Where does D.A.C.A stand?

“Receiving a higher education has always been important to me because without it I can not obtain the career I aspire to have.”

And almost two months later, education is still a very important component of Eddi Cardera’s life.

As 1 of 76 DREAMers attending Delaware State Univeristy, Eddi is aware that the Trump Administrations decision to repeal D.A.C.A can hurt his as well as other students chances of furthering their education within the United States.

On September 11, 2017 Eddi was asked about his thoughts regarding the President’s decision:

I felt a lot of sadness.  I did not think DACA would be phasing out so quick. If my brothers and I can not work, we can not help our parents financially, and I do not know how I can continue traveling to DSU…….

It’s now mid-November and can be inferred that Eddi’s thoughts remain the same being that Congress has still not agreed upon a final decision.

It seems as though news updates regarding DACA has been swept under the rug and been replaced by stories regarding sexual harassment, tax returns, nuclear proliferation, and the list goes on.

What will the government decide to do in the weeks ahead? It’s still unclear. The only thing that’s for sure is that time is running out.

 

UPDATE:

The end of the year is quickly approaching which also means that the final decision to either keep or end DACA has to be made. Although Donald Trump stands firm on his choice to end the program, Congress has the power to protect all DREAMers through legislation, if they choose to.

While the future of the DREAMers remains uncertain, the determination of many young immigrants to fight for their rights is clear.

This Thanksgiving holiday, several protestors gathered in New York City to block the Macy’s Day Parade in hopes to force Congress to pass legislation to protect DREAMers. The protesters were removed from the event, but were successful in drawing attention to the situation.

Recently several DREAMers from Delaware State University met with various senators such as Tim Scott of North Carolina, representatives such Rob Woodall of Georgia and more in Washington D.C, to express their concerns with the fate of DACA.

When asked about the experience DSU DREAMer, Karen Baltazar, states that she is asking Congress to pass the Dream Act…

“So that no other undocumented student finds themselves in the same situation that I was in. No student should have to feel humiliated in their counselor’s office while finding out that they are barred from attending the college where they want to further their education and develop into adults that will shape the next generation”. 

The students plan to return to D.C on December 6^th with high hopes of convincing members of Congress to work to pass Dreamer Relief Legislation.

UPDATE Nov. 5th, 2017:

The pressure to pass Relief Legislation for DREAMers is now greater than ever. Yesterday, over 40 protesters were seen protesting outside of Sen. John McCain’s office in Phoenix AZ demanding that Congress adopt the Dream Act. Their chants, “No Dream, No Deal” didn’t seem to sway Congress, but these activists have a lot more in store.

Tomorrow, over 15,000 people including students, teachers, parents, and ordinary citizens are expected to swarm Washington D.C to pressurize legislators into supporting the act in a greater mass.

Many students from DSU including university DREAMers are expected to attend the event. When asked about the process of preparing students for the event, DSU NAACP chapter President, Kareem Scott, stated that

As president of NAACP, direct action is crucial and I know it’s what the campus needs to show that they have a voice and can affect change! This process was one the most rewarding things I’ve done to date because I was able to directly impact change and help those who aren’t in a position to help themselves”.

Although the predicted success of the protest remains unclear, one thing is for certain. Thousands of people with various ethnicities, backgrounds and or citizenships will all come together to push towards a common objective.

“What we want to accomplish is for Congress to pass a clean Dream Act and support the DREAMers before they vote two days after the protest”  – Scott

Hopefully the voices once ignored by Congress, will now be heard.

 

 

 

 

College Students vs. Career Fairs: A Howard Job Fair Review

Its internship season, which means that thousands of college students (including myself), are perfecting our resumes and cover letters to hand into employers for job opportunities. But in our quest to secure jobs and internships, many of us make different approaches. Some of us may find ourselves glued to our computers, scrolling down endless pages of open positions for jobs, and filling out applications, which is on the digital side. The other half of us may find ourselves taking the more “old school” approach, which includes leaving the comfort of our homes to attend career fairs.

