College Admissions for Dreamers

My heart sank today when the Senate failed to pass the Dream Act. Like many people, it seems unbelievable that political maneuvering got in the way of this extremely urgent issue.

Because I've worked with undocumented students for a few years now, I can offer some advice to undocumented students who are hoping to go to college.  While it's not easy, it's not impossible.

Tips for Undocumented Students

1) It is not illegal for undocumented students to go to college in the United States. Each individual institution has a policy on how to handle students who are undocumented. Some will not accept them, hands down, while others treat undocumented as foreign students.  There are no federal or state laws about not admitting undocumented students.  Call the admissions offices of the colleges you are interested in and ask them about their policies on undocumented students.  Some colleges even provide scholarships for undocumented students.

2) While undocumented students can't qualify for federal or state financial aid programs, there are several private scholarship foundations that do not take citizenship into consideration when picking award recipients.  The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund has a terrific list of scholarships for students of Latino descent here: http://www.maldef.org/leadership/scholarships/resources/index.html

Many other organizations have private scholarships for different ethnicities and nationalities as well. Do your research.

3) In ten states in the country undocumented students qualify for instate tuition at state schools. In New York, for example, a student needs to only show that they have graduated from a high school in New York state to qualify for in-state tuition at the SUNY and CUNY school.  The ten states are New York, California, Texas, New Mexico, Utah, Oklahoma, Illinois, Nebraska, and Kansas

Apply for scholarships, apply for college.  Hopefully today's decision by the Senate will inspire more private donors to create scholarships for undocumented students. If you need more advice, feel free to contact me.

Digital Nativity

This was sent to me this morning :)  Funny Stuff!!

Something a little lighter..

For all of you Model UNers (and former Model UNers) out there. This video is pretty hilarious

An American Tragedy

Mark Madoff, son of Bernie Madoff, committed suicide this past Saturday night.  This story has popped up here and there in the media since then, but I can't get my mind off of it.

My Aunt Ruth has often told me that committing suicide is the biggest "F*ck You" someone can say to their loved ones.  People who decide to take their life do so for a variety of reasons, but the reasons are ultimately selfish. Mark Madoff had a wife and kids, and likely a lot of other people in his life.  Suicide creates a ripple effect-- it essentially takes the pain and chaos that one person is experiencing and transfers it onto an enormous amount of other people.  So while he was saying F*ck you to his father, he also said it to his wife and children and everyone else who loved him, and everyone who loves them, and everyone who has been effected by suicide.

Suicide is never, ever the right answer to a person's problems.  Anyone who accepts a line of reasoning behind this decision contributes to a justification of suicide, which in essence is an irrational act.  It doesn't matter that he was Bernie Madoff's son. This fact does not justify the act.  Countless other people live through situations that are just as painful (although likely a lot less publicized). It also was not Bernie Madoff's fault. He may be guilty of many things, but a person's decision to take his or her life is ultimately his or her own decision.

 It also saddens me that many major "suicide" associations have not come forward to say anything about this suicide.  Typically when a celebrity commits suicide, organizations (such as American Foundation to Prevent Suicide) will post notes on their Facebook and Twitter accounts to recognize and commemorate the person, and send their thoughts to the people effected. As I click through the Twitter accounts of several suicide prevention networks, I can't help but notice the absence of comments about Mark Madoff.

With that, my thoughts go out to the Madoff family.

Lame Duck Dreams

Next week, the lame duck Congress will vote on passing the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act (or DreamAct).  If passed, the DreamAct will provide people who illegally entered the United States before age 16 with a path to citizenship.  In order to qualify, a person must graduate from high school or attain a GED, and then either enroll at a four-year institution of higher learning or volunteer to serve in the military for two years.

When most people think about the DreamAct, they think of it as an immigration issue (which it is).  The first thing I think about is its educational impact.  I have worked with under-served high school students in New York City for the last three-and-a-half years. The most challenging college-admissions related problem I have faced so far is dealing with undocumented students.  There are many talented and bright undocumented students living throughout the country who did not make the choice to come to the United States but now have established lives here.  Undocumented students cannot legally receive any  federally-funded student financial aid, including loans, grants, scholarships, and work-study programs. Most private scholarships also require that recipients be citizens as well.

 This problem has people in the college-access community stumped.  I have attended several education conferences, and this topic is continually addressed. It seems like at each conference a counselor tells a story about a dynamic and motivated student who has no real options for his or her educational future.  I have my own story too--I work with an undocumented female student who recently graduated from Washington Irving High School. The student's mother sent her to the United States from Guyana when she was much younger because of an abusive situation at home. She has not seen her mother since she left the Guyana. By her senior year she discovered she would not be able to get any financial assistance to go to college because of her illegal status.  Because she lives with a family that requires her to babysit to earn her "keep," she was unable to participate in many extracurricular and social activities during high school. Despite these obstacles, she is making the best of her situation and making her life in the United States work anyway she can.  She has enrolled at a community college and is taking classes, and getting paid under the table  to pay for it. 

To top it all off, this girl is a sweetheart.  She has made it her personal mission to help other struggling students at WIHS make their way to graduation and to college.  She meets with students daily to check on their progress and identifies students that should be set up with mentors.  Her work ethic and her character make me confident in her ability to thrive at a four year institution.    Right now, it is unclear what will happen to her after she is done with her studies at the community college.  Returning to Guyana would be devastating.  Her life is here.  Further, the expectations and rights of women in Guyana are far different than those in the United States.  For her sake, I wish the DreamAct had been passed a long time ago.

