The Learning Channel

The television station, TLC, has been known for its odd collection of shows, but I feel like recently they have really stepped it up a notch. I grew up knowing that they had shows like, "A Baby Story," and "Trading Spaces." Now they have shows like, "Virgin Diaries" and "Extreme Cougars," that are extremely ridiculous and are not family oriented in the least.  The station went from having innocent, family shows, to shows that are explicit and show people with extreme habits. "Virgin Diaries" was about couples who never had sex until marriage, and "Extreme Cougars" was about women who were going after men younger than more than half their age. I think it is ridiculous that this is where our television is going. Yes, I find these shows interesting, but it also kind of scares me into where the future of reality television is headed. Innocence is not attractive or interesting anymore and that scares me. It seems like unless something is extreme and/or disturbing, the audience will not be great enough for the show to have success. There always needs to be a scandal or something dangerous to draw in the viewers and high ratings. I can't wait to see where reality shows are headed because I think the next generation will be growing up in a much uncensored and more disturbing world than we grew up in and I think that is unfortunate.

Reflections

This semester definitely flew by! I can't believe our last week of classes is about to start and we will be beginning our last semester here at Witt. This was my last course in the Journalism program and I can honestly say I truly enjoyed it. I don't know if I grew much throughout this course, but I think I have definitely  grown a great deal from my first class, Beginning Journalism with Mac my sophomore year, to this course. I came in to Macs beginner class thinking I knew everything since I wrote for my paper in high school and I was not open-minded to learning new things. But I quickly realized that I had a lot to learn and in order to improve as a journalist I need to accept change and have an open mind. The major change I can see in myself is my confidence in interviewing strangers. I have become more comfortable meeting new people and asking them questions. I have also gotten fairly decent at writing a story in my head during the interview. During the interview I can sense what is important and what is not and what would make a good quote and what does not. Overall, the whole journalism process has become much easier for me and I have learned to enjoy it and perhaps use these skills in my future career.

Stuffed

I was very thankful for the opportunity to go home and spend time with my family who I love very much. But, Thanksgiving break is just a teaser and as much fun as it is, it just stresses me out more knowing that I have to return back to school for a very rough 3 weeks. One of my favorite things about break was the traditional black friday shopping! This year, despite our principles, my mom, brother, my boyfriend and I were one of the many people that ventured out into the evening to Target. We were not waiting in line for anything specific or rushing in to get a certain item, but we went more for the experience and we have fun doing it. My mom and I also went out the next day and we finished all of our Christmas shopping! I know to some people this may seem absurd but I really enjoy knowing I don't have to worry about shopping on top of all of my exams and projects. It also makes me all the more excited for Christmas because I don't have anything to stress about. I do hope though that stores quit opening on Thanksgiving, because it is not fair to the employees that they can't be with their families and they have to come in and work on a holiday. My fear is that stores are going to keep opening earlier and earlier and before we know it they will open early Thanksgiving morning, which is just wrong. But, I do look forward to the next Thanksgiving because at that point hopefully I will be on a new path with a job and I will be living on my own!

Thanksgiving!

Every year I look forward to the great holiday of Thanksgiving not just for the immense amounts of great tasting food but also for the time I can spend with my family. To me, Thanksgiving is just a preview for Christmas break. I love spending time with my family and what better way to get together than over a table with a warm delicious meal. According to the Baltimore Sun, Americans consume 46 million turkeys on Thanksgiving! I look forward to not only the original meal, but also the leftovers that are sure to follow. But back to the topic of families, I could not imagine the students here who are not able to go home for Thanksgiving. But what I love about Witt is that it can be like a family and it is great to know that these students are able to go home with their friends and celebrate with their families. A tradition me, my aunt and my mom do every year after dinner, is strategize what our plan of attack is for the next day: BLACK FRIDAY. I love shopping and it is something the women in my family bond over. I could not imagine missing out on these activities had I chosen to go to a school across the country.

