News Comment #8: Man Shows Up at His Own Wake

October 25th, 2012 § 1 comment § permalink

Gilbert Araujo, a Brazilian car washer, was thought to have been murdered. Or at least that’s what his family thought after Gilberto’s brother wrongly identified him. His brother said he hadn’t seen Gilberto in four months and the man that was murdered was also a carwasher and looked a lot like Gilberto.

Gilberto found out about his “death” only after an acquaintance he ran into informed him that his family was having a funeral, and he was in the coffin. He tried calling others who were at the wake, and after no success, he decided to show up in person.

I picked this article because of how humorous it is… It’s not funny that a man did end up dying, but the fact that he was wrongly identified by his own brother I found a bit ludicrous.

As always, I find this story to be a bit news worthy because of the rarity of it. How often do people get to show up at their own wake, their own funeral? Never. This was a BBC News story in the Latin American section, and thankfully wasn’t a headliner. This story link didn’t ven have a picture beside it. That’s good, don’t get me wrong- it’s a good story, but it doesn’t deserve to be a big story. This article doesn’t apply to anyone outside of the family that was involved, and the family of the man who was murdered. It’s about a Brazil man, so the article doesn’t fall into the proximity class of news values. It doesn’t have a big impact.

I find it to be a relatively funny story, perhaps a human interest or feel-good story for people to read when they don’t feel like dealing with all the other tragic news. The rarity and the human interest of it all makes it a bit of a news-worthy story, but not fully. That’s where BBC got it straight- they didn’t headline it, they didn’t advertise it much- it was a plain link to the story, no jazz added to it.

To read the full article, click here.

Paper 2: Final Final Draft

October 22nd, 2012 § Comments Off on Paper 2: Final Final Draft § permalink

As the fall semester hits the half way mark, the two Morningside mock trial teams are gearing up for their first competition. Mockers start to compete as early as October, and the season could extend as far as May.

Mock trial is the reenactment of a case in a courtroom setting. Each team is composed of three witnesses and three attorneys, and the teams portray both defense and plaintiff. Mock trial is not only for political science and pre-law students. It’s a diverse activity to be part of. The teams at Morningside have majors from elementary education, history, pre-law, and theatre, among others.

“Throughout my experiences in mock trial, I have witnessed theatre majors portray accents, design costumes, and give life to the person they are supposed to be. I have also watched perspective lawyers, too nervous to talk in front of their friends, stand toe-to-toe with the best team in the state,” said sophomore elementary education major Liz Johnson. Johnson has been in mock trial since she was in high school and plans on becoming a lawyer in her future.

Johnson advocated that mock trial helped her, and others. “Mock trial doesn’t just help you become a lawyer, it helps you gain confidence and step out of your shell,” she said.

Amanda Heinrichs is a sophomore political science student and a first year mocker. “It’s been very interesting to be a first year mocker. We just had our first scrimmage and I can tell I’m going to love it! I have gained confidence and I’m actually doing better in another political science class because of it,” Heinrichs said.

Heinrichs, along with the other fourteen team members, have been working steadily from day one for the upcoming competing season. By their first competition, Heinrichs said that they will have done two scrimmages for preparation.

The Morningside team is led by Hinton lawyer Tara Vonnahme, and its Morningside representative and traveling coach, political science professor Lillian Lopez.

This year, collegiate mock trial teams throughout the entire nation will compete over a civil case. The case was written about a fictional accidental death of a spouse while a couple was on vacation. “It’s about an extremely dangerous scuba dive, where a diver had a medical condition, and the scuba diving company left her down in the water to die,” Johnson stated. The teams develop their cases to best suit their interests and goals and to best portray the witnesses they are calling to the stand.

“Now we have to decide if it’s the scuba diving company’s fault or the diver’s fault for failure to disclose information about her medical history,” Johnson said.

The upcoming competition, taking place at Hamline University in St. Paul, will be held over fall break. The team will compete in four rounds over the course of two days, performing both plaintiff and defense roles twice. The team will also compete several times around the midwest until regionals is held in March.

“Neither team knows what to expect at this point. I think once the first competition is under our belt, we can start being more competitive and all of the tension will fall away,” Johnson said.

 

 

 

 

Paper 2: Final Draft

October 12th, 2012 § Comments Off on Paper 2: Final Draft § permalink

As the fall semester hits the half way mark, the two Morningside mock trial teams are gearing up for their first competition. Mockers start to compete as early as October, and the season could extend as far as May.

Mock trial is the reenactment of a case in a courtroom setting. Each team is composed of three witnesses and three attorneys, and the teams play both defense and plaintiff. Mock trial is not only for political science and pre-law students. It’s a pretty diverse activity to be part of. The teams at Morningside have majors from elementary education, history, pre-law, and theatre, among others.