She is not a rare case-- all over the country, young and motivated students face this challenge.   In some areas of the country, the problem much is worse. In New York (and in nine other states), undocumented students can at least can qualify for in-state tuition.  In other states, public universities charge undocumented students out-of-state tuition.  In a world where college costs are rapidly increasing, this leaves many bright students in a very bad spot. The DreamAct would make undocumented students eligible for federal financial aid and in-state tuition.

 US Immigration policy is far from perfect, but the DreamACT is one step in the right direction.  There is still a lot of work to be done, but children should not be held responsible for their parents' illegal activities.  Many students came here at such a young age that they consider the United States their home. I'm still hoping for the best, and I know thousands of undocumented students are too.

 _________________________________________________________________________________

When I've discussed the DreamAct with friends, I have noticed that there is a lot of confusion and misconceptions about what the act entails. I've listed some information and links below for your benefit:

1) Children must have arrived to the United States before age 16 and have lived here for five years.   Its not just anyone who has lived here for five years.  These are children who came here through no choice of their own.  At the time of it's enactment, people applying for a path to citizenship through the DreamAct must be under 30 years old.

2) The act does not provide citizenship, but does provide a path to citizenship.  Students are granted legal residency status for six years. Within those six years, a person must complete four years at an institution of higher learning or spend two years serving in the military (and must receive an honorable discharge upon the two years completion).

3) They must have a "Good Moral Character." This means that rights given by the DreamAct can also be taken away.



For More Information on the Dream Act

•  http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/12/dream_act_fact_sheet.html
•  http://www.economist.com/node/17575113
• http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703572404575635202343271966.html?mod=wsj_share_twitter
• http://www.micevhill.com/home_december_2010.php#significant_changes_made_in_senate_to_dream_act
•  http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/state/colin-powell-endorses-military-service-as-road-to-927357.html
• http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/01/us/politics/01immig.html?_r=2&ref=education

What Does America Produce?

While I was in California visiting my brother on his show ControlTV, we took a tour of the Los Angeles area. During our tour, a few comments were made about what America 'produces' for the rest of the world.  One producer argued that the US no longer produces the vast amount of tangible products that it used to-- a lot of that responsibility has been delegated to countries with massive populations like China, Indonesia, and India.  The conversation turned to the idea that American entertainment was one of the last things the the United States produces for the rest of the world--and even Bollywood is threatening to usurp the popularity of Hollywood--Bollywood services the 1.2 billion people in India. There are only 300 million people in the US.

Initially, the conversation saddened me. It seemed to fit in with the media's apocalyptic forecasts of the United State's future.  One of the most noticeable and prominent "products" America provides to the International community is Entertainment.  My brother is a burgeoning starlet. I should be happy. 

I think anyone would agree that they want to be part of a society that they believe has some sort of higher value beyond reality shows.  We are operating in a huge deficit, where our debt is owned by Japan and China.  Factory jobs have disappeared.  So, are we making anything? What do we have to show for ourselves?

After some reflection and research, I have discovered that the this line of thinking (that America does not produce much beyond entertainment) is categorically incorrect.  Hollywood is not the only major 'thing' being produced by America for the rest of the world. The United States is exporting more products than it ever has in the past.  The illusion that we are no longer on top is created by the fact that most of product manufacturing has been mechanized.  The more machines we have, the less people we need.  Therefore we begin to believe that manufacturing in the US has subsided.

To this day, the United States still has the largest manufacturing output of any country in the world.  A quick Wikipedia search tells me that "The United States is the world's largest manufacturer, with a 2007 industrial output of US$2.69 trillion. In 2008, its manufacturing output was greater than that of the manufacturing output of China, India, and Brazil combined, despite manufacturing being a very small portion of the entire US economy as compared to most other countries." Our agribusiness is huge-- we control half of the world's grain exports.

Additionally, the US's Medical and Technological innovations surpass every developed country.These ideas are exported throughout the world in the form of medicine for people with a host of illnesses, aerospace technology, and let's not forget--social networking websites.

Another important point--even though the United States delegated a lot of its production to other countries, the products are still inherently American.  For example, Ralph Lauren produces its clothing in China, but Ralph Lauren is an American company.   The fact that products are made elsewhere does not mean we don't have claim to take credit for the brand.  There is no doubt that people around the world gravitate towards American clothing brands.

It is important to not confuse production with lack of jobs, trade deficits, and  recessions.  In terms of making "stuff", we are still leading the way.  We don't exist only for entertainment's sake. 

More Reading:
An interesting article on perceptions of the US in Europe:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124534162608828017.html

How Real is Reality Televison?--By Josh Couvares

** This is a guest post from my brother Josh.  This article was first published in October in The Harbinger, Manchester High School's student newspaper.  Josh is 17 and a Senior at Manchester High School and the Forum Editor for the paper.  These are his opinions, and not necessarily mine!**

 

(Josh)

Today's networks are dominated by reality television.  Some families are even willing to create elaborate hoaxes about their six year old child in a hot air balloon just to be on a reality television show.  But is reality television really as real as the viewers may think it is?

Most people would agree that it certainly doesn't realistically portray the rather dull and monotonous life that many of us feel we lead on a day to day basis.  If the average person went to live in a house with seven strangers for several months, such as they do on they do on MTV's "the Real World," there probably wouldn't be too much excitement.

Ray Richmond, television critic for the Hollywood Reporter, in a comment about "The Real World," stated, "While 'The Real World' isn't fully scripted, participates have maintained that there was meddling by producers--denied by all involved -- to stir the pot and ratchet up soapy conflict."  This only proves our suspicions about reality shows.  Someone must be tampering with them because actual people don't actually act like the ones on some reality shows.

