Border Beat Reflection

Sadly, this is my last blog post for Border Beat.  The semester (aka: the final days of my college career) is coming to an end, and I wanted to take this opportunity to reflect upon my experiences writing for an online student publication.

I’ve learned a lot in Jay Rochlin’s class.  First off, I never knew how to blog.  I definitely think this a very beneficial skill, and one that will be regarded as important during my job search (which is currently taking place).

I also learned how to cover a live event, using http://www.coveritlive.com/, which I never knew was possible.

My multi-media skills have really improved.  I was a little nervous to use them in my beginning stories, because I never really learned how.  In my final project, I had a small audio section, and a short video.  My stories and projects could have been a lot stronger had I worked on those skills earlier in the semester.

I think that a few of the stories I have written for Border Beat turned out really well, better than I had expected.  Brett, the editor-in-chief told me that he “underestimated me.”  I think I have realized that writing profiles is my area of strength.  I began writing profiles in features class, also taught by Jay, and I really like learning about interesting people.

Border Beat gave me the opportunity to do a profile on Sam, a guy who traveled throughout the Middle East, Sylvia, a therapist who’s heritage is rooted beyond the border of Mexico, and Dolores, the president of the Society for Crypto-Judaic studies.

All of these people had amazing life stories, and I love that Border Beat allowed me to explore what they had to offer.

I want to thank Jay, for reminding me why I chose journalism as my major.  There are A LOT of things about the journalism program and the U of A that I would change, to say the least.  It wasn’t until last semester that I realized writing and reporting was no longer a chore.  He gives his students so much freedom to write about things that interest us.  Although the class is called “Border” beat, he has a very broad definition of the “border” and because of this, his students have produced incredible, unique stories.

This is Jay’s last semester, and I think I can speak for all of his students when I say he will definitely be missed.  I feel sad for the younger students in the journalism program that won’t be able to have him as a professor.

This Friday, May 4th, we are having a Border Beat party at Jay’s house.  It will be nice to all get together one last time, as most of us will be graduating in two weeks.  We have all worked very interactively during the semester.  The party will be catered by Mr. K’s BBQ, which I’ve heard is delicious.

Make sure to check out amazing stories by UA’s journalism students at www.borderbeat.net.

Holocaust Remembrance Day 2012

April is Holocaust Remembrance month, and Holocaust Remembrance Day, which is Yom HaShoa in Hebrew, began in the evening of April 18 and ended the following evening on April 19.

This day, which marks the anniversary of the Warsaw ghetto uprising, is meant to preserve the memories of the Holocaust,and honor the six million Jews that were killed by the German Nazis.

Photo by Jamie Turow, Birkenau

An article in Huffington Post written by Nick Bravin states, “Today is the day designated by Congress for the rest of us to remember the grisly fate that befell the Jewish people of Europe under Hitler and his willing accomplices — Holocaust Remembrance Day. But how can we in 2012 America begin to comprehend the events of that far off place and time?”

When I studied abroad in Prague during the spring 2011 semester, my program took us on a trip to Poland.  Being Jewish, and having ancestors that were part of the Holocaust made this trip of importance to me.  We visited Auschwitz, the largest and most complex concentration camp established by the Nazi regime, and Birkenau, the largest killing center in the entire Nazi universe.

Being there, stepping on the same grounds that millions of Jews once worked, were tortured, and died, was an experience unlike any other.

The sign over the gates of Auschwitz is a Polish slogan, “arbeit macht frei” meaning “Work Brings Freedom.”

Photo by Jamie Turow

I truly can’t believe that there are people out there so naive to say that the Holocaust never happened.

According to the Guardian, there are 19,800 Holocaust survivors alive in Israel today.  In Tucson, there are 112 Holocaust survivors left.

Click here to view the Remembrance Day Calendar to see when the day will fall in the coming years.