“Throughout my experiences in mock trial, I have witnessed theatre majors portray accents, design costumes, and give life to the person they are supposed to be. I have also watched perspective lawyers, too nervous to talk in front of their friends, stand toe-to-toe with the best team in the state,” said sophomore elementary education major, Liz Johnson. Johnson has been in mock trial since she was in high school and has plans on becoming a lawyer in her future.

Johnson advocated that mock trial helped her, and others. “Mock trial doesn’t just help you become a lawyer, it helps you gain confidence and step out of your shell,” she said.

Amanda Heinrichs, a sophomore political science student, is a first year mocker, who Johnson has helped prepare for competition. “It’s been very interesting to be a first year mocker. We just had our first scrimmage and I can tell I’m going to love it! I have gained confidence and I’m actually am doing better in another political science class because of it,” she said.

Heinrichs, along with the other fourteen team members, have been working steadily from day one for the upcoming competing season. By their first competition, Heinrichs said that they will have done two scrimmages for preparation.

The Morningside team is led by Hinton lawyer, Tara Vonnahme, and it’s Morningside representative and traveling coach, political science professor Lillian Lopez.

This year, collegiate mock trial teams throughout the entire nation will compete over a civil case. The case was written about a fictional accidental death of a spouse while a couple was on vacation. “It’s about an extremely dangerous scuba dive, where a diver had a medical condition, and the scuba diving company left her down in the water to die,” Johnson stated. The teams develop their cases to best suit their interests and goals and to best portray the witnesses they are calling to the stand.

“Now we have to decide if it’s the scuba diving company’s fault or the diver’s fault for failure to disclose information about her medical history,” Johnson said.

She compared this year’s case to last year, saying, “This year’s case only has two witnesses deal with math and tables, which makes it easier.”

The upcoming competition, taking place at Hamline University in St. Paul, will be held over fall break. The team will compete in four rounds over the course of two days, performing both plaintiff and defense roles twice.

“Neither team knows what to expect at this point. I think once the first competition is under our belt, we can start being more competitive and all of the tension will fall away,” Johnson said.

 

 

 

 

News Comment #7: Stroke Hitting Earlier

October 11th, 2012 § 1 comment § permalink

BBC News Health section posted an article today about studies showing strokes are affecting people younger than they used to. The article compares both the United States and the United Kingdom’s rates of stroke and the ages that they happen. BBC uses a creduble source, a doctor from the Stroke Associate to give a quote on the matter. Dr. Clare Walton commented that these strokes are happening younger and younger, before the age of 55, and that they can be prevented. “For example, eating a balanced diet, exercising regularly and getting your blood pressure checked can all make a huge difference,” Walton said in the article.

I found this article on the front page of BBC online, and thought it belonged there. Not only is is health related, which is very important to have updates about, but it calls out to younger people to read it. The fact that these strokes give younger people a heads up on their health, a warning to take care of themselves before they face a stroke, instead of after, and provides (brief) ways on how to prevent them. This is a great article, but it should have had more sources and information regarding the studies on the decreasing age of average strokes.

It is important to know what ages these things start happening on average. I wish there was more information regarding how to prevent them, why they happened (for those who aren’t sure what exactly a stroke is), and more information regarding the studies. It would have made the article better and more interesting to read.

Read the article here.

Paper 2 Rough Draft

October 8th, 2012 § 2 comments § permalink

As the fall semester hits the half way mark, the two Morningside mock trial teams are gearing up for their first competition. Mockers at Morningside College have been working since the first day of classes of the fall semester to prepare for the long competing season. The season involves months of preparation, and competitions from October through March, when regional competitions are held.

Mock trial is the reenactment of a case in a courtroom setting. Each team is composed of three witnesses and three attorneys, and the teams play both defense and plaintiff. Mock trial is not only for political science and pre-law students. It’s a pretty diverse activity to be part of. The teams at Morningside have majors from elementary education, history, pre-law, and theatre, among others.

“Throughout my experiences in mock trial, I have witnessed theatre majors portray accents, design costumes, and give life to the person they are supposed to be. I have also watched perspective lawyers, too nervous to talk in front of their friends, stand toe-to-toe with the best team in the state,” said sophomore elementary education major, Liz Johnson. Johnson has been in mock trial since she was in high school and has plans on becoming a lawyer in her future.

She advocated that mock trial truly helps a person. “Mock trial doesn’t just help you become a lawyer, it helps you gain confidence and step out of your shell,” she said.

