The SHHO Presents: Michael Malbon

As it is very difficult now to find any written information on SHHO besides what they have posted on their own website, I have resorted to watching one of their documentary-esque videos. This video in particular is a show case on a barber named Michael Malbon from New York, and can be found at this address: http://theshho.com/2013/06/26/michael-malbon/

The video is focused on a barber who plies his trade in New York, and has become a go to barber for many celebrities whether they live in the city or are just passing through for a show. However, his profession is not the central theme of the video, though it constitutes a fair portion of view time, instead the focus falls on him and how he has seen the hip-hop scene change while his time in the city (tenure beginning circa 1990). He relishes the days when Nas and Biggie were the biggest on the block as well as an emerging Jay-Z. When these giants of the game ruled the clubs, the social scene of the city was quite different as well according to Malbon, "You use to be able to walk around, drink a beer on the street, and just have a good time" he says remembering the relaxed attitude however he goes full circle to modern day quickly pointing out that "now it isn't even funny how quick you'd get shut down for that." Interestingly, he defines a divide in the old school hip hop and of that which has taken over the majority of the city. "It's fun, but it's not like it used to be" he sighs, he notices that the scene isn't the same as many of the new rappers are club focused and sell out for hot beats and catchy tunes instead of the classic old school sound coupled with conscious lyrics.

This was an interesting video to watch, as I had no idea that the social climate of the city changed in hand with the hip-hop scene. Overall it was cool to see what kind of people that the SHHO likes to showcase, and what these people bring to the table as insights into rap and hip-hop. I am getting increasingly frustrated with the lack of information online about the organization, it seems that interviews will likely become the only other source of information that I will be able to get a hold of. Ideally, I would like to join the group and make it into a powerhouse at the university, a club you think of with esteem and pride, but that's another conversation. I would also like to include my blog from last Friday as one of my three for this week.

Blog Reflection

I thought doing these blogs would be pretty monotonous, however what I've found through my research, notably my most recent work, has been an interesting process. Starting with the arboretum it was particularly frustrating because I found that there was very little information for me to find on the space, and that I would have to grasp at straws just to meet the word limit, let alone the three blogs a week. It was a testament to how research doesn't always turn out how you would like it, but it was good to learn early. After the arboretum I moved around a little bit, branching out to Memorial Coliseum and then Commonwealth stadium. The former is not a space that I would have much interest in doing a documentary on myself, sure it has its interesting bits but it just isn't what I would see as a lively and engaging topic. Commonwealth stadium followed the same pattern, a bit more of an interesting space, yet it lacked an x factor to focus on or highlight. In addition, it turned out to be a very one dimensional space as football is close to the only thing that the stadium caters to. At last, I arrived at The Student Hip-Hop organization. This was by far the most interesting topic I came across. I first heard of it while in my UK 101 class during a discussion about clubs and getting involved. It peaked my interest, and when I went to further research the club it became evident that this would be the topic I wanted to do my documentary on.

Student Hip-Hop Organization

Now that I have cemented my topic I went on over to the official webpage for the Student Hip-Hop Organization. Written by selected authors to maintain the site, the webpage can be found here: http://theshho.com/

The webpage is extensive and reads a lot like Twitter. It is a ticker that details what different chapters of the organization have been doing in relation to interview, activities, concerts and what not. If you take a stroll over to the history section of the website then it opens up the student handbook which is a guide to the conception and the concepts of the organization. Founded by Arnold Yun at VCU in 2006, the organization was created for like minded hip hop heads to go and enjoy the genre, discuss the latest happenings, and generally create a place where people could express themselves. It branched quickly to neighboring Virginia universities like Virginia Tech and even George Mason in Washington DC. The organization does its best to get in touch with rappers big and small and become an active part of the music scene. VCU had a focus on the Virginia hip hop scene in particular, which is quite a flourishing place for young rappers. Much more information could be said about different chapters and activities, however I'll save those for later blog posts.

Overall, it is a very informative page that means to convey the genre attitude and culture of the organization to its audience. I would like to find more information on the UK chapter in particular since I plan on joining, and it would be helpful for creating a connection with the documentary audience. I do wish that the website were a bit more concise rather than the ticker like lay out they have at the moment.

Willy T. Young Library

In a last ditch effort to find a solid topic, I have come to Willy T. Young library's official page contained within the University of Kentucky catalog of libraries' website. The exact page can be found here: http://libraries.uky.edu/libpage.php?lweb_id=1021&llib_id=14

This webpage gives all the information that one would ever want or need in regards to Willy T. For the sake of typing, I won't list every single thing that the website goes over, however I will hit the most pivotal and interesting sections of the site. One of the biggest draws to Willy T. is manifested in the form of "The Hub". The Hub is located in the basement of the library and is a dedicated study area that hosts IT support, complete with over 200 computers and its own Mac lab. If you go up a couple floors you will find yourself at The Writing Center. The Writing Center is a place for students to go if they need help writing a paper or with any aspect of their writing. Lastly, what is studying if you don't have any food to hold you down? Willie T. offers many snack options in Starbucks and Ovid's Cafe.

Very informative webpage, I received a lot more concise information than I had from other sources about some of my previous topics. I wonder who proposed the building of Willy T. and how it came to become the social and academic center of the university. Who proposed Starbucks and Ovid's? How did the writing center come about; Was it around before the completion of Willy T? I don't know but I guess I'll eventually find out.

