. People seriously have debates on people’s statuses. One person posts a political belief and the other person responds with how dumb they are and it goes back and forth forever. There is no “agree to disagree.” There’s no moving on. People feel like they are invincible online and just think they have super powers to influence everybody else that reads their post. In reality, people don’t care what you have to say. They’ve already made up their mind if they’re posting it on social media. So why bother arguing?
  • We annoy everybody with our religious beliefs —> See my point about political beliefs
  • We bully —> This point is very near and dear to my heart since it was something I battled with my entire junior and senior years of high school. Once again, this theme of invincibility resurfaces. Just because you’re sitting behind a computer screen does not mean you aren’t having an effect on somebody or that you’re anonymous. Nothing is anonymous. Nothing is ever deleted. Just because it’s online and not in person does not make it any less harmful. A threat online is just as illegal as a threat in person. Our generation has gotten really comfortable sitting in our chairs, facing a screen, and using it as an outlet to share every single thought on our mind – even if it is incredibly hurtful. People think that clicking that “anonymous” button truly deletes their identity. Well I have a newsflash: It doesn’t. In the case of bullying, technology is used in the worst way possible. You do not become stronger by bullying somebody online – you are a coward. (I’m going to have a post coming soon that discusses cyberbullying in more detail because I don’t want to bore you here)
  • We post pictures of ourselves in inappropriate clothing —> Would you want your dad to see you in that outfit? No? Okay then don’t post it. I don’t think I need to say anymore here. Basically, if you don’t respect yourself, nobody else is going to respect you. A pretty standard guideline for dressing in public is to dress classy. But if you make the decision to dress up for a party or whatever (I know I’ve done this LOTS of times), just don’t post those pictures online. Yes, you probably looked adorable in your “Naughty Nurse” outfit for Halloween. But your dad and your boss probably don’t want to see that. Use common sense.
  • We don’t know how to spell or use correct grammar —> Our generation comes off as highly uneducated. I understand sometimes you want to type “dont” instead of “don’t” or “wanna” instead of “want to.” I do it all the time. But there’s a line between that and not knowing the difference between “there,” “their,” and “they’re.” Sometimes we look uneducated.
  • We brag about our underage alcohol consumption and frequently post photographic evidence of it —> It should not come as a shock to anybody that drinking alcohol when you are under the age of 21 is illegal. So why, WHY, would we be tweeting about how wasted we got last night and posting pictures of us playing beer pong on Facebook? This one is pretty self-explanatory.
  • We post about our illegal drug use —> Not legal for anybody to do. DO YOU WANT TO GET HIRED? Good lord.
  • We post stupid, pointless, annoying crap —> Nobody cares that you ate a hot dog at 2am on a Tuesday.

Before you post ANYTHING online, ask yourself: “Would I be okay with my boss (or dad) seeing this?”

So I’ve put together these few guidelines to hopefully help my peers out. Not to preach at them, no. I just want to simply provide some helpful suggestions:

  • If you want to post about your political affiliation —> Share a cool picture or status or tweet from your favorite politician if they post something really noteworthy. Don’t bombard everybody your own personal rendition of it. They’re the expert on the subject, not you.
  • If you want to swear —> Use it for comedic effect or when you REALLY feel strongly about something. Not all the time. If you swear lots in person, that’s totally fine. But limit it online.
  • If you have a really horrible day and want to vent about it —> Find a funny meme that relates to the situation you’re in. Instead of being a Debby downer, making light of the situation will make you feel better and be much more enjoyable to everybody else.
  • If you want to debate politics or religion or anything for that matter —> Go to an online forum. There are PLENTY made specifically for that. Twitter, Facebook, and other public social media platforms are not the place.
  • If you want to share your religious belief —> Post about one really great thing it led to. Or maybe share your favorite Bible verse. Do not preach to anybody. Do not try to convert anybody. Do not play that “holier than thou” card.
  • If you want to bully —> If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. But if you’re just the kind of person where that doesn’t cut it for you, talk badly about people to your friends. Don’t tell the person those things. Don’t be mean. Don’t say anything online. Just maybe share your dislike for somebody with your best friend when you’re in the privacy of your own home. But…..really, just be nice. It’s not that hard.
  • If you want to dress up in inappropriate clothing and post it for everybody to see —> Try to put stuff on private as much as possible (which kind of defeats the purpose of posting it in the first place, but whatever). Or consider a job at Hooters.
  • If you want to use incorrect spelling and grammar —> Use it sparingly. Or look uneducated. It’s up to you.
  • If you want to post about your underage drinking —> Same rules as the inappropriate outfit: put that stuff on private as much as you can. You can also create a private page on Facebook between just you and your friends and you can talk about it all you want on there.
  • If you want to post about your drug use —> See above.
  • If you want to post about random, pointless stuff —> Create a blog or something so that you’re not clogging up everybody’s newsfeeds with your 25 statuses a day. People who also care about your random stuff can follow you and you can share pointless things together.

