Selma: Personal Response

Selma Movie Poster by eastwoodsabre.com

In the film Selma, the black community is not easily allowed to vote despite the fact that voting has been a legal right to US Citizens and legal residents despite race as described in the 15^th amendment since 1870. Martin Luther King Jr. inspires the black community of Selma, Alabama, where more than 50% of the population is black and yet they are still denied their right to vote, to stand up in a non-violent protest movement with him to make the change.  After multiple deaths of blacks and whites, in the year of 1965 the Voting Rights Act was fulfilled thanks to Mr. King. I really enjoyed watching this film because it allowed me to learn in more detail about the extreme unfairness and struggle the black community had to go through to simply fulfill their natural right to vote. Although throughout the movie I saw many individuals, whom are repulsively racist and nonhuman, I also saw kind and loving people whom made me believe back again in humanity. This movement attracted many religions, races, and ethnicity to come together and support the black community despite knowing their lives would be at risk. As part of the Latino community, I myself have witnessed discrimination and I have also been involved with protests regarding the Latino and immigrant rights such as The Dream Act. These experiences strongly influence my evaluation of this film because I can strongly relate to the hurt caused by the unfairness and discrimination supported by the law itself. The law is said to protect us, but in history the law has harmed the black community and other minority groups such as Latinos and to this day the law continues to do so. I simply cannot justify under any circumstances the violent and discriminating actions of the white people shown in the film or of any one today because it is nonhuman to do such things to anybody. 

Martin Luther King Jr at the Selma march with other protesters of all races and religions- by thedailybeast.com 

Oscar Grant's Tragedy at Fruitvale Station

"Oscar Grant" by CNN



Tatiana at a "Justice for Oscar Grant" protest in 2010 by bradleyallen.net

Oscar Grant is the name of a 22 year old black man whose life was taken away after police officer Johannes Mehserle confused his fire gun with his Taser. Oscar was a husband, a son, a friend but most importantly, a father. At the time of his shooting, as he lay faced down and handcuffed on the floor, the pouring blood coming out of his mouth did not stop him from repeating to his shooter “you shot me! I have a four year old daughter!” This tragedy is a real story brought to film to captivate people’s hearts so that they can realize that Oscar did not deserve to die in such matters, but tragedies happen. Through the film you learn that even though Oscar did serve time in jail due to drugs, he was on the good path of change. His baby girl, Tatiana, was his main motivation to change for the good because he had another chance to do so. Sadly, this chance was taken away by an officer whom only served 11 months in jail while Tatiana serves a life time without a father. I believe this film aims to inform the viewer of such tragedy but to also analyze what could have been done differently to prevent it. This tragedy could have been prevented in many ways such as if the officer would of have used his Taser instead of fire gun, but many would argue that the only thing that could have saved him is if he were white. As part of the minority group I can identify that I am being biased in defending Oscar and being against the officers’ actions, but I don’t believe this was a racist action. In the film you observe the officer fall into surprise with disbelief of what he had just done. I actually believe that the officer made a mistake due to his reaction in the movie. I really liked this movie because it made me feel emotional and this showed the power of the film, although I wish it wasn’t based on a true story.

"Oscar Grant subway shooting story on film" by latimes.com

STEVIE POINTER WAS KIDNAPPED. HAVE YOU SEEN HIM? OR WILL YOU EVER SEE HIM AGAIN? by Carla Camargo, Quinke Li, & Brendon Fuller

STEVIE POINTER WAS KIDNAPPED! And you won’t believe where he was found. Knowing that he could be dead in any second, the process to find Stevie was long, frustrating and agitating. Stevie, a soul full of school spirit and happiness was last seen near the Learning Resource Center aka “The Library” on the UW-Stevens Point Campus. Stevie Pointer was not known to be in any dirty business, but a school mascot whom has no rich parents or family to pay off his rescue does not get kidnapped for no reason. The only way to find out was to find him, and to do so the most qualified detective inspectors of Wisconsin took on the dangerous act of stepping into the most powerful and deceiving place on the entire campus.

As the detectives walked into “The Library” they were instantly captivated by their surroundings, but most of all they sensed knowledge in the air and it was frightening. As they continued to explore the immense building, a random young man bumped into one of the detectives  and without giving the chance to even see his face he ran off leaving behind a piece of paper that he accidentally dropped, or did he? Detective Lee picked up the paper and she was stunt with its content. The paper was meant to be delivered to the detectives as it included major clues to find Stevie. Who was this mysterious man? It is clear he is involved with the kidnapping of Stevie, but why would he provide clues to the detectives to find his own victim?

