Julian Wright's Blog | Archives | 2016

About Me

Date February 16, 2016

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Hi! My name is Julian Wright. I am from Norcross, Georgia and the high school I went to was Greater Atlanta Christian School. In high school I played football all four years and was a state champion on the track team. I now go to Georgia State University where I am majoring in Computer Information Systems. My goal is to get a high GPA for the first couple of years then transfer to University of Georgia where I plan to graduate. I hope to continue to make my family proud by doing well in college and by being the respectable christian-like man that they raised.

College Campus Landscape

Date February 16, 2016

Posted by jwright78@gsu.edu

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The authors of this article start off by stating facts about how the enrollment numbers for college are on the rise. With the enrollment numbers on the rise this has forced people to ask the question of what makes college campuses a good learning environment for students. The authors say that many students don’t pick colleges for small things such as technology upgrades or new buildings, but that they choose to go to the college that has the type of environment that best fits their needs. With college being both stimulating and demanding this can cause attention fatigue and begin to erode a students academic success and learning goals. This raised the question of how can a college campus’ environment help replenish a students cognitive functions.

The authors of this article state that one way a college campus can help replenish a students cognitive function is by having a lot of open space. In a study done in 1994 it was found that having a lot of open space on a college campus adds both quality and value to a campuses environment. A landscape designer by the name of Fredrick Olmstead claimed that the way a college campus looks has a direct impact on the way a student is able to learn. He states that natural scenery can be very influential in refreshing both the mind and the body. In a major body of research it has been discovered using the Attention Restoration Theory that nature is a catalyst when it comes to healing the human attention system.

According to this article a college campuses landscape is instrumental in providing an interconnected type of feeling. The authors state that with colleges beginning to employ a more holistic type of feeling, nature is starting to be implemented more frequently around college campuses. Interaction with nature has been shown to have positive effects on the mind and body as well as have positive effects on a person’s voluntary and involuntary attention system. When students experience this type of holistic feeling on a college campus this can definitely impact their college experience in a positive way.

The authors of this article stress the importance of finding a space that best fits a students needs. Some students like to be outdoors and some people like to be in a quiet area. If you feel stressed or feel like your attention is suffering find an open space on campus, preferably around nature to help freshen up your mind and body. It is very important when choosing a college campus to try and find a place where you feel interconnected with the environment around you, because in the end it will benefit your academic success and student goals.

Accommodation

Date February 16, 2016

Posted by jwright78@gsu.edu

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This article by Emily Bazelon was an interesting read. Throughout the article she seems to preach on the importance of accommodation. Early on in the summary she explains that society has taught us that men belong in the men’s bathroom and women belong in the women’s bathroom. There was never really a discussion on which bathroom transgender people should use. Bazelon goes on to say that there are still many people that are truly against mixing different genders when it comes to using bathrooms and have even gone as far to make a “bathroom ordinance”. Bazelon makes the argument that some people feel this way because having someone with different genitalia in the same bathroom as you will ruin the common culture of being in a men’s bathroom or being in a women’s bathroom. With all of these protests that have gone on there has yet to be a final answer on where transgenders should use the bathroom.

Bazelon, provides a story in which an Illinois high school transgender student was forced to change in a distant room across the hall because there were a lot of privacy concerns that came along with changing with female students. Her parents later filed a civil rights complaint asking the district of the school if she could change with the female students. This is where the idea of a privacy curtain came into play. Of course, the privacy curtain can’t just be used for the transgender student, but for all of the girls. This is where Bazelon goes on to state the importance of accommodating.

Bazelon, gives many different definitions for the word ‘accommodation’, but the main idea in her definitions was to allow people of all kinds to be able to fit in without having to feel different or left out. She cites many different times in history where people have had to make accommodations and how the end result was something positive. In the case of transgender people, Bazelon feels like they are the ones doing all of the accommodating and does not think that’s right. Bazelon expresses that in order for us to coexist as a civil society accommodations have to be made for all people including transgenders. Bazelon’s hopes are that in the future we will be past this and that it won’t even be a topic of discussion.

mid-term reflection

Date February 15, 2016

Posted by jwright78@gsu.edu

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Coming into this class this semester has been a relatively new experience. In the past my english classes felt more traditional and had basically the same rhythm and flow. In this class we are focusing more on doing research about different environments and how the world around us reacts to these environments. I will say that something similar about this class is that we are still putting our thoughts and opinions in writing and submitting that for a grade. This class just forces us to be more creative in our thinking.

