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January 16 is a standout day in history, at least if you’re Carl Watson.
Back in 1493, Columbus made his first trip back to Spain after bumping into the New World. In 1920, non-drinkers everywhere gave a cheer with the passing of the 18th Amendment, prohibition. In 1985 guys who didn’t just read the articles were happy to hear that Playboy was doing away with staples along their centerfolds.
Oh, and Carl Watson was born on that day too.
Hopefully Carl can find a little more news of interest or his current Freshman Seminar project — tracking historic events on the date of your birthday — is going to be mighty short. Maybe a search of the New York Times archives will turn up something.
“The thing I’ve found with this semester is that there is a lot of reading which I have to stay on top of for most of my classes. I’m doing a lot of work, but I find that I still have a lot of free time,” he said. “Maybe things are a little easier than I thought they might be, which is actually a scary thought because I know it’s going to pick up later.”
Carl has been spending a lot of time hanging out with a bunch of heavy thinkers and digging into some heavy reading — a little Socrates here, some of the Bible or Koran there, maybe some of the Bhagavad-Gita on the side. Next up is Machiavelli’s The Prince — not exactly typical nightstand brain candy for the average college freshman — and another paper due after Thanksgiving. And all of that in his Intellectual Heritage class.
“Before this class, I never had any interest in looking into other religions but the different roots, the different beliefs and reasoning behind each religion is very interesting,” he said. “What I find particularly interesting is the cultural differences among members of the same religion — Muslims in India are very different from Muslims in Europe. Initially, I didn’t even know there were white Muslims.”
In Journalism and Society, every week has focused on a specific aspect of the media, from newspapers to television to radio and beyond.
“I’ve got a project coming up where we need to write a biography on someone who contributed to the media. The person must also be a minority,” Carl added.
Spanish class, no problems there. Math class — two tests and two 99s, though “I just can’t seem to get that extra point,” Carl said with a laugh.
While wrestling with present classes, he’s also planning out next semester — Introduction to American Literature, American Ethnicity, Math 65, Intermediate Spanish, and Intellectual Heritage 52. Outside of class, Carl is also taking a different look at his future.
“I attended two career panels, one on corporate connections and the other on community connections, which was very enlightening. My career goal has always been to become a publications editor, but after I heard Diana Pazicky (English Coordinator at Temple Ambler) speak, I’m beginning to feel that I’m limiting myself,” he said. “There are so many possibilities out there; it was very encouraging. She also helped me figure out the requirements for my major to make sure I was on the right track. My plan is to finish all four years at Temple and to keep it to four years.”
As the semester moves along, Carl has also branched out in other ways, joining Brothers and Sisters United (BSU) and preparing to take part in the annual Kwanzaa celebration held on campus, which is scheduled for Friday, December 5 this year.
“In high school, I was involved in a lot of programs, but this will be the first big one for me here. I’ve tried to focus primarily on academics this semester; I think this is a good start for me,” he said. “I was with BSU at Open House (October 25), which was fun. For the first half, I was out in the parking lot, smiling, waving, and welcoming visitors, just like other students had done for me when I came for orientation. After that I made popcorn with Student Life’s popcorn stand in the lounge.”
Carl had a lot on his plate (pardon the pun) for Thanksgiving, with a sea of relatives getting together — ‘I can’t begin to even count the cousins” — and a wedding planned for his uncle the Saturday right after.
“Over holiday break, we’re driving to Florida for Christmas. We’ll be taking turns driving,” he said. “I’ll get together with friends, talk about college experiences. It’ll be nice to get away for a little while.”
From academics to outside activities, Carl has been on a bit of a winning streak lately, with a sweatshirt won at the campus Oktoberfest and an MTV hat from The Real World’s Ruthie’s recent appearance on campus to show for it.
“If this keeps up, I’m going to start applying for scholarships,” he said.
This is the seond part of an “A Year in the Life” feature on Carl Watson. Carl, a native of Brooklyn, New York, was a freshman majoring in English at the time of the series.
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