Last week, I found myself taking the “old school” route, but I was not alone. I as well as hundreds of other job and internship-hungry college students made our way to Howard University for their Communications Career Fair. Although this event occurs annually, and many of the same employers are present, the experience always varies. Today, I will be reviewing and comparing my experience from this year and previous years.

Chaotic, competitive, and comfortable are three perfect yet ironic words that describe this year! Firstly chaotic, compared to last year, I feel as though there were way more students in attendance. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to see students present, well dressed, and super eager to further their professional development, but having to walk on top of one another, and fight (not literally fighting) to keep our spots in line to talk to job recruiters was not fun. Instead of hearing, “Wow, I’m having a really great time” and “This is the best job fair ever”, I heard, “I’m ready to go”, and “This is too much” from majority of the students. Space was very limited compared to last year, but hopefully this won’t be the case in the future.

Competitive. It’s safe to say that all career fairs are competitive. After all, us college students are all looking to upgrade our standard mall and restaurant jobs to something more exciting, and suitable for our fields of study. However, this year felt like a NBA draft! Hundreds of students were in the same line, at the same employers table hoping to get picked for “one in a lifetime opportunities”. One major con to this predicament is that it was much harder to stand out to employers. Luckily, I was able to make great connections with specific individuals, but imagine meeting over 200 students and having to decipher which ones are most qualified for positions and or made the best impressions. For the most part, everyone was on their A-game.

Comfortable. Besides a few whines and long lines, I really enjoyed the career fair this year. A few employers from previous years recognized me, which made networking a breeze! I was also familiar with the new employers that would be in attendance prior to the event, so I was able to prepare beforehand.

Overall, I would encourage every student to attend at least one job fair within the span of their entire college career. Yes, you will have to swap out some sweats for slacks, but gaining a valuable experience will be worth it!

Living the DREAM! A DREAMers Perspective.

“Receiving a higher education has always been important to me because without it I can not obtain the career I aspire to have.”

There is no question that America has been known to be the land of freedom, and economic opportunity. Now the growing question seems to be, for whom?

Imagine living in a place outside of the U.S, like Mexico, for majority of your life. Although you’ve grown accustomed to the place you’ve called home for years, you know that greater opportunities await in a neighboring country. These opportunities are one of a lifetime! We’re talking about ones that can potentially uplift financial burdens off of your family; the types of opportunities that can provide you with a quality education, and a stable job with decent pay.

If you knew that you could improve your circumstances by moving across the border, would you stay in your homeland, or venture off to what seems to be the”promise land”?

 

This is the decision that many immigrants, like Eddi Cardera have had to make with their families.

As a native of Veracruz, Mexico, Eddi and his family crossed the border and moved to the U.S (more specifically, to North Carolina) to access what many call, “The American Dream”. Like many, he wished for a better life, but unlike many-Eddi and his family were fortunate in that they were actually given the chance.

“I actually found out about TheDream.US Opportunity Scholarship on Facebook. I applied on TheDream.US website and selected Delaware State University (DSU) as the college I would like to attend.”

Eddi is one of 1,700 students selected by TheDream.US, a college access and support program, to receive an academic scholarship that will aid in providing financial support for immigrants seeking college education. The program partners with other colleges to give aspiring scholars the opportunity to choose the school in which they’d wish to attend. DSU is one of over 60 partner colleges.

DSU DREAMers and Faculty, Photo: Carlos Holmes

“Even though DSU is a small college, I have enjoyed the opportunities granted here. I have been able to network and befriend several DREAMers, as well as fellow students that are not DREAMers.”

DREAMers is the name given to immigrants who are qualified under the DREAM Act to  come to the U.S without documentation. Furthermore, the DACA or Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals Program, allows DREAMers to temporarily reside in the U.S for two-year increments under work authorizations.

“Here at DSU, there are 76 DREAMers. All DREAMers were born in different countries. Mexico is the main country.”

Recently these 76 DREAMers have been effected by the Trump Administration’s decision to end the DACA program. This means that 76 students at this university may not be able to continue their academic studies in the future. In addition, this may also mean that some students will have to return to their homes outside of the U.S.

