Thanks to the COM352 students for contributing a bunch of new pages! I'll be moving these pages into the main area of the wiki soon.

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[edit] Introducing the King

Tylynch is tall: at least twice the height of this average white girl. On the surface he hates English, but his writing displays an obvious pleasure at playing with words. Tylynch is quiet, polite, and a bit flirtatious. His smarts are kept on the down-low, but given some respect he'll show off just enough to make sure you're not sleeping.

Steph^(talk) 23:45, 12 December 2007 (EST)

[edit] The King's Introduction of adc92388

Big Fish Enjoys The Little Bowl

[edit] Conversation between Tyrell and Author

Tyrell: Why did you write this essay?

Winterson: With judicious direction from the heavens I was predestined to do so!

Tyrell: Ok. Well, it seems like art is an important part of your life, could you tell us about some artwork in your home?

Winterson: I have various pieces throughout my dwellings, mostly malodorous cattle scrotum and largely rank whale placentas, as these are the true paradigm of brilliance!

Tyrell: What is the reason behind your thirst for art? And how does art make you feel?

Winterson: It is all utterly elementary. Art is God, and God is Art! There is nothing else. I have discovered through belatedly-broken impasse that our sole purpose here on earth is to stand in front of pictures and stare at them for hours.

Tyrell: I too appreciate art, but you didn’t answer the second part of my previous question?

Winterson: Oh! I am sorry I could not hear you because of the maddening shriek of that baby.

Tyrell: What baby?! We’re the only ones in the room!

Winterson: My apologies sir.

Tyrell: Let’s move on. Why are you so close-minded in your article? You write as if art is the only important thing in life.

Winterson: I never thought I was close-minded. But I totally agree with you, art is the only thing that is important.

Tyrell: Have you ever thought that you could be more versatile in your approach?

Winterson: Not really.

Tyrell: Well, do you realize that if you were more versatile in your writing approach that you might attract a larger proportion of readers?

Winterson: Excellent point! But I am not one to accept constructive criticism.

Tyrell: Well, with an attitude like that you are going to offend many people.

Winterson: So be it! I need none of that foul deviant monstrosity known as man. All I need is Art!

Tyrell: This is getting a little weird; maybe you have a few screws loose.

Winterson: Yes, yes Screw Loose was a wonderful 20th century sculpture collection compiled of scrap metal from a steel plant. I have seven to be exact.

Tyrell: Please take no offense when I say this, but life isn’t about just artwork. Have you ever been interested in theatrical arts or art through music?

Winterson: No, not to my recollection.

Tyrell: For someone who is regarded as being widely knowledgeable about art, your total ignorance and disregard for the other elements of art is shameful. You can honestly sit here and say that you’ve never listened to one Mozart’s symphonies or seen a Shakespeare play?

Winterson: Never heard of them.

Tyrell: I will never get through to you! This conversation was sparked in hopes of enlightening you on your aggressive and close minded writing style. I feel as if I’m wasting my time.

Winterson: So you have a conflict with my views towards art?

Tyrell: No. Not necessarily your views but your VIEW. You don’t talk about anything else, and you write assuming that your entire audience has an artistic background, loves art, and understands all of the ridiculously difficult words you use.

Winterson: Ok that is fair enough. I’m glad you could get that off your chest.

Tyrell: Whooooo!!!! (Wiping brow in exhaustion) Thank you.

Winterson: Your frustration is warranted. I understand how you feel, but if I might ask; how would you have written the essay? Since you have such an immense divergence about my writing style, please be my guest and convey exactly how you would go about it

Tyrell: Well, first I would have thought about my audience. I would have assumed that everyone reading isn’t an art historian. Secondly, I would have written to inform and not influence. And finally, I wouldn’t use words that aren’t common in the most regal vernacular.

Winterson: That actually makes a lot of sense. I’m so tired of acting like a pompous aristocrat! (Weeping uncontrollably) See the thing about my vocabulary is that I was put on punishment for six months as a child, for running away from home for a week at the local art museum. During my tenure locked away in my room, my only source of entertainment was Webster’s Dictionary.

Tyrell: Astonishing! Well it seems like we have made some progress in this discussion. I feel a lot better about picking up another art essay (smiling jokingly).

[edit] Pay for Play

Should Student-Athletes Get Paid?

