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Author Archives: Rebecca H. Diaz
Posts: 10 (archived below)
Comments: 8
Writing Update
Hi Everybody!
So, I submitted my first draft early this morning and was not fully satisfied with it. There were alot of holes that need to get filled in and restructured from all of the constructive feedback that I received after my presentation on Tuesday. I have to admit, it is a bit tedious, having to go in and restructure writing from a slightly different view. But, after all of the work we’ve done throughout the semester, I know that it will only enhance my paper for the better. I guess, if you think about it, it shouldn’t be too complicated since the majority of the research is completed, its just about gluing the pieces.
Earlier today, I had the opportunity of meeting with another Baruch Professor who informed me of two Professors at Baruch with a lot of knowledge, research, and experience with the Young Lords. I really wish I would have known this earlier on, but still want to try to get in contact one of them this coming week to help me cultivate a coherent paper.
-RHD
Rebecca’s Writing Update
Hi Everyone,
Hope you all had a good Holiday weekend! 🙂
I started writing a few pages over the weekend but I know that this week is going to be super hectic, it is really going to test my time management skills to the core. At a first glance, typing up two pages in such a short amount of time seemed overwhelming and a bit discouraging, causing me to procrastinate for a few days. BUT, once I sat down with the Argument Assignment and finished up my presentation for tomorrow everything seemed a lot easier. Those two assignments served as the foundation for my outline and aided in the direction and content of my paper. It is still overwhelming because I literally have 6 other papers due this week for other classes, but this is life.
-RHD
Posted in group 4
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Research Update
I have to admit, I am still thrown off by the Hurricane and have gotten out of the loop of consistently signing on to our Blog. Nevertheless, I have been outlining and beginning my presentation for next week. On the research end, I think I have a pretty substantial amount of evidence and what not to support the analyses that I’ve made, but that does not mean that I stopped researching. My focus now is on policies and communities that continue to sustain and advocate for progression within the Puerto Rican, and broader Latin@, community with respect to the contributions of the Young Lords. I already had some research in this area but feel a need to have more substantive support for this area of my research. And, since I am a visual learner, I have been looking into more documentaries for additional insight and reflection.
Posted in group 4
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Argument Update
Hi Everyone,
I hope you and your families weren’t heavily affected by the hurricane!
So, I thought I was going on the right track but the comments that I’ve received from group members have helped to shape my research topic/argument a bit differently. I think I was going off towards a paper that I found interesting, but did not necessarily give answer to the “so what” question. I feel like group members were respectfully asking “so what” during our discussions and am grateful for that because it helped me look at my research in a completely different light.
Therefore, my argument has come to be:
The current involvement and success of the community-based organizations (CBOs) and public outlets in the New York City-Puerto Rican (Nuyorican) community are a direct result of the leadership of the Young Lords Party’s (YLP) New York Chapter at their peak. These CBOs and public outlets, that have spun out of the YLP, serve as the most significant venue by which Nuyoricans have been able to gain educational and socioeconomic mobility in NYC.
Compared to what I came up with in the past, I think that this argument encompasses the ideas and areas that I explored with the research to back it up in a more concise way. Thanks to everyone for the help! 🙂
Possible Argument
As I continue to conduct research and try to critically analyze them, I tend to fall into a leisurely reading mode, because what I am reading about interests me on multiple levels. What I am learning to do is begin to trim parts that I just find interesting and parts that can be used as research-worthy parts that will help reflect a particular image and side of Puerto Rican “Independence” in the U.S.
So, I think my argument is becoming something along the lines of:
The contribution of Organizations and Parties, like the Young Lords, have helped develop an intellectual culture of Independence among Puerto Ricans in New York. Even so, New York-Puerto Ricans have yet to put these ideals into practice to further develop and advance the Puerto Rican community.Â
Based upon the research that I have conducted and personal experience, I feel that this is an accurate picture of modern New York-Puerto Ricans, descendants of those influenced by Young Lords and other organizations of the like/time. The YLP and other organizations gave the NY-PR community the tools of Puerto Rican culture, history, and problems. The YLP and other organizations also gave them a framework around a shared set of views by which they believe Puerto Ricans on the U.S. mainland continue to be oppressed, such that these ideas continue to resonate amongst the Latino community today. As I understand it, it is not as much a matter of availability (while that is a significant part of the NY-PR struggle), but more so, it is the inability to apply the ideals, intellect, and will-power passed down from the 2 previous generations.
Posted in group 4
Tagged independence, PR, Puerto Rico, Young Lords
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Rebecca’s Research Update
Since we last met, I was able to read through the article that I had skimmed through before the citation worksheet was due. Reading through them allowed me to better understand aspects of my research topic, what Independence is (for my paper), what types of Independence I want to focus on, and which organizations I want to draw additional research from for my paper. Since commencing research, I knew that I wanted/had to look into the influence of the Black Panthers and some prominent Black leaders, but would have been unable to find local, leaders of success.