Witt's downsizing

I think it is very unfortunate that Wittenberg's budget cuts have come this far. It is sad that they are affecting students this way. But in all reality, something has to be done. I want Wittenberg to last and it seems that at the rate things are going, in the next few decades Wittenberg may not be in existence. What makes this situation so difficult, is that no one is happy about it and it is going to affect someone on campus no matter where the cuts come from. Whether it is cutting tenure, eliminating departments, or removing programs. I wish it did not have to come to this, but I think the forums are a good way for students and faculty to voice their opinions. I am sure they are going to cut or remove some of those departments, but looking at the facts, who can blame them? With 17 professors and an average of 4 majors, the Music department is not economically beneficial to Witt. Witt is a business and it's main objective is to make money, so when they need to make reductions they need to look at the poor producing departments on campus. It just stinks because so many great things come from the music and dance departments such as the choirs, concerts and the dance concerts. And computer science is a growing field, that it is a shame if Witt has to cut it before it has a chance to grow. Hopefully someone can think of an alternative idea to save the university, but until then we must all stick together and support each other.

Below is a link to the Torch's article on the music forum:
http://thewittenbergtorch.com/?p=7429

The power of social media

Throughout this whole election process, it blew my mind how much social media sites, such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn became hot spots for political news and viewpoints. I'm sure this was pretty evident as well four years ago, I myself was not on them, but even in the last four years the power of the Internet and social media in general has grown tremendously. It blew my mind how everyone was posting their opinions and reactions on Facebook and Twitter last night and it almost seemed as if their filters had been turned off sometimes. Not only are the social media websites powerful for events such as the election, but I have noticed the value of knowing how to operate them is to employers. Employers are looking for those skills in our generation because we grew up with these websites and we have the most experience with how to work them. I have found this especially evident since I, like many people in the class, am a Communication major and have found how important these sites are when job hunting. Most companies have Facebook and Twitter pages and I have learned the importance of looking up these companies to see how they use their social media. The only thing I can wonder is, what new social media websites will surface next?

This article touches on how social media has affected journalism:
http://www.ndsmcobserver.com/scene/the-importance-of-social-media-1.2680499#.UJqvK8XA-So

The Aftermath

I thought the election results were very interesting seeing how close they were. The one thing I did not understand, and I would have been confused had it been in Romney's favor as well, was why they called it that Obama had won Ohio before many of the votes were even counted? Because, even though it worked out that he won and all, at points after they had called his win, Romney had more votes and was winning over Obama. Maybe I missed something, perhaps that had to do with the electoral college, but none of my housemates could understand that situation. Also, I know everyone has their own viewpoints, but I felt that this election divided people more than bringing them together. At one point I stopped going on Facebook and Twitter because I was tired of seeing all the hateful comments back and forth between Obama and Romney supporters. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but perhaps I censor myself more than others and I was surprised at some of the comments people were leaving. I am glad I did stay up though late enough to see how people on the news were reacting, such as the supporters in Chicago for Obama, and Romney's in Massachusetts. Of course, those people were feeling united in their separate locations, but I wish there was some way to unite the people of differing parties and stop all of the trash talk back and forth.

Witt's party scene

I will have to admit I was much more into the party scene that Witt has to offer my freshman year than I am now. Freshman year I would go out on almost every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, but these days, I average going out about once a week. The problem I have with these parties, and the reason I don't enjoy the big parties on campus much anymore, is that I feel that are just a huge dance party where people get fairly drunk and sometimes make bad decisions. Now, I would prefer to hang out with a smaller group of people that I actually know and enjoy spending my time with. A friend of mine always tells me that going out is a great way to meet new people but I disagree with her. I tried that freshman year, and yes I met a bunch of great new people, but in reality I don't talk to almost all of those people today. None of those friendships were strong because they were all based on drinking and partying. I'm not saying this is everyone's experience, but this is what I have experienced through Witt's partying. I do appreciate that there are always parties on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday to offer students the chance to party though. And I do feel safe when I do attend these parties, but these days it is just not for me anymore.

