Trinity International Hip-Hop Festival

     For this blog post I used the history section on the Trinity International Hip-Hop Festival page. The article explains that the purpose of the festival is to use hip-hop as a means of encouraging coexistence, non-violence, celebrating hip-hop as a community, and educating the youth on the differences between the hip-hop you hear on the radio vs. what the promoters at Trinity College consider hip-hop to be. Throughout the festival, on lookers are exposed to artists from all over the world who rap/preach their political beliefs, the cultures of their home countries, and the history and current affairs of their respective countries to not only encourage that the youth know what is going on in the world around them but also become diversified in the cultures of the world. I felt comfortable using this website as a source for my project because the Trinity International Hip-Hop Festival is an internationally acclaimed event. Therefore, I felt that they would only produce information that was credible. 

     This article was a good source for the documentary project because this can be directly connected to the Student Hip-Hop Organization in that it strives to not only allow fans of hip-hop or music in general  to be connected together but also to use hip-hop as a means of educating the youth of the world and supplementing young peoples education. Like the Student Hip-Hop Organization, the Trinity international Hip-Hop festival is set up solely for the benefit of the students and youth that attend the events. If my team can educate the students of UK on the benefits of the Student Hip-Hop Organization perhaps one day the Student Hip-Hop Organization could have the impact that the Trinity International Hip-Hop Festival has on students and young people domestically but also internationally. 

     After reading the article, the main question I was left with was whether or not the creators of this festival came up with this thought or if this was mimicked from another festival. Knowing this would allow me to gauge whether or not the Student Hip-Hop organization could mimick this festival.

Reflection Post

     For my reflection blog post I focused on a number of questions that I thought might lead me to clarity as well as improving my processes so I can then be a better member in my group. The first question I posed to myself was how did my research change over the course of the blog assignments? The biggest and most helpful change was first changing where I gathered my research. At the beginning of the blog posts I would type a phrase into google that I thought would lead me to fruitful results. Towards the end of the blog posts however, I began to make use of the UK library search system. This not only led me to more credible sources but also acted as a stepping stone to other topics and ways of looking at a topic in a way I hadn't thought of. The second and also very helpful change I made to my research was conducting more surveys and interviews. Going into the blog posts I put interviews and surveys on the back burner because they take more time. However, I found these to provide the most insightful information. The second aspect of the blogs I reflected on were the problems I ran into during the project. The biggest problem worth mentioning came at the end of the project. At this point, I was fairly well read on my topic and finding new sources that could stay relevant and informative was becoming almost impossible. Using the library research engine began to help by showing a wide range of topics that were somewhat related to my topic. However, even this remedy soon began to weaken. Also, trying to balance the three blog posts a week on top of my other classes was a recurring problem for me throughout the project. Lastly, the things that worked best for me during the project can be summed up to three main points. To start, Time Management, at first, I put the blogs to the back of my to do list during the week when in fact I had the best success in finishing these first. Compared to my other homework, the blogs are a fairly small assignment so getting these done first seemed to help me better my time management. Next, Google is not always your friend, when I started the project, I was still in the mindset that worked best in high school. However, using the library research engines led me to more insightful and credible sources. Lastly, surveys and interviews are the best way to add supportive info and getting to know more about something first hand. After conducting my first interview and survey for my topic, I realized that this is the best way to gain information if you're near the right resources.   
     After taking all of my reflections into account I now feel ready to not only find the best sources for information during the rest of my current project but for the rest of my time in college.

