SpacE! February 13, 2007

We have been discussing different aspects of space in class recently, ranging from the structure of State Hall, how it has different colors in every floor, and how every floor has different study space, and also how every class is somewhat different. We also went over the difference of life in cities or urban areas to the suburbs. OK lets take a minute and find out the literal definition of space. What is space? The word “space,” has many different meanings. There is no one specific definition for space, it is used somewhat differently in different fields of study.

In philosophy: Space has a range of definitions, one view of space is that it is part of the fundamental structure of the universe, a set of dimensions in which objects are separated and located, have size and shape, and through which they can move. A contrasting view is that space is part of a fundamental abstract mathematical conceptual framework (together with time and number) within which we compare and quantify the distance between objects, their sizes, their shapes, and their speeds. In this view space does not refer to any kind of entity that is a “container” that objects “move through.”..

 In mathematics; space is a set, with some particular properties and usually some additional structure, such as the operations of addition or multiplication, for instance. It is not a formally defined concept as such, but a generic name for a number of similar concepts, most of which generalize some abstract properties of the physical concept of space.

In physics: space is one of the few fundamental quantities in physics, meaning that it cannot be defined via other quantities because there is nothing more fundamental known at present. Thus, similar to the definition of other dundamental quantities (like time and mass), space is defined via measurement.

In Astronomy, space refers collectively to the relatively empty parts of the universe. Any area outside the atmosphere of any celestial body can be considered ‘space’. Although space is certainly spacious, it is not always empty, but can be filled with matter.

In geography: Geographical space is called land, and has a relation to ownership (in which space is seen as property).

In Psychology: The way in which space is perceived is an area which psychologists first began to study in the middle of the 19^th century, and it is now thought by those concerned with such studies to be a distinct branch within psychology.

Anyways, as you can see the word space is a broad word. Furthermoe everyone’s space is different. Everyone has a comfort space or a comfort zone, where you sit or do something. Sometimes I like to be around friends and sometimes I jus want my personal time, so you can have your own space to do things you like and that interest you. Personally I like my space when I talk to my gurl, wife, over the phone because that’s the only way we communicate right now because I am here in the
US and she is back in
Yemen. So yeah at times I would be talking to her and lookin at her picture at the same time. But yeah you can get the idea everyone’s space and comfort zone for doing anything is different from person to person.

Moe Nasser

The difference between school in the US and School where I was born/raised! February 13, 2007

                  Most of you probably don’t know but I was born in Moldova, Romania and I came here the summer before my freshman year of high school. The town that I was born in consisted of four hundred total people. The school that I went to consisted of grades k-8. There were a total of about 120-130 kids in the school and twenty of which were in my grade. All of my classes consisted of these twenty students. After eighth grade you have to take an exam which is equivalent to the act here to get into high school. However high school in Romania is different. When you apply to go to high school each one specializes in what you want to become as you get older such as mechanics, education, beauty and many more other schools. I had pretty much a set schedule while I went to school in my hometown. Get up go to school until 12pm, go play soccer with the rest of the kids till about 8pm, and then I would do my homework. Soccer is a big part of life where I grew up, in fact its pretty much all we did besides hanging out with each other in school. When I graduated from 8^th grade my parents decided that we would be moving to the US because they wanted me and my brother to get a better education knowing the limits that Romania had to offer. When we arrived to Michigan no body in my family knew English. Some members of a local church welcomed us as we arrived and with the church’s help we had our house paid for until my parents learned enough English to maintain a job. I enrolled into Hazel Park High School knowing only a few words in English. I have never seen this many kids in a school in my entire life, heck forget about seeing this many people in school I’ve never seen this many in my whole town at the same time. I went from a school that had 120-130 students to a school that had 1300-1400 students. Making friends the first year was kind of tough since I was still learning English and it was hard for the rest of my classmates to understand what I was trying to say. I met with a speech teacher for an hour a day for one year learning how to read, speak, and write in English. After a year of speech classes I learned enough English to be able to understand my classmates and attend class with out any problems. When I was applying to Wayne State and I heard that there were 40,000 students that go here I didn’t believe it until freshman orientation. Another thing that is different here is I don’t see much soccer being played although it has been growing in the US over the past couple of years. I wish I could take everyone on a trip back to Romania with me this May so you could see how much more fortunate we are here in the US than we are in different places around the world such as where I am from. You cant really understand how much different it Is through 500 words of a blog that I have posted. I hope you enjoyed it! :]]

