First-Year Seminar 2017 – DFA

Month: September 2017

Blog Post #1 (Academic)

On Thursday September 14, a few of my peers and I went to a small art gallery in Chinatown. The only reason why we went is because our English professor required us to. There is a piece on exhibit that is by American poet, writer and visual artist Bernadette Mayer. In English we are looking at her creative nonfiction pieces to help us write a creative nonfiction essay of our own.

When we walked into the exhibit, we saw two benches and a wall full of pictures. We also heard a voice coming from speakers on opposite ends of the room. Since none of us has been to a small art gallery before, we were not aware that we were supposed to grab a pamphlet from the front desk that explains what the piece was about. We eventually figured out that the pictures were snapshots from her life, like an old school Instagram. The voice from the speakers was Mayer reading one of her writing pieces. It was an interesting gallery. My first experience at a small art gallery was a pleasant one.

Going to this art gallery helped me understand what we are supposed to do in English. However, more importantly, going with a group of people from my English class helped us create a bond. Although everyone showed up at different times and we were all over the place, it was really fun. After the gallery, we walked a few blocks over to little Italy and took part in the feast of San Geranno. I believe that if you want to get accustomed to a new place, you have to make new friends. College is no different. Making new friends made the transition between high school and college much easier. Going on this little trip really assisted me in my first semester at Baruch.

Destinee’s Blog #1

 

One day our English teacher told us to go visit this art gallery on 333 Broome street. Before she told us to do so I never visited an art gallery before. I’ve only been to museums on those days when I was younger when either my summer camp, elementary school, or middle school took everyone. Those were the days. Even though we would always get tired of going to the Museum of Natural History every year.

I decided to go to the art museum with my friend from my old school that has been wanting to go to a museum for a while now as well as a girl from a school by my house. They picked me up from work on 57th street and Lexington Ave. From there we took the 6 train to Spring street. At first, I didn’t know the exact address of the gallery. It was either 133 Broome street or 333 Broome street. If the first address we went to was incorrect then I guess we would’ve had to do extra traveling.

Thankfully, the first address we went to was the correct one (333 Broome Street). The doors said “CANADA”. My English teacher tried to tell us that this gallery was suppose to make us feel like we were in Canada. When we walked through the doors all I saw was a white wall and heard a voice talking out of a speaker I couldn’t even see. As we walked further into the art gallery, all we saw was a room with a bunch of regular sized pictures neatly set up. That honestly made me mad because I was thinking an art gallery would’ve been bigger and better than what I saw.

We looked around at the photos on the wall and didn’t know the meaning behind it really. I decided to take pictures to prove that I actually went to the gallery just in case. I guess the gallery was a good background for those.

Blog #1

On Friday evening, September 15, I went to the Rubin Museum of Art with a fellow freshman from Baruch. We went because she had to go as part of an assignment from her art teacher. The Rubin Museum of Art is currently showcasing a multi story collection of cultural relics from Hindu and Buddhist religions. As well as having these numerous relics on display they have included cultural experiences one would experience when practicing these religions such as accurate and realistic mockups of what would be a room of worship complete with sounds and lighting.  My favorite part of the visit was being able to see the many different tapestries and solid good relics that filled the exhibits. My particular favorite was a worship bell encased in a wooden case. You can go every Friday till 10pm for free, other days you must pay admission. I mad the mistake of showing up at 9:45 so I really didn’t have the time to enjoy and take in the experience and what was there to the fullest so I think I will head back before the exhibit is replaced.

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Welcome to ‘Chit Chat’

Baruch College welcomes new students! As nice as that may be, it’s never really that simple to acclimate yourself into a new community, well it never has been for me. And despite being in an environment that feels much more responsible and mature than that of high school. The cliques remain.

Welcome to Chit Chat! A group whose main goal is to ‘dispel the exclusive nature of Baruch Hallways’. And honestly I didn’t know what it meant what I first heard it but I’ll do my best to explain.

As I said before, even though Baruch is a much more mature environment than a high school, there are still cliques, and certain clubs seek out only people of certain qualities, may they be certain personalities, career goals, ethnicities, or even levels of talent (groups or clubs that you have to audition for). Not to say that this is bad in every case. (You wouldn’t want someone who can’t act joining the school musical.)

No, it’s more that, sometimes there are people that don’t fit any of these categories, and they end up being left out of everything.

Chit Chat seeks to rectify that! They create a Haven where literally anyone can come and belong, where anyone can come and have their voice heard completely without judgement and/or ridicule.

This year the theme is productive fun, you can have fun while improving yourself and furthering your career goals. They have events such as speed meet, LinkedIn photo shoot, underrepresented major panel and much more.

As far as I could gather from the first meeting there are no unrealistic obligations, or any at all to be honest, Chit Chat is a totally chill and relaxed space where you can be yourself and nothing other than yourself. They want their members to understand that being who you are, is the only way you can be truly successful.

 

Student Life Blog #1

One day while on the way to Baruch, I saw a poster on the wall advertising the “Museum of Sex.”  At first it was no big deal but then my girlfriend also mentioned the museum and asked me if I wanted to go.  I thought about it and in the end I thought it would be a fun and definitely unique experience.  The museum is also very close to Baruch, only being about 5-6 blocks away from Newman Vertical Campus.  We had decided to go on a Friday because she has no class and it is right after my Freshman Seminar class.  The museum is not cheap, being $20 for admission, $18.50 for students, and $3 to jump on inflatable boobs.  When we went to look at the exhibit, the things we saw were what you could say “interesting.”  There were very strange things that we saw such as old time devices for fornication, how animals get down and dirty, and some downright disturbing images and videos of the “it”.  After, my girlfriend went to go jump on the boobies.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t jump on the boobies because I did not have a government ID but I highly suggest taking a jump when visiting.  I recommend coming to the Museum of Sex if you want to experience something you have never seen before.  There are many things that I definitely learned that I know many others will be able to learn.  There is even a gift shop for those who are looking for a little spicy action!  If I could go again, I definitely would but this time with an ID.

Blog #1- NABA

  As a freshman at Baruch, I feel one way to make the process of adjustment easier is getting involved with clubs and groups that are interesting in your perspective. One of the clubs that I began looking into was NABA, or the National Association of Black Accountants and recently attended their introduction meeting. My first impressions on the club was that its members are committed and success-driven in the work they do and events held towards the development of the club. Also, after listening to each group member speak about what it is that they do, I felt all around it was a productive and pleasant atmosphere to be a part of. I felt that they were relatable and easy to understand by not only what they said but how they said it. One interesting aspect about this club is the exposure to a vast network of alumni and professionals that have experienced and gone through fields you have interests in. As my intended major is Business Finance, I feel that if I chose to join NABA, I would be able to learn and experience real world situations, and having such an opportunity would only better prepare me for challenges I may face in the future. To be a part of NABA, allows you to gain opportunities and knowledge that many others in the field of Business may not have access to and this particular knowledge may be the deciding factor between two resumes. Furthermore, I realized that these particular opportunities may be presented in any club or activity you choose to be a part. If I realized anything walking away from the introduction meeting, it would be to remember that there are always people in the Baruch community willing to help and push you forward, you just have to open yourself up to the opportunity.