In the wonderful world of sports there is an ongoing and steadfast argument of whether or not college athletes should receive pay for their play. These arguments are directed mostly toward basketball and football, being that both sports bring in most of the money into the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Some believe that the strenuous training regiments and athletic displays are deserving of some category of stipend. Others feel as though paying amateur athletes would corrupt what some people view as a pure and innocent state of affairs.

Jon Scherner, the assistant sports editor for the University of Dayton’s Flyer News, does not agree with athletes receiving pay. His argument that only “Major programs have financial means to pay the athletes and still afford to keep all of their programs running smoothly.” (Scherner) In theory, this is an equitable argument. Schools with larger athletic programs would have more aid as a result smaller schools with subordinate programs would be at a disadvantage. Ultimately, this would eliminate many athletic programs in the smaller schools. He also stated that, “The integrity of the games needs to be maintained and paying these players would negatively affect that integrity. It would change the game and make it more of a business.” (Scherner) What Mr. Scherner is elucidating is that college athletes should play for the love of the game and not try to profit off the fruits of their own labor, but to let it signify their passion for their sport.

William Geoghegan, also a sports editor for the Flyer News, took an antagonistic approach to Scherner’s dispute. He feels as though athletes should be paid indubitably. He states that “While the NCAA and its member schools make millions, even billions of dollars in TV revenues, clothing deals, and advertising contracts, the very athletes that the organization promotes can barely scrape by. Simply put, athletes are making the money or at least allowing the NCAA to make their money, yet they receive nothing in return.” (Geoghegan) Geoghegan, in essence, feels that there is no reason the NCAA should receive money and the athlete who brings in the money shouldn’t. He also states that “Yes, there is some mystique surrounding amateur athletes because the fact that they play for the love of the game is a romantic notion to some fans. Still, exceptions must be made because the injustice of the current system far outweighs this idealistic concept.” (Geoghegan). To sum this up Mr. Geoghegan feels that the overall regressive nature of the NCAA nullifies any perception of amateur contribution.

In my opinion as a student-athlete I believe that collegiate athletes should receive financial benefits for what is in the vein of a full time job. While athletes do receive scholarships, they only compensate for tuition. There are many other expenses that a scholarship does not recompense. I also believe that it is morally erroneous for an established and very well rewarded organization such as the NCAA to figuratively “pimp” athletes for currency. With little to no time for employment and no legitimate means for a source of income, the NCAA is hanging their athletes out to dry.

In conclusion should college athletes get paid to play? Of course-it’s a no-brainer! There is an entirely ridiculous amount of money being spread around to everyone except for the actual breadwinner! So the question that should really be posed is when is the student-athlete going to receive his/her cut? How the athletes feel:

Many college athletes’ families are struggling economically. Ninety-four percent of student athletes come from low income house holds, this is the top reason for athletes’ early departures into the pro ranks. One situation occurred at the 1992 final four of college basketball. The families of the two best players on Cincinnati’s team could not attend the game because they couldn’t afford travel expenses and hotel costs. That was totally unacceptable being that each school received thirteen million dollars in revenue for their team’s participation in that event.

What the fans think: Fans are torn over this argument. While some fans believe that paying college athletes is wrong and only harms the integrity of college athletics. Others feel as though athletes deserve to get paid for all the time they dedicate to their sport, and for the millions upon millions of dollars that these athletes rake in annually for their respective academic institutions.

The NCAA’s take: The NCAA stands unbending with their argument in that paying student athletes would corrupt the integrity of the game. While this point is explicable, the incongruities of the NCAA’s laws are comical. In their rules it states that “The NCAA will protect student athletes from commercial companies that are looking to exploit them for financial gains.” But the NCAA it self is a commercial company that exploits student athletes.

What the N.B.A. / N.F.L. thinks: David Stern, the commissioner of the N.B.A. believes that his league is too young. So he recently instituted a nineteen year old age limit on entering the N.B.A. This forces high school basketball players to either sit out a year and then enter the draft or attend a college for one year. Stern has hopes that his new rule will assist these athletes in maturing and in becoming ready for the immense responsibilities as members of the N.B.A. In the N.F.L commissioner Roger Goodell enforces league policy that all college football players must be enrolled in college for three years in order to be eligible for the draft. This is a little more understandable being that it is almost physically impossible for a high school student to be ready for the incredible physical demands of the N.F.L.

[edit] This I Believe

This I Believe

The blood from the single gunshot that pierced my neighbor’s heart, stopping it from beating instantaneously, was beginning to pool around his lifeless body when my grandmother dragged me by the arm into our house.

