GreenEyedTrombonist

Since this seems to have become a debate, here are a few articles about the issue: http://www.vox.com/identities/2016/11/15/13628200/trump-hate-crimes-racism This article focuses on the data being released by the FBI showing an uptick in hate crime in 2015 (report released Nov 2016), but how, because of poor reporting methods, it's impossible to know if this is an actual uptick or if the FBI just got a little bit better data that year. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/11/12/post-election-spate-hate-crimes-worse-than-post-911-experts-say/93681294/ This article depends on reports from at least 2 non-profits interested in the protection of marginalized groups. Both groups are saying the number of reported incidents has severely increased since Trump's election. http://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/2016/11/hate-crimes-social-media-and-rise-hoax-hoax This article is concerned with getting people thinking critically about what they read on social media. What I like most about it is the data released from a conservative site saying false hate crime reports average out to 10 per year. Considering one of the groups in the previous article is reporting 200 reports of hate crime in the week or so following the election, that 10 per year would seem to indicate that not all of these reports are fake. It also cautions against individuals who claim hate crime reported on social media is fake and warns that, though you should do your research on the hate crime if something seems hinky, you should also do your research on the people calling it out as a lie. So, is America any more unsafe for marginalized groups than it was prior to the election? The answer is we don't know and, even when the FBI releases their report for 2016, due to their previous bad collection of data there is no way to know if hate crime has increased across the country. Is hate crime happening? Yes. There is no way around this. There are several credible stories of people being attacked because of their marginalized status. We don't know if the number of attacks has increased, but we have seen a dramatic increase in reported attacks. Are people justified in being fearful of what could happen to them in America right now? Yes. None of the articles I read (much more than these three) makes any claim that hate crime has gone down. Whether the election has caused a rise in hate crime or not, the truth is that there is quite a bit of hate crime occurring (though we have no way of knowing if this is an increase from previous years). Due to the larger number of reported incidents, the rise in hate crime seen could easily just be a more accurate representation of hate crime in this country. That does not mean we having nothing to fear, but does mean we didn't know all we had to fear before. The fear people are feeling is the result of a larger number of hate crimes being reported and reported on, but this does not, in my opinion, prove that their fear is unjustified or irrational. I think all it really proves is that the bubble burst for those of us living in/who only visit urban areas with liberal tendencies. We can no longer pretend hate crime is not happening here. Whether it's increased or not, I find the occurrence of hate crime unacceptable. I'm not going to say "well, it's the same as before so we don't have a problem." We have a problem. This turned into much more of an essay than I intended, haha. One last note about the articles: I realize different news sources often put their own spin on things. That is why I tried to include different sources which, rather than saying an grandiose statements, focused on what is being reported from the government and NGO's and also cautioned against believing everything you read on the internet. In the end, I think the biggest lesson here is to go to more than one news source, think critically, and decide for yourself what you're comfortable with once you have as many of the facts as possible.

I'd like to second what @DBear asked @av2010. I love looking at Buffy and other fandoms from an academic perspective, but my background is anthropology so I'd like to buff up my communication knowledge. Also, DBear, Hush is an amazing episode! My favorite is School Hard though.

Yes @DBear! I absolutely love Buffy the Vampire Slayer Have you read the Buffy book in the Pop Culture and Philosophy series?

If this is directed at me, I'd like to point out that you are assuming a lot about my eating and exercise habits. I've never stated here what my medical conditions are, so you have no knowledge if my conditions are caused by my "lifestyle", genetics, or a mix of the two. Whether you meant it as such or not, this comment comes off as highly condescending, dismissive, and judgmental as a result.

@stripedgrad fafsa is a different beast. Even if you live at home or depend on your family for part of your income, you are considered independent for their calculations. I didn't get any grants in undergrad, but no problems getting coverage in grad. Never say you'll be rejected from all of them until you receive rejections from all of them. Even if you are rejected, consider asking for feedback on your application. Some adcoms will be willing to let you know what elements swayed their decision.

