Blog Feed

Jada Thomas

Mr.Hussey

Am.Hist

During my election day volunteering, I walked around my neighborhood before going to my polling place. I heard a lot of megaphones,promoting the candidates that were running, and it kind of reminded me of the Hunger Games, the way the car was riding down the street, yelling out the big important message. I then went to a recreation called Dorothy Emanuel and it is located in the 50th ward. There are quite a few polling places around my house. When I got there I looked around at the giant pieces of pink paper on the wall. I also spoke to some of the people who were outside of the polling place promoting the candidate of their choice. I met a lot of everyday people, who are interested in the common good of their community. The experience I had kind of took me by surprise, honestly because I didn't really think that people took voting that serious unless it was for the President of course. It made me feel important to be involved in an election in Philadelphia. My experience was also a learning experience. I definitely learned that not everybody wants to talk, even if they are sitting around doing nothing. I don't really have any questions about elections, but I would like to know why can't people vote from home. Why can't they download an app or call in there votes. I think that would be an interesting way to advance voting technology

The title of our artwork is “Different Stages”. It means that everyone is different and everyone is developing in different ways and at their own pace.

What inspired your work?

Friendship inspired our art work, for a long time we have been trying to see how we can all be the same until we realized that we are all at different stages and we came to a conclusion that we are all at different stages and we will soon grow into our full potential. So we all agreed to draw the a flower growing through its different stages until it was full grown 

Why did you choose the location you chose?

We chose our location because it was an area that was empty with a blue background and it made the image pop more. 

How did this project change your perception of Art?

This project made us  realized that we can use our lives as inspiration for our artwork Also,.In the beginning, we didn’t think art really had a deep meaning. But now since we experience the critical thought process we understand that art has a bigger purpose than to just be seen. 

How did this project change your perception of Art you see as you travel around the city?

The project changed our perception of the way we viewed art as we traveled because it wasn’t just patterns and bold colors it was more of a statement trying to be perceived.

The title of our artwork is “Different Stages”. It means that everyone is different and everyone is developing in different ways and at their own pace. This artwork was inspired by our friendship. For a long time we have been trying to see how we can all be the same, until we realized that we are all at different stages and we came to a conclusion that from our different stages and we will soon grow into our full potential. So we all agreed to draw the a flower growing through its different stages until it was full grown.

Our work is displayed on the right side of the third floor on the blue wall across from the windows. We chose this location because it was an area that was empty, which meant the viewer's attention will be focused on our work.The  blue background made the image pop more also.

Before this project, we didn't think very deeply about art. In the beginning, we didn’t think art really had a deep meaning. But now since we experience the critical thought process we understand that art has a bigger purpose than to just be seen. We also learned that we can use our lives as inspiration for our artwork. The way we viewed street art change as well, we no longer just see patterns and bold colors it is now more of a statement trying to be perceived that was carefully thought out and planned.

Cameron Lockett

Brian Hussey

American History

April 27, 2016

On Tuesday April 26, 2016 Clay, Hector, Tefay, and I volunteered to get questions for the Committee of Seventy.  At first we met up in the 44th ward of Philadelphia since Clay knew voting polls in the area. When the group all came together we first started near a local hospital. We took pictures of people handing out flyers to support their candidate, a diagram of the voting booth, and a sign saying that there would be a language interpreter. When we were all set up we then began to ask people questions. As soon as we started, we realized we might have some trouble. As the first person I approached to see if they could answer some brief questions quickly rejected me. It took me some time before someone to say yes to answer the questions for Committee of Seventy. While Hector and Clay found it fairly easy for strangers to agree to answer questions for them. We decided to leave the location though since most of the people were coming inside the building since it was a hospital, and they did not want to vote. Some icing on the cake though was before we left I asked an older man to answer some questions. He agreed and during the middle of one the questions he noticed the Committee of Seventy symbol and stormed off.  

After that we decided to go to a polling station around city hall. At that area we were able to get more people to answer the questions. I’m not sure if it was the location since we were outside a building in center city and more people voted there or if it was because the people there were just friendlier than the last bunch. Even still only got around seven to eight people to answer some questions. I guess I should have expected this as the citizens of Phildelphia are not the most avid fans of answering random questions. Especially when they are being asked by someone who is asking you political questions just after you vote. From this experience though I have gained respect for people who have the guts to ask people questions or ask for their support a whole campaign. As even if you’re motivated it can be soul crushing to hear so many no’s back to back.  

