By John Warner

Dear Incoming Freshmen:

Welcome to college. This is an exciting and possibly anxious time for you. You want to do well. Fortunately for you I have many years of experience observing people such as yourselves, and I’ve been able to identify the single greatest threat to your academic success and overall happiness, health, and well-being:

Your cell phone.

You may see this device as the opposite, as your lifeblood, your connection to the world around you, but the reality is that it’s trying to destroy you.

Let me count the ways:

1. Your cell phone doesn’t want you to pay attention in class.

According to a study from the University of New Hampshire, only 2 out of 10 students do not text message during class. Fifteen percent send 11 or more text messages.

You may think that you’re part of “generation multi-task,” except that research indicates not so much. As reported in Slate, David Meyer, a University of Michigan psychology professor, says multitasking is a myth: “Under most conditions, the brain simply cannot do two complex tasks at the same time.” Where tasks are “demanding,” like paying attention to a class discussion, or texting your friend, your brain can only handle one thing at a time.

As Meyer says, “there’s nothing magical about the brains of so-called ‘digital natives’ that keeps them from suffering the inefficiencies of multitasking. They may like to do it, they may even be addicted to it, but there’s no getting around the fact that it’s far better to focus on one task from start to finish.”

What’s worse, is that when you text in class, the UNH study says 49 percent of you also feel “guilty” about it.

2. Your cell phone also doesn’t want you to study.

At some point early in the semester, as you sit down to do homework, reading, or problems sets, or what have you, log the number of times you switch tasks from your work to either your phone or the Internet (possibly via your computer). If you are like some of my students who completed this experiment, you may interrupt a 90 minute “work” period upwards of 40 or 50 times. The result is that (a) the work takes longer to complete, (b) the mental cost of switching from one cognitive task to another results in more mistakes, and (c) your recall of what you’re studying will be impaired.

3. Your cell phone may make you anxious and depressed.

It’s actually social media like Facebook and Instagram that may be doing this, but it’s the smart phone that tethers us (me definitely included) to this universe. While the science is still developing, some studies have shown that people who view pictures and posts of others may experience something called an “envy spiral” as we compare the idealized representation of someone else’s life via social media (“Out for my b-day with my besties and we ran into a shirtless Ryan Gosling!”) with the mundane reality of our own existences (“Studying alone in my crappy dorm room!”).

4. Your cell phone wants you to miss meeting people who will become very important in your life.

In the minutes before a class period starts, I always notice that at least 2/3’s of my students are engrossed in their phones, texting, surfing, Candy Crush Saga’ing. But the person you’re destined to spend the rest of your life with may be sitting next to you, except neither of you will know because you’re too busy with your cell phones.

I cannot count the number of lasting romances (not to mention the temporary ones) that have been sparked in my classroom.

Or forget romance, how about friendships? If you attend a residential college, one of the reasons you or your family are paying a not inconsequential sum, is to be proximate to other human beings. You are among people who could still be part of your lives 50 or 60 years from now. Why not smile and say “hello” to them?

5. Your cell phone may get you hit by a bus. (Or a car, or a bike taxi.)

Just last week, I witnessed a near-death experience when a young college student on the campus of the College of Charleston where I work walked in front of an oncoming car at an intersection without a moment’s pause because she was engrossed in her phone. The driver, fortunately, was more vigilant. The student demonstrated a LeBron James-like vertical jump when the car’s horn blared six inches from her ear.

The good news is that as much as it may seem otherwise, you are in control of your cell phone. The first step is to be aware of your own habits, and adjust your behaviors accordingly. I find in my own life that I turn to the Internet in moments of fleeting, truly fleeting, distraction, and it becomes a kind of unconscious reflex. One second I’ll be writing an insightful blog post for Inside Higher Ed, and the next I’ll be reading about that new super-cute raccoonish thing. I don’t even remember making the switch.

As we fall into these patterns we tend to look at them less and less critically, until we begin to think that it’s just how things are done.

But we can break these patterns by choosing to do otherwise. Not coincidentally, these habits of discipline translate well towards productivity and performance. On my computer, I’ve been using a program called (ironically enough) “Self-control” to limit my Internet access.

When you are studying, you can turn your phone off. Try it for even an hour at a time. Nothing is going to happen in that hour that you can’t catch up with later.

In class, you can turn your phone off and stow it in your bag. Your professors will appreciate this by not freaking out when they see you texting.

You can live happily without checking Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram dozens of times a day. Almost nothing important happens in these virtual spaces ever. As much as it might feel like you’re going to miss something, you aren’t. Think how uneventful your own life is. This is true of just about every other person on the planet.

Except Ryan Gosling. That dude is awesome. I bet he goes unicorn riding in his spare time.

Just because we – yes, we — have fallen into these habits, doesn’t mean they can’t be undone.

Good luck with the start of your semester.

I’m rooting for us.

—

Is it wrong for me to include a link to my Twitter in a post about the danger of too much interaction with smart phones?

Read more: http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/just-visiting/open-letter-incoming-freshmen#ixzz2cX2wuWCC
Inside Higher Ed

Throughout the past year, we have learned that the Stand Your Ground Law is pervasive throughout the country.  It has led to deaths of African American and Latino males in Jacksonville, FL and most recently Miami, Fl. Some artists, such as Steve Wonder, Frankie Beverly and Maze, and Mary Mary, have verbalized their objections to the law and vowed not to perform in Florida until the law is repealed.  Their commitment to end the “hunting season on our young men of color” is commendable; but what is our charge?  As individuals, who live in states with a similar law, we have the due diligence to make our opposition known when voting.

