LP # 3- Pacinos Barbershop

On this visit to the barbershop, I was much more relaxed. I had a better idea of what to expect and had already met all the barbers on my previous visit. 

It was early and the shop wasn't too busy. Mostly, their were younger kids getting their haircuts and some were accompanied my their parents. 

Elvis was cutting a little boy's hair that was only six years old. He asked the boy, "Your not going to fall asleep on me this time, right?" Elvis told me that the little boy usually falls asleep when he is getting his hair cut.

I was able to speak to a client named Melvin Santiago, 25. He moved to Florida from New York three years ago and said that Erich was the only barber he found here that cut hair like the barbers in N.Y. He also said that he enjoys coming to the barbershop because he can relax and just hang out with the boys. Melvin comes to the shop every other Friday to get "edged up" but sometimes stops by after work to hang out and play video games. " Everyone at the shop has become like a family to me, I feel like i'm back in New York."

I was also able to sit and talk with Eric for a while. His family is Colombian and he was raised in New York.  At 18 years old, he joined the navy and served for four years. When he was done, he moved to Florida with his family.

He couldn't find a barber in West Palm Beach that cut his hair good enough so he started doing it himself. When his friends began to notice, they wanted him to cut their hair too. As he started getting more clients, he took over his parent's garage and turned it into a barbershop. He also made time to go to school and get his barber license. 

He began working at a local barbershop and his clients followed him. He had big dreams and hoped to have his own barbershop one day. He spoke to his boss about his plans and he supported Erich's ambition. Erich saved up enough money to by the owner out of the shop. He was only 25 years old. He made a deal with the owner and was able to pay half of the money upfront and pay the rest in installments for two years. 

Erich focused on advertising techniques to get the word out about his barbershop. He would promote at local Latin festivals, giving free haircuts. He knew it was all about the marketing. He would also do unique designs on client's heads like the Puerto Rican flag, which got a lot of attention. He made business cards and specialized on urban, Latin style cuts. He teamed up with a local radio station and held "back to school specials." Erich's promoting paid off and soon his barbershop was filled with clients. 

"If you have the love for something, you will find a way to market it," he said. He started off without any employees but slowly began to hire barbers and teach them to perfect their techniques. He felt his barbers needed to be the best because it was his name on the line. 

He opened his shop on Feb 14 and it has been open for nine years now. Throughout the years, Erich has made a name for himself in West Palm Beach and his barbershop; Pacinos has become a brand. He has an extensive line of celebrity clients, which he travels to personally cut their hair. His main celebrity client is P. Diddy. He hosts various club events throughout West Palm Beach, called Pacino’s Parties which are very successful. 

Erich named his barbershop, Pacinos the movie, Scar face. He felt Pacinos was the best name because it was an Italian word meaning, clean. 

His future plans are to possibly open a second barbershop and come out with his own line of men's cosmetic products. 

Although he is well known throughout the community, Erich doesn't consider himself a local celebrity, just an entrepreneur who is20hardworking, down to earth and confident. 

He is also involved with a couple charities. He speaks at charity events and donates to children's organizations. It's not something that he brags about because he feels that as long as he knows he is doing something right, that’s all that matters. 

The biggest misconception people have of him is, "People think i'm Hollywood without even knowing the real deal," he said.

I think my time at the barbershop was a great experience. If not for this assignment, I know I would have never walked in. I was always curious to know what went on in there like what the guys talked about and what the inside looked like.

Now, I have a much better understanding of what goes on in barbershops and what guys talk about, which is mostly girls. It simply a place they go and hang out with their boys while getting a hair cut. They gossip just like girls do, maybe even more. It's just like a beauty salon except with no girls. 

I'm glad I was able to have this experience and share it with others. Erich told and the barbers told me that I am welcome back anytime, even if I just want to hang out. 

 

 

 

Final Journal-brief summary

I'm sad to say that this is my last journal entry for Muti-Ethnic reporting. I can't believe how fast these seven weeks have gone by. Each class meeting was an interesting experience that I am glad I was able to have. I feel more open-minded and prepared to talk about and cover the topics we spoke about in class, such as: race, gender, sex, religion, etc. 

I think Professor Reisner did a great job teaching this class and I understand now why it's his favorite class to teach. I don't think anyone else could have done a better job at getting through to us and getting us to speak, as openly as we did. 

I must admit that I was nervous to voice my opinion at first but Professor Reisner's teaching manner helped me along the way to open up more in class, my journals and in my listening post. I don't think the class would have been as interesting or engaging had people not shared their opinions and thoughts openly in class discussions. I think it gave us all an opportunity to learn from each other and learn to ask questions. 

One of the most important things I learned from this class is to be prepared by doing your homework and research before going to do a story or interview on something or someone you know nothing about. You want the person who you are interviewing to believe you have a genuine interest in what they are saying; you don't want them to think that you have no idea what you're taking about. 

