Semester is Almost Over - Reflection

So I made this blog at the beginning of the semester because it was an assignment for one of my classes - Report and Copy Editing. I thought the idea of blogging was cool so I made my blog page with an idea in mind that I would be able to continue blogging after the semester was over and I was no longer posting purely for class assignments.

Here I am, at the very tail end of the semester. I am looking back on my semester as a very productive period of personal growth. As I normally tend to do, I hoped to do so much more than I had time for (like maintain this blog for example). Yet, what I accomplished leaves me a lot to be proud of.

If anybody out there reads this and is either an undergraduate student, or somebody who is considering bettering their life with education (I really have no idea who my audience is) and is unsure of what path to pursue: I highly, highly encourage the humanities as a first step.

The reason why I am encouraging the humanities - and for those who aren't sure of what I am talking about, here is a link to Stanford University's website page for the humanities (http://shc.stanford.edu/what-are-the-humanities) - is because I feel that my life has made a dramatic change since I decided to switch to a humanities major away from a life science, and it can very well have the same impact on you. And don't think I'm plugging for more humanities majors, but I am saying that the content is absolutely worth your time.

To give a background, I am a fourth year student. I changed my major at the end of my third year to English Rhetoric and Writing from Microbiology with a concentration in Biomedicine. Everybody I explain this to has the same reaction: "Wow, that's a big change."

I am inclined to agree to that statement. It is a big change. However I believe that people say what they say for a different reason. I think they say it is a big change because they believe I downgraded by switching my major from Microbiology to English. To the layperson, it sounds a little bit like a downgrade. Yet, I am surprised at how many people believe that Microbiology is inherently better than English. The message I am trying to get across today is do not get caught up in what will make you the most money with the least effort. Don't get caught up in getting through college as if it is some weird transaction. The salary out of college is massively important to so many people and is the biggest reason why people think I made a silly decision switching from Microbiology to English.

"You won't make nearly as much money," is what people think. Maybe not immediately, I agree. If I would have pushed myself, despite the huge signs telling me I wouldn't be happy in the field, I would have made at least $50k yearly out of college with an ~99% graduation to employment statistic. My financial future would have been very secure. Despite the fact that I didn't have the drive to take on the effort to learn the field well and despite the fact that I wasn't excelling in my classes, I would have made a good amount of money. As long as I graduated, I would have made a comfortable amount of money. If money is all that mattered I would have stayed.

But money does not matter. Money comes and goes, forever and always. You either have enough or you don't. Those who don't, probably don't have enough money for a greater reason than their major in college. So why do people tend to send so much flack towards English majors? Great question Jon, but I am already on a tangent, and I think that answer should be saved for another day.

The message I'm trying to convey today is thus: pursue what will make you happy. Life is fleeting, life is short (yadda yadda). What is the point of doing anything if we don't even believe in it? I got into science because I wanted to help people. I wanted to be a doctor, and save lives. I served on the ski patrol, and as a life guard. I still believe in those trades, strongly. But I feel better as an English major because I feel that I will be more able to help people (and now I'm really trying to stay grounded, and avoid making broad, ambiguous arguments) by studying ideas, philosophy, and language. Language especially is so powerful, and yet people have no idea the influence language has on them. I have no idea the influence language has on me, because it is immeasurable, yet I am beginning to grasp it.

I want to pursue law and eventually politics, because I don't want to sell myself short. My original plan was to use my talents to help people, and I still want to remain true to that. Just because my first plan, medical school, did not pan out does not discourage me. Literature and language encouraged me to continue in what I believed in because they empowered me to better myself as a person. This is just my personal experience.

Too many people get caught up in learning a trade to make money. I have to agree that that is the ultimate purpose of education, but there is so much more to learning. We have to better ourselves as individuals, in a way that makes us content in being who we are. I believe in the humanities because it teaches us about the human condition, what it means to exist in this insane thing we aptly call the human race. What it did for me is make me for comfortable being a scholar instead of a scientist, and resolve me on my path to helping any person I can by any means necessary.

I believe everybody needs to take the humanities seriously because it teaches us how to be people. Literature teaches us to understand other people in their brightest and darkest times. History teaches us where we have been and where we are going. Art teaches us the beauty and darkness of the mind and soul. Language expands thoughts and encourages communication.

In summary, the humanities is the basis for all human knowledge. If you are lost or confused in your path, try turning to literature, philosophy, history, art, language. My life has been forever changed as a result - I am more confident as a person, friend, employee, and leader.