Witt-trying to save face?

Unfortunately, Wittenberg is going through some hard and trying times currently and the debate is whether the University is handling the situation in the right manner. I have no idea what the right way for Witt to handle this situation is. Yes, they head of Communications sent out a vague email that upset students, but as a PR tactic she did what she should do. But, this upset many students, including myself, because we do have a right to know what is going on, especially in a case like this when the media is all over it. It becomes a safety concern when students are not well-informed of risky situations, especially with the man on Alumni Way. We should have been notified of that the night of, not the next day. I thought that was why we have all of the safety measures in place, such as the text alert system. On the other hand, Witt has the right to remain vague because this is bad press for them and any company in this sort of situation, regarding receiving bad press, will want to hide as much as they can and say as little as possible. I understand this is extremely frustrating for  the student body, myself included, but I feel this is type of situation will occur numerous times throughout our lives. I know when I was on the executive board of my sorority, things would happen that we didn't tell the chapter, or we were vague about. Whether this is right or wrong, I don't know, but I do know that is happens everywhere and that is why there are the people in charge who's job is to handle these sticky situations. But nonetheless, we should all come together as a community, and hope that that things only go upward from here on out.

story ideas

I will admit I have found it to be a bit difficult this time around to think of a few story ideas. Two that I am debating between doing myself are the WittPAC and this week's events by Women in Power. I'm not sure if that is exactly who is sponsoring this week's events but I think it would be a cool story to interview them and see how they think their week's events will impact the campus with all of the recently reported sexual assaults. The second idea I am thinking I might do is the group on campus, Witt Peace Alliance Club that I believe was just formed last year. I might need some more background info on them but I know they are hosting a movie night next Tuesday. I thought it would also be interesting to see how they are handling the sexual assaults as well as other safety concerns on campus, such as the armed man on Alumni Way this weekend. A third idea I thought could be fun was something that dealt with Halloween and how Witt students celebrate and maybe talk to people in Springfield to see what the city does to celebrate in a safe manner.

Drinking on Campus

It is not a secret that Wittenberg is known for their parties, and I am okay with that. I think that everyone is allowed to have a little fun on the weekends as long as you are putting in your time with your other work. I believe Wittenberg students also know how to control themselves, in a sense that it is fairly rare that you hear about someone being sent to the hospital after a night of one too many. I was forewarned about Wittenberg's party habits by not only my father, who graduated from here, but also from my tour guide. He said that students here "work hard, but also party hard." Even though I think that is inappropriate to say on a tour to prospective students, I think he described Witt perfectly. This might just be me, but since I turned 21 I do not like going to the big parties on campus. Nowadays, I prefer to go hang out with my closer friends and have a few and make memories with people I will still know the day after the party, and not just during the party.

Just another class

One thing I love about Witt is the fact that it is a liberal arts school and I have the opportunity to take classes that I would never have the opportunity to take at a large, state school. With that having been said, there is also a downside. The one class I could not stand was for my gen ed requirement and I had no interest in the topic of discussion at all. The class was my geology 110 course that I took the fall of my junior year. I am in no way, shape or form a scientist, nor do I desire to be one, and this professor taught this into level course as if we were all aspiring to be geologists. The crazy thing is he even asked on the first day how many of us were in the geology program, and not one student raised their hand. Essentially, the problem was that the teacher had a hard time simplifying his information to make it easy enough for us to understand. It was also difficult, because even when I would go to meet with him he was not helpful at all. What was reassuring to me though was that I was not alone, and almost everyone in that class felt like they were drowning with no one to save them. On the other hand I have definitely enjoyed more classes than not here at Wittenberg. I would have to say that my all-time favorite at the moment is my horsemanship class that I am currently enrolled in for my gym credit. Every Wednesday our class travels 45 minutes to Marmon Valley Farm where we get to ride horses for two hours. We split our time between trail rides and personalized lessons in the arena which is a great time. I think it is awesome that Witt offers a course like this, which brings me back to my love for the liberal arts education. Below is a picture of me and my horse, Jasmine.