Student Hip Hop Survey

     For my survey, I stood around William T. Young library from around noon to 1:30PM on Wednesday the 15th of October as well as in front of the library again on Thursday from 5:00PM to 6:30PM. From both of my gathering times I received a total of 100 responses. For my survey technique I used a Random Sample and alternated between entrances each every ten minutes so that I could give people as much a chance to answer as I could. I chose the library over a place such as the Johnson Center because this would be a high traffic area as well as providing me with students that could have any number interests whereas the Johnson Center would leave me with students who most likely share interests. After my two days of surveying i found that either students aren't as informed as I thought they were or a very small amount of students know about the organization. The next time I conduct a survey for the documentary project, I will increase the number of people I survey closer to two hundred and fifty so I can produce a better picture of what UK students know about. The questions I asked were as follows: 1. Have you ever heard of an organization on campus called Student Hip-Hop Organization?
2. What kind of music do you listen to the most? How much is music a part of your life, 1 meaning not at all, 5 you listen to music all day long. Whether a student answered yes or no has no effect on them being asked different questions, all students were asked the same questions in the same order.
     On my first day outside of William T. Young library I conducted 50 surveys with UK students. Out of these 50 surveys, I found that 44 students have never heard of the Student Hip-Hop Organization and said they listen to hip-hop the most as well as responding with a 3 or higher on the importance of music in their life scale. This means that students who would probably be interested in the student hip-hop organization are missing out on a great supplementary activity to their education. On my second day of conducting surveys I found that 43 students have never heard of the Student hip-hop organization. Of these 43 students, 37 stated that hip-hop was their favorite genre of music and that music was a 3 or higher on scale of importance in their lives. Again, this is a staggering discovery since so many students are reporting to enjoy hip-hop thoroughly yet have never heard of the organization.
     After finding out that hip-hop is such a popular genre of music on campus, I have come to the conclusion that students at UK just aren't that informed. However, hopefully through this documentary, my team and I can help fans of hip-hop learn more about the genre they love as well as learn about a great way to become involved in hip-hop through the Student Hip-Hop Organization. The next time I conduct a survey I will use more participants as well as conduct surveys both in the morning and afternoon.

An interview with a UK senior

     For this article I used an impromptu interview I had with a friend of mine's brother named Kyle. We were talking about the upcoming concert of a rapper coming to UK soon. This quickly reminded me of SHHO so I started to ask him about it. Although he wasn't an expert on SHHO he's an avid listener  of hip hop as well as a very active UK student when it comes to student activities which I felt gave him enough credibility to tell me about the concerts put on at UK. 

     According to Kyle, "UK does a lot of concerts for the students, not only hip hop but whatever genre you're into you can probably find a concert you'd like." After asking him a little about SHHO he told me that, "it's basically where a bunch of people who enjoy hip hop get together, hang out, meet artists, and play music." Although I felt this was a very basic definition I felt it necessary to showcase this because this is most likely the same kind of opinion shared by other students at UK. SHHO isn't just for hanging out, it can also be a great educational tool for students who aren't sure how the music industry works and want to learn more about it or want to see what it takes to make a career out of music. One of the last questions I asked Kyle was as a fan of hip hop, would he consider joining SHHO now that he knows more about it. Kyle said, "No, I'm not that big a fan of it, I really just like to listen to it, I don't want to get that involved." I think this kind of viewpoint is what I'll find most among students, they really like listening to it but practicing is a different story. 

     After speaking with Kyle I felt satisfied with the interview but it made me want to go interview someone in SHHO and find out what made them want to go past just listening to hip hop to actually practicing it in such a large organization. 

Hip Hop and the classroom

     The article I chose to focus on for this blog post was written by Susan Weinstein for the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. The article explains the relationship between "rapping" other out of  school activities that have literacy at their core and in school literacy and study habits. The article voices the opinions of both the teachers and the students on the before mentioned relationship. The article argues that rapping and writing lyrics has a positive impact on students school habits as well as increasing their understanding of figurative language and writing. Knowing who Weinstein writes for gives me confidence in using this source in the documentary project because the journal she writes for directly deals with our age group ;eating her with a close to expert opinion. 

     This article will be a good source for our project because it will help argue the importance of growing the participation in the Student Hip Hop Organization. Not only does the SHHO help fans of hip hop get involved with their passion outside of the classroom but it can also help members inside the classroom. Getting this message out to UK students will be an integral part of our documentary due to the common stereotype given to rappers. Showing a picture of a responsible and respected student whose hobbies include rapping is the real face of SHHO. 

     After reading the article I wasn't left with a question that wasn't answered before the end of the essay. However, I would like to mimic some of this in our research by trying to find out the GPA of members in SHHO if students were willing to share such information.