Iasmin Giuricici

Space: Good and Bad February 13, 2007

What is space considered? To me space is something that can be defined as basically anytheng.For example you can by some property and it would be considered your space or you can go to another city and you wouldnt feel comfortable. You might feel like by leaving your area that you are used to that you are out of your space. Some people even consider their privacy their space. I’m pretty sure you have said or heard someone say that someone is invading your space. Space is what you make it. If you own a building then someone comes along and vandilizes your property you are going to feel like they invaded your space. At your home you might feel like you have a limited amount of space and what do you do? You more than likely try to create more space for yourself. In some terms more space is actually better. Think in terms of real estate. If through out your city you only own a little space then chances are you are not going to make a lot of money. On the other hand if you have a lot space then you can make a lt of money. Space can really have no definition. Space also in some ways tie into race and ethnicity also. Some people feel safer in their space(where ever they live) and then there are some that don’t even feel comfortable there. Like sometimes I don’t feel comfortable going certain places out of Detroit because there are still some people who are races. And I also know some people who have been stopped by police for just being black. But we are not the only ones who feel like that. I have met a couple of white people who are scared of the space i live in (Detroit) because they here how dangerous it is. And living here i feel more comfortable here then i do where they are from. So i know what they are feeling. Same thing applies with gang bangers. Gang bangers have a certain amount of space or territory that they consider theirs and theirs only. It gets so bad to where they sometimes take over anything that is in that facinity. They make store owners and others pay them a cut of what they make. And if a rival gang member enters that space then its not going to be good. So in some cases i guess you can say that space can be sometimes dangerous. So some places you go you need to becareful of your actions! So in final thought space is anything or anyones. It can be used for a lot of things. Territory, for money, to keep to yourself or whatever. Just make sure you know when space is yours or someone else’s because something as little as a space can be very dangerous. Space can be good or bad it just depends on how you want it to be.

 J.Oden

Reminder! Requirements! February 13, 2007

OK, so I wanted to remind you guys about the blog assignments. (Although the guidelines are on blackboard and are posted under “introducing the blog.”)

There are 3 grading possibilities with the blog.

1) 100%. In order to get this you have to A) post on time B) be somewhat on topic C) comment on 2 other people’s posts on time and D) MEET THE LENGTH REQUIREMENT! It has to be the equivalent of one page, single spaced, 12 pt. font. Or 500 words. I will give you credit for 450 words, that’s not bad and could make up one page. But 325 words is not acceptable. That’s half an assignment. Think of ways you could make it longer, I’ve given you plenty of suggestions. This is a writing course. 

2) 50%. If you don’t meet the above requirements but do post something, you will get this grade.

3)0%. This is what you get when you do NO work.

Your grade is up to you, it’s in your hands. If you don’t excel at “academic” writing, this is the place to explore your ideas and get an easy A without having to feel stifled by the rules of writing. Please take this opportunity to get full credit.

~jenna g.

Dorm Rooms February 13, 2007

When it comes to my “personal space” I see it as being a place for me to be able to relax, rest, feel comfortable, and even have a good time with a couple friends if I wanted. I embrace my personal space to the fullest!  I know this may be hard to believe, but with my love for my own personal space I do in fact live in a dorm room!  When I chose to dorm I understood that it would be a little room that I would have to share with another girl!  Coming into this situation I did get the tour and unfortunately I was forced to be randomly assigned to a roommate!   And for the first time in my life I got lucky!  I was paired up with an awesome person whom I now consider my best friend to date… her name is Stacie!