The Ultimate Culture Shock

Every Sunday night my roommates, a few friends and myself gather in my apartment at 10:00 for the viewing of Breaking Amish. I have come to really enjoy this show because I find it very interesting to see how the Amish view our society. The Amish are so far removed from our society that it has to be the ultimate culture shock for them to see how we live our everyday lives. The show follows around three girls and two boys who are in their twenties and are currently shunned from their families back home and are living in New York City. Their families are too upset with them that the young adults are allowing cameras to follow them around and are defying almost all of their beliefs to live in New York City, that the families do not even talk to them anymore. It is fascinating to me to watch the five people learn basic daily routines that we take for granted, such as how to operate an elevator or how you can portray yourself through different styles of dress. The Amish are brought up having so many restrictions that I can't blame them for going wild when they are finally allowed to have some freedom. I also find it interesting to see how they handle their new found freedom. It amazes me that they live in towns near us, for instance I live 45 minutes away from an Amish community, and they have isolated themselves so well that they have blocked out almost all influences of our culture. According to a study from 2010, there are about 249,000 Old Order Amish living in the United States. I feel like that is a decent portion of our population and I think this show is a great way for many Americans to learn more about their culture as well.

The Art of Blogging

Personally, I am not a fan of blogging. The reason I like journalism is because I can be objective and I do not have to insert my opinion in the story at all. I understand that journalism is changing and blogs have become a major source for many people to obtain their news, but call me old school because I do not like it. I will admit that I have warmed up to the idea a bit more through the blogs I have written for this class, but I still find it extremely difficult to put my opinion in a story that is open to the public. I think this is because I am a somewhat private person and I prefer that my personal opinions and experiences are not available to everyone and anyone on the Internet. I also think blogs have created a new level of journalism because anyone can write a blog and put it on the Internet for anyone to read. The level of credibility of the author has decreased because anyone can write a news story and claim it is the real deal. What I do like about blogging though, is that the author can include not only pictures with their story, but also videos and links to websites that are associated with their story. I think it will be very interesting to see what the future has in store for blogs, and I mean if they grow and become more popular or die out.

liberal arts, liberal views?

Personally, I have come to find that many of the professors here at Wittenberg tend to have more liberal political views. When I first came to Witt I expected the exact opposite. I figured that since we are small, private institution that many of the professors would be conservative. I'm not saying this is good or bad, but I would like more of a balanced mix. But, I would say that I have learned a great deal from my professors who share different beliefs from me. When it comes to the students here, I believe that the majority of them are conservative. This might just be my bias though, since I tend to hang out with peers who have the same beliefs as me, I might only interact with the conservative students and be blinded to more liberal students. I also find it strange that there is no College Republican club, because the College Democrats are in full swing this election season. I like that there is nice mix of conservative and liberal students on campus because this provides for a great opportunity to learn from one another. My eyes have been opened to many new views on certain issues just from talking to fellow peers and I can honestly say that has influenced how I view the two candidates for the upcoming presidential election.

Yumm

Since this is the first year on my own, I have also had to learn how to to cook for myself. This has been nothing short of an adventure. Luckily I have a meal plan at adpi for dinners, but that is only during the week. I am not very talented in the kitchen but, I can honestly say I have enjoyed learning from my roommates how to cook. If it were up to me I would have cereal, turkey sandwiches and pasta everyday. Recently, I have been becoming a bit more adventurous and I have used our grill for both hot dogs and hamburgers and I made/under cooked pancakes the other morning. According to USA Today, 59% of college students say they know their diet has gone downhill since they went to college. I would say that my diet was somewhat healthy because I always had healthy options prepared for me that I could chose from, but now that I am dependent on my own cooking skills the healthy options are not always available. It is sad that the unhealthy food is faster to make which makes it more tempting for a college student in a time crunch to make. I hope that throughout the school year I can develop my cooking skills for the future when I am completely independent. 