Image #1 talks about the information needed for people with disabilities to be able to vote.  

Image #2 talks about how if you speak another language you can get an interpreter to help you vote.

Image #3 talks about the things prohibited during voting and the penalties that you could receive

The title of our artwork is “Different Stages”. It means that everyone is different and everyone is developing in different ways and at their own pace. This artwork was inspired by our friendship. For a long time we have been trying to see how we can all be the same, until we realized that we are all at different stages and we came to a conclusion that from our different stages and we will soon grow into our full potential. So we all agreed to draw the a flower growing through its different stages until it was full grown.

Our work is displayed on the right side of the third floor on the blue wall across from the windows. We chose this location because it was an area that was empty, which meant the viewer's attention will be focused on our work.The  blue background made the image pop more also.

Before this project, we didn't think very deeply about art. In the beginning, we didn’t think art really had a deep meaning. But now since we experience the critical thought process we understand that art has a bigger purpose than to just be seen. We also learned that we can use our lives as inspiration for our artwork. The way we viewed street art change as well, we no longer just see patterns and bold colors it is now more of a statement trying to be perceived that was carefully thought out and planned.

The title of our artwork is “Different Stages”. It means that everyone is different and everyone is developing in different ways and at their own pace. This artwork was inspired by our friendship. For a long time we have been trying to see how we can all be the same, until we realized that we are all at different stages and we came to a conclusion that from our different stages and we will soon grow into our full potential. So we all agreed to draw the a flower growing through its different stages until it was full grown.

Our work is displayed on the right side of the third floor on the blue wall across from the windows. We chose this location because it was an area that was empty, which meant the viewer's attention will be focused on our work.The  blue background made the image pop more also.

Before this project, we didn't think very deeply about art. In the beginning, we didn’t think art really had a deep meaning. But now since we experience the critical thought process we understand that art has a bigger purpose than to just be seen. We also learned that we can use our lives as inspiration for our artwork. The way we viewed street art change as well, we no longer just see patterns and bold colors it is now more of a statement trying to be perceived that was carefully thought out and planned.

Lex Martinez

Mr.Hussey

U.S. History

27 April 2016

Primary Election Volunteer Reflection

For my experience on Election day, this past Tuesday, was an experience that I will not forget. Being outside on election day felt like I was already eighteen years of age going out and voting for the first time, meeting new and old individuals that also are voting, and on the front lines making sure the voting process goes smoothly without any violations or errors in the process. Within four hours I learned a lot about what it takes to set up voting stations, monitor, and secure the stations. Walking from station to station was a bit of a hassle but thinking of it as a bit of summer exercise made it all the better! With my partner Jason, we took the time to view the area where the stations are located, some stations where a local church, a recreational center, and the back of a library. These three stations seem relatively popular and in areas where it will attract plenty of individuals, this was key to make people vote without forcing them instead to influence them indirectly. Jason and I didn’t get to meet any of the candidates, such a bummer, but did get to meet some of the volunteers to see their perspective on working at the poll booths and we did get some of their perspectives on who they wanted to see in office. Many felt like they should go with the “wave” according to the popular opinion but some people had reasonable evidence on why they chose their respectable candidate. I had only one questions about the election process regarding the paper ballots handed out to the public and why they didn’t allow all candidates to have their name on those ballots, Mr.Hussey enlightened me on the fact that the candidates pay tons of the big bucks for their name to be placed and bold on the sheets. I felt that this would be unfair because it led the public to believe that on the democratic side only Hilary C. was running when Bernie S. was also running as well.

Overall, the experience as a doosy. Waking up smelling the fresh polluted air and working at the poll booths. It was a great day!

The title of our artwork is “Different Stages”. It means that everyone is different and everyone is developing in different ways and at their own pace. This artwork was inspired by our friendship. For a long time we have been trying to see how we can all be the same, until we realized that we are all at different stages and we came to a conclusion that from our different stages and we will soon grow into our full potential. So we all agreed to draw the a flower growing through its different stages until it was full grown.

