Photo courtesy by Charley Prine

Mendoza is a second- year doctoral student of musical arts specializing in instrumental conducting. She taught for 10 years at Nicholls State University in Louisana. She sat with The Daily Cougar to talk about conducting, her experiences at UH and about what she has going on this semester.

The Daily Cougar: How long have you been at Moores?

Cristina Mendoza: This is my second year of the doctoral program.

TDC: What exactly are you pursuing your degree in?

CM: Doctor of Musical Arts degree in instrumental conducting.

TDC: How has your experience with the program been?

CM: This program has really given me more hands-on conducting time than I would have received in other doctoral programs. We have three concert bands made up of music majors and one campus band that is open for anybody who wants to play. As graduate students in the band program, we are assigned pieces (repetior) to play with each band. … We get a variety of experiences and teaching. You don’t see that in many other doctoral programs. You are usually limited to just a few experiences, whereas our professor, David Burtman, really believes in giving us a lot of hands-on experience.

TDC: Can you describe a standout experience you’ve had?

CM: I can remember the first time I got in front of the wind ensemble, which is our top group, and I was assigned the rehearsal all by myself. There were no other teachers in the room, or things like that, and I was terrified to get in front of this excellent group of musicians who were very kind to me — very supportive. … They are all my friends. We work together so much that we all have a great working relationship, and a lot of them are close friends of mine. After I finished that rehearsal, their (reaction) showed me that I was at the right place and that I felt I could really achieve a lot in that group.

TDC: What do you hope to do once you are done with your degree?

CM: After I finish my degree, I would like to find a job teaching at the collegiate level.

TDC: Is it different when you are conducting a classical piece than something more modern or contemporary?

CM: It really can be a different experience, especially if a piece is very familiar — like an older classical piece that you might be familiar with from your past — or (even) if it’s something relatively new you’re not familiar with. So you really have to investigate the score, look at all the instrument parts and figure out who’s important at a particular moment and help the ensemble communicate the emotion and the intent of the music to the audience.

TDC: Is it intimidating being in front of an ensemble?

CM: The more you do it, the easier it gets. I find that having had some experience prior to coming to this program, it makes it a little easier. Although, I do get nervous every time. It’s exciting — the nervousness is more excitement than fear.

TDC: What are you looking forward to in your upcoming projects and performances?

CM: Thursday is the wind ensemble performance, and I am conducting two works in that concert. One is very expressive and lyrical, and the other is up-tempo and in the style of an Irish jig. Those are very contrasting, and I am excited for that performance.

arts@thedailycougar.com

Socializing can be hard for students adjusting to college life. (Catherine Lara/ The Daily Cougar)

College is a time of transition that can cause stress and anxiety for students when they encounter new pressures from academics, finances and their new social lives.

Fortunately for students struggling with shyness and other anxiety issues, there are certain things they can do to prepare for university life, said Kay Brumbaugh, the Outreach Coordinator and Psychologist in the Counseling and Psychological Services department of UH.

“Educate yourself about the differences between normal stress and an anxiety disorder,” Brumbaugh said. “Get involved with the UH community and know what resources are available for support.”

Broadcast journalism junior Jesse Hudgens offers his advice to those who haven’t broken out of their shell.

“It’s about getting social opportunities. Join a club on campus. My social life at UH didn’t pick up until I joined COOG Radio and GLOBAL, the LGBT group on campus,” Hudgens said.

English senior Anthea Rafique said it takes a little courage and self-motivation.

“I would recommend to just put yourself out there, speak up, walk confidently, smile and try something you have never done — within reason — which will give you experience and, of course, bragging rights to say ‘Oh, I have done that!’” Rafiqe said.

But it’s not always that easy. Chemistry junior Josué Portillo has heard this all before.

“It’s a lot harder than just putting yourself out there,” Portillo said. “It’s crippling.”

He also believes the media is responsible for downplaying what it means to be a shy person.