“I felt a lot of sadness. Last Tuesday reminded me of Election day, when Trump was elected to office. I did not think DACA would be phasing out so quick. If my brothers and I can not work, we can not help our parents financially. During the summer, my brother, Carlos, and I worked to help our parents financially. And if we lose DACA, I do not know how I can continue traveling to DSU. My home state is NC.”

Although the future of the DACA Program remains unclear, one thing is for certain, Eddi is determined to rise above adversity and continue chasing his dream!

 “My dream job is to become a network news reporter. Since a teenager, I have enjoyed morning shows such as the Today Show as well as pop culture news shows such as E! News. Watching the different types of news correspondents and news stories have inspired me to becoming a reporter.”

As a Mass Communications major with a concentration in journalism, Eddi is applying what he’s learned in his classes to other organizations on campus. He is currently a member of DSU’s closed circuit radio station, WDSU Radio The Hive. Here he has his own radio talk show, “Living The Dream”.  Not only has he created a platform that allows him to have a voice, but he’s created the opportunity for other DREAMers to have one as well.

“To help the student body learn more about what DREAMers are, I decided to start a radio show that highlights DREAMers attending DSU. Mrs. Perrine was the one who pushed me to start a show and then gave me the creative rights to have the layout I choose to have. The radio show, turn radio podcast, is titled Living The Dream. My good friend, Karen, and I co-host the show together. Our current dream is to attend college, so on the show we talk about how we, the DSU DREAMers, are living our dream, meaning our college experience. On the show, we interview fellow DREAMers, thus providing them a platform to share their stories.”

 

New International Student Policy requires stronger English skills

Brazil, Africa, Korea, Russia, America. These are only a few of many places that students of Delaware State University reside.

As one of many Historical Black College Universities (HBCU) that are known to have a diverse student body, DSU welcomes all students who are from different regions of the world, with open arms.

According to their website, DSU serves as a “melting pot for education”, as students with different dialects and languages attend to further their academic studies, professional development, and to ultimately gain new experiences that will help them to make their “mark on the world” upon graduation.

Before international students are deemed DSU hornets, there are many policies and prerequisites that must be adhered to for admission.

According to the Graduate Program in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL), international students must meet specific requirements in order to be enrolled.

Dr. Brody Bluemel, Assistant Professor of TESL, Department of English and Foreign Languages, describes international student policies and the effect they will have on the academic experience of the students.

(Dr. Bluemel’s response here).

Although many students have met these requirements, they wish to see improvements within these policies.

Korean students Sujin and Haein discuss their experience with completing the requirements needed to be enrolled at the university. Both students were required to complete an English exam that examined their knowledge and proficiency of the English Language. Sujin says,” Yes, we had to take a test and it was hard.”

When asked if they would like to change anything about the exam, Haein says, “The professor should allow us to use dictionaries, find a dictionary for some words so we can understand the words better.” Sujin and Haein both agreed that there were hard English vocabulary words on the tests that were difficult to define.

Besides the tests, the pair were asked if they would like to change any aspect of the overall program.

“Yeah, we want more programs about international students”, says Haein.

Sujin adds, “They need to make some communication with students to increase unity with all the students.”

Although students like Sujin and Haein have faced several difficulties when completing requirements needed to be accepted to the university, they have had a positive experience at DSU thus far.

“Yeah, I really like it”, says Sujin.

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Sixth Annual Graduate Research Symposium at DSU

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On April 8, 2016 students of Delaware State University had the opportunity to present various research projects in the annual Graduate Research Symposium.

Held in the Bank of America building, each floor allowed students to showcase their creative works to the DSU community through oral and concurrent poster presentations.

John D. Wallace, President of the Graduate Student Association, acknowledges the dedication of all the hard working students that have experienced, “endless late nights, strenuous research, and long hours spent in the library.”

Physics and Engineering student, Lu Lu, provides an insight on all of the commitment and patience needed to successful conduct a research project.