Our work is displayed on the right side of the third floor on the blue wall across from the windows. We chose this location because it was an area that was empty, which meant the viewer's attention will be focused on our work.The  blue background made the image pop more also.

Before this project, we didn't think very deeply about art. In the beginning, we didn’t think art really had a deep meaning. But now since we experience the critical thought process we understand that art has a bigger purpose than to just be seen. We also learned that we can use our lives as inspiration for our artwork. The way we viewed street art change as well, we no longer just see patterns and bold colors it is now more of a statement trying to be perceived that was carefully thought out and planned.

Caleb Hughes

Mr Hussey

4/27/16

Reflection

Yesterday, Me, Savion, Troy and Obasi worked for the Committee of 70 in the 59th ward. Our job was to survey voters after they voted in the polls. Some people answered and some either just walked right by us or said no about taking the survey. The people who did take the survey were most likely around the age 50 to 60. I think we got to survey one young person. We went to the waterview recreation center. Then we went to the Awbury recreation center. The last place we went to take a survey was Martin Luther King high school

We met other volunteers. They weren't working for the committee. I believe that they were working on their own terms. Out of all the people we interviewed and met yesterday the volunteers that at the awbury recreation center. The volunteers were elderly and wise African Americans. One of them was an old black panther who was happy to see young black people working and volunteering for the committee. He talked about the things in his neighborhood changed and the racism with blacks voting and not being allowed to go into polling places. The other gentleman marched with Malcolm X in the 60s.

It was a pretty cool experience in all. The last location we went to was very boring. There wasn't many people coming out of the building.

Tiffany Irick

4/27

History

It all started early in the morning with a phone call. Waking up and getting dress. I meet up with my partner and we went out to the 34th ward. Before starting, we went to grab  some breakfast for the road. We Started first down on overbrook. There, there was a hotel that was holding its own little voting center. We went in there and asked the judge of elections for a brief 5 question interview, she was very happy to help and give her opinion. After we were done, we asked some of the volunteers what their opinion was as well. After that, we left and and moved on to another voting station. There we got to interview a bunch more people. Some were voters and some were more volinteers as i was interviewing people i got to meet someone from the committee of 70 there. He asked how things were going and in the end I asked him for a short interview and it went well. A couple of minutes later we were out again.

Being able to do this and have this opportunity was great. I got to go out in the field and interview important people and help get the people's voices/opinions out there to help make the voting process better or easier. I enjoyed asking the questions, even though some made no sense to me. I felt empowered and incontrol being able to ask these question though. I felt apart of the processes and that i had an important role. I want to thank whoever gave use this opportunity and i hope we will be able to do this again.

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Bobby taking picture in front of polling place

Polling place Outside of polling place

Sample Ballots

In my group we walked around the neighborhood visiting different polling places. We approached the people outside and introduced ourselves. Many of the people outside were kind and informative. They asked us some questions about the committee of Seventy, and what kind of things we were looking for in this experience. We visited the polling places in the district. They were often held at community known places with a decent amount of space on the pavement. We met normal pedestrians, the Judge of Elections, and other volunteers that were handing out flyers. Being involved with elections was sort of scary. People kept asking questions that I didn’t know the answer to, and speaking to people is not one of my strengths. Many of the people knew exactly what their answers were without any clarifications for the questions. Some people wanted a further explanation, or they needed to explain their answers before actually answering. The polling both had a curtain and the person was hidden. Voting usually did not take long, and there were snacks. Some people were a little hostile about us being at their polling place, but others welcomed us.  

The sample ballots they gave us has certain people’s names in red and others in blue. In class we discussed that people who paid more money had their name in red. Outside, many of the volunteers would tell people a candidate's name and say, “For ______ press number 22!”. Although we went to different polling places, the sample ballots were all the same. It was interesting to see the people’s names on the sample ballot. There were posters everywhere advertising to vote for a particular candidate. My group member and I surveyed a couple people. The people were volunteers and also pedestrians. Their answers were pretty synonymous. I stood around more so than ask questions because I was shy. I still don’t understand a lot about how elections work. I am struggling to understand the difference of voting, how politicians can win in one vote, but lose in the other. I have a couple more years until I am able to vote, but I am glad I am getting a head start.