J. Rupert Thompson, the director and producer of "Big Brother" and "Fear Factor" among others, also believes that there is something very unreal in reality shows.  "Certainly, reality TV is a very manipulated format where the basis of it that real people are put into unreal situations to create a story," Thompson explained.

My brother recently told me he was going to e on a reality show and I couldn't help but feel like he was making a big mistake.  I was afraid that he might be manipulated and worked into a frenzy in order to make the show more dramatic, or that the show may give an unrealistic portrayal of his character.  Luckily, this revolutionary show that he is the subject of, ControlTV , is nothing like any other reality show ever before.  It may be the most real reality show.

On October 6th ControlTV created a brand new type of reality show that innovated the reality show genre and made it more realistic than ever before.  On other reality shows, the audience may wonder what is happening off camera that they cannot see.  However, there is no such concern about ControlTV.  Unlike other show before it, where the contents of a week are edited down to half an hour, putting the editors in charge of showing what they want to show, this show is streamed live from the Internet 24 hours a day focusing on the life of one subject.  The subject of ControlTV is Manchester High School alumnus, and my brother, Tristan Couvares.  Because the show is streamed live every second of the day, except for the times it is experiencing technical difficulties, it gives a very realistic portray of the life of the subject, Tristan.  There is no suspicion of producers meddling with his life because the audience can observe what is going on all the time.


What also makes this unique is that the audience can vote on aspects of Tristan's life.  For example, the first vote on the show on the morning of October 6th was "How should we wake up Tristan?"  The audience the voted from the three choices, crowning "Mariachi Band" as the winner. Then, and actual Mariachi Band entered Tristan's apartment and started playing.

There are down sides to this brand new show.  A majority of the time viewers will find themselves watching Tristan doing mundane day to day activities, such as eating or sleeping.  Nothing will make someone feel creepier than watching a man on the Internet sleeping.  Also, Tristan is not allowed to go anywhere without a camera crew, which impedes his daily activities. Many time he cannot leave the house because the camera crew is unable to go with him.


Despite the bad qualities that the show possesses, it certainly is a very ambitious undertaking.  For better or for worse, reality television will mark a new age of reality shows.  Finally there will be actual "real" reality television, even to the point of monotony. For anyone who wished to see the show themselves, please visit www.controltv.com.

Control

In the past week after ControlTV announced that my brother would be its star, I have been Googling and Twitter searching this topic obsessively.  Tristan Couvares will be the focal point of an online social experiment where he'll be on air for the majority of the day and the audience will make his decisions for him (i.e., what he should eat, who he should date, what he should wear, etc).  A lot of people think that the idea is crazy.  They are afraid for my brother and think this is utterly foolish. They could never imagine being told what to do.  It's just horrific, right?  When my brother called me recently, he asked me on a scale of 1-10 how crazy he was.  I gave him a 6.7, he gave himself a 9.5.

I think both my brother's concerns and people's concerns in general about being controlled are a bit overly dramatic.  When you think about it, most of our lives are controlled in someway or another already.  We are controlled by our jobs, our family obligations and our basic needs.  Most of us do not consider on a daily basis how many decisions are already made for us.  Even those of us with out any "real" obligations (ie, those of us who are old enough to be living on our own and still young enough to  have no real responsibility-- or "20-somethings") are still held hostage by our fundamental needs.  In America, we treasure the illusion of freedom.  Everyday I get up and go to work.  I work until around 5:30 or later, and I come home.  A lot of people do this and more.  If I don't do this, I can't pay my rent, I can't pay my student loans back, and I can't eat.  There is very little choice in the matter of whether or not to go to work (at least on most  days).  There is not that much choice in what I eat or wear (it really depends on whats clean and what I have in the fridge). These daily choices are really not the existential crisis that some critics are making it out to be.

Just as I made a choice to take the job I have now (and made the choice to go to college, accumulate debt, and live in New York City), Tristan has voluntarily signed on to this social experiment.  He placed himself in this framework.  The difference between me and him, though, is that my daily choices are assumed and I don't really critically think about them.  His "choices" will be more obviously be more pronounced.  These major choices we make (our jobs, our relationships, etc.) dictate what we end up not actively choosing on a daily basis.


 Tristan is certainly no stranger to life events that are beyond his control.  In fact, his experiences have probably made him more willing to take control of his own life than most of us are willing to do.  Yes, he'll have to do what the audience tells him for six weeks, but this isn't like he is entering into some sort of indentured servitude similar what they have in present day Pakistan and India or accidentally find himself the midst of a rape frenzy in the Congo.   Anyone can read the news any day and find hundreds of examples of people with far less choices and control in life than Tristan.  Many people do not have the same liberties we have, and I think it's important that we remember that.  You'll be able to chose who he dates and what he eats, not whether or not he lives or dies. 

Go here to see a short video of Tristan:

http://news.tubefilter.tv/2010/10/05/qa-seth-green-on-his-24-hour-live-interactive-reality-experiment-controltv/

My Brother is Seth Green's Next Pet Project

.

(Tristan)

For better or for worse, my brothers and I lead charmed lives.  We've all been in very unique situations--both good and bad.  This time it is my brother Tristan's turn to have something unique happen to him: He's been selected to play the role of the protagonist in Seth Green's new interactive reality experiment "ControlTV."  It is a show that allows the audience to control my brother's every decision for six weeks.  He will be 'on air' for eighteen hours a day, seven days a week.  The show will stream on the Internet.

