E-Sports on Campus (Story #2 FD)

October 17, 2017 - No Responses

Morningside College recently became one of the newest schools to join the E-Sports community and even added it to their sports teams roster.

For non-gamers in the world, watching when players are yelling at a computer screen or constantly clicking a mouse button during gameplay, these games don’t seem all that appealing.

However, gamers know that despite the sore fingers after hours of gameplay or scratchy voices when either communicating with their teammates through a microphone or just yelling at a screen, the fun of the game is why they continue playing.

Athletes in physical sports know how accomplished they feel after winning their matches/competitions/games. E-Sports athletes feel the same and put in a lot of time practicing just to get a little bit better.

The amount of time put into practicing for this ever-growing community made Dean Stevens, the professor in charge of the E-Sports team on campus, believe early on that students deserve a scholarship.

Stevens said he wanted to give scholarships to students because playing these games and practicing “requires a huge amount of investment and time, of effort, it requires a lot of skills in terms of competition, in terms of communication with your teammates.”

Students also believe E-Sports is worthy of becoming equal to physical sports. Quentin Charbonneau, a Junior at Morningside, said “I think it deserves as much of a chance as any sport. It’s a fast growing community that needs recognition.”

Casey Wall, a freshman at Morningside, agrees and says “Teachers should be treating [E-Sports] as an athletic team because it goes together with every other sport.”

The E-Sports team is currently focusing on Blizzard Entertainments Overwatch and plans to switch to Riot Games’s League of Legends for next semester.

E-Sports on Campus (Story #2 RD)

October 10, 2017 - No Responses

Morningside College recently became one of the newest schools to join the E-Sports community.

In Fall of 2016, Morningside’s E-Sports team got its start when the first students involved spent a day in what is now known as the Nexus, a long room originally used for extra storage but is now home of the gaming computers.

E-Sports means sporting in an electronic media, such as video games. Though there are significantly many and older games that players still use in competitions against each other, there are only two the Morningside E-Sports team is currently playing: Overwatch and League of Legends.

Dean Stevens, the professor in charge of the E-Sports team, said they use those two games because League of Legends (further referred to as League) is “the granddaddy of them all” and is what “really kicked off the E-Sports phenomenon as we know it today,” and Overwatch is the “new kid on the block.”

Stevens said this knowing that League was created by the company Riot Games in 2006, while Overwatch only recently came out in 2016. Though there is a ten year difference, the interest in the games is still present, shown through the count of over seven million Overwatch players in June 2017 and the most recent count of 67 million players play the game every month in 2014, according to Riot.

For non-gamers in the world, on the outside when players are yelling at a computer screen or clicking a mouse button an annoying amount of times per minute during gameplay, these games don’t seem all that appealing.

However, gamers know that despite the sore fingers after hours of gameplay or scratchy voices when either communicating with their teammates through a microphone or just yelling at a screen when they can’t, the fun of the game is why they continue playing.

Athletes in physical sports that require moving around know how accomplished they feel after winning their matches/competitions/games. E-Sports athletes feel the same and put in a lot of time practicing just to get a little bit better.

In fact, because of the amount of practice put into these games by the students, Dean Stevens offers scholarships for those just starting college. However, it’s not just because of the practice. Stevens sees the scholarships are for students working on skills outside of just clicking buttons.

He said it “requires a huge amount of investment and time, of your effort, it requires a lot of skills in terms of competition, in terms of communication with your teammates.” These things, and more, require a lot of commitment and effort for the game to be played well.

Media Comparison Exercise

October 9, 2017 - One Response

In 1997, the spacecraft named Cassini was launched into space where, for the next twenty years, it would make its way to and around Saturn. This year, in 2017, Cassini was given final directions to fall through Saturn’s atmosphere while sending final signals and sights of Saturn’s surface.

In the article by Ashley Strickland on CNN.com, she tells about Cassini‘s final journey to Saturn’s surface.

Strickland includes a lot of detail by going into depth about how the crew felt after receiving the final signal, as well as telling what might be next in the science community by using what Cassini taught the scientists at NASA.

Connected to the article is a video featuring a news correspondent, Rachel Crane. Unlike Strickland’s article, Crane doesn’t go into detail about the minds behind the project.

Instead, she only gives information about Cassini‘s mission and why the craft was sent into the atmosphere instead of letting it drift.

There was also an interview featured in the video. NASA Planetary Scientist Carolyn Poro tells about the possibility of life because of the hidden ocean found on one of Saturn’s moons. Because of this possibility of a life sustaining environment, we don’t want to put our debris in it and contaminate the surface.