Investigative News Reporting

Job brokers steal wages, entrap Indian tech workers in the US

https://beta.cironline.org/reports/job-brokers-steal-wages-entrap-indian-tech-workers-in-us/

The investigation project I looked into has seven parts. After reading the first part, I can see that in the initial part of the investigation, CIR looked into legal documents and interviewed the victims involved to get an inside look at the immigrant labor abused in the tech industry. They attempted to interview the public relations departments at the companies that have been abusing the immigrant tech workers with financial restraints and legal repercussions if they try to leave or find a new job, but most of the time they were either denied an interview or were given a statement of denial. What they discovered in the course of the first part of this investigation was that these immigrant workers, mostly from India, are being restrained with legally binding contracts and lawsuits, usually signed without the workers understanding their rights, and often times paying the workers much less than they deserve and even suing them for the money they made when they try to get out. 

This investigation is absolutely necessary for our society. Without this kind of investigation, many would not know about the abuses of these immigrants, and nobody would be looking to resolve the problem. A lot of the victims cannot communicate their grievances effectively for varying reasons, and a lot of other times the victims simply return to their home country, defeated. It is the responsibility of journalists to uncover these abuses of power and bring them to the public light, so better reforms can be made. The problem of 'Techsploitation' is an ongoing one, that has been addressed by Congress before, but because of tech broker lobbyists and a lack of government oversight, the problem is persisting. Hopefully this investigation will prompt more attention from Congress and the government to find a resolution to the problem. 

Leads

Newsweek: Islamic State Kills 85 More Members of Iraqi Tribe
http://www.newsweek.com/islamic-state-kills-85-more-members-iraqi-tribe-281570

This lead sufficiently answers many immediate questions, as it is a hard news lead and is therefore an immediate-identification lead. I found it interesting that the lead was organized as its own paragraph, so it is a one sentence lead paragraph. I think it works because the sentence is a little longer for a lead, and it also satisfies all of the news questions except for How.


Newsweek: Why Do Some Die From Ebola and Others Survive?
http://www.newsweek.com/why-do-some-die-ebola-and-others-survive-281157

This lead is an immediate-identification lead, because it starts with how many people died as opposed to delaying that fact. It is a fairly satisfactory lead, but is made very strong with the sentence that is followed up by it that answers the remaining questions. Unlike the first story I analyzed, this one is made up of two smaller sentences, instead of one long sentence. It is a hard news story because the study it's talking about was published only the day before.


Newsweek: 'Distractions Is on the Syllabus': Poet Explains Why He's Teaching a Penn Class Called 'Wasting Time on the Internet'
http://www.newsweek.com/distraction-syllabus-poet-explains-why-hes-teaching-penn-class-called-wasting-time-280858

The lead in this story is interesting. Most interesting to me, is they quoted a tweet in the very first sentence of the article. It is a soft news story, so they quoted tweet can work for the story. The story is designed to entertain and inform, so they purposely held off important questions like Why and How is this class relevant and worthwhile. The nut graph of the story is actually a few paragraphs in, because it finally explains why the class is being offered and how it is going to teach the students, which is the actual importance of the story.

Photography - Rule of Thirds is Not an Absolute

I like this picture because it shows action during the act. The bottom player is along bottom horizontal third of the picture while the top player is at the top right intersection of thirds. This, I believe, is what gives the picture such a stunning quality. I also like how only the foreground of this picture is in focus. It draws the eyes to the action and leaves the background quiet so as not to distract.

This picture is incredible. I still can't believe that this is real. While the photographer broke the rule of thirds by putting the subjects in the middle of the picture, the subjects are strong enough that it does not matter. I like how the horizon is along the top third of the picture, and there is only grass below that. Since the picture was taken in the woods, it gives the picture a clearing while not taking away from the scenery. Unlike the first picture, the background is entirely in focus, but this works because it only adds to the picture and does not take away from it. In the first picture, the background is out of focus because there are people and pictures behind the subjects that can take away from the image, while this picture only has scenery that adds to the strength and delivery of the picture.

Space and Money - UW-L is Adapting

Students, faculty, and community members filled the Ward Room this Tuesday to discuss the proposed field house and parking issues at an open forum with Chancellor Gow. In an impressive turnout, students and community members pressed the Chancellor for answers regarding all sorts of issues stemming from the deteriorating Wittich Hall, and the new student center, which may break ground in October. The UW-L campus is the smallest in acreage in the UW school system. Add a record enrollment and increased faculty and we find ourselves in the middle of a fight for space. Space that is for gymnastics, wrestling, community events, classes, and parking.

Most upcoming and pressing is the new student center, which will be located where commuter lot 6 currently lies. Once the ground is broken, that lot will be unavailable and all students and faculty that use that lot will have to relocate elsewhere. This was anticipated, and a parking ramp was built in advance behind the Cleary Center. Space will be more limited, however. Chancellor Gow said the University is moving to further increase the amount of parking spaces available to accommodate. In the plan is adding two more levels to the parking ramp, and providing temporary parking by the Veteran’s Memorial Stadium and Emerson Elementary School.

