Presentation Schedule

Hello All,

Below find the presentation schedule for the upcoming class meetings. Each presentation is to run between 15-20 minutes, with 3-5 minutes of responses and questions from the audience included.

On the day of your presentation, be sure that you have your handouts printed and copied 25 times by the time class begins.

Also, remember that if you plan on using the media technology in the classroom for your presentation, you must do the following. First, notify me via email as to which technology you will require; i.e., hardware and/or software. Second, save all necessary information and documentation on a personal USB flashdrive. There is not enough time in the meeting period for presenters to retrieve materials from their email archives. Therefore, the only acceptable means of accessing your presentation materials is via a USB flashdrive.

R 5/2
: Presentations
4pm - RQ1
1. Jossibel
2. Melissa
3. Chynia
4. Veronica 
6pm - TW2 
1.Chiemeka
2. Marie
3. Halima
4. Joyce

T 5/7
: Presentations
4pm - RQ1
1. Mohammad
2. Dwaine
3. Crystal
4. Paul
5. Jamie
6. Danny 
6pm - TW2 
1. Paul
2. Jamila
3. Yolanda
4. Fatema
5. Jodi-Ann
6. Rosalayn

R 5/9
: Presentations
4pm - RQ1
1. Yuri
2. Marie
3. Danielle
4. Arnaldo
5. Erica 
6pm - TW2 
1. Nedjie
2. Sylwia
3. Andy
4. Xie
5. Jenika

T 5/14
: Presentations
4pm - RQ1
1. Yogeeta
2. Cinthia
3. Bahia
4. Jasim
5. Rosy 
6pm - TW2 
1. Glenn
2. Stacey
3. Rosa
4. Yajaira
5. Murland

Important Reminders for Tuesday, 4/30

This is to remind each of you of the upcoming items due this coming Tuesday, 4/30.

First, the Revision of Paper Two is due. Please be sure to include the original marked-up copy of your first draft with the revised paper!

Second, the Introduction to your Research Paper is due. Please include the first two roughly-drafted pages.

Third, the general Outline of your Research Paper is due. See the examples below and use them as models for your individual outlines. Remember that I am asking that you produce at least a half-page, detailed outline. See the generic outline I have produced that follows. Note that items in parenthesis are optional. As another example, see the outline that appears on pages 13-14 in Hacker's Writer's Reference; it has been scanned and provided below for your convenience.

Fourth, you need to bring two extra copies of your outline and introduction to class, so that we can perform a peer-edit of your work.


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I.               Introduction

a.     (Epigraph)

b.     General Introduction to Topic

c.      Argumentative Thesis Statement

d.     Identification of Sections, Main Points, etc.

II.             Background information, historical context, definition(s), etc.

a.     Supporting Evidence - Summary

b.     Supporting Evidence - Quotation

III.           Section 1 - Main Point 1

a.     Supporting Evidence - Summary

b.     Supporting Evidence - Quotation

IV.            Section 2 - Main Point 2

a.     Supporting Evidence - Summary

b.     Supporting Evidence - Quotation

V.              Section 3 - Main Point 3

a.     Supporting Evidence - Summary

b.     Supporting Evidence - Quotation

VI.            (Section 4 – Counterpoint)

a.     Supporting Evidence - Summary

b.     Supporting Evidence - Quotation

VII.          Section 5 - Conclusion

a.     Restatement of Thesis

b.     Restatement of Sections, Main Points

c.      (Personal Experience or Opinion)

d.     The What’s Next

Reminders for Thursday 4/18

This is to remind each of you of the items due today in class.

First, the revision of Paper One is due. Please be sure to include the original marked-up copy of your first draft stapled beneath your revision copy.

Second, the second submission of the Annotated Bibliography is due today. You are to submit three new sources with complete annotations. Be sure you are properly formatting your citations according to APA or MLA standards. Also, be sure that you are writing at least 200 word annotations that both summarize and explicitly describe how each source will serve your thesis and overall paper!

(#7) DQs on Lyndon B Johnson

Please answer the following questions after reading and listening to Lyndon B Johnson's speech "We Shall Overcome."