@striped Here's my thing about that advice: Yes, if you want a PhD you should be primarily looking at PhD programs, but those programs are competitive. What if you don't get in? It can be pretty hard to do the kind of work you want to do in anthropology with only an undergrad degree, so why not apply to M.A.'s so, if you don't get into a PhD, you are still working on your education and skills as an anthropologist until you do. Regarding my TAship, my department actually doesn't offer them (yet, they're working on getting this fixed and turning the grad program into a fully funded thing for students). At the start of last fall a TA had to back out from another department so the dean of the college asked that the position be shared around. My department has a listserv, so I was able to apply quite soon after they sent out the request. Then it was a simple matter of interviewing and getting accepted. Usually, this class does not maintain TAs from one semester to the next, but I happen to love grading/my TA work and they saw my commitment so they offered to extend my contract for another semester. Therefore, I'd find out if the proposed MA department offers TAships, advertises research jobs to students, or lets students apply for TAships outside the department. My grant is the State University Grant (California) and covers my entire tuition except for school fees. All I did to get this grant was fill out the FAFSA. Other than working as a TA and student researcher, I'm a freelance writer and online streamer. Thus, while I'm going to school, I don't exactly make a lot of money and qualify for grants based on need. Ultimately, the best thing you can do is research a variety of programs, talk to the people in these programs, and figure out if they could be a good fit for you. You're going to get conflicting advice and there isn't necessarily one right or wrong answer. You just need to figure out what is the right answer for you.

Yes! I forgot to mention that, in addition to waiving my student fees, I also get paid every month for being a TA. Last year, I was paid every month for being a student researcher.

That sucks @Feanor Though, on the bright side, if you don't get in this year you at least know exactly what needs to be improved and it's something that is possibly fixable.

@striped Don't feel down, students can and do get admitted without already having an M.A. If you don't get into a PhD this round, I'd say shop around some more for anthro M.A. programs. I go to SJSU for their Applied Anthropology M.A. and I currently pay nothing for tuition. I have a grant that pays all of my tuition and I work as a TA right now to waive my student fees. It is possible to get an M.A. without spending 60-80k. Regarding conferences, have you done any independent research? Last year I presented exploratory research at SWAA and this year I'll be presenting (if accepted) on a few different projects. I'm also planning to volunteer (if accepted) so my cost of conference registration will be $0. Conferences don't often extend invitations to students or independent researchers to go present, you have to apply. EPIC and AAA's are opening their calls for abstracts soon and I plan to submit my current research. As for publications, you need to identify which journals would be the best fit for your research. I'm in an applied program, the research projects I've been a part of are applied, so the most likely anthro journal for publication is Practicing Anthropology. You can find out more about Practicing Anthropology, including the types of articles their looking for, formatting reqs, and submission details through the SfAA website. Speaking of, the SfAA annual meeting is also a great place to mingle and meet other anthropologists. Your best bet for becoming involved in a research project is to reach out to professors you've met and see if they have any research they'd be willing to let you work on. These professors can then help pinpoint conferences and publications that would be good for the research you've conducted. Doing research is how you get the material for presenting at conferences and getting published. Conferences rarely accept non-research related papers and publications in anthropology that do accept literature review analyses in lieu of new research are probably much more inclined to accept such articles from full professors, not students. Hope this helps!

I don't know the exact nutritional needs of anyone here so I won't make generalities. I can tell you that, for my body, eating more than 50-100 grams of carbs a day is unhealthy and causes unpleasant side effects. Usually, nutritionists suggest I eat 50 or less grams of carbs a day because of my body's needs. This means I can eat low-carb and trace-carb veggies, but I shouldn't eat any breads, pastas, rices, processed foods, baked goods, etc. That's the way my body works. It sucks and I often miss a step (right now I don't buy the groceries so regulating my diet isn't working that great), but I feel much better when I cut all big carb items from my life. Because my body's needs are unique to me, I get extremely annoyed by others trying to tell me what I should do to maintain a healthy diet and, therefore, won't tell others what they should or shouldn't put in their bodies.

