Finally It Ends

Election day is the best day of the year. You know why? Because everyone shuts up about politics for a little while. Not that I hate politics, don't get me wrong, I love them, I'm just super duper tired of the political adds, the voting stickers, and most of all the ignorant Facebook posts from both sides. The latter has to be the worst thing about political season. Facebook turns into a mine field of posts from a new crop of first voters and "Political Gurus" (yes someone actually called themselves that...) that makes me want to jump off a cliff. A very tall cliff over some jagged rocks. It'll be nice, for the next few weeks at least, to scroll through Facebook and not see photo shops of Romney turning into the devil, or the photoshopped photo of Obama pointing a shotgun at a baby (some sort of screwed up anti abortion ad). Anyway, I'm excited for the political peace and quiet on social media.

Party on Garth!

Beer soaked carpets, bathrooms with no toilet paper, and rescuing drunk people to bring them home pretty much sums up how I spend my weekends at Witt. Not that I'm complaining (or saying that I haven't had a night or two that I needed to be helped home), but if people say this isn't a party school, then I think they are sorely mistaken. Sure, there may not be parties every night of the weekend, however there is always something going on. I mean the list goes on and on, Sunday Funday,  Margarita/Messed Up Monday, Tequila/Trashed Tuesday, Witt Wednesday, Thirsty Thursday,  Fucked Up Friday, Shwasted/Sloppy Saturday...

I do think people need to be more careful when they go out because of all the bad things that can happen. Even thought Witt is small, it doesn't exclude it from crime, a fact that is all too apparent given recent events.

Breaking News: Dr. Adrien arrested and charged with rape and kidnapping.

Just wrote this,  I feel like this can fill my obligatory blog... stay tuned for details. I'll be tweeting/updating as soon as I receive the police report.

http://thewittenbergtorch.com/?p=6937

-Mags

Story Ideas

So currently I am sitting outside of the Springfield Art Museum waiting to see The Vagina Monologues, a controversial play that aims to empower women. However, before winding up here I've heard a lot of distain about it being on campus, asking why it's needed, and what's the point. I've heard that about all of the "Naked Truth Week" activities. So I think it would be interesting to know why people feel this way. Bam idea one.

Idea número dos: minorities and the election. I think it might be interesting to do a piece on the election from minority points of view, because minorities are commonly targeted in speeches, proposed legislation, and national discussion. I would try to make it local by focusing on the Witt community.

Idea trois: sexual assault on campus, the fliers, and who's fault is it. I think this is important because we received the news stories but nobody covered what campus/ students are saying. Another important thing that I think really needs to be addressed is why we didn't know about it when it happened and the fact that the victim is never to blame, which is commonly forgotten.

That's all I've got, let me know what you think!

Edit:  I'm going to cover number one.

Witt's Best and Worst

I can't tell you how many people ask me what my favorite class at Wittenberg has been. Easy answer; any class that Dr. Rosenberg has taught, simply because he is probably the most passionate professor I have ever had. When I go into one of his classes I know I'll be walking out with four pages of notes a a whole new view on Africa. However the flip side, my least favorite class, is a little harder to answer. I have pretty much liked all of my classes, except one: Journey Into The Fantastic a course in russian literature.  The class was really difficult to keep up with, 70-150 pages to get through on any given night. The journal prompts were vague and could be interpreted 50 different ways, so you had to guess which way the professor wanted it. God forbid you guess wrong and get an "F" on a paper. It was pretty rough.

Personal Post

So this isn't really what we've been using our blogs for in class but it's something I feel is important. Two years ago today I lost one of my best friends to cancer. Each year my friends and I have decided to individually write a note to him and post it as a way to keep his memory alive. So on each of my blogs I've posted it, and this is no exception. Here we go.