“It ain’t safe out der boy!” my grandmother said as she slammed the door behind us.

“But, but….” I replied hesitantly.

“But nuffin, now go and do ya homework unless ya wanna grow up like one of dem heathens out der and end up like dat poor boy!” She said in her southern accent as she pointed to my book bag which I had left strewn on the floor in all of the excitement after the gunshot. Leaving the place so messy was an act in itself something to be scolded for, but today she refrained.

When I witnessed my neighbor’s death I was about ten and it wasn’t the first time nor would it be the last violent death I would see on Tenth Street. For as long as I can remember inhumane scenes such as this were a weekly occurrence.For a long time I wondered why my grandmother felt the need to shelter me from what I thought was normal daily life, but today I understand why. She helped me to keep my humanity in a world that lacked so much of it.

I was raised by my grandmother in Niagara Falls, New York. A community no different than any other black poverty stricken neighborhood in America; plagued with a high number of high school drop-outs, booming teenage pregnancy rates and a society stunted by economic stagnation. Most people who are born there never leave. Faced with these facts, it is a wonder how I ever made it out; my family prevented me from becoming just another statistic.

At the age of three I ran away from my mother’s house for reasons beyond my control. I joined my two sisters at my grandmother’s three bedroom apartment. Although life was difficult and our income was spread thin, my grandmother’s southern hospitality never waned; we never knew what it meant to go hungry and our dreams for a better life, education, and family was always of the utmost importance. To this day I don’t know how she managed to support us. I don’t know how she continues to support me or my sisters’ children and my small cousin on a nurse’s pension. But she does it without complaint and she’ll continue to do it until her dying day.

At age seventy-four, she is now well into her golden years and she still remains to be my pillar. I will never forget that when my reality erupted in violence, when my friends attended school with empty stomachs, and when my future looked as dismal as the “Hood Rats” and “Dope Boys” that ran the world I knew, she insured otherwise. Through her boundless sacrifices, she has taught me the importance of family and its ability to overcome any and all adversity; love is what I believe.

[edit] Reflection Letters

[edit] 1st reflection letter

Expressing Yourself Through Writing Whether the tip of your ballpoit pen is blazing through the papel of a secret diary or a caffeine overdosed senior is terrorizing the final pages of a thesis being expressive when you write is key to good literature. I personally love to make my words jump out of my notebook! So the next time you find yourself scribbling on a pad imagine that you are a wizard and your writing utensil is your tool for sorcery

[edit] 2nd reflection letter

At the beginning of the year I was somewhat limited in the type of writing I could produce. Two months later and a lot of help from my college writing instructor I believe that my overall writing has improved. I use to routinely struggle with simple grammar mistakes. Now I can locate my own mistakes with out help from my instructor. In some of my early work like “Pay for Play” my weaknesses were run on sentences and grammatical errors. My strength was background information and strength of argument. Since writing ‘Pay for Play” my punctuation has improved resulting in less run on sentences. It also has cut down on grammatical errors.

Another one of my strengths is my ability to adapt someone’s voice and use it however I want. In the “Conversation between Tyrell and Author” I created a conversation between myself and the author of Art Objects. In the conversation a comment from the author was: “It is all utterly elementary. Art is God, and God is Art! There is nothing else. I have discovered through belatedly-broken impasse that our sole purpose here on earth is to stand in front of pictures and stare at them for hours.” Through comedy I tried to convey to the audience that the author is pompous and eccentric.

I believe that I have learned the aspect of interpreting another’s voice well enough that I can shift my focus to an aspect of writing. A category that I’m not necessarily interested in, but that I need to improve upon to become a better overall writer, One aspect that comes to mind is speech writing because I am not that interested in writing speeches but in order to be a complete writer I need to know how.

[edit] 3rd reflection letter

I support my original argument that I have improved as a writer. I believe that it is evident in my everyday grammar as well as my more recent works. In my first draft for “Pay for Play” I only conveyed to the audience my perspective of the subject. Through council with my instructor and some revision of the essay I decided to include not only my perspective but also the view points of the athletes who are most immediately affected; the fans who support these universities; the N.C.A.A. who regulates all of these rules and restrictions; and the professional realm of each respective sport. I think one of the better quotes that symbolizes my Improvement most comes from the N.C.A.A. Code of Ethics it states “The N.C.A.A. will protect student athletes from commercial companies that are looking to exploit them for financial gains”

Personally I think I deserve an A for this paper because I put a lot of work into my research and revisions. Also this was actually my first time doing a research paper of this magnitude and I believe that I did fairly well given those circumstances. Although I have had my ups and downs in this class I believe that my overall grade should be a reflection of the effort in which I put forth in all of my work. So if the grading process were left up to me I would assign myself a B- for this class. I think I deserve this mainly because I did poorly on some of the blogging assignments and did well on most of the writing assignments.

