"What's Your International IQ?"

North Korea, formally the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, is bordered by China and Russia, and separated by the Korean Demilitarized Zone from South Korea. It professed to be a Juche, meaning self-reliant, state. This theory of government was implement by its founder and former ruler, Kim Il-sung- around whom a cult of personality has been fostered- and added to its constitution in 1972. Officially, North Korea is a socialist republic, although many people consider it a totalitarian dictatorship similar to Stalin’s Soviet Union. Most of its strengths and weaknesses stem from this governmental structure.

Understandably, North Korea’s strengths include its military, health care, and education system. The army has four branches: the Ground Force, the Naval Force, the Air Force, and The State Security Department. It is the fifth-largest military in the world with over 1.2 million members who account for 20 percent of the men between the ages of 17 and 54. Furthermore, North Korea has a totally government-run, state-controlled economy. The only other nation in the world like this is Cuba. This benefits its people from the standpoint that their taxes pay for universal healthcare and education (which is compulsory until the secondary level). Not only does the state provide free instruction, it also provides children with free uniforms and materials. Other strengths of the nation include low pollution rates, inexpensive tourism costs, and warm climates.

Many challenges face the people of North Korea as well, also as a result of the leadership of their country. One of these is malnourishment. Economic reforms in 2002 led to inflation, which increased the price of basic foods. A survey conducted in 2006 by Amnesty International found that 7% of the children are severely malnourished, 37% were chronically malnourished, and 23.4% were underweight.

In fact, many human rights are nonexistent in North Korea. The government controls every aspect of the people’s lives with the use of propaganda, and severely limits the political and economic rights of its people. North Korea is one of the most homogenous countries in the world. Kim Il-sung is worshipped almost as a god in their culture, and any dissention is rooted out. Because of this tourism and foreign trade are highly restricted and the economy and foreign relations suffer. The lack of trade leaves little room for the economy to grow.

One of the most detrimental weaknesses that North Korea has is its negative foreign relations status. Trade is already severely restricted, and the fall of communism meant that many of the resources being provided for the nation by places like Russia and China have decline significantly. In addition, China requested that the number of refugees fleeing from North Korea be curbed, so a concrete and barbed wire fence was erected along that border. Even worse than that is its relations with most Western nations are poor. North Korea refuses both to join and to cooperate with efforts of the United Nations, meaning that world powerhouses such as the United States and Britain are against their government. The people thereby suffer because the aid provided by these countries is limited because they do not trust that the government will disburse the materials fairly. North Korea is, however, friendly with its socialist companions in the southeast, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

North Korea still has many weaknesses that will only be cured with time. But it has shown some hope for improvement. In 2000, both Koreas signed the June 15^th North-South Joint Declaration, promising to make peaceful attempts at reunification. North Korea is firm, though, in its intent to have no outside interference in this matter. Also, before a shooting in 2008 of a South Korean tourist, there had been a special tourism zone created for American and South Korean tourists to visit called the Kumgangsan Tourist Region, although admittedly this area was made up to be falsely inviting. Hopefully, though, these small efforts to reach out are signs of better days to come.

My Educational Journey

I was one of the lucky ones. I was born into a family full of teachers, including both of my parents, so learning was fostered from the beginning. By the age of four I could already read. And I remember that when I was young, my parents would play The

Alphabet Game with us (my brother Malcolm, cousins, and me) on car trips and would encourage us to beat the cash register with the correct amount of change. If we did, we got to keep the coins. We did not know it then, but they were giving us essential tools for learning. To this day, I am a whiz at mental math when my friends have to take out calculators. But I will not attribute all my success to the adults in my life. Undoubtedly, they had their impact. However, you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink. I played an active role in my educational journey as well.

From a young age, I have known that I am very smart. When I entered kindergarten, I remember being highly unamused by the songs the teacher played to teach us the sounds of the letters. I could already read. So my parents and the teacher sat down and discussed what to do to challenge and stimulate me. They set up a sort of bridge program where I went to a first grade classroom until their lunchtime, then went to my p.m. kindergarten class. I loved the time I spent in Mr. Hooker’s first grade class, and thankfully the other children welcomed me. It was soon determined that I should be skipped. I only actually spent forty-four days in kindergarten. First grade was a blast; Mr. Hooker could not have been a more wonderful match for me. I scored in the ninety-ninth percentile on my standardized tests that year, and from there I hit the ground running.