After being asked how long a typical research project takes to complete, Lu Lu states that complete research calculations “can take maybe a few weeks to one-month” if assigned one portion of the project to research.

This year’s theme for the event was, “Analytics: The Wave of the Future”. According Dr. Saundra F. Delauder, on behalf of DSU’s School of Graduate Studies and Research, this year’s theme serves to “highlight the university’s focus on the use of data to inform our decision making.”

In collaboration with the Graduate Student Association, the School of Graduate Studies and Research serves to offer professional degree programs to students to help in enhancing their professional development.

Similar to the mission of the School of Graduate Studies and Research, the Graduate Student Association wants to provide students with the opportunity to increase their professional development and the chance to network within their communities.

Trey Anderson, Vice President of the Graduate Student Association, explains what this organization stands for. “Well the GSA is the voice of the graduate students essentially. It serves to increase enrollment by getting our own undergraduates here, and expanding the knowledge of graduate studies as a whole through the advantages that we have.

How to Dress for Success

You have the skills, the determination and the right communication skills to ace the interview.

Although having these components are vital in ensuring a spot in any job you want, there is one thing missing….Attire!

If you are not properly dressed for the occasion, there is no point of showing up. This may seem a little harsh, but employers will stare you down like hawks, and here’s why.

We are judged primarily on how we look rather than what we say sometimes. If a person were to walk up to you with worn down clothing, rips, holes and all, anyone would assume that they were poor. It is an unfortunate notion and we should never judge a book by its cover, but this is the perception that we have conformed to.

The same applies to the workforce. Employers will judge you if you are not properly dressed. You don’t even have to say a word, because they will automatically determine your work ethic, your lifestyle, and personality just from the clothes you wear. You may be seen as lazy, undetermined, and a slacker just for showing up with wrinkled attire.

No one wants to be perceived in a negative light, especially if you really want the job. Thankfully there is a guide on how to dress for success! Watch it here.

I thought I knew it all. I am familiar with the professional dress codes, but from watching this segment, I realized there were a few things that I was missing and maybe I won’t be the only one to realize it as well. 

The first thing that I’ve learned was that for women, professional dress with a knee-length skirt is more preferred over wearing dress pants.I thought that it didn’t matter as long as both forms of attire were professional and fit properly. I think that pant suits are just meant for men.

Another thing that I’ve learned is that there are certain materials, that professional wear should be purchased in. For dress shirts, all cotton is preferred. For suits, wool is preferred because it doesn’t wrinkle easily, it travels well and can be worn all year round!

 

Another thing that I’ve learned is that women are allowed to wear boots with their professional attire. I thought that this wasn’t allowed ad although I would stick to wearing pumps and or flats, I am now aware that wearing boots is completely fine as long as they are classic.

I have also learned that wearing olive, brown and tan colors should be avoided.

After watching the video, I’ve also learned that blouses for women are like the tie for men! I actually really enjoyed this reference because it connotes that wearing blouses are very important. I currently do not have a blouse, so with that being said, I’m on my way to the mall after this!

You have the attire down now make sure you know what to say to employers!

 

DSU students celebrate African history with ASA’s “Back to the Roots” event

By: Morgan Poole

The African Student Association (ASA) of Delaware State University hosted a “Back to the Roots” event on Thursday February 25th, in the Martin Luther King Center.

Many enthusiastic students came out to the event to commemorate African American culture

Creative Kids swarm into DSU for the First Lego League competition!

What’s plastic, comes in many colors, can be used to build anything, and hurts to step on? LEGOS.

Now- what’s intriguing, exciting, filled with hundreds of people, and also a place where creativity is put to the test? The First Lego League (FLL) held in the Martin Luther King Center at Delaware State University.

Today every kids dream turned into reality, as DSU transformed the MLK parlors into Lego land! Hundreds of faces were filled with smiles, laughter, and words of encouragement as every child, parent, and teammate cheered each other on in hopes of being crowned the FLL champions.

