Written by PHYSICAL:
Manhattanville College was first founded in 1841 in a three-story house on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. It was originally a Catholic boarding school for girls and was called the Academy of the Sacred Heart.
In 1847, the Academy was relocated to an area just north of New York City because it outgrew the original building. The estate was located in the village of Manhattanville. The Academy continued to grow in size over many years. The Academy was destroyed in a fire in 1888, but was rebuilt on the same foundation.
In 1917, 76 years after being established as an academy, Manhattanville became a college which allowed it to have programs for undergraduate and graduate degrees. In 1952, the college moved to Purchase where it is currently located. The current campus is the former estate of Whitelaw Reid who was the publisher of the New York Herald Tribune and an Ambassador to England.
In 1971, Manhattanville College became a co-educational institution.
My place in Manhattanville College’s history is that I am a recent graduate of the institution with my Bachelor’s degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science. I was both a resident and a commuter at various points of my time as an undergraduate student. I was not very involved in campus organizations and activities. However, my experience at Manhattanville college has shaped me to the person I am today. I learned a lot both academically as well as socially during my time as an undergraduate. I gained valuable experience and knowledge that have allowed me to progress personally and professionally.
DIGITAL:
TikTok started as two separate apps which were combined to create TikTok. First, and most widely known, TikTok was previously Musical.ly which launched in 2014. Musical.ly users would upload lip-synching videos.
In 2016, a Chinese tech company ByteDance launched a similar service called Douyin. ByteDance wanted to expand so they bought Musical.ly, rebranded it, combined it with Douyin and launched the app under the name TikTok.
The owners of Tik are two good friends, Alex Zhu and Luyu Yang. Therefore TikTok was born in 2018 and has been growing in popularity ever since.
The content that TikTok is known for is dance and lip-sync videos which stems from the key features of Musical.ly. This social media app has shaped an entire generation and has served as a key source of entertainment for the younger generation for many years, and specifically during the pandemic. It allows its users to have a personalized experience based on their interests and promotes finding / celebrating your identity.
Personally, I joined TikTok in 2019 when Trump threatened that TikTok was going to be banned in the United States so I downloaded the app just to have it in case I ever wanted it. Slowly, but surely, I started using the app more and more (… and more). I use the app currently as a way to seek out advice for first year teachers and listen to funny teacher stories. This app helps shape my knowledge and provides insight that I plan to incorporate into my own classroom.
Karen,
I enjoy watching TikTok for that reason too. The advice, humor, and stories are all very fun and enjoyable to see. Who knew that a service that mainly started with dancing and lip-syncing) would be able to evolve into what it is today. It makes me wonder what the next fad will be on the service…
It is always interesting to learn the history that precedes a place that is important to you. I had minimal surface level knowledge of Manhattanville’s history, so I appreciate the more in-depth information that you provided.
It was super interesting to learn about the history of Manhattanville College. I didn’t know it was in two different locations in the city. I am also curious as to why the college moved to Purchase. Do you think its more than just about Whitelaw Reid and his former estate?
Also- the history of tiktok is interesting because it also evolved from a similar app just like my digital place of Instagram!