C ya Laterzs Flynn & Todd-

The Bridge program was an exciting experience. I really learned a lot of other people and their life. I got to meet a good friend and awesome teachers. I really hope Columbia is a lot like this summer bridge program. I am kind of sad and at the same time happy that the summer bridge session is over. I am going to miss everyone and I hope to see every one around the campus. Peace out..

COLUMBIA!!!!!

We're finally done. I can't believe we made it, but it's only the beginning of a long journey. I'm actually excitied for school to start and to see all of my new professors, meet new people and get a feel for how challenging Columbia really is. I can honestly say that i have pushed myself harder than before, because i knew that's what it was going to take to get into this school. I really had no other options in schools. State schools are for kids who just want to go to college for the experience and aren't really sure what they want to do in life. But I know what i want to do, no questions asked. I wouldn't be able to do a nine to five, I'm not average so why would i do something average with my life. Congratulations Everyone!!!!

I PASSED!

I think there is one word to thoroughly describe my sucess with the Bridge program - tubular, or is it knarly? Ok, how about [instert out-dated word from the late '80s, early '90s]. I'm pretty pumped up right now. I passed math. I passed english. Now, I go on to kick some major ass in New Millenium Studies, Art History, and any other class that I come across. I'm gonna hit my notebook like a [instert slightly-offensive pun]. But seriously, it is pretty awesome to finally think of myself as a "college student". I've got my ID. I've got my housing. I've got my classes. I feel like I am really on the right track and can wait to start this huge opprotunity I'm getting. Like, I know there are gonna be over 12,000 people going to this school, but it is still a BIG deal. We are all going to be spending almost everyday of the week in one of the top five most famous cities in the WORLD. I've lived around here forever, so Chicago is like my second home, but the fact that I'm living here still hits my like a brick wall. This is the second city of the entire country and probably the entire continent. How amazing is that man? We are surrounded by so much opprotunity; so much culture, but this is besides the point. What really matters - what trumps all of these things - is the fact that I am finally, after long last, being able to live out my dream of moving towards what I want to do in life and living out the goal of being a
Columbia College Chicago student is fucking amazing. Go team!

The Bridge Program

My experience at the Bridge Program has been such a great learning process. I learned so much from this program. I have become alot better at witing and also reading. I learned how to organize my priorities and become more responsible. I am glad that I have came to Columbia College, it has made me reconize that there is light in life if you just work hard and set your mind to it, never give up. Being at Columbia also showed me that there is more to life than just being closed minded. Even if you come from a background of poverty, it doesn't matter. There is a way out if you set your mind on a certain goal and never give up. You could change your own life, and more important the lives of your family. I am going to put full dedication into my goals, stopping at nothing. I am glad for the teachers I had here in the Bridge because they have helped me so much. With helping me manage time, giving me tips, and just overall giving me the oppurtunity to change the lives of my family and my own life. This has been a dramatic experience and I will never forget it. Now there is nothing left to do, but go all the way to the top!