    

Concerts and dances in a library

     For this blog post I used an article written by Catherine Brown, a writer for College and Research Libraries News. The article focuses on the importanance of having concerts on campuses specifically free concerts that will expose students to a style of music that they might not have listened to otherwise. Taking all of this into account I found Catherine's article to use in my blogs because she would have enough credibility to write about this subject.
     Although UK has been doing concerts on the campus for some time, UCLA has been performing concerts and dances since the mid 1960's. This might seem like an easy claim for such a big university to make but it's when you realize who's been planning and making the concerts possible that you see the feat for what it really is. Since its beginnings, the concerts have been planned by and had seating arrangements as well as logistics determined by the students and some faculty. The faculty only consisted of those staff available from the library. These concerts are a great way to teach students the responsibility of booking and arranging a concert sometimes performed by professionals. Although the buildings are very old, they can still perform concerts that are relevant to a wide variety of students. Some of the types of concerts played over the years range from classic guitar to a cappella. And it's not just students who come to these concerts, over the years the fan base has grown to faculty to even members of the community.
     Although SHHO is strictly a hip-hop organization, this is a very relevant article to the organization because it can show how UK students can help with the logistics of the concerts performed at UK as well as mimicking what is being done at UCLA and expose students to music they might not normally listen to in a fun environment. After reading this I was left with the question of how can UCLA measure the success of putting on the concerts? Obviously growing numbers can be called success but is this newcomers to a certain genre?

Student Hip-Hop Organization

     For this article I found the official website for the organization. This was a good place to find out information on the topic because they are the founders of the organization giving them the most authority to discuss the subject.

     If you're a fan of hip-hop then you've most likely heard of a student run foundation called Student Hip-Hop Organization. However, if you're like me and know as much about hip-hop as you do astrophysics (whatever that is?) then you're in the right place. Founded in 2006 by a group of students at Virginia Commonwealth University who wanted an organization that would foster student artists as well as help connect students with successful artists. Students who are interested in making hip hop their career someday can find help from the Student Hip-Hop Organization in finding connections with record labels and producers. 

     This source will help me in the making of the documentary in our projects because it gave me an idea of what the organization is, the people in it, as well as the goals the founders and member strive for. Although this website was very informative it will work as a stepping stone more than a pillar in my project. By this I mean for my next way of garnering information I will be doing one on one interviews with the leader of the UK branch as well as interviews with current members. After reading, I was left with one question in particular and I will include it in one of my interviews. How many of the students that participate in the organization go on to make a successful career out of music? Without knowing this, I can't take the organization seriously. 

     

Wildcat Service Dogs

     For this article I got my information straight from the wildcat service dogs website. This website is perfect because it is a first hand account of how the organization works and the purpose it serves. This is a credible site because the people who run the foundation had some hand in creating the site.
     The Wildcat Service Dogs or is an organization that trains puppies for later training in becoming full fledged service dogs at other dog training foundations such as Assistance Dogs for Achieving Independence or ADAI. Dogs enrolled in the Wildcat Service Dogs training program are taken care of by college students between the ages of 1 to 1 1/2 years. The students are responsible for all aspects of the dogs life just as if it were their own. Some of the duties include basic training and housing as well as just spending an adequate amount of time with the dog. Although its fairly easy to get involved with the program, possible trainers go through a rigorous screening process so that the puppies are sure to be sent to a loving and caring home. Starting officially in 2011 the Wildcat Service Dogs organization is a fairly new foundation students have the opportunity to get involved with. Since its initial start of two members, the foundation has since gained a large amount of involvement.
     Before I came to UK I had never heard of the program but after hearing about it I soon began to notice all the students with service dogs. With that being said, in my ignorance to the program, I thought that the people with service dogs were blind or had some other impairment. This couldn't be farther from the truth. The Wildcat Service Dogs foundation strives to train dogs so that they can go onto help the disabled get through the days.
     After reading through the website I was still left with a question that might help me better understand the program. After spending so much time with their temporary owner, how do the dogs make the transition to a new owner?