Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.
— Oscar Wilde.
This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.
Rhode Island’s Third Eye: Storm Tools
NEWPORT, R.I–“I think that you need to recognize the problem before you can take action, but I don’t think that there’s enough people who actually recognize the issue that stands before them.”
Michael King, 38, works for the Newport Restoration Foundation.
His company spearheaded the program “History Above Water”, which seeks to preserve the historic properties and communities that fall prey to the rising sea in Newport, R.I.
“Because the point section of the city is so close to the water, if a solution is not figured out soon, within the next forty years or so, we stand to lose a lot of historic property that my organization owns, as well as across the country.”
Aside from the point section of the city which mainly consists of renovated houses that existed during Newport’s colonial period, other historical landmarks such as Fort Adams state park are at risk of coastal flooding as well.
“I don’t think that we’ll lose the whole city altogether, I do feel that we will lose a good portion of our port sections, I believe that the historical district and the point will be lost, I believe that Fort Adams will be non-accessible to the public, and I do feel as though we will see some things that will end up lost and damaged as a result.”
“Rhode Island is a national leader in mapping and modeling our coastal hazard. We have an online mapping software called Storm Tools. This is what I use to go out into the field to show different stakeholders what year different sea levels are likely to present themselves on the Rhode Island coastline based on future projections from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.”
Tareesa Crean, is a community coastal management extension specialist who has been working on coastal resilience for thirteen years, working directly with Rhode Island’s coastal agency.
“My coast allows us to show people that sea-level rise is real, and it’s actually being photographed by citizen scientists who want to make sure that we are capturing those circumstances on Rhode Island’s coast, and that can then be used to monitor and evaluate change over time.
Between my coast and stormtools, there are resources that are accessible to the public who want to learn more about his issue, or help create awareness within this community.
While it is apparent that physically seeing the ocean rise is virtually impossible for the naked eye, the resources provided emphasize that coastal erosion is both developing and projecting at a rapid rate.
If citizens cannot create change soon, Rhode Island can expect significant coastal impacts within the years to come.
Final Showcase Blog Post; Indigenous “Recognition” Day
On October 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus set foot in the Americas, claiming the land for Spain. Thus, since 1937, this day has been recognized in the United States as “Columbus Day” to pay tribute to the explorer.
But what of the holiday today? Brian St. Pierre, 24, believes that there is more than “meets the eye” to the story.
“Columbus Day doesn’t have a direct impact on me per say, but for some cultures it has a much larger impact based on where the holiday originated from. I think that there are a lot of misconceptions about the day, and the origins/reasons for it being recognized as a national holiday.”
Examining the data located on “Google Trends”, upon searching Christopher Columbus, one will find that “related topics”, to include: Racism (+900%), Native Americans (+300%), and Slavery (+200%). Another fascinating statistic pertaining to this topic, is that Christopher Columbus generated the most interest (this year) from October 11-17th.
But why?
“We (as a country) are just trying to patch the problem and mask it with something else to ‘please the crowd’, rather than abolish the holiday altogether; and because it’s 2020 there are so many conflicts going on with racial tensions in the US, a-lot of which has to do with our current Presidency” says Brian.
To many people, these last four years of President Trump’s presidency have been nothing more than a fiasco. From the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic, to social issues concerning the Black Lives Matter organization, which later triggered other minority based groups such as Indigenous rights movements.
“Donald Trump sees indigenous people in the North East who are seeking federal recognition as a threat to the economy because he envisions them building casinos in order to continue this trend. In a Joe Biden administration, there would be a better working relationship between the office and the indigenous community” says Dr. Campbell, a political and environmental anthropologist whose work focuses on land conflicts, ecological change, and the state in the Brazilian Amazon.
Paired up with Dr. Jeremy Campbell and the students enrolled in the Roger Williams Honors Program, Dr. Hendrickson, an assistant professor at Roger Williams University, has conducted research regarding the history of the Pokonoket Tribe in Rhode Island, and the surrounding communal/societal impacts that they endure today.
