“Marine veteran walked 810 miles in 42 days for veteran suicide awareness” by Ella Torres News Comment

Ella Torres reported on Travis Snyder, a 32 year-old veteran, who, on Sunday, finished walking around Lake Michigan for 42 days to raise awareness. His need for wanting people to be aware of veteran suicide stemmed a year after he returned home from being deployed in Afghanistan. He learned that a close friend he worked with committed suicide. Snyder wanted this walk to cause people to become more aware of available resources as well as start a conversation on the issue. In result, he met hundreds of new people and learned their stories.

I thought this article was formatted in a story-telling type way. It started off with Snyder’s reason of why he chose to walk and then, from there, got into what exactly he was doing to raise awareness and how people were being affected by it. The title of the article was descriptive and drew people in, so Torres probably thought it be best to build the suspense and offer background knowledge to her readers before jumping right in. I really liked how the article ended with a quote from Snyder. Torres used the quote to capture Snyder’s purpose of walking, ending the article with a hopeful tone, but making sure not to incorporate any of her own opinions on the topic.

Greta Thunberg Speech

Yesterday at the United Nations Climate Action Summit, sixteen-year-old Swedish climate activist, Greta Thunberg, successfully convinced 65 countires to change their emmissions efforts by warning world leaders “that change is coming, whether [they] like it or not”.

To begin her speech, Thunberg is asked what her message to world leaders is and, almost immediately, Thunberg bursts out that “we will be watching you”. 

The “we” she refers to is the younger generation “who have to live with the consequences” of the apparent lack of urgency to solve the climate change issue.

The message continues and Thunberg only gets angrier, projecting her need for change by shaming those who have the power to do something and aren’t. Most of this anger is fueled by the fact that she is a child and has to be speaking to adults about the importance of the issue.

“You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet, I’m onre of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!”

And, although she is warning world leaders of the disappointment her generation feels towards them, she is also warning them of the realization her own generation is having. 

“The young people are starting to understand your betrayal. The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say: We will never forgive you.”

At the end of the day, Thunberg’s urgency of the climate change issue got through to 65 countries, announcing efforts to achieve net-zero emissions by the year 2050. 

Article #2 Revised: Full-time students at Morningside College work diverse jobs, on and off campus.

Morningside College students give insight on the advantages and disadvantages of working different types of jobs while in school.

Photo courtesy of http://www.ciu.edu/campus-life/career-experience/on-campus-employment

Before even applying for a job, students must first decide if they want to get a job on or off campus. Those who are offered work study through financial aid have an easier time making this decision.

Maddie Dotzler, Morningside’s work study and student financial coordinator, works directly with students on finding jobs and keeps them up to date with open positions on campus via email. Dotzler encourages getting a job on campus for any student involved in athletics or extracurriculars. 

“Campus employers manipulate the work schedule to go around their open times when they do not have practice and classes,” Dotzler says. 

Maleah Richter, sophomore and soccer player, was offered work study on campus and now has two jobs on campus: one in the business office and one on the campus set-up crew.

“I knew Morningside had basically guaranteed me a job on campus when I saw that I was eligible for work study. I thought it was the smarter choice to go with a job they had for me here because it eliminated the need for transportation and gave me flexible hours,” Richter said.

Students not eligible for work study might consider working a job off-campus, gaining outside benefits that the school’s campus payroll could not offer them through a job on-campus.

“The best benefit of working an off-campus job is probably the pay, but it is a bit more difficult to adjust my schedule,” said freshman Kelly Nguyen, a Wal-Mart employee. “At first, my work schedule did interfere with tennis practices because of the amount of hours I was working.”

To balance working almost 26 hours a week, on top of being a full-time student athlete, Nguyen keeps a planner with her daily responsibilities.

“I also try to throw study sessions into my day, like when I’m waiting for my next class to start,” Nguyen said.

Most students are grateful to be paid higher wages and get scheduled more hours at an off-campus job, but many do not understand the difficulties of balancing a part-time job with classes and activities until they have experienced it first-hand.

Sophomore Karlie Reagan worked as a server at Texas Roadhouse her freshman year but chose to get a new job when she returned to campus. Reagan now works as a tutor and study hall proctor for the wrestling team.

“Texas Roadhouse had better pay but couldn’t compete with the ease of a campus job. On campus, you don’t have to worry about driving anywhere or working with people you don’t know or don’t trust,” Reagan said. 

For Reagan, a new job meant yet another hiring process. She said that the school had an effective way of hiring students, especially if they previously had any sort of on-campus position. 

