Environment: Progress 1

I was pitching our goal statement last week, I realized that our ideas were still a little broad and not yet specified.

My goal statement last week is as follows:

“With the use of a video as a media device, we hope to remind people of the major problem of pollution that is a growing problem with the diminishing number of people who actually take initiative in combating this problem. In order to convey message, we hope to point out how the pollution in New York City itself has become a major blind spot for all people. The New York City Green Initiative itself fails to less the severity of this problem, which is probably a major reason why the urge to push for reversing pollution is not as motivational as it should be.  However, the attempts of smaller greenspaces initiated by individuals has been proven to make a change, despite its much smaller scale. In presenting this problem, we also have the solution that anyone can contribute to combating against pollution by doing little things such as planting a tree. In order to make this video more suitable for our peer groups as the audience, an animation will be used to mock the failed attempts of government; in implanting these beliefs into the audience, this will motivate the future generation to take a greater stand in the fight against pollution.”

In much fewer words, the agenda (revised) is as follows:

1) Re-establish the problem of pollution (esp air pollution)
2) Educate on green initiative
3) What the government has been doing…
4) Why we should care
5) How anyone can help: plant trees – it’s already being done by many

Despite my very bold statement that the number of people attempting to combat pollution is decreasing, there is no solid evidence to back this up except from the viewpoint of an average New Yorker (me). The main reason why I chose pollution as a major problem for the city is that I have visited New Haven where these is much less pollution because of less cars, as well as Hong Kong where the air pollution is great due to their abundance of cars and smokers. This leaves New York in the middle as a city that can go to either ends of the spectrum.

In the process of researching the government’s involvement in changing New York City for the better, I found that there IS actually improvement within New York. According to Wikipedia, New York City is one of the most environmentally friendly in regards to recycling (paper and water-wise) and energy efficiency (namely public transportation and green building). Also, in discussing New York City’s transformation from the 1970’s to today in English class, I found out that Guiliani helped the city improve overall from a city with ghetto-filled districts to a more civilized one it is today. These changes are slow yet steady changes that continue to take form.

In overview, I feel that the problem with concerning ourselves with pollution lies in the fact that it is difficult to make the 8 million New Yorkers care. This video should suit the purposes of educating New Yorkers what is being done to beautify the city, why it is important to do so, and encouraging all sorts of people to take part in this movement.

Bio: Jovon

My name is Jovon Gilliam and I attend New Explorations into Science Technology and math (NEST+m) high school. I am one that like quite a few things, but one of my keen interests is the different kinds of technology that are in constant motion. Two things that really interest me are roller coasters and trains, primarily because they are two fast moving objects on rails. The career that I desire is a little out of the ordinary; I want to be a roller coaster designer. Another you should know about me is that I love to eat, I will eat almost anything except eggs, I do not know why either. I am a very athletic person considering I been on quite a few teams in my lifetime, the sports I play include: football, cross country, basketball, indoor track, outdoor track, and almost any sport that includes running. I always like to try new things, you will always seem me say something like “I will try it”, unless of course the thing I try is absurd and disgusting, and then I will consider not trying. I love to travel even though I do not go out of country often, but I do love to go out of state. I am one who is very playful and friendly, everywhere I go I attempt to get to know people, for example, when I started working with Youth Media Makers NYC, everybody was a stranger to me, and nobody wanted to talk. However, by the end of the day, I was one of the first people everybody talked to, just ask Casey, Georgiana, Ayumu, or Benjamin. I love the summertime, I always say, “anything you do in the winter, you could do in the summer, but you cannot do everything in the summer in the winter. Personally I love to get money and thus I have three jobs: The Brooklyn Children’s Museum, at my school NEST+m, and now at The New School. I like giving back to my community and thus I have quite a few community service hours, and I like giving back to people in general.

We Have Our Rights

Last week, our project had a small addition to the overall topic of the project, which was supposedly women’s rights, but our minds were shifted when a guess speaker visited The New School. The guest speaker was a employee from the non-profit organization known as the NYC Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), and the conversation that we had with her was very informative when it came to how people view the police in our city. Our conversation started with her introducing to us what CCRB is and what they do for their community, which was fight for the rights of people who said they had their rights abused or excessive force was used when they came in contact or maybe even confrontation with the police. Some people who visit the CCRB are people who actually have a legitamite complaint, but some people however do not. We spoke on how some people who come to the CCRB to file a complaint are actually in the wrong. Some people who stated that the police used excessive force actually spoke back and decided to resist arrest, and thus, the CCRB could not win the case for that person.

