Hampdenfest
Every year the neighborhood of
Hampden hosts an event called Hampdenfest. This event is held on west 36th
street and it extends for multiple blocks. The roads are filled with mouth-watering
smells as the various venders prepare their dishes. Crowds are drawn by these
smells to different tents selling colorful shirts, socks, jewelry, art work and
anything else that can be easily packed and moved. On every block there are stages
set up with bands playing music throughout the event; and most importantly there
are races held every couple hours. These races are akin to go-cart races in the
sense that each team builds a cart and then the teams race them down a hill, the
difference is that these carts must have a toilet. Iconic to Hampdenfest, these
races set it apart from anything of the sort. I saw some of the teams and was
amused by the colorful costumes and whimsical carts, however the crowd was too
large for me to get a good view of the race.
I had gone to Hampdenfest last year
and thought it was fun and decided to return this year. This year, I thought
that it was much more fun. The event had almost doubled in size and there was a
lot more variation in the food. This year stands ranged from ice cream to food
indigenous to the Himalayas. The food looked so good that I ended up eating things
from 4 different stands just to try all different types of food. Also, the
music was better because the different stages allowed everyone to enjoy at
least one band, as one was a heavier rock, the other more indie rock and the
final stage more bluesy classic rock. I personally enjoyed the band that was
playing indie rock the most. Loyola radio also had a tent there and was playing
music. Finally, the people that attended this event ranged from college
students to families to elderly couples. I think that the crowd being composed
of such diverse people contributed to the atmosphere of the event.
The paper written by Father
Peter-Hans Klovebach talks about the integration of the mission of the Jesuit community
in universities. The main idea behind this is to incorporate service so students
can experience and see first-hand what social injustices are occurring in
todays society. In my opinion this can be very useful in expanding students
views on social injustices and contributes to the holistic education of
undergraduate students. However, I do not think that this concept is applied
very well. There are many students who do not do any service and therefore do not
get this learning experience. Also, most of these experiences are very short
lived. These short exposures, while helpful, aren’t as effective as long term
exposure to diversity and social injustices. Contrary to what Klovenbach says, I
do not think this school does not do a very good job of creating a very diverse
environment. If Loyola did a better job with socioeconomic and cultural
diversity students would be more insightful and conscious of what is going on
around them.
The poem Accident, Mass Ave. by Jill McDonough is about an accident that occurred
in Boston which resulted in her yelling at the person who hit her car. She was
cursing her out and while doing so realized that nothing was wrong with either
car so she stopped yelling, realizing how she was overreacting and started to
comfort the woman who was overwhelmed and scared. This poem represents how
quick we are to get angry over very small inconsequential things. No damage had
been done and thus there was no need for the reaction she had.
The poem Learning to Read is about how reading led to knowledge and wisdom,
and the struggles of those who were prevented from having an education. Those
who were prevented from reading i.e. most people who weren’t a wealthy white
male, struggled to gain books and teachers to learn how to read.
Mending
Wall by Robert Frost is a poem about mankind and how we are constantly building
barriers for no reason. The neighbor is always saying that walls make good
neighbors but does it really? Building
the wall together may create some sort of kinship and may prevent some disputes
between who was what, however a wall also prevents some friendliness and makes
each seem a bit cold to the other.
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