Profile Story on Claudia Siu
1/23/10
Masc. 303
By Ryan Stone
Claudia Siu came to Virginia Commonwealth University for the Columbia Scholastic awards when she was in high school and while at the campus she realized that it was where she wanted to attend college.
Siu is in her junior year as a broadcast journalism major at VCU. She is also double majoring in political science. She is however considering changing her major to print journalism because she is camera shy and she thinks a print journalism degree may look better on a degree.
The reason Siu decided to attend VCU was because when she was in high school she wrote for her school news magazine and they attended the campus for various conventions. She attended the Columbia Scholastic awards and many journalism related lectures at VCU. When she visited for these events she fell in love with the school and knew this was where she wanted to be.
“I like the diversity of people and the diversity of interests,” said Siu. I also really love Richmond. I think it's often ignored in a national scale, but it’s a very culturally rich and unique city. There's always something to do,” said Siu.
When Siu finishes school, she wants to go into broadcast as a reporter; however she wants to end up being an editor for a TV news station. She would also like to work as a cameraman for a TV news station. Her ultimate goal is to be an editor for a Spanish news station. She would also like to continue her education if circumstances allow.
Siu chose to double major in political science because she is interested in politics, and may one day pursue a career in political science.
“I think it's essential for anybody to understand the political system,” she said. Most of anything I enjoy the theoretical side of politics. I like learning about the different ways people choose (or don't) to be ruled.” Siu said.
“Growing up in Honduras allowed me to see the way a developing nation deals with their citizenry,” Siu continued. The government of Honduras is rather corrupt. I guess I like the combination of the reporting aspect of journalism and the understanding aspect of political science.”
Siu’s roommate and friend, Lianna Davies, thinks that Claudia has made the right career choice.
“When she told me this idea, I was impressed and excited for her,” she said. “It’s perfect for her. This career choice mixes all her interests in one: video editing, Spanish and politics.”
Siu was born and raised in Honduras. She then moved to the U.S. when she was 15 and lived with her mom in northern Virginia. Siu began attending VCU right after she finished high school in northern Virginia. Siu came to VCU as public relations major at first, but then decided that broadcast journalism was a better choice.
However, Siu does still miss her home country of Honduras. Her dad and brother still live there, along with many of the people she grew up with. She also misses her countries food and its people. The reason why she moved to the U.S. is because the opportunities here are much better for her. She would like to possibly return to Honduras to work as a journalist.
One of the reasons she wants to deliver Spanish news is because of her home country. She feels like she can understand the targeted audience. Siu would also like to report about things that occur in her home region and country. She also would like to report to the U.S. from whatever destination she is working for. However, Siu is not just limiting herself to Spanish networks, and says she would be happy to work with any news station.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Haiti
Ryan Stone
1/26/10
Masc. 303
Haiti Opinions
In my opinion it is hard to say that the journalists in Haiti are too close to the story. It is their country after all. You can’t blame them for reporting what is going on in their country. There is not much else to report that would be considered more important than those people who are suffering through these rough times.
I also don’t feel that there has been too much coverage about Haiti because everybody should be aware of this. The more people see coverage of it the higher the donations might be for the victims. However I wouldn’t say there has been too little coverage of the earthquake. They have covered it pretty well in my opinion. As long as they continue with the same amount of coverage I think it will be hard to say it didn’t get enough coverage.
In comparing the coverage of Haiti to other catastrophes I would say Haiti has gotten more coverage than some of them. I don’t think Haiti has gotten more coverage than 9-11 got and I don’t think it should Haiti was a natural catastrophe while 9-11 was basically a massive slaughter of innocent people. I also remember the day 9-11 happened that was all that was on TV even MTV was covering it nonstop. Haiti has however gotten more coverage than Katrina got. I remember like a week after Katrina the coverage let up a whole lot while the earthquake is still being covered a lot two weeks later. The earthquake has definitely gotten more coverage than the tsunami did; I never even heard that much about the tsunami, where as I have heard a lot about the earthquake.