In the second grade I went to a private school where I was in a combination class with third and fourth graders. My teacher would always have me do the lessons with the fourth graders. I tested Gifted that year and the next year entered the Magnet program at Baldwin Hills Elementary School. I was finally in classes full of other children of equal intellect. We read Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone in the third grade! And in the fifth grade, we did extensive research and presented a report on the different body systems.

Middle school was a breeze to me. I was in a Gifted Magnet, so all the children in my classes were Gifted as well. I got straight A’s all three years, because by that point I had determined to be the best. It was also during these years that I came into my social graces. Until eighth grade, I was awkward, preferring to read in the classroom at nutrition and lunch than to go out with my classmates and play. Needless to say, the other children generally did not much like me. I still cannot explain exactly what happened, but that year I figured out how to be both academically and socially excellent, which has been an invaluable lesson.

Then I went to high school, and it was a whole new world! I remember freshman year as vividly as though it were just last week. In my first month at Westchester High School, I discovered the Academic Recognition Night. For each grade level, if a student has earned a 3.5 or higher cumulative grade point average, they are given special recognition and awards at Academic Recognition Night. The twelfth graders receive a (free!) letterman’s jacket. I determined right then that I would be on that stage to receive my jacket in my senior year.

In high school, I took only the most rigorous course load offered. I took AP classes every year starting in the tenth grade. Some course my school only offered every other year, so those I took at a local community college through a dual enrollment program. Of course, I did not allow my extra-curriculars to suffer. I firmly believe that being smart is not enough, one must be more than just good test scores. I played sports all four years, and was named Varsity Captain of both my Cross Country and Track and

Field teams. I was a College Peer Counselor. I got involved with California’s Youth and Government Model Legislature and Court program. I also joined my School’s We Volunteer for Westchester Club, and volunteered over two hundred hours one summer as a Counselor-in-Training at the local YMCA. I graduated tied for third in my class, with a grade point average of 4.3. I was a National Achievement Scholarship Finalist and an AP Scholar with Distinction, as well as being on the President’s Honor Roll all four years. And, I got my Academic Jacket! In fact, with all the credits I transferred over from AP tests I passed and community college classes I took, I am

already classified as a sophomore in college. And I was invited to join the College of Arts and Sciences Honors Program.

I decided to come to Howard University mainly for the money that they offered me. I did not know much about the school, but that they had a reputation for churningout the best and the brightest. I have a cousin who is an alumna, and practically everyone I talked to about this school knows of at least one Howard success story. Since I have been here, I have been intrigued by the sheer excellence surrounding me. People from all walks of life have

been and are currently being molded into greatness here. It is hard to be so far from home, but I am sure that this will be a growing experience like no other, and I will be rewarded beyond measure for all my hard work.

Howard University Clubs and Organizations

Whoever said college isn't for everyone lied. Here at Howard there are so many clubs and organizations, you're bound to find at least one that will interest you. We have everything from a Chess Club to state clubs to the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. Alpha Chapter. So if you don't find something here that interests you, chances are you didn't look hard enough.

For my freshman Seminar assignment this week, I had to research five clubs here and tell a little about them here on my blog. I picked these five because they are each significant to my college experience in some way.

1. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Alpha Chapter

-My cousin, my sister, my grandma, and even my track and cheer coaches are members of DST.

-Here is where it all began. On January 13, 1913, 22 women founded DST under the principles of scholarship, sisterhood, and service. Today, the chapter centers its programming around Delta's Five-Point Programmatic Thrust: educational development, economic development, political awareness and involvement, physical and mental health, and International Awareness and Involvement. They are active in serving their university and their community and their network is strong and country-wide.

2. Ladies of the Quad Social Club

-I live in the Quad this year. Truth Hall, Room 404. AWWWW YEAH!!!