Well, I ended up sounding a little preachy. I’m sorry about that. Again, I want to stress that I definitely could learn from all of these points – I am nowhere near perfect and I definitely do not have a completely clean social media presence. But these are the aspects I strive towards (or away from). I’ve been trying really hard lately to portray myself as a professional young woman who is ambitious and goal-oriented. Does that mean I don’t have a single post I regret? Not at all. We’re all dumb. We’re all careless. It happens. But I find that my generation does not THINK about any potential consequences before they post. Unfortunately, with how prevalent social media is today, a tiny mistake online can result in a devastating consequences professionally or personally.

I’ll leave you with these two simple rules: think before you post and use common sense.

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September 17, 2013 by
Lifestyle

Tenth Avenue North – A Message of Hope for Everyone

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My favorite band in the entire world is called Tenth Avenue North. They are an alternative Christian band who create uplifting music that celebrates God’s love without slapping you in the face with it.

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That quality is so rare nowadays. With so many social outlets, people feel the need to share their opinions and beliefs about everything. We get bombarded with people trying to convince us to believe this and that. It’s easy to tell people “this is what you should believe” and berate those who disagree with you. Also, a lot of music lately focuses on themes of sex, drugs, hate, partying, and other negative subjects. Don’t get me wrong, I can rock out to Miley’s “We Can’t Stop” or bump my bass to some Kendrick Lamar. There’s definitely a time and a place for music like that. However, it’s such a relief to find refuge in some uplifting music from now and then.

Lately, I’m find myself seeking out more social conscious songs (see Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’s “Same Love“*). I appreciate when artists and bands go out of their way to create messages of hope. I have a feeling that with the lightening quick popularity of “Same Love,” a sort of musical revolution is beginning. Yes, people will always love listening to songs that spell out their fantasies of casual sex and wild partying. That will always be a huge draw. But I feel that people are getting restless – searching for a deeper meaning in their musical choices.

This is why I find spiritual refuge in bands such as Tenth Avenue North. In the same category as Relient K, Owl City, Needtobreathe, Lifehouse, Falling Up, and Thousand Foot Crutch, they sing about God’s love without being obnoxious or overly preach-y. They make good quality music that people of all spiritual backgrounds can appreciate. It’s only with certain songs or if you look for the deeper meaning that you realize they’re actually about God’s love and the Christian faith. I think it’s incredibly smart that these bands have tried to market themselves to a wider audience – not JUST followers of Christ. Why not show everybody God’s love through some awesome music?

I just really want to share my absolute favorite Tenth Avenue North song called “You Are More.” The chorus goes:

You are more than the choices that you’ve made, 
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes, 
You are more than the problems you create, 
You’ve been remade. 

You are more than the choices that you’ve made, 
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes, 
You are more than the problems you create, 
You’ve been remade. 

(Lyrics here)

This message – that you are MORE – resonates with EVERYBODY. Every human. Every individual. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done in your past. Your mistakes do not matter. Because you are part of a greater plan. YOU ARE MORE!

They ask the question “But don’t you know who you are?” Well, do you? You are a child of God. He loves you. Unconditionally. How awesome is that? How could that NOT make you smile? Whether you believe in Jesus or not, it probably feels pretty cool to know that somebody loves you no matter what.

I would recommend watching the music video because it clearly illustrates the message visually. I absolutely love it.

*I could go on and on about how incredible Ben Haggerty and Ryan Lewis are, but I’ll save that for another time :)
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September 17, 2013 by
Lifestyle

Re: White Flag

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My older sister, Chloe Wilson is one of the most poised, intelligent, and thoughtful people I have ever met. Her commitment to service and unwavering compassion shine though all she does. I’m sure I will write a blog post about her and how incredible of a sister she has been to me despite me going through angry, spiteful, rude, and cruel phases where I pushed her away. But today I want to focus on a blog post she actually wrote that resonated strongly with me called “White Flag.” Read it here. 

Basically, Chloe went through a time where she lost friendships that she cared about deeply. Although her and I are extremely different people, we both share the same quality in that we refuse to give up on the ones we love. We commit ourselves 150% to every relationship we have. We put our loved one’s needs before our own and are willing to drop everything for them. Unfortunately, we both quickly found this to be a blessing and a curse.

Although we form deep and meaningful friendships, they sometimes turn into one-sided relationships. Our unwavering and unconditional love for those we care about is frequently not reciprocated. That’s not to say that other people do not care or that the friendships we value are with bad people, no. It’s just that our level of compassion and generosity goes beyond comprehension. Call it our biggest weakness.

