Person Profile [Transcript]

Y – What is your name?

A- My name is Andrew V. Jogeeah

Y – What led you to LaGuardia?

A – When I was applying to colleges back in 2011, I didn’t get accepted to my first four choices, and I had seen LaGuardia Community College before since I lived in Astoria and decided to apply because of the convenient location and because my SAT scores were low.

Y – What was your major at the time?

A – I majored in Childhood Education and minored in English Literature.

Y – What drew you to this major?

A – I really enjoyed my time at my old elementary school and I felt it was a great experience for me as a child and a student. In addition to that, my fifth grade teacher was an inspiration to me and I wanted to be able to make a similar impact to students like he did.

Y – What made you not further pursue childhood education?

A – That shit was mad expensive bro. I had to maintain a double major taking 21 credit courseloads a semester in addition to having time open for internships so I could fulfill my requirements. On top of that, I would also have had to pay for teaching certification tests and further fingerprinting, which I had already done for my previous job and couldn’t use those fingerprints due to protocol. Having been working at the Writing Center at the same time, I decided to drop the double major and focus solely on English Literature and Creative Writing.

Y – What specifically drew you to the newer major of Creative Writing?

A – I’ve always had an interest in drawing, writing and reading because of video games and comic books and fantasized about making my own stories, comics and games. Ever since then, I’ve trained myself outside of school as these became my hobbies and wanted to sharpen my writing skills specifically since I felt that was lacking the most direction for me. I am quite confident in my ability of drawing, but if I had the money and opportunities, I would’ve loved to major in fine arts or studio art; it mostly boils down to a matter of money for me in the end.

Y – I understand that you work in the Writing Center. Do you draw on your experiences as a student to help other students at work?

A – I do. And yes, I often am able to sympathize with students and their assignments and struggles, which usually puts them at ease that what they’re feeling is surmountable and they can keep pushing forward even if they feel stuck because I made it on my own, but I’m here to help so that they don’t have to follow my same path.

Y – What do you do to get the most productivity out of a session with students?

A – Well, that’s unfortunately not always possible, but I basically try to get the gist of their assignment down at the very beginning of the assignment and try to identify what they’re struggling with. The sooner I get a feeling of those two aspects, the faster I can try and address the issues and try as many methods possible to help them get on the path they need to be with their writing. Sometimes this isn’t possible within an hour with a two people or even a single person, so I always encourage those students to come back for more sessions to help these most that I can.

Y – How far have you come from graduating at LaGuardia? How has your perception changed from being a student to becoming a member of the faculty?

A – I am pleased to say that I actually graduate from Hunter College in six days with my Bachelor’s Degree. I’ve come pretty far since attending LaGuardia, but I do miss it as a student; however, seeing it as a faculty member, I realize all the good I can do from what I’ve learned throughout my college career- as a student, as a LaGuardian, and now as a Writing Tutor.

Blog Post Assignment #3

The post “The Annual Clown Memorial Service” is about the gathering of clowns to commemorate the most influential clown in the profession, Joseph Grimaldi. In the photo essay, it illustrates clowns getting together in All Saints Church in Haggerston, London having all sorts of fun and entertainment in the spirit of being a clown. Each photo shows a myriad of clowns all with their own unique style and image. This memorial service is not only to commemorate the past clown in Joseph Grimaldi but to also serve as a passing of the torch in a whole new generation of clowns with children being a part of the service.

The essay features all colored photographs that capture the individualistic style of each clown and their costumes during the event. These photos are utilized in a realistic manner and they are well-grounded in the sense that they convey the literal action and emotion during the event. There’s a distinct focus on objects that are specific to the attire of a clown in the photographs such as large, colorful shoes, name tags, bow ties, and close-ups of a variety of faces in different makeup. The simplistic style of the photos lends itself to the essence of the event; by doing so, it does not compromise the already popping and stark colors and complexity currently present in the outfits of the clowns and delivers a true sense of the clown culture.

