Blind Journalist Defeats the Odds

Preview of an iPhone Package I shot that will be presented at an NABJ seminar or reporting with your SMART PHONE. Video of the final project will be posted soon!

Today's journalist struggle to keep up with change, a change that may seem impossible if you were blind, Texas Southern University  graduate Billy Guervara defeats the odds.

Billy Guervara is a journalist that worries about more than the next big story.
Guervara lost his ability to see, after his first year at TSU.  Instead of giving up, the aspiring journalist headed back to school, and was not going to let anything hold him back.

Guervara knew that his handicap was not going to block his path,  a path he was able to pave with the help of TSU journalism professor Ms. Sandifer-Walker, whose guidance was only an office away.

9.5 percent of more than 300,000 blind Texans have obtained a BA degree or higher.
Thanks to hard work, persistence, and a little technology, Billy Guervara graduated with honors.

Conquering a university was only the beginning for the '04 graduate.  Now is the time for Guervara to enter the competive world of reporting.  Although Billy doesn't use his disability as a crutch, others may not always pay him that courtesy.
Billy Guervara hopes to inspire others with his story, a story he will one day tell in a non-fictional novel of his journey.  A journey that Guervara hopes will leave a legacy worth remembering.

For any blind students and journalist who are unsure of themselves, Guervara has a few words of inspiration. "If I can do it, you can do it!"

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Are You Depressed?

     More than 234 Texas Southern University students and faculty participated in the National Depression Screening Day held October 8, 2009 in the Sterling Student Center.
  
      The event was sponsored by the University Counseling Center, and they were accompanied by the Counseling Education and Psychology Department’s graduate interns.
    
     Holly A. Lee-Lipkins, the Director of Counseling said the event was “a huge success,” Lee-Lipkins also said “My first National Depression Screening Day (NDSD) event at TSU occurred during my first 2.5 months of employment in 2007 at which we celebrated the completion of 50 screenings. We have come a long way in a very short period of time and there are many people and departments to thank for this.”
    
     Student leaders such as the Student Government Association, University Program Council, the Yearbook Committee, and the Herald Newspaper, set an example for their peers and participated in the screening.
  
      Ndukaku Okereke, a senior, accounting major, said “I feel 100 percent mentally healthy.”

     Okereke appreciated the efforts of the UCC, since he has been silently battling his depression, and has recently sought help after having thoughts of suicide.

     “I was able to see progress through my battle with depression, because my results showed up clear of all depression related signs” Okereke said, and he is proud to say that his medication and counseling sessions have positively affected him and are leading him down the road to recovery.

     Stories like the one of Okereke are exactly what Malorie Brewster, a junior student helper for the UCC, like to hear.

     Brewster said “The screening will help students come together as one to know more about what’s going on with them in their lives as well as their heritage.”

     The screening featured questions that inquired about each participant’s alcohol intake and behavioral patterns.

     “People should know about themselves and what they are doing as far as their future because alcohol can be a big problem, and if they feel that drinking is an issue, they are welcome to come free of charge.” Said Brewster.

     Those who participated in the screening were awarded with a NDSD t-shirt and were provided with a plethora of on-campus and community resources to assist or answer any questions about depression and behavioral concerns, and any further questions or assistance needed can be aided by contacting any of the counselors or workers in the University Counseling Center in the Fairchild Building, Suite 147 ext. 1113.

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Where's the Mystery in Today's Hip Hop?

Partying, sex, drugs, blowing money, living a flashy lifestyle, this is what hip-hop looks like from the outside looking in.  Music plays a huge role in people’s lives, and if an artist is powerful enough, they can evoke any emotion conveyed through their music to their fans.  Generation Y has grown to embody the lyrics that rappers and singers promote, which could be considered a good thing, if a positive message was commonly portrayed.

Let’s be honest, the hip-hop industry is an industry that has rarely taken responsibility for their role in society, especially within the black community.  Yes, everyone has a mind of their own, and can decide whether something is right or wrong, but it is human nature to follow the trends.  Here you have Gucci Mane rapping “Party, party, party, let's all get wasted!” One of many anthems that are well known and glorified.  Teens and college students are no longer secretively drinking and getting drunk, they are using social networks like Twitter, Facebook, and Myspace to let all their friends and followers know that they are “wasted,” or “all the way turn’t up.” Binge drinking isn’t a new thing, but today’s hip hop brags about how many bottles people are buying in V.I.P, like a cup or two isn’t enough for a couple hours at the club, let alone one bottle of vodka or champagne.  Celebrity boasting and life styles are sold to a naïve ear as a way of everyday living.  This is bad, now there are people living within a Kool-Aid budget with champagne dreams.  College students are buying bottles of Moet and Grey Goose at the club, but refuse to pay for a book that cost half the price of one night of partying. 

You also have older artist like Usher, who have been nationally recognized for their talents with Grammy’s and other honors, that are coming back into the hip hop spotlight, with a different message.  It’s natural for an artist to mature and change as they age in the industry, but Usher went from being in love in all his songs, and singing “You remind me of a girl that I once knew,” and humming sweet nothings into the ears of millions of fans across the world, to singing about three-somes in a vulgar manner.  In his recent song that was released this year featuring the self proclaimed “Harajuku Barbie, ” rapper Nicki Minaj, Usher said  “I'm about to go have a ménage with this lady and some freaks at the bar.”  Reality shows like “The Bad Girls Club” and “The Real World” are displaying how trendy it is to be bisexual, so Usher saying that he only wants a girl that is down to sleep with other girls is affecting those younger fans that listen to him, especially young girls who are just growing into their sexuality, because some feel the need to fit the mold of most hip hop songs. 