On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech calling for equal opportunities for jobs and freedom from harassment. Three weeks later, four little girls lost their lives in Birmingham as a result of racially motivated terrorism. Even though much has changed, a significant amount of ideology has remained the same.  As we stand our ground to fight for social justice, we have to be strategic in how we implement our plan of action. In commemoration of the 50^th anniversaries of the March on Washington and the bombing of the Birmingham 16^th Street Church, we remember these monumental events were about civil rights.  Notre Dame in conjunction with other local institutions is hosting the Echoes of Birmingham. From September 7 -10, events providing historical context will be held at the Center for History and on the campus of University of Notre Dame. For more information, visit the MSPS website.

MSPS has adopted the 2013-2014 theme “We Got You.”  MSPS is here to support, to advise, to offer guidance and leadership development opportunities.  We are an integral component of the “village” to ensure that students thrive at Notre Dame.  This includes providing opportunities to learn outside of the classroom and establish networks for life after your matriculation. We hope you will join us at our upcoming events to enrich your ND experiences:

•  September 4  Interrace Forum
•  September 9 Spirituality, Birmingham Bombing, and Birmingham Civil Rights Movement
•  September 12 Welcome Back Picnic.
•  Hispanic Heritage Month Kick-Off
•  October 4     Series of Diversity in the Arts –Evita in Chicago

Contact msps@nd.edu for information on these activities

Safe travels as you return to campus,

Iris L. Outlaw `90 MSA

Director

By Hye Zo (Ally) Kwun

Never having been to a conference before, I did not know what to expect at all from NCORE. I was excited because I knew that at the very least that I would be surrounded by people who were interested in race and ethnicity issues. I find that at school, when I attempt to engage my friends in discussions about race or culture, many people tend to be apprehensive and try to end the conversation by claiming to be too ignorant on the subject. Thus, I was specifically looking for mentors who were experts in their fields who could give me strong guidance who could help me form my own opinions with stronger conviction. In fact that was exactly what I found at NCORE.

Specifically, when I attended the AAPI Caucus, I met AAPI who were the head of the cultural center at their school and who had years of experience of fighting for equality and change. They imparted advice on me on how to rouse apathetic AAPI to care about discrimination, as well as how to get people to talk.

I attended Asian-American and Pacific Islanders: Championing Change through the Voices of Diverse AAPI Communities as my Pre-Conference Institute. As a Korean-American, I am always interested in what the issue of diversity means to the AAPI community, and how we are perceived in the sphere of POCs. At Notre Dame, I struggled a lot with what I perceived as inaction on the part of the AAPI community. It seemed that all we were doing was putting on shows or giving out dumplings and sushi. There was too much being done in the category of celebrating our culture, but not at all in the office of understanding it. However, this workshop helped me to see that appreciating our culture is a hugely important step for AAPIs because we are still categorized as immigrants. It is important to affirm that we are proud of our culture and that we are not aliens, that we belong in this country as Americans. I think this point could be used as momentum to drive forward to the next step: triggering people to talk about AAPI issues.

I would like to propose to the Asian American Association to hold monthly or biweekly informal meetings that can be a safe place for students (both AAPI and non-AAPI) to explore and discuss anything about the AAPI community. What I gleaned from my pre-conference institute is that the best way to have a stimulated conversation was to have people share stories. An ice-breaker in which people pair off and are allowed two to five minutes to tell a story (about their names, the first time they experienced “otherness”, who their hero is, etc.) could be a way to alleviate some of the awkwardness. AAA could also invite professors to give talks, and then allow students to join the discussion. Lastly, we could host a focused discussion on specific topics, such as the Model Minority Myth, Yellow Fever, the breakdown between Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders, cultural appropriation, AAPI in the media, affirmative action, the Dream Act, etc. I suggest keeping these meetings informal in order to encourage students to attend and feel comfortable voicing their opinions.

However, the next important step is to not just educate and inform the AAPI community, but to engage the entirety of Notre Dame. The one class that every student takes is Contemporary Topics, which makes it available to amazing opportunities, but often it is brushed off as a blow off class because the topics and delivery are so mundane. Rather than be just lectured at, the students should become active participants in workshops and activities that trigger them into thinking. An activity that I learned from a peer at NCORE is called Theatre of the Oppressed. A trained student or faculty (perhaps someone from the MSPS office) would facilitate the performances, in which students will act out situations and swap roles so that they will experience both being the oppressed and the oppressor. As a freshman, my friend confessed that she felt uncomfortable accompanying me to cultural events because she was usually the sole “white kid” in the room. I had tried to explain to her numerous times why I felt alienated at this school, but it was not until she experienced it herself that she understood. Therefore, I believe Theatre of the Oppressed could be a powerful opportunity to facilitate discussion and understanding of race issues.

Another workshop I attended that had great impact on me was the talk by Candy Chang, Creating Community in the City, Campus, and Beyond. Unfortunately for many students, college campuses can feel like an unsafe environment to share their thoughts. Candy Chang has started many projects that help people communicate with each other and feel encouraged to share their feelings in open spaces. If we could set up several giant chalkboard walls around campus (in the middle of South Quad and North Quad) with prompts such as “I want to talk about ______” or “I wish ND could ______” we could get students sharing their thoughts and see that others have similar interests. This project could also call the administrators attention to specific things that students want.

Finally, we should host an NCORE of our own, as a Race and Ethnicity Week (similar to Energy Week). We could bring in speakers such as Candy Chang to host talks, set up booths that show off food, music, and dances of different cultures, arrange caucuses, have an open mic night for spoken word, and as a grand finale invite performers such as Las Cafeteras or Taiyo Na for a concert. NCORE left such an impact on me because of all the energy that the participants and speakers brought with them, so I believe that having a week dedicated to race and ethnicity will propel our university to start being interested by these issues. It will help to unite the different cultural groups, as well as to bring the entire campus together.