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Chloe writes about finally letting go. Her and I both try so hard to save everybody and repair every single thing that is broken. However, at a certain point, one needs to simply move on. Some people do not want to be fixed. As hard as that fact is to accept, it is the only way we can move on.

I’ve struggled with this concept countless times already in my life. I was in relationship for over two years where I was extremely happy. I refused to “give up” on this boy. I battled for two years trying to decide what was right for me, for him, and for our relationship. Although he did not love me the same way I loved him, I wanted him to succeed and be happy no matter what. I allowed myself to be beaten down verbally and made to feel small. All in the name of “saving” him. It finally came to a point where it was too much for me to physically handle and with the strong encouragement from my loved ones and family, I ended the relationship. It destroyed me because at the time, I was blind to how unhealthy the relationship was and I only wanted him to be happy – regardless of the personal cost. All I cared about was taking care of him and my decisions to end things went against every fiber of my being. Looking back now, I see that it was the best decision for both of us, not just me. We have both flourished since into much better people. I’ve seen him grow in ways I never imagined possible and head off to college and follow his passions. This decision allowed us to both move on and focus on ourselves and I genuinely wish him the best.

That was the first time I had to let go. I wanted to stay and fight and save him. But at what cost? At some point, we must take care of ourselves.

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I’ve had another experience recently when somebody I considered my sister and have devoted endless hours, tears, and prayers to told me that she could no longer be friends with me. Devastated, shocked, and confused, I wanted to fight for our relationship as I had so many times in the past. We had both pushed each other away before and gone through so many struggles together. We’ve seen each other at our highest highs and lowest lows. We’ve cried together, peed our pants laughing together, struggled together, and loved together. Through death, divorce, unemployment, illness, everything – we experienced it together. We never gave up on our relationship. Even when we did not talk to each other for almost two years, we still found our way back to each other eventually. Our bond transcended time. Unfortunately there were many times that I had to fight to keep our relationship together and it became a one-sided battle.

When is it too much? When do I need to give up? How could I do that after twelve years of friendship? These questions bombarded me incessantly. But then I realized – I am exhausted. I’m tired of a one-way friendship. I’m fatigued from being the only one fighting for this to work. If somebody would be willing to give up twelve years of a friendship I considered sacred, they obviously do not feel the same way. This truth was almost too much to bear – that my love for her was not as strong as her love for me. How could that be? The answer to that question doesn’t matter because the fact is that it just is that way. No matter how hard I could fight, she would feel the same. It was time for me to “wave the white flag.” I will forever keep her in my prayers and wish the best for her. I wish I could be there for her. But you have to understand that sometimes people don’t want you in their life and you must accept that.

Acknowledging this truth has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to deal with. I find comfort in the Bible verse Chloe used in her post. Psalms 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” I could lean on my own understanding at try to dissect every text, phone call, and exchange between us to try to find reason as to why she would throw away our friendship so easily. But my efforts would be futile. I must lean on something greater than myself to survive this difficult time. I must trust that she made this decision for herself – for her own happiness. I need to trust that God put her in my life for a reason, even if it is to painful to understand what that reason is now. I need to trust that God took her out of my life for a reason too. Maybe she will be happier. Maybe I will be happier. Maybe our souls really are connected like I’ve always believed and eventually we will find our way back to each other again. But for now, I don’t need answers – I need to find peace in God’s plan for me. 

And finally, I need to celebrate those friendships that God has put into my life to make me a better person and fill me with joy. Because although some friendships come and go, there will be people who forever leave a footprint on your heart – impacting your life in ways you never imagined. There are people do reciprocate the love I have for them. I need to cherish and nurture those relationships and ignore those that are not actively lifting me up. I need to refocus my mind on the positive.

All I can do is pray for her happiness. I’ll do that every day until I die.

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September 16, 2013 by
Lifestyle

Desserts&Dialogue: Social Networking

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This past Wednesday, I attended one of Chapman’s Career Development Center’s Desserts & Dialogue which focused on social media and networking.

Desserts and DialogueThe speakers were Tracy Chambers ’11, TOMs Marketing Coordinator, Jeff Whitlach ’08, Creative Director at Genie Den, and Sheri Lehman ’11, Interactive Marketing Specialist at Chapman University.

Tracy spoke about how she primarily began with gifting and then moved up to influencer marketing. She talked a lot about being conscious about how the brand is portrayed. TOMs has a very authentic, humble, and down-to-earth vibe, so they would want to contact stylists and celebrities to represent the brand that share those same values.

Jeff shared about his two social media experiences and his time helping out his family restaurant, Genie Den. In terms of customer service, Jeff stressed that social media is #1. For his family restaurant, Facebook and Yelp have been the most useful. He decided to respond to all of their negative Yelp reviews. Basically, if a brand ignores feedback, consumers will engage with each other and feed the negativity. He also touched on how different networks are great for different brands – for example, Twitter is a great tool for experience-based brands.