(Me and Tristan)

My brother has never had any aspirations to be an actor.  He's never strived to be in the spotlight, which is something especially unusual for someone living in Los Angeles.  His friend convinced him to try out for the show, and by chance (or likely because of his charisma and good-looks) he's been selected as the protagonist for this experimental show that Seth Green has cooked up.  He turned 25 a few days ago and has been living in Los Angeles for about two years now.  I try to persuade him on a regular basis that New York City is the better place to live of the two cities, especially because he's always wanted to go into finance.  It was extremely difficult for him to decide to take this opportunity. We spent hours going back and forth with eachother evaluating the nitty-gritty pros and cons.

(Josh and Tristan)

It will be an interesting road ahead for him and I'm eager to see him walk it.  I just hope he can stay sane.  I can't imagine what it would be like to be filmed eighteen hours a day, seven days a week, for six weeks--and not even be able to make decisions for myself.  I suspect he'll be just fine, though.  Tristan has never been an automaton and won't take orders lying down.  He can be very persuasive when he wants to be.  I'm confident that his efficacious personality will bend the audience's will to his own desires. It's so exciting to hear about his photo shoots, the famous people he's meeting, and the places he's being interviewed.  I have been on pins and needles all week anxiously awaiting his phone calls and gchat messages to hear his latest updates.

I think what I am more excited about than anything (dork that I am) is that this experiment could be studied for years to come by media scholars.  Audiences and media producers alike have long been fascinated by the idea of total invasion of someone's life.  For the first time we will get to see  "EdTV" or "Truman Show" in practice, not just in theory. Will the audience be engaged? Will my brother crack?  Will media start shifting to web-based content rather than television viewing?   Is interactive media viewing the way of the future? Will this start a new era of reality telivision?

These are just some questions that come to my mind.  We'll just have to wait and see...

Links (I will post more as they become available):

http://blog.moviefone.com/2010/09/27/the-truman-show-becomes-real-thanks-to-seth-green/

http://javazero.com/the-truman-show-becomes-real-thanks-to-seth-green/

http://amazon.imdb.com/news/ni4582363/

...Teaser!

Sorry everyone! I will repost today's blog post next week! Thanks for your understanding and stay tuned.

WIHS Students are AWESOME: Sobeida Peralta

 I'm taking a little hiatus from writing for the week (the school year has started, so I have been pretty busy), but I wanted to highlight another phenomenal WIHS Student.  Sobeida Peralta was recently named ESPN's Rise Above Student Athlete of 2010.

I am so proud of how far she has come.  Check out this video and the article that was written about her. 

Click here to see the video


Click here to read the article

I  met Sobeida when she joined Washington Irving High School's Mock Trial team her freshman year.  Sobeida's determination became quickly apparent as became the team's star lawyer almost immediately.  She became my mentee during her sophomore year.  As you can probably gather from the video, Sobeida is a very busy lady so we have not been able to meet on a regular  basis since her sophomore year, but she still stops by to see me and some lawyers at Cleary from time to time, and she plans to take our SAT crash course we offer through the month of October.  I am very excited to get to spend a few weekends with her soon.

 I got the opportunity to bring Sobeida to Cambridge during the Spring of her sophomore year to look at her dream school (Harvard).  It was a trip I'll never forget, and I hope it gave her a vision to go along with her dream.  (Perhaps I'll save the story about our trip for another blog post.)

Congratulations Sobeida! You are amazing and you inspire the people around you on a daily basis.

How do We Teach about Park 51?

I am looking forward to my first Model United Nations (MUN) Team meeting with my students today.  As a former United States History teacher and a current MUN coach, I am often faced with the dilemma of presenting a politically or socially charged issue to students and at the same time trying to keep my opinion out of it so they can arrive at their own conclusions.

It's not always easy to do this; I taught the Civil War in a West Philadelphia school.  The entire student body was black.  It was difficult to convince some of the students that I, at that time a 22-year-old white female from the Connecticut suburbs and straight out of the bubble of Boston College, had any authority on the issue.  Some students felt that it was not right for ME to be teaching about such a racially charged historical issue.  It was a great lesson in how important it is to handle these topics delicately.

The group of students I work with now are older and much more diverse, so I am not as worried about them questioning my identity in relation to bringing up the issue of Park 51.  However, I do question my ability to keep my opinions and biases out of this issue.  It is important for the students to come to their own conclusions about the controversy.  I imagine that most history, civics and government teachers face similar dilemmas on a daily basis.

Starting today and over the next few weeks, I will use this curriculum to guide the MUN students through  thinking about Park 51.  It will be a great warm up activity for thinking critically about other issues they will examine through out the year.  At the end of the day, I think it is most appropriate to teach a curriculum that promotes a "multi-cultural/coexistence" approach.  This is especially true for student living in New York City, one of the most diverse cities in the world.  Further, one of the main points of the MUN club is to give students the tools they need to understand controversial issues from an array of perspectives.

I will do my best to teach this subject, but I worry about the rest of the country as the school year starts.  The content of history text books is usually determined by the Texas State Board of Education (Texas is the largest purchaser of history text books, so often whatever they determine should be in texts books is what the rest of the country typically gets).  Now Texas starting to think about the way they teach Islam.  Texas' Board of Education is known for being socially conservative, so I worry about how they will chose to present this information.  Educators (especially those teaching history, civics and government) have a responsibility to show all sides of an issues.  I hope Texas will handle this issue appropriately, but I have my doubts given their previous record.

September 11, 2010

This is my favorite picture from today.

I did not really know what to expect to see at today's September 11th events.  I knew there would be a protest, but I was unsure about how big it would be or if it would draw violence from either side of the Park51 controversy.  I was certainly a little sad that the protestors decided to protest today.  It took away from what today is really supposed to be about.  On September 11, 2001 New Yorkers and Americans all over the country came together as one and supported each other.  This September 11th was about a country divided.  It was sad.