This leads me to the group conversation that we had last week. Some  of the highlights from our group conversation on my topic was (1) whether my research would focus on a specific location/region in the U.S. and (2) what leader(s) were involved, and (3) whether or not those leaders are still influential or existent in their initial field of involvement during the time of the Young Lords Party (YLP). I have chosen to focus primarily on NYC as the hub of the  YLP Independence movement.
With respect to specific leaders, I am commencing that research with leaders of education within the NYC-Puerto Rican (or Nuyorican) community. During the weeks, I will also research political and socio-economic leaders, which leaves me at a crossroad.
Q: Would it be feasible to focus on 3 forms of Independence in the US (NYC) for Puerto Ricans: education, political, and socio-economic, Or should I focus on 1 or 2 Â of them? I feel that they are interdependent but don’t want to overwhelm myself.
Rebecca’s Continued Research
Since we last met, I’ve been doing some more research on why activist groups, like the Young Lords Party (YLP), have yet to succeed in gaining independence for Puerto Rico. I’ve spent a large chunk of my time reading The Young Lords: A Reader, a compilation of documents produced by and of prominent Young Lord members and ideologies. This book has offered a great deal of help in understanding the activist era of the 1960’s and 1970’s from the Black and Puerto Rican side of society in America. This book has offered a lot of points of references for further research, not just for understanding their side, but to also find additional aspects “revolutionary standards” and variety for Puerto Rican/Latino independence.
I have also been reading into a lot of articles published through Hunter College’s Centro de Estudios Puertorriqueños (through EBSCO) to better understand the Puerto Rican conditions of the time, both in the U.S. and on the Puerto Rican mainland. The combination of conducting research with the Book, the Centro, and going over old notes from classes taken that discussed Puerto Rican culture and politics is shifting my research towards a different angle for my paper. I see myself leaning more towards the side of finding: if activist groups, like the YLP, have been able to progress the Puerto Rican people in the U.S. towards political and social independence on the U.S. mainland.
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Research Confusions
Hi Everyone!
In conducting research, I have found it most difficult to  grasp the value of research publish 10+ years ago, how long is too long ago? It has also been difficult for me to enter into finding research without prior biases, how can I find, pick, and choose research efficiently when it doesn’t personally interest me but could serve as a substantial point of reference? Also, how can you best evaluate and chose between information that is interesting and information that is useful for your research?
I think I have a pretty good grasp on evaluating proper secondary research in an academic setting, but what are ways in which we can evaluate reliable primary sources? How can we ensure that our own first-hand primary research can serve as valid and significant research?
-Rebecca
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Rebecca’s Research Journey
I figured I would get some research completed earlier this week rather than later since I will be unproductive this weekend for my 23rd Birthday on Saturday!
Since we last met, I have finalized my research topic to fall within the lines of: How the U.S.-Puerto Rico relationship has helped and hindered the Puerto Rican people(politically, socially, and economically). I intend to research the affects on both mainland Puerto Ricans and continental-U.S. Puerto Ricans (specifically New York-Puerto Ricans), any suggestions or ideas are more than welcome. One of the first pieces of research that I found was “Independence for Puerto Rico: The Only Solution”(Martinez). This document primarily goes over the political and economic relationship between Puerto Rico (P.R.) and the U.S. from the late 1800’s up until the mid 1970’s. While the information may seem dated to readers, I think it would be interesting to see if there are any drastic changes in researchers’ opinions of the need for P.R. independence from the mid-19th century v. the 21st century.
I also came across an article discussing the re-implementation of English in schools in P.R. According to the author, English is the language being used to teach Mathematics and Science, not as a second-language class (EFE). I can remember coming across other research and discussing the “English in the Classrooms” issue with family members, where a similar educational policy was put in place during the 1950’s and 1960’s where I discovered that P.R. schools were using English-only textbooks to teach students various subjects. It seems illogical to me as to how the Governor of P.R., Gov. Luis Fortuño, would implement a “pilot program” that, according to my recollection, helped facilitate the lack of educational advancement of many Puerto Ricans, leading to their inability to find and hold advanced employment positions, forcing them to become dependent upon the Puerto Rican welfare system.
The latter is my personal disposition on one aspect of the education system in P.R. and will continue to do more research to prove or disprove my conclusion.
References
Martinez, R. (1977). INDEPENDENCE FOR PUERTO RICO: THE ONLY SOLUTION. Foreign Affairs, 55(2), 561-583.
EFE. (2012, August 8). Puerto Rico Schools Embrace Bilingualism. http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/08/07/puerto-rico-schools-embrace-bilingualism/.
Introduction
I have been at Baruch since 2007 and am glad to have finally filed for February Graduation earlier today. I was born and raised in Brooklyn, which has catered my love for the Mets and Giants. In the midst of finishing up my last semester and starting a new position at my current internship site, I am also studying for the LSAT so I can, “hopefully”, get into Law School next fall. I love just about any type of music, my iPod has everything from Coldplay to Immortal Technique and Aventura to Kelly Clarkson. Lastly, my favorite animal would have to be red-tailed hawks because of the strength, development, and fidelity.
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