Turning in our first annotated bibliographies, reading summaries, and built environment assignments were pretty time consuming and a lot of hard work, but it did teach me a lot about the way I conduct my research. In the past I would just look at what was obvious and write about that, but now I have learned to open my eyes and dig into what might not be so obvious at first glance. These class assignments have taught me that there is always two different sides to every story and as apart of my research it is my job to uncover both sides. I believe that for my upcoming research assignments I can do a better job of taking notes while I am reading and observing so that my final research product is more credible.

At first I thought that Professor Wharton would be the only audience member I had for my assignments, but now I have realized that I have a lot of people that I am reaching with my research assignments. I have my classmates, other GSU students, and future GSU students. I take pride in having the pressure on me to do well on my research assignments because I am contributing to changing other people’s view points. A big part in changing someone’s view point is being credible so that forces me to put in the extra amount of work to make sure that my research is well written and contains factual information. My main goal in doing all of this is to open another person’s eyes to the REAL world that we live in and not just the world that is obvious to all of us.

Road Trip To Lenox

Date February 13, 2016

Posted by jwright78@gsu.edu

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The place that I chose to do my research on was the Lenox Marta Station which is located on Paces Ferry Rd in Atlanta Georgia. The Lenox Marta Station was constructed in 1912, but opened for the public in 1984. In order for me to arrive at the Lenox Marta Station I had to hop on a Marta train and travel on the gold line until I reached the Lenox Station. The first thing that I noticed was the majority of the people on the train got off at the Lenox Station. I made the assumption that it was because a mall by the name of ‘Lenox’ was a popular attraction for many people of every race. Upon getting off the train I noticed that this particular station had an old fashioned type of feel to it. The station had dull colors and not many paintings so the vibe that I received was one where I wanted to leave as soon as possible.

That seemed to be how many other people felt as well because with the amount of young and old people there it felt very crowed, but it seemed like everyone was rushing to get out of there. I hopped onto the escalator and instead of people standing there waiting to get to the top, some people were running up it and bumping into everyone in their way.

Finally, when I reached the top of the escalator, I saw what looked to be the gates of Heaven letting me out of this dark, echoing, colossal underground hole. What I saw was the security gates that let people in and out of the Lenox Station. While I was there, I observed how some people bypass the security gate, and some of the techniques that were used were walking quickly behind someone while the gate was open, crawling underneath the gate, and having a friend swipe his card twice. I did some research on the penalty for if you were caught doing this and I read where one man had to pay a hefty fine and do community service.

Upon exiting the Lenox Marta Station, I noticed that this particular Marta Station was located in a beautiful area. If you look across the street, you will see many fancy restaurants to eat at such as Houston’s and if you look across the street from that you will see this grand Marriott Hotel. It was pretty obvious that this area pumped in a lot of money and, therefore, the atmosphere surrounding the Lenox Marta Station appeared to be thriving.

Overall, I enjoyed my experience at the Lenox Marta Station. If I were the person that was designing this exterior I would add more vibrant colors and paintings. I would also have soft elevator music playing in the background to make the tone of this place more welcoming. Yes, Marta has a reputation for being dirty and unsafe, but I believe that people of all races and all ages would appreciate this station.

Built Environment Lenox Picture 4

Date February 12, 2016

Posted by jwright78@gsu.edu

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Here is a picture of the railroad tracks at the Lenox Marta Station. If you were to fall onto these railroad tracks it would be a pretty far drop despite how close the picture makes it look. These tracks also have a high voltage of electricity that runs through them so there are signs everywhere that encourage people to stay off of the tracks.

Built Environment Lenox Video 1

Date February 10, 2016

Posted by jwright78@gsu.edu

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Marta Train

This is a video I took of the Marta Train passing through Lenox Marta Station. The Lenox Marta Station is located on the gold line railroad tracks that travels to Doraville. When the train gets to the Lenox Station it usually takes off within 2 minutes so it is imperative that you get onto the train as quickly as you can to avoid being left and having to wait on the next train which usually takes about 15-20 minutes.