-The Ladies of the Quad Social Club is a club exclusively for freshmen girls. Its aim is to introduce these young women to the cultural and academic climate of Howard University. It promotes sisterhood among its members and encourages scholarly pursuits. Members do service for the university and the surrounding community and promote a positive image of the young African American woman.

-The brother social club to this one is the Gentlemen of Drew Social Club, based out of Drew all where the freshman boys, several of whom are friends of mine, live.

3. The Howard University Campus Pals

-The first people to officially welcome the incoming freshmen to Howard University are the Campus Pals. They plan trips and social gatherings during Freshmen Week, the week between the Move-In of the new freshmen and the arrival of the upperclassmen. The Campus Pals are a part of several other organizations on camps and encourage their pals to get involved, network, and meet new people. They show their caseload of around 30 freshmen the ways of Howard. If Howard University is one big family, the Campus Pals are the older brothers and sisters.

4. Psi Chi- The National Honor Society in Psychology

-I am a psychology major and an honors student, so naturally this group intrigues me.

-The Psi Chi honor society was founded in 1929 to encourage, stimulate, and maintain excellence in scholarship surrounding and advancing psychology. Graduates and undergraduates are welcome to join. It is a member of the Association of College Honor Societies, therefore members get academic recognition simply by being involved. Members must be second semester sophomores in a psychology major or minor program with a grade point average over 3.0 and in the top 35% of their class.

5. California Club

-a club dedicated to the bestest state in the union!!!! I miss home.....

-This club is not necessarily as serious in nature as the other ones. It is mainly a social club that aims to help those students from California network with other people from California and acclimate themselves to the new and very different world of the East Coast. Members are also a part of various other clubs on campus and in this way they serve the university and their surrounding community.

The Information Literacy Tutorial

Growing up with two teachers for parents, I am no stranger to the library. Library trips were a bi-weekly excursion in my household. I love to read, too. One summer, I decided to conquer my local library's Classics section. I read Gone With the Wind for fun. Reading builds knowledge and knowledge is power.

So, Howard University has eight libraries!!!! I could try my hardest and still there is NO WAY I could finish all those books. Still, they will be very useful to me during my tenure here because this school is very research-oriented.

This week, for my Freshman Seminar class, I had to take The Information Literacy Tutorial, which taught me all about the different resources here and how to best use them. A lot of this stuff I already knew. But some of this stuff was new. For instance, I learned that when you use a search engine, if you truncate (put a * next to the root of) a word, you can search for all the words with the same root and their variations. For example, if you put in expos*, you can find exposition, expose, exposes, expository, and more.

 I will be honest, the tutorial was a bit boring. But the information was very useful. I feel like I will be able to use the libraries to their full extent. I even know how to read and find call numbers on books. Now my next objective is to go to the Library of Congress and another D.C. public library to get library cards....

First Monthly Learning Community Colloquia

*On Thursday, September  10th, we had our first monthly learning community colloquia in Cramton Auditorium. I only got to see a portion of the presentation because I had my Intro to Psych class form 3:40 to 5. But the presenter, Dr. Carr, was a really cool guy. He posted his Powerpoint on the Internet for us, and even posed for a picture with us after he spoke. The discussion was about the group research projects that we are soon going to have to complete.*

The Five Basic Steps in the Research Process

Step 1: Identify and Develop Your Topic

In this first step, the researcher tries to develop a question about their topic that can be answered through their intended research. The question should be such that the answer will be supportable by fact and narrow enough that the researcher can plausibly solve their piece of the puzzle and leave a clear place for others to continue from.

Step 2: State Your Research Methodology and Method

This step mostly involve identifying the academic field that will be useful in answering the question set out in Step 1. The researcher must decide what tools he or she needs to successfully complete their intended course of study and which academic field can most aptly supply them with those tools. In the case of our research projects, and many times in real life, a research question can and needs to be answered by combining knowledge from several areas of study. In that case, this step also involve figuring out how to effectively the tools available from each to serve the desired result.

