A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words…
and this following picture would be worth several more positive words once I figure out how to get the photographer to take that annoying watermark out!
Read about my evening at Al Gore’s presentation HERE.
Calle Ocho!
It’s been a long time since I’ve been on a field trip.
But today, for my Latin American Politics and History class under Professor Krift we closed our textbooks and decided to experience Latin America up close and personal by going there.
Well, not really. But we did the best we could without passports and with only an hour long drive from Boca Raton.
Calle Ocho, filled with rich history, great tasting food and lively music is highly representative of Latin America. The extraordinarily high concentration of Cuban-Americans itself is a testament to the high sense of community and nourishment that Latinos everywhere share.
Taking a walk though Domino Park I noticed how Cuban politics dominate the conversations as the residents seem to be submerged in their respective games and discussions without the slightest regards to the passing of time.
There was no more space to sit and play dominos at this park
Several blocks east of Domino Park, Dr. Krift took us to El Credito Cigar Factory where we witnessed several Cubans hard at work as they were preparing several tobacco leaves for the production of Cigars.
A Cigar-roller with his Chaveta (tool used to cut tobacco leaves)
After the cigar factory, the whole class was able to walk past the Walkway of the Stars which is comparable to the Walk of Fame found in Hollywood commemorating past and present celebrities. The difference with today’s walkway was that the celebrity names that were engraved at this street were those of Latin American personalities and public figures.
THALIA- musician and actress in several well-known telenovelas
Cristina- A contemporary and prominent television host. Watch out Oprah!
We also managed to pass through a Cuban grocery store.
Little Sweet Bananas- Try to find these at Greenwise in Boca Raton, you can't!
After the grocery store, I was delighted to see a memorial with an apparent eternal flame that commemorates the Bay of Pigs Invasion of April 17th,1961. The invasion itself was one of the first challenges and failures of the Kennedy Administration since the original objective of the invasion was to have CIA trained Cuban-exiles overthrow the Fidel Castro government. Complicated with rising tensions stemming from the Soviet Union and with a possible WWIII down the line, the pressure was on to handle already fragile U.S-Cuban relations.
A note sent to President Kennedy read "Thanks for the Bay of Pigs. Before the invasion, the revolution was weak. Now it's stronger than ever."-signed by el Che Guevara.
On a much lighter note, the class finished off the evening at Versailles Cuban Restaurant. Professor Krift made an excellent choice as the whole class seemed to enjoy the spectacular food along with the tempting desserts found next door at the bakery. I myself indulged in a steak dinner called Bistec de Palomilla while Dr. Krift enjoyed the Famoso Pollo Versailles even after ordering a side of fried Yucas which everybody at the table seemed to devour up completely.
I will post the group pictures online as soon as I get them sent to me- just so my readers could understand just how big the class really was. With such a big group, it was nice to see everybody more or less travel along together through Calle Ocho.
But like my Cuban friend always says, “Que Bola!”
Till next time,
JD
Al Gore @ Mizner
This weekend, it has been a real pleasure to meet the former Vice President of the United States, Al Gore.
Since leaving office, Al Gore has spearheaded a global environmental movement, pushed for proactive eco-friendly legislation and has earned a Nobel Peace Prize to commemorate all of his hard work.
The great environmentalist has his fair share of opposition, however.
And that opposition, stemming mostly from right-wing ideologies, had a strong presence this weekend. And depending who you ask, the size of that particular crowd varied; if you ask Fox News they will tell you about the thousands of protestors whereas if you ask the organizers of the event they will say that the numbers grew just under 100. If you ask me, I will tell you that there was more than a few of them. Just by reading their signs, I got a sense that their arguments revolved around the idea that Al Gore is making a bigger deal than necessary regarding the detrimental effects induced by mankind upon global warming; stating that all environmental changes are just part of a ‘natural progression’. Other signs included your average attacks towards the Left including a call for a smaller government, less taxes and better support for our troops overseas.
I have said it before on my blog that I would never endorse any political ideology directly. But I just can’t imagine talking about that evening at Mizner without mentioning the protesters- it would not be representative otherwise. After all, they were loud and our First Amendment protected their presence, although their megaphones and horns were taken away by the police! The amphitheater itself is set up in a way that even if you do not have tickets for a venue, you can still hear what is happening behind the gates. The protesters were standing on public property, which was allowed. They could not, however, go directly inside the amphitheatre- which is considered private
There is no doubt in my mind that Al Gore himself noticed the protesters. In fact, there were some points during his speech that the protests where louder than his own amplified voice. Nevertheless, Mr. Gore continued to deliver a strong presentation and let the world know about the current initiatives for a greener planet. Perhaps the only reference he made to the angry townspeople outside was when he articulated that “Instead of shouting and yelling, we must use the power of strong reason to affect positive change in our environment.”