“Television shows have some pretty girl acting weird and calling that being that socially awkward when it’s not,” Portillo said. “It’s insulting. If being bubbly and cute is socially awkward, I’d hate to know what I have.”

Brumbaugh said it takes time to overcome shyness, but individuals that focus on building self-confidence and using positive self-talk to reduce stress and make their university experience a little more comfortable.

“CAPS offers group counseling, which is a popular and beneficial service to address shyness and anxiety concerns,” Brumbaugh said. “Individuals meet weekly with other group members and one or two clinicians to explore new ways of coping, behaving and interacting with others.”

Even though there are a lot of resources and advice to help deal with shyness, perhaps one of the least difficult is to embrace who you are.

“Our society glorifies the celebrity, the outspoken, but very rarely celebrates the quiet and reflective,” Hudgens said. “Many of your classmates appear to have it all together, but most everyone feels some degree of insecurity.”

While some artists use a paintbrush and a canvas, there are some who are putting everyday objects together and filming their usage.

On Screen, a series by the Blaffer Art Museum, presented “Object Labors” on Thursday. The screening showed “Floatage: River Jamuna” and “Turning” by Vivan Sundaram and “The Unstable Object” by Daniel Eisenberg.

“Both artists’ work circle in different areas but show the making and labor of objects that are already made,” said Amy Powell, the program’s curator.

Vivan Sundaram is from Simla, India, but has been all over the world. “Floatage: River Jamuna,” Sundaram’s first film, is a short video of a raft made by plastic bottles floating in the Jamuna River.

In “Turning,” objects that are considered as garbage are made into pieces of art. As the camera frame shows many of these pieces, a gust of wind blows down some of the artwork.

In contrast, Eisenberg’s work shows three objects being made in odd angles. The first object is the making of Volkswagen vehicles by machines. The machines were the ones doing most of the work while humans were just checking up on them.

As the film continues, a middle class factory shows human and machine working together to make office clocks. The last factory shown is in Turkey, where workers are hand-making drum symbols with little machinery.

Advertising sophomore Victoria Lepham said she was amazed on how simple objects can capture the mind of the audience. She said she’s never imagined anything could be art — even everyday objects.

“It’s crazy knowing that many materialistic objects can be considered as art,” Lepham said. “Both artists put the spotlight on these objects, and it makes the mind wonder.”

Human versus mechanical production is showed throughout the videos to educate the audience on the different types of classes and objects.

“I think we learned how different objects are made and how they are put in different usage debating on their cultural context,” Powell said.

arts@thedailycougar.com

Kathleen Stewart, an award winning anthropologist discussed her experiences in New England through poetry Friday as part of the Blaffer Art Museums guest lecture series on Materiality.

Ubiquitous things have form, and matter poems can depict how those forms of life hold together, said Kathleen Stewart, an award-winning anthropology professor from the University of Texas at Austin during her seminar Wednesday evening at the Blaffer Art Museum.

The Visiting Artist and Scholar Lecture Series invited Stewart to discuss her book project, “Worldings,” a collection of matter poems personifying New England in relation to the current theme: materiality.

“My focus is to transform the sound of language into writing,” Stewart said. “I want to push the edges of what people think is acceptable. In ‘Worldings,’ I learn how to incorporate the different trajectories and experiences of things.”

Stewart said she illustrated the American road as an emergence of streams of matter and thoughts. She also described the color red through a perception of a local house and expressed “pockets” as dark human spaces in a room where something changed.

“I want to capture the worlds in different intensities and to capture how uniquely people enter these worlds. My work experiments with the sensory materiality of forms of attunement to these worlds,” Stewart said.

Rex Koontz, director of the School of Art, has worked with Stewart and said he believes she wants to understand the poetry of everyday life by questioning aspects that are seemingly ordinary and concrete.

