Kony: The Aftermath of a Viral Campaign

So last year, as I’m sure your Facebook feed was littered with the Kony 2012 video being shared and commented on nonstop for what seemed like forever. As this video has just under 100 million views on YouTube alone, everybody seemed to jump on the bandwagon of wanting to help these poor Ugandan children. When I first saw this video I must admit, like millions of others who saw the emotional message this video tried (and very successfully) conveyed, I was touched. The problem was however, by the end of the thirty minutes, I was a little too touched, and something seemed suspicious about this video. While some of my friends scrambled to donate money, or spread the word about this campaign, I was hesitant to fully jump of the bandwagon and I was skeptical of this whole situation. Don’t get me wrong, I am by no means against helping out poor Ugandan children, boys and girls, who are being forced to do horrible things by groups such as the Lord’s Resistance Army and individuals such as Kony, but what made me hesitate joining this cause  was after I did some research about Kony. Rather than ramble a bunch of dates and statistics I will just sum it up to say that basically (according to some basic sources like Wikipedia, to various academic papers written about conflicts in Africa) Kony was and has been for several years now on the downfall, the LRA has been dwindling in numbers, and Kony is not even in Uganda anymore (so why should we send our own troops to train Ugandan soldiers to find a man not even in their country?). You might be thinking to yourself: “Wow jackass this article would’ve been helpful last year, why are you writing this now?” The reason I am writing this is because of a recent Associated Press article that was released that basically reiterates all of the objections I had about this whole Kony 2012 thing since the first time I watched that video. The Article, which I specifically retrieved from The Washington Post goes into detail about where Kony is now, how  he is unable to be apprehended due  to some political refuge he has  found, and how is LRA group  (the same big bad group  we were warned about just  one year ago) has less than  500 members at this point in time. With the United Nations hot on his trail, and after eliminating most of his  head officers, they are just waiting for the opportune time to capture Kony. The purpose of me writing this is that in today’s day and age with anybody being able to make anything available to the public, be careful about what you believe because it could not be as legitimate as the fancy looking internet campaign makes it seem to be. There are plenty of other perfectly fine charities, both that seek to assist in domestic problems and those in problem countries such as Uganda, just do the research and pick a cause that you care about, not just one that is the newest, trendiest thing to support.

5 Must Have Albums for Some Solid Music

Here's a mix of a few CDs that I have not been able to stop listening to, whether they are old or new, there is some variety in here that hopefully all of you will enjoy! Also, comment if you have any songs or artists that you think people should give a listen to!

1. Kid Cudi- Indicud: Great for studying and relaxing. Has an almost hypnotic beat that you can easily fade in and out to as some good background music. Even has some techno mixed in there to.

                Recommended Tracks:

                King Wizard

                Beez

                New York City Rage Fest

2. Kendrick Lamar- Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City: Has a good amount of some smooth beats, but with some of the fast paced raps from Kendrick. This is nice to work out to and walking around campus just singing along to.

                Recommended Tracks:

                Poetic Justice

                m.A.A.d. city

                Swimming Pools

3. Justin Timberlake- The 20/20 Experience: This album is filled with a bunch of quality, long songs that is great to study to or if you are just the kind of person that zones out for a few minutes at a time, these songs feel like they go on forever, but in a good way! Trust me you’ll enjoy it.

                Recommended Tracks:

                Suit and Tie

                That Girl

                Let the Groove Get In

4. The Dirty Heads- Any Port In A Storm- Perfect relaxing music, especially if you’re in a group. These guys have a mellow beat (different methods as Cudi obviously, but the same effect) and they actually make some catchy songs too. Definitely check these guys out!

                Recommended Tracks:

                Insomnia

                Chelsea

                I Got No Time

5. Frank Ocean- Channel Orange: This is some amazing R&B music, a genre I’m not normally into, but this was a huge exception. Frank Ocean being openly gay and also affiliated with Tyler the Creator definitely gives him a unique product when he made this, but if you haven’t explored R&B too much, I would for sure check him out.

                Recommended Tracks:

                Thinkin About You

                Pilot Jones

                Pink Matter

Jason Collins: Trendsetter or fluke?

So if you have a pulse, I’m sure you have heard the recent news about Jason Collins, the center for the Washington Wizards, has publicly announced that he is gay. For those of you who are comfortably living under a rock, this is a huge deal. As the first active player from a major American team sport, Collins will be a trailblazer for future athletes to more openly express their lifestyles, or will he? I personally have a lot of respect for the man, who is risking his career and his reputation with a single statement, to boldly embrace the lifestyle he has chosen. My main interest on this story is what will happen next? While the actual answer is to be determined there could be major positive or negative repercussions that stem from this. Fan and teammate feedback are going to be huge factors as it relates to seeing if other players will follow suit and come out of the closet.  It is my sincere hope that the courage of Collins will give any other professional sports players the courage to follow in his footsteps. If you have ever played a sport, whether it was in high school or college, I’m sure that you have some reaction to this major development in the professional sports world. If you want to post what you think just comment below and hopefully we can get a meaningful discussion out of this new development to the big picture of gay rights in the United States.

What is Greek Life?

Let me start out by saying that I am writing this as a part of Greek life, so my views may be biased. I know some of you who may not be in a fraternity or sorority shiver at the sound of those words and assume that everyone who is in one automatically has the tag of a “douchebag” but I want to make a case for those people who are a part of that community that don’t fit the mold a lot of people put on us. The people who are in fraternities or sororities aren’t too much different than those not in one. We work, we study, and yes, we like to party. So why is there a lot of beef between those who are and those who are not in Greek life? I think it comes from a lack of understanding about what our institutions stand for and the tradition that they are rooted in. Whether its brotherhood or sisterhood; joining a fraternity or sorority allows an individual to form their own community in a campus of 40,000 students. A big reason I hear that people disapprove of these organizations is because “you guys are just buying your friends.” I understand that’s what it may look like from an outside perspective, but in reality it could not be further from the truth. The bonds that I have made with my fraternity brothers are unlike anything I’ve experienced in any of my friendships throughout my life. Oh, in case you were wondering I am not some anti-social hermit who “needed friends” so I joined a frat. I have a perfectly fine social life outside of my fraternity and at first I just  joined so that I could experience something different, but as time went on I realized that I was joining something much more significant than I originally imagined. It’s hard to explain, but all I can say is that if you have a problem with people who in Greek life, talk to them and get to know them better, everyone that I know that has joined a fraternity or sorority on campus has loved their experiences and I’m sure would love to talk to you about it. You never know, maybe you will become convinced to join the “dark side” and you might like it.