Moreover, there are captions that accompany a select number of the photographs. Not all of the pictures are annotated, but the ones that are usually depict several people or one person and their clown name. In addition to these photos, there are others with simple captions stating the actions that the captured person is doing at the time. The captions, although present, are minimally informative and do not necessarily “hook” the reader. Most of the story is gleaned through viewing the images as the caption only serve to dictate the actions occurring in said photos.

The slideshow offers the viewers a chance- although minimal- to interact with the pictures. The interface is made of two buttons to shift forward and back. These features are simple and user-friendly but do not add any new elements of excitement or immersion to the photo essay itself.

Ultimately, this photo essay was indeed informative and appealing in the way it presents information because I did not know much about clowns before viewing this. It did not deliver information in the traditional sense but left a lot to interpretation in the viewers’ individual way. I was initially interested in this photo essay because I had little to no prior knowledge about clowns and my intrinsic interest was also boosted by the recent infatuation of clowns in pop culture in today’s society with the reiteration of IT by Stephen King on the silver screen.

Photo Essay by https://nypost.com/2018/02/06/the-annual-clown-memorial-service/slide-10/

 

 

Blog Assignment #2

Potholes, cracked sidewalks, tall curbs, and stairs. These seem like minor inconveniences to an able-bodied person in day-to-day life; for someone like me, this is one of the many obstacles that face me in my daily life. When a disabled person brings these issues up to an institution, the lens used to identify these problems is dismissive; able-bodied people do not consider these issues in the same vein as I or other disabled people would because they only consider a single person, whereas a disabled person considers themselves as well as their assisting device, such as a walker, cane, crutch, wheelchair, etc. As disabled people, we have to factor in how we will maneuver through an environment that is not constructed for us and or having inadequate modification for us to succeed.

Whether it be a workspace or an educational institutional, there is a lack of relatability between us and our coordinates (i.e bosses or teachers), which lends itself to more social difficulties. From the outside, disabled people have to deal with potential onlookers because of natural curiosity as to what disability they have and even though they are not obligated to share it, they feel inclined to do so in order to subdue social awkwardness accompanied with the use of their assisted device. This absence of relatability further lends itself to a lack of perspective due to different life experiences.

In reference to being in a workspace, people with disabilities know they are competent and possess the abilities to complete their work; however, they do not have the requisite resources and accommodations to complete said tasks in a comfortable timeframe, which leads to further anxiety. If disabled people were to get these accommodations, they may face a potential bias from other able-bodied workers, thus creating a further rift socially within the workspace that could potentially alienate them.

Regarding inequality within an educational institution, more problems arise. Just like the workspace, if a disabled student were to get more accommodations to be on an equal plane to complete their work, another student without the same assets could view this as an unfair advantage or favoritism; this completely severs the social aspect of their education and is detrimental to their mental and emotional well-being.

These brief variations and modifications to the way a disabled person life leads to a continuous unrest in their minds and life in general. They dwell on these everyday social aspects and overanalyze basic interactions due to the fear of being a burden in all facets of society.

Access-a-Ride, or an Inaccessable Ride?

 

Access-A-Ride arriving

 

The moment they come to your house, whether it be in a bus or a minivan, (if they come on time), you are greeted and introduced to seven solitary leather seats, or three seats for a van respectively; this marks the beginning of any trip when using Access-a-Ride. Upon entering the vehicle, you are then required to pay the fare- which, contrary to how you would pay with other transportation methods such as trains, you must pay the fare in exact change. Furthermore, if you do not present the fare in exact change, you may be subject to robbery; hence, not receiving change for your paid amount. For example, there was one ride in which I did not have the exact amount of change required ($2.75) and I chose to pay using a $5.00 bill. When I presented the fare and apologized for not having the exact change, the driver responded to me saying, “I don’t have change and we’re not supposed to provide change to customers- only the exact amount.” After this dialogue, he accepted the $5.00 as payment, but as a result, I ended up paying double the price for my single trip.