This was my free election day in America and I was not excited at all. There was a fear instill in me. Since I have been living in Jamaica election days were filled with crimes and violence against supporters of the opposite side. On April 26, 2016 I stepped outside my door with the fear that something may go wrong but I had the brightest smile on my face. I prayed that everything went well. I went to meet my friend Valerie and we went to the first polling station. It was so quiet and calm. Everyone was minding their business and going about their day. I asked my questions and take pictures of course because I was having a good time and I was learning so much about the election process.

The second polling station I went was very interesting. The people outside were so kind and they took the time to answer all the questions I had to ask. They even went as far to explain why they choose the answers they did. The gentleman had allowed me inside and while I was inside he explained the voting process and he showed me a visual presentation and basically taught me how to vote. So thanks to that gentleman when it’s time for me to vote I will be ready because I now have a better understanding of the voting process and how to carry out the procedures. As I walked outside I ran into two men that were also representing the Committee of Seventy and we had the best conversation ever. It was pretty interesting. Experience like this helps young people to go out and meet new people and see new faces and have conservation with people who share different ideas.

I walked another four blocks to get to the other polling station and I met some interesting men who were most willing to take the survey and even took pictures with us. That was pretty cool. This was my first election and it was very good and interesting. Hope can be like this when I have the opportunity to vote.

Yaseen Thomas

History

Mr. Hussey

4/27/2016

Election Volunteering Experience

My morning started off with delayed trolleys that set my day back a little off early with a lot of walking. I can not say i enjoyed that, but I eventually I arrived to the polling place ready to shake people down with questions.  My group of four and I met up at a library on 34th & Haverford and began trying to approach people respectively with a list of five questions. Most people had some time for us but there were some others that had to rush to “work” perhaps.

(Group & I outside of 34th & Haverford Poling place)

One thing I did realize early was that we were not at the most popping polling place. There was little to know outgoing traffic to get some Talley marks in. I started out by asking one older gentleman the questions and he seemed as perplexed as I was reading them. Some of them were complex and very wordy for the average person to comprehend. I think I  had the hardest turnout with question three. That was a very ongoing complex question, and was hard to read and understand.

After we got some data from that polling place we set out to find a better location and wound up on 36th & Powelton. There was a little more traffic and data to be collected. People here were pretty respectful and actually had some time for us. They happily answered the survey questions and understood them well. We then headed over to some place on 33rd. Street that was on Drexel’s campus. It was interesting to see a much younger group of voters but they didn’t have much time for us. I guess Drexel has a very busy schedule.

After the Drexel spot we went to get something to eat took some pictures and departed. On my own I wanted to find more data so I could have a stronger evidence. I headed to my local polling center on 47th and Chester and collected most of my data there. It was a lot of foot traffic and a lot of participants who understood the questions and also answered them with giving me feedback. Overall it was a good experience but I do have to say it was a hot and tiring one also. One thing I want to know is where does all the money go to a person that loses a campaign?

On Tuesday April 26,2016 I volunteered with the Committee of Seventy by going to different polling places and collecting ballots and asking people survey questions. We were responsible in asking four questions to as many many that we could but only the people who were done voting. The four questions were 1. Would you support allowing voters the option to request and submit absentee ballots before Election Day without offering a reason or excuse, 2. Would you support allowing voters the option to vote for a certain period before Election Day at a select number of early voting locations, 3. Would you support amending the PA COnstitution to create an independent Citizens Redistricting Commission responsible for drawing Congressional and state legislative districts, 4. Would you support allowing independent and third party voters to vote in primary election. They voters had the choice to say Yes, No or Uncertain even though that seems so simple not all gave me a simple answer. I had the chance to go 4 polling places around my neighborhood on Election Day Volunteering for the Election Day was a great learning experience for many reasons. One reason it was a learning experience for me because I was actually involved in election which made me become more aware about it. It also made me realize that voting is really important because though it may not seem like your vote will matter it actually will. It also taught me that you don’t have to know everything to vote because while I was asking the people the survey questions not all of them knew what the questions meant. Though it was a great learning experience there were some challenges such as voters not wanting to answer the questions or them not understanding it. During this great experience I did not have the chance to meet anyone special or any of the candidates running. After collecting ballots and asking voters survey questions we were responsible for sending the pictures and tallies for the survey that we took to the Election Ambassador Program Coordinator Walker Moseley. I am glad that I had the chance to volunteer for Election Day and hope more high schoolers get the chance to do it to become more aware about what they will eventually have to do in the future.

