Student Voice

So That’s Why!

            Out of the six and a half years that I have been here at UND I have remained single, till this week. I have always wondered why that was. Was destiny playing an evil trick on me for something that I had done?  Well, over the last couple of weeks I have gotten my answer.  IT JUST HELPS WITH PROCRASTINATION!  Destiny wasn’t playing a trick on me; it was just helping me from flunking out of college.

            I have always been a really bad procrastinator; any little thing that I could find to distract me from doing homework was great. Now I have found the ULTIMATE procrastination tool; my girlfriend. Don’t get me wrong, school work is very important. But I love sending a couple of hours talking to her on the phone every night; she can always make me laugh.  And finally finding that one person, who gets me, is awesome.

            So, let’s hope destiny knows what it’s doing by bringing her into my life at this point in my college career.  Because, with only one semester to go here at UND, I can’t afford to fail now.

So Long, Farewell

            I cannot believe that it is time to say GOODBYE already.  The semester has gone by so fast.  It feels just like yesterday when I first started talking to you about my life and the goings on of the GLBT community.  I hope that I was able to open and inspire your minds by sharing my story.  When I first started this adventure almost three months ago, I had no other intention than to get my story out for people to hear, and give a small look into the GLBT world.  I would just like to thank everyone who took the time to read our blogs; we had a lot of fun doing them.

This Week’s Picks…

            Web site: 

            For the ultimate in GLBT issues and advice, head to the Human Rights Campaign Web site www.hrc.org.  Here you will find what is going on in the political area, along with ways of coming out and much more.  The HRC is one of the largest national gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender advocacy organizations.  It envisions a world where American GLBT people are ensured the basic equal rights:  where they can be open, honest and safe at home, work and in their community.

            Movie: Coming to DVD on December 12, Loving Annabelle is about a senator’s daughter who falls in love with her teacher at a Catholic girl’s boarding school.  Inspired by the German film, Maedchen in Uniform, Loving Annabelle gives a modern telling of the “forbidden love” story that continues to be controversial to this day.  To read more about the movie, check out Wolfe Video at www.wolfevideo.com.

It’s Finally Official       

Birth Certificate

            Last Wednesday, a New Jersey court ruled that a Burlington County lesbian couple will be able to list both their names on their baby’s birth certificate.  With this approval, the couple will not have to file for a second parent adoption.  The New Jersey’s attorney general’s office said it will no longer oppose same-sex couples being able to both be on their child’s birth certificate.

            This stems from an October ruling the New Jersey Supreme Court made saying, that same-sex couples are entitled to the same legal rights as heterosexual couples.  This will entitle same-sex couples to full parental rights, which include: inheritance, custody, and visitation. 

            In order for same-sex couples to both sign their child’s birth certificate, they must be registered under New Jersey’s domestic partnership law.  If a couple is register they will not need a court order to be able to sign the certificate.

            This may not be automatic for gay male couples; however, since there is a surrogate parent involved.  The surrogate parent must sign over parental rights first, and then the nonbiological parent can adopt the child. 

This Week’s Picks…

            Music: Blink the Brightest by Tracy Bonham.  With this being her third album, Bonham writes some of her most resonating and captivation work.  In her first song “Something Beautiful,” Bonham captivates you with her sultry voice, drawing you into her thoughts and feelings.  Bonham’s songs Whether You Fall and Naked were also featured in the third season of Showtime’s hit show The L Word.  So, if you are looking for an artist who bares her soul in her words, this CD is for you.

            Book:Rose of No Man’s Land by Michele Tea is a book about a 14-year-old girl Trisha Driscoll who is confused about her gender.  An outsider in a family who expects nothing from her, Trisha’s struggling to find herself in the world. Trisha’s life is turned upside down when she befriends a chain-smoking rebel named Rose.  From this point on, Trisha’s life is put into overdrive.  Told through Trisha’s eyes, the book takes you on a whirlwind adventure through tattoos and drugs, alongside the love story of these two nonconforming girls.