(It’s a funny thing actually, because originally I wasn’t assigned Stacie, but she had a problem with her assigned roommate and she and I were switched and paired with each other!  Thank You God!)

So now that I am in a room with Stacie I have come to realize that when two peoples spaces combine they can create one awesome room!  She had posters and I had posters and our room is an interesting blend between the two of us!  We both have come to realize that we like a lot of different things, but getting to know Stacie I found out a lot of things about myself that I didn’t know I liked!  For example, rock music!  J  We both had such different tastes in music and now we have a comfortable medium.  We know what music we can blast in our room without bothering the other person!  Of course we do have headphones, but now we don’t really need them anymore!  One of us simply say,  “Hey turn on some music!” from there we get a nicely mixed play-list!

Besides my dorm room I have embraced every room that I call my own!  When I go home to St. Clair Shores I still have a room set up that looks like I still live there.  I made sure that when I moved out I didn’t take too much stuff and end up leaving my room bare!  Also I go to Ypsilanti every weekend to stay with my sister and I have noticed my things all around her room!  And don’t even get me started on my car!  All you have to do is take one peek inside and you know its mine!  I always make my space my own!

Basically what I a trying to say with this blog is that all people should embrace their space!  Make it feel comfortable to yourself and others around you (especially the ones you live with).  I know that many people do this already but I would like to see more people take a step up and put in a little bit more effort!  Speaking from experience I will be the first one to say that I hate being in a plain boring dorm room, with nothing on the walls and just a computer in the desk!  To me its so boring!  So decorate your space!

By: Theresa Provost

Different Spaces for Different Moods February 13, 2007

Architecture is a fascinating subject which affects us in many ways.  A space can helps us get some quite and peace, serve as a place to get together with friends, or just to get away from life; everyone has their own space to relax, study or to isolate oneself.  I enjoy a lot of different places depending on my mood.  I like Starbucks to chill with a friend or two.  When I study I like the Chinese room in Manoogian or any library that’s pin drop silent.  If I’m in the mood for some emotional uplifting, I hit up Borders book store and grab a bunch of different books with good subjects (life, death/loss, love, biography) and skim through them.  I enjoy WayneState because it has that old university look and it’s really big.  I’m a city girl and I can’t wait to live inNew York.  I love busy streets with a lot of different people and a life where you work all day but afterwards you can still go out and have fun with many places to choose from; it’s the city that never sleeps.  Unlike Michigan where streets are pretty empty after 12am.  I like being alone and I like places that have a lot of people because you get to meet new people.  I’m not the type that needs someone to go with them everywhere.  If I want to try something new and there’s no one around or no one who wants to go, I don’t care and I still go and do whatever it is I want to do, whether it’s skydiving or trying a new restaurant; most of the time I get to meet new people when alone.  I enjoy observing people, its funny and interesting and I usually end up doing it if I’m in a cafe.  I’ve watched people being dropped off then getting picked up by someone else to go elsewhere, partners fighting, people doing something embarrassing thinking no one is watching, people crying looking down so no one see’s, friends laughing and fighting, etc.  Usually places I often visit, such as the local library, starbucks, or boarders you start to notice familiar faces and you notice that this place is their own space as it is yours.  I love big tall buildings with busy streets which is one of the reasons I love New York.  Alot of people dislike that, but I love that alot of people in big cities don’t waste their time.  Sure their working alot but some are enjoying the work, I know I would.  The difference there is that not only clubs and bars are open late; most restaurants and other forms of entertainment are open.  Also, the diversity there is so amazing; there’s so many different things brought in because of all the different people.  Well, I think we are all very lucky to live in a place where there are many spaces made available to us, compared to other countries where a person’s space is limited.  We shouldn’t take it for granted and we should take advantage of it and explore the many different spaces out there.~Khadijah M.

