Social Networking and The Effects It Has On College Students

Works Cited

Passy, Florence, and Marco Giugni. "Social Networks and Individual Perceptions: Explaining Differential Participation in Social Movements." Sociological Forum 16.1 (2001): 123-53.

Shemtov, Ronit. "Social Networks and Sustained Activism in Local NIMBY Campaigns." Sociological Forum 18.2 (2003): 215-44.

Vie, Stephanie. "Digital Divide 2.0: “Generation M” and Online Social Networking Sites in the Composition Classroom." Computers and Composition, 25.1 (2008): 9-23.

Wellman, Barry, et al. "Computer Networks as Social Networks: Collaborative Work, Telework, and Virtual Community." Annual Review of Sociology 22 (1996): 213-38.

An Autistic Students Journey To College

Works Cited

Bettelheim, Bruno. "Feral Children and Autistic Children." The American Journal of Sociology March 1959: 455-467.

Spurgeon, Roberta K. "Nursing the Autistic Child." The American Journal of Nursing July 1967: 1416-1419.

Trudeau, Michelle. 2008. National Public Radio. .

Woodward, John, Kara Monroe and Juliet Baxter. "Enhancing Student Achievement on Performance Assessments in Mathematics." Learning Disability Quarterly Winter 2001: 33-46.

Social Networking and The Affects it has on College Students

Did you know that Facebook, MySpace, and many other entities like them have severely impacted student’s lives? That is the question at hand that many professors, teachers, employees, etc. would like to be answered. Social Networking websites, known as “Me Media,” such as Facebook, MySpace, Friendster, Tribe Net and YouTube are thought to be weakening students in this generation. However, the most influential amongst high school and college students is Facebook. Facebook was started by Harvard undergraduates and put into operation on that campus in February 2004. When FAMU first got Facebook back in 2004 everyone was excited about getting their FAMU email account so that they can get logged on and begin using this new network. Still today this site attracts nearly every college student in the country and as of May 2006, has registered nearly 8 billion people. Some professor’s feel like Facebook is just a “misuse of technology” and that it’s as if we are sucked into the notion of this network from entertainment to addiction. Professors believe that we have forgotten that technology is supposed to bridge digital divides and enhance student research. Facebook is also thought to be both addictive and distracting, more so an “entertainment timewaster” than anything else. Facebook is more of a place of unlimited communication where anyone can talk to anyone without barriers. The best part about it is that it can be done at your leisure, without leaving your comfort zone.

The kind of social networking that Facebook impacts academically is: 1. Since technology has taken a toll on higher rates than enrollment alone for high school students rebuilding institutions by enrolling in school, this could somehow leads to pressuring provosts to continue investing in technology than in tenure track positions, 2. Professors and librarians are encountering improper use of technology by students when they are supposed to be doing school work or listening to lectures, which could cause judiciary officials to enforce the student code, 3. Career and academic advisors having to deal with parents and employers who have screened Facebook and discovered what is going on in residence halls or students personal lives and 4. Academics assessing learning outcomes often discovered that technology is a major distraction in the classroom as a tool.

These are just a few of the concerns that Facebook is believed to cause. Online networks like Facebook are constantly under surveillance from college administrators to employers and businesses. They can easily search ones profile for evidence of illegal and unethical behavior, which could lead to being kicked out of an institution or even losing that job you may desire. Most students might think they are merely crafting and surfing a vast network of peers, but due to their Facebook profiles being a public diary anyone can see it. It is important that students are mindful of their profiles and what is posted on these networks because it is a reflection of them and it could deter any future goals if seen by marketers, parents or college officials. Some college administrators have embraced technology as a means of furthering education, but they have failed to realize that the younger generation views technology largely as a means of delivering entertainment, be it music, video games, internet access or television, as a secondary method of communication.