Commonwealth Stadium

In an attempt to find my final subject matter I have looked up the official page for Commonwealth Stadium on the University of Kentucky Athletic Department webpage. The department are the maintainers of the site and the specific page can be found at this address: http://www.ukathletics.com/athletic-dept/commonwealth-stadium.html

The webpage is set up as an informative and quite linear article that outlines the history of Commonwealth and a brief inlet into the role it has had with the football program. Built and opened in 1973, Commonwealth Stadium has been home to the wildcats for 41 years now, seeing them host a, by our standards, impressive 107-95-4 home record. It goes on to talk about how the cats came to get a win in their inaugural game in the stadium, as well as mentioning how many people have been through the gates to watch games since its creation, 12,040,330 and counting.

This source does a very good job of giving you an aesthetic for the stadium, lending you the bare bones knowledge that a passerby may want, yet it fails in the respect of delving deeper into the overall purposes of Commonwealth and what it means to the community. Indeed, it gives numbers on football games which hints towards the amount of traffic that the stadium receives. Now, it is no secret that the football team for the University of Kentucky can be a bit underwhelming, especially in recent years, but the fact that we have come out above .500 winning percentage also links back to the community of the stadium and how such a, supposedly, good atmosphere and crowd can propel even a football team of their likeness to victory. I would like to know what other things Commonwealth has been a venue to, and why it is overlooked as a quality stadium.

Memorial Coliseum

A link to Memorial Coliseum's Wikipedia page will be the subject of today's. As per Wikipedia's design, the author is anonymous (I understand legitimacy issues that can arise with Wikipedia, however I've found that places as mundane as Memorial Coliseum are created by credible, to a degree, source whose sole purpose is to convey informative information) and the page can be found at this address: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Coliseum_(University_of_Kentucky)

The page goes to show the many uses that Memorial Coliseum has been given throughout the years. It is home to the women's volleyball, gymnastics, and basketball teams, as well as having a rich history hosting the men's basketball team before the conception of Rupp Arena. Under the surface of the athletic side of the stadium, I found it interesting to find out about whom it was built in memory of. According to the official website for the Coliseum, it was built in memorial to all of the Kentuckians who died during WWI, WWII, and the Korean War. Later on, the names of those Kentuckians killed in the Vietnam War were added to the list of those honored. Refocusing on the athletic side of the coliseum, it was witness to the rising prestige of the Kentucky men's basketball program, seeing the team win the national championship in 1951 and 1958. Recently it has been home to some fairly successful women's basketball teams in those of 2012-2013 and 2013-2014.

This source gives a good summary of what the Coliseum is home to and what it stands for on a metaphorical level, however it leaves much to be desired as a candidate for a documentary. It might be harsh to go ahead and throw out it out as a possibility, as I could easily delve deeper into the history of the men;s basketball team playing in the building, yet this wouldn't be anything new or breathtaking as there are hundreds of sports documentaries out there in the world, and it doesn't excite me as much as a writer to rehash something that has surely been done an innumerable amount of times.

Stress and College Students

Today I came across an article titled “Stress takes Its Toll on College Students” on the website Bloomberg Businessweek, written by Francesca Di Meglio. It can be found at this address: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-05-10/stress-takes-its-toll-on-college-students

 Following my inquiry into the purpose of the arboretum I decided to investigate some sources regarding the mental health scene of college students. The article points out that, though not pertinent to my investigation, there has been a steep increase in the amount of students who seek psychological help whom have serious psychological problems, from 16% in 2000 to 37% in 2012. Increases in self harm and eating disorders have been the most prevalent amongst college populations according to 228 interviewed university counselors. Later on, it is mentioned that depression and anxiety command the majority of student issues, both of which can be helped by getting active and outside. However, this article has seemed to be a dead end. I found a small graph comparing the amount of stress recorded by students in 1991, the year the arboretum was created, and found that 1991 actually had the lowest numbers of students whom considered themselves stressed. I suppose this goes to show that not all questions are in fact fruitful.

In all, the article provides good insight into what the main mental ailments of college students are, and how they correlate in comparison to reported levels of stress. Regardless, this article has been more of a learning experience in my researching plight than actually useful for its information. At the very at least, now I know what direction I shouldn’t go in.

The Arboretum

Today I came across the official web page for the University of Kentucky's arboretum which is written and maintained by the university's college of agriculture. The web page can be found at this address: http://www2.ca.uky.edu/arboretum. 

The web page is a general information source that details the conception and purpose of the arboretum. Cited as having "began in 1991" the park was created to be a sort of escape for stressed students and inhabitants of the city. The park was joint project created by the University of Kentucky and the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government. To revisit the point of the arboretum being boasted as a place where "stresses melt away" hints at an underlying frustration that students had very few means to outlet their tensions about classes and college life in general. There was a double incentive for creating the arboretum however, as it also servers the purpose of being a place that "serves as a resource center for environmental, and horticultural education, research and conservation."

The web page gave me a good indicator of what the arboretum is all about as a nature sanctuary, and as a functioning part of the university and general education. I am curious now as to who initiated the proposal, either the university of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government and what prompted the proposal in the first place? Was there a call for a stress relieving center? A need for a new research center dedicated to the college of agriculture? I would like to see the cities report on the project.