That’s it for this week. Check back next week for a new installment.  – T

Blogging

Well, this has been great, but it’s time to say so long.  This semester has been great, because I finally got to blog for a grade.  How sweet is that?  People in other classes have found out about our class blogging and want to take this class.  Blogging has been a great way to tell about ourselves and give advice to others.  Here are just some reasons why people should blog:

• Express Yourself.  This is an opportunity for you to say whatever is on your minds.
• Advertise Yourself.  This gives you a chance to be noticed for your writing skills or get a chance to hear feedback from people.
• Provide Information.  You can give people information about your experiences or tips that can help them in life.
• Give Your Opinions.  You can give opinions about music, movies, books, or anything and people may find it very helpful.
• Be Yourself.  When writing blogs, always write about what interests you because this will show in your writing.  If you do not like a topic you are writing about, people will be able to pick up on it right away and be bored.

This has been a great experience to write to the public.  I was able to express myself and give advice on things that I have learned through life.  Also, I was able to talk about my experiences that I have had through my life as a military brat.  Just remember that blogs are yours and should show a part of you.  So this is where I say so long, but not goodbye because I definitely plan on starting another blog on Myspace. 

~Jessi W.

What to do at an Internship

            Just this summer, I had the best experience of my life: I got to work for MTV.  During the first part of my summer, I started out as an intern; but they later hired me as a production assistant for the 2006 Video Music Awards.  This is not something that MTV does on a regular basis, but when you work hard at an internship, the bosses definitely notice the work and will reward you for it.  Here are some of the best tips that I can give a prospective interns to earn them an awesome experience:

• Be Polite.  This is a given.  You should always be respectful to everyone inside and outside the office.  You never know who is watching you and what position everybody holds.
• Say Yes.  If your boss asks you to do a task, do not moan; just say yes.  You may not know how to do it, but all you have to do is ask how to get the task done.  This will show that you have initiative.
• Go Above and Beyond.  For example, if somebody asks you to do a task that requires a PowerPoint presentation and you have great computer skills, make the presentation look awesome with graphics and other things.
• Help Out.  If it looks as if people are is struggling with something, help them out.  This can be as simple as carrying a box for somebody or delivering a letter.

These are just a few of the things that interns should know when entering a work environment.  Bosses do not want a slacker working for them.  Instead, they want somebody who is going to work hard and be there to help others.  I found this to be very helpful during my internship,, and it got me really far in MTV.  It even gave me some good contacts to help me with other jobs in the future.

~Jessi W.

            I’m sitting in class toward the back of the room, minding my own business as I doodle even more ink on my already doodle-filled folder.  My professor is rambling on about media law, but I’ve been daydreaming about being a star basketball player in the Final Four for the past twenty minutes.  I am totally distanced from the world, much less the classroom, when I hear a deafening silence.

            “What do you think about that?”  my professor asks our 30 person class.  Well, there are supposed to be 30 students in the class; nine people are actually attending on this day.  As I’m figuring out these statistics, it has become like a very well-played game of Little Red School House in my classroom for the last half minute.  The professor has made it very obvious that she is not about to budge, and that she is fully expecting at least one in nine people to respond to her question.

            This is the point where all the people in the room does the same thing.  Well, not exactly the same thing, but they all have the same idea.  They might scribble into their notebook, as if they’re taking notes, or look at the floor, or even take out their laptop and starting typing a blog.  The idea is to avoid eye contact with the professor, to eventually achieve the goal of not having to answer the question.

            The silence has now reached at least one minute, but it feels more like an hour.  I’m starting to get tense: someone needs to just answer the stupid question.  As I frantically read the Powerpoint slide for something I can latch onto for a valid response to the question, someone else finally caves.  I’m safe once again, and I can finally finish my journey of winning the NCAA basketball championship….in my head.

“Are we, like, ready to make this official?  Like, I don’t know, put it up on Facebook?”  Tom, of course, was asking Rochelle if she wanted to move the relationship status line on each other’s Facebook profiles from “single” to “in a relationship.”  Lucky for Tom, she accepted, despite his visible lack of Rico Suave.

This is just one example of how heavily Facebook impacts the lives of college kids.  For those who are unaware of what Facebook is all about, it is essentially an online place where people can post their profile, which can include just about anything about their personality, and then add friends into their network.  This is especially popular among college students because it is the network where it all began.

Everything can be controlled by Facebook.  I now find out about parties, classes people are in, even engagements through this network.  As if cell phones were not enough to keep my generation connected, we’re now addicted to writing quotes from last Tuesday on each other’s walls.  It’s getting ridiculous, and as much as I hate to say it, I’m as bad as anyone.