1/26/10
Masc. 303
Haiti Opinions
In my opinion it is hard to say that the journalists in Haiti are too close to the story. It is their country after all. You can’t blame them for reporting what is going on in their country. There is not much else to report that would be considered more important than those people who are suffering through these rough times.
I also don’t feel that there has been too much coverage about Haiti because everybody should be aware of this. The more people see coverage of it the higher the donations might be for the victims. However I wouldn’t say there has been too little coverage of the earthquake. They have covered it pretty well in my opinion. As long as they continue with the same amount of coverage I think it will be hard to say it didn’t get enough coverage.
In comparing the coverage of Haiti to other catastrophes I would say Haiti has gotten more coverage than some of them. I don’t think Haiti has gotten more coverage than 9-11 got and I don’t think it should Haiti was a natural catastrophe while 9-11 was basically a massive slaughter of innocent people. I also remember the day 9-11 happened that was all that was on TV even MTV was covering it nonstop. Haiti has however gotten more coverage than Katrina got. I remember like a week after Katrina the coverage let up a whole lot while the earthquake is still being covered a lot two weeks later. The earthquake has definitely gotten more coverage than the tsunami did; I never even heard that much about the tsunami, where as I have heard a lot about the earthquake.
picture from google images.
Recyclemania
Ryan Stone
2/24/10
Masc. 303
Recyclemania
Recyclemania at VCU
By Ryan Stone
This year Virginia Commonwealth University will again compete in the yearly event Recyclemania, hoping to finish first rather than third place like last year.
Last year VCU was ranked 120 out of the 510 schools that competed. Statistics for Recyclemania are based on per capita by how much each student recycles and the size of the school. In last year’s competition the university recycled 12.57 pounds per student, that’s a total of 405, 810 pounds of trash. Last year was also VCU’s first full year participating in the competition.
The goals of Recyclemania as listed on the website, http://www.recyclemania.org/, are:
· Have a fair and friendly recycling competition.
· Increase recycling participation by students and staff.
· Heighten awareness of schools’ waste management and recycling programs.
· Expand economic opportunities while addressing environmental issues in a positive way.
· Lower waste generated on-campus by reducing, reusing, and recycling.
· Have the competition act as a catalyst for colleges and universities to build and expand waste reduction programs on campus.
Recyclemania has become more popular each year since it started in 2001. The first year there were only two schools competing Miami University and Ohio University. Since 2007 the number of schools competing has grown by over 400 schools. They even have over 100 more schools competing from last year’s Recyclemania.
The reason why Recyclemania was started is because colleges are small areas that tend to produce a lot of solid waste. Recyclemania allows recycling coordinators to get their campus involved in recycling in a friendly way. In Recyclemania’s past surveys they have seen that 80 percent of schools that participate had increases in recycling during the competition.
This year VCU is one of 607 schools, universities and colleges taking part in Recyclemania. There are 21 schools from Virginia taking part in Recyclemania. 382 of the schools are taking part in the Competition Division and 225 schools are taking part in the Benchmark Division. The Benchmark Division is not a competitive division and it does not have placement or official rankings. There are eight divisions inside of the Competition Division.
This year so far VCU ranks 116 out of 264 schools in the Grand Champion division. They rank 143 out of 343 schools in the Per Capita division. They also rank 86 out of 197 schools in the Waste Minimization division.
However Heinitz does think that Recyclemania has made VCU students more aware of recycling.
“I think Recyclemania has raised a lot of awareness thus far based on the large number of requests that we have received for new recycling containers and questions about the VCU Recycling Program,” said Heinitz.
However there is room for improvement according to VCU’s Recycling Coordinator Steve Heinitz.
“In order to keep improving our ranking in Recyclemania VCU needs to have a Waste Minimization Program in place to help faculty, staff and students reduce the amount of waste that they generate up front. With the three R's of Recycling Reducing the amount of waste we generate is number one, then Reuse materials is number two and then Recycling is the third Option before items should ever be placed in the trash,” said Heinitz. “We need to better a job of educating the Faculty, Staff and Students at VCU to use the three R's so they can assist VCU in minimizing the amount of waste we generate.”