Dear Mike,

It’s been two years, and a lot has changed but I still miss you just the same. I still can’t read Fahrenheit 451 without hearing you recite the lines with your goofy voice in effort to make everyone in class laugh. I can’t hear Brand New or Death Cab For Cutie without thinking of you with your guitar. It’s funny how people can stitch themselves into our lives without our knowledge, and the only reason we notice they’re gone is because they’ve been ripped from us.  I guess there are a lot of things I want to say right now, I want to thank you for, but I don’t have to words. It is hard to think it has been two years. You were truly a spot of sunshine in the lives of everybody you touched, and you always brightened my days. Even when you weren’t feeling your best you never failed to make people smile (I blame the crazy socks). You brought us joy through your music when you preformed at Java Live, or when you just played an impromptu tune out of the blue. The last thing I remember seeing you play was “I Will Follow You Into The Dark” by Death Cab For Cutie, and to this day every time I hear it I think of you.  Whether you knew some one or not, you never failed to help them if you could. I guess what I am trying to say, is that you were one of the kindest people I have ever met. One of the bravest people I have ever met. One of the strongest people I have ever met. Mike you were a hero. I miss you a ton. I think of you everyday. You were, and always will be, an inspiration to me. You have made me want to become a better person, and for that I thank you. Love you Mike. Rest in peace.

Here is one of the memorial videos that have been made for him: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmK5csEew1Y&feature=relmfu

Blog-a-log

Blogging about blogging. Irony. Blogging is actually really fun, and something I enjoy. I run four different blogs in addition to this one so keeping up with it can be a little rough. However, this is probably the most professional of them all, which adds another layer of pressure when posting here. Not only am I building a portfolio of blog posts but I'm also getting graded on what I post. When we were first told that we would have to run a blog for class I thought "Hey, this is great, I'll get credit for something I normally waste my time on," except blogging has become more of a chore than anything now. It's become another assignment atop a large stack of things to do, rather than the release it was before. However, I do like having this because I know that if I were having real trouble with a story there are 12 other people that could respond and help me along. I guess I'll just have to get used to this type of blogging.

Election Frenzy

During the election season, students have become more adimate about expressing their political beliefs. However, most of the students that have been speaking up allign themselves with the Democratic Party, and with the rise of the Campus Democrats group it makes Wittenberg seem very liberal upon first glance. But is Witt really as liberal as it appears at first glance? I don't think so. Several political discussions that have taken place within my friend group have made me question Wittenberg's political standing. I do believe there is a silent majority of conservatives on Wittenberg's campus. Many of the students that identify as Republican or Conservative do not feel comfortable speaking up for fear that their fellow classmates will disagree. Another thing that was brought up is the perception that all 18-25 year olds are liberal, which is definitely not the case.

I definitely think the faculty and staff are more liberal than the student body, however from my exprience it doesn't impact the way they teach in the class room very much. Many of my professors have prefaced the class with telling students which party they identify with as a way to keep things fair, and have even told us to call them out if we think they are being bias. I do believe that they are accepting of different views and opinions which helps the learning exprience.

A Week To Grieve?

Something my roommate and I were talking about last night struck me as a possible story idea, or at least a topic to explore. We were discussing the grieving process and she said something about it being rushed in our society when 70 years ago it was a year long respected process. I remember my nana telling me about how when each of her parents died when she was a child she had to wear all black for a year, there was limited social involvement, and if someone died within that year the whole process would start over from the beginning. However, now a days you get your week off of work and then you're expected to return and be a productive member of society. In the case of my roommate she had to go home for her fathers funeral and then return the next day for finals, which was really rough on her. I thought it would be interesting to see how "streamlined" the grief process has become over the years. This may not really pertain to Witt, but it's something I think could be a good feature piece.

Legal Creeping

So, tonight as I was sifting throughout addresses on the Clark County site for homework I had a stark realization that the same sort of search could someday be done on me once I own property. Yes, knowing how much I paid for my house isn't the most important thing to keep private, but it's just the start to all the things you can find out about someone by using the internet. We all hear the warnings "be careful about what you put on the web, you never know when it's going to bite you in the ass," but do people really listen to it?

So instead of doing other productive things (who has time for that anymore) I decided to quickly google the people in our class to see what the inter webs would spit out. You guys should really google yourselves, there's some gold out there.