1. Why did President Johnson believe the right to vote is the most important civil right? 
2. Explain the significance of why Johnson uses the phrase, "We Shall Overcome." Identify the ways in which President Johnson established his credibility to speak on civil rights? Do you find such explications of credibility persuasive? Why or why not? 
3. How did President Johnson use history in “We Shall Overcome?” What lessons did he try to teach from U.S. history? Are such lessons still relevant today? 
4. Do President Johnson’s appeals to the American Promise seem outmoded today? Would Americans in the twenty-first century be responsive to such a narrative? If not, why not? If so, on what subject(s)? 
5. One could argue that the Johnson speech was far more efficacious in bringing about change in civil rights because it was made by a powerful white president and was the prelude to the 1964 Civil Rights Acts. Do you agree? Why or why not? 
6. The Web site for the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Information Programs contains a transcript of President Johnson’s speech as one of its “Basic Readings in U.S. Democracy” (http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/demo.htm) as well as list of readings for citizens of other countries interested in learning about American history. Why might the State Department have included Johnson’s speech? What does one learn about U.S. democracy by reading Johnson’s speech?

Thesis Proposal Due Thursday

This is a reminder that the final draft of the Thesis Proposal is due in class this Thursday. There will not be a peer-edit of these documents, so you will only need to bring one hard copy to hand in.

(#6) DQs on Martin Luther King, Jr.

Please answer the following questions after reading and listening to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech "I Have A Dream."

1. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech compares the situation of African-Americans in 1863 to their situation in 1963. What are the differences? What are the similarities? 
2. King refers to a check or a promissory note that was given to African-Americans. What is that promissory note? How does he develop the check image? 
3. King’s speech is a call to action. To what kind of action? What do African-Americans want? Significantly, what kind of action does he warn against? Why? 
4. The most quoted sentences of this speech repeat the phrase “I have a dream.” What are the elements of that dream? How does it relate to the “American Dream”? 
5. King takes the phrase “let freedom ring” from the patriotic song “My Country ‘Tis of Thee.” Why is this important? How does he expand on this phrase? 
6. How does King tie this phrase to the words of an “old Negro spiritual”? Why is this significant? 
7. King was a Southern Baptist minister. What aspects, themes, images of his speech might be representative of Southern religious sermons?
8. Of what aspects of American culture is King’s speech critical? 
9. Did the speech lead to transformations in American culture? Explain your answer.

Presentation and Research Project Rubrics Posted

The rubric for the Presentations and Research Project are now posted on the Schedule, Readings, and Rubrics page. I distributed a hardcopy of this document in class today, yet should you need to retrieve another copy you can do so by clicking on the link on the aforementioned page.

(#5) DQs on Malcolm X

Please answer the following questions after reading and listening to Malcolm X's speech "The Ballot or the Bullet."

1. Malcolm X calls himself a “Black Nationalist.” What does this mean? List a few of the characteristics of this ideology. 
2. Why is Malcolm X so skeptical about whether white politicians and white liberals can be trusted to help the cause of Black Americans?
3. Is Malcolm X advocating for violence or is he merely predicting it, should voting rights not be successfully implemented? 
4. Consider the following passage from the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government.” Does Malcolm X agree with this passage? Explain your answer.
5. Consider the following statements, and then determine which one most accurately summarizes Malcolm X’s thesis in his speech: (a) Whites have systematically exploited and duped Blacks throughout American history; therefore, Blacks should use either the ballot or the bullet to organize and overthrow this system of exploitation. The goal of this political revolution should be a free society that genuinely protects everyone’s rights. (b) Whites have already organized themselves as a “nation” or race that merely looks out for its own interests; rather than integrate into this organization, Blacks must do the same things in their own community by maintaining separate political and economic institutions.

Refining Keyword Searches in Databases and Search Engines

I have transcribed the following information from page 338 in the Writer's Reference. Employ this to guide your keyword searches while beginning your initial research for your final paper. Remember to vary your usage of these Boolean operators and terms so that you can elicit the most refined search results possible.