Clue 1
The first clue led to the “current newspaper” section in the library, located in the second floor of the building. At first, because they were not familiar with the Library and its sources, the detectives had trouble finding this section. Thankfully, staff at a near desk were extremely kind to direct them. There were many newspapers in this section, but apparently the mysterious man really wanted the detectives to find Stevie as the clue was out in the open easy to find. “R” was the first clue.

Selfie by Carla: Detectives at the site of clue #1

Clue 2
Have you ever seen a shark just hanging around on top of a ceiling? Without the need to breathe but can sure take your breath away. If you would like to see one, simply visit the library’s first floor. There was the second clue, or not. Luckily, beneath the shark was a sign suggesting to check out the August J. Schonebeck bird egg collection in the museum of Natural History and find the Pacific Golden Plover egg. The clue was within the first letter of the state this bird called home, Arizona. This meant “A” was the second clue. How crazy it was for the detectives to experience a museum within a library, this was proof that the place was full of secrets and mysteries.

Selfie by Carla: Detectives at the site of clue #2

Clue 3
The detectives were confused about this step, they had no idea about where they should go and what to do. They read every detail again and again, and then they thought about questioning the people working at the information table and this helped them move on with the investigation extremely. The clue led to the book "Encyclopedia  of the Dog"  ,but they  spent a long time to find the exact page the clue was in. They ask the information table as it was instructed in the paper, and to their surprise they  got the letter they need from them. You must think these fellow librarians were involved in the kidnapping but after interrigation it was concluded that a "mysterious" man told them to give them the letter "V" after giving them that specific book.

Selfie by Carla: Detectives at the site of clue #3

Clue 4
Time was running by and so the detectives had to run to find the next clue which was in the Instructional Material Center aka the IMC on the second floor. When the detectives arrived to the IMC there was a group of people looking for the same CD the detectives needed. This was strange, but made the process quicker. Surprisingly, these people were also not involved in the kidnapping. The clue was the letter "E".

Selfie by Carla: Detectives at the site of clue #4

Clue 5
This one must be the trickiest one. On the fourth floor the detectives had been looking for the book with a call number of PN2287.C5** for about 15 minutes. They found one book with the number, and  spent a lot of time  scanning it trying to find the next clue within the book, but they found nothing. Confused, they began looking for other clues  in this area and found a clue sheet at the bottom of a book shelf leading them to the letter "C".

Selfie by Carla: Detectives at the site of clue #5

Clue 6
On the 5th floor of the building the detectives found a hostage. The paper gave the clue to find him near the "Systems of Medicine and Agriculture"section. The hostage was Stevie's best friend, he wasn't able to identify the kidnapper but he said he over heard some talking while blind folded. The kidnapper was heading to 6th floor. He also gave them the letter "H" as a clue.

Selfie by Carla: Detectives at the site of clue #6

Clue 7
This was the last clue to find. On the 6th floor, in the US goverment publications section the clue was  the first two letters of the call numbers for publications out by the Smithonian Institution. The clues were "S and I".

Selfie by Carla: Detectives at the site of clue #7

At last the highly trained detectives hadd to unscramble the words and find Stevie. After getting into the elevator, they noticed on the 5th floor was a place called "ARCHIVES" which matched the clues. They quickly headed to the Archives section. As they walked into the door, they saw him. The detectives thought the kidnappers wanted them to find him, but they were wrong. They wanted them to find his decapited head. The head resting on the top of a table stared straight at the detectives. The mystery of who kidnapped and murdered Stevie and why is still under investigation.

Selfie by Carla: Detectives with the head of Stevie. 

The Perfect Wing Eyeliner by Hannah Keckeisen, Alyssa Bethke, and Carla Camargo

Have you ever struggled to get the perfect winged eyeliner? Well fear no more! Today we will be doing a tutorial on how to perfect the cat eye for beginners! Here at Vici Beauty School we will be showing the most basic way to get a flawless look every time.

1. 

   Alyssa Bethke: Step 1 and 2

   What you’ll need: scotch tape, your choice of eyeliner (liquid, pencil, gel and gel brush), mascara (eyelash curler optional), primer optional, fake eyelashes optional. Any sort of brand of makeup will work for any of these products, including drugstore products! We would recommend using liquid eyeliner and any waterproof mascara.
2. Put scotch tape on corner of eye at angle of desired wing. I usually extend the tape to the end of my eyebrow to get the right angle. Don’t worry about peeling the tape off, I promise it doesn’t hurt.

3. 

   Alyssa Bethke: Step 3

    Open eyeliner and put proper amount of product on brush if using gel. If using liquid, wipe off the sides on the opening of the tube so you don’t use too much product. If using a pencil, make sure it is freshly sharped so you can get a nice smooth and straight line.