      If Generation X were to say “I got that real thick quarter pound best believe it’s going down all you got to do is call me,” then someone would think that they were working for McDonalds or something of that nature, Generation Y knows that that description of a burger is the  female artist named Just Brittany in her early 20’s singing about her butt in comparison to a burger in a song called “Call me for that good.”   Brittany is an attractive well-spoken young lady that could easily be a role model for admiring youngsters.  She is promoting casual sex, that seems to be equivalent to just breathing in natural air, with lax lyrics like “If you want it, I got it, all you got to do is come get it, I’m with it, I ain’t trippin’ really.” 

There is little to no tact and class left in the mystery and allusion of sexuality and partying compared to songs by 90’s R&B group SWV, like “Downtown,” which could have easily been as vulgar as Just Brittany’s “Call me for that good” song, but SWV left an heir of mystery. These artists are often playing a role when they rap and sing, so as parents and mentors, adults should monitor their children’s intake of music just as heavily as the shows or movies a child or teen watches.  Just like you can watch a commercial and be sold into wanting a good deal or a meal that’s being advertised, hip-hop culture and mannerisms can be sold through music.  The music is the center of what has grown into a culture that plays a strong hand in how people, dress, talk, act, and interact with others. 

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Interracial Dating: Yes or No?

          Interracial dating has been a controversial topic for years, whether you are for or against it, the fact remains that it does exist.  It is more than probable that two individuals from different races can date and move on to a serious relationship in the future.  Unfortunately, some men and women, commonly African American’s, have an obsession with the glamour of being with the opposite race. Self hatred is strong amongst the African American race, this is one of the many reasons some people date or create off springs with opposite races, so that their children or future children can have good hair, a light complexion, and an exotic look.  Love in any form with true depth is expectable, the bible says in 1 Timothy 1:5, “Love comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”  If this is true, then a relationship that is formed by underlined racial insecurities and shallow attractions will not survive.

            In a discussion about interracial dating in an advanced level classroom of black journalism students at Texas Southern University, a couple of African American women said that they disapproved of interracial dating, and can’t stand the sight of a black man with a woman that is not black.  Some may argue that this is a racist  generalization, but when asking the student why she had such ill feelings towards the topic, she then explained that she had a bad been cheated on by her husband, a black man, with a woman of another race.  It is understandable that she has some deep rooted issues with interracial dating, because it relates to her past let down.  A circumstance that is not understandable nor should it be condoned is when a black male or female dates outside their race to create their ideal child.  Children are not like puppies you breed to create the perfect “Maltipoo” or mix-breed dog.  The majority of blacks from African descent have kinky and matted hair with darker completed skin.  Blacks that date outside their race and have children are known to have children with what is commonly known in black culture as “good hair,” along with a light complexion and sometimes a greater acceptance in commercialized society. 

         For an African American to  single handedly judge a couple or an individual because of their race, is a large step back in African American progression.  Discrimination is discrimination, and those who feel otherwise should retrace the pathways paved in black history by leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. Yes, there are struggles that couples and children that are biracial will have to endure, but everyone struggles.  As of now, the only qualified reason for opposing interracial dating is when an individual purposely seeks out a spouse of the opposite race to obtain the ideal child.   

          Aside from that, “Love is what you make and whom you make it with.” --Love Jones

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Dirty mind or Victim?

     

     If someone approached you and said they haven't had any for awhile and they can already feel it going in good and hard and coming out nice and soft, would you be offended? You shouldn’t, maybe if you took your mind out of the gutter for a second, you would see that all they want is a piece of gum.  As we get older, our innocent minds seem to fade away.  What was once a simple lollipop being enjoyed by a woman, is now a turn on for any men within close proximity.  Not all men and women are guilty of having a dirty mind, those who do, may be able to fault pornography and sexual endeavors for their colorful thoughts.  In the very second it takes you to read this sentence, $3,075.64 is being spent on pornography.  

Pornography is still taboo in many communities, but the statistics don’t lie, taboo or not, sex really does sell.  According to the “Family Safe Media” website, as of 2006, Pornography is a $97.06 billion industry on a world-wide scale, and technology giants such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo!, Apple, Netflix and EarthLink don’t earn as much as the pornography industry, combined. With sex being an obvious fixture in media and technology, it is more than understandable why some people just can’t get their minds out of the gutter.

Studies show other porn like addictions, it is expected that your thoughts or actions may be altered in other aspects in your life that are not sex related if you are addicted to porn.  Texas Southern University grad student Kanetra Moses disagrees. “Why should porn affect my mindset?  Porn is just a movie and the people in them are actors,” Moses says. That may be true, but an article on the “All About Life Changes” website, written by recovering a porn addict, begs to differ.  “My ideas and thoughts became fixated on what got me ‘high’ and fed my ‘pleasure.’ Those planted thoughts formed my concept of reality, my feelings toward girls, life, and myself. As a young person, I really believed these thoughts were ‘mine’ alone and didn't hurt anyone else. But as I matured, I began to realize that my thoughts affected my attitude and my attitude affected my conduct and that affected everyone else!”

According to the “Psychology Today” site, and the “Net Nanny” blog prove that pornography is a legitimate addiction.  Being addicted to sexual media causes the body to release chemicals such as pinephrine, testosterone, endorphins (endogenous morphine), oxytocin, dopamine, serotonin, phenylethylamine,³ and other pharmacological stimuli.  Psychologist and published author Sandra Ackerman, says that the chemicals the body releases when enjoying porn triggers the brain to seek an immediate reaction or solution to the high that has developed. 

These same addicting behaviors are developed from shopping, video games, and other addictions of choice.  It may be farfetched or a bit drastic to compare minor addictions to porn, but in order grow or have a healthy relationship with those around you, people addicted to porn should try to moderate the amount of control they allow sexual media to have on their mind, whether it be clean or dirty.

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