I became interested in LGBTQ issues last semester after getting to know a woman named Logan Sage Croft, who has a 10-year-old transgender child.  Logan’s daughter, Sadie, was born a little boy named Joey.  He had always felt trapped in the wrong body, and even attempted suicide.

I thought that I’d do a post about the quickly approaching 26th annual National Day of Silence.  On April 20, hundreds of thousands of students will take a vow of silence to bring attention to the silencing effect of anti-LGBTQ harassment in schools.  According to the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN), this year will be the biggest day of silence yet.

GLSEN was started in 1990 by two teachers with the mission to support the students in their classrooms, and to support the teachers that needed to support their students.

The National Day of Silence started as an activity by a few college students in 1996, and has since become the largest student-led day of action in the nation.  Its reach has even gone international, to countries such as Singapore and Russia!

A GLSEM staff member (unnamed male) blogged about the grunt work that goes into making the day of silence possible: “Part of this work includes answering hundreds of  participant inquiries as to why we use silence on this day of action…This day is an empowering moment in what can sometimes feel like an oppressive society.”

He explained that this year’s Day of Silence will be joined by “Youth, allies, school administrators, staff, chapter leaders, donors and supporters who recognize that observing a vow of silence in honor of LGBT events, history and individuals is essential in making strides toward creating safe schools for students and moreover a safe society for all.”

You can register to become a part of the National Day of Silence at http://action.glsen.org/page/s/day-of-silence.

You probably didn’t know that Southern Arizona is home to large populations of LGBTQ immigrants and refugees.  Read about the issues concerning this population: http://lgbt.arizona.edu/sites/default/files/reports/47-between-lines-identifying-needs-lgbtq-immigrants-and-refugees-southern-arizona/azimmigrantsneedschavezlgbt.pdf

 

Dolores Sloan Continued…

My experience today was an example of how being a journalism student forces you to meet people and go places you never would otherwise.

I went to listen to Dolores Sloan speak about the Crypto Jews in the American Southwest, as I talked about in my last post.  She goes by Dolly.  It was a very interesting, and also confusing topic, but I now have a better understanding of Crypto Judaism.

Basically, Jews living in Spain during the Spanish Inquisition were forced to either convert to Christianity or leave Spain for good.  Hundreds of thousands of Jews converted, but still secretly practiced Judaism.

The topic sheds light on the topic of genealogy, and how people today who identify as Christian could actually be Jewish and have no idea.

There was a woman at the lecture today that experienced this.  Edna looks Hispanic.  She has dark skin, hair and eyes.  She found out only 20 years ago that she was Jewish, and actually felt it in her heart enough to walk out of a Church sermon.  I’ll go into her story experience more in my actual story, which will be up on borderbeat.net at the end of the week!

I had the privilege of meeting of meeting with Dolly one on one yesterday.  I wanted to get a feel for who she was and a more detailed explanation of the Crypto Jews.  Eileen, the director of the Jewish History Museum put me in contact with her.  Dolly arrived in Tucson on Friday, having traveled from Los Angeles.  She was staying at the Bed and Breakfast next door to the museum, which is where I conducted the interview.

Dolly was great, and extremely knowledgeable.  The stories she presented from her travels were incredible and eye-opening.  She presented a slideshow as she spoke, which I’m hoping she’ll send me to include in in the text story.

After I’ve completed my story on Dolly and the Crypto Jews, I will start working on my special project, which will be focused on the actual Jewish History museum.  My ideas aren’t concrete, but I’ve come up with four tentative sections for the project, which will include text and multimedia.

-A section about Eileen: Yes, she’s the director of the JHM, but she also has a very interesting background as she is a Jew by choice.

-The History of the JHM and Jews in Tucson

-How Nogales Came to be: Was first established as Isaacson by 2 Jewish men

-The story of how the U of A was started by 3 Jewish men

Stay Tuned!