Crane finishes the video with news that there are currently no plans for another expedition to Saturn.

 

News Comment #6

October 2, 2017 - One Response

In the vox.com article “Why London is banning Uber from its streets” written by Zeesham Aleem, the lede used is quick and to the point. It creates a kick in the gut, so to say, about what the article is about and creates interest as to what the article will continue to talk about from that point forward.

Aleem talks about the importance of Uber in London, both for the employed drivers and those who rely on it for transport. He also talks about why London is not renewing it’s license when the current one is terminated, such as that of Uber “failing to report sexual assault by its drivers and using lax background checks.”

Aleem mentions that Uber will be taking up their position in court, and maybe London raising the issue about how Uber drivers treat their customers “could give it pause about the costs of the way it does business.”

Read the original article here.

Observation Exercise

October 2, 2017 - One Response

This room is longer lengthwise than it is widthwise. It has several rows of tables that fill the room, complete with computers on top and tall gaming chairs behind each set.

There are windows along the right side of the room when entering, covered by horizontal blinds to filter the sun out of the players’ eyes. Along the far wall, as well as the wall on the left side of the room, there are whiteboards filled with lines, players’ names, and online account names. These people are separated by current members of three different teams.

When sitting at one of the sets of computer equipment, the chair is slightly tough from the leather and hard plastic it is made of. The monitor is a wide screen with buttons along the bottom and a switch hidden underneath that turns it on.

The console is made of black hard plastic to contain the mechanical elements inside and even a see-through panel on one side to see the console illuminate from within when turned on.

Attached to the console is a pair of headphones with soft leather pieces that go over the ears and create a more sound-proof barrier to the surroundings. Also attached to the console is a keyboard that lights up when the system is turned on, and whose keys make a clicking sound when pressed down. There is also a slightly long wheel of about 1 1/2 inches in length at the top right of the keyboard that is used to turn up or down the sound.

The screen has nice quality when turned on, creating noticeably clean definition on the elements on the screen. On the homepage along the left side of the screen are several icons of various games, applications, and software that is available on the computer.

Interview with Alex Watters

September 29, 2017 - No Responses

Alex Watters is a man whose life took an unexpected turn after an accident when he was a freshman in college. However, despite the difficulties that have become normal in his everyday life, he is a very optimistic person and lives each day to the fullest.

Watters is a well-known 1st year advisor here at Morningside, usually seen zipping around in his wheelchair around campus either on his own, with fellow faculty members, or some of his student advisees.

He said “I really believe in the ability to make a difference,” which has led him to being an advisor, a Sioux City Council member, and working with several government programs associated with disabilities.

Being an advisor makes Watters feel proud of his students, much like how a parental figure would feel for their child. He sometimes has very difficult cases in students who can’t seem to adjust to college life, but when they finally come into their own, it’s “inspiring to see.”

He mentions tearing up at several of the Morningside events he attends whenever one of his current or previous advisees is recognized, knowing just how far they’ve come in their time here.

Though he doesn’t see himself being here forever, he does want to continue being an advisor in general and continue helping people.

 

Description Exercise

September 26, 2017 - One Response

Person:

This person has wavy blonde hair that went into a ponytail at the back of her head. If it were let down, it might go to between her shoulderblades and waist.

Her eyes are blue, and her face is very structural with high cheekbones and a square-ish jawbone.

She was in her soccer jacket, black material with an Addidas logo on it above her last name. She was either wearing a black shirt or her jacket was zipped up.

Her backpack had black straps, but I didn’t see the back of it.

We only briefly said hi to each other before she left.

Food:

The chocolate donut hole is a dark brown color, broken up with translucent sugar crystals surrounding the outside.

The outside of the hole when touched is sticky from the sugar, and when pressed into, it gives a little. When broken into, the donut hole crumbles very easily.

The inside of the hole is filled with air pockets to create a hopefully airy texture when bitten into, and the smell of chocolate is very present.

The donut hole dissolves easily when eaten, the texture soft except for the crunch of the sugar crystals.

The taste is almost fruity rather than completely chocolate, which creates some confusion for the senses that are seeking chocolate but get what could be reminiscent of a raspberry flavor.

The pirouline is a long cylinder of tan-ish color with a thin stripe of dark brown spiraled with the thin wafer that creates the snack.

When broken into, the pirouline snaps instead of bending, creating a stiff structure. The inside is filled with a crumbly chocolate filling.

The smell isn’t very strong, though the inside has a slightly stronger smell of chocolate over the overall wafer/pastry smell.