The protests themselves were a bit anticlimatic.  Far more people were a out last night for Fashion Week's "Fashion's Night Out" a little further up West Broadway than turned up for the protests.  You would never guess this though with the immense amount of media coverage given to the demonstrations.

Below I've posted some pictures from today. Unfortunately, because of a lot of strict security in the financial district this morning, I was not able to get a lot of photos of the commemoration service in Zuccotti Park. Please read below the photos for captions!

Photo 1

A painting near Zuccotti Park

Photo 2

View of Zuccotti Park from Cross Broadway

Picture 3

One theme that ran throughout the day was the confusion of who stood for what.  In this picture, the gentleman in the  center of the photo was speaking out against the Ko'ran.  The EDL seemed to have mistakenly taken him as a pro-Mosque advocate...


Photo 4

Back of an EDL person's shirt.


Photo 5

There are so many things wrong with this sign (spelling, grammar, idea)


Photo 6 

 Rally location, 12:00 PM


Photo 7

Rally location, 2:30 PM



Photo 8

More Rally


Photo 9

 
(speaks for itself.)



Picture 10

Another section of rally space that wasn't filled at the beginning.  It got filled later with more tea-partiers and many Mosque supporters later.



Picture 11

Rally


Picture 12

Rally


Picture 13

Picture 14

A Muslim man speaking to an anti-Mosque protester.


Picture 15

Rally


Picture 16

Picture 17

 Picture 18

Picture 19

Photos of Ground Zero and the Surrounding Neighborhood, September 10 2010

Around midday, I stepped out to snap a few photos of Ground Zero and the sorrounding area.  I want to give my readers a better idea of what the neighborhood looks like both before and during tomorrow's commemoration events--so please return tomorrow for more photos!

Photo 1

This picture is taken directly outside of my apartment building, looking onto Ground Zero in the background.

Photo 2

Taken at the corner of Liberty Street and Greenwich Street.  This is where the FDNY is located, as well as the tribute memorial to 9/11.

Photo 3

A view of Ground Zero

Photo 4

Zucotti Park.  Every year they hold the Commemoration Service here.  Taken from the steps of my office building.

Photo 5

Picture of pedestrian traffic at Courtland and Church Streets, right across from Ground Zero.

Photo 6

Another view of Ground Zero

Photo 7

At the corner of Park Place and West Broadway (Park 51 is located on Park Place)

Photo 8

Two Police Officers standing in front of Park51.

Photo 9

Park 51 is the first stoop you see, located next to the Dakota Road House

Photo 10

Park 51

Photo 11

Parking garage across the street from Park 51

Photo 12

Standing in front of the parking garage, looking at Park 51.

Photo 13

View of the remainder of the street (Park Place)

Photo 14

Corner of Park Place and Church Street

Photo 15

This photo was taken from the corner of Ground Zero that is the closest to Park51.  The white arrow points to Park Place.  Park 51, or the "Ground Zero Mosque" is down this street.  As you probably noted from the previous pictures, you cannot see Park51 from Ground Zero, and similarly, you cannot see Ground Zero from the Park 51.

Photo 16

This, however, is what you see directly across the street from Ground Zero.

The Golden Rule?

Since I last wrote, tensions have climbed around the building of the Islamic Community Center, Park 51, or the Ground Zero Mosque. Over the past week, another issue has developed: A religious group in Florida plans to burn Qu’rans in protest of the building of Park 51. Some politicians, like Sarah Palin, have come up with the following argument: If it is within our First Amendment Rights to build a Mosque near Ground Zero, does that mean it’s also acceptable for the group who is burning Qu’rans to do so? Or conversely, if it shouldn’t be right to do one thing, it should not be right to do the other (by application of the ‘golden rule.’)

So the question remains: beyond having the right to build at 51 Park Place, is it a good idea? Is burning Qu’rans is definitively wrong if people also have a ‘right’ to do that?

Under the American Constitution, there is both a ‘right’ to build the Mosque, and there is also a ‘right’ to burn Qu’rans. The Constitutionality of these issues remains undisputed. Our conversation must address the idea of responsible behavior.

Actions can be morally wrong if they put innocent parties in a precarious situation. It is profoundly irresponsible to hold a “Burn a Koran Day” on September 11th, particularly by a religious leader advocating for the truth of Christianity. An act like this buttresses the extremist voices within Islam. It is an act of hatred of one group of human beings towards another and fuels the fires of extremism and irrationality on both sides. It puts everyone in a more precarious situation. For the sake of the American soldiers in Iraq (like the one I have been writing back and forth with), these acts are plainly irresponsible.

However, building a community center a few blocks away from Ground Zero is not comparable to an act designed expressly to inflame tensions. The community center aims to promote religious tolerance. It will help revitalize a neighborhood in need of revitalization. This is not acting irresponsibly or irrationally. It does not put others in harms way. Worse yet, moving the location of the potential Islamic Community Center would validate claims of Islamic extremists that the West systematically persecutes Muslims.

"Taste" and Park51

September 11th is right around the corner.  As someone who lives two short blocks away from Ground Zero and whose office building sits directly across the street from the site, this day means that tourists will clog my neighborhood, memorial services will close some streets down, and a general somberness will fill the air.  This will be my fourth September 11th in the Financial District, and it will be my first time sharing it with protesters.

Park 51, The Cordoba House, or the “Ground Zero Mosque” has brought international attention to my neighborhood.  There is an event planned for September 11th to protest its construction.  My friends and family are divided on the issue of whether or not Park 51 should be built.  Those who disagree with the building of the Mosque usually tell me that although the group has the right to build, it is in poor “taste” to do so.  It’s not just my friend’s and family--the idea of “taste” has entered the vocabulary of the media as well.  