This is awesome! I've participated in a few studies over the past 1.5 years (I'm in a terminal M.A. right now-last semester starts tomorrow), but highlights are: I was a student researcher in a community leadership study where we learned about differences in different types of leaders (including if there are any) and what different leaders could learn from each other to be more effective in their communities. We're currently planning 2-3 articles based on this research and, other than edits, 2 of the articles are ready to go. I was also a student researcher on an autonomous vehicle and parking project in partnership with Nissan Research Center of Silicon Valley. Our teams analyzed how people use parking in 4 different ways (I was part of the historical team) and how the landscape of parking is likely to change when 10% of all vehicles are autonomous. We produced videos as part of this project and are planning to showcase them at a conference this spring. I'd also like to get an article out about this research, but it's not my priority. The last big research project I've worked on is my own graduate project. For about a year I've been working with an online community and 2 entertainment companies to understand how online communities form, are maintained, and the business practices that can help or hinder them. The community I've been working with, in particular, is firmly entrenched in geek culture, but made philanthropy one of their central values (raised over $300k for charity in 2015, for example). I wanted to understand how they made philanthropy and altruism central values so that the information could be used by other organizations interested in the same. I'm working on my final report right now and have 2 presentations planned for a conference this spring, 2-3 other conferences where I'd like to present this research, and will be working on articles for publication over summer.

I've avoided going to the applications status checkers for my apps until today. Seeing "under review" is messing with my brain. x]

Congratulations @heyDW!

Can't help with HASTS as my MIT app is for their Comparative Media M.S. :/

I live in a very liberal, urban area. After the election results were announced, there was an uptick of hate crime on my campus. Someone grabbed a women's hijab from the back as she was walking, another followed a student of an ethnic minority around a building and told them to go home, etc all within a couple of days of the results. There was also a marked increase in sexual assaults on campus in 2016. I won't hold it against anyone if they think twice about attending school in the US right now.

Freaking darnit USC MSW program sending me emails. Just got another one. -__- Waiting for my heart to calm down...

Getting nervous. 2 of the schools I applied to usually send out something this week (interview requests or acceptances) and another could start sending out final decisions as soon as next week. x]

Adding to the podcasts, if you like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I love the Sunnydale Study Group podcast (http://sunnydalestudygroup.libsyn.com/ the hosts and sometimes guests go through each episode of Buffy, one episode per podcast episode). If you're a tabletop rpger (DnD, Shadowrun, etc) you might want to check out Inside the Master's Studio (http://www.audioentropy.com/masters-studio-blog/ the host interviews different GM's in each episode).* You guys might also be interested in the podcasts of Thomas Smith. There are 4 that I know of: Thomas and the Bible (http://www.thomasandthebible.com/ now complete, he went through the entire Bible over a 6 year period) Serious Inquiries Only (http://seriouspod.com/ previously Atheistically Speaking http://atheisticallyspeaking.com/ but moving to more politics/pop culture/news with less of a bent on the atheist element) Opening Arguments (http://openargs.com/ love this one; it's Thomas and a lawyer going through the nuances of US law) Comedy Shoeshine (http://comedyshoeshine.com/ this one is more relaxed and is Thomas and his brother hanging out, talking and joking about whatever) *Full disclosure, the first two podcast recs are slightly self-serving as I've guested on both of them, but I'm not recommending the podcast I co-host because it's made for a very small group of people (fans of one Twitch channel) so I don't think it's something most people here would want to check out.

Got another spam message today, but it went straight to my inbox this time. x]

2 W's isn't really a big deal, especially when they were early in your undergrad career. I got into an MA program with 3 W's on my record (1 my first semester because a prof wasn't willing to let me miss one class/make it up because of another class's conflict, 2 my sophomore year first semester because I had a medical thing happen).

Although I don't think a cleanse is necessary, I'd be more cautious about suggesting the food pyramid @spectastic. Different people need different things and that isn't represented in the pyramid. For instance, I have multiple conditions that mean I need to be careful about what I eat. If I followed an ideal diet based on all these conditions, I'd be on an extremely low carb diet, low meat, low dairy, no citrus fruit, etc.

I'm a US citizen and I'm also wrestling with this. I only applied to one school outside the US and I struggle with wondering if getting out will be good or bad. Yes, I'd be outside the US, but if the situation continues to deteriorate, I could end up stuck somewhere, have funding rescinded, visa denied, etc and basically be sol. I only applied to schools in urban areas that are considered fairly to highly diverse (I actually didn't choose based on this info, more that the programs I am interested in happen to occur in higher frequency in major urban hubs than anywhere else), but I'm still concerned with what's going to happen over the next 4 years and the impact they will have, not only on my education, but the lives of everyone around me.

@CoffeeFueledAnxietyYes! USC has sent me a few emails about their MSW. I applied there for a PhD program in a different department, so every time I get messages from them my heart leaps out of my chest. x]