The Presage

The Presage (an Online Undergraduate Journal) is scheduled to debut on 1 September 2011. The Presage is a quarterly journal that is meant to provide future scholars and leaders with a platform to present their already blooming work. The journal will showcase the theories, analyses, critiques and ongoing research of undergraduates from all over the nation.  Issues will also feature "non-academic" areas of excellence such as poetry and media arts. Not specific to any one discipline, the entries in this journal are united by the skill, foresight and diligence of their authors.

Stop by the website on 1 September to read the featured work of scholars from various institutions including Spelman College, Morehouse College, Emory University, Georgia State University and Claftin University.

For more on The Presage, check out the website.

Meet the co-founder and Co-Editor-In-Chief Whitney Skippings-Dupree.

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Young Black Thinkers Society

The Young Black Thinkers Society (YBTS) is a registered student organization at Spelman College. Founded in Fall 2009, this AUC-wide club meets once a week to discuss pressing issues in often heated but ever enlightening discussion. Topics have ranged from the supposed decline in music over the years, to debate over whether ignorance is bliss. Once a month, the group discusses the central ideas of a Black thinker or theory. Other activities include (but are not limited to) movie viewings, debates (within the group and with other AUC registered student organizations) and meetings at the local café. 


YBTS meets on the 4th floor of the Camille Cosby Academic Center on Spelman's campus on Tuesdays at 6 o'clock pm, starting on 6 September.


Like YBTS on facebook!

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Education and the Group: The Case for Individuality

Education and the Group: The Case for Individuality is the title of Chaina's ongoing research project that doubles as her honors senior thesis and her 2-yr research project as a UNCF|Mellon fellow. The research is a three-fold project aimed at exposing the inconsistencies of the American public education system through philosophy, raw data, and personal testament (interviews) of students and educators alike.

First, Chaina plans to use philosophy to prove the necessity of individualism, especially in comparison to over-dependency on group dynamics. Second, she will research the intricacies of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) with the hopes of deciphering what role the Act plays, if any, in the ongoing disservice of the education system. And finally, Chaina will interview students and professors who have operated under NCLB to determine whether the system is, in fact, working, and to discern the role played by NCLB.

Stay tuned for updates about the research and related events.

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Whitney Skippings-Dupree

Whitney Skippings-Dupree is a senior International Studies and Philosophy double major at Spelman College (based in Atlanta, Georgia). Whitney has a long history of interest in international conflict resolution, and she plans to continue cultivating said passions as she ventures into the next leg of her professional career. Having spent a semester studying abroad in Uganda and Rwanda, her current independent research seeks to bridge her dual academic interests in its concern for peace philosophies. 


As an extension of her academic aspirations, Whitney has been a crucial member of several academic extracurricular organizations and a pioneer of 2 of her own. Whitney has been a member of Model UN since her freshman year, a member of student government, and, as of last year, a member of LEADS, a program for present and future leaders.

As for her original projects, Whitney teamed up with friend and colleague Chaina Dobbins to birth two separate but special projects. The first, created in 2009 when they were sophomores, is the AUC philosophy club, pointedly named the Young Black Thinkers Society. The organization meets once a week to discuss challenging and pressing issues of varying subject matter and dedicates at least one meeting per month to a Black thinker or theory. The second of the ladies' projects originated in the early winter of 2011 and is set to debut 1 September of the same year. This time, the ladies are working on an online undergraduate journal entitled The Presage. The journal will showcase the current work and ongoing research of undergraduates in various fields of study.

As if her academic pursuits aren't enough, Whitney is a talented artist and avid activist as well. Her graphic design portfolio is stellar and her response to civil responsibility is unceasing. Keep it up, Whitney!



YBTS meets Tuesday evenings from 6-7 in Cosby. For more of Whitney see any of her pages:

Young Black Thinkers Society
The Presage
Portfolio

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