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Although command terms and characters vary in electronic databases and Web search engines, some common functions are listed here:

• Use quotation marks around words that are part of a phrase: "gateway drug."
• Use AND to connect words  that must appear in a document: hyperactivity AND children. In some search engines--Google, for example--AND is assumed, so typing it is unnecessary. Other search engines require a plus sign instead: hyperactivity + children.
• Use NOT in front of words that must not appear in a document: Persian Gulf NOT war. Some search engines require a minus sign (hyphen) instead: Persian Gulf -war.
• Use OR if only one of the terms must appear in a document: "mountain lion" OR cougar.
• Use an asterisk as a substitute for letters that might vary: "marine biolog* (to find marine biology or marine biologist, for example).
• Use parenthesis to group a search expression and combine it with another: (standard OR student OR test*) AND reform. 

NOTE: Many databases and search engines offer an advanced search option for refining your search with filters for exact phrases that must appear, specific words that should not appear, date restrictions, author and title restrictions, and so on.

Annotated Bibliography Rubic Posted

The rubric for the annotated bibliography writing assignment is now posted on the Schedule, Readings, and Rubrics page. I distributed a hardcopy of this document in class today, yet should you need to retrieve another copy you can do so by clicking on the link on the aforementioned page.

Below is a sample annotation in APA style:

Lothan, K. (2005) Seizing the time: Australian aborigines and the influence of the Black Panther party, 1969-1972. Journal of Black Studies, 35,179-200. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40027217.

This article is about the Australian aborigines that were influenced by the Black Panther Party to start a party of their own to fight against inequality in Australia. The article shows that the Black Panther did not just influence the people in America but other people around the world. The Australian Black Panther Party wanted similar needs and wants as the Black Panther Party in America. They both wanted “land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice, and peace and immediate end to police brutality” (Lothian, p. 187). The Australian Black Panther Party wanted to use self-defense as their ideology but that was not very successful because carrying guns was illegal. So instead of using guns when they followed the police, they used pencils and a note book. Members were shown movies about the Black Panther Party because they wanted every member to know what was expected of them. The Australian Black Panther Party started survival programs just like the American Black Panther Party. Some of the survival programs they started were Legal services, feed the people, free breakfast for children and Medical Services. This source supports my thesis because it shows that other people around the world saw the good things that the Black Panther Party was doing for the community and they wanted to do the same for their community.

Bomb It! and Style Wars

Hi All,

I hope that your second paper 's writing process is coming along nicely this weekend. I want to provide everyone with the YouTube link to the film we watched this past Thursday, Bomb It!. You may certainly use this text in your upcoming papers if you wish. Be sure you properly cite any references you make!

Best,
s.

Also, you may be interested in the following document from 1983 titled Style Wars. It's a classic. Enjoy! (This full-length video has Spanish subtitles.)

Notes on Lachmann

This upcoming Tuesday, we will review Lachmann's text "Graffiti as Career and Ideology." Be sure to have read the entire twenty-one page article before our next class meeting. Pay attention to the following notes and questions as you read, for they will help inform your comprehension of the material. These bullet points do not need to be answered formally.  We will merely use them to guide our discussion of the text in class.