spaces February 13, 2007

o.k. so I am going to start off by talking about graffiti. I believe it is art, but there is also a time and a place for it. I also believe that it is vandalism for the most part. If it is not your property then you should not tag it. Even public property should not be tagged upon. It is public property, but people may not have the same beliefs as you and you should not bring this and ruin the property. This just causes problems. The city now has to come and paint over this. Tax dollars are being spent for reasons that could have been avoided all together. People should do graffiti to their own personal belongings and not bring eyesores to everyone else. Sure graffiti is beautiful, but there is a place for it. I think there should be designated areas for this art. Like the same way there are skate parks there should be public places for tagging , a graffiti park. The owners could even charge for wall space and every few weeks they paint over it. They could offer classes for it too, and this would keep kids off the street where they could get hurt. I once saw a video of a kid who just liked to do graffiti and he accidently tagged over a gangs tag. They confronted him about it and he told them its about the art and everyone should appreciate the art equally. Then they beat the life out of this kid. Someone who was just doing it for the art and meant no harm by it. I have a few friends who do graffiti and are very good at it. They tag everywhere and everything and I do not agree with this. Actually at my high school they allowed him to do a few murals around the school which was really cool. He did a piece in the art room and in the german room.

Richard Chesstnutt

Spaces: Suburban Life vs. Urban Life February 13, 2007

I know there’s a different mindset for people raised in the suburbs as opposed to people raised in the suburbs. But I never knew how truly different our outlooks on each other as well as ourselves were until our class discussion on spaces. There was a lot of comments on how supposedly dangerous the city of Detroit is, and would have to say that I probably gave off the impression that I feel the same way as a Detroiter. The truth of the matter is that I feel a whole lot safer within my city limits (Detroit) than I do outside of them. You see, when I go into the suburbs there’s a such thing as D.W.B. that I have to worry about. For those of you who don’t know that stands for Driving While Black. It’s something that practically every african-american young or old know about. We’ve either experienced it ourselves or know someone who has. Bottom line is that we have to think about it or are constantly reminded of it on an everyday basis. This is even true when going over to Canada. There was incident that occured when I was around 16 years old when my friends and I went out to the mall. We were getting ready to leave and when we got in the car it wouldn’t start. So my boyfreind goes back into the mall to call his dad to come give us a boost. Well, while we were sitting there the police pulled up next to us and asked us was there a problem. My boyfriend explained to them that we were waiting on his dad to come give us a boost because he left the lights on and the car wouldn’t start. Instead of the police officers offering help to 4 defenseless teenagers, they had us all get out of the car and sit on the hood. Then they asked for our I.D.’s. Mind you it was raining outside and as you all know teenagers don’t exactly dress for the weather when going to the mall. So we’re out there,in the rain – soaked, waiting for them to ”check everything out” all while in the comfort of their warm vehicle. This made us feel so humiliated as if we were animals or something. and to make matters worse, another patrol car pulled up with lights flashing on us like we were some kind of criminals or something. People were riding by looking at us trying to see what was going on. And you know what, they probably were thinking the same thing that goes through everyone’s minds when they see a seen like that, “I wander what they did.” So, after they check our I.D.’s and the car, they decided that we were o.k. Then they said, “next time don’t leave your lights on”, and drove off. No help with a boost or anything. And because of that, I’m still noided abouted going into certain surburban areas. I have never, not even once been stopped or harrassed by Detroit law enforcement. So the question is, would you rather live where you know who your enemies are or live where you don’t know who to trust? I personally am going to stay right in detroit where I know that the people to be afraid of are more than likely not the one’s in uniform. That if my car stops on me, I know that the officer who stops is there to help me and not there to harm me. And above all, I won’t be treated like a criminal.