[edit] Final Reflection Letter "where My Strengths Lie"

As I ripped open the tightly sealed white envelope, I expected another college rejection letter, but as I carefully unfolded the letter the envelope had contained and read the word, “Congratulations” I was elated. The N.B.A. would soon be a reality if I applied myself. My acceptance to UMASS on a basketball scholarship would allow me to play basketball for a division 1 team. I realize that my first reaction to my acceptance into college may not have been the same as many of my peers, who attend class religiously with the hopes of becoming investment bankers or family practitioners, but I always believed that my intelligence lied in my skill on the court; something not highlighted within the four walls of a classroom. Therefore, I came to college with the expectation of improving my physical skills not my mental abilities, but my first semester in college has proven to me otherwise. In order for me to become the person I envision for myself I will have to expand upon both my physical and mental capabilities.

It wasn't until my first week of college that I felt the whole weight of my UMASS acceptance letter. If I am successful here I will be the first in my family to graduate from college. If I fail my home town of Niagara Falls, New York will become my prison. This fact became a growing burden for me. My challenge was that in the classroom, where my performance matters the most, it wasn't my man-to-man defense that was being graded, but my ability to write, memorize and read endless amounts of pages in the hopes of being able to interpret and analyze it for its deeper meaning. At times I felt that it was more than I could handle. Not only did I think the work was excessive, but for the first time I was being exposed to people from all walks of life, from every step on the economic ladder and almost every ethnic group. It was hard to get my work in on time when all I wanted to do was explore my new social surroundings. Although I was only five hours from my home, the culture I found at UMASS was very different from my own and even now I find it hard to articulate what makes it so different. Although I found it arduous, I was excited to be at UMASS and I was excited to play basketball, but this would all soon change.

In early October the NCAA came down with a decision that would change my attitude towards college and my future indefinitely. A bunch of men in black suits at the NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis, who I never met, decided that it was questionable whether I deserved my high school diploma, even though I had already worked for it and received it. They decided that it would be in my best interest if I was forbidden from playing during my first year of college; with it went my basketball scholarship and now not only was I struggling in class and finding my place in this new environment, but I was struggling to pay the rent. To this day I don't understand why I should be prevented from reaching my potential because of a perceived failure in our school systems. I wondered and still wonder if it had to do with the color of my skin, but this is something that is beyond my control and not to be dwelled on. These enigmatic men left me stripped of my ability to play, but I was still teased daily with what could be, by practicing with the team, working out, and attending games, I had to form a new personal vision for my college career and future. If the NCAA questions whether I could cut it in college I vowed to prove them otherwise.

The NCAA decision left me in doubt of my cognitive abilities. I never was the smartest in the classroom and I rarely received the highest grade on any piece of graded work. They had attacked me where I was the most insecure. Not only that, but they had dismantled my college funding and I was left with nowhere to turn. Since no one in my family had ever navigated the college financial aid process I had to do it alone. I went on the job search alone and found out that school, basketball and work was too much for me to handle in my first semester of college. This left me excluded from most social gatherings with my peers, feats like the movies, dinner and cover fees to parties are all things I just cannot afford. Even with these obstacles before I continued to persevere, with the hope that if I did will during my first year of college they would allow me to play sophomore year. I wasn't confident that I was on the right path or that I was doing well, until I received my first A in college. I had never been more thrilled to see red ink on a piece of my work. I wasn't thrilled for the grade itself, but what it represented to me. After being told that I didn't deserve to be at UMASS, the A told me that I did indeed deserve it, that my strengths are not limited to the basketball court and that my future was indeed in my hands and not in the hands of men who have the misperception that they know what is best for me and what I am capable of.

I came into my first semester of college with clear expectations for myself, but it has given me much more than I could have ever anticipated. Although I am still struggling, I love college and I am grateful for the opportunities it has awarded me. It has given me a reason to have nothing but fervor for my future, because even if my lifelong dream to play basketball professionally fails, with a college degree, that I more than deserve, I can excel in whatever profession I chose.