As strongly as I accepted Al Gore’s challenge to be part of the next generation that will find the solution to our some of our world most pressing problems (i.e. overpopulation), I have to admit that I believe that I admired some of the protestors that stood up all day long and voiced their opinions. I believe that some opposition to any policy issue is a healthy component of a democratic state. I always said that if there was no opposition to anybody, then a government will naturally propagate itself to the far Left or Right side of the political spectrum and that is unhealthy regardless of the circumstances.
As I was getting ready to take a picture with Al Gore, I briefly asked him how he plans to maneuver past so much heavy opposition in the future, against some arguments with more or less substance than others. He simply looked at me in the eyes and replied:
“I am just gonna have to keep on working”
I guess none of us can’t stop working! ( At anything, for that matter)
I will be posting more pictures soon,-Till Then,
JD
Big Lu at the Honors Conference
My group and I just got back from Washington DC today after a week full of presentations and seminars. Not only did we all successfully present a diverse number of projects to other honor students and faculty from across the country, but we also attended a series of seminars from which we learned from other colleges on how to develop a proactive and intellectually-stimulating honors program at our own university.
I highly encourage ambitious underclassman here at Lynn to submit a proposal for next year’s NCHC conference which will be held at Kansas City. It would be great to see a continued presence of Lynn at these conferences, and it is an effective method to have any ideas or projects to gain exposure out in the academic community. At the conference I saw other students present ideas on how to solve our global population’s most pressing problems, such as energy and environmental dilemmas that challenge humanity to arrive at a consensus without advancing any detrimental effects on Mother Earth.
For example, our own science department at Lynn through their own research explored the question to see how safe commercial cough syrups really are.
"A New Method for the Detection of the Toxic Diethylene Glycol Contaminant in Cough Syrups"-with Katrina Jiskrova and Dr. Villa on the right
As far as my own presentation, I performed Richard Clayderman’s Ballade Pour Adeline along with my classmate Timea Varga who danced along beautifully to the music.
Tomorrow I will blog about the other presentations from my group, as soon as I get their pictures…..by the way I never realized how much I kept my hands in my pockets as I speak- which is a bad thing! At least now I know!
Honors Conference Part One
At just a couple blocks away from the Smithsonian Museum and our Nation’s Treasury Department, I am here blogging from my blackberry making good use of Starbuck’s free wireless internet access.
So far, the conference has been enriching and it is a pleasure to hear my fellow classmates from Lynn present their hard work to hundreds of other honor students and professors from around the country.
Well the wireless card from my laptop broke and apparently the Grand Hyatt charges a hefty fee for their wireless internet, which is why I am here blogging from my blackberry at Starbucks! Therefore, it’s hard to go in depth and talk about our experiences at the conference thus far. Too bad for me though that I could not use that excuse for the big presentation I was about to miss this past Tuesday from my
Communication Law class, which is why I had to call a friend from DC and ask if he could bring his laptop which had a webcam so I could deliver my presentation through Skype-but hey, it all worked beautiful and it felt like I was back at Lynn for that class!
Anyways, I have a number of posts and pictures that I am planning on sharing with the Lynn community. I have a couple stories as well-like how we almost missed our flight away from Florida since there has been a miscommunication on the lynn van which missed the memo of taking us to the airport, nevertheless as Lynn honor students we showed decisive action at 5:30 on Tuesday morning and quickly jumped on a cab-all seven of us including luggage-and made it just on time!
More to come…..
Gearing up for the Next Congressional Race
Today I attended a Greater Boca Raton Democratic Club meeting at Boca Pointe. Today’s meeting was especially exciting on account that Congressman Wexler will retire from his position thus leaving an open seat in Congress. There were two democrats present today who are looking forward to compete for that open seat. Current State Senator Ted Deutch and Former Broward Commissioner Dr. Ben Graber each presented compelling reasons on why they are running for Congress and why they think their experience best propels them to meet the demands presented to a United States Congressman.
It should be noted that Congress’s current disapproval rating is among the highest its ever been for a very long time- probably because of all of the heavy partisan bickering and lack of effective legislation getting passed when the American’s need it the most.
Nevertheless, Senator Deutch acknowledged this dire trend and promised to induce transparency and proactive legislation if elected. During the Q&A, I threw him a couple questions on Free Trade- an issue that Democrats are known to be particularly tough on. This question came as a curve ball to the Senator because most of the questions that night where concerning health care (for obvious reasons). But even if I did not get a full, comprehensive answer that I was looking for- I did agree to his position on treating any foreign policy issues through a bi-partisan manner.