Step 3: Look for Previous Research

This step ties in with Dr. Carr's first ground rule, which is to be present, meaning don't just be here, play an active role in your community and your education. Know your surroundings and your history. When doing research, the researcher should take notes and cite their sources (to avoid plagiarism) in the proper MLA or APA form. There are many kinds of sources: the various libraries, electronics databases; primary secondary and tertiary. The work that others have done is an excellent aid in new research, no matter what the topic because it can provide at least the background, and sometimes more, for the answers to the guiding questions.

Step 4: Evaluate Sources, Think, and Articulate Your Findings

The African word that Dr. Carr gave us for this step is hatata, which means "sifting". This step ties in with his second ground rule which is to read and write. At this point the researcher has all the information they need and must process it and present it in a coherent way. Their findings should try to create new knowledge, they should be searching for answers that have not yet been found or filling in missing links in the research surrounding their topic. Once they have figured all this out, they should write it in a clear and concise manner so that researchers that come later can use their new discoveries in further studies.

Step 5: Imagine What is Left for Others to Do?

This step ties in to Dr. Carr's third ground rule, called mekhet, which is speaking to the future. At the end, the researcher should include a small section where they explain where their findings end and another can begin. To do this, they should think of the ramifications of their research and future questions that it could help answer. They should also consider how this research will help them be remembered in their field.

HU History Lesson

1. What role did Benjamin Banneker play in the development of Washington, DC?

Benjamin Banneker helped design the street plan for the Federal District, now Washington, DC in 1791. He was a surveyor and a technical assistant who helped calculate and appraise the area.

2. What connection did Frederick Douglass have to Howard University?

Frederick Douglass, elsewhere noted for his work as an abolitonist, orator, and author, served on the Howard University Board of Trustees from 1870 to 1876. He was one of the first African-American members of the Board.

3. What connection did Booker T. Washington have to Howard University?

Booker T. Washington never actually taught Howard University; he actually worked for Hampton University in Virginia before opening his own school, the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, the premiere university to educate black youth at the time. He became the leader of the African-American race in the eyes of white America, and used his clout to build coalitions and opportunities for educated African-Americans. He also served on the Howard University Board of Trustees.

4. Choose 3 buildings at Howard that are named for famous people, and tell why those people are significant.

-Sourner Truth (Truth Hall, my dorm)

Truth was born a slave, but became an African-American abolitionist and a women's rights activist. She was especially prominent around the Civil War, when she helped get African-American recruits for the 54th Massachusetts Regiment (the all-black regiment). She also tried to secure land grants for former slaves, and met with successive presidents to present her points. She was a great orator, her best kown speech is "Ain't I A Woman?"

-Alain LeRoy Locke (Locke Hall, COAS headquarters)

Locke was the first African-American Rhodes Scholar, and graduated from Harvard University with degrees in English and philosophy. He came to Howard University as an assistant professor, and interacted with the likes of W.E.B. DuBois and Carter Woodson. He went back to Harvard for his doctorate degree in 1916, and received his Ph.D. in philosophy in 1916. He then return to Howard as the chair of the department of philosophy, and kept the post until he retired in 1953.

-Ernest Everett Just (Just Hall, biology building)

Just was a forerunning African-American biologist. He spent his life collecting, classifying, and caring for marine specimen because he believed that scientist should study cells intheir natural states, not just break them down in laboratories. He was famous for discovering the essential role that a cell surface plays in the develoment of an organism. After his graduation from college, he came to work at Howard University, and then-president Wilbur Thirkield put him in charge of the biology department. He was the first person to receive the NAACP 's Spingarn Medal in February 1915. He received his Ph.D. in experimental embryology in 1916. On a lighter note, he helped found the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. while teaching at Howard University.

5. Who is Thirkield? Why is Thirkield Hall significant? Why is this year important for Thirkield Hall?

Wilbur P. Thirkield received his Doctor of Divinity degree from the theology school at Boston University. He was dedicated to the cause of educating African-Americans, and served as president of Howard University from 1906 until June 1, 1912, when he was elected bishop.