“You don’t have to do paperwork, you just have to contact the right people,” Reagan stated.

Other students have decided that the experience of the job is just as important as the money earned is. Because of this, they actually have two jobs – one on campus and one off campus.

Junior Hailey Barrus works both as a Morningside student ambassador in the admissions office and as a barista at Stone Bru Coffee. This has proved to be challenging, but also possible because Barrus is determined and strong-willed.

“I have class most days from 8am-3pm then I usually go to work from 3:30-6:30 and, then, in the evening I usually catch up on homework or have rehearsal for something I am involved in,” Barrus said.

Even though she is busy, Barrus sees having an additional off-campus job as a way to network and practice professional skills required for her anticipated career.

“It is a different atmosphere that allows me to branch out to people that are not on campus. Both of these jobs, I feel, prepare me for the future because I am constantly using my communication skills,” Barrus said.

Whatever job a student may decide to get, Dotzler encourages them to communicate with friends, teammates, and classmates about their work experiences. 

“I think that a lot of communication helps students figure out what they would like and not like in a job, especially while they have other obligations to school,” Dotzler says. 

“He applied for a green card. Then the FBI came calling.” By Daniel Burke Comments

Daniel Burke writes of Mehdi Ostadhassan, an Iranian native who moved to North Dakota in 2009 to study petroleum engineering and, after getting a job as a professor at the University of North Dakota and marrying a fellow co-worker, applied for a green card in 2014. Though they were expecting it to be a quick process, five years later, Ostadhassan is still awaiting approval. 

This story was exactly that: a story. It was long and filled with a lot detail that would not be necessary in a news story. It reached into the past quite a bit and held off on telling why Ostadhassan wasn’t being approved for a green card. It also introduced a lot of characters (the mysterious man with the badge, etc.). You could even tell it was going to be more of a story for entertainment rather than strictly for information. The reason they were telling the story was most likely for the green-card, immigrant aspect, which has been a big topic of discussion, especially in politics, since President Trump was elected and sparked the idea of a border wall. I thought the story had good pictures and quotes, and the topic was for sure interesting, I just noticed it was more like a novel than a news article. 

Positivite Attitude, Positive Life

Photo courtesy of https://twitter.com/alexjwatters

Alex Watters, a City Councilman of Sioux City and the Career Development Specialist at Morningside, has tried his hardest to live a life that radiates positivity and self-support.

He came to Morningside in 2004 as a freshman in college on a golf scholarship with a dream to become a teaching pro. “When I was 18, like many teenagers, I was very self-centered and worried about three things: making money, talking to girls, and golf,” Watters said. 

Just two weeks into his freshman year, he was involved in an accident that left him unable to move from the waist down with limited functioning in his arms. 

Although life-altering, this accident did not stop Watters from achieving great success, going back to school and furthering a career in political science, an area he is very passionate about.

“I think you can really make a difference in politics. Politics are so perverted and misdirected now that people forget politicians are there to make a difference,” Watters explained.

Watters has worked on multiple campaigns throughout his life, but he realized how big of an impact he had during his time working for former President Barack Obama as a field organizer here in Sioux City. A volunteer came in who wanted to help but was unable to knock on doors, so Watters hired her as the office manager. Even though it doesn’t seem like a big deal to most, this woman felt like Watters gave her life purpose.

Along with his achievements in politics, Watters also finds inspiration in focusing time and effort into his advisees here on Morningside’s campus. 

“The most fulfilling part of my job is seeing students succeed and being a part of that success!” Watters said.

Watters says he understands there’s privilege in the world, but ultimately, people determine their destiny. 

The best piece of advice Watters had to offer was that “You truly determine your destiny, what you’re going to do, and what you’re going to achieve.” 

“Hornick, Iowa receives $2M grant to build new flood protection berm after floods” by Siouxland News Comments

KMEG 14 Siouxland News reports on the grant Hornick, Iowa, received to build a berm between the river and the town after the Little Sioux River flood back in March. The mayor of the town is excited for this new investment, knowing that once it is all set up, he won’t have to worry about the four inches of rain devastating their town once again. 

This very short article spoke of an event that happened almost half a year ago, but the grant finally being approved and ready to be put into action makes it relevant for the community. But, the thing that really stuck out to me was the one quote they decided to use from the mayor of the town. It was an awkward quote, referring to himself in third person and then repeating how he “won’t have to worry in the middle of the night” in the same sentence a couple times. Going back to our quote discussion in class, I think it would have been okay if the writer cleaned up the quote to make it flow a bit better. With the mayor, who is a big political figure in the town, making sure you keep the meaning of what he is trying to say is important but cutting out a line or two would have helped him sound more competent on the issue than how they made him sound in the article.