An Autistic Student's Journey to College

Parents getting their children ready for college face many challenges. One of the many challenges is having to cope with the transition between high school and college. Another one is being socially and mentally prepared for a new lifestyle, and worrying about your child’s safety in this new environment. This is especially true if they have traveled far away from home. However, this transition takes a new route when you add the fact that your child is Autistic while on the challenging journey to college. This topic is important to me because it is a story about a family who’s drive was to not only deal with the mental illness their son suffered as a crutch for his future career goals, but to prepare themselves as a family to make sure their son gets an equal opportunity to pursue his education, just as if he was a normal child. In addition, this also shows importance to others because many people feel that autistic children are not readably capable of going forward in their lives unlike themselves, due to being mentally challenged.

The significance shown by the Diehl’s family is exemplary for their dedication many other families are struggling while dealing with this same situation should try to respond similarly. Roger Diehl just turned 18 years old back in May and has had many medical health problems in his childhood. He has suffered from clinical depression, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Asperger's, a form of autism. Depression is a medical illness while Asperg’s and ADHD are normal neurological and developmental disorders. Although these illnesses have taken a toll on him and his family, he has also been able to maintain being an “A” student, which leads him to being accepted to University of Wisconsin-Madison. While applying to colleges Roger did not try to hide his mental health problems. He even wrote about his illness in the National Merritt Scholarship in which he became a finalist. Roger’s teachers even wrote about his illness in their letters of recommendations. His applications proved to be successful because he was accepted to many colleges. A quote given by Roger "One of the greatest challenges I've overcome has been my autism."
When Roger chose to attend University of Wisconsin-Madison his family knew that he needed some kind of support attending a college far from home. One of the reasons the Diehl’s chose the University of Wisconsin over other colleges was because of the social support network in Madison. Meanwhile, Sita Diehl had no worries knowing that her extended family lives there so he would still be under some kind of care. The Diehl’s even decided that he would stay with his grandmother for a couple of years for two reasons: one being that his favorite cousin lived there also because he would already have a ready-made social system that would make the transition a little easier. Unlike many other families with autistic children, Sita Diehl kind of had the upper hand on experience while assisting families with children with mental illnesses. She worked as the executive director of Tennessee's National Alliance for Mental Illness, in Nashville, where her work with families there prepared her for Roger's move. She quoted "For many years, I've heard families talk about how their child was at the top of his class, and was just wonderful until he went off to college, and everything fell apart," she says. "And so I was determined that we were going to learn from experience." Sita also quoted "Whether or not it was something that Roger needed, we were going to build a bridge for a gradual launch, rather than just pushing him out of the nest. This journey had a great drive that really helped, thanks to her career because working hand and hand, day by day with children like your son and observing struggles of other families she encountered, she realized what she actually wanted for the betterment of her own seed.
Another issue at hand was that since her son was 18, he was a legal adult now and that her family could no longer partake in decisions he made about his medical illness, even though they knew he was subjected to depression and suicide. Therefore, with these stipulations placed on them they had to find some way to take action to be able to stay on top of their sons medical decisions. The Diehl’s found a psychiatrist and consulted a lawyer who gave them credible ideas so that they could still somehow be involved. His grandmother became his POA (power of attorney) watching his financial affairs and he signed the HIPAA (health insurance probability and accountability act) which still gave his parents the right to remain a part of his medical care. I think these were great ideas as a family to stay abreast to his medical concerns and needs.
Listening to various news resources on this subject makes me think highly of the Diehl family because many people view the idea of Asperger’s students attending college as not a good choice. An article from ABC News informs us of a family dealing with the same situation and their concerns about not what is going on in the classroom but what is going on outside of the classroom and that her child, being a very honest and trusting person does not understand why people lie and want be able to survive in the college atmosphere. The reporter went on to add , A decade ago the idea of Asperger's students who suffer mild and high functioning forms of autism that is characterized by social isolation working their way through a four-year college may have seemed impossible. Larry Powell, a manager of Disability Resources at Carnegie University, says that “the Asperger’s population is much bigger than we think it if we could put together a system that would adequately support these students, word would get around and more students would disclose it and would come.” He has an optimistic idea that we could initiate some kind of program to make this transition for autistic students upon attending college much more efficient. In USA Today an autistic student by the name of Dan Hackett stated that “some of his symptoms were holding him back, he had difficulty organizing his time and managing assignments” but when he discovered Achieving in Higher Education with Autism/Developmental Disabilities(AHEADD), a group that helps college students like him, he made a tremendous turn around in school which made his college experience much easier for him to manage and organize his time, which makes the above statement true from Mr. Powell. From Press Release a woman by the name of Susan Maxwell acts as a liaison for parents of children with autism throughout the Jensen Beach community, Maxwell helps parents cope with their child's diagnosis by sharing information about her now 9-year-old son, Matthew, and the progress he has made.Many students with Asperger's or other similar autism like disorders face new challenges in a college setting. The syndrome hampers communication and social skills, so along with difficulties staying on top of their studies, these students may struggle with making friends and living more independently. They also may be more reluctant to ask for help.
So with this said there are many different outlooks on how people feel about autistic children attending college, the views are more so positive because like the Diehl’s family you have to have courage and believe that your child still can achieve throughout their illness because settling or giving up on your child due to their condition, is not only hurting you but it also cripples that child even more by depriving them of living their life as any normal healthy child would.