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Many teams filled with bright young minds put their innovations to the test by designing  robots with different counterparts that enabled them to move through an obstacle course. The objectives of the challenge were to program the robots to knock over several items in the course, pick up the pieces, and return them to their starting point. The team whose robots had the most success were rewarded the most points.

Although several teams struggled to gain more points in order to advance further in the competition, upbeat and energetic music, a huggable panda mascot, and t-shirts filled with quirky team names (such as Robotickles, The abducted Lego cows, and the MOErines) kept the positive energy in the room alive.

The one of a kind obstacle course created for the FLL competition at Delaware State University. Photo by Morgan A. Poole

 

There is no doubt that this enjoyable event brought out the kid in everyone. No wonder why it was so hard to Lego and say good bye!

 

I may be young, but I’m in LOVE!

My professor, Dr. Taylor reflects on how Jean-Luc Ponty’s song “Still in Love” helped her to discover her love for jazz music.

Listen to it here:

After listening to the upbeat and bright melody myself, I’ve also realized that I’m in love. I have discovered that I’m in love with a fulfilling, mouth-watering, and wonderful subject- and NO, I’m not referring to being in love with a guy. I’m only 19, I have plenty of time to find my own Romeo!

Unlike a relationship, I will never have to worry about this subject breaking my heart, or leaving me in the dust because it will ALWAYS be there. So what is it?

Believe it or not, I’m actually referring to food! This may sound extremely crazy, and rather foolish but just think about it.

Food is something that we ALL crave. Whether it’s a midnight snack, or  a full course meal, food is essential in our daily lives and overall state of well being.

Food helps our bodies grow. They contain thousands of vitamins that boost our growth hormones, thus contributing to our physical development.

Food gives us energy. Like vitamins, food contains hundreds of calories which supplies us with energy to carry out our daily activities.

Besides all of the science-cy stuff, food ultimately helps us to cope. Think about it.

In movies, when a girl goes through a bad break up with a guy, she’s usually devouring  a gigantic tube of ice-cream, while crying and watching sad movies like the Notebook. So, why does she choose to scuffle down a sweet treat instead of calling up her best buds? Because, eating food makes us feel better!

We’ve all had the experience of eating to take our minds off of any stressful situation. Triggering our taste buds with the foods we love, allows us to focus on something other than our problems. If you don’t find yourself a user of this delicious method, try eating something while you’re upset. I can bet that a few seconds after eating that chocolate chip cookie, you won’t even remember what the problem was because you’ll be too busy thinking about who in the world invented such a tasty treat!

Why we crave those tasty treats explained

Happy eating!

Why Scalia is so supreme. His life and legacy

Antonin Scalia is not just a Supreme Court Justice. His colorful writing, dedication to practicing originalism (strict interpretation of the constitution), and leadership of conservative ideals has led him to be very influential in the political world.

Antonin Scalia, Supreme Court Justice of the United States

Scalia is known for influencing the majority in many well known cases. In the Bush v. Gore case, Scalia voted in the 5-4 majority. In regards to the Second Amendment, Scalia also influenced the decision of the majority.

 

Scalia left behind his legacy on February 15, 2016 when he died in Texas unexpectedly. Although his death marks a major loss in political influence, his significant will be greatly missed. With his passing comes the question of who will take his place as Supreme Court Justice?

There is many controversy surrounding his future appointment. To many, replacing the works of Scalia is nearly impossible. With this in mind, many people feel as though the nation is in jeopardy. Moments after his death, Republicans and Democrats have been feuding over whether Barack Obama should have the say in who the next appointee will be or if it should be decided by the next presidential candidate.

If Obama appoints the next Supreme Court Justice, many fear that decisions could be

Scalia gained some attention for his hat during an Inauguration. The gift actually turned out to be a gift from the St.Thomas More Society of Richmond, Virginia.

shifted towards the liberals. If this happens, there could be a significant imbalance in political ideas that influence majority decisions.

 

Only time will tell. The only thing to do is keep your fingers cross, and hope that America recovers.

Obama Plans to pick Scalia’s successor.

 

The life of Scalia outside of the court-room.