“I do see the Trump administration making gestures toward federal recognition geared at these groups; and I have my own personal concern that the way these gestures are typically played out ultimately result as ‘political ploys.’”
“The Pokonoket are not asking for federal recognition, they’re asking for recognition of their own sovereignty outside of any federal paradigm.”
“Indigenous nations or other nations across the ocean, or anywhere else, all of them be damned because our own interests (as the United States) are the only thing that matters; this poses a severe problem for any Indigenous group that wants to define themselves outside of the United States of America.”
Po Menuhkesu Menenok, 31, is the tribal historian of the Pokonoket people and was not overly apprehensive regarding the upcoming election. “We as a people are not anxious or too concerned, though individuals will surely exercise their right to vote for their Presidential candidate.”
“We were here long before this nation became a nation, and regardless of who is in the white house, our identity as Pokanoket remains the same.”
To a nation that simply wishes to be recognized within their community, the misconception and lack of understanding proves to be overwhelming for the nation as a whole.
Take Mount Potomtuk for example; otherwise known as Mt. Hope, this site serves as a cermonial ground for the Pokonoket Tribe, due to the location of King Phillip’s chair.
What many people fail to realize however, is that the land that surrounds this rich history is “owned” by Brown University, not the tribe. It’s evident that the items found on the site belonged to the native inhabitants of the Pokonoket tribe, and that the University wishes for the land to remain secluded.
“Awareness.” This is the best word to describe the Pokonoket nation, due to the lack of understanding concerning the history of the people, and the vast resources regarding the story that remain standing, and need to be told.
What I personally learned while both interviewing people and investigating areas like Mount Potumtuk, is that there is more to the story than meets your eye.
Is President Trump to blame?
While the answer to this question remains to be foreseen, the reality of this situation is that there is a tension between the Pokonoket tribe’s desire to be recognized within the state, and the state wishing to not only contain their land, but to also keep it hidden from the public eye.
Perhaps Columbus Day is the bridge that will make people realize that there are two sides to every story! And not all holidays are represented by something positive!
A Google Trend Lead Interview
What if I told you that technology has evolved so much that it influences our topics of discussion, eventually leading to the source of one’s interview today! Google trends has both broken the barriers of tracking one’s personal data based on our search history, but has also allowed us (the user) to view popular search topics (or trends) of other people in order to get a better sense of what’s being researched, etc. When researching these trends, I wanted to get a sense of what people were looking up (pertaining to my beat) in order to get a better sense of what to ask Brian. It was of no surprise that when I looked up “Indigenous People” the first things to pop up (regarding related topics) were Columbus Day, and Massachusetts.
“To be quite honest, prior to this conversation, I really did not know that there were indigenous tribes or cultures in the surrounding areas. I think that they’re so different from what we would stereotypically think they would look like, but we really don’t pay attention. I really had no idea that there were any people around within proximity to where I live; so it was really an eye-opener.”
“To me personally, the ‘celebration’ of the holiday does not affect me personally, but to others more closely tied to the history of that day, I can see it being more of a factor on them.”
As for the shift/trend of moving “Columbus Day” to Indigenous People’s Day, Brian’s response was very insightful.
“I think that people will become more aware of the cultural surrounding of the actual holidays and what they actually represent; the why and the how. I don’t however think that it will impact the celebratory factor that the holiday has carried with it for years. By changing the name you are bringing about awareness, but you aren’t necessarily changing the behavior to which it belongs to as a result.”
Awareness. This word I believe is what ties both the purpose of Google Trends as well as my conversation topic. It brings about this idea that awareness needs to be brought to the table, before actual change can occur. On the flipside of this situation however, it’s also important to note that just because you change the name or the ideology behind something, it doesn’t necessarily mean you change the persona/behavior that people exhibit during that day, event, etc!