What exactly is “taste”?  Taste is what I talk about when picking out patterns and colors of my bedding.  On the show Project Runway, taste comes into play when judges talk about their personal preferences and prejudices.  When talking about charged political and social issues, taste is a word people invoke to reify their own personal prejudices.  As a philosophy major, I know I can’t use the “taste” argument in any meaningful sense.  Taste caters to feelings, and not to an answer of what is right and wrong.

Let’s take a look at when Taste has been used as an argument in through American history:

• In a New York Times Article “Matter of Taste” written on May 3, 1908, the article states: “We regret to notice the disposition of our Southern Contemporaries to grow hysterical over the recent miscegenation banquet of the “Greater New York Cosmopolitan Society.”  Of course, the whole affair was eminently disgusting, but really it does not concern the South in the least.  It is a matter of Northern taste, though taste most offensive to the very instinct of every man and woman who has a right to be recognized as white, and not a Caucasian degenerate and pariah .”
• In another New York Times Article “Critises Jane Adams” written on August 21, 1912, Charles W. Eliot, then the President of Harvard University said, “Women have no proper share in a political convention.  Never before in our history as a Democratic Nation have we gone so far as to permit women to nominate a candidate for President.  Miss Addams received a great deal of popular acclaim when she seconded Mr. Roosevelt’s nomination. It was a very spectacular proceeding, but it was in very bad taste.  I also understand Col. Roosevelt had the bad taste to publicly compliment her on her action and thank her.”
• In Chicago Tribute article written on June 5, 1920 entitled “Ready To Picket Coliseum: This Debate on Women Pickets is Quite Spicy- "Bad Manners" Vs. "They Can't Think." Leola Allard writes “"Bad manners" and "poor taste" are only two of the things the women taking part in convention preparations said of Alice Paul and her picketing plans.”

And now, of course, what Park 51 is trying to achieve is also “poor taste” according to several commentators, family and friends.   All of these issues are charged with prejudice and demonizing the ‘other’.  What is more scary about this is when the constant media attention about Muslims and their “tastes” filter into our everyday lives, some people start to believe that there is something inherently wrong with being Muslim. There isn’t. I have already seen this misconception materialize in some of my students’ Facebook status updates.  The “taste” argument slides sloppily into prejudice.

Over the last three years, I worked with a student named Hassan through the Model United Nations Program at his high school.  We often practiced on days off during the school year because we could get more accomplished those days.  When practice was on a Friday, Hassan could not easily come to our law office because his closest place of worship was far away.  If Park 51 existed while a Hassan was a student, this problem would have been remedied.

Hassan is Muslim.  He was born in Pakistan and moved here when he was twelve.  He is one of the most tolerant and accepting people I have met.  He’s had coaches from Israel and India that he got along with phenomenally.  He is now attending a Catholic college, and working as an intern in the Financial District.  He has an impeccable record--he was salutatorian of his class, served as police commissioner for a day, and was generally in charge of running most community events at his high school.  He is not an extremist Muslim, and the acts of the terrorists certainly had nothing to do with him.  This is true of the overwhelming majority of Muslims living in the United States  and throughout the world (see this graphic).  Why should someone like Hassan be told that he can’t have a conveniently located place to worship because a small group of radicals that happened to be part of his religion did something ridiculous?  For those of us who are religiously affiliated, nearly all major world religions have histories of violence and hatred. For example, if you are a Christian, would you like to be told that a church couldn't be built in any of the places the Klu Klux Klan performed lynchings?

I do know this: America was founded on the values of freedom, equality and tolerance.  Tastes change, but these values do not.    These values hold up regardless of tastefulness.  Can we live up to those values?  I hope so. The Ground Zero Mosque controversy at the end of the day gets at the same issues that have plagued the America since its inception. 

Some Sort of Spanglish: The Internet and 20-Somethings

One common generational misunderstanding (and widely discussed topic) of 20-Somethings is the Internet. To state the obvious: The Internet changed everything. Technology is second nature to us. The older generation is trying to learn a new language that we are already fluent in. This causes a lot of inter-generational confusion and misunderstanding.

In the book “Born Digital,” John Palfrey and Urs Gasser take a close look at “Digital Natives,” or people born after 1980, natives to the digital world. They argue that post 1980 generation relates to the world in completely different ways. For example, often times our generation meets online before meeting in person. When I moved into college, initial meetings with future roommates and classmates occured online. We used instant message and examined each other's profiles on our college's directory of people. I even met my boyfriend online before I met him in real life—my cousin introduced us via a Facebook message one day to tell me her friend was moving from Pittsburgh to New York City and encouraged us to ‘friend’ each other on Facebook. The rest is history.

Our identities are completely tied up in the way we portray ourselves online. Most of us have social networking profiles. For many of us, these profiles are the image we wish to project to the world. We chose to show certain pictures and share information as we see fit. This is our ultimate way of expressing ourselves to the world. Our online presence is crucially related to how we perceive ourselves, and how others perceive us.

I would like to take Palfrey and Gasser’s point on being ‘fluent’ in the digital world one step further by saying that 20-somethings have a particular advantage: We learned technology at a young enough age to be “fluent”, but we also had sometime to understand the ‘analog’ or offline world through our early experiences simply because we did not come out of the womb and onto computers. We were born on a cusp. This gives us a leg up--we are able to relate to both worlds --the one of our even more saavy younger brothers and sisters, and our parents’ world. It's a lot like speaking Spanglish--a hybrid language in which people fluent in both Spanish and English switch back and forth between the languages without realizing they are doing it. Our online and offline lives are interchangeable and hardly distinguishable--we'll often get invitations online for "real world" things (like a birthday party), and then take photos at the event, meet new people. The next day, we can solidify our new relationships by connecting with these people online, and we can post pictures of the event. I would suspect that these social interactions are a bit befuddling to most 50-somethings, yet not completely incomprehensible to the more astute.

