UH and TSU What’s So Different?

UH and TSU What’s So Different?

The ongoing battle between the two universities of Scott street in Houston Texas is nothing short of normality for the people that live in third ward.  In the world of higher education, it is normal to assume that educators and students would want to work together for the common cause.  In the situation of University of Houston (UH) and Texas Southern University (TSU) this assumption could not be more wrong.  With TSU being a historically black University (HBCU) and UH not allowing African Americans to study in their facilities until the year 1963 can be a main source of tension among the two collegiate places.  In my gallery located above we will explore just how different the schools look physically and what the general perception of each university may be.

As I walked along my University of Houston campus, I noticed numerous buildings that consisted of many state-of-the-art style buildings and designs. UH has very few old buildings and is one university that is under heavy construction.  I witnessed signs that stated the new facilities that would go up all over campus and the site for the additional University Center that they plan to rebuild after an upgrade on the current University Center.  I thought to myself about my tuition bill, and quickly understood what the additional fees and charges were for and where many funds at UH were going towards.  The president, Dr. Renu Khator, and her administration at University of Houston is pushing to make their campus a tier one school, with more housing being built and the introduction of Lofts this fall semester, it would seem as if UH is on their way to looking like a school of the greatest achievement in higher education, tier one.

My trip down the Tiger Walk at Texas Southern University was very different.  As I looked upon the different building with worn out signs and decaying bricks I began to think of the many scandals with former president Priscilla Slade that I heard about this campus a few semesters ago.  At TSU there are several new buildings and large areas to conduct their research and study for their business, law and pharmacy students as shown in the above images.  It did not take me long to complete the trip around campus as the physical space of TSU is much smaller and more intimate than UH.

As I observed the students at TSU, I felt the presence of a strong and proud kind of people.  Many may have worked diligently all their lives to achieve the reward of studying higher education and take pride in the facilities they choose to scholar in.  From the surface UH may already look as if they have a tier one campus compared to the facilities and buildings of TSU.  Although TSU is improving the overall look for their campus, the university still needs a lot of work.  To achieve this goal the University needs funding and alumni assistance from the former graduates of their school.

University of Houston and Texas Southern University are two of the universities in the world that are the most alike and different at the same time.  With the arrival of new leadership under a former staff member of University of Houston, John Rudley, and his promises to change the direction TSU gives the students there hope for a better and brighter future.  The M.D. Anderson Library located at UH is one of the many on campus, but serves as the general public library for UH Students.  It has many facilities to study in a group, privately, and a social setting.  With an enormous computer lab, eight floors full of books, magazines, newspapers and journals, the learning commons which consist of an video library is a small addition to the library.  Both TSU and UH libraries have private study rooms, but the size of the rooms are different.  The Robert James Terry library of TSU is a two-story building with the extra facilities of a kiosk, a computer lab and two-stall bathrooms.  As shown in the pictures, UH has a 24-hour study lounge in front of  the actual library where students can study to their heart’s desire.

Despite the differences in the appearances of the two universities, the ability to work well with each other is not something that either of the places can show.  Many different programs and organizations from both campuses have attempted to work with one another on a project that would improve the community and their environment but have failed to do so.  Will the two facilities continue to shift in two different directions for the same cause, or will they one day be able to work together as one form of higher education.

13 Wrongfully Taken and 1 Chosen

There was a deadly shooting in the small town of Binghamton, New York in the late afternoon of Friday April 3, 2009.  During classes discussing citizenship inside the building of the Immigration Center of New York a gunman mad a fatal decision to take the lives of 13 innocent people and his own.  The gunman, who was later identified as Jiverly Wong also injured 4 other people in the process of this act of violence, as described by President Obama.  The gunman who was a Vietnamese immigrant seemed to be very disturbed, as he wrote a letter in broken English to the local news station stating that he would commit this crime two days before the act.  The emergency call was made by a receptionist who was shot by the gunman.  She acted dead until it was safe for her to call the police, unfortunately the massacre had already begun.   After the shooting the police raided Wong’s house and confiscated a rifle case, hard drives from his computer, paper bags and a small suitcase.  He used a high powered rifle to commit his crimes.  It was later found that Wong heard voices in his head telling him to kill.  He should have driven himself to the mental institution that Friday afternoon, there was nothing that the American Civic Association Center could have done for him.

The End to the Recession, True or False?

President Obama met with Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Wednesday April 1, 2009 to discuss the end of the recession worldwide.  Not only does the leader of the free world insist on a global deal that will improve the economy of the United States but help but the entire world on a better path financially.  The Imminent Group of 20 leaders summit was held.  Obama presented his idea to the French President Nicolas Sarkozy as an “enormous consensus” that would gather the world’s wealthy and emerging countries and get a jump start on the global economy.  The French president insisted that the deal be completely secure and not have any “false compromises” within the plan.  Even though the congress has released their firm grip on the idea to push more money into the American government from other countries through economic stimulus programs Germany and France are still unhappy about the international regulation to help fix the financial market.  The Prime Minister joined forces with President Obama during the news conference in London insisting that doing nothing was not the solution to solving the problem.  With other countries like Europe and France being in financial ruins, an economic stimulus plan would not be a bad idea for the world to reshape its financial status and continue to make the world a better place for the future.