Jasseca Chiem

U.S. History

Mr. Hussey

April 27, 2016

Campaign Reflection Experience

During my experience volunteering for the polling campaign, it was not what I expected it to be. My first thought was that there would have been more people out in front of the polling place, handing ballots and such during voting times. However there weren’t. There was one person handing out ballots and one person standing by the door at the polling place i was at. What I did during the time that i was volunteering was stand in front of the polling place.

The polling place that I went to was the one taking place at Taggart Middle School. Outside, I was out waiting for people to come in to vote and wait for people to come out from voting to ask them questions from the survey that  we were given from the organization we were volunteering for, The Committee of Seventy.

During my time out there, I did not meet anyone apart from the volunteers who were handing out ballots and directing people on where to vote and how. Overall, I think that volunteering for the elecetion was a good experience, to be involved with the election that was taking place in Philadelphia. However, I did forget to take photos during my volunteering time but I was able to collect a few artifacts from the polling place. But one of the artifacts was a bit shady because the democratic voting paper only had Hilary Clinton as the Democratic Candidate in red and I thought that it was a bit weird that it was like that.

This artifact is a Democratic Ballot listing those in the Democratic party that is running for a certain position. As you can see, only Hilary Clinton is listed as a Democratic candidate running for president.

This artifact was being handed out to persuade voters to vote for Zappala, Democrat for Attorney General.

This artifact was being handed out to persuade voters to vote for Chaka
Fattah, for U.S. Congress.

Election Volunteering Experience By Eliza Meketon

My time canvassing for Hillary Clinton was definitely an eventful time. When I first came to the canvassing coordinator’s house I was bombarded with Clinton propaganda and the enthusiastic face of a woman who was a little to high on Hillary. She was a very genious host and she got me prepared for the next three grueling hours. She gave me the script to read to Hillary supporters. She then proceeded to give me a list of the supporters names and addresses, as well as a map of the area. I then began to hyperventilate due to my utter lack of directional sense. Unfortunately this fact was made worse by me not having a car to take me from house to house and the weather being a humid 80 degrees. The locations of the houses ranged from Abbington, Stenton, Chestnut hill, Evergreen, Meade St, Bethlehem, and more. By the end I had knocked on 27 houses, however I only got to talk to 4 supporters. The first actual supporter I had met was incredibly nice. I stumbled on my speech I was supposed to give her, and asked if she was going to vote today, if she was supporting Hillary, and if she knew her polling system (essentially my job was to promote and remind Hillary supporters to vote.) She gave me advice on how to address people which was very helpful, and I then thanked her for her time. One very memorable moment was when a car of teenage boys pulled up next to me and asked who I was campaigning for. I then blabbed “Hillary Clinton” with a smile and a stutter. They nodded their heads and said “ok.” I had never really been someone to state out loud their political ideas for fear that if I said it to the wrong person I would be judged, harassed, or worse. With the hostile political atmosphere of our country, in which people are getting taunted, injured, or killed for showing off their political beliefs. Luckily for me Philadelphia is a pretty democratic city so the likelihood of being excessively hounded by opposite parties was not likely. However I still felt uncomfortable putting my beliefs on my body through buttons, or any sort of propaganda. I felt the need to tell people this is for a school project, due to the fact that I most likely would never have done this if it weren’t necessary. I respect other people’s opinions and ideas and by publicly advertising a politician, it feels like I’m telling those who disagree, are wrong for having their own opinion, even if I do happen disagree with it, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Overall it was an ok experience, but the heat mixed with the apathetic answers I received from the people may have tarnished my time canvassing. I think I can cross this off my list as possible job careers, but I am glad I did it. I think that everyone should try something that is a little out of their comfort zone every once in awhile. Some quick questions I have about elections are why do we have elections every four years instead of some other denomination? Also who  decided that the electoral college was the deciding factor for who becomes president? Why can’t the popular vote be the deciding factor for choosing the president?

My three pictures

Picture #1

Picture description: This is a list of the names of documented Hillary supporters and their addresses. There were four different sections. One was why the person couldn’t talk with me, then if they did take a moment to talk to me, I then proceed to the next category. This category consisted of me asking about voting for Hillary Clinton, like if they were definitely voting for her or if they were unsure, and so on. The next two categories were if I wanted to try again and knock on the door of someone who wasn’t able to talk to me the first time, and then basically filling out the same info as I mentioned before.