I can’t stop checking my Facebook.  I thought about deleting my account, just because any picture that I am tagged in could potentially cost me a job down the road.  But I just can’t get rid of it.  I’m like Jim Carey in The Mask at this point:  I’m addicted to the network the same way Stanley was addicted to the power of that face attacking mask.

I’ve come up with a solution: Facebook Rehab.  I know I’m not alone here, there’s thousands around the country who are procrastinating from everything life has to offer because they need to join the new “Man Law” group on Facebook.  I can’t kick the habit on my own, and I think others feel the same way.  Together, we can do this.  Now all I need to do is post this on my Facebook profile so that everyone can know about it.

the job hunt

I went out with my sister and her husband yesterday and we got to talking about job hunting. My sister is assistant manager at a small, locally owned bakery that is slowly but surely going under. She’s been saying for a long time that she needs to find a new job, but she says she’s scared to try something else because she has been at this job since she graduated and isn’t sure if she’s qualified for any of the jobs she’s interested in. She said she’s scared to take the next step and apply for these positions because she’s afraid to fail. Her husband reassured her, saying that he was scared, too, when he started looking for a new job.

i’m not scared: at least not yet!

But I don’t feel that way at all. In fact, I can’t wait to graduate and go get a real job, because I’m excited to see what I am capable of. Maybe it’s because I’m not there yet, in the way that sky diving isn’t intimidating or scary until you’re in the doorway of the airplane. But unlike my sister, I’m not worried that I won’t be qualified, because my internship has proved that just because you are clueless on day one, doesn’t mean things will stay that way for long!

what’s the worst that could happen?

My advice to my sister was to apply for jobs and go from there, because the worst thing that could happen is that she wouldn’t get hired. And when you think about what else could go wrong in a day, that’s not so bad. And in doing so, she has the prospect of a job that guarantees a paycheck on payday, unlike the one she is in now. Her husband and I both agree that one paycheck you can cash is worth two that won’t clear!

         Working at a gas station may sound like a joyous and entertaining experience, but believe it or not, it gets old after a while.  After working at the Conoco station on the corner of Washington and Demers for the last two plus years, I have decided to try something new.  All I have to do now is figure out what that something is.

            Here’s the deal: I need money, because I need to pay my bills.  While my wages from my part-time job fall well short of covering everything, they at least make a dent in my debt.  The problem with the gas station was that I got to a point where I really didn’t want to work there anymore.  I decided that I would eventually get to a breaking point, and thought it would be better to leave on good terms rather than tongue-lashing everyone in the store in a rage-filled haze that would cost me a reference on the next resume.

            So now I start the job hunt.  There isn’t anything too attractive out there yet, and if you readers have anything for me that pays well and will keep my attention for the next year or so, I’d be more than happy to hear about it.  Until then, I’ll keep thumbing through the classifieds, hoping that some good jobs spring up after the December graduation of a few thousand UND students.  If not, I’m sure I have plenty of experience to find a job at a new gas station.

the good ole days!

Travis and I have been friends for more than 8 years.  He has dated more than one of my friends.  We were roommates for almost a year.  Travis and I are each others back-up – like the pact made between “Friends” characters, where if we both make it to 40 and are still single, we marry each other.  Although I am married now, so Travis needs to find another backup!  At the same time, we like to joke that we are related – he is the brother I never had.  He calls my mom his other mom, and I can talk to his mom about anything.

what’s goin’ on?

But I haven’t talked to Travis in a long time and I don’t like that.  Think back to high school, or another part of your life where you had that BEST FRIEND that you wanted to share every part of your life with until the day you died.  Think about the relationship you and that friend have now.  Maybe you are still close and still share everything.  Maybe you only communicate occasionally.  Or maybe you don’t even know where that person is now.  I had girlfriends in high school that I LOVED, and now we don’t even talk.  Not because we don’t get along, but because our lives went in different directions and we just didn’t keep in touch.

not this time

            Well, I’m not going to let that happen this time.  Travis is too good a friend to me and we have been through too much for us to just grow apart and I’m not gonna let that happen.  I’m ending this blog to go call my Travis!