By- La Yonda M.J. Baldwin

Home life as we know it… February 13, 2007

Joe Krupa writes:

     Living in a small town where what’s yours is mine and what’s mine is yours is where i grew up. I remember running around in the yard with the neighborhood kids with not a care in the world. We all went to the same school, had the same classes, and had the same friends. This is what home life is to me.

     After growing up this way and becoming used to this way of living it was time for me to go off to college. Wayne State is in the city, which is much different than a town. Everything is closer together;there are taller buildings and much more people. This was a change that i was not ready for. I think when someones home life is changed dramatically like this it can throw a curve in their life. I was not ready for this, i didn’t know what to expect.

     I think we can learn from this experience. A sense of home life is different for everyone. a house that you live in may not be home to you as where school may. i believe that a sense of home is wherever you feel comfortable and safe. I felt safe in a town where i could turn to anyone and not be afraid of what they think because they know where i am coming from. a city to me is dangerous and scary while others find it safe and amusing.

     To bring this all together, home life is as we know it. what i call home is different than anyone else. your home life is what you make it…

 

Opinion on the “Homeless” and “spaces” 

When i walk around Wayne state, i can not help but seeing many homeless people. To me, it is a bothersome when they ask for spare change. in my opinion, they are there for a reason, they did that to themselves. you may want to argue this,but i have a point. Those who are there because of misfortune of being born that way are commonly found trying to better themselves. Those are the ones listed in shelters and attempting to get a job and start over or even to make a beginning. Others are commonly seen on the streets with no place to go and bothering everyone. those are the type of people i don’t feel sorry for. they are there because they did it to themselves, whether it be through addiction or because they are disobedient.

     Spaces are everywhere! if you need a space for anything just look around. you can obviously see certain spaces for residential and business. if you go up north you’ll see many wide open farming spaces and such. Certain spaces are designed for a way of living. i think there are reasons why you can find a city and then about a half hour away find a wide open field. These reasons are probably so anyone who comes from anywhere can call this state home. if you are from the country michigan offers country-side living, or the other way around.

big city vs. small city February 13, 2007

I come from a smaller town downriver and being here in
Detroit is so much different, but I love it. In my city there was no diversity with the people there at all. The town was filled with primarily white people and I think that it limited the learning about different cultures. In my town most of the people new one another and if you go anywhere inside of the town, you could see someone you knew. We have our “town celebrities” that everyone knows or has heard of.
Detroit is way different for me. I don’t know anyone here. I don’t mind it though. I actually kind of like it. I’ll admit that I was judgmental of coming to the city when I first started school. I was nervous about coming to the big city because when you live outside of it, and are not familiar with it, you believe what you hear, and all you here is the bad stuff. My opinion has completely changed.         

     In my town there wasn’t very much for teenagers to do.  Friday nights, everyone would be at the football games, since there wasn’t much of anything else to do. The mall was about 20 minutes away in another city and that was a big hang out for the younger teens. The mall wasn’t as popular once we started to get older and the teens just wanted a place to hang out that was close to home and everyone could go there. The teens from my city started hanging out at a Denny’s restaurant that was one city over. This worked for a while, but eventually they started making rules about hanging out there without buying food and stuff. Being teens, we didn’t have a lot of money to spend on food there, so that kind of stopped and we were once again looking for a place. It just seemed like when we would find a place to hang out, it would almost be taken away from us and there was never anything that was actually like inside our town. We always had to go to a neighboring town to find something to do.    

        I think that my cities design in some ways promotes neighborliness, but in other ways it kind of separated the town.  A lot of the houses have big porches with the awning so people could sit outside when the weather permits it and talk to people walking buy.  We had the recreational center where people could meet and go to the pool in the summer. We also had a bunch of parks where children could play and families could barbeque. On the other hand, there were a few big roads though that kind of separated the town into segments and almost different classes.     

         All together I think that being in the city is way different than being in the town that I grew up in. They both have their benefits though, and I like them both for different reasons. 

Jessica Subyak