Dogs, Dogs, Dogs; Dog Park Blog/News-post Artifact
Take my hand and follow me to a place where dogs can play/explore, and truly be themselves! What if I took you to a place where dogs of all different breeds and sizes could roam about aimlessly and socialize with each other right before your very eyes? My friends, we have arrived at the Portsmouth Dog Park, located on 50 Smith Road, Portsmouth RI. While you may have difficulty locating the site’s location through phone apps or GPS, the location has made its way to Portsmouth’s town map, so that in case of an emergency, Police officers or Firefighters can locate the establishment with ease.
Meet Bunny and Cally. Ms. Miller is currently the treasurer of the dog park committer and was the chairperson/founder of the dog park when it began in 2013 with the process. The dog park was officially opened to the public in 2017 to honor her previous dog Oscar, who was killed by a neighbor’s dog that was on the loose. The park would both serve as a memorial as well as a building block for the community to bring their dogs together.
When asked about improvements to the park that she would like to see become a reality, Bunny’s list was both insightful as well as concise. One major improvement that Bunny had mentioned she would like to add to the park are lights for the winter season that would allow owners to bring their companions either after work or at a reasonable hour in the late afternoon, early evening.
“Right now dusk is 430. And for people who work, they can’t use the dog park during the week, so they use it during the weekends, and as a result, it overcrowds the park during the weekends, so we would like silver lighting that we can have turn on from 4 until 8 during the winter months.”
Aside from this, Ms. Miller would also like to see astro turf applied to the ground to give it more of an appeal to visitors, as well as expansion of the property that would allow owners to walk their dogs within the property if they so choose.
For the full interview with Ms. Miller attached is the link: https://soundcloud.com/user-339728695/full-interview-with-bunny-miller
Meet Jane Regan and her dog Willoughby. Ms. Regan serves currently as the chair of the volunteer committee. “I think the dog park has come a long way, I make friends here because we all love animals, we’re all invested in keeping the park clean, open, etc. It has become both a people community and dog community.”
When asked what worries her or “taboos” pertaining to the usage of the park, one of Jane’s answers was that she’s concerned that people bring their animals that are “too young”, and that the lack of having your animal up to date with shots can potentially impact surrounding dogs with sicknesses such as kennel cough. “It puts your dog at risk, and I don’t like that.”
Jane’s role however as chair of the committee also comes with monitoring the nature of the park and making sure that visitors adhere to the rules. “Our job is to fill the water containers” Jane laughed when asked about duties regarding dealing with tensions among owners and their dogs at the park. “It requires kind of a balance of what people want us to do vs. what we should be doing, which is really just enjoying the dog park.”
Many times during the interview, Jane commented on how perfect the “chemistry” was that day. “Just one dog with an attitude problem, no matter the size, can change the chemistry totally.” What exactly did she mean by this?
‘It’s like a giant playground.” Jane said when asked to describe the dog park. “But the one thing that brings us together is that we really love our animals, and everyone loves their dog and thinks their dog can do no wrong, and for the most part, they’re right!”
Although it’s silly, Jane feels as though the behavior of visitors changes when she’s around. “I feel the need to do make sure the rules are being followed so that they don’t close us down.”
Who am I? What can I know? And based on what I know, how should I act? To conclude this blog post, I will tie these last three questions into my conclusion, and what this project has taught me.
I think that this project ties into the core questions as well as my major in that as an investigative journalist, my duty is to make sure other people’s stories get told, and to bring to light voices that deserve to be heard.
What originally started off as a research project on improving dog parks evolved into a study of human behavior with people using the facility with their pets. I learned over the last few days observing and studying the manner that people act around their dogs that not only do people TRULY love their pets, but also the degree in which people assimilate their animals when interacting in public.
I learned that similar to the tricky question “what came first the chicken or the egg”, the relationship between humans and dogs either shape when living, interacting, communicating, etc. with your four legged friend, or people simply pick their dog out based on what they see in themselves which brings about this level of compassion.
“I would not have survived Covid, without my dog” said Jane when asked about the impact that Willoughby had on her.