Life after Witt

For my next story idea I was thinking of investigating the new bricks on Alumni Way. Obviously they are names of alums, but it might be interesting to see why they were just now placed there, why some are on the hill next to the library, and are there more to be placed there. I also want to know how much they are, how and when alumni purchase them, where the money goes, and the maintenance of each brick, because the ones on the hill are in very poor condition and are barely legible. I want to know why they are doing it now, before homecoming, and why has it taken them so long to put those bricks in place. In case that story doesn't pan out though, my back-up idea is to do something on service opportunities at Witt. In particular, I was thinking how students work with Springfield Promise Neighborhood, and I think they have an event coming up unless it already happened, the Greek service day this Saturday, and also the CROP walk that takes place in the end of September. I think it is great that we have those opportunities to get involved in the community and I would like to learn more about it.

Home is where the heart is

Earlier today I was walking with my roommate and we started talking about how we find it amazing that so many students, travel from out of state, and even out of the country to attend Witt. According to Witt's website, students are from 39 states and 30 countries. I find that amazing. I am from the suburbs of Cleveland and I knew that a 3 hour drive was my maximum. Even though I typically only go home on breaks, I like the option that if I needed to I can go home and come back to Witt all in one day. I have several friends from states such as Colorado and Massachusetts and I admire them for only going home a few times a year, due to the high costs of travel. I am pretty close to my family and I am super excited to see them this Saturday when they come visit. Personally, I think it is important to maintain a close relationship with our parents but I totally understand that it is not always feasible. But, one of the reasons I love Witt is that the students are so diverse and I have learned a great deal from my friends who are from not only different parts of the country, but from different parts of the world.

Red, white and green

For my semester long story, I want to create a story that explains every way in which Wittenberg is "Going Green." This will include everything from the bike rental system, the types of light bulbs used in the dorms, and why there is not recycling available for students who live in the apartments. I plan on talking to the director of Physical Plant, John Paulsen, on how they have made changes on campus to help in the green movement. I would also like to talk to the president of PoWeR, and the residents of the Lodge, who were selected to live there in a environmentally friendly way to demonstrate to students how they can make changes in their daily lives. I would also like to contact professors in the biology and the chemistry departments because I was told that they have made changes in their labs to become more eco-friendly. The only major concern I foresee is that I might run into too much information and I will have to cut some sources  or topics when it comes to compiling the story. I am excited to get started next week with this story and I hope everything goes smoothly!

Don't Stop Running

This Saturday I will be participating in my first 5K, and I am scared to death. Even though I played soccer and ran track in high school, athletic events make me quite nervous. I feel that I am a bit behind the times since all the rage currently is to get active and fit. This summer alone, the big rage was over events such as the Color Run, the Warrior Dash, and the Tough Mudder. The Color Run is a 5K race that at each 1K checkpoint they spray the runners/walkers with a different color of paint. This summer I had many friends who participated in the July 21st, Color Run in Columbus and they absolutely loved it! The Warrior Dash is also a 5K but it is lined with several obstacles, such as jumping over fire and there is large amount of mud spread throughout the course. The first Warrior Dash race was held in 2009, and in 2012, the company will host 65 races throughout the United States, Australia and Canada. This is proof of the recent interest in physical activities and how many people are finding fun ways to use both their mental and physical strength. The Tough Mudder, is a 10-12 mile course that involves even more obstacles then the Warrior Dash, and has had more than half-a-million participants worldwide. The Tough Mudder was co-founded in 2010 and each race raises money for the Wounded Warrior Project, which is a charity that helps "veterns returnign from the battlefield or the families of those who have lost a loved one during a war. Now this Saturday my boyfriend and I will not be jumping over fire, or walking through an ice bath, but we will be participating in Beavercreek's Annual Popcorn Festival 5K. I can't wait for the race to commence and for me to enjoy a nice bag of homemade popcorn!