“Stewart uses rich imagery much more effectively than most academics,” Koontz said. “She takes us down a New England road with its colors, sounds and smells. She stops before a walking bridge to muse on its form color.”

Instead of believing or not believing, Koontz said he thinks the matter poems provide an essential service to the art world.

“Matter poems push back against overly simplistic quantifications and rigid interpretive paradigms,” Koontz said. “It frees us to look closely and to pay attention to the way forms constitute themselves throughout time.”

Art history freshman Brandon Zech said he was interested in Stewart’s connection with Tony Feher’s work, which is displayed in the Blaffer gallery, and the parallels between their ideas of poetry in everyday actions.

“I was intrigued by her idea that poetry was all-encompassing of everyday life and that it was present in every little thing in our daily routines,” Zech said. “Stewart is simply putting into words what is common of everyday life.”

Zech said he believes in the concept of matter poems and its prominence in current studies. He described matter poems as a way to see beauty in the everyday.

“I think that life in itself is a sort of unwritten poetry,” Zech said. “This idea is significant, because when one looks at their life in this way, it makes their life seem very meaningful.”

arts@thedailycougar.com

Saturday, visiting children got to experience a tour of contemporary art pieces by Tony Feher at the Blaffer Art Museum for Family Fun Day.

From 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, children and their parents attended Family Fun Day, an event organized by Blaffer to encourage the community to take an interest in contemporary art.

“They’re trying to get more people involved after the renovation,” said Erin Dunn, art education graduate and Blaffer docent.

Blaffer, which re-opened in October after restoration, features different contemporary artists every 3 or 4 months.

After the tour through the gallery, the children took part part in activites, such as a hopscotch game made out of various geometric shapes.

“All of these (activities) have an element of Feher,” said Katherine Veneman, Blaffer’s curator of education.

One activity, tapetionary, required the children to make art with brightly colored tape on a white backdrop.

“You want to spark their imagination,” Veneman said. “Kids have really open minds.”

During the tours, docents stopped at each piece and let the guests ponder it before talking about some of the ideas and materials found in each piece.

Painting graduate and Blaffer docent Frederick Ocksassa said his favorite was “Sharadiant,” which was made out of a few brightly colored broom handles arranged in a circle.

This was Ocksassa’s first time giving a tour to children.

“They seemed very intrigued, and they seemed to enjoy it,” he said. “I want to get better at talking about art — Tony Feher’s exhibition in particular. People are kind of hesitant, and I like to change their minds on it.”

Upstairs, there were more activities for the children, including painting and making toys with molds. Directed by artist mentors, sculpture alumni Lindsey Slavin and Tommy Gregory, these activities were among the most popular.

The art pieces were set on a table to dry and were judged later. Winners in each category — children, teenagers and adults — were given prizes. The adult winner received an exhibition catalog, a thick book with all of Feher’s art pieces in the gallery. The other two winners received art supplies.

Family Fun day, usually an annual event, is going to become a semesterly affair at Blaffer, Veneman said.

Blaffer is open Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

arts@thedailycougar.com

Club members discussed plans for the semester.Shaima Eissa/The Daily Cougar

The Photography Student Association is back in full gear after its recent fallout from UH student organizations.

Seasoned photographers and wishful newcomers came together Thursday for PSA’s first meeting of the year where introductions were made, events for the upcoming semester were discussed and $100 scholarships were awarded to one undergraduate and one graduate student.

Formerly the UHPSA, PSA was re-founded in the fall after the previous association lost its steam. Sharing only a logo and some T-shirts with its predecessor, PSA serves as a networking, teaching, learning and social experience for everyone from experienced photography graduate students to those who have never held a camera.

“We took bits and pieces from them, but it really is a new organization,” said Katelin Washmon, PSA president and a third-year photo visual media graduate student.

“This (club) has graduate students involved as well as undergraduate students, and I think that’s really crucial because that communication needs to be there. That networking needs to be there in order to have the club survive from year to year” she said.