Picture from google images
Sources: Steve Heinitz, VCU Recycling coordinator, srheinit@vcu.edu
Jordan Starbuck, Recyclemania coordinator at VCU, starbuckje@vcu.edu
2/24/10
Masc. 303
Recyclemania
Recyclemania at VCU
By Ryan Stone
This year Virginia Commonwealth University will again compete in the yearly event Recyclemania, hoping to finish first rather than third place like last year.
Last year VCU was ranked 120 out of the 510 schools that competed. Statistics for Recyclemania are based on per capita by how much each student recycles and the size of the school. In last year’s competition the university recycled 12.57 pounds per student, that’s a total of 405, 810 pounds of trash. Last year was also VCU’s first full year participating in the competition.
The goals of Recyclemania as listed on the website, http://www.recyclemania.org/, are:
· Have a fair and friendly recycling competition.
· Increase recycling participation by students and staff.
· Heighten awareness of schools’ waste management and recycling programs.
· Expand economic opportunities while addressing environmental issues in a positive way.
· Lower waste generated on-campus by reducing, reusing, and recycling.
· Have the competition act as a catalyst for colleges and universities to build and expand waste reduction programs on campus.
Recyclemania has become more popular each year since it started in 2001. The first year there were only two schools competing Miami University and Ohio University. Since 2007 the number of schools competing has grown by over 400 schools. They even have over 100 more schools competing from last year’s Recyclemania.
The reason why Recyclemania was started is because colleges are small areas that tend to produce a lot of solid waste. Recyclemania allows recycling coordinators to get their campus involved in recycling in a friendly way. In Recyclemania’s past surveys they have seen that 80 percent of schools that participate had increases in recycling during the competition.
This year VCU is one of 607 schools, universities and colleges taking part in Recyclemania. There are 21 schools from Virginia taking part in Recyclemania. 382 of the schools are taking part in the Competition Division and 225 schools are taking part in the Benchmark Division. The Benchmark Division is not a competitive division and it does not have placement or official rankings. There are eight divisions inside of the Competition Division.
This year so far VCU ranks 116 out of 264 schools in the Grand Champion division. They rank 143 out of 343 schools in the Per Capita division. They also rank 86 out of 197 schools in the Waste Minimization division.
However Heinitz does think that Recyclemania has made VCU students more aware of recycling.
“I think Recyclemania has raised a lot of awareness thus far based on the large number of requests that we have received for new recycling containers and questions about the VCU Recycling Program,” said Heinitz.
However there is room for improvement according to VCU’s Recycling Coordinator Steve Heinitz.
“In order to keep improving our ranking in Recyclemania VCU needs to have a Waste Minimization Program in place to help faculty, staff and students reduce the amount of waste that they generate up front. With the three R's of Recycling Reducing the amount of waste we generate is number one, then Reuse materials is number two and then Recycling is the third Option before items should ever be placed in the trash,” said Heinitz. “We need to better a job of educating the Faculty, Staff and Students at VCU to use the three R's so they can assist VCU in minimizing the amount of waste we generate.”
Picture from google images
Sources: Steve Heinitz, VCU Recycling coordinator, srheinit@vcu.edu
Jordan Starbuck, Recyclemania coordinator at VCU, starbuckje@vcu.edu
Valentine's paper
Ryan Stone
2/10/10
Masc. 303
Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is a holiday that we celebrate every year, but what some people don’t know about Valentine’s Day is that it causes problems for some people.
Valentine’s Day was named a holiday on February 14 496 A.D. by Pope Gelasius I in Rome. The day is also named after the Patron Saint-Saint Valentine. As time has passed this holiday has grown from love messages to dozens of overpriced roses and boxes of chocolate. The first widely produced Valentine’s cards were in the 1840s. They were made by Esther Howland, who lived in Massachusetts.
The Greeting Card Association (GCA) is the business that profits the most around Valentine’s Day. It is the second most popular day to send cards, besides Christmas. There is an estimated 190 million cards given each year on Valentine’s. If you include classroom valentine’s there will be 1 billion Valentine’s given this year.
More than 80 percent of Valentine’s cards are purchased by women, however more men purchase cards on Valentine’s than any other occasion. The GCA makes $7.5 billion dollars in annual sales in the U.S. It is also believed that 15% of women send themselves flowers on Valentine’s Day.
Deborah Prillaman, an exercise science major at VCU, feels like Valentine’s Day puts people under too much pressure.
“It puts people under pressure too much pressure to get the right gift and to spend money that shouldn’t be spent for a specific day,” she said.
In countries such as India, Hindu radicals hate the celebration of Valentine’s Day. The Hindu radicals believe that foreign cultures have ruined Indian culture. In India last year many young couples were attacked by Hindu fanatics for celebrating the holiday.
Valentine’s Day can be a hard day for people who don’t have a significant other or valentine. Some single people realize how lonely they are on Valentine’s Day when they see other people with their gifts.
Dr. James Houran, director of psychological studies at TRUEBeginnings conducted a study on “Valentine’s Day Blues.” His study showed that people who do not participate in gift giving on Valentine’s Day show signs of emotional stress from mild depression to noticeable anxiety.
This information proves that Valentine’s Day can have negative side effects for some people. There are many websites now that offer advice for single people on Valentine’s Day to prevent depression, like http://thefuntimesguide.com/2006/02/funbeingsingle.php. For people who have Valentine’s it can have a negative side effect on their wallet, there are not as many websites to help people with this, however there are plenty of sites that suggest how to spend your money.
2/10/10
Masc. 303
Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is a holiday that we celebrate every year, but what some people don’t know about Valentine’s Day is that it causes problems for some people.
Valentine’s Day was named a holiday on February 14 496 A.D. by Pope Gelasius I in Rome. The day is also named after the Patron Saint-Saint Valentine. As time has passed this holiday has grown from love messages to dozens of overpriced roses and boxes of chocolate. The first widely produced Valentine’s cards were in the 1840s. They were made by Esther Howland, who lived in Massachusetts.
The Greeting Card Association (GCA) is the business that profits the most around Valentine’s Day. It is the second most popular day to send cards, besides Christmas. There is an estimated 190 million cards given each year on Valentine’s. If you include classroom valentine’s there will be 1 billion Valentine’s given this year.
More than 80 percent of Valentine’s cards are purchased by women, however more men purchase cards on Valentine’s than any other occasion. The GCA makes $7.5 billion dollars in annual sales in the U.S. It is also believed that 15% of women send themselves flowers on Valentine’s Day.
Deborah Prillaman, an exercise science major at VCU, feels like Valentine’s Day puts people under too much pressure.
“It puts people under pressure too much pressure to get the right gift and to spend money that shouldn’t be spent for a specific day,” she said.
In countries such as India, Hindu radicals hate the celebration of Valentine’s Day. The Hindu radicals believe that foreign cultures have ruined Indian culture. In India last year many young couples were attacked by Hindu fanatics for celebrating the holiday.
Valentine’s Day can be a hard day for people who don’t have a significant other or valentine. Some single people realize how lonely they are on Valentine’s Day when they see other people with their gifts.
Dr. James Houran, director of psychological studies at TRUEBeginnings conducted a study on “Valentine’s Day Blues.” His study showed that people who do not participate in gift giving on Valentine’s Day show signs of emotional stress from mild depression to noticeable anxiety.