• How can graffiti be considered a cultural artifact? How does labeling graffiti as such help us understand its historical and/or contemporary cultural meaning and value? 
• Lachmann (1988) stated that his study was predominantly concerned with "understanding how the content of graffiti is formed and transformed by graffiti writers' social interactions with their audience" (p. 1). Why and how does audience factor so heavily into the overall acceptance, acknowledgement, and meaning of graffiti?
• The fact that "graffiti writers are involved simultaneously in an art world and a deviant subculture" could relate to the concept of the double-consciousness as coined by W.E.B. DuBois (Lachmann, 1988, p. 203). DuBois described this as a "sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his two-ness." How might this concept apply to graffiti writers?
• Closely read the passage on page 231 that begins with "By examining the content..." and that ends on page 232 with "...T-shirts, or coffee mugs" (Lachmann, 1988). Identify key terms and the passage's overall significance to the text's thesis, argument, and investigation of graffiti culture.
• Examine the concept of hegemony as defined by Hall on page 231, then offer your own definition of this latent, yet powerful social and cultural and ideological force. Provide one example of hegemonic forces that you can identify from your own experiences.     
• Why do gang's hire graffiti writers? What are the benefits and pitfalls writers experience as a result of their involvement with New York City gangs?
• The education of novice graffiti writers is extremely vital to their eventual development into maturity. How does the mentor-apprentice relationship help create and reinforce social hierarchies within this subculture? How might an analysis of the internal hierarchy of graffiti reveal a mimesis of or resistance to the various hierarchies (e.g., economic class, ethnic group, gender roles and norms) of dominant culture?
• Why do writers give up graffiti? When does this typically occur according to the text? What is the "dilemma of their [graffiti writers'] own making?" (Lachmann, 1988, p. 237f). Do you feel that this "drop-out" trend has changed since this article was published in 1988? Explain your position.
• In what ways is graffiti linked to criminal activity? What are the misnomers regarding linkages between crime and graffiti, especially as revealed by a NYC district attorney (cf. p. 236).
• How have police been successful in disrupting groups of graffiti writers? What is the greatest threat police pose to writers? 
• Explain how a "tag" solidifies and strengthens self-identity.
• Analyze the differences in geographic location between taggers vs. muralists. Consider, especially, the rise and fall of "writer's corners" and "crews" in NYC and the contributions of these "spaces" to the artistic world of graffiti. How did these corners protect the subculture? What happened when these corners were fragmented and eventually destroyed?  
• Graffiti muralists experienced two waves of art gallery attention, in late 1972 and in 1980. Analyze how by "packaging" graffiti into gallery spaces, this art form was co-opted "into the dominant art world" and therefore rendered a commercial and social commodity (Lachmann, 1988, p. 246).

Rubric for Thesis Proposal Posted

The rubric for the thesis proposal writing assignment is now posted on the Schedule, Readings, and Rubrics page. I distributed a hardcopy of this document in class today, yet should you need to retrieve another copy you can do so by clicking on the link on the aforementioned page.

(#4) Creating a Working Thesis and Intro Paragraph

Over the weekend, produce and post a draft introductory paragraph to the second formal essay assignment. Be sure to include an argumentative thesis statement that clearly identifies your two chosen authors and texts, and the main point(s) that will be utilized to support your paper's thesis. 

Remember that in your paper you can argue for the positive purposes and outcomes of graffiti and street art, you can argue against the negative purposes and outcomes of graffiti and street art, or you can argue for a combination of both positive and negative purpose and outcomes of graffiti and street art. Furthermore, the paper's main point(s) can stem from the list of ten possibilities that appear on the Rubric for Paper Two. 

Please bring one hardcopy of your draft introduction and thesis statement to class. (Due Tue, 3/12)

Rubric for Paper Two Posted

The rubric for the second formal writing assignment is now posted on the Schedule, Readings, and Rubrics page. I distributed a hardcopy of this document in class today, yet should you need to retrieve another copy you can do so by clicking on the link on the aforementioned page.

(#3) NYC's Graffiti is Still Burning

There are numerous similarities and differences between gang graffiti, graffiti art, street art, and the integration of graffiti into the global community. In class we have begun to identify a few. Graffiti has been used as a visual symbol of resistance, group identity, and individual identity in and out of art galleries and the corporate social world. Current graffiti artists incorporate images of popular culture into their work and are also challenged with creating artistic and aesthetically pleasing works in the public environment. Graffiti is no longer considered subculture but has a history quite independent of that in the dominant culture.

For this homework assignment, I would like everyone to locate an example of graffiti or street art in their local community or neighborhood. If possible, this example should be photographed, or even sketched, so that it can be distributed and shared with the class on Thursday. Then, a brief synopsis of the chosen example should be offered in the same fashion as a piece of art that hangs in a formal gallery. Using the Glossary of Graffiti, employ key terms to help describe your chosen example. The following list of questions should help to guide you.