I am an engaging member of my community seeking to bring to light a story that needs to be told beyond the scope of Portsmouth, RI. Based on what I learned, I know that people will do anything for their dogs (such as build a park in their honor) because we exhibit the same level of compassion that dogs share with us, and finally the way we should act is to tell the stories of these amazing moments/messages that become buried in Presidential elections, and pandemics.
Natural Sound Story (Practice Edition)
With the upcoming election steadily coming to an end, the implications of each candidate’s policies carry heavy significant impact on everyone, including the Indigenous people. Whether it be policies concerning immigration or healthcare, to the Pokonoket people, climate policies are what’s on the line for the indigenous communities (concerning their land).
“Environmental issues that are on the line for the elections go straight into the Pokonoket nations and overall Indigenous nations, both within the New England area as well as across the country” stated Jeraldyn Ramirez.
Overlooking (what used to be) Mt. Wampanoag or “Mt. Hope” is Narraganset Bay, the bay used by the Pokonoket people for transportation, exportation, etc.
Birds tweeting, frogs croaking, these are the preservations of what used to be the lands of the Pokonoket. Many people throughout the community believe that the stake of this upcoming election entails the risk of their land; whereas the tribe itself simply seeks recognition within the state vs. federally which many believe President Trump is using to generate more revenue! See you November 3rd, the fate of the Pokonoket lands lie in your hands!
All Of them be Damned
“The larger national conversation is doing very little to address the needs and concerns of the Indigenous communities today; especially the Pokonoket tribes.”
These were the words of Dr. Brian Hendrickson, an Assistant Professor at Roger Williams University, when asked about his take regarding the impact of the Presidential elections on Indigenous groups.
Paired up with Dr. Jeremy Campbell and the students enrolled in the Roger Williams Honors Program, Dr. Hendrickson has conducted research regarding the history of the Pokonoket Tribe in Rhode Island, and the surrounding communal/societal impacts that they endure today.
“I do see the Trump administration making gestures toward federal recognition geared at these groups; and I have my own personal concern that the way these gestures are typically played out ultimately result as ‘political ploys.'”
“The Pokonoket are not asking for federal recognition, they’re asking for recognition of their own sovereignty outside of any federal paradigm.”
Dr. Brian Hendrickson, Assistant Professor of Writing Studies, Rhetoric, and Composition
Jeraldyn Ramirez, the President of the Multicultural Student Union at Roger Williams University helped program an event with the Sagamore of the Pokonoket Nation as well as Loren Spears, executive director of the Tomaquag Museum .
“Our goal was to bring awareness to campus for students to learn about the indigenous nations who’s lands we currently stand on.”
Like Dr. Hendrickson, Ms. Ramirez felt as though the Pokonoket people are very much “underrepresented”, and that their truths are always “hidden in plain sight.”
“They’re constantly being put to the side, and their stories are always being told for them, which proves to show how ‘we’ have gone wrong as a society.”
When asked about an impact regarding the upcoming Presidential election, Ms. Ramirez’s answer was insightful, nontheless
Jeraldyn Ramirez, President of the Multicultural Student Union
“Something that I learned during the Indigenous Day event was that the environmental issues that are on the line for the elections go straight into the Pokonoket nations and overall Indigenous nations, both within the New England area as well as across the country. These are there lands. Everything that has to do with the way that they see the environment being taken care of directly effects them and where they live.”
Dr. Hendrickson concluded a little differently.
“Indigenous nations or other nations across the ocean, or anywhere else, all of them be damned because our own interests (as the United States) are the only thing that matters; this poses a severe problem for any Indigenous group that wants to define themselves outside of the United States of America.”
Christopher Columbus; Discoverer of America or Discoverer of true Democracy?
For an interactive Geo map of all of the Christopher Columbus statutes in the New England are click here.
You might be thinking that this report is focused on Columbus Day, and the impacts that are attached to it. I thought of this myself too while conducting my investigation, but I suddenly realized that it represents so much more.