Picture #2

Photo Description: This is a photo of me with my Hillary support button that I was given by my coordinator. It was really interesting walking around with a button that out right stated my political standing. Some people nodded their head when the saw the button and others showed suspicion or discomfort, but then again that could have been because I was wearing a wool sweater in 80 degree weather.

Photo #3

Photo Description: This is a very blurry photo of my canvassing organizer. She was incredibly nice and she even had cookies inscribed with Hillary’s name. She had signs, folders, everything Hillary you could think of was in this woman's house.

Artifacts Photos

Artifact #1

Artifact description: This is an information leaflet telling people some more info about Hillary Clinton. It also tells people about Hillary. Also it tells people the time in which they can vote.

Artifact #2:

Artifact Description: This is the speech that we were told to give to the supporters. It basically just tells people thanks for  being a supporter and when and where to vote. I was very bad at giving this speech because I stuttered every time and I didn’t know the appropriate amount of information to summarize.

Artifact #3:

Kashia Bumpess

Mr.Hussey

American History

27 April,  2016

Primary Election Volunteer Experience

             My experience volunteering with the committee of seventy was surprisingly a good

experience.At first I thought it was going to be a bad experience because I didn’t want to spend my day off volunteering at polling stations but i’m actually happy I got the chance to do this because I learned a lot about voting which could benefit me when I can actually vote myself and also I met a lot of nice and interesting people.I volunteered in ward 5 so I went to the Land Title Building and the University of Arts..When I got to the voting stations it wasn’t really busy and a lot of people didn’t vote yet so I stood outside with my partners Jaidah, Tsion, and leyitha and associated with some of the other volunteers of the committee of seventy. When people finally started to come and vote I waited until some people came out to ask them questions.Not a lot of people stopped and actually answered the questions but the ones who did answered the questions to their best ability. I did have to explain what absentee vote is and I had to explain what questioned 3 and 4 meant some of the times.

         As I mentioned earlier when I was volunteering I met and associated with some of the other volunteers of the committee of seventy.Most of them were elderly didn’t really see a lot of young people volunteering. I did this one nice elderly volunteer at the Land Title Building she was telling my partners and I how it is good to get involved in politics at a young age and she even took our picture for us so we could send it to Mr.Mosely to let him know we was there.One question that I do have about the election is will these votes count in their presidential election to or not? .We couldn’t collect many artifacts like flyers because at the University of Arts the volunteers were standing inside the building even though they are not supposed to be inside the building.They were passing out flyers and we couldn’t get any because they were inside and we weren’t allowed to go in there and they weren’t passing a lot of flyers out at the Land Title Building. Some pictures we took are below and also pictures of the artifacts collected.

My experience with election volunteering was for the most part a positive one. I did encounter a few resistant participants, but my group and I made the day fun and original.

I volunteered in West Philadelphia around the Drexel campus area. There were not a lot of people out voting at the time. However, the people that did come out to vote were supportive of what we were doing. When we needed to ask people questions most of them stopped and were willing to answer them. There were five questions total, but they were worded in a difficult way. Often times we found ourselves rephrasing the question for people to understand. I believe next time in order to make this more successful the questions should be worded simpler. They should be worded differently for people that do not have a very extensive background in politics.

Another thing that may have made this experience better is going at a later time. I think it should be at a later time because a lot of people are at work at the time that we were out there which was 9AM to 1PM. This may help get a better poll outcome on the survey.

Being involved in Election Day in Philadelphia was an original experience. My group and I encountered a variety of people. Some that were willing to speak to us and some that were not. The ones were not willing to speak to us mainly had to go to work or something else important. The ones that did speak to us were pleasant people to encounter. One guy, in particular, gave us a lot of things to think about as far as our next time coming out. He told us that we should get involved in this process earlier than election day. I do agree with him. We were taught extensively about politics, but more hands on work would be good.

Overall, this experience was an enlightening. I will be going out to vote the first year I am eligible to. Also, since Election Day I have urged the adults in my life to get out and vote!

Below are some sample ballots and a group photo: