Chuck Todd explains how voters have been voting for the candidates that they see the most change in.

Chuck Todd spoke at Morningside College in Eppley Auditorium at the annual Waitt Lecture Tuesday October 22. People will recognize Todd as the host of Meet the Press and a T.V. political director on NBC News.

Todd was able to keep the audience’s attention and kept them entertained by throwing in a few comments that made the audience laugh. “I think there are more zombies on the debate stage than there is on the Walking Dead.” The audience gave Todd an applause for this statement, and most laughed and shook their heads in agreement.

Todd informed the audience that when it comes to voting, most people vote for where they see the most change. He said that for the past twelve years voters have voted for change, but there still hasn’t been any, and that we are still heading in the wrong direction.

He went on by saying if people were asked if their children will be better off than we were today, most Americans say no.

Todd used his family as an example. He said, “My family is better today than they were ten years ago, but they cannot spend the money like they did ten years ago.”

He explained that people are going to vote for the leaders that have the most potenital in changing how this country is ran but he stated that, “No matter how red or blue the state is, of we want to change the parties has to prove otherwise.” Meaning that the parties need to be able to prove that they can promise and go through with the changes they say they will make.

Molly O’Neill

October 22, 2015

Being a Nursing Student

            A lot of college students go through periods where they are stressed and overwhelmed, but for nursing students it seems like that is a part of their everyday lives.

Students that are majoring in nursing can expect their lives to be very busy. Some characteristics of a nursing student are long hours, busy schedules, and a lot of late night studying. When asking Sara Desy, a third year nursing student, what that hardest thing about being a nursing major is, she responded, “Everything about it is hard.”

A typical week for Desy consists of going to classes from eight in the morning and finishing around noon everyday, with clinical hours twice a week. On Monday’s she is at the hospital from two until ten-thirty, and Thursdays from six in the morning until two-thirty.

Desy admitted that everything about being a nursing student is hard. She said, “I have no time for a social life, if I am not at class then I am doing my clinical hours, if I am not doing clinical hours then I am at class or spending my free time studying and working on homework assignments.”

For nursing majors, they need to maintain a 2.75 GPA and get above a 78% for it to be considered a passing grade. Some may think that that is a little harsh, and is one of the main complaints from nursing students.

Mary Kovarna has been a nursing educator at Morningside College for twenty years now. She has been a nurse since 1980 and first started out at St. Lukes.

When asked, why the grading scale was made like that, Kovarna response was, “For students that hover below that 78 percentile range are not learning what they need to know. People do not want a nurse that only knows three fourths of what they should know.” Overall she does not think it is harsh, it is what is expected from the students and it is what will make them a better nurse in the future.

Being in the nursing department is not only stressful on the students. It is also stressful on the professors as well. Kovarna admitted that the job gets stressful for herself at times as well. Some of the things that cause the professors stress are the demands on being a better school than others, and being judged on the board passing rates. The professors need to make sure their passing rates on their boards stay where they are supposed to be otherwise it can affect their job and the school.

Nursing school takes a lot of time an commitment, and a lot of students feel like giving up. Nurses today are a big help to nursing students. They can encourage them to keep working hard because it will pay off.

Megan Meyer is a nurse at St. Lukes Wagner ENT. She has only been a nurse for two years, but has loved being one so far.

When asked what were some of the struggles Meyer’s faced during school, her answers were similar to Desy’s. She said she never had a social life, and when it came to doing her clinical hours she felt like it was work without being paid.

Even though Meyer’s went through most of the common struggles nursing majors faced, she made through it. Meyer’s stated, “In the end it is all worth it. All of the clinical hours made me a well rounded nurse, and made me the nurse that I am today.”

Meyer’s also said that she gained a lot of good life long friends that she met because of the nursing program. It is easy to meet new friends because you are always with the same group of people, and you are with people that are going through all of the hard times as you are.

Even though being a nursing student can be stressful at times and very time consuming, it is possible to get through it. In the end all the long hours and hard obstacles nursing students go through will only help them at becoming a better nurse.

For this weeks weekly news comment I decided to write about the former NBA player Lamar Odom was found unconscious and is left in critical conditions after a drug overdose.

I think this story is news worthy because Lamar Odom is a popular name in sports. He has struggled with a drug addiction for some time now and most people are aware of that.

The audience for this article would be anyone that is a fan of Lamar Odom.  Or a sports fan in general.

I think the lead is effective because they state what happened right away and gave the details through out the whole article. The article is very informative and lets fans and readers know what is happening with the situation.

I don’t think that anything is missing from this article and would not change anything.

https://wordpress.morningside.edu/mro005/wp-admin/post-new.php

Molly O’Neill

October 15, 2015

Being a Nursing Student

            A lot of college students go through periods where they are stressed and overwhelmed, but for nursing students it seems like that is apart of their everyday lives.

Students that are majoring in nursing can expect their lives to be very busy. Some characteristics of a nursing student are long hours, busy schedules, and a lot of late night studying. When asking Sara Desy, a third year nursing student, what that hardest thing about being a nursing major is, she responded, “Everything about it is hard.”

A typical week for Desy consists of going to classes from eight in the morning and finishing around noon everyday, with clinical hours twice a week. On Monday’s she is at the hospital from two until ten-thirty, and Thursdays from six in the morning until two-thirty.

Desy admitted that everything about being a nursing student is hard. She said, “I have no time for a social life, if I am not at class then I am doing my clinical hours, if I am not doing clinical hours then I am at class or spending my free time studying and working on homework assignments.”

After talking to a nursing student, some input from a nursing professor was needed.

Mary Kovarna has been a nursing educator at Morningside College for twenty years now. She has been a nurse since 1980 and first started out at St. Lukes.

For nursing majors, they need to maintain a 2.75 GPA and get about a 78% for it to be considered a passing grade. Some may think that that is a little harsh, and is one of the main complaints from nursing students.

I asked Kovarna why the grading scale was made like that, and what her thoughts were when it came to hearing that people think it is harsh. Her response was, “For students that hover below that 78 percentile range are not learning what they need to know. People do not want a nurse that only knows three fourths of what they should know.” Overall she does not think it is harsh, it is what is expected from the students and it is what will make them a better nurse in the future.

Being in the nursing department is not only stressful on the students. It is also stressful on the professors as well. Kovarna admitted that the job gets stressful for herself at times as well. Some of the things that cause the professors stress are the demands on being a better school than others, and being judged on the board passing rates. The professors need to make sure their passing rates on their boards stay where they are supposed to be otherwise it can affect their job and the school.

After hearing from a student and a professor, I wanted to see if all the long hours and struggles are worth it.

Megan Meyer is a nurse at St. Lukes Wagner ENT. She has only been a nurse for two years, but has loved being one so far.

When I asked Meyer’s what were some of the struggles she faced during school, her answers were similar to Desy’s. She said she never had a social life, and when it came to doing her clinical hours she felt like it was work without being paid.

Even though Meyer’s went through most of the common struggles nursing majors faced, she made through it. Meyer’s stated, “In the end it is all worth it. All of the clinical hours made me a well rounded nurse, and made me the nurse that I am today.”

Meyer’s also said that she gained a lot of good life long friends that she meant because of the nursing program. It is easy to meet new friends because you are always with the same group of people, and you are with people that are going through all of the hard times as you are.

Even though being a nursing student can be stressful at times and very time consuming, it is possible to get through it. In the end all the long hours and hard obstacles nursing students go through will only help them at becoming a better nurse.

Stuart Scott encourages people to always fight, and to never give up.

Stuart Scott a sports anchor for ESPN received the Jimmy V Award last night at the ESPN ESPY Awards. Scott has been battling with cancer and is continuing to fight.

The main message that Scott was trying to say last night is that no matter what you are going through keep fighting, because we have a responsibility to never give up.

He said himself, “When you get to tired to fight, lie down, take a rest, and let someone fight for you.” He told the audience that he has many people that are helping him with his fight, such as friends, family, co-workers, doctors, but most importantly his daughters.

His daughters are his heartbeat and the reason he keeps on fighting. He invited his youngest daughter up on stage with him to share this special moment.

He also told the audience that if we die from cancer it is not a loss, he said, “You beat cancer on the way that you lived your life.” Encouraging people to live their lives to the fullest and to always remember to never stop fighting.

Dr. Patrick Blaine is a man that works hard so he can play hard.

Dr. Patrick Blaine is a professor at Morningside College for the passed six years. He is currently teaching Spanish at Morningside and is bilingual in English and Spanish. He is also involved in many programs there as well. He also is involved in different programs around Sioux City.

Some of the things that have influence Dr. Blaine becoming bilingual was his time in school. He took Spanish when he was in high school and then not again until his third year of college. He then spent a semester in Spain, and started to fall in love it.

Dr. Blaine is a very busy man that spends a lot of his time teaching or participating in many committees that he is involved in. He makes sure that he stays busy so he is able to take breaks and have some fun.

Some of the things that Dr. Blaine likes to do for fun is travel, ride his motorcycle, cook, and make his own beer. He loves being outdoors and doing things like camping and skiing.

Dr. Blaine has traveled many places in his life and said that he loves living in other countries. He met his wife in Chille and has been married to her for thirteen years. They are expecting a child in February and said that their baby is going to be bilingual as well because his wife his also bilingual in Spanish and English.

Dr. Blaine did not always want to be a teacher. When he was younger he wanted to be a surgeon like his father. He said, “I wanted to be a doctor like my dad, until I realized that feet stink and I couldn’t handle always being around that.”

Dr. Blaine said that him and his wife plan is to eventually retire in Chille where his wife’s family is, but until then they are staying  in Sioux City where they are both currently employed.

For this weeks weekly news comment I chose an article that explains the new feature on the app Twitter. I think that this news article is news worthy because a lot of people around the world use twitter and an article like this helps people understand the new features.

One thing that I would critique would be the first paragraph of the article. It just seemed to run on and it ended in a question. I just found it a little confusing and a little wordy.

The audience for this article would be anyone that is interested in social media or anyone that is intreated in learning about the new features on Twitter.  I think the lead is effective because the author not only talks about the new features on twitter but also talks about the person that has created the new features and what readers can expect when they look at Twitter now.

The only thing that I would change about this article is the first paragraph. I would try to shorten it and make it a little less wordy. Other that that I do not think anything else is missing.

https://wordpress.morningside.edu/mro005/wp-admin/post-new.php