What if I told you that Columbus Day can be viewed as the bridge that brings together both a realization for social change within impacted communities and this year’s upcoming Presidential election?
“Columbus Day doesn’t have a direct impact on me per say, but for some cultures it has a much larger impact based on where the holiday originated from. I think that there are a lot of misconceptions about the day, and the origins/reasons for it being recognized as a national holiday.”
Brian St. Pierre, 24, plans on voting this year and addressing these “misconceptions” that he believes haven’t been addressed over the last four years of our current President’s term. When asked what his thoughts were concerning changing the name of “Columbus Day” to “Indigenous People Day”, Brian’s response was insightful.
“We (as a country) are just trying to patch the problem and mask it with something else to ‘please the crowd’, rather than abolish the holiday altogether; and because it’s 2020 there are so many conflicts going on with racial tensions in the US, a-lot of which has to do with our current Presidency.”
Po Menuhkesu Menenok, 31, is the tribal historian of the Pokonoket people and was not overly apprehensive regarding the upcoming election. “We as a people are not anxious or too concerned, though individuals will surely exercise their right to vote for their Presidential candidate.”
“We were here long before this nation became a nation, and regardless of who is in the white house, our identity as Pokanoket remains the same.”
When asked about his insight concerning the significance of “Columbus Day”, the historian simply responded: “While the prospects of changing the name of this holiday has a personal appeal to some, it is the idea behind it that we support. The idea that challenges colonial narratives as absolute truths. To reexamine the myths we take as historical facts is powerful, to revise the often simplified and overlooked narratives of the Indigenous people of this land. Confronting the myths surrounding the year 1620 and the Pokanoket people is an ongoing reality we readily embrace. We know who we are, and in the spirit of “Columbus Day” we support those who seek the truth and are willing to reexamine the histories of the indigenous people of this land.”
To many people, these last four years of President Trump’s presidency have been nothing more than a fiasco. From the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic, to social issues concerning the Black Lives Matter organization, which later triggered other minority based groups such as Indigenous rights movements.
“The election focuses our attention even more on the undemocratic system that we have” responded Dr. Jeremy M. Campbell, a political and environmental anthropologist whose work focuses on land conflicts, ecological change, and the state in the Brazilian Amazon.
“Donald Trump sees indigenous people in the North East who are seeking federal recognition as a threat to the economy because he envisions them building casinos in order to continue this trend. In a Joe Biden administration, there would be a better working relationship between the office and the indigenous community” concluded Dr. Campbell.
All in all I believe we can use our future election as a light to illuminate issues that demand the attention that it deserves, such as renaming a holiday in the name of social justice. If I could sum up this entire presentation in one word, the word of my choosing would be change. Change of the Presidency, which leads to change in policies, which leads to change in how people see certain issues, which changes the way minority groups (such as indigenous people) are both looked at and treated today!
Wiki Leaks! Shhhh I’ll Leak you a Little Secret
Since my blog is blank, and sometimes I can’t resist filling empty boxes with text, I have no choice but to torture you with my reflection for this assignment. Honestly, though this assignment was the simplest, I can easily say that I had the most fun! But Kepa, you just edited a wiki page, how on earth could that be fun??! Well, it’s fun correcting other people’s work! Maybe I should be a teacher someday, who knows! Since this is a reflection, I should probably tell you what I took away from this assignment. What I learned from this assignment is what it’s like to be an actual editor! Not only that but going back to previous discussions on journalism and how anyone can publicize content without having to receive a background in journalism (Wikipedia) taught me the importance of conducting proper research and making sure you cite “credible” sources. For my assignment, I focused on the history of the University and updated the content pertaining to the current President of the school. While the information that was published is in fact accurate, I find it important to update information (when it comes to anything) when distributing information to any audience member (especially if they are undergoing any research or want to educate themselves). As journalists, it’s important for us to review the facts of any source that offers us information and to use our skills to either correct the information that has been publicized or do the best we can to confirm that the following information is in fact correct, and to ask questions that can/eventually will lead us to the truth. Oh and by the way, while I cited my information from the RWU website, I do not believe that I inserted it correctly into Wikipedia without a mess of symbols…….because like I said at the very beginning of class, I am very incompetent when it comes to technology, despite being in a DIGITAL class!!!!
