Latina Pregnancy

This semester, I decided to take on an independent study with a focus on researching pregnancy rates among Latinas and how telenovelas may serve to wane this recent epidemic. I find no words to describe how astonished I was to read that 52% of Latinas will be pregnant before the age of 20. Especially, when there are statistics that show a 42% drop out rate among this adolescent population. Being a Latina, it is somewhat disappointing to learn that many girls are having children rather than graduating high school and going on to obtain a higher degree. In a sense, the cycle of young motherhood seems to continue among this population, and while some may not see anything wrong with this, I refuse to accept that this is the path that some Latinas will end up taking at such a young age.


As such, I took on the task of creating a YouTube video that looked at the factors that may lead to young pregnancy. One of the factors that kept popping up during my research was that while levels of teen pregnancy among Latinas keep rising, many parents refuse to speak with their daughters openly about safe sex practices or even the topic of sex. As my research showed, many mothers want to see their daughters as pure and dignified women that will remain chaste until marriage. This leads many mothers to view the topic of sex as taboo and one that doesn’t need to be discussed. However, this approach doesn’t seem to be beneficial because what ends up happening is that young Latinas are engaging in sexual intercourse but are unaware of how to go about it in a safe manner.

The reason I chose to center my video on the coveted telenovela was because research has shown the new trend that telenovelas are being used as public service announcements to the Latino community. When you think about it, it’s a great strategy especially now more than ever when some telenovelas are outscoring prime time American sitcoms with the number of viewers. This demonstrates that telenovelas are heavily watched among young Latinas, and therefore can be mediums in which to spread the word about issues affecting the community. In one article I found, one telenovela touched upon mammograms for women, and studies showed a great increase in the amount of women who signed up for a mammogram in response to watching it on the show. Another article showed how in Brazil, the birth rate seemed to drastically decline after many soap operas began addressing the issue. If this method can work for Brazil, why can’t it in the US?

After extensive research, I have come to the conclusion that it’s time that sex became an issue addressed among Latino families not only with young Latinas, but also with young Latinos. The topic can no longer be seen as forbidden and therefore ignored. Parents can no longer afford to ignore the issue and think that their child will remain pure until marriage. While abstinence would be the ideal situation for many parents, the truth is by age 15, many teens in the US will already be sexually active. Usually, the older the male partner is, the more likely teen girls are to be sexually active and less likely to use contraceptives. It is vital that parents begin to speak up and discuss the negative consequences that may result from engaging in sexual practices too early and with little to no protection. Until the issue is addressed, it doesn’t seem like the pregnancy rate among young Latinas will decrease.

Results from the 2010 Census

By Danelzo
            Connecticut’s results from the 2010 Census are finally in and can be viewed online at www.census.gov.  Here you can explore the growing trends among not only the state of Connecticut, but the United States as a whole.  It is important to take time to look at the results of the 2010 Census to understand the status of America and the effects the current Recession has had on our society for the past few years.  It is also important to look as this information to grasp a quantitative analysis of each town, city, county, and state, so we can help figure out methods to improve American society as whole.

            The New American Fact Finder is a tool that has made this information easy to access and can narrow down the data sets to look at each aspect of society.  This can be accessed by:

1) Go to www.census.gov.

2) Click on American FactFinder on the left column near the top of the page.

3) On the left there will be a link that reads factfinder2.census.gov.  Click on that link.

            From here you will be able navigate throughout the site and look at every aspect of the results from the 2010 Census.

            Another way to look at the information from each 1, 3, and 5 years is to look at the American Community Survey.  This data set can show similar data sets that are collected from the 2010 Census, but are broken down by gathering data from every 1, 3, and 5 years.  This is important to look at because a lot can happen within a 10 year period.  This helps in keeping the public consistently aware of the status of America.  This can be accessed by:

1) Go to www.census.gov.

2) Click on American FactFinder on the left column near the top of the page.

3) On the right there will be a link that reads factfinder2.census.gov.  Click on that link.

            From here you will be able navigate throughout the site and look at every aspect of the data sets from the American Community Survey.

            If you wish to attain more information please comment on this blog.  We can share power points, hand outs, tutorials, workshop dates, and contact information.  Below are a set of websites that provide as short-cut to obtaining this information and much more.

Data Sources:

American Community Survey Data: http://factfinder.census.gov

2010 and 2000 Decennial Census Data: http://factfinder2.census.gov

2010 Census data for Connecticut: http://ctsdc.uconn.edu

Visualizing Data

2005-2009 American Community Survey New York Times Map:
http://projects.nytimes.com/census/2010/explorer

2010 Census Data by County New York Times Map: 
http://projects.nytimes.com/census/2010/map

2010 and 2000 Census Connecticut Town Data Map:http://ctsdc.uconn.edu/mashup/census_2010_pl_94_171_change_viewer.html

Reflection on a Speech about Silent Racism

by Surah

Dr. Barbara Trepagner came to the University of Connecticut on Thursday April 14, 2011 and presented in Homer Babbidge Library about silent racism. As a self-proclaimed pragmatist, her goal focused on finding solutions and inciting hope in her audience. Dr. Trepagner gave her audience a brief history lesson, chronicling past racial events and giving her audience a crash course on white privilege. Her solutions and suggestions encouraged the audience to read more about racism, with an extra push given to those representing the Caucasian race in the audience.

