Touro Communication Club Notes #64:

This Week!
Wednesday, March 4. 2009 – Room 223 - Midtown

“Writing President Obama II”
This Week!

Wednesday, March 4. 2009 – Room 223 - Midtown “Writing President Obama II”
Much will have transpired in Washington since our first conversation about writing to President Obama. More issues will surface, but the process of arriving at agreement remains the same. Since we are focusing on a real document that we will eventually send to the President, we are automatically engaged in the fundamental process of democracy – finding agreement amidst disagreement.

In President Obama’s address to the Joint Session of Congress on Tuesday, February 24, he recognized Ty’Sheoma Bethea, an eighth-grader at J.V. Martin Junior High School in Dillon, S.C., in the gallery and quoted from her letter which sought improvements at her rundown school “We are not quitters,” wrote Ty'Sheoma.

Here is Ty’Sheoma’s letter, a fragmented reconstruction of from of number of sources.

“Dear Congress of the United States:
People are starting to see my school as a hopeless, uneducated school which we are not…We are just students trying to become lawyers, doctors, congressmen like yourself and one day president, so we can make a change to not just the state of South Carolina, but also the world....We finally want to prove to the world that we have a chance in life just like other schools, and we can feel good about what we are doing, because of the conditions we are in now we can not succeed in anything. We are not quitters."

In his address, President Obama said, "These words tell us something about the spirit of the people who sent us here. They tell us that even in the most trying times, amid the most difficult circumstances, there is a generosity, resilience, decency, and a determination that perseveres,” he said. At that, the audience rose to give the teenager a standing ovation

Obama had visited J.V. Martin JHS as a presidential candidate in August 2007 and returned again last year, each time pronouncing himself appalled by the conditions he found there.

"He said back then, 'No matter what happens, I will not forget you,' " said Principal Amanda Burnette.”And he proved this week that he remembered us."

Students and teachers at the school well remember the moment when Obama, standing on the buckled floorboards of the 1926-era gymnasium where teachers must spread eight trash cans to catch the leaking water whenever it rains, nailed a perfect 3 point 2 basket.
Ty’Sheoma is an inspiration for our own letter to President Obama.

Dear Communicators:

The news continues to be filled with stories that have communication implications. Here are three stories from the New York Times on Friday in which “perception” dominates:

· A Catholic bishop denies the Holocaust, is excommunicated and gives a hollow apology.
· The New York Post editor and publisher apologize limply for the “chimp” cartoon last week.
· A new book by three fellow prisoners disputes the valiant portrait of Isabel Betancourt, a Columbian politician, who was rescued in a spectacular rescue mission.
· In order to attract buyers, NYC upscale real estate brokers are changing their advertising language from “prestige” to “value” in the disastrous financial market

Playing with words and images can be dangerous double-edged swords for the communicator. Whether you are creating a perception (the cartoon and advertising) or reacting to your perception of an event (the Catholic bishop and the Columbian politician), a kind of “Rashomon” effect is created. (In his 1950 film, Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa dramatized four versions of an incident, each of them different.)

Who are we to believe? Our own perception? Another person’s perception? The media’s perception? My observation: All of them are “true” and filters of each person’s experience. All of them merit some consideration in creating a composite of any experience. Most communication difficulties begin when one person insists that his/her perception is the only one or, perhaps, the most accurate or “true” one.

Now that is a discussion that won’t end!

UPCOMING CONVERSATIONS:

Wednesday, March 11, 2009
“Politics and Communication”
When two people get together, there are “politics.” Politics occur at every level human interaction – personal, family, workplace, governmental, international. Politics include the many elements and levels of human interchange. We’ll try to identify some aspects of the politics of human interchange.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009
SPAR Debate – Thinking on your feet
Let’s see if we can move from aphorisms to public policy issues. Spouting your beliefs is easy compared to taking the opposite position and arguing something you do believe in. This kind of exercise allows you to anticipate people who have different ideas from yours.

What happened on Wednesday, February 25, 2009?
“Handling Conflict”
Hal Wicke began by explaining some basic terms of our conversation on conflict. Dutiful listeners included Lorinda Moore, Meggy Lindsay, Egypt Allen Drani Gabu, Brian Brown, Geovanny Leon and Anna Indelicato. Charles Mason, Carlisle Yearwood and Marcus Vayndorf joined in the middle of the discussion.

Suddenly a group of students from Professor Jose Dunker’s class on Civil Rights began to pour into the room. They included Georgia Brown, Prania Rai, Rina Thapaliya, Ravi Patel, Minjur Tunca, Abayomi Aderiyi, Marie Delmas, Maritza Estrella, Cedric Flemming, Jazzment Campbell, Frankie Eloi, Cartier Greely, Grace Gibson, Rajitha Roy, and George Goodwine

A total of 27 people attended this session, topping our previous record of 15 people.

Hal had written on the blackboard:
What is conflict?
How do you recognize conflict?
What causes conflict?
What are some strategies to address conflict?
Some sources of conflict
Inside oneself
Other people
“Mother Nature”
God – G-d
Cognitive dissonance - noticing a conflict
Perceptual checking – “crap detecting”
Stereotypical thinking – black and white interpretations

The topic of conflict is big and endless in the many ways it occurs. We chose not to focus on conflict inside oneself and conflicts with God/G-d because they were too complex for this kind of beginning discussion. Conflicts with “Mother Nature” were impossible to overcome, but we still had to prepare them.

Conflicts with other people are a frequent occurrence. The group suggested that conflict arises when two or more people disagree over something or someone. People were not clear on how they recognized conflict, except to say that they felt uncomfortable or perhaps ultimately angry when they experienced conflict.

We began to focus on the elements of conflicts with other people when Professor Dunker’s class arrived. Hal repeated much of the material for them.

Someone raised the controversial February 18th New York Post cartoon where two white policemen are shown shooting a monkey, saying, “They’ll have to find someone else to pass the next stimulus bill.” Immediately, the opinions were flying: Among the principal comments were:
It was racist.
It was intentional.
It was aimed at President Obama.
It was offensive and hurtful.
Al Sharpton was a leader in a demonstration against the Post.
It continues stereotypical thinking.
The apology by the Post was weak and inadequate.
The cartoonist should be fired.

For nearly an hour, the rapid exchange of opinions continued. There were other comments as well, but the majority of them focused on the cartoon. Unfortunately, Professor Dunker’s class had to leave so the discussion came to an end.

After the class left, the remaining group – club members - commented on the differences between their kinds of comments and those of the class. All of the comments were emotionally based. Clearly the regular members of the club were more at ease in expressing their opinions.

For the Civil Rights class there was some reticence at the beginning, but several were willing to mix it up. It was the first time they had explored the communication impact of an event (the cartoon). The club members agreed that with more discussion experience, the Civil Rights class would begin to approach a controversial issue with some emotional distance.

The discussion was a wonderfully unexpected experience with many facets. Everyone was learning at some level. We hope the Civil Rights class will return!

Let’s not forget Carlisle Yearwood’s IDEA several weeks ago. He suggested we develop a 3x4 index card with basic Touro information on it. We’ll talk more about this in the future.

As always, these sessions are open for everyone to attend. Bring a friend and join the excitement. See you next time.

Hal Wicke