This is especially advantageous for the more entrepreneurial 20-Somethings. Our ability to connect the online and offline world will be benefit us and others economically and socially. It certainly worked out well for Mark Zuckerberg. A social entrepreneur can do a lot online (such as fundraising , researching, planning), that can make a huge tangible difference in the offline world (like bringing fresh water to countries in need--Google “Charity Water”). As the world continues to develop and more people throughout the world are introduced to the global network of the Internet, we’ll be able to be mediators between old and new.

The Internet has also changed the lives of 20-somethings is the world of work. Jobs have been rendered obsolete because of the Internet-- people can now easily do their taxes online, communication is easier, research is easier. Jobs are being replaced by a few clicks of the mouse. The Internet saves an abundance of resources too (teleconferencing instead of face to face meetings, email instead of snail-mail, Google instead of researching in the Library). Unfortunately, one of these resources is man-power. Many 20-somethings need to keep ahead of the curve and must learn to adapt to the job market at a breakneck speed to keep up with the rapidly changing job market.  We are forced to be more transient than ever before as we move between jobs (that is if we're lucky enough to find one).  Unlike our parents, most of us won't be able to stay in one job for 35 years. In fact, for many of us, it wouldn't be wise to do so. We are required to wear many hats in order to remain employable. We must go wherever someone will pay us.  This makes it more difficult to have any stable commitments (a spouse, a mortgage, a child). Of course these things are not impossible to achieve, but we do face a lot more barriers to making commitments than people did 30 years ago.

Some of this change is good, some of it’s scary, some of it will make us nostalgic. It certainly has helped to change the standards of adulthood (which I'll address in another post). But regardless of all this--the World is moving forward at a rapid pace, and 20-somethings have the daunting task of mediating between the old and the new. Don't worry, we are taking care of it.

The Next Generation

"I'm Bao"

I was hoping to write another post shortly about the Internet and the 20-somethings generation, but in the mean time, my friend Alexa encouraged me to share a story with you about my trip to Wellesley, Massachusetts yesterday to move one of the students I work with into college.

I met Bao a couple of years ago when she joined the Model United Nations program at her high school. This program is one of my favorite parts about my job: they meet once a week at Cleary throughout the school year to prepare for conferences around the country. They are coached by our attorneys and paralegals, and by a fabulous teacher at the high school. Bao is one of those “naturally-smart” people. When she joined Model UN her intelligence became quickly apparent through her ability to form sophisticated opinions on world issues with incredible ease. She quickly became one of the leading members on the team. I got to know her during these two years at practice and when she traveled with the team to New Hampshire, Virginia, and California. In California, the other team members started to imitate her proud way of announcing herself to people by saying "I'm BAO!" For the remainder of the trip, both the coaches and the students announced "I'm Bao!" at random moments.


Bao moved to the United States from Vietnam with her mom, dad, and three brothers and two sisters when she was three years old. At age six, her mother passed away after a fight with cancer, leaving her father-- a garbage collector who does not speak English--to raise six children. Bao is a champion though--despite all of this, she graduated as the Validictorian of her class at Washington Irving High School and killed the SATs. She got into Wellesley College, arguably the most prestigious women's college in the country that boasts alums like Hillary Clinton and Madeline Albright, with a full scholarship of $54,000 a year (tuition, room and board).

I am so elated with Bao's success--if anyone deserved it, it is her. After Bao graduated, she came to visit me and my coworker Ryan at work. When I asked her about when and how she was moving into college, she informed me that she hadn't really thought about it--she would most likely take the Chinatown Bus from New York City to Boston, and then figure out from there how to get to Wellesley. Realizing how difficult this would be for her (Wellesley is nearly in the middle of the woods) I offered to see if I could find a car to help her with the move-in. Unlike many students starting their college experiences, Bao only has a couple of friends that are moving away from home for college.


My college roommate, Jackie, came to the rescue and let me borrow her car. I woke up at 4:45 AM on Monday morning after sleeping over at Jackie's apartment in New Jersey. After fidgeting with Jackie's GPS and familiarizing myself with her car, I drove to Queens to pickup Bao and her father for the trip to Wellesley. Bao had spent the entire night awake—she had just gotten home from her first return trip to Vietnam at 11:45 PM. She and her sister stayed up through the night to pack her belongings. When I arrived, Bao's brothers, sisters and father helped her load the car with her belongings.

We were on the road by 6:30 AM and arrived to Wellesley by 9:45 AM. During the first half of the ride, I spoke with Bao about her experience in Vietnam. She said that since she moved to the United States little had changed in the village where she was born from what she and her sisters remembered. There were a few more cars, but that was it. Most people drive motorcycles around (one easy way to beat the heat). She also enjoyed getting to know her mother's sister and her cousins. One night soon before she left, she said she saw her mother's ghost after an argument with her sister. She said this had a profound effect on her. She saw it as a sign of the importance of always getting along with her family members. Her mother would not have appeared to her otherwise. We talked about the Vietnam War and her father's involvement in it as a General (and his six years in re-education camp). Her family was originally from North Vietnam but moved to the South at the beginning of the war. Years after the war, she was born in South Vietnam. Because her father helped out the American forces, her family was among the first granted visas to the United States after the war.