Sheri is my supervisor at work so it was fun to hear her talk about her experiences. She touched on what I discussed in my other post about social media for higher education establishments (check it out!). Sheri also gave some really great advice – to start branding yourself on social media as part of your resume/portfolio if this is a field you’re interested in. She’s completely right – that’s why I’ve been working so hard on my blog and Twitter. She said if your social media presence isn’t something you’re proud of, then don’t go into social media. Hard to accept, but very true. She also suggested buying your domain name. It’s good to claim your name on the internet before somebody else does.

Since there were only about 5 other students attending the dialogue, it was a great chance for us to have a discussion and ask questions. Overall, a very great professional opportunity for me and I learned a lot from these three extremely inspiring individuals.
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September 15, 2013 by
Lifestyle

Doubling Chapman’s Pinterest Following: How I Did It

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I’ve had the incredible opportunity to work with Chapman’s Strategic Marketing and Communication department this past year – specifically within their Interactive Department. I’ve been given a lot of responsibilities that I’ve found have helped me grow significantly as a young professional in the marketing industry.

One of my responsibilities that I would like to highlight right now is creating, gathering, organizing, posting, and writing copy for all of Chapman’s Pinterest posts. Now, many people my not even know that Chapman is on Pinterest. But at the time I was trusted with this responsibility, there were about 350 people who were following their boards. Now there are 864. So how did I do it?

The answer is simple: I started thinking as a student. What could possibly make me want to follow my university’s Pinterest account? I asked myself, what do I like to pin on my own board? The answer is probably what most women ages 18-45 would answer – recipes, crafts, fashion, DIY, career tips, and innovative ideas/tips. These are also the most popular subjects on Pinterest as the majority of the users fall into that demographic. The tricky part was figuring out how a higher education establishment could possibly post with these topics in mind without losing credibility or spamming its users.

I researched what other universities were doing effectively. One university that stood out was Butler University. They have almost 1,000 followers. Their use of “repinnable” content blew me away and was still appropriate for their brand. Using them as inspiration, I developed the following boards to implement on Chapman’s profile:

  • Healthy Panther – recipes for living in the dorms, exercises to do in dorm rooms or tight spaces without equipment, healthy living tips
  • Independent Living – “life hacks,” money management, organization, manners, laundry, other fun tips and tricks for life
  • Academic Success – study tips, vocabulary lists, organization, funny study memes, brain food ideas
  • Career Tips – resume and cover letter tips, how to dress professionally, interview advice
  • Chapman Events
  • Chapman in the News

The first four boards were widely successful. The other two had a good response as well, but did not attract quite as much engagement as the others. Through the implementation of popular but relevant hashtags and these new “repinnable” content, engagement spiked and followers increased dramatically. Almost a year later, there is more than double the amount of followers than before.

Check out Chapman’s Pinterest page here.
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September 10, 2013 by
Lifestyle

TED Talk Tuesday: Faculty Respond

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If you read my recent post about TED Talk Tuesday at Chapman, I only discussed my response to the speaker. However we were fortunate enough to have two Chapman professors provide their insight and feedback – Claudine Jaenichen and Kelli Fuery.

Claudine began with a discussion about how we interpret the actual visual aspect of texting. She touched on how people use emojis, smileys, capitol letters, punctuation, and formatting to convey a message. For example, the use of “LOL” and “haha” have evolved over the years. Instead of simply meaning literally “laughing out loud,” “LOL” stands for empathy or a marker of interest. “haha” lightens the tone of a message and indicates that something was amusing, not necessarily something you actually laughed at. We use ALL CAPS to signal excitement or anger. We add in smiley faces and emojis to attempt to portray a facial expression, body language, tone, or feeling. When the communication is simply visual, we create this whole new strategy for portraying our actual attitude. In addition, she highlighted how the language you use varies based on your relationship with the reciever as well as the status/job/personality of the receiver of the message. For example, a parent may appreciate a message such as “Hello! How are you?” whereas a close friend may expect a message such as “hey how r u” – it all depends on who the audience is.

Kelli explained how she had issue with the assumption that “texters” are generally youth. When asked for a raise of hands of who texts, all but one person in the room had their hands in the air. The audience was filled with people of every age group and background. She emphasized that it’s important to not associate texting only with youth because other generations use it as well – meaning a wide variety of strategies, styles, and audiences. John McWhorter explained that speech tends to be looser, more telegraphic, and less reflective. She believes that yes, speech is less reflective, however it is much more genuine, authentic, and natural. It does not make sense to apply formal grammar rules to something so informal such as texting and speech. Texting is a new form of visual communication, not a degradation of language. Both formal and informal writing have their appropriate places and share an equal importance.
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September 10, 2013 by