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Alumna lectures about Igbo women @EdwardHenderson senior staff writer San Diego State’s Department of Africana Studies hosted the final spring installment of its 40th anniversary lecture series Monday in Storm Hall. SDSU graduate Antwanisha Alameen served as the guest lecturer for the event. Alameen presented her dissertation about “Women’s Avenues to Political Power in Patriarchal Igbo Society: 1800-1900” for students and Africana studies faculty. The Igbo people originate from Igboland, a cultural territory in southeastern Nigeria. Prior to British colonization in 1900, women played a significant role in the political structure in Igboland. According to Alameen’s dissertation, the political power women possessed was rooted in their spiritual authority. The women were believed to have strong spiritual connections to the goddess deities in Igbo religion. Spiritual authority was an avenue used by Igbo women to exercise agency and benefit their communities.
Alameen’s interest in this topic grew during her undergraduate studies at SDSU. “When I came to San Diego State, I felt that a lot of the literature I read was focused on what men did,” she said. “As an African-American woman, I wanted to understand my place in history.” After receiving her bachelor’s degree in Africana studies, Alameen, a Richmond native, completed her master’s at Michigan State’s African American and African Studies Department . She is currently pursuing her doctorate in the same discipline at Temple University. “It’s important for African-American students to understand our history did not start at enslavement,” Alameen said. “We had a rich history in Africa before our ancestors were brought here.” Dr. Adisa A. Alkebulan served as one of Alameen’s professors while she attended SDSU. “I’m very proud of her,” Alkebulan said. “One of the things I’m most appreciative of is for a former student who’s doing great things to come back and not only present new information to current students, but serve as a role model and example of what they can do when they finish at SDSU.”
THURSDAY April 12, 2012 Volume 97, Issue 103 W W W.T H E D A I LYA Z T E C . C O M
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SDSU’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT N E W S PA P E R SINCE 1913
#entertainment_3 The ever-evolving group Preposterone brings a cappella charm to SDSU.
#entertainment “The Hunger Games” makes waves with social media campaign.
Alumna Antwanisha Alameen speaking in Storm Hall. | PETER KLUCH, SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Rapp stays down Instagram buyout to earth in class draws criticism Like
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@KevinSmead assistant news editor The concept of a billion, which is a one followed by nine zeros, is generally reserved for measurements of all things massive. Because of this, when money is measured in billions, people take notice. Earlier this month, a group of wealthy businessmen, including former NBA star Magic Johnson, proposed to purchase the Los Angeles Dodgers for a total of $2 billion. This caused a media frenzy, for it was the most expensive sports team purchase in history. While many pundits felt $2 billion was an exorbitant amount of money to spend on a sports team, others felt that because of the supposed talent behind the purchase, the business decision was sound. However, when Facebook announced Monday it was purchasing popular photo-sharing application Instagram, which lets users instantly edit their photos, for $1 billion, the reaction was much less divided. While not the largest tech acquisition in history, the app’s rising popularity placed it on the tip of many people’s tongues. What started as shock quickly became apprehension as various media outlets attempted to process the purchase. Professor of journalism and media studies at San Diego State Tim Wulfemeyer said the news media reacted the way it did for a number of reasons. “One reason is money. It’s definitely a lot of money for something that kind of makes you say, ‘Hmm…,” Wulfemeyer said. “It’s also a bit of a
threat to audience share. When you offer unique things to the public and other suppliers offer similar, or maybe different and better things, then you’re going to lose a little bit of your market share.” Just two days after the purchase, organizations such as Forbes Magazine and CNN published articles and lists dealing with both Facebook’s potential motivations in the acquisition and speculating on its plans for the future. The purchase even elicited a response from The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart, who disbelievingly asked if the payment was made with “real money” for “something that kind of ruins your pictures.” Instagram the app has more than 30 million users. Instagram the company has only 13 employees. Though Facebook issued a statement expressing excitement about acquiring the small startup, the company stopped short of expressing the exact reasons for the purchase. Professor Wulfemeyer said what may motivate Facebook’s decision is appealing to advertisers. “They could bundle everything together, which adds more functionality and helps them keep, or maybe gain, new users,” he said. “It opens the door to a lot of potential new advertisers.” In Forbes, writer Kashmir Hill listed “10 Reasons Why Facebook Bought Instagram.” In the article, Hill attempts to provide a clear explanation of why a company like Facebook would purchase an up-and-comer like Instagram. Her number one reason? “Because it could.”
staff writer Beginning as a student who used to sit in the back corner and refrained from participating in class, Michael Rapp has since become a celebrated lecturer at San Diego State. According to Rapp, a former student once described his lectures as a therapy session; and after 10 years of teaching, he still asks students to call him by his first name. When enrolling in one of the various courses taught by Rapp, his prevailing first-day ritual is to communicate to students the importance of a relaxed environment in the classroom. “You have to get creative,” Rapp said. “It took me a while to create a comfortable and relaxed environment for students. I want my classroom to be a place where students want to go and learn.” When it comes to first impressions, Rapp is not afraid to laugh at himself or retaliate to jokes made in class about him or subjects being discussed. “His laugh is the funniest thing in the world,” former student and communications alumna Cristina Garcia said.
Being a former student at SDSU has made this lecturer a more knowledgeable and experienced communications professor because of the important life lessons that his lectures discuss. According to Rapp, having gone through what students are now experiencing is a key factor to his success as a lecturer. “I am not any smarter or any better than my students,” Rapp said. “But I am older and have a little bit more experience and have been studying communication for longer.” Yet, even with a few more years of experience compared to his students, Rapp still said he has learned the most through his students’ life experiences. “Studying communication is mostly about how you deal with life,” Rapp said. “Ten percent in life is what happens to you and 90 percent is how you deal with it.” Rapp said the best way to teach college students is through his personal experience and mistakes he made as a former student. “He gets students and college life … at least most of the time,” Garcia said. As to what Rapp’s proudest moments are, he said that it is not the paycheck, but instead the invisible lightbulb he sees every once in a while, when a student understands what he is teaching. SUGGESTED BY KHRIS PECJO
@MichaelRapp SDSU communications lecturer
“You have to get creative ... I want my classroom to be a place where students want to go and learn.”
#spotlight_5 Wendy Shapiro creates opportunity in classroom.
#food&drink Walk and dine at this year’s Taste of Hillcrest.
#sports_10 Read about the best men’s basketball game of the season.
#opinion_13 @LeonardoCastaneda believes ‘Stand Your Ground’ is a threat to citizens’ safety.
#opinion Stacey Oparnica discusses why Internet privacy is of utmost importance.
W E AT H E R : PARTLY CLOUDY HIGH: 63 LOW: 49 SUNSET: 7:17PM