When we arrived at the school, we unloaded her belongings and parked the car. Her roommate had already arrived as well. Bao's roommate grew up two towns away from Wellesley, but had just spent the year between high school and college as an au pair in France. Both of her parents and younger brother were there to help her with the move in. Her parents looked slightly alarmed when Bao did a thorough inspection of the room for bedbugs and other pest-like life forms, and then brought up the topic of where to hide valuable belongings in the event of a break-in. The two girls decided on who would have which bed, desk, bookshelf, closet and bureaus. The view from their room is gorgeous--it looks out on Wellesley's famous lake. They decided to put their desks next to each other so they would both be able to look out of the window while studying. They also agreed they would attend the President's Welcome together later in the afternoon once her father and I left.

After unpacking her belongings, attending a luncheon and an information fair, it was time for me and Bao's father to head back to New York City. While she was walking us back to the car, Bao confessed her concern about making friends and fitting in. I assured her that all the new students were feeling similarly. I told her about my first time meeting my college roommates. Now eight years later, I am going to be the Maid of Honor of one of their (Jackie’s) weddings. I told her that she probably could never anticipate the people she would meet and the things that would happen to her in the upcoming year. I also reminded her of how many people loved her at home, and how her quirky personality would help people warm up to her as it always had in the past. Everyone likes happy people.

Her dad and I drove home from Wellesley in silence (there was a language barrier). I dropped him off at their apartment in Queens around 7:30, drove back to Jersey to drop off Jackie's car. After spending a few minutes in Jackie's apartment, she drove me to the train so I could go back to Manhattan. I arrived to Penn Station into a sea of people, got on the 1 train, and rode home.

A Spirit of Volunteerism and Responsibility

Hello again Everyone! I’ve decided that instead of writing out one very long article (or rewriting my first post), I would address my points in installments. I am doing this because 1) I have a full time job that needs to get done and a lot of personal responsibilities. I simply don't have time to write longer pieces in one sitting and, 2) I would like to keep you entertained and interested.



When I first discussed my blog with my mother, she brought up a valid point about her generation. She expressed her concern that my generation is not protesting the war in Iraq the same way her generation protested the war in Vietnam. Many people in our parents’ generation see us as a lazy and apathetic bunch that is more concerned with self-searching and seeking pleasure than starting our adult lives. I remember when I was getting ready to graduate from college with a degree in philosophy, my mother feared that I would leave the US and spend my life meditating on a mountain in Tibet.


There are a few things that our parents' generation does not understand about our generation. The first is that we have the benefit of the Internet. We can express our ideas, annoyances and feelings through a forum that can reach to the ends of the earth. This is far more effective than protesting. We form groups on Facebook, respond to message boards and quickly send around emails. Just because you can’t physically see us ranting and raving outside (like the tea partiers) does not mean we are apathetic and unaware (it was our enormous turnout at the polls, in fact, that got Barack Obama elected).


The second thing I want to bring up: The 20-something generation volunteers in enormous numbers. In fact, many of us (myself included) have dedicated our careers and lives to making the world a better place. Last year, 17% of Harvard’s graduating class applied to Teach for America. My friend Melissa Korn wrote the following article for the Wall Street Journal: "Brother, Can You Spare Some Time?" last November. (Kudos to my 20-something friend and former coworker Kathleen for being the first person profiled in this article). As the article states “the rate of volunteerism among those 20 to 24 increased by nearly half between 1989 and 2005, to 18.7%. Among those age 25 to 34, the participation rate climbed to 23.4% from 20.2%.” I would guess that is has grown even more in the last five years.

When I attend volunteering events, the older generation is noticeably absent. 20-somethings realize that they have arrived into a less-than-perfect world and do not want to be the generation that keeps the status quo. In fact, we simply cannot. We are burdened with a huge sense of responsibility to the world around us. I get upset when my parent's generation sees our volunteering as some sort of trivial floundering around and delaying of life, or as Robin Marantz Henig put it in her article, "meandering." You had kids--that was your responsibility. And to the women of the 50-somethings generation--you got jobs and laid the groundwork for women in the workplace. Thank you for that. For many of us, our equivalent responsibility for our 20s decade is making the world a bit better. I know that when I graduated from college, I remember feeling morally obligated to forge a career path that wouldn't necessarily make me a lot of money, but that would better the world around me. That is why I ultimately decided to do Teach for America upon graduating. In her article Henig uses Teach for America as an example of one way in which we 20-somethings "forestall" our adult lives. I'm sure anyone who has ever been a part of TFA finds this to be one big slap in the face: being in charge of a classroom full of under served students is one of the most difficult responsibilities someone can take on.


This sense of responsibility is also part of the reason why law firms have dramatically grown their Pro Bono departments in the last 12 years--among other things, they realize that if they want to recruit the top law students, they had better have opportunities for the students to give back to their world. Our generation feels compelled to do this. The current economy, environmental policies, education system, and medical system are simply not sustainable.

So, maybe we are not well represented at political rallies. Maybe we’re not protesting the war as much as the generations before us did. But we aren't apathetic: we are actually out there DOING something to make a practical, tangible difference. A lot of us are doing it every single day with a lot of blood, sweat and tears.  Sometimes this comes with sacrificing a big pay check, and therefore a slower pay off of our student loans and ultimately delaying our personal lives. Is that so bad though? Someone’s gotta take care of this mess. The 50-somethings certainly are not. I don’t want my children to enter adulthood into the same environment that I did. As an adult, I know that it would be irresponsible.


PS: I encourage my 20-something readers to send me a note and let me know what they are doing to change the world around them. You can contact me at maurya.couvares@gmail.com.



PPS: After composing this blog post, I found this article that very eloquently touches on a lot of what I said in this post. Check it out.

Happy Friday and stay tuned.