Thirkield Hall is the former Science Hall and contains the Department of Physics and Astronomy. On Novembe 17, 1911, Edgar Amos Love, Oscar James Cooper, and Frank Coleman created the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. at Thirkield Hall with the help of Professor Ernest Just.

This year is important to Thirkield Hall because it is the 100 year anniversary of its dedication. In 1907, then-president Wilbur Thirkield was able to convince Congress to appropriate $90,000 for a new science hall for Howard University, and the building was dedicated 3 years  later.

Howard Heritage Trail

So, I just finished going on a cyber tour of the history of some of the buildings around my new school, and I found out some pretty interesting things along the way that I want to share.

First stop: The Howard University Hospital

-I'm definitely going to need to know about this place since im so accident prone. lol! I bet my friend India will be able to share more. She's in the school of nursing.

Did you know that from 1894 to 1898, the Howard University Hospital (then called the Freedmen's Hospital) was headed by Dr. Daniel Hale WIlliams? He was the first person to perform a successful open heart surgery! This school is so cool.

Next stop: Howard Hall

-This place is where General Oliver Otis Howard, a founder and the first president of my school lived. It was one of the first four buildings on campus, and is the oldest building that still exists in the school.

Did you know that in 1974 this building was deemed a National Historic Landmark? That means the buiding can never be torn down. It guarantees that the legacy of our founder and this school will live on. Wow!

Next stop: The Founder's Library

-Every good student knows that the library is the happenin' spot to be. My friend Shannon took me on a tour when I first got here and showed my this very cool place. But no real studying goes on here. For that, you have to pop into UGL- the undergraduate library.

Did you know that the same man who built the Founder's Library, Albert I. Cassell, also built The Quad where freshmen girls (like me!) live?

Did you know that the place where the library now sits used to be the site of the Main Building? It was torn down in 1936 to make way for the Founders' Library.

Did you know that inside of the Founder's Library are a museum of the history of the school, as well as changing exhibits on other aspects of history? There is also the Moorland-Spingam Research Center, one of the biggest repositories of the culture and history of descendants of Africa in the world.

Next stop: Miner Teachers College Building

- Now this building isn't actually on campus. It's acually a part of the University of the District of Columbia, and has been since 1977 when it merged with Wilson Teacher's College.

Did you know that when this Miner's School was first founded in 1851 by Myrtilla Miner, it was also known as the School for Colored Girls? After the Civil War, Congress chartered it to reopen as the Instituion for the Education of Colored Youth. So, of course, this was right up Howard's alley. The school was associated with this university from 1871 to 1876.

Did you know that Lucy Ellen Moten, a Howard alumna, was president of the school 1883-1920? She made it one of the top institutions in America during her leadership. That's grad power for you!

And my last stop: the Howard University Gallery of Art, established in 1928

-I have been inside Childers Hall before, but I never knew that right beside me was a collection of breathtaking artwork. I will definitely have to check this out in real life (not just cyperspace)! This assignment really was useful....

Did you know that before the Gallery of Art came to be in its current location, taking over one-third of the Fine Arts Building in the College of Arts and Sciences honoring Lulu Vere Childers, it was on display in the bottom floor of the Rankin Chapel, and then in 1941 moved to Founder's Library? It has been in Childers Hall since 1961.

Did you know that this collection started with donations of African artifacts donated by a Howard professor? Alain Locke (the COAS builing is named after him!) started the gallery with gifts from his own collection..

Howard's history is so great and its reach is so outspread. Never should it be said that black people just don't care about a certain subject, because as we can see here, African Americans have been and can be prominent in any field of study that they set their mind to. I am in awe of the legacy surrounding me.

This journey has sparked a few questions:

-Do graduate medical students do their internships and practicum work in the HU Hospital? Could i go  their one day and have a classmate working on me? That might be cool.

-Do graduate medical students do their internships and practicum work in the HU Hospital? Could i go there one day and have a classmate working on me? That might be cool.

-Was The Quad always a dormitory? Because it seems that a lot of the buildings here are not what they used to be.

-What led Howard University to sever ties with the Miner's School?