Monday, September 22, 2008
Out of sight, out of mind
A lot of things happened in quick succession in between the time I returned to New Orleans to start school and then had to evacuate for Gustav. On campus I needed to unpack, settle in, get books, and prepare for class. Outside campus, in the real world, there were shows to catch like MOS DEF the Thursday before evacuating and streets to cruise to see who and what still up. The giant FORTY piece on the rooftop billboard along I-10 was a welcome addition. That along with the appearance of Banksy's stencils a few days later had my mind really racing to get back in touch with the city.
But one thing that I noticed that no longer existed was the homeless camp under Carrolton. I wonder what's happened to the people that were there even though now their plight weighs less heavily on mind when I go downtown. Out of sight, out of mind.
There location beneath the interstate bridge at the edge of downtown seemed to be born out of not just necessitiy, but also protest. Originally the first homeless encampment was out front city hall in objection to the destruction of the city's housing projects after Katrina. After the city cleared that spot, the camp settled in that horrible space along Carrolton.
I went "down" there, over there rather, a couple times in the summer and it was miserable. The summer heat is unrelenting when you live in a tent and surrounded by concrete. The traffic above and below caused constant commotion and grit from the asphalt would swirl up in your eyes like a dust storm whenever the wind did pick up.
A large majority of the people down there were either handicapped or chemically dependent (and some were both). However the most striking thing was that some were employed and worked long hours during the day only to come back "home" to a tent.
Now no one is there and I wonder what kind of housing they have found. Did the city really find a better place for them to stay or did they just make them disperse to get rid of the "eyesore?" I don't know, just yet.
Friday, September 19, 2008
"They teach us to OBEY but not to CHALLENGE" NADER speaks
Paper Paper Reporting:
Ralph Nader, the attorney, activist, public speaker, author, defender of the constitutuion, and sometimes presidential canidate, came and spoke at Tulane this week. Under the guise of running for president, Nader stopped in New Orleans long enough to remind a packed auditorium about the ideals that the country was founded upon and the prevailing threats that assail them right now.
In terms of his political aspirations my friend Joey described him as "The exterminator who is running for the top position among vermin." It takes a serious man to take on such a foolhardy task and to keep up a doomed mission.
But make no mistake, Ralph Nader is getting results. This here is proof.
His speech was informative and rallying. From illegal wiretapping, to student loan inflation, to privatized prison systems there is no scandal this man is not keeping score on (just like he did when he first took the auto industry in 1965). Which is good! Because somebody has to stay alert. Or has he would explain, we all do. Its our civic duty to stay informed and from there keep the government in check and under our thumbs.
That is why every four years he traverses the country, going to all 50 states, to deliver speeches to people so that they don't forget the state that the union is in. He's 74 and still full of passion, anger, and hope for this country and its ability to make a u-turn away from the course it is currently on.
However, only if we all decide to grab the wheel.
(here are some notes with electronic paint)
"The american people can have anything they want but it seems as though they want nothing much at all."
"Better to vote for the thing you believe in and lose than to vote for the thing you don't believe in and win"
-Eugene Debs (his hisotrical role model)
On the current educatuion system:
MEMORIZATION TO REGURGITATION TO VEGETATION; THEY TEACH US TO OBEY BUT NOT TO CHALLENGE
(Now excuse me while I go update my account on facebook)
Ralph Nader, the attorney, activist, public speaker, author, defender of the constitutuion, and sometimes presidential canidate, came and spoke at Tulane this week. Under the guise of running for president, Nader stopped in New Orleans long enough to remind a packed auditorium about the ideals that the country was founded upon and the prevailing threats that assail them right now.
In terms of his political aspirations my friend Joey described him as "The exterminator who is running for the top position among vermin." It takes a serious man to take on such a foolhardy task and to keep up a doomed mission.
But make no mistake, Ralph Nader is getting results. This here is proof.
His speech was informative and rallying. From illegal wiretapping, to student loan inflation, to privatized prison systems there is no scandal this man is not keeping score on (just like he did when he first took the auto industry in 1965). Which is good! Because somebody has to stay alert. Or has he would explain, we all do. Its our civic duty to stay informed and from there keep the government in check and under our thumbs.
That is why every four years he traverses the country, going to all 50 states, to deliver speeches to people so that they don't forget the state that the union is in. He's 74 and still full of passion, anger, and hope for this country and its ability to make a u-turn away from the course it is currently on.
However, only if we all decide to grab the wheel.
(here are some notes with electronic paint)
"The american people can have anything they want but it seems as though they want nothing much at all."
"Better to vote for the thing you believe in and lose than to vote for the thing you don't believe in and win"
-Eugene Debs (his hisotrical role model)
On the current educatuion system:
MEMORIZATION TO REGURGITATION TO VEGETATION; THEY TEACH US TO OBEY BUT NOT TO CHALLENGE
(Now excuse me while I go update my account on facebook)
Monday, September 8, 2008
Tommy hits it
Generally I don't find much in the Hullabaloo that I agree with but this week was different. I've known Tommy since we were both freshmen on the same hall in the Wall residential college and I've got a lot of respect for his opinion, though I certainly don't always agree. He is one of the least weird locals I've met and I'm pleased he is now in charge of the campus paper.