Yes, it is pretty much common sense to do research before you do an interview but this crucial advise from professor Reisner really stood out to me when I completed my interview with the owner of the barber shop I visited for my listening post. He was impressed with my interview, commented on how well prepared I was and mentioned that I really did my homework.

The class really gave me the hands on experience and confidence, through the listening posts, to go out there and report. Report on everything and anything, not just on topics I am comfortable with. It's not about being comfortable; it's about getting out there and learning from people's stories and life experiences. 

We are journalists; we're supposed to ask questions, lot's of questions. THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS A STUPID QUESTION!

 

Journal #3

Professor Reisner shared an article from a Columbia magazine, which talked about race and how people are so afraid of coming off racist. This led to a class discussion about how words have different meanings in different cultures. 

For example: Nigger/Nigga/Negra, this is the same word but has three completely different meanings. The first is very offensive and shouldn't be used ever. The second is more of a slang word used mostly among younger teens with their groups of friends, meaning "bro." The third is an affectionate word used to describe a dark women (not in a cruel way at all) in the Spanish language. “Negra” is what my family calls my mom. Growing up I didn’t really understand it until my mom explained that it’s used in a cute and loving way.

Professor Reisner pointed out that being politically correct is a matter of NOT saying something. "As a white man, you just shut up," he said.

 

The next topic up for discussion was, "When words are codes." Some of the words we talked about were: Urban/Inner=hood, poor; City/Suburban=white, rich; Ghetto=slur, fashion statement, a poor place; Crime=a ridden neighborhood, ghetto. Also, Jew vs. Jewish: Jew is thought of as meaning, cheap, rich and having a big nose. Jewish is the religion. 

It was interesting to realize that even though we might not want to admit that those words do have a connection, the truth is that we do think that way. Many people in class agreed that what the exercise pointed out was true. Although i'm not proud to admit it, I also completely agree with the "When words have codes" exercise. I think society in general has taught us to think this way. 

I was a little taken back by how the professor described, "Urban redevelopment" (moving the poor people out). Thinking about it, I realized that he is absolutely right; it's just that I never heard it said that way. 

Another "Food for thought" exercise we did was, "Ways to avoid saying, White." The examples were: soccer moms, blue collar, Americans, main street, wall street, middle America, New Englanders, all-American, southerners and ordinary people. I must say that these ARE all ways of describing someone as "White" without actually saying it. I've heard most of these words used all my life, sometimes in a joking manner but other times in a mean way. 

The exercises and class discussions continue to open my eyes even more on how touchy these topics are and what the best way is to go about reporting on them. 

 

LP # 2-Pacinos Barbershop

I was

 

greeted by Erich as soon as I arrived at the barbershop around 4p.m. He was sitting outside in front of the shop returning phone calls and responding to text messages. We spoke briefly about how his day was going. He could tell I was a little nervous about walking into the shop, since it was very busy and I was definitely the only girl their. He couldn't help but laugh. Erich asked me if was ready and I hesitantly smiled and said yes. It was now or never...

 

As we walked in, all eyes were on us and I got the feeling that all the guys were wondering what I was doing there. Erich asked if I wanted to sit in his barber chair since he wasn't planning on cutting anyone else that day. I sat down and he made sure that I was comfortable before he went to the back of the shop to eat his lunch. 

 

I sat there looking around and observing everyone. I was still a little nervous. There were about eight barbers and clients in every chair, getting haircuts and edge ups and several others waiting to be next. There was hip-hop music playing loudly and some of the guys were singing along. This led to a conversation between the guys about singing the girl's verse of the song. They were discussing how uncool it is for guys to sing the girl's lyrics and how only girls should sing the girls verses. 

 

As I watched the clients going in and out, I paid close attention to how they interacted with their barber. The barber and client would exchange "the guy handshake" which is a handshake and a semi-hug that is more like a pat on the back. This handshake would happen when the client first arrived as a way of saying hi and again when they were getting ready to leave, it was followed by "thanks bro."

 

Incase I failed to mention; there were absolutely all guys in the barbershop!!! I completely stood out but all of the barbers and clients were very welcoming. The shop had a very "homey" feel to it. It was small, clean and very "guyish." There was a small chess table by the waiting area and the walls were adorned with pictures of Erich with the many celebrities he has met and cut hair for. It was like a wall of Fame. Towards the back of the wall was DJ booth for the DJ that occasionally comes in and spins on Saturdays. He was one of Erich's close friends. There was also a flat screen TV on the back wall with a play station so the clients could play video games while they wait.

 

The first chair on the right belongs to Erich but it's used very often because he doesn't cut hair as much as he used to. The chair across from him belongs to Elvis, the barber who has worked for Erich the longest.