Jewish History Museum & Dolores Sloan

I’m going to stray away from English Language learners for a little while, and give readers a preview of my upcoming story topic.

Most people are probably not aware that there is a Jewish History museum in Tucson- myself included until a few days ago.  Jews and the border is not a topic that is often discussed, which is why I thought it was important the explore.  The fact that I am Jewish also prompted me to take a further look.

I pulled up the the Jewish History Museum on 564 South Stone Ave.  It certainly didn’t look like the museums back home in Washington, D.C.  It makes sense, however, when I learned that the museum was actually the building of the first Jewish Synagogue in AZ.

Executive Director,Eileen Warshaw, led me into the one-room museum.  We sat on the benches, the same benches in which the Congregation once sat, and she told me a lot about Jewish history in Tucson.  I will get more into that later, as I put my special project together (Stay tuned after April 18!).  On occasion, under special circumstances, some people still get Bar/Bat-mitzvahed in the museum/synagogue.  Eileen explained that one girl will be having her Bat-mitzvah there because it’s where her older siblings shared their special day, and even her dad had his Bar-Mitzvah there years and years ago!

The Jewish History museum is in the process of putting on its fourth annual Jewish Storytelling Festival.  It started on Feb. 26, and will end April 1.  I will be attending the session on Sunday, April 1, and writing a profile on the speaker, Dolores Sloan, who will discuss her research on Crypto Jews in the American Southwest.

Dolores Sloan

I know, you’re probably wondering what Crypto Jews are.  I had the same question.  Eileen explained that Crypto Judaism is the secret adherence to Judaism while publicly professing to be of another faith.  I thought this was so interesting because I had never heard of the term before.

Dolores is the president of the Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies, and the author of The Sephardic Jews of Spain and Portugal.  As stated on the event flyer, “Ms. Sloan will speak on her studies about the Sephardic Jews and those who, forced to convert and fleeing the Inquisition, settled in New Mexico, Texas and Colorado.”

“In 1996, Sloan trav­eled through Spain and Por­tu­gal for five weeks, by train, bus and by foot, always look­ing for the foot­prints left by the remark­able Jews who had cre­ated a golden age of learn­ing and dis­cov­ery in the Mid­dle Ages and Early Mod­ern Period,” according to www.jewishhistorymuseum.org

I am extremely excited to learn about this topic, and to speak with Dolores about her experiences and travels.

The event is completely free, and will take place at the Jewish Community Center on 3800 East River Road at 2:00 p.m.

Saleh

I spotted Saleh looking very American-sheek in his Ray-Ban aviator sunglasses, smoking a cigarette, as most CESL students do before class.

Saleh moved to America in 2009 from Saudi Arabia, leaving behind his two sisters and three brothers.  I’ve started to realize that people from Saudi Arabia come from very big families.

Photo by Jamie Turow

After Saleh is finished his official english studies with CESL, he plans   on majoring in mechanical engineering, and working with an engineering company back in Saudi Arabia upon graduation in 2014.

What does Saleh like most about living in Tucson?  The weather.  He explained that the weather is exactly the same as in his country, which makes him feel more at home.

Although he is a vegetarian and has not ventured out to many American restaurants in Tucson, Saleh did say he took a liking to Old Chicago- known for its deep dish pizza and different types of beers.  He does, however, take advantage of his kitchen in the North Hill apartment complex to cook traditional Arabic meals.

Saleh is an active part of CESL student council.  The organization meets every friday to discuss important matters regarding the program.  In his free time, Saleh enjoys congregating with his friends, mostly other Arabic students, and hanging out.

Saleh explained that his most important goal in America is to graduate on time and perfect his English.  As he said,”Make my english to the top.”

When Saleh returns to Saudi Arabia, he wants to teach his family all about American cultures and show them that “It’s not what they see on TV.”

CESL Conversation Exchange

If you’re interested in gaining new perspectives on different cultures, think about becoming a part of the CESL Conversation Exchange program.

