It’s that time of the year again - we’re ready to get the HELL out of Middlebury. The sophomore slump is alive and well and our motivation and energy is diminishing. This episode is raw and crude so listen with caution!
“My ceiling is their floor.” As minorities on this campus we come from all different backgrounds and have different stories. In this episode, we spoke about how our professors put us on the same playing field as all the students in this school but it's not equal... at all. However, Megan and I came across a post that we think almost all of us could relate to in some way. It made us realize our strength, resilience and reassured us that we CAN do this. Each and everyone of us can do it!
This is part three of our ongoing series “Can YOU say the N****?.” Today we spoke to Simon who is a sophomore at Middlebury College from Los Angeles, California. He had some pretty interesting views about his experience and opinions on the use of the word. Check it out!
Once again R. Kelly is under the spotlight for being a sexual predator. Even though all these accusations around him are for sexual assault and violence towards minors — it all has become a literal joke/meme. How does this reflect on the black community? Why do we tend to make serious situations a joke? What are the actions we must take to change this?
The private vs public school debate has been going on for a very long time. It has created a conundrum in how students receive their education at elite institutions like Middlebury College. This educational gap is something that we’ve seen develop over time, and to be honest, we're not too sure what the solutions are…
We’ve been experiencing weird anxiety almost every time we go back home. The city will forever be our home, but in this episode, we discussed the uneasy feelings that we feel coming home after being in Vermont for months. We also touched on the cycle that we realized we are caught in at Middlebury: We don’t fit in with Middlebury's culture, so we try to leave, but we don’t have money, so then we're stuck... and back at square one.
“If there is no struggle there is no progress.” Now, almost a year from starting our podcast — we are reflecting on the first few episodes we posted. We’ve come so far from freshmen year, and we still have a long way to go. But, WE GOT THIS!
We grew up hearing the phrases, “Focus on your books,” “Don’t rush boys,” and “Work now, play later,” but now we are questioning, when is “later” for us? They say college is supposed to be "the best four years of our lives," but so far it’s looking like one big DUB!
2018 was by far one of the hardest year we faced, but somehow, we came out just fine. We ended that rough year with the the queen of Black Girl Magic herself, Michelle Obama. We went to her live book tour at the Barclays Center and heard beautiful and insightful advice. Michelle gave us a glimpse of the future that we can have if we keep our eyes on the prize and keep our head held high. We’ve got a tough road ahead of us, but if anyone had to do it, best believe it can be done by a black woman.
Social media makes it extremely easy to see the entire world through a small ass screen. Although social media is a great way to connect with friends, it also has a tendency to bring unnecessary toxicity into our lives. So, we decided to go a cleanse from social media and it’s working great for us! Also, we're seeing Michelle Obama so soon!!!
Here’s a quick update of what’s going on right in our lives. The two week grind period between thanksgiving break and winter break is no joke, but we got this, we hope.
Everyone has a different opinion regarding the "n word" it’s important that all voices are heard. This episode is an inside scoop of a white sophomore on Middlebury's campus and his experiences with the word ni**a.
A major questions on many college campuses for students is, “Are you allowed to say ni**a if you’re not black?” It's both a complicated and simple question. But here are our separate opinions on this topic. Stay tuned for next week's episode where we have a guest speak about his opinion as well… there are numerous opinions and they all deserved to be unpacked and heard.
SHOUTOUT TO ALL THE BLACK WOMEN IN THIS CRAZY WORLD!!! A black women embodies resilience in the face of systemic oppression, gender discrimination, defies stereotypes portrayed in media, and much more. Through all of these burdens in society, we're suppose to be unbothered and strong. But.. when a black male tells you to stop being strong without taking a second to realize WHY we have to be so strong hurts. We have something to say about that...
As Middlebury students we are given an opportunity to choose one class to take for the whole month of January. This is a very stressful time because we have to wake up at the crack of dawn to select this singular course. It creates a big dilemma because we are never sure which class we should devote a whole month to. Do we choose a class that helps us fulfill a major requirement or one that generally sparks our interest?
Although studies have shown that working in group projects are extremely beneficial and fun, we think they bring frustration instead of encouragement. So, STOP IT.
It’s a little crazy how apparent black culture is on our campus. For example, we hear rap playing every Friday and Saturday, students choosing to speak with a certain vernacular and more. But whats unfortunate is that students don’t ever want to talk about the issues in the black community. Maybe we should address the things they enjoy rapping along to, such as struggling and hustling.
We sat down and had an honest conversation about dealing with our hair in Vermont. Having our hair natural in a secluded area is difficult at times. We discussed how the standards of beauty sometimes trump our confidence to wear out our natural hair.
Meet our special guest today, Tré! Tré is a sophomore at Middlebury College who shed some light on the challenge of being black and queer on campus.
“You have to work twice as hard to get half of what our white counterparts have.” It’s hard being a person of color in a society that has the ideology of “white being right.” Growing up as a person of color you learn off the bat that the time and dedication we put in our goals take a lot more than meeting the minimum standards. My mindset (Destini) is no matter how much encouragement we get as black people to work harder we can’t ignore the systemic hurdles that impede our success on an everyday...
This episode maps out how we found our way to happiness from our depressing freshman year. We are in a great mental state for the beginning of sophomore year. The fact of the matter is that this college experience will be rough but we are not the first nor the last to experience it. We are blessed and ready to take this year head on!
Here’s a quick update of what we're doing right now. It summer and all is going well and we reminisced on our freshman year. We also discussed what the future is looking like for us.
Freshman year is coming to an end -- Destini and Megan are still tweaking. What is life like outside of Middlebury, Vermont? They dead don’t know. Just kidding, mad hype to go back home and be done with the first year of college! Time fi go!!!!!!
We grew up with many Caribbean beliefs and superstitions. We brought them to Middlebury with us, but many people don't believe in these. Have you ever wondered the meaning behind your right eye twitching? LISTEN!
The black on black love here is almost non-existent. These black boys only seem to date white girls, and we have a few questions about that...
There are dead ass 105 black students out of 2,561 students overall on this campus. Like damn...
Drake recently just dropped an inspirational single that truly salutes all the boss ass ladies in this world. It represents different complexions and ages and its been on repeat for the past week. It helps us calm our anxiety and the thoughts that surround the phenomena, stereotype threat.
A professor from UCLA is coming to Middlebury's campus to talk on Mismatch Theory which states that minority students can not succeed in competitive environments because their skill sets are not "ample." So, you telling me we can't succeed cause we black? Bet.
You need a lil' magic when you're a black girl enrolled in an elite predominantly white institution. Follow us on our journey: from hook up culture to new friendships, to navigating the world of academia.