 

The next topic of conversation amongst the barbers was high school reunions and if they should go. The majority stated that they didn't see a point in going. The conversation didn't last long. I noticed that the barbers are really loud when they are talking to each other and they all jump into each other's conversations. Maybe it's because of the electric razors and music or maybe they are just loud because they are guys...

 

 

Of course they talked about girls and checked out the ones who would pass by the shop outside. I think they tired to keep their comments respectful because I was there...

 

I also noticed that all the barbers took turns answering the phone and sweeping. There was no receptionist or assistant. It was up to the barbers to help out around the shop.

 

My visit to the shop went well. The barbers treated me very nice and they didn't seem to mind that I was there. It was a unique experience getting insight on things guys talk about when there are no girls in the room. 

 

 

 

Journal 2- 3rd class meeting

What defines excellance: To be a good journalist _____________ (fill in the blank).

Our professor asked us this question at last Tuesday's class meeting... 

Everyone raised their hands to offer their suggestions and share ideas on the matter. Some of the qualities and traits mentioned were: cover the uncovered, admitting to biases, telling both sides of a good, give a voice to the voiceless, draw the reader in, humanity, etc.

By the end of the discussion, the whiteboard was covered with a variety of excellent traits and qualities. However, there was no mention of ethnicity, gender, race or class. It's as if it didn't cross any of our minds or maybe we just didn't want to say it out loud.

The realization was that everything we listed had nothing to do with race. In a way, it showed that as journalism students we are colorblind.

In addition to the good spirit present at the University with the excitement surrounding Tuesday's 44th presidential Inauguration, professor Reisner let us out quite early that night. 

All in all, a very pleasant day and another interesting and insightful class meeting!

Journal 1c- IAT test

So, I visited Project Implicit and took the Gender-Career IAT test. It was weird at first since I had never taken one of their tests but I slowly caught on. 

My results showed I did associate women with family more and men with careers more but that's not my personal feeling on the matter. I didn't feel offended by the test. The results are to be expected. It's what we have learned growing up and what society has pressed upon us. Women are more commonly associated with family (stay-at-home moms) and men more with careers (CEO/president). 

My mom is and has been the hard-working one in my family so although I do think women relate more with family they also relate very much to careers. My mom did both and climbed her way up the corporate ladder, showing me that women can be successful with both family and career. I strongly believe it is possible. I was lucky enough to witness it. 

The IAT results are what they are. There's no need to get your "panties in a bunch" over it. Something i've learned from professor Reisner in these first two weeks: "Don't take it personal!" I'm sure there will be many more lessons throughout the semester.

 I'm taking notes...

Journal 1b- 2nd class meeting

Our second class meeting of Multi- Ethnic Reporting wasn't as shocking as the first but i'm sure there is more to come in the upcoming weeks. 

This class meeting was very informative. It answered the questions I had on the blogs, Listening Posts, journals, etc. I was able to get a clearer understanding of the uncomfortable place we are to visit and why. Although, it will be nerve-wrecking in the beginning, it actually sounds like it's going to be an interesting assignment and experience. 

So, it's all starting to come together, slowly... Just like the race/gender assignment we did in the first class meeting, uncomfortable at first but a learning experience in the end. 

Watching the clips from the Barbershop movie was entertaining, I almost forgot I had been at school for 10 plus hours! It helped me decided on my three choices for the listening post assignment. 

So, with pending approval from professor Reisner, I might be going to the barbershop. 

Uh-oh...

Journal 1a- 1st class meeting

You don't always know what to expect on the first day of class.

Having already attended two classes earlier in the day and having the great pleasure of meeting Professor Neil Reisner, I already knew I was in for a real treat. The next 2 1/2 hours would prove to be a unique experience. 

Multi-Ethnic Reporting. Hmm, sounds interesting and exciting! For our first assignment, we split up into groups of 3 and 4, making sure not to look at our paper with instructions until we were told to. Professor Reisner explained the assignment and with each word he read, I convinced myself more and more how unfair and mean this assignment was. 

We were given a company and equally qualified employees, whom we were to assign to various positions from company president to human resources manager and we could only base our decision on the person's race and gender. How inappropriate!

 So my group and I decided to assign people to the positions based on the greater percentage of population because we were too uncomfortable to judge these make-believe people by their race and gender. Plus, we didn't want to offend anyone in class when it was our turn to explain why we assigned a certain person to the position.

But what came out of some people's mouth was definitely shocking. I mean, I guess that was the point of the exercise, to get us to realize that we can be racist without even meaning to. It was an uncomfortable assignment but very eye-opening. 

My group was the only one to not put the Asian man as the accountant. We did that purposely because we knew everyone would put him in that position since "Asians are extremely smart in mathematics." And we ended up being right.