Journalism

I found out journalism is a lot harder than I thought. Between the never ending deadlines, impeccable grammar, and strict writing formats even the simplest story becomes a handful. I really had no idea what I was getting myself into and it's been a struggle. However, It was rewarding because I feel that I did learn some things along the way. It's always good to improve your writing skills. Those type of skills go a long way and aren't just limited to journalism. I definitely have a lot more respect for the field.

Car Bomb

It took just over 53 hours to catch the terrorist who attempted to set off a car bomb in Time Square. The bomb failed to go off, and Faisal Shahzad fled the scene unnoticed. FBI later caught Shahzad on a plane that was bound to the Middle East.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/05/nyregion/05tictoc.html?hp

Story 9

Who knew that Girl Scout leaders, and craft workshops could be the wake-up call to becoming an instructor? MaryAnn David, a business instructor at Cambridge’s Anoka-Ramsey Community College (ARCC) sure didn’t know. “I started teaching art workshops and trained adult Girl Scout leaders. Then it occurred to me that I wanted to be a teacher. I really enjoyed sharing my skills,” said David.

David has since then spent over 30 years as a teacher, and another 15 years as a college instructor. Today one can find her teaching business classes at ARCC. However, she won’t be there for all that much longer. “Currently I’m at retirement age; I plan to continue at this college as an instructor for perhaps a few more years but after that it’s time to pack my bags,” explained David.

Over the course of 45 years of teaching, David has learned a lot about herself she said. “I didn’t expect so much fun and enjoyment in doing what I now love to do! I didn’t ever think I could be teaching college level courses. It’s very exciting!” David stated.

“I have learned that the more I teach, the more I realize I don’t know. I learn so much from my students every day. It’s great to learn from them.” said David, “I am still in awe of what I do!”

During her time as an ARCC instructor, David said she had one student teach her an important lesson. There is nothing like a good nap. “I taught a keyboarding class to a very elderly couple (husband & wife) who tried their very best to manage the keyboard. Once though the elderly man fell asleep at the computer, and just leaned on the keys resulting in numerous pages of the same letter of the alphabet going on and on. I just let him sleep, as did his wife,” explained David.

However, David does the majority of the teaching in her classes. There she spends her time reaching out to students, and teaching them about computers and their software. But David said didn’t always teach about computers.

“I’ve always been a good typist and have had years of experience as a secretary. When everything changed to computers, I liked the idea of composing letters and messages via the keyboard and making corrections as you go. We used to use correction tape and white-out and before that, typing erasers and carbon paper. Can you even imagine?” stated David.

But that wasn’t the only thing that excited David she said. “I love the ability to think and speed-write as you go, and then make the corrections right in front of you before printing. Also, because I am not very good at math, I so enjoy Excel because it can do my math for me!” David explained.

Although David can agree that computers and technology often benefit people, there are some down sides she points out. “With today’s technology and the demand for accelerated, on-line classes, I feel the ‘personal touch’ has been lost. I believe personal communication is critical, and that seems to be gravitating more and more toward ‘texting’… where is the interpersonal communication and reading of body language to interpret the message as intended?” commented David.

Also David mentioned that technology doesn’t come without its faults. “The college network has a way of ‘acting up’ and it gets frustrating when the computer saves a student’s files to a place where they then can’t find them again,” explained David. “Sometimes though the students just need to pay a little bit more attention to where they save things,”

Although technology can be frustrating, it doesn’t have to be scary said David. “I wish for my students to not be afraid of the computers and to try new things out,” she said. With her older generation students David understands that most are afraid and don’t like the change that technology brings. She can relate.

“At mid-life, I once went from a manual typewriter on the job to an electric, and that was miserable! Younger folks don’t seem to hesitate about jumping into new things and adapting; perhaps they don’t have the experience behind them to see what could go wrong,” David stated.

However, she explains that one shouldn’t be held back by technology but embrace it. “I am at retirement age and going strong; my mother-in-law is 88 with a computer and plays games and surfs the Internet all the time,” said David, “But, I understand that computers can intimidate both the old and young.”

For the next couple years MaryAnn David says she will remain at the ARCC campus. During that time she says her positive and cheery personality will be there to continue to teach students to not be intimidated by computers. She boosts, “I’m quite animated and lively in the classroom.”