The club will host workshops on photographic techniques such as lighting or how to properly clean a camera, and the officers will offer portfolio critiques for students that want perspective on their work.

The highlight of the meeting was the announcement of the scholarship winners. The students were chosen based on short portfolios that were evaluated by a panel of judges. Undergraduate winner Brenda Franco was not present to receive her award, but second-year photography graduate student Jeremy Underwood said he was grateful.

“It was great. What more can you ask for? That’s the great thing about the organization; you get involved, you can participate but also get something out of it,” Underwood said.

PSA will host a viewing at the Houston Center for Photography later in the semester, with students’ work turned to face the windows, so pedestrians walking past can view the photographs as well.

“(I like) the whole idea of organizing people in a non-academic environment. You get a chance to socialize.  You get a chance to learn things in a less-formal way and get to know everybody,” Underwood said.

“The relationship between undergrad and grad is always been separated, so it’s nice to get that collaboration between the two.”

arts@thedailycougar.com

“Dogs Don’t Eat Eggrolls,” a routine that showed the progress of how one individual unravels from the rest of the group Maritza Rodriguez/ The Daily Cougar

From dancing to yoga, students learned there are different ways to exercise without lifting weights. Students gathered Wednesday at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center to learn how to live a healthy lifestyle.

The Counseling and Psychological Services held Rock Your Body Day where volunteers answered questions from students who want to live a healthier lifestyle.

“The purpose of ‘Rock Your Body Day’ is to promote greater body awareness, acceptance and improve students’ overall health,” saidKay Brumbaugh, the CAPS outreach coordinator and predoctoral intern Beatriz Craven.

As students walked around the lobby and visited booths, they learned that living a healthy lifestyle involves getting a nutritious meal.

Paul Alfonso, Smoothie King manager, says having a nutritional smoothie can be an alternative for fried food.

“We offer a meal in a cup,” Alfonso said. “We fill the need for various functions that students need before or after a workout.”

The School of Theater and Dance had an ensemble perform “Dogs Don’t Eat Eggrolls,” a routine that shows the progress of how one individual unravels from the rest of the group.

The ensemble’s choreographer, Jhon R. Stronks, said dancing is where you are acquiring knowledge but applying it to your body. The important part is about stopping yourself from doing something, not someone else doing it for you.

“If you are afraid of failing, then you’re just going to have to get over that. Until you actually fail, you don’t know if you will succeed,” Stronks said.

Students also learned that the Recreation Center provides activities on and off campus.

Caleb Whales, assistant director of Outdoor Adventure, showed students the different options they have to get involved.

“Be willing to try something new, believe that you can be successful with it,” Whales said.

Students coming in for their workouts were fascinated with the posters and booths set up on how to be fit. Psychology sophomore Anusha David said she was glad the event happened at the Recreation Center. It gives more awareness and motivation to the students who are coming in for their daily workout.

“It’s great that the event is giving out a message that it’s not all about working out, but it’s also about eating healthy,” David said.

CAPS and the Recreation Center volunteers are hoping their message has encouraged each student to have a healthy mindset and body. Brumbaugh and Craven hope the event has a lasting impact on each student.

“Once our community starts to learn about body image and eating concerns, the stigma attached should start to diminish,” Brumbaugh and Craven said.

During the discussion, the floor was open for students to express their political party affiliations and why they identify as such. The even also featured videos that addressed the essence of leadership. | Aisha Bouderdaben/The Daily Cougar

Jill Scott’s sultry jazz voice serenaded students who attended the Conservatism in Black America lecture Tuesday in the Oberholtzer Ballroom.

The program, a joint effort between UH’s NAACP chapter and Collegiate 100, invited students of all political beliefs to come together during Black History Month and learn about influential black Republicans and to hold a candlelight vigil on the one-year anniversary of Trayvon Martin’s death. The event also payed tribute to Dr. Marguerite Ross Barnett, UH’s first female and first black president, who passed away on Feb. 26, 1992.