We discussed the ways to avoid police confrontation when approached by a policeman or woman. This discussion allowed us to change our project from only women’s rights, to people’s rights, which will include the rights of men and women, and possibly even how the police feel about this. We are attempting to gather information form as many people as possible, primarily from the areas that file the most complaints about their rights being abused by police and even by other people.

Bio: Amanda

Hola. My name is Amanda. How did I end up in this program that I am in now? Good question. I go to a high school called Academy for Young Writers. One day my counselor said that a teacher needed about two to three students who were interested in art and technology for a internship. In my head I’m like “Yes all about this!” Which moved on to Eyebeam and then the Journalism field, if that’s what it’s called. And now I’m typing a Bio. Things to know would probably be my passion for art. Or anything that’s art related for that matter. I am 100% devoted to doing what I have to do to make it in the art industry. Being that free time is on my hands a lot I mostly read or watch movies. Some people would say I am dead in a way which is weird but I have a tone that is not too enthusiastic but it’s there… Way deep, and that I’m funny and out going but I don’t really see the out going as much as I see the shy. I would have to say that this year I have been out of my comfort zone simply because I applied to a lot of activities that I wouldn’t normally. There you have it though. My name is Amanda. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Bio: Fanny

My name is Fang er, but everyone calls me fanny instead. I like learning, talking, reading, and watching about politics. I’m born in People’s Republic of China and moved to the United States when i was seven years old. I will someday be moving back to China. I am a very emotional person and I love to cry about the little things. At first when I came to the People’s production, I wasn’t planning to join and didn’t want to join, but when I enter eyebeam and was told to sit down and complete an assignment gave by merisa, I actually enjoyed myself and I came back weeks after that. Though there were times that I wanted to quit because I didn’t understand what I’m suppose to do, i went through with it. I’m the type of person to only continue with something if I like it, if I didn’t like it it’s very hard for me to continue on. After the internship I didn’t want to join the Externship but somehow my friend Imani got me to come. For some reasons that I don’t even know, I decided to stay. I’m not good with technology and the only thing I know about computers is probably go on the internet. I am a very picky person when it comes to everything and I have very high standards that sometimes my friends would think that I’m crazy. My favorite season is summer and I dislike the winter especially Winters in New York. I love to eat vegetables but I’m not a vegetarian. I love to watch Chinese comedy movies and listen to music. I don’t like to watch scary movies because I get really paranoid. I also love to watch movies that have animals in it especially horses, For the last 16 years I’ve been trying to convince my mother to buy a dog for me but she says no all the time. I envy all the people in the whole who has their own dog to play with. I’m a person that doesn’t like changes.and strange places. (changes like flavor, house, room, bed, etc) I love to sleep and I can fall asleep anywhere and anytime. I hate seafood and I think I’m allergic to spice, and my favorite flavor is sour. I eat all kinds of fruits except for bananas, mango, etc.

Bio: Casey

Hi! My name is Casey Ching and I am currently a Junior who is on the search of a dream (rather, dreams?). With one older sister and one younger brother, I am stuck in the middle with the huge task of taking care of them (this, however, has made me pretty good at taking care of people in general). I believe I am a well-rounded person as I am pretty flexible to new ideas and experiencing new things. I am both artistically, intellectually, and good-willedly (can’t find the right word at the moment) motivated. I play both the piano and the cello (yay music!); I draw and make things out of paper (it’s pretty vague, but yeah…); I am a bit of a math-sciencey person (depending on which branch of science); I am a slight grammar Nazi (just slightly); I tutor children at the library on Saturdays (giving back to the community). I also like animals in general (three cats, one snail, and one frog in my house at the moment).

Environment and how it is maintained has become a great concern. In the past, the pollution in both the air and on the ground didn’t really bother me — it was just something that I couldn’t fix so I just ignored it as everyone else does today. However, taking a trip to Hong Kong a few years ago, I realized just how bad the condition of New York City was. Littering is illegal in HK, so despite its similarity to NYC in its city-like nature, the cleanliness is incomparable. Furthermore, the number of people smoking in HK is much greater in NYC, making it practically unbearable to go for a walk there without any smoke getting in your face. With this visit, I was able to contrast the conditions of NYC with HK’s. With having another city to compare it to, I found that the condition of NYC should and could be changed. Furthermore, upon my three week visit to New Haven, CT last summer, I realized just how different it was to be able to breathe in fresh air any time I wanted (the morning air was the best) while I was outside as opposed to having to worry about all sorts of pollutants flying into your nose no matter where you are in NYC. Although the air is “okay” now, there is no telling what will happen in the future.