Senator Ted Deutch
I sincerely wish both candidates the best, and I am sure that South Florida will begin to see a very enriching and competitive campaign in the coming months. By the way I urge Lynn students to contact any candidate’s office and get involved with their respective campaigns. A lot of help will be needed- and remember that there is no better way to truly comprehend the relevant issues facing our community and nation today than to participate in civic engagement.
Yours,
JD
In a State of Fortitude
Although I was not able to stay for the entire duration of the speech, I was thrilled to hear about the bold direction of Lynn during today’s State of the University Address delivered by our President Kevin Ross.
What really resonated with me about the overall tone of his speech today was how much Lynn has grown since my freshman year as President Ross first accepted his duties to oversee the overall dynamics of our great university. And to think that neither my graduating class nor President Ross had in mind four years ago as we began our tenure that our nation would plunge into economic uncertainty, nevertheless our ambitious goals and strategic plans to ensure prosperity into the future have not since yet deterred. I believe that as a community, we collectively faced our economic challenges and:
1) Established the groundwork for a world-class arts performing center
2) Realized the construction for a new tennis complex
3) Attained an NCAA national championship (yet another one)
4) Achieved record fundraising for community service projects (IE. Relay for Life, Food for the Poor)
5) Implemented an innovative Dialogues of Learning curriculum
6) Offered diverse J-term opportunities that span various fields of interests and passions
The list can go on indefinitely but what is important to understand is that by having such a high concentration of unparalleled achievements as a private institution despite a recession should serve as a predicament to future achievements and bold initiatives. Lynn’s involvement with the GI bill and the ambitious Lynn 3.0 degree tailored towards our most daring students are just two examples of how we are moving forward as an institution and responding to evolving challenges presented to us in the new millennium.
I can’t wait to come back as an alumni in the year 2020 and witness the fruit of today’s labor.
Till Next Time- come back next week to read about my musical and foreign policy research presentations at our nations capital!
JD
I think, therefore, I am
Today as I was walking towards my environmental class the morning air was filled with the song of birds.
This beautiful harmony of music was soon halted by an obnoxious truck horn from a nearby Pepsi delivery.
I looked at our lakes and it reminded me of the Dead Sea from Europe famed for its ultra-high salinity.
Only to find out while after about the alarming rate at which it is receding to a point of nothingness.
And on top of all that we are shooting rockets at our moon.
Contrary to French mathematician Rene Descartes‘ famed supposition: We think we may not be inducing irreversible damage to Mother Earth, but maybe we are.
JD
How To Add Value to your Lynn Degree…Part 1
I have been meaning to initiate a series of posts to my blog that encompass my thoughts on how my fellow classmates could get their tuition’s (money) worth as they work towards a bachelor’s degree here at Lynn. After all,if not the students themselves, somebody is paying thousands on top of thousands of dollars in order to attain a college degree, so why not actually get the most out of your investment? College may come and go but the social, professional and intellectual foundations you make can only be built once. Being a student at Lynn gives you an even greater chance to work on those foundations. This is how:
1) Improve/Start Something: It is proven time and time again that Lynn welcomes leadership. As a young, thriving institution the students are given an immense opportunity to influence the college experience of the next generation of Lynn students. And for those new clubs that have been started in the past, see if you can join those and A) expand membership or B) extend its recognition in the community. Chances are, the wheel has all ready been invented for you-just be sure to ride it well into the future. There is even a budget allocated by Student Government for those bright ideas for whatever reasons.
2) Become a Scholar: That’s right- why not? Just because this is not the Northeast ( with all the ivies) that does not mean that as a student you can not do research into scientific developments into renewable energy, engineer a health care plan that every politician and citizens can agree on or publish that next Nobel-prize winning literary novel. My ideas may be a little extravagant, but the idea here is that with such an unparalleled exposure to our distinguished faculty here at Lynn and stellar academic resources available through our own library, thriving in an academic field should be attainable.
3) Explore Beyond Lynn- We are one of the few institutions in America with such geographical advantages that allow us to interact with the world. With that international pipeline, every single student at Lynn is well prepared to engage in a society that is becoming more and more globalized every year. As a student body, we can even look among ourselves for global reach as 1/4 of us are foreign-born. South Florida itself is viewed nationally as a gateway for Latin American commerce, so wake up and smell the Colombian Coffee! All you have to do is connect the dots. But even if you are not internationally inclined, South Florida is a hotbed for civic engagement and innovative business. So in other words, when you are done with the necessary proactive reform at Lynn, start to see if you can make a difference in the community around you (or at least get a job off-campus!).
I would like to reiterate that this list is by no means exhaustive or comprehensive. But then again, this is only part 1! Till then-stay involved, do your (home)work, and leave campus every once and a while!
Yours,
JD