This year, collegiate mock trial teams throughout the entire nation will compete over a civil case. The case was written about a fictional accidental death of a spouse while a couple was on vacation. “It’s about an extremely dangerous scuba dive, where a diver had a medical condition, and the scuba diving company left her down in the water to die,” Johnson stated. The teams develop their cases to best suit their interests and goals and to best portray the witnesses they are calling to the stand.

“Now we have to decide if it’s the scuba diving company’s fault or the diver’s fault for failure to disclose information about her medical history,” Johnson said.

She compared this year’s case to last year, saying, “This year’s case only has two witnesses deal with math and tables, which makes it easier.”

The upcoming competition, taking place at Hamline University in St. Paul, will be held over fall break. The team will compete in four rounds over the course of two days, performing both plaintiff and defense roles twice.

“Neither team knows what to expect at this point. I think once the first competition is under our belt, we can start being more competitive and all of the tension will fall away,” Johnson said.

Regardless of the nervousness in the team, Morningside’s mock trial teams, well prepared, will put up a fight at Hamline University over fall break. They are in for a long season, but one worth the effort.

 

 

 

 

News Comment #6: When A Shirt Dictates The Classroom

October 4th, 2012 § 1 comment § permalink

We all have the freedom of expression. We can say what we want,  write what we feel, and wear what we decide. However, in lgiht of the upcoming presidential election, one high school student in Pennslyvania was booted form the classroom. Why? Her teacher is an Obama supporter, and the student was wearing a Romney t-shirt. The teacher even compared it to “wearing a KKK shirt.” (I did noticed that the write of the article used “wearing a KKK shirt” as a quote to avoid attribution and conflict in the phrasing!)

The student wore her Romney-Ryan t-shirt to school one day, and upon arriving in math class, she was told to take off the shirt, that another one would be provided, and the the teacher asked her about her parents political opinions.

I was stunned when I read that the teacher laster apologized, but excused her statements as part of a “joke.” It’s not a joke to embarrass a 16-year-old who supports a presidential candidate.

I think I would publish, but I don’t know how news worthy it is. It is an odd, public official case, which may lead to it being news worthy. Some schools do not allow any political shirts or gear (when I lived in Florida during the 2008 election, political material was prohibited in case it caused fights) but this school must not have had such rules in place. the fact that a teacher called her out on her opinions was rude, and I don’t think it should matter what the parents’ or even the student’s political opinion is. The story has interest to the public because it could happen to their own children, it’s current in that it deals with the election next months, and it’s not a commonly reported topic. The teacher was transferred to a different class because of this incident.

To read the full article, find it on MSNBC.

News Comment #5: Sexual Assault of a Marine

September 27th, 2012 § 1 comment § permalink

Claire Russo always wanted to be a Marine, so she became one. But in 2004, she was sexually assaulted  while serving her country by a fellow Marine named Danny Dowson. Russo attended a party and was hanging a drink by Dowson. Russo felt like she was drugged, and the next thing she knew, she was on the bathroom floor. The marines shut down her case, so Russo took her case to the local police.

As it turns out, Dowson has a history of repetitively raping women who are incapacitated, and there’s proof. After a search warrant was obtained for Downson’s house, police found “hidden cameras and hundreds of hours of video of Dowson having sex with seemingly incapacitated women.” Another woman, an aviator, has a similar experience like Russo, and both of them felt the pressure to not file the assault.  Dowson was charged with the rape of Russo.

After reading this article, I’m not entirely sure if it’s news worthy. This happened many years ago, so it’s not current. It’s not a human interest piece, as it is rather depressing. It doesn’t effect anyone who has not been raped by Dowson. However, I did find it to be an interesting read. It is rare, however, for a soldier to report the acts of sexual assault and seek justice- both women when were raped by Russo also admitted to feeling the pressure to not file it as a report, or seek anything further. Perhaps the rarity and the act of injustice to the women is enough to make it news worthy and an interesting read.

 

Read the full article at NBCNews.

 

 

News Comment #4: A Letter to Romney… From a 12-Year-Old.

September 20th, 2012 § 1 comment § permalink

Jackson Ripley, only twelve years old from Colorado, recently wrote the Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, a letter, voicing his options on different policies. In his letter, he wrote that Romney should have stayed in Massachusetts, and America doesn’t need him as a leader. He also wrote on topics such as gay marriage, birth control, and Obamacare.

The article feature in the Good News section of the Huffington Post, does a good job of portraying Ripley correctly, and providing background information. One of the first things I looked for after reading the letter was his parent’s political ideas. His parents are strong Obama supporters, and his sister benefited from Obamacare. Ripley wrote, over the topic of Romney repealing the new healthcare system, “Because of Obama care my little sister was able to have the several surgeries she needed that helped save her life… Why do you think she doesn’t deserve health care?” Lindsey Ripley, Jackson’s mother, also commented on the benefits their family had due to Obamacare.