Origami Pollen

Dr. Eleni Katifori, previously from Harvard and Rockefeller University, studied the folding of flower pollen. As pollen dries out, it folds like origami. Originally the goal of the research was to discover the principles by which the folding occurs in nature. However, the research could be used by engineers who design structures.

New York Times -

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/27/science/27obpollen.html?ref=science

The Bookstore and your Wallet

According to a recent poll about the costs of textbooks at campus bookstores, the majority of respondents believe that the prices of books are way too high for the amount of use they get out of them. Jason Pieper, a student at Anoka-Ramsey College (ARCC) said, “I dread the start of every semester. The second I leave the bookstore after purchasing all my textbooks, I know that for the next few weeks the only food I’ll be able to afford is Ramen noodles.”

While everyone may not be forced to eat Ramen noodles after visiting the local campus bookstore, 27 out of the 31 or roughly 87% of respondents still believe that the costs of textbooks should be lower than what they are now. One of these respondents, student Jessica Williams added, “I think it is pretty ridiculous that I have to pay $225 for a single textbook when the class it’s for only costs about $400 to take.”

However, student Peter Lee doesn’t agree with Williams, saying that “Textbooks are quite valuable. If you’ve taken enough courses, you’ll understand just about everything you learn can be found in the book. So really you’re getting the same material for around half the price of the course. Most of the time there is stuff in the book that the class doesn’t cover, so that just adds to the value of the textbook.”

Benjamin Olson, one of the 31 ARCC students at the Cambridge campus polled, believes in just the opposite of what Lee said. Olson explained, “There’s been too many courses over the years that never once had me open the textbook I bought. All the information we needed was posted online or given out during class. What is the point of buying an expensive book if we’re never going to use it? It is a huge waste of money.”

Three out of the four respondents that thought the pricing of books was reasonable for their use all mentioned to some degree what Justin Lamb had to say. “I think the money invested in books gets outweighed by having the material you need to be successful in class. It is pretty hard to deny that books generally help improve your grade in class, as well as your understanding of the content. But also, they then provide a permanent source to turn to if you ever want to review the information you learned, that is assuming you don’t sell the books back,” Lamb explained.

However, in many situations students do sell back their books according to the poll. Of the 31 respondents, 21 of them sell back their semester’s worth of books to the bookstore. That is about 68% of the students polled. When asked why they sell their books back, all 21 respondents said they do it for the extra cash.

“When the end of the semester rolls around, I get excited. After selling back my books, I have enough cash to splurge a little. No more Ramen noodles for me, next stop McDonald’s Big Mac combo meal, super sized!” added Pieper.

Oops

The cat is out of the bag when it comes to Apple’s next iPhone. After an Apple engineer accidently left the iPhone prototype in a California bar, a person found it then peddled the phone off to a technology news site named Gizmodo for $5000. Since then the site has released footage of the new iPhone and its features. Late Monday night Gizmodo was contacted by Apple to have the device returned.

New York Times -

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/20/technology/companies/20apple.html?src=me&ref=general

Cafeteria

Many students take night courses at Anoka-Ramsey Community College (ARCC), and often miss their opportunity to eat a decent meal because of limited cafeteria hours. According to a recent poll about whether the cafeteria should have extended hours to be able to service all students or not, many believe that the cafeteria shouldn’t be open longer and it is the student’s responsibility, not the schools to acquire a healthy meal. Student Justin Adams said, “There is a reason why the cafeteria has the hours it does. It’s impractical to keep the cafeteria open during hours when it’ll cost more money to run than make. Plus, that money [to keep it open] would most likely come straight from the student’s pockets. A lot of people don’t even use the cafeteria, so why would they want to pay for it?”

However, not everyone agreed with Adams, saying that it is unfair that not every student receives equal opportunities, even when it came down to food. Amanda Ross, another ARCC student explained, “Not everyone has the means, or the time to eat a healthy meal before coming to class. As a night student, it is frustrating to only have vending machines to turn to. Many night students are busy during the day so they are forced to take classes at night. It doesn’t seem fair that these students aren’t afforded the same opportunities as the rest,”

So although cafeteria hours are unlikely to change in the near future, there are still some solutions to this dilemma. Prepare a meal ahead of time that can be brought to school. Often there is time between classes or during breaks for students to get a chance to eat. Even just bringing an apple can help ease the hunger before going home. Another option is to visit the cafeteria early, and buy something to eat later. There are many other possible solutions like these out there, they just requiring a bit of planning ahead of time.