Embrace of naturally textured hair seems long overdue

lecturer at the University of Maryland.

Tameka Elington states that African American’s hair was compared to animals by Whites. Hair was one of the many characteristics that was used to justify the belief that Blacks were inferior.

MARIAH FORSTER STAFF WRITER

Hair is one of the first features we notice about a person. In the Black community, hair is a form of expression; it is their crown.

While textured hair has become more accepted in mainstream culture, it hasn’t always been considered attractive. In fact, discrimination against textured hair can be traced back to slavery.

During slavery, Black women were forced to cut their hair or cover it to make them less attractive to male slave owners, according to Jason Nicholas,

Centuries after the end of slavery, the bias against Afro-textured hair still exists socially and systemically. If you ask any Black woman if they’ve ever felt insecure about their hair, almost all of them will answer yes.

Olivia Blades, a fourth year psychology major, remembers being teased in elementary school when she wore her hair in two big puffs. “They were just pointing and laughing at me and I cried.”

Although Blades was upset by the teasing, she credits her mother for reminding her of the truth, which is that her hair is beautiful.

“My mom told me that my hair was beautiful and that they were just jealous,” said Blades.

In 2016, Perception Institute conducted the “Good Hair” study to test implicit bias towards Afro-textured hair. The results showed that on average, white women have implicit bias towards Black women’s natural hair. The study also revealed that although all women worry about their hair, Black women experience more anxiety over their hair than white women. The anxieties that Black women have about their hair often leads them to take extreme measures to manipulate it in order to fit the “beauty standards”.

Amari Houston, second year psychology student, stated that she damaged her hair at a young age by using excessive heat and wearing sew in weaves.

Like many other Black women, these students are on an ongoing journey of embracing their natural hair.

“To be honest, I’m still learning to love my hair,” stated Taneesha Porter, fourth year sociology and women gender studies student.

Houston, who also recently started to embrace her hair, credits her relationship with God for helping her become more comfortable with her natural hair.

“In order to love yourself, you have to love every part of yourself, including your hair,” stated Houston.

Embracing hair texture looks dif ferent on everyone. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to wear your natural hair out everyday. There are many different styles those with textured hair can experiment with.

“If they want to celebrate their hair by wearing bantu Knots, let them do it,” said Blades.

“I like trying out different hairstyles with different colors that sometimes express my mood,” stated Houston.

Blades states that the first step to embracing natural hair is by learning history.

“My hair is my roots…my ancestors used their hair to escape slavery…so why not embrace it?” stated Porter.

CPR saves lives; Why are classes not offered at SSU?

do “more harm than good.”

CÉLIA ALINE AMARAL STAFF WRITER

C PR can save lives.

It is as simple as that and yet according to the American Heart Association only 15% to 30% of people experiencing a cardiac arrest received bystander help.

When students are asked if they would be willing to help in case of a cardiac emergency the answer is no longer simple. A lot of them said they would love to, but never received training and would have no idea what to do. Some mention that they would be worried to

According to firefighter paramedic Jason Patton, without having CPR performed before professionals arrive on scene “chances of survival are less than 10 percent.” This is explained by the fact that brain damage happens after only four minutes without oxygen and death can occur as fast as four minutes later. This information is provided by the American Heart Association when a person takes one of their courses but is mostly unknown by others.

Another reason for this lack of help is directly related to this lack of training as it involves the fear of legal risks. Paramedic Patton explained that it should not be a concern because there is a protection to whoever is trying to help called the “good samaritan law.”

This law is primarily put in place to encourage someone to step in during an emergency without having to fear legal problems in return. This is important because if, for example, a rib is broken while performing chest compression, the person who is trying to save a life would not want to get in trouble for it especially since according to all health care workers, it happens often.

Knowing how to perform CPR will make those who decided to learn CPR essential assets of the Sonoma State campus but also of their community. In fact, an app has been created to link those who know how to perform those skills with those in need. It is stated on their website that “ PulsePoint Respond is a 911-connected app that can immediately inform you of emergencies occurring in your community and can request your help when CPR is needed nearby.” After talking to nearby fire agencies, as long as the program has been adopted by a local public safety agency, anybody with this app will receive an alert to provide help to someone nearby.

According to nearby public safe - ty agencies, California is one of 10 states where CPR is not required to graduate high school. Even more surprisingly, despite the number of classes and activities offered at SSU, learning how to save life is not available for all students.

SSU offers one emergency response course (KIN 241) that is restricted to Kinesiology majors only. Offering more sections of this class and opening it to all students would allow for more SSU students to be trained in life saving first aid techniques.

As unfortunate as it is, there are o ptions for students in Sonoma County, including Rohnert Park. American Heart Association and American Red Cross both offer classes to people who want to learn basic life support, first aid or CPR. Hands-on only CPR can save lives and it is so easy to learn that even children or teens are welcome to join those classes so why not SSU students?