President Obama’s Approval Ratings!

The American people have more than a 50% approval rating of the new president Barack Obama.  Not only do the Americans approve of his job as the president, but they blame the falling economy on the excesses of the financial industry.  The cabinet of the president has on their agenda to improve the economy in ways that are unique and unlike anything America has ever seen.  The president’s ultimate goal is to end the recession that was caused by the previous president and simply turn the United States back into the “greatest country in the world.”  Even though most Americans are optimistic about the future, they have faith in their president according to his approval ratings, and believe that the Obama cabinet is leading America in the right direction.

The Buck Stops Here

When President Obama announced the government take over of the auto industry, it seemed like a far cry from what the CEO of General Motors Corporation and Chrysler LLC were expecting.  Obama refuses to let the auto industry fail and has a plan to take all the actions necessary to regain a strong auto industry.  President Obama said that in order to regain the financial status required to rebuild the auto industry.  The GM corporation has exactly 60 days to get their act together.  They have to find a way to bail themselves out of the mess they have created or the presidency will permanently step in to handle the situation.  The Industries of Chrysler are in an even worse situation because they have only 30 days to whip their company back into shape. With both of the companies in millions of dollars of debt this seems like an almost impossible task.

The Civil Rights of Equality

A long time ago when equality rights were established they came with a fine print among the outline of the law.  In the beginning of the establishment of the United States, it was made lawful for every white male to be treated equally but not for women or anyone of a minority race.  In the year 2009, the United States has indicted a bi-racial president to rule America for the next four years.  The country has come a long way from those first established equality rights, or has it?

The President of The United States, Barack Obama, has fought to strengthen civil and equality rights for the majority of his career.  According to the agenda of the Obama and Biden administration, the people of America still have a lot of work to do when it comes to equality among the diverse fifty states of America.  With the horrible truth about racial profiling, employment pay discrimination, and sentencing disparities it seems as if the economic crisis is first on the list of many situations that need to resurface during this new president administration.

“On January 29, 2009 , President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act of 2009, to ensure that women receive equal pay for equal work.  The Obama and Biden administration will also pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression”

– http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/civil_rights/

For as long as I have been in the job industry, I have assumed that any business was already suppose to follow the law of Equal Employment Opportunity, but if this law had to be revised in 2009 then that one job I was applying for when I was sixteen but never received a phone call because my application was lost, leads me to believe that I was discriminated against.  The Civil Right that every United States citizen has to be equally treated among the work force has been violated for too long, and without change there is clear danger very close ahead.

Concerned For My Safety…

As you may be aware of, this weekend a man was killed right here on our campus Saturday morning.  What scares me is the simple fact that the police have no leads and are unsure as to how this happen even with the 500 security cameras watching over the campus and nearly 50 police officers.  Something very interesting that struck me as I was reading this story in the Daily Cougar was the reference to University of Houston as a small city due to the number of students and acres the entire campus consist of.  It just seems like every time I check my email there is a security alert around campus where someone has been involved in a robbery or a victim of crime.

Now, this man was at a local bus stop that just happened to be on campus…does this mean that having the Metro bus stops all along the open campus increase the risk of violence at University of Houston?

Bi-Partisan?

What should America think about the completely non bi-partisan acts the Republicans played during President Obama’s $819 billion stimulus plan? This comes as no surprise for America since 2008 was one of the most vicious elections we have ever seen. The exact count of the voting that took place in the House of Representatives  was a 244 to 188 count.  All 177 Republicans and 11 rural Democrats voted against it.  It seems to me that they are simply being stubborn because the Republicans can not have there way and they are going to try to stand their ground as long as they can until it does happen.  They claim they would like to spend the money more to tax cutting and more money on water and highway projects.  Newsflash: We have been trying your way for the last eight years and it is NOT working! We have a new Commander- in- Chief who is willing to work equally amongst the House and have checks and balance, but some people want it their way or no way.  Everybody does not want change, they are so use to the old way that they can not clear their mind and see what exciting and inspirational ideas Obama holds for this nation and how to get this country back on its feet.  Whoever holds the power controls the Nation, and now the Democrats control the power.

What concerns me the most~

I am most interested about the economy and how our new president is going to lead America out of the crisis that we are so very far in.  I truly believe in the hope that Obama brings to his country and want to deservingly be awarded the promises and solutions that he has planned.  As of today I am strongly being affected by the recession, you see I work at the Airport, Hobby Airport to be exact, and it is a sad sight to see. The comparison betweeen the amount of business, or people traveling in the beginning of the year, from last year to now is like night and day.  My company has been suffering from the recession with little to no business since the beginning of the holiday season back in November.  The fact that I am already a struggling college student does not help the fact that my tip-based job is on the verge of extremely hard times.  I would like to find a fitting more suitable job, but with the economy the way it is I should just be thankful that I have a job right? I think not, what concerns me the most is how exactly did I get in this castatrophe and how exactly do I get out? It is like an endless hallway. I just want to wake up in the morning without a headache do to lack of sleep and stress over how am I going to pay this bill or that bill…

Hello world!

This is my weekly blog. Feel free to look around and leave comments if a thought seems to cross your mind.

Thanks!

-Amanda