“I came here with my presentation on black Republicans in America,” said Eno Crabtree, Vice Chair of the Political Action Committee for UH’s NAACP, “and to also educate people on our history, on things they may not know.”

Political science and communications senior Jessie Smith, the president of UH’s NAACP and the secretary of Collegiate 100, opened up the program and said it was coming from “a more political standpoint” and then turned it over to Crabtree and his presentation on famous and influential Republicans in black American history.

Crabtree showed a video of Colin Powell, the first African-American to be appointed U.S. Secretary of State, addressing the essence of leadership.

“If there’s anything I want you to take away from this event, it’s (this) video,” Crabtree said.

Booker T. Washington and Fredrick Douglas were next on the list, and Crabtree talked about their principles and how they can be used.

After students shared their reasons for being Democrats, Republicans or neither, they watched a video featuring the Rev. Wesley Leonard discussing why he is Republican.

Following the video, students had a discussion about gun control, gang violence, gay marriage and the daily problems with racism.

“There is still a standard of eurocentricity affecting the United States,”said public relations junior Isiah Gentry.

At 8:30 p.m., Smith lit the candles for the vigil, and the room swelled with emotional music.

Smith asked everyone to stand and bow their heads as he said a prayer and closed the ceremony.

English and political science junior Marcus Smith, another NAACP PAC chair member said, “I came to be educated, which is the best thing one can be.”

UH’s NAACP fourth general meeting will be held March 19.

arts@thedailycougar.com

Intramural sports , which promote healthy competition and teamwork, are beneficial to students in many ways, including improved health and long-lasting friendships. | Courtesy of Alec Walker

With the bleachers filled and eyes from the second floor gazing down at the courts, students find the basketball intramurals a popular event to take part in at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center.

Whether you’re participating in the league to be competitive or just to have fun, finance freshman James Curley and management information systems senior Malik Osei-Frimpong were there for both.

Curley has been playing basketball for a long time, and after enduring injuries that forced him to watch from the stands, he says he’s glad to be back to what he does the most.

“I’ve been playing basketball ever since I was in high school. I wanted to go on to play college, but I tore my ACL on both knees,” Curley said.  “I’m just happy; I’m here and able to be back in that competitive mode.”

Curley’s team name is “Dead on Arrival” — a team currently 4-1 — and he hopes they can take home the championship.

Osei-Frimpong has been a part of this intramural league for four years and looks at it as a benefit to his future.

“I’ve been in these intramurals since I was a freshman, and it’s something I would put on my résumé,” Osei-Frimpong said. “I look at it as representing teamwork and cohesion with my teammates.”

At the end of the day, Osei-Frimpong said he also enjoys staying fit, having fun with his teammates and to keep winning — something his squad, “Team Get Chose” has been accustomed to the past few years.

“Other than trying to get this 3-peat for team ‘TGC,’ I like getting a good workout and really enjoy playing ball with the rest of my friends,” Osei-Frimpong said.

Supply chain junior Alec Walker, the intramural sports supervisor and the sport manager of basketball, believes intramural sports helps not just the body but the mind too.

“It provides them (players) with activities to break away from the stress of school and work,” said Walker, a supply chain junior. “Competition and exercise are a great way to relieve stress. Studies have even shown that students who participate regularly in intramural sports feel more attached to the University, which in turn leads to better grades.”

Journalism sophomore Jessica Ibe said she enjoys going to intramurals to see a good show.

“I like going because I get to root for and see my friends participate,” Ibe said. “I personally like to see the guys play because they’re more exciting and more action.”

Walker intends on keeping it competitive and interesting.

“The idea for creating the power rankings and primetime games was to increase competition and create a buzz around the season,” Walker said. “For the competitive leagues, we have also been tracking game by game MVPs, which will culminate in an all-star game at the end of the season.”

arts@thedailycougar.com