How long has the work or graffiti or street art been there? On what kind of wall or building does it appear? What is the medium used: spray paint, sticker, marker, etch, scratch, etc.? What type of graffiti or street art is your chosen example? What are the significant elements and aspects of the chosen example? Who is the artist; i.e., what is their assumed name or identity? To your knowledge is the artist active in the city still? How much territory have they claimed? Where else does/might their work appear?  

Explain how and why you consider the chosen example to be vandalism or art, or both. What purpose might your example serve for the individual, for passersby, or for the community? What are some of the emotions you feel upon viewing this example of urban graffiti or street art?

Please post the description (about 250 words in length) of your graffiti or street art example as a comment below. Visual reproductions of your example can be linked by providing a URL to the photo in your post, they can be emailed to me before class meets, or they can be printed and brought to class. (Due 2/28)

Graffiti-Marked Subway Train Spotted in 2013!

I would like everyone to briefly visit this article, titled "Old School Graffiti-Marked Subway Train Spotted at W4th Street Station" from The Gothamist, that was published on Jan. 10, 2013. While the article claims that this was performed by Europeans and not NYC natives, this throw-up is nevertheless proof that there is still an active graffiti counterculture in our city and other cities worldwide. Arguably, such transgressive artwork like this hasn't been seen on a subway car in a very long time, and is reminiscent of the extremely prevalent subway graffiti of the 1970s and 80s.

What are some of your initial thoughts after encountering this article and photo?

Revision of HW#2

After examining your submissions for HW#2 - Let's Argue About Flash Mobs, it appears that a large number of students failed to meet the requirements of the assignment. Therefore, I am offering everyone the chance to revise their original submission by this upcoming Tuesday, 2/26.

Please review the terms of the assignment, provided for your convenience below. Importantly, when reviewing your original submission, be sure that you labeled each paragraph to identify which rhetorical device is being employed, and that you used at least one direct reference from the course texts to support your argument.

Should you revise this homework, you can simply reply to your original comment with the revision.

Again, this revision is due before class this upcoming Tuesday, 2/26.

This assignment will require two developed paragraphs to complete your answer. In the first, argue in favor of flash mobs. That is, identify the "positive" qualities and results of flash mobbing. In the second, argue against flash mobs. That is, identify the "negative" qualities and results of flash mobbing and mobs in general. Each argumentative statement should constitute the topic sentence of these paragraphs.

Vitally, you should employ one distinct pattern of organization, or rhetorical device, in each paragraph. Be sure to head each paragraph with a label that identifies which pattern or device you are using to argue your point. See Hacker's textbook, pages 32-45, for information regarding patterns of organization and rhetorical devices.

Be sure that you include at least one direct reference (i.e., quotation) from one of the course texts in each paragraph. These references should be parenthetically cited according to APA or MLA format and thoroughly explained so as to best support the paragraphs' topic sentences.

Paper One Peer-Edit

This is a reminder that you are required to bring two extra copies of your first formal paper to class tomorrow. We will be performing a peer-edit for the first portion of the meeting period. I would recommend glancing at pages 20-22 in the Writer's Reference for some helpful information regarding the revision and peer-editing process.

Good luck in your writing! See you all tomorrow.
s.

Flash Mob Mayhem

Please see this recent CBS news article from 2/4/13 regarding flash mobs here in New York City by following the link here:Flash Mob Mayhem: Violent Groups of Teens Leave NYC Businesses in Ruins. I have included the video from the original news report for your convenience below.

Thanks to Joyce for submitting this!

Syllabus (v.3) Update

The course syllabus has been updated in order to conform to Department and College-wide standards. While the language of the course description and attendance policy has been changed to reflect these standards, the essential content and your responsibilities have not been altered. I encourage you to download the latest version, syllabus v.3, and examine these changes so that you remain current.

Notes on Wasik

Recall that we will review Wasik's text "My Crowd" this upcoming Tuesday. Please reread the article and pay attention to the following notes and questions. These do not need to be answered formally. We will use them to guide our discussion of the text in class.

Also, note that there is a typo on the Rubric for Paper One, which misspells Wasik incorrectly as Watsik. There is no letter "t" in this author's last name.