“The Rise of C-Sections – and What It Means” by Neel Shah Comments

Neel Shah writes that the procedure of cesarean surgeries has come to a rise in America. The reasons Shah emphasizes for this rise is that the surgeries are more affordable, needing less staff and being more time efficient. Some hospitals are not allowing for their patients to make their own decisions, prepping them for C-sections even if it’s not an emergency. When going into a C-section, the benefits must outweigh the inherent risks. The rise in these surgeries has made it so the chance of a woman dying during childbirth is 50% more likely to occur.

I felt like this article was more of an opinion piece than an informative news story. It included the fact that the writer was an obstetrician and the decisions they felt like they were supposed to be careful about when considering a patient’s labor. It also gave advice to the reader. No outside sources were used, other than the side gallery of one woman and her experience of not having an option of how she would deliver her child. Though having one source is better than none, it still would have been beneficial for the writer to include a few more opinions and expert opinions to support what they were saying or offer another view point.

A Snowball Experience

A contradicting texture, with an outside that is soft but gritty and an inside that is dry but still surrounded by a soft whipping. The layers all combine together to smell of a sweet chocolate coconut as if the cake and marshmallow were combined then directly rolled over a plate of coconut flakes. If you hold it, it squishes easily, but has a hard center to keep it from being completely mashed into oblivion. As I chew, the only sound that can be heard is the soft coconut flakes between my hard canines. The feeling it gives me after devouring the sugary treat is a readiness for a nap, in a warm, puffy comforter. 

Two New Friends!

Fuglsang assigns Scavenger Hunt to practice interviewing – these were my two items!

Object 1: A selfie with your subject.

Sophomore Amber Stone was sitting in the Walker Science Atrium, doing homework for her statistic class when I rudely interrupted her. Her homework was centered around “standard deviations” and other basic concepts for the class. As a transfer biology major from Hamlin University, Stone doesn’t quite know which branch of biology she would like to work in, but understands the need for statistics in the area. 

“I transferred to Morningside from Hamlin because I was already coming here to visit my sister a lot,” Stone said.

Stone’s sister is a fifth-year senior and the girls have grown up going to school together, so it only feels right they continue that tradition in college. “Her friend group and my friend group blend together well, so we are usually together!” exclaimed Stone.

Although Morningside is a change, Stone seemed to be enjoying her first year here. She joined the choir, which she was not able to do at Hamlin, and expressed to be adjusting to the Sioux City College well.

Object 2: A movie recommendation

Morningside student Deborah Allard had just set her lunch bag and books down with friend Kaitlyn Stewart. Preparing to study, I wanted to find out a movie recommendation she had. After a moment of hesitation, Allard confidently said “I would recommend the movie Spirited Away”. 

Explaining the plot, Allard told me that the movie is about a girl who moves to a traditional Japanese cultured town, where there are spirits all around. The girl’s parents turn into pigs and her own memories are wiped away, leaving the character to try to overcome the challenges she faces of being trapped by spirits and becoming herself again. 

“I was about 5 to 7 when I saw it, and I found it very entertaining because it had magical creatures and elements in it.”

I asked if she was scared at all when she initially saw it, and besides the bad guy in it, she very much enjoyed the movie without having any nightmares afterward.

“India Announces Widespread Ban Of E-Cigarettes” by Paolo Zialcita and Lauren Frayer News Comments

In this very short article NPR reporters Paolo Zialcita and Lauren Frayer write about India’s new ban on electronic cigarettes. Although some places in India did ban the “gateway” tobacco product, the ban was prompted by “the Indian Council of Medical Research publishing a paper recommending a complete ban”. The biggest goal the Indian government is trying to accomplish through this ban is the prevention of young people becoming addicted to nicotine. Zialcita and Frayer go on to list a few penalties people may face if they are found to be guilty of having an e-cigarette in their possession.

To begin with, this article had no apparent lead. It had a title and then it started its first paragraph. I could see the writers could have tried to make the lead two sentences, but I think the first line could have been by itself and called an effective lead. Secondly, the use of introducing experts and using quotes from them seemed very sporadic. The last paragraph is actually a former minister’s opinion and actions. On a more observant note, the story falls under the category of Conflict. It takes place in India but is reported on the U.S. NPR website. This is because the United States is taking steps toward banning e-cigarettes, so reporting on other countries doing it and their reason for it allows us, as readers, to see the impact of our actions in a global perspective.