toughmudder.com

The Last Year

The past three years have come and gone, and senior year has finally arrived. I have heard from several alums that senior year would be tough, but I did not realize how tough it would be. Not only am I balancing the workload of six classes, but I am also debating whether to go to grad school or not. I have come to realize that senior year is not only about finishing my undergraduate degree but also about making decisions in regards to my future. I plan on taking the GRE, hopefully this fall, because I will at least have a fallback option if the job route does not pan out in my favor. I am currently in the program Comm Leaders, which has me thinking that I should get a job right after graduation and I could potentially go to grad school after I start my career. My dream job would be to work in a major corporation's communication department and write press releases and work with the media during special events. When I was interning for the West Life newspaper this summer I met several people who were in this position and I was able to learn from them about their careers. I loved being a reporter this summer but I did not like crazy hours and the unpredictability of my schedule. If I worked in the communication department of a company I could still write and meet with the media, but I would have a set of regular hours and I would be able to do more things other than just writing. Hopefully I decide sooner rather than later which path is right for me, but for right now I am going to enjoy every last minute of my Wittenberg experience!

Politics at Wittenberg

To be honest, I am not interested in politics as much as I should be. Many of the issues such as the economy, women's rights and healthcare affect me and I should pay more attention and be more informed. It is hard to make myself read the news or even watch television because it is hard to tell what is true and what is slander. It was interesting to see how much my classmates knew in regards to the major issues and it made me realize how important it was to be well informed for the upcoming Election. Since I plan on voting in the Election I know it is extremely important for me to become well informed about each issue and how the candidates stand on each issue. When I do read about politics I go straight to the Internet, which I found that many of my classmates do too. I prefer AOL because I find their layout easy to use and their stories to be trustworthy. What turns me off though are the incessant commercials on television where each candidate just bashes the other one. I get frustrated with the fact that the candidates are not preaching what they could do for their country, but instead are bringing down their opponent. I am excited to hear everyone's stories on this subject because I hope they will motivate me to read further information on the upcoming Election.

New York Times at Witt

The free New York Times have been a staple in many students experience here at Witt. Many might even take it for granted that they are provided with a free issue of the New York Times each day. A few professors may also feel the same since they require students to read the paper in their class. As a journalism minor I think this is a wonderful opportunity that the university provides free issues of the New York Times to students. Last year rumors began circulating that the university was going to cut funding of the paper because of their debt situation and I heard that it cost around $20,000 each year. I claimed the story because I do not think that is fair to students to remove the paper, especially because the paper is a fundamental aspect in many various classrooms. I am excited to begin writing stories, even though I was fairly burnt out by the end of the summer and I never would have thought I would be feeling this way. I am a bit nervous that since all I have heard are rumors, the administration may not talk to me. I hoping that Jon Duraj will be receptive to me and willing to share information. I also plan on talking to professors who require students to read the Times in class and see how they expect this cut to affect their courses. Finally, I will speak to students who are both in classes that require them to read the Times and those who read the Times on their own on a regular basis. I am excited to get the ball rolling on this story and I hope everything goes smoothly!

Advanced news

I am very excited to be taking this Advanced News Writing course this fall. With my past experiences in journalism, I have grown to truly appreciate the profession and I would love to keep learning different aspects of the profession. This past summer I wrote numerous features on various topics throughout my internship, but I would like to expand and learn the techniques of writing a proper news story. I liked writing features because I could make each story more colorful, but I also enjoy how straightforward news stories are. I am excited to learn how the profession is changing and keeping up with technological advances, such as blogs. I also want to grow confident in meeting new people and taking charge in the interview. This summer I had to come up with my own story ideas and I found that to be difficult, so I am excited to also work on that skill throughout the course.