• What is the concept of deindividuation and how does it apply to groups, mobs, and the loss of individual identity?
• Explain why Wasik chooses the hipster generation as a "mercurial" example of this concept of deindividuation.
• Which MOB was your personal favorite? Why. 
• Explain what the significance is behind Bill's claim that his occupation is within the culture industry.
• Why is boredom a principle trait of mobsters, especially in the media's portrayal of them?
• Describe the social experiments and artistic theories of Stanley Milgram. How are his ideas important to contemporary flash mobs? 
• How and why did the flash mob "die" when it was co-opted by consumer capitalism?  
• At the heart of Milgram's and Wasik's experiments is the question of conformity, control, and the malleable freedom of human nature. Examine your own sense of conformity. What do you conform to? How and why or why not?

(#2) Let's Argue About Flash Mobs

This assignment will require two developed paragraphs to complete your answer. In the first, argue in favor of flash mobs. That is, identify the "positive" qualities and results of flash mobbing. In the second, argue against flash mobs. That is, identify the "negative" qualities and results of flash mobbing and mobs in general. Each argumentative statement should constitute the topic sentence of these paragraphs.

Vitally, you should employ one distinct pattern of organization, or rhetorical device, in each paragraph. Be sure to head each paragraph with a label that identifies which pattern or device you are using to argue your point. See Hacker's textbook, pages 32-45, for information regarding patterns of organization and rhetorical devices.

Be sure that you include at least one direct reference (i.e., quotation) from one of the course texts in each paragraph. These references should be parenthetically cited according to APA or MLA format and thoroughly explained so as to best support the paragraphs' topic sentences.

Please post your answer to this prompt below as a comment. (Due before class meets on Tue, 2/19)

Rubric for Paper One Posted

The rubric for the first formal writing assignment is now posted on the Schedule, Readings, and Rubrics page. I distributed a hardcopy of this document in class today, yet should you need to retrieve another copy you can do so by clicking on the link on the aforementioned page.

(#1) Are There No More Pirate Islands?

For Thursday, please answer the following prompt in two fully developed paragraphs in a typed document. You do not need to comment on this post. Direct citation from course texts is not required; however, it is encouraged should you wish to offer support to your writing. Bring this homework to class in hardcopy, properly formatted as indicated on the syllabus, so that it may be turned in.

First, describe an experience in your life where you may have witnessed a TAZ taking place. When and where was this event? What was happening? Were you a participant or an observer? What thoughts and feelings did you experience? While it may be difficult at first to identify and name a past experience as a TAZ, think hard about the definitions and descriptions Bey provides of such "pirate" spaces. Also, consider the subtext titled "Train Parties" by Sheena Bizarre and the "Reclaim the Streets" event narrated by Stephen Duncombe to help inform your answer.

Second, imagine then creating your own TAZ. What would happen? Where would it take place? Who would be involved? Who would be the audience? Why would you be creating and performing your TAZ? What would your "message" be? How would your “message” be conveyed? What would be your desired result? 

Learn How to Join and Contribute

As a member of our WRIT 303 course it is your responsibility to join this e-journal blog and, crucially, to participate when asked throughout the semester.

Importantly, this site will also serve as a message board from me to you and you to me. I will most likely have to pass on important information regarding class meeting times, assignment deadlines, changes in the syllabus, etc. throughout the term. Therefore, be sure to check this site frequently, especially on days before and after we meet for class, to be sure you are current with the goings-on of the course.

Okay, so what's next?

Below I am going to detail how to join this blog and how to contribute. If you are unfamiliar with using blogs have no fear, Blogger is quite user-friendly and you should catch on quick. Remember, you can always email me with questions. What you should do is email me immediately if you are having trouble with the site, for journal entries may be submitted via email and handed in hard copy the day they are due if such internet hiccups arise.

How to Join

Via email you'll receive a link allowing you to gain authorial access to this blog. Follow the link and you'll have the opportunity to create a new Google username and password and officially join Blogger and the course e-journal. If you already use Gmail, you can use your existing account log-in information without having to create anything new. Please use your complete last name as your username!

From now on you'll use that username and password you select or create to log into this blog before you add a comment or a post. So write it down or email it to yourself so you do not forget this information!