This background information provides a lot of understanding to why Ripley wrote this article.

However, does this qualify as news? I think because it is a rare fact- a twelve year old speaking out against Romney and sending the letter, it can be considered news. It is interesting, rare, and although the letter is biased, the article is not. The article writer does not show a political opinion and simply states the facts with accurate background information. If they writer had no included the parents’ political affiliation or the fact that his sister was denied healthcare before Obamacare was introduced, it would not have been such a credible source of information.

Read this article and the letter at the Huffington Post.

 

Scavenger Hunt: A Conversation About the Weather

September 20th, 2012 § 1 comment § permalink

Students around Morningside campus today are all wearing jackets, as the weather at 10 in the morning hasn’t gone past 60 degrees. The wind, lightly blowing the crisp air through the middle of campus, is tolerable and provides a crispness to the weather. The overcast sky isn’t exceptionally dreary. Leaves already falling from some of the trees in the center of campus.

Outside Older Student Center, I find Dominic Means, a student at Morningside. As he approaches the doorways, I ask him if I can interview him for a short few minutes about the weather, and he nods in agreement. He’s wearing a light, cream colored jacket with his hand in the pockets, and jeans. Looking warm out, I ask him how he likes the weather today. He looks to the sky and back around campus and says easily, “It’s brisk and cloudy, not very much win, so it’s nice. It’s not too hot and not too cold!”

The classrooms may be a bit warm on campus today, but walking outside feels fresh. The weather is turning from the summer heat to the windy autumn at Morningside College this September, and students are enjoying it.

Final Draft: Stone State Park

September 14th, 2012 § Comments Off on Final Draft: Stone State Park § permalink

Hiking in Stone State Park.

While walking the miles of footpaths in Stone State Park, you can’t help but be in awe that Sioux City has such a magnificent area. Stone State park is full of activities for people who are adventurous, and those who would rather stick for not getting lost. That parks’ trees have leaves that are already falling, some trees turning golden, and the warm air blowing through the trees.

First inhabited by the Dakota Sioux, the land has plenty of history. After the Native Americans left the land, a man named Daniel Talbot started buying it piece by piece. The land was turned over the Iowa Department of Natural Resources in 1925 and now totals 1,242 acres.  This land expands through Iowa and South Dakota, running along the Missouri River in North Sioux City.

Although it’s a bit of a drive from the Morningside campus, it’s worth it. My friend Madison and I make the trip together, her with a camera around her neck and me with a backpack with pen, paper, and water. Arriving at Stone State Park, you come to a fork in the road- you go up the hill or you go down the hill. The roads are narrow and steep, winding around the hills. Signs point in all directions. We drive all the way down to Turtle Lake, park the car, and start hiking. It’s a ten-minute walk to reach the lake on dirt paths that go through the forest. As Madison and I reach the lake, we notice that the path is worn and uneven, as if water used to travel over it. The rust colored path is as hard as stone, like the dried up rivers around the Mid-West due to the drought. The area to the left ad right of that dried up path is given life from the lake nearby.

The main portion of Turtle Lake sits up on a hill. The grassy area has trees that shade it, letting the warm sunshine seep through the branches and leaves, casting shadows on the green floor. The wind carries the smell of rotting leaves, moist dirt, and a slight swamp smell. Heading down the hill, the wind picks up and causes the lake to ripple with waves. The floating dock tilts slightly as I step on it. The water is murky, but still, I see the bluegills swimming happily along the seaweed. Across the water, the sunlight hits a tree that hangs out over the lake, illuminating the leaves and turning the tree golden. It’s beautiful.

We hike for another hour, going along the trails exploring and trying not to get lost. In the expansive forest area, the trails travel far. There are trees that have fallen in past storms, trees that are rotting away, and trees that are hundreds of years old. Somewhere near us, a woodpecker drills a hole into a tree trunk, the noise echoing through the quiet space. Rabbits run across the trail when they hear my footsteps and hop into hiding.

After an hour and a half of hiking, Madison and I decide to leave- it’s getting warm out in Sioux City as we reach the peak of the afternoon. We loved being out there. As Madison put it, “Stone State park has a lot of horse and hiking trails. It’s a great place for families to visit.”

Stone State Park brings visitors to the area. If you want to hike, run, ride horses, fish, camp, or go sight seeing, Stone State Park has it all. It’s great for people to get out of their comfort area, for the adventurous to explore, and for families to have picnics and go fishing. Stone State Park is a magnificent area in Siouxland to visit.

To view all the available activities, go to the DNR website.

(Photos courtesy of Madison Fisher.)

Turtle Lake in Stone Stone Park.

 

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