This scholar defined silent racism as negative thoughts and images in the minds of well-meaning individuals about people of color. She claimed that this perspective “Doesn’t mean they are bad people, but we’ve got some work to do. We are part of a system that perpetuates racial inequality.” Dr. Trepagner went on to implore us to raise awareness to those who haven’t taken the time to acclimate themselves to the plethora of knowledge out there about race. While she highlighted the fact that these claims are not new, she wanted her audience to know that she was working towards recognition of these concepts in tandem with other researchers and empirical studies.

Don Imus’ racist rant was also referenced in her presentation. She noted that people can be racist without intentions or awareness. In fact, she went on to note that most people are racist but that “we don’t even see it.” This assertion was backed up by claims about informal versus formal teachings about racism. Dr. Trepagner mentioned one example about a Caucasian mother who pulled her young daughter across the street when an African-American male walked towards them. She noted that this ‘informal teaching’ affected this child’s future decision making, attitudes, and friend choices. This “everyday racism” as she termed it, happens all the time across the country in a multitude of ways that many don’t even think twice about. Dr. Trepagner referenced her empirical studies in which one African-American respondent noted that she was followed by store personnel. Dr. Trepagner asked the audience, “How would you feel if people saw you as a thief?” She went on to cite studies that highlighted the fact that there is no difference amongst shoplifting statistics except for the higher rate amongst older teenagers. Her reference to basically racial profiling spurred some side conversations but she continued on to speak about racial categories and confusion.

Dr. Trepagner catalogued the binary logic of how people think about racist individuals: you either are racist or you’re not. She instead proposed a racist continuum in which you range from ‘less racist’ to ‘more racist.’ She supported us in our endeavors to be conscious about the decisions we make as students, to learn our history, and to recognize our own racism. She ended by noting, “Racism is harder to see today” but she points out that it is definitely still present in our society.

As a Professor at Texas State University-San Marcos, she has received numerous rewards and written about silent racism for a broader audience. She was inspired by studying race issues because of her strong memories of being a young mother in a tiny Texas town in the 1960’s. Clearly, her reputation was communicated well throughout the campus because the room was filled to the brim, with students sitting on the floor and standing by the walls to hear her speak about silent racism.

Donald Bogle Comes to Uconn

by Surah

Donald Bogle comes to Uconn

Professor Donald Bogle, who currently teaches at the University of Pennsylvania as well as New York University, came to the University of Connecticut on February 24, 2011 to present on the history of African Americans in film.

First to the stage at the Dodd Center was Professor Ron Taylor who graciously introduced Bogle and informed the audience about his many accolades and accomplishments.

Donald Bogle has written six books about African Americans in film and television. His most recent release, Primetime Blues: African Americans on Network Television describes Black’s experiences in film on a smaller stage. Bogle’s literature strives to inform others about the history of film with a focus on African Americans.

As a university instructor he sees the students of today as accrediting the beginning of Black film to more recent directors when in fact, advances in film by African Americans were made before the 1980’s. In an article by Black Voices, Bogle contends, “We have a whole generation of people in film school, African Americans, who see film mainly in a sense with what they know of Spike Lee from the 80s.” Bogle pinpoints filmmaker Oscar Micheaux as the pioneering figure for African Americans interested in film.

Bogle’s presentation began with a brief history about Micheaux’s relatively unknown accomplishments. He highlights the difficulties that Micheaux faced when trying to produce a film. This independent filmmaker was in charge of financing, casting, producing and distributing the film. His determination to produce films such as “Underworld” which was performed by an all Black cast, displayed his determination and talent.

According to Bogle, other Hollywood movies that were disseminated portrayed Blacks in a very different light. Bogle’s main contention was that the current race relations directly related to how African Americans were portrayed in film and on TV. He begins by listing the various stereotypical images of blacks such as coons, mammies, Uncle Toms and jezebels, which came to life on the big screen.

Bogle argued that these portrayals satiated the audience in terms of how they wanted to view African Americans. During the 1950’s when Sydney Portier was being featured in Hollywood films, he was depicted as an African American who was happy to be subservient to his Caucasian counterpart.

The discussion surrounding African American’s roles in film then centered around depictions of Black women. Bogle pointed out to his audience that the few glamorous Black women who were in film all resembled each other. Actresses such as Lena Horne and Dorothy Dandridge, and more recently Halle Berry and Beyonce Knowles, have Anglo features such as light skin, straight noses and straight hair. He pointed out the stark contrast between these figures and the darker skinned, larger, kinky-haired Mammy figures such Hattie McDaniels.

His presentation allowed for an in-depth look at how Blacks are portrayed in films. While Bogle mostly focused on the historical moments for African Americans in film, he also highlighted racial trends and made connections to current societal issues. Bogle’s pictures presented the audience with an insider’s look at the construction of racial identity through film. Ultimately, his presentation provided the audience with unconventional teachings and lessons that his own students are privy to on a daily basis.