 

Access-A-Ride at all hours

 

After paying, you then have to sign what is known as a “trip slip”, a verification form of your location where you were picked up and your destination. This slip also is used as a receipt sometimes for tax purposes. With all of these steps completed, it is logical to think that your journey towards your destination commences; however, you are liable to be taken out of the way. For example, if you live in Queens and your destination is also in Queens, it is a possibility that you would be taken to Brooklyn in order to do another pickup and or dropoff in that borough before your trip is completed. Not every trip deviates from its original path, but it varies with each use of the service. Dictated by the Access-a-Ride service, customers should not be withheld for longer than two hours in their vehicle during a trip. Even though this rule stands, it is often not enforced due to nonsensical routes created by computer-generated trips that do not properly factor in outside variables such as traffic, weather conditions and other detriments.

 

 

Lowered ramp onto Access-A-Ride bus

Access-a-Ride trips complicate a process that’s meant to make transportation accessible. There are some potential reasons that could shed light as to why this is even occurring in the first place. Transit is not incentivized to make the previously stated problems any better because transit for Access-a-Ride is profiting regardless of the quality or lack thereof of services. Payment is determined through miles traveled, which could potentially explain the elongated and often excessively burdensome routes that the computers generate; this process can be taxing for both the drivers and passengers involved, as passengers may have been waiting for an extended period of time that can result in them taking frustrations out on drivers. This specific dynamic puts a strain on the passenger-driver relationship.

 

Variety of Assistance Devices

Ultimately, an already arduous day is concluded with a potentially more difficult ride and several mitigating factors influencing mood, the outlook of your day (if you ride any time in the morning), and how you end your day (if you travel during the night). Access-a-Ride is meant to be an alternate form of travel for those who can’t use conventional means, yet in attempting to do so, more complications arise that cancel out its primary objective of efficiency. All in all, Access-a-Ride, in theory, is a good concept but falls short in terms of execution delivering all-around subpar service.

Variety of Assistance Devices

 

Blog Post Assignment #1

The New York Times article, “Fractured Lands: How The Arab World Came Apart” by Scott Anderson, is about how the Arab world became unhinged due to the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and how people are still suffering to this day because of the events that took place 13 years ago. Anderson interviews six different people from different walks of life; one man interviewed was a person who was forced to join ISIS who was in fear for his life.

The main purpose for Anderson writing this piece is him trying to bring to the forefront the issues that have plagued the Arab world for many years. He is attempting to capture the attention of people who may not necessarily have been able to read about or are even interested in the events that have taken place over the past 13 years since the American invasion of Iraq and so forth. Anderson goes about presenting this information through the interviews of six different people who embody what the experience has truly been like. Moreover, even though the people being interviewed come from different regions of the Arab world, they still share in the experience of what it is like to make life-changing decisions amidst unfavorable circumstances in which they have and continue to face.
Should matters turn particularly ticklish, an M-4 assault rifle lay within easy reach on the back seat, with extra clips in the foot well. The doctor shrugged. “It’s a bad neighborhood.”
“When you have to shoot, shoot; don’t talk,” Azar quoted from the movie. “That is us Kurds now. This is not the time to talk, but to shoot.”
These quotes reflect the mentality which Azar had to adopt in order to survive in the warn-torn city of which he lives in. To these people, it is simply a normalcy that the conditions they live in are so adverse; however, to the rest of the world, this is far from normal.

The sources used for Anderson’s article are first hand interviews from people across the Arab peninsula. Anderson clearly used responsible journalistic techniques, which is evident from the time in which he took to gather the information from not just one person, and not from just one place. Furthermore, he did not misrepresent any of his interviewees with the information he included. In addition, the article featured images and videos regarding the events that were recorded to help the reader gain a clearer and direct understanding of just how devastating the events happening. Lastly, what makes this piece so appealing and innovative was the fact that not only was it advertisement free, but it featured 360 degree video of some of the combat that was described and illustrated in the piece and mentioned from the interviewees, which is rare in other areas of journalism.

Welcome

My name is Yasser Saleh and welcome to my blog; I am currently a student at LaGuardia Community College and a liberal arts journalism major. I have an expressed interest in journalism, specifically broadcast and simulcast. I am very interested in wrestling and conveying the emotions of the athletes. I’d like to be the one who presents their larger than life personas to the audience in the best way possible. I also have a podcast called The Chokehold Podcast and I am an aspiring rapper.