I'm glad to see someone speaking out against the ridiculous hype machine that is Tulane University. It seems to me colleges have become far too obsessed with there PR and selling themselves to potential customers AKA high school seniors. Tommy sights highlighting only good news as the reason Tulane would again 'forget' the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, one of the most cataclysmic events of the city and country in modern times.
He makes a good point that while 'they' (read:the school administrators) won't commemorate the disaster, they will eagerly pay lip service to the campus' community service efforts. While 'community service' is a noble cause, I personally feel the term has begun an overused buzz word that gets tossed around for the purpose of self-promotion, by both prospective students and universities trying to attract them. This is partially to blame for the undue stress put upon high-school students to boost their 'resumes' and appear like a super citizen so they can apply to 'quality' universities. Thus beguns a stupid back and forth between student and school with each one unintentionally whoring themselves out to the other via waste of paper in the mail:
Student letter: "Here's my community service record and a picture of me holdings hands with an elderly person and saving a sick puppy from a tornado. Did I mention I also LOVE to play Mozart on my cello?"
University brochure: "Look at our photoshopped campus with its neon green grass quads. Here is a bench under a shady tree where a group of students consisting of a black guy, an asian dude, a cute sorority girl just happened to be engaged in a rousing conversation, you can tell by the way they're smiling. Did we tell you about the new food court we installed in the UC? Who doesn't like a taco bell with a salad bar?"
So the two finally meet and after orientation the romance inevitably ends. The student quits the charade of helping for the sake of his fellow citizens and focuses on drinking and chasing tail, while the administration quickly forgets about them in the sea of already ensnared students and sets its sights on the fresh new blood it can attract to its web.
So universities, like Tulane, reveal there true intentions as a buisness rather than an school, when they do things like promote themselves on paper but fail to commemorate Hurricane Katrina, an event that still continues to impact the lives of its students and civic neighbors daily.
I'm glad to see someone speaking out against the ridiculous hype machine that is Tulane University. It seems to me colleges have become far too obsessed with there PR and selling themselves to potential customers AKA high school seniors. Tommy sights highlighting only good news as the reason Tulane would again 'forget' the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, one of the most cataclysmic events of the city and country in modern times.
He makes a good point that while 'they' (read:the school administrators) won't commemorate the disaster, they will eagerly pay lip service to the campus' community service efforts. While 'community service' is a noble cause, I personally feel the term has begun an overused buzz word that gets tossed around for the purpose of self-promotion, by both prospective students and universities trying to attract them. This is partially to blame for the undue stress put upon high-school students to boost their 'resumes' and appear like a super citizen so they can apply to 'quality' universities. Thus beguns a stupid back and forth between student and school with each one unintentionally whoring themselves out to the other via waste of paper in the mail:
Student letter: "Here's my community service record and a picture of me holdings hands with an elderly person and saving a sick puppy from a tornado. Did I mention I also LOVE to play Mozart on my cello?"
University brochure: "Look at our photoshopped campus with its neon green grass quads. Here is a bench under a shady tree where a group of students consisting of a black guy, an asian dude, a cute sorority girl just happened to be engaged in a rousing conversation, you can tell by the way they're smiling. Did we tell you about the new food court we installed in the UC? Who doesn't like a taco bell with a salad bar?"
So the two finally meet and after orientation the romance inevitably ends. The student quits the charade of helping for the sake of his fellow citizens and focuses on drinking and chasing tail, while the administration quickly forgets about them in the sea of already ensnared students and sets its sights on the fresh new blood it can attract to its web.
So universities, like Tulane, reveal there true intentions as a buisness rather than an school, when they do things like promote themselves on paper but fail to commemorate Hurricane Katrina, an event that still continues to impact the lives of its students and civic neighbors daily.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Gustav inspired art
It has been a very harrowing week. Tulane's decision to close down the school forced my decision to evacuate which I had hoped I wouldn't have to do at the beginning of my senior year, just as I had had to do at the beginning of my freshmen year.
I drove back to Nashville with my friends Ted of New Jersey and Patrick of Evanston. Having my friends there and going through all the strife and worrying with them helped tremendously and along with our other friends Ned and Justin we we weathered the evacuation together.
Since this was the first major storm since Rita, there was a lot of uncertainty and theorizing about if the near future would play out like it had 3 years before. News of the storm arrived around the three year anniversary of Katrina, as I'm sure you know, so that left a lot of us on edge. The entire time I just didn't even want to hypothesize about what I would do if school closed down again for another semester.
So since I refused to even think about that possibility my mental energy had to be directed somewhere else. Thinking positively and holding out hope for the future became my only option. Over the last week I've remembered the importance of having faith (in anything mind you). Its just so important to have idea in your mind you can believe in to keep your worst fears and anxieties at bay.
Admittedly, I didn't do an incredible job of this. My faith was often shook and I drank and smoked a lot over the past week because I didn't know how else to cope. I was not down on my knees, begging to god all week but shaking my head, unable to imagine an alternative for this place that has become my home.
This is still very hard for me to make sense of. I'm really grateful that our levees held and that we can only come together again back in New Orleans. I'm also really grateful for everyone outside the city that expressed their concern for what might've happened to New Orleans.
Here are some things I drew during the week. I had the template already done up (and in fact it is already screen printed on the next issues back cover)
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