Built Environment Lenox Picture 3

Date February 10, 2016

Posted by jwright78@gsu.edu

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To get to the train tracks you have to travel down this escalator. One thing I noticed about Lenox Marta Station as opposed to other Marta Stations is that people seem to be more in a rush at the Lenox location. Some people run up the escalator and others may squeeze their way past you. Fortunately, this escalator is not super long like the Peachtree Center Marta Station so getting in and out of the Lenox Station is quick.

Built Environment Lenox Picture 2

Date February 10, 2016

Posted by jwright78@gsu.edu

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In order to enter the Lenox Marta Station you are required to swipe your breeze card on the designated area. Sometime people will use techniques to try to bypass this gate and some people are successful, but if you are caught you can expect a hefty fine. Marta has been struggling over the last couple of years with gaining a lot of profit so they need every penny that they can receive.

Annotated Bibliography #1

Date February 6, 2016

Posted by jwright78@gsu.edu

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Winne, Mark. “The Bluff.” The Bluff: Channel 2 Goes into Georgia’s Biggest Heroin Market. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.

In this article the author, discusses how Atlanta neighborhoods by the name of English Avenue and Vine City also known as ‘The Bluffs’, have been left in the dark for decades. English Avenue and Vine City have been the biggest drug neighborhoods in Georgia for many years. Many residents living here have been begging for the city of Atlanta to help, but promises continue to be broken leading to very few improvements within the community. A famous resident to this neighborhood was Martin Luther King Jr. The author describes how even when MLK lived there the neighborhood was still run down and a haven for heroine. Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne walked around interviewing different residents and he talked to two men that said ‘The Bluffs’ was a neighborhood in which it is so easy to get caught up in the drug lifestyle and how that lifestyle more than likely always leads to death or prison time. Residents of this area this area are concerned that the city of Atlanta will continue to spend money on projects like the new Falcons stadium, but continue to forget about them. I chose this source because WSBTV is a credible source and it is right here in Atlanta where I am focusing my research on Atlanta Georgia. I enjoyed reading this article because it really shows how the city of Atlanta has indirectly contributed to the downfall of this neighborhood by simply not doing anything.

Mártir, Vanessa. “Gentrified Brooklyn Is Not My Brooklyn.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 16 May 2015. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.

In this article the author talks about how the Brooklyn that she grew up in was different from the Brooklyn now due to a term called ‘gentrification’. She explains that when she was growing up Brooklyn was not the cleanest or safest place to live, but that it always felt like home because of the struggles that everyone in the neighborhood dealt with. She goes on to say that when white people started moving into the neighborhood the atmosphere of Brooklyn changed and many residents were upset because it felt like white people came in and dominated and tore down the culture that was originally there. The author gave this definition the word “Columbus’ing” as it appeared that the white people came in out of nowhere and civilized the minorities. I chose this article from the Huffington Post because although this article is talking about gentrification in New York, it also happens here in Atlanta where I am doing my research. I did think one flaw this article had was that it did not really talk about how residents living in Brooklyn benefited from white people moving into the neighborhood.

McMillan, Tracie. “Gap in Diet Quality Between Wealthiest and Poorest Americans Doubles, Study Finds.” National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 2 Sept. 2014. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.

The author of this article, Tracie, explains how there is a significant dietary difference between poor and healthy neighborhoods. She says that many residents living in poor neighborhoods are far more likely to be obese than a person living in a wealthy neighborhood. This is because in poor neighborhoods there tends to not be many grocery stores, but a lot of fast food restaurants around. The author explains that parents living in poor neighborhoods want their families to eat healthy, but when you are poor you have to eat the cheapest option and most of the times the cheapest option is the most unhealthiest one. Tracie McMillan goes on to say that in order to fix the obesity problem in poor neighborhoods more grocery stores and supermarkets have to open up in order to change the food environment. This problem is a nation-wide problem that also occurs here in Atlanta where I am doing my research. I believe this article is credible because for one National Geographic is a very credible source and I have driven in a bad neighborhood here in Atlanta where my aunt lives and there will literally be one grocery store within a 5 mile radius, but a fast food restaurant on every corner. I did not see any flaws within this article and I thought that it was very informative as to a normal person they won’t be able to see this problem, but once it’s brought to the spotlight everyone can finally see that it is an actual problem.

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