4. 

   Alyssa Bethke: Step 4-5

   If you decided to use liquid eyeliner open the eyeliner and brush off on the opening of the eyeliner container any unnecessary liquid eyeliner so that you keep a proper amount of liquid eyeliner on the brush. If you decided to use gel eyeliner then open the eyeliner and use an angle brush to carefully dip it in the eyeliner and make sure you have a proper amount of eyeliner on both ends of the angled brush. You do not want to have excessive eyeliner on the angled brush nor the regular brush that comes with the liquid eyeliner as this will cause clamping, smudges and for liquid eyeliner it will be harder to dry off which can also lead to smudging eyeliner on your upper eye lids. 
5. With the tip of your brush lightly pressed against your outer eye lid work your way to the inner of your eye lid. When reaching your final desired length at your outer eye lid begin detaching the brush slowly away from your skin as this will make a thinner and sharp line at the end of your eye lid, which is what this tutorial is aiming to teach you. Do not worry about getting eyeliner on to the tape as it will be removed later on in the process.       
   

What is more Beautiful than Art? .......... The Artist.

"All black Party" source: Facebook Event Page

This weekend I had the great experience of attending “colorless art showcase”. A group of talented friends planned this showcase as an event for artist of all colors to showcase their art and talents and in honor of black history month, the dress code was to wear all black. I absolutely loved being there. Walking into the house with all walls covered in drawings, paintings, pictures, portraits… Visually it was amazing. But then I thought to myself, how great the art but how greater the artists’ minds who created such beautiful work. Later on the evening, there were performances. My friend Kevin, a very talented rapper, made the party “lit!” Liz narrated to the crowd a beautiful poem in honor of African Americans. My favorite of the night was Josh Connor, who sang “into the dark”. The song was so beautiful as well as his voice, but again more beautiful is the artist. He who wrote such beautiful and meaningful lyrics, and he who dared to show how nervous he was, but most importantly he who didn’t let his nerves interrupt his lungs, heart and soul burst out his passion through his beautiful voice. My skin filled with goosebumps, I couldn’t help but to clap and scream at the end of the song. It was amazing to see the talent I am surrounded by on a daily basis. I got to appreciate the infamous talent of the young, it is obvious that they have a great future ahead. As a dancer, who every now and then paints, and constantly sings while in the shower, I have learn to admire, love and appreciate art. But this weekend I learn that without the artist, art would be non-existent. The artist’s passion and love for what they do puts the beauty in the art. 

My Digital Life

Digital dairy contents	Description	1/1/16- 2/5/16
Smart Phone-
Texts	Received	284
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Calls	Received	29
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Email	Received	45
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		1/1/16- 2/5/16
Course related work		13 hours and 17 minutes
Blogging		2 hours and 30 minutes
Functions		45 minutes
Web surfing		3 hours
Reading		3 hours and 30 minutes
TV		0
Gaming		0
Streaming Media		5 hours
Social network		2 hours and 56 minutes

The Music That Made Me.

"Music Therapy" source: dreamatico.com

Artist	Song
Sia Kate	Breath Me
Nina Simone	Four Women
Sam Smith	Lay Me Down
Jae- P	Ni de Aquí Ni de Alla ( Song in Spanish)
Jhene Aiko	Promises

Breathe Me by Sia: Helped me release my deepest inner feelings a lot of times as a freshman in High School when clinically depressed.

Four Women by Nina Simone: I was going through a few family problems and I really saw myself as one of the four women been described in the song. Having the opportunity to dance this song on a stage allowed me to release my anger and let the situation go.

Lay Me Down by Sam Smith: Describes my emotions in going through the process of having to leave my parents and my boyfriend in D.C to come to college in WI.

Ni de Aqui Ni de Alla by Jae-P: A Mexican song I identify myself with as I admitted this country as an immigrant and I have experienced obstacles, however I stay motivated to succeed.

Promises by Jhene Aiko: Allowed me to understand that even though I was moving 868 miles away, I was never going to leave my mom in heart and that my transition was for the best.

 These songs have a lot of meaning to me because during different experiences throughout my life they have helped me feel stronger about the situation. My playlist says I am a person who has been through a quite much; however I am still standing strong.  My choices allowed me to realize that even though these songs are very important to me they can never introduce who I truly am, rather pieces of whom I’ve been and what has built me today. My playlist portray my connection with something larger, my connection with life goals and success. The songs above portray that even through bad times I will follow my main goal of making my mom proud and to succeed. Life goals can be different for everyone, but in my songs you will see that I am a strong believer of love power as motivation to reach any goals.