The texture is crunchy because of the wafer, but the dark chocolate center takes control as you continue chewing into it.

News Comment #5

September 22, 2017 - One Response

In Christy Rakoczy’s article, “The US gender wage gap is narrowing, but women still face higher poverty rates” on mic.com, Rakoczy uses a lede that doesn’t really capture the interest.

The title of the article is what had originally caught my attention, but then Rakoczy uses information from a year ago, 2016, in her report that she wrote September 12, 2017.

Aside from the slightly outdated, but possibly most recent, information available, the article presents good statistics that back up her title.

Rakoczy tells us that the change from women earning $0.796 in 2015 to $0.805 “for every dollar earned by men” has been the most significant change since 2007.

In the poverty statistics side of her article, Rakoczy tells us that “women have a 2.7% higher rate of men in all age groups.” This tells us that we still have a lot of work to do when it comes to equalizing men and women, but despite the poverty situation, we are starting to make advances.

Read the original article here.

Scavenger Hunt Exercise

September 21, 2017 - One Response

The Scavenger Hunt exercise conducted during class required myself and my classmates to go out of our comfort zones and find new people to talk about random things. This was not the easiest thing in the world to do.

Dr. Jack Hill is one of the people I decided to interview, mainly because I only knew him in context from one of my friends taking some of his courses throughout her time here at Morningside. Dr. Hill is a Psychology professor as well as the Chair of the Department.

When first meeting him, I noticed he is a heavyset man of older years, mainly detailed because of his grayed hair. He was wearing a light striped shirt and suspenders, and we shared a commonality of not wearing glasses when looking at a computer screen. He only put his glasses on when I first came into the room and introduced myself and my assignment.

Dr. Hill’s first reaction to my question about finding an object with a Morningside logo on it was confusion. I further explained the assignment, and he started looking around his desk until he remembered his business card sitting on the front of his desk. Objective number one complete.

After obtaining Dr. Hill’s card, I asked him when and why he came to Morningside. He told me started working here in 1990 and said “I was looking for a liberal arts college to teach at” and also that those were the only kinds of schools he applied for work at.

The second objective we had to find was that of a conversation about the interviewee’s favorite movie. He reacted with an intake of air and smiled as he said it would be slightly difficult to decide on one because he is a movie buff.

I instead simplified the question, going with what his favorite genre might be. He said Science Fiction was his favorite genre, but his favorite movie, The Shawshank Redemption, fell out of that category.

Since I hadn’t seen the movie before, I asked for a little bit of background on it. He told me it’s “based on a Stephen King novella” and the reason why he likes it so much is because it “totally absorbs me” whenever he comes across it. He is unsure of the amount of times he has seen the movie.

After finishing my interview with Dr. Hill, I thanked him for his time and went searching for another person I wouldn’t know. My first idea was to head up to the English Department offices, but there are more faculty on the third floor of Lewis Hall than just the English staff.

On that same floor, I found Dr. John Pinto. I introduced myself once again, stating my assignment and if he had some time to talk, to which he agreed and told me to pull up a chair.

Dr. Pinto is an older man, made much clearer when he said he started at Morningside in 1981. I asked him what he does here at Morningside and he said he’s “in charge of institutional research and assessment of students.”

When asked why Dr. Pinto came to Morningside, he told me it was because of work, “a strong growing program and good students.” He also gave me his card when I asked for an object with the Morningside logo.

Dr. Pinto gave me much of the same reaction as Dr. Hill when asked about what his favorite movie is. Since movies are such a big source of entertainment, I wasn’t surprised that people had some difficulty with answering the question.

However, Dr. Pinto was more ready for this question. He answered with vigor as he said his favorite movie is Clockwork Orange, a movie about a violent person in a gang who is eventually conditioned to hate violence and even gets sick when witnessing it.

The reason for this movie as his favorite was because “the questions and issues it brings up resonated” with him.

 

News Comment #4

September 14, 2017 - One Response

The article written by Andrew Prokop on vox.com reports that Trump has taken his stand on kicking illegal immigrants out of the US and partially turned on it.

Rather than kicking all illegal immigrants, the President has been sending out Tweets starting Thursday morning, stating that immigrants who are a part of DACA “have been in our country for many years through no fault of their own.” Trump even praises them.

These tweets, according to Prokop, give show us that Trump is willing to sign a law protecting thousands of immigrants from deportation.

Prokop acknowledges the turn on Trump’s promises and protests against illegal immigrants during his campaign, and though he still wants to disband Obama’s DACA, Trump clearly wants to save the DREAMers.

Read the original article here.