Another special issue is in regards to Wittich Hall. Because of its age, Wittich is in need of renovations. The hall is designated a historical site so it cannot be destroyed. Therefore, renovations are indeed required otherwise the hall will become uninhabitable and useless. Wittich is currently used as a gymnasium for the gymnastics team, and has space for faculty offices and classes as well. Many are wondering where those people will go instead of Wittich. The proposed solution is included within The Play 4 All Seasons concept, which contains three different projects. Most notably is the new student field house, which will include an NCAA level track and other recreational facilities for students to use. By moving the track to a new field house, space is freed inside of Mitchell Hall for the gymnastics team and wrestling team to move in. Therefore, the plan would free up space within Wittich to allow renovation. However, the plan will not be without pains for those who will be moved around. “We’re looking at what is the best for the greatest number of people,” said Chancellor Gow. The important step for UW-L is to free up the space in Wittich as not to cause a real problem when the time comes to close it up for fixing. Chancellor Gow said the solution for what to actually do within Wittich Hall is still unresolved and may take over twenty years from now to actual completion.

The Play 4 All Seasons concept is still up for approval from the student population. A student referendum is scheduled for October 14^th. If the concept is not approved, then the issue will have to be questioned further and a new proposal will be made. If the concept is approved, then the school will move forward with the projects. Like the student center project, The Play 4 All Seasons concept will be partially funded by students, coming out of the segregated student fees. The increase in seg fees will go up by only $20 per year for three years. The 2018-2019 year, the fee will go up by $72 per year. The fee increases are designed to limit what older students will have to pay because they will not be able to benefit from the projects. Like the students who voted for the REC in 1985, we will vote for new and improved facilities that will only be enjoyed by the students of the future. The goal is to make UW-L the best possible university of tomorrow. 

Jingyu Liang

Jingyu Liang is one of the many Chinese exchange students we are privileged to have at UW-L, however she is not just one of the crowd. While many exchange students study in the United States in order to either get a good job back home or here in the States, Jingyu is looking forward to studying at a graduate level, but not here. The Chinese management student is looking for acceptance at schools in England, Singapore, or Hong Kong among others. When asked, she said she was, in fact, not that fond of the culture here in the United States. “It’s very independent in the U.S.,” Jingyu said. While many Americans like myself take our vastly independent culture as normal, Jingyu finds it isolating at times. This writer is inclined to agree with Jingyu. Being from Guanghou, a city “equivalent to Chicago in size,” according to Jingyu, the independent lifestyle in a smaller city like La Crosse has been quite the adjustment.

Like many other college students, Jingyu is taking the changes in stride and focuses on the task at hand: studying and excelling in class. But when Jingyu isn’t studying or in class, she enjoys reading philosophy, behavioral and abnormal psychology, and hot yoga downtown. When time affords, Jingyu also likes to travel. She has been to Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Chicago, Boston, and New York among others. In China, Jingyu has been to the majority of the 23 provinces as well. It’s hard to tell where Jingyu will go in the future, she could end up anywhere. 

Journalism in a Democracy

What is the definition of news?

I believe that the news is any way of receiving truth that is about someone or something of relevance. I must add, even if it may be obvious, that news has to be new as well. To put it plainly, if I haven’t seen it or heard it, it’s news to me.

Journalist’s responsibilities in a democracy

Journalists are expected to deliver in a democracy. As consumers of the news, we expect that the news we get is relevant and appropriately delivered. That means that it is convenient for us to get, enjoyable to consume, and true to fact. We rely on journalists to be accurate with the news they deliver, so the pressure is on them to verify all of their stories for truth. Journalists should be loyal to the citizens with their reporting. That means that journalists should be independent, and not writing with the bias of another party in mind. Truthful and thoughtful reporting is entertaining, and informative, and protective. Our journalists at home inquire our government and defense, and remain ready to alert us at the first sign of tyrannical threat. It is quite important that journalists stay true to the ethics of reporting the truth to the world. When the facts are lost by collusion, all we get is propaganda, fiction, lies.

Photo retrieved from meebal.com

What is media convergence?

Media convergence, stripped down, is the coming together of media forms to one cohesive package. It is ideal to the consumer for their news to contain various forms of relevant media, including not just text but video, pictures and any related audio. Successful newsrooms are able to provide multiple layers of media for the consumer for important stories. It is quite disappointing to find a story that is all words and no visuals. Newspapers and printed forms of media are now outdated. I am excited for the future of journalism.