Semester Long Article

My semester long article is going to be about the cost of partying on Wittenberg's campus. It's sort of an unseen cost of college that many don't really think about. One of the things I plan on exploring are the differences between greek and non-Greek students, the difference between being 21 or under 21, and the quality of what students are drinking and how that affects the cost and their health. I was thinking about expanding to see if people would be willing to talk about what drugs they use, but it might be a little to broad for only 600 words.

Dinner With The President

Tonight a few students and I entered the fish bowl to share a meal with incoming President Joyner to ask her questions as the "Diversity Group." Before going to this meeting I had an expectation that we would get the same cookie cutter Wittenberg answers to our questions. However, this was not the case. President Joyner made it perfectly clear that she would be changing things here at Witt, starting with the way the school handles recruitment and finical aid. She asked us about each of our experiences on campus and being "diverse students", and if she thought that changed/impacted our career at Wittenberg. At first, I was a little taken back, but as it thought about it, it was true. What made me "diverse" had impacted my path here at Witt, for one I would not have been as involved in the Center for Diversity as I am. She then asked us if we had faced any sort of hard ship here because of our individual differences. Every student at the table had something to say, from signs being posted on their doors, to being called a racial or homophobic slur by another student. She was shocked that she hadn't heard about these instances before. When she asked us what happened on a day to day basis when these instances occurred, we all laughed, and one student said "Wittenberg doesn't do shit." Which led to a conversation about how things are frequently swept under the rug and ignored because its bad PR for the university. Needless to say we opened her eyes to several problems on campus. She decided to visit each one of our organizations to see what Wittenberg can do to encourage diversity and cultural education on campus. Dr. Joyner already cares so much about Wittenberg, which make me hopeful that things around here might change.

NHL Lockout

   As October approaches a dark cloud looms over the head of hockey fans nation wide; the possibility of another NHL lock out. Unlike the lockout of the 2004-2005 season (of which the season was eventually canceled), this impending lockout has the potential to be worse, having many players considering traveling and playing in European leagues while details and deals are worked out with the NHL.
   The initial offer given by the league to the union contained cuts in players received hockey related revenue from 57 percent to 46 percent.
   The union and the NHL has until September 15th to work out a deal, otherwise the scheduled start of the season, set to start October 11th, could be pushed back to Thanksgiving, or even as far as Christmas.
   However, many players remain optimistic that the season will start on time, but are prepared to go on strike in the event that a deal is not struck.

The Election Season and Witt

I feel as if the interviews we did in class are a little bias because we are all journalism students, so we are more in tune to the news  and what is going on in the political arena. I feel that if we ventured out side of our class and interviewed a larger sample of Wittenberg students it would paint a very different picture than what we see as the "Witt political scene," or maybe cause us to realize that there really isn't one in the first place. However, those that care about politics aren't afraid to talk about it. I want to try and figure out what has led to ssh political apathy in our generation and why students don't think politics affects them when it definitely does. Financial aid affects all of us, as well as decisions made about health care, taxes, and various other laws that will be passed. I hope to at least understand a little about why this is through writing this article.

Witternet

My first article is going to be about the "witternet" or rather the wifi at Wittenberg. Many students feel it has been extraordinarily slower than last year, even with the emergence of three new networks. There is a lot of speculation on why the wifi is so slow, ranging from budget cuts, to what percentage of the wifi is dedicated to students usage. Another unconfirmed rumor claims that the Wittenberg network was built for PCs, which causes the wifi to be faster for PC users and causes Mac users to have slower wifi.

My plan is to go talk to the Solution Center and see their reasoning for why the internet has been slower than years past and if there is a solution in the works. Additionally, I plan to ask if there are ways for Witt students to boost the speed of their wifi.

First Thoughts

So far, this class seems like it will be lots of fun. It will be nice to be blogging for a grade instead of how I usually blog. I'm hoping that it will help me hone my skills as a writer and help me improve so I can better inform the Wittenberg community through The Torch. I also hope that this class can help me put together a solid portfolio to help me secure an internship with The Chicago Tribune next summer. All in all I'm really looking forward to this class this semester.