Shark Week; Shark Tracker
It’s 2020 and I had you an actual handmade map, what are the odds that you use it? In today’s day in age, maps and anything paper-related are slowly becoming extinct by its virtual counterpart, which we are even learning in journalism class today the importance of being equip with these tools. Today, if I wanted to say view shark spottings in a particular region, I can simply log into google maps and create/view maps created through data charts to get a visual representation of the data being expressed. This assignment/tool is useful in that it creates a very simple way (through landmark measurements) in being able to illustrate coordinates for your viewer to see depending on the subject matter. In class we discussed the importance of being “tech savvy” within the journalism world in that we need to communicate information to the public through methods that the majority are using to receive it. An example of this, is the SEO headline exercise that we did last week in that in order to put your story in the spotlight that it deserves, locating key-words/popular terms that generate the most attention is your best bet of your story being seen. As a result, I believe that this assignment will prepare me for my bigger project in that I will be aware of key-words to produce pertaining to my topic, in order to generate the most possible attention, I have learned the importance of maps and their impact in creating visuals to the viewer with built in information, and finally, data mapping has shown me how to not only establish the needed credibility to your viewer, but it also makes your story more factual and less opinionated!
Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 Download Here!
Did my super lame click-bait somehow capture your attention? Well, before I jinx myself and lose ALL of what I hope I currently have (here’s to hoping), allow me to talk to you about my adventure in the world of Creative Commons. The very boring block that you see displayed before you is my “golden ticket” to being allowed to use images that I was too lazy to physically capture myself. There is a catch however!! That catch being that if I decide to go rouge and use said images for commercial purposes I might as well kiss that money goodbye and then some because THAT ISN’T PERMTITED. This icon that you see displayed before your very eyes is called the “attribution-noncommercial” permit. Stick figure symbol means that appropriate credit must be given to the author. So if the day ever comes where I become super rich, famous, and good-looking, then whoever wants to rob me of this freaking amazing content will have to ASK ME! And if I’m in a bad mood and happen to say no then they can suck it. They must also indicate to me if any changes were made within a reasonable manner. As for the dollar sign that’s marked that basically means that my content is prohibited from being used for commercial purposes where there is ultimately a monetary value.
“Plimoth Plantation Wampanoag Home Site” by foroyar22 is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
So if I did that correctly, I’m going spend these few seconds that I have typing to give credit to Charlie Kellogg for the picture “Plimoth Plantation Wampanoag Home Site.” Don’t worry Charlie that’s all that I’m gonna use this photo for is for practice giving OTHER PEOPLE the credit……..NEXT!
“Paper Doll Pop-up Wampanoag” by prayingmother is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Next is a “Paper Doll Pop-up Wampanoah” picture of what appears to be a craft taken by prayingmother. Like my soon to be developed content as well as the picture above that you see before you, this picture is to be used for noncommercial purposes and requires for credit to be given to the taker……you’re welcome prayingmother.
OMG, more content……I know for a fact you’re probably glancing at Facebook real quick or getting a snack. Since I’m stuck here because I have to finish this, allow me to finish the lesson. Displayed altogether (between the three images) were pictures of wampanoag people and artifacts that I would love to encompass into my research. While I appreciate the unlimited resources that the Internet has to offer, it’s important to follow the creative commons and use images that you find helpful so long as you follow the guidelines. Again, the purpose is to improve work that you yourself have created from scratch as opposed to taking someone else’s work.
Finally below you will find my map to conclude this “talk.” Although I find it random to be including it in a blog post about creative commons, the assignment is in charge and I will do absolutely whatever it takes to get the A.
The Coolest Place on the Internet 