There are more than 200 students from over 35 different countries studying at the Center for English as a Second Language, and this is an opportunity to exchange language and culture with international students.

The program will match you with a CESL student, and you can gain insight into a different life, while sharing stories and information of your own U.S. culture.

According to the program brochure, you should plan to meet your partner around interesting activities, such as one of the campus museums.  This way, the international student can further experience the American way of life.

Some suggested conversation starters are sharing photos of your family and hometown, discussing current national or local events and talk about your traditions and holidays.

To become a part of this program and make friends from around the world, complete the online application at http://www.cesl.arizona.edu under “Conversation Exchange.”

After applications are reviewed, and you are matched with an international student, Megan Goold, student services and immigration advisor, will contact you to schedule a face-to-face appointment.

Participants are responsible for choosing the location and activities for the meeting.

http://www.cesl.arizona.edu/studentservices.htm

Arabic Friends

Ahmad kh ALRuwaih and Naser A AlNaser, both from Kuwait, are two of the friendliest boys I have met during my four years here at the University of Arizona.  I was immediately drawn to Ahmad, with his rasta colored beanie and TOMS shoes, he looked so American.  When Naser spoke, his English was almost perfect.  The two met for the first time in January, but it looked as though they had been long-time friends.

Naser(left) and Ahmad(right)

18-year-old Ahmad moved to America in October 2011.  After much research and conversations with some friends here at UA, he learned that the university had a great business program.  He wanted to learn English and “See the World,” as Ahmad said.  Currently a marketing major, Ahmad thinks he might decide to switch to finance because of his interest in math.  Upon graduation, he hopes to continue schooling to obtain his PhD.  Five Guys and Cheesecake factory are among Ahmad’s favorite American restaurants here in Tucson.  Ahmad said the hardest part about being in America is being away from his family.  When he first decided to come to the U.S., Ahmad’s mother dissaproved, and said that he had to study in Kuwait.  ”But after, I said to her it’s my future, it’s [the U.S.] better than Kuwait.”

Ahmad ordered TOMs from an American website

Naser has only been in America for about a month, having just moved here this past January.  He is majoring in engineering at UA, hoping to work in the military.  ”I’m not sure exactly what I want to do yet, but i’ll decide in the future,” Naser explained.  He liked the U.S., but is not a fan of the hot Arizona weather.  Naser, like Ahmad, also said that it was hard to leave his family behind in Kuwait.  ”You used to live with your families everyday, and then suddenly you leave.”  At first, Naser’s parents didn’t agree with his decision to study in America because they wanted him to study in Kuwait, “But nowadays, their used to it.”  Naser thinks he may work in the U.S. for two years after graduation, and then move back to his country.

*Entesar did no…

*Entesar did not want to be photographed.  I cannot be sure if this is due to a preference or a religious belief, but often, Muslim women have religious objections to being photographed.  Entesar has large brown eyes, and wears a beautiful green hijab with floral print.  A hijab is a head covering traditionally worn by Muslim women*

Name: Entesar

Age: 25

Country of Origin: Saudi Arabia

Major: Microbiology

How long have you been living in America?

In 15 days, I have been in America for one year.

What is your ultimate goal here in the United States?

To complete my degree and maybe become a medical researcher.

What do you miss most about your country?

I miss my family most.  I have one brother and three sisters, but my brother is in Arizona with me.  He just moved to Flagstaff.  My husband and daughter are also here, I live with them.  My daughter loves the U.S.  She loves her day care.

What is your favorite American movie?

Mothman.  It’s a scary movie.  I watched it on Halloween.

What do you like most about Tucson?

The weather, because it is like the weather in Saudi Arabia.

Do you plan to move back to Saudi Arabia after completing your degree?

I think I will stay here.  I really like the U.S.

http://www.english.emory.edu/Bahri/Veil.html

http://www.english.emory.edu/Bahri/Veil.html