How to Comment and Post

First, you must log in. Go to the top of the site and at the right of your email address/username on the navbar you'll see a link titled "Sign In". This is your ticket.

To offer a comment to any post click on the post's title or on the ## Comments link at the bottom of the post. You can also click on the post's title found under the archived posts on the right side of the site. At the bottom of the post you'll find an editable text box. Think of it like a word document screen and you'll catch on quickly. Here you should offer your response to the main post thread or writing prompt. You can also reply directly to a comment written by another student. If the debate gets intense enough then I may decide to move the discussion into a new thread (i.e., post) all its own.

I highly recommend composing your e-journal responses in a word processor such as MS Word first, rather than typing your response directly into the comment box. The webpage may crash or timeout, causing you to lose your information. Therefore, to avoid losing your written work, compose your response in a separate program, save the document, then copy and paste your response into the comment box on the course blog.

More Editing and a Vital Disclaimer

If you happen to know HTML and/or java scripts you can use these to edit your posts to a greater degree---adding images, video, links, and more.

If a you should choose to add media to a post, keep in mind that inappropriate material, language, and slander will be subject to immediate removal. Depending on the level and degree of inappropriateness, the student faces disciplinary action such as receiving a zero on the assignment (minimum) or being reported to the Dean of Student Affairs (maximum). Please see the CUNY Computer User Responsibilities webpage for information concerning such disciplinary processes.

In Closing...

Be sure to bookmark this site on your personal computer so that you can check the blog frequently. As I recommended above, nearly once a day you should be visiting our e-journal. While you are required to only submit one writing per e-journal assignment, you may write as much at you wish on this blog. Contributing more with extra effort certainly weighs positively on your overall class participation!

Remember, the point of this blog is not only for me to impart important class announcement nor for you to just submit a weekly journal entry; rather, it serves as a birthplace for written ideas. The things discussed and argued here will undoubtedly come up in class, and should, so feel free to verbally reference the blog's content while we are in the classroom. Paper topics and sites of argumentation will also present themselves here. This is a vital component and goal of this site: for as we test and share ideas with one another, we further understanding of specific subject matter, thereby developing and deepening our ability to discuss the course's texts and topics to a greater degree.

I hope you join as soon as possible so that you can begin adding to your classroom e-community by contributing commentary and content to what is now our new WRIT 303 course blog!

Accessing Library Databases When Off-Campus

Here is the York College webpage that details how to gain Remote Access to Databases. It states the following transcribed below:

• To access York's licensed databases off-campus, you must be a currently enrolled student or a faculty/staff member with an active ID in the York library system. Check at the York Library circulation desk to make sure your ID is active. See CUNY's FAQ for more information about remote access to licensed resources.
• You then need to enter the 14-digit Library I.D. (barcode) number from the back of your York I.D. card.
• Users can also access all of the licensed resources after logging into York's VPN (Virtual Private Network): use these links to connect to the Faculty/Staff VPN or the Student VPN. Contact Academic Computing's helpdesk (ext. 5300) for more information about VPN.
• AOL users may need to launch Internet Explorer in order to access online databases.
• Several New York State Library databases now offer remote access using your New York State DMV Driver License or Non-Driver Photo ID Number.
• You can also access CUNY-wide E-journals and Reference Databases off campus by logging into the CUNY Portal. Logon to the Portal and click on: E-Journals and Reference Databases.
• See information on using Find It!

Still have problems/questions connecting to the library databases remotely? Send e-mail to: reference@york.cuny.edu.

Include your name, barcode number (i.e., Library I.D. #), name of the database you were trying to access, and the time of day you attempted access. Also include the error message, if any.

You can also try calling the CUNY Computing Center Help Desk at 212.541.0981 or 212.541.0982.   Have problems/questions concerning the York College Library website? Send e-mail to: reference@york.cuny.edu.

Accessing York College Student Email

Visit this FAQ site for questions and answers regarding the initial activation and access to your York College Student Email account.

The direct link to your email appears on this blog's left sidebar under On-Campus Links for future convenience.