MY BRIDGE EXPERIENCE

WELL BEFORE COMING TO BRIDGE I WONT LIE I WAS TERRIFIED BECAUSE I FELT LIKE COLUMBIA WAS GOING TO BE HARD. I THOUGHT THAT I WAS NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH THE WORK. I SAY THAT BECASUE IN HIGH SCHOOL I GOT KICKED OUT TWICE AND WENT TO AN ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL. IN THE ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL THE WORK WAS HELLA EASY AND IF I DIDNT DO IT THE TEACHERS LIKED ME SO MUCH THAT I DIDNT GET PENALIZE FOR IT. SO FOR ME NOT TO HAVE THE RIGHT EDUCATIONAL TRAINING I FELT LIKE I WASNT GOIN TO SUCCEED. BY NO MEANS DID I THINK IM NOT SMART ENOUGH IT WAS JUST THAT I FELT INSECURE ABOUT MY ABILITIES AND PLUS I HAD IGNORANT PEOPLE TELLING ME AW YOUR NOT COLUMBIA READY AND SHIT LIKE THAT. SO PEOPLE ATTITUDE TOWARD ME COMING TO COLUMBIA MADE ME WANT TO WORK EVEN HARDER TO PAST BRIDGE NOT SAYING I DIDNT WANT IT, ITS JUST YOU KNOW WHEN PEOPLE DOUBT YOU IT MAKES YOU WANT TO WORK HARDER JUST TO PROVE THEM WRONG AND MAKE THEM EAT SHIT. BRIDGE WAS NOT WHAT I EXPECTED BUT I GLAD I CAME BEC AUSE I HAD A WONDER MATH TEACHER AND EXCELLENT ENGLISH TEACHERS THAT TAUGHT ME TO THINK MORE OUTSIDE THE BOX, TO BE PROACTIVE, ASK QUESTION, RESPECT EVERYBODY, AND WRITE BETTER ESSAY. ALSO I LEARNED THAT I CAN AND WILL FINISH COLLEGE AND IM SO GRATEFUL THAT ITS HERE AT COLUMBIA CAUSE I WOULDNT WANT IT ANY OTHER PLACE.
SO I WANT TO THANK ROSEMARY MY MATH TEACHER FOR HELPING ME UNDERSTAND BINARY SOMETHING I NEVER WOULD HAVE KNOW WITH OUT HER. THANKS FLYNN AND TODD FOR TEACHING ME HOW TO KNOW MY TRICKS FOR LEARING PUTTING ME ON COLLEGE LEVEL IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME, TECAHING ME HOW TO THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX LIKE WAY OUTSIDE LOL.

wow

What a relief! All the weeks of stressing are over, now I
can look forward to attending my first choice school. At
first Bridge to me seemed like different form of rejection
leading to a maybe acceptance. But really it was a chance
to refresh my thinking skills and check out the school.
Answer questions like: Do I belong here? Can I test myself
and pass? Wouldn't change coming here for anything.

Thanks Todd & Flynn!!

Peace

We passed

Im glad that we made it. This program really had alot of people stressed, but we put in the work and effort that Flynn and Todd saw as us being ready for college. This fall we are now Columbians. This has been a great experience. This was fu, and I just cant wait for the college life.

War...

Dear Bridge English Class,

It's been too long since I've seen your smiling face(s). Being away from home for so long has left me Ill and battered and I'm not sure how long I can last. The war is hard and the only reason I wake up each morning is for the antipation that one day I can come home to you and my family. The war has been underway for 4 weeks now and it doesn't seem to be near an end. Many of my closest friends and teammates who have been with me here since the beginning will not have lunch with me today. So many brave men. Lost. Just promise me you'll wait for my return this fall.

Love,
Ryan Faris

p.s. i've attached an embarrassing picture of garrett.

bone head

Did 20-year-old Antavio Johnson deserve two years? I disagree with
jail time being the correct form of punishment. If anything that’s
only fueling a fire even more than it has to be. This young man
already has his conceptions of law enforcement, so to sentence him
to two years in prison is proposing his freedom of speech is a crime.
Expressing his feelings about an officer is one thing and physically
harassing an officer is another. MySpace is an online society to
network. A rapper like Johnson who is publicizing his music
regardless of the content, and who it portrays. I personally think
that Antavio was a bone head to specifically mention officers’ names
that he previously dealt with in his song.

"Kill me a cop"

I don’t think he deserves two years of prison just for singing this song; it would be another thing if he actually killed the two cops he mentions. Well I think it’s not really an issue of freedom of speech, it’s more about how he threaten two cops and because his African American they “lock him up and lose the key”. I also really don’t think he should be celebrating a death of a cop. In the article it says that he is a self proclaim Christian rapper, what Christian goes around saying that he is going to kill a cop when it’s a sin to murder.

Rap BLog

I believe that he did in fact did deserve to be arrested for his lyrics. By using specific cop names he is making a legitimate threat against someone’s life. Whether he was going to actually go through with the crime or not is besides the point. I think freedom of speech is kind of void when someone’s life is at stake. However, I think the sentence of two years might be a little harsh. In fact, I think it said he had produced this track a long time ago too...so I'm not quite sure how you'd go about handling things like that.