This information proves that Valentine’s Day can have negative side effects for some people. There are many websites now that offer advice for single people on Valentine’s Day to prevent depression, like http://thefuntimesguide.com/2006/02/funbeingsingle.php. For people who have Valentine’s it can have a negative side effect on their wallet, there are not as many websites to help people with this, however there are plenty of sites that suggest how to spend your money.
picture from google images
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
2010 NCAA Tournament
Well here we are at the Sweet 16. There were plenty of surprises in the first two rounds of the tournament. Kansas losing killed many people's brackets and another popular final four pick, Villanova lost as well. Besides Kansas losing the biggest surprise to me was Georgetown losing in the first round and the way they lost. They were beaten badly by Ohio, who was a nine seed in the MAC conference tournament. Most people had Georgetown at least in the Sweet 16 and many had them playing Kansas in the Elite Eight. Enough about last weekend lets get into the picks for this weekend.
West Region
Syracuse will beat Butler by double digits.
Kansas State will squeak by a tough Xavier team.
Syracuse and Kansas State will be a great game, Kansas State has an edge with their guards, but I think the size and depth of Syracuse will be to much as they win a close game and move on to the Final Four.
Midwest Region
Michigan State and Northern Iowa will be an interesting game with Lucas being out he is State's best player. I realize they won in the last seconds without him Sunday, but without him for a whole game is different. However Michigan State should have an advantage inside so I pick them.
Ohio State and Tennessee should be a great game as well, but Ohio State has a number one pick talent in Evan Turner and he will carry them on.
Ohio State and Michigan State know each other well and Michigan State should know that Evan Turner plays for Ohio State and Kailin Lucas is not playing for Michigan State. Ohio State wins and goes to the Final Four.
East Region
Kentucky will get more of a fight from Cornell than any other team so far but they will still win by double digits.
West Virginia and Washington has the potential to be a great game and with Bryant being out for West Virginia it helps Washington's chances, but inside I think West Virginia is to skilled for Washington and they win that way.
Originally I had West Virginia beating Kentucky but without Bryant against John Wall I can't see West Virginia winning. If the game is close though West Virginia will find a way to win, but I'm picking Kentucky to go to the Final Four.
South Region
Baylor and Saint Mary's, or the Australian national team, should be an interesting game both teams have good post play and guard play. When teams match up this well it often comes down to athleticism and that edge goes to Baylor.
Duke and Purdue would be a phenomenal match up if Hummel wasn't hurt I realize they have won two games without him, but Duke's big three and size inside will be to much.
Duke and Baylor will be a good matchup, but the big three of Duke will be to much for Baylor to keep up with. Duke goes on to the Final Four.
West Region
Syracuse will beat Butler by double digits.
Kansas State will squeak by a tough Xavier team.
Syracuse and Kansas State will be a great game, Kansas State has an edge with their guards, but I think the size and depth of Syracuse will be to much as they win a close game and move on to the Final Four.
Midwest Region
Michigan State and Northern Iowa will be an interesting game with Lucas being out he is State's best player. I realize they won in the last seconds without him Sunday, but without him for a whole game is different. However Michigan State should have an advantage inside so I pick them.
Ohio State and Tennessee should be a great game as well, but Ohio State has a number one pick talent in Evan Turner and he will carry them on.
Ohio State and Michigan State know each other well and Michigan State should know that Evan Turner plays for Ohio State and Kailin Lucas is not playing for Michigan State. Ohio State wins and goes to the Final Four.
East Region
Kentucky will get more of a fight from Cornell than any other team so far but they will still win by double digits.
West Virginia and Washington has the potential to be a great game and with Bryant being out for West Virginia it helps Washington's chances, but inside I think West Virginia is to skilled for Washington and they win that way.
Originally I had West Virginia beating Kentucky but without Bryant against John Wall I can't see West Virginia winning. If the game is close though West Virginia will find a way to win, but I'm picking Kentucky to go to the Final Four.
South Region
Baylor and Saint Mary's, or the Australian national team, should be an interesting game both teams have good post play and guard play. When teams match up this well it often comes down to athleticism and that edge goes to Baylor.
Duke and Purdue would be a phenomenal match up if Hummel wasn't hurt I realize they have won two games without him, but Duke's big three and size inside will be to much.
Duke and Baylor will be a good matchup, but the big three of Duke will be to much for Baylor to keep up with. Duke goes on to the Final Four.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)