Black Women of the South: The Untold Story of their Struggles

“Black Woman in the South,” analyzes the complex relations between various forms of oppression that black women faced, and examines the impact of sexism on black women during slavery, the historic devaluation of black womanhood, black male sexism, racism within recent women's movement, and black women's involvement with feminism. According to the racist definition of the nineteenth century, black women were inferior members of the sex that were outcast, lacked intelligence, and were distasteful creatures whom God himself had hatred towards. Even with these stereotypes black women could not have existed in the nineteenth century as they have in the twentieth century, which has been described as a frail and fragile human being.
In the harsh conditions of the nineteenth century, the black woman had no place for ambition or determination. Blacks were freed from bondage only to be placed into a new structure of life. This included things such as disenfranchisement, rape, lynching, economic exploitation, and other prejudices to keep them powerless. This harsh reality of life is what pushed and shaped black women in the south, redefining them as individuals of courage, strength, and commitment. Crummell's speech is a lucid, persuasive speech of extraordinary penetrating and original thinking. His wide-ranging analysis of sexist and racist oppression of black women in America leaves no group without criticism, no assumption unchallenged, no woman ignored.
Crummell raised many arguments during his speech; many that told the tale of the struggle that Black woman have endured during the course of history. The main points of the speech with the most recognition were the exploitation the black woman during this century. Crummell states that the girlhood ability to mature into womanhood was stolen by lust, grossest passions, and ignorance. Black women never had the ability to obtain womanhood due to their conditions such as not choosing their own soul mate, being used as a production tool to breed more working hands, and having their children being taken from them.
She bared the harshest type of life, one that didn’t give her definition. The black woman understood nothing. These events led to these women having no sense of belonging and a future filled with uncertainty lingered upon them. The childhood that she once knew came and went like a brisk wind and her dreams, thoughts and her ability followed. Crummell paints picture after picture of horror in which the black woman lived; he speaks of her sorrow and shattered dreams that have been taken away by such an evil institution. The speech had many topics in which were discussed; however it was the essence that every woman has growth from one maturity level to the next. Crummell informs the listener that black women never possessed this power to transcend themselves to higher levels due to the barbaric nature of the world’s institution She had been beaten, raped, was unable to become educated herself, and forgotten by those that she nurtured, feed, and loved.
Crummell's work is one that expresses sympathy to black women in the south; he reaches out to give to black women a voice that has long been silenced. The speech helped me greatly in writing this piece in that a lot of what we think he spoke made sense of the distance the world has come with black women of the south. The nineteenth century was a time of intellectual traditions that were noticeably strengthened by the presence of the gifted, visible, and active black women who proposed ideas; their activities, leadership, and lasting influence. In this first century of independence, the traditions of equality, was faint in the Colonial era which would grow to major social concerns in the 20th century became more defined and potent. In many ways black women are thinkers and or activists were participating in the broader developments of this period. Their work variously helped to shape positions on slavery, equality, emigration, minority rights, feminism, and other major social issues. The transformation and work of these women are what Crummell desired when he stated that true civilizations can only be obtained when the life of woman is reached, her whole being permeated by noble ideas, and her fine tasted enriched by culture.