This song would probably have never been heard if it wasn’t for the progress of technology. Because of technology, this song has proof of existence by being able to hear it over the internet whenever one wanted.

I think our opinions are based on many things. You could be heavily influenced by the media, your family/the way you were raised, or you could go out into life and form opinions based off the people you meet and the experiences you’ve had.

Murder LAW

I think the rapper should have become more established nationally before making that type of song. I also think he should not have actually dropped the officers' names. I think we as citizens in America have freedom of speech, but he should have chosen wiser words. as the article states other rappers have done it in the past, but he isn't developed well enough to rap. I feel the officers may have felt threaten and thats the reason for theyouyng man's arrest. I feel that they shouldnt have went in his past though.

READ THIS BEFORE THE PANEL TODAY

Go here

Kill Me a Judicial System?

I find that the two-year jail sentence Antavio Johnson was served with is wrong. He created a song, which, in his own right, is a piece of art. A man was arrested for creating. Since when does any person get arrested for creating anything? Can you imagine being held in a prison cell for simply painting a picture of a police officer being shot? For me, this is unimaginble. I don't find this situation to be one of the freedom of speech more than it is about the freedom of creatism. Whether it be a scultpure, drawing, song, or even a poem, everything made is in the realm of creativity, where everyone's feelings can be opinionated without punishment. Now, if one was to make a plastic explosive, this does not fall under the same catagory. I'm talking about something that can be used for an everyday component of the art medium. I don't think it matters if he posted it on Myspace or sold a million CD's - he shouldn't have been taken in for expressing and showing off his work. I believe that the only problem here is the perspective of different people, the perhaps ignorant take on other's thoughts, and the refusal to accept other's opinions. Using the situation as an example, the judicial system as a whole couldn't see the point of view that such people as Johnson and Ice Cube had. These rappers were trying to be punished for a deeper meaning and argument that the system could not or refused to have an understanding for. I think that everyone, especially in power, should try and have a more open look at other's ideas and beliefs, even if not in agreeance with them, so for Johnson to be considered "right" or "wrong" for his art is the real crime to me.

rapper gets 2 years

I think that this rapper shouldn't of went to prison. The reason why I feel that way is because everyone has the right to speak their mind and say what they feel. We are all entitled to our own opinions and to say what we feel. If this rapper felt as if he wanted to kill a cop, than that is how he feels. As long as he doesn't actually kill a cop, than he shouldn't be imprisonated. Rappers make disses towards other people all of the time. They even make threats, and they get away with it. But either way, I feel that we are entitled to our own thoughts. This is all part of freedom of speech living in our society. In the late eighties, there was a group called NWA. That standed for Niggas With Attitude. They made a song called fuck the police. They talked about how they disliked the police with deep feelings and they were going to kill harm them. NWA got critisized, but still, did not go to jail. This shows that everyone is going to get critisized for what they feel, you just have to adjust to it the best that you can. There for, I feel that this rapper shouldn't be imprisonated.

Kill Me A Cop

My first opinion of the article was that it was a racist act toward a black rapper. Then as I listened further into the song I realized that he went above and beyond the typical I hate cops and threats of killing them. Most songs released is the general I hate all cops and don’t want any of them around, but Antavio Johnson got into a lot of detail about who and how he want the officers dead. The song felt like a confession or something of that sort. He literally said two specific officers that resided probably in the same county and might have arrested him previously for something irrelevant.

I wouldn’t say that he deserved what he got, but I can understand the cops for the arrest. If I was one of the cops mentioned I would be too worried that someone is actually plotting an attack on me.

Bone Making Party Montage

Is here.

Today's First Blog Assignment

Please read the story here. After reading, try and answer some of the questions posed in your post. Did he deserve two years? Is this an issue of freedom of speech? What does this say about public vs. private communication? In what ways can we use this story to talk about the progress in technology and whether or not it is helpful in such cases, or even right to force upon it. Think of the lecture on fact and faith, on documentary. What serves as evidence? What makes for one's opinion--is it controlled subconsciously by the media or is it a part of who we are based on how we are raised?