2016 Marks Another Successful Year of Into the Streets

The day starts at 6:00 a.m. on October 5^th for the members of ODK. Quite early for a day off. Forty-five gallons of fruit juice and 76 dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts are laid out, soon to entice and excite groggy students. Last minute preparations are made and then, finally, it’s time, time to give back, time to get involved, time to go Into the Streets.

Into the Streets is a campus-wide event day that encourages students and staff at Morningside College to volunteer in groups and give back to their community at different agencies. ODK, an honor society on campus, started Into the Streets ten years ago.

Asked about what started Into the Streets, Leslie Werden, one of the professors involved in ODK, stated the honor society “wanted to create a service project that would involve the entire campus. The first year we had around 300 participants and it has grown to almost 900 since then.”

This year 79 agencies and 890 students and staff participated in the event. Although ODK did not reach its goal of recruiting 1,000 volunteers this year, members are still proud of what they were able to accomplish.

As Kelsey Brenner, Co Vice President for the Into the Streets committee said, “We were able to make a difference in the community regardless of the thousand people.”

Tracy Gates, the other Co Vice President for the committee, was also proud of the turnout this year. “I think that this year’s event was a success . . . and, from most of our feedback, the volunteers did an awesome job and were greatly appreciated by the community,” Gates said.

One of the reasons that Into the Streets has been such a success is because of the spirit of giving back and how these students positively impact not only the people they are helping, but themselves as well.

For example, asked what Into the Streets meant to her, Brenner said it is a, “way to get college students to give back to their community and it’s a way for them to see firsthand what other agencies do and how they affect people, which also helps them make connections within that community and maybe they’ll find a new passion. So it’s all about new experiences and getting to see things that you don’t see on a daily basis.”

Although Into the Streets has triumphed in many ways, Brenner and Gates noted there is still room for improvement. For example, some of the agencies turned away volunteers when they showed up at their doorsteps and replacements had to be found. In future years, ODK members will need to give agencies a better heads up before the event to make sure all of them are still interested in the event and are prepared to take on volunteers.

Gates and Brenner both agreed that other ways to improve would be: figuring out how to get sports groups, commuters, and other individuals more involved; finding ways to increase knowledge of the event on campus in the month leading up with it; and confirming the type work agencies want their volunteers to perform, so the volunteers come prepared.

When asked if she sees Into the Streets lasting long into the future, Werden said, “I’m confident this event will last well into the future. Our community organizations have begun looking forward to it and planning for it each year. Our campus community knows this is a wonderful way of promoting the concept of working together and building relationships with each other and with the city that supports our college and its students.”

Sources

Brenner, K. (2016, October 10). Personal interview.

Gates, T. (2016, October 18). Email interview.

Werden, L. (2016, October 10). Email interview.

One Man, 14+ Countries, and One Central Message on the Importance of Traveling

Chile, Peru, Germany, Austria, and many more; one man explains how traveling the world will forever impact your life.

Patrick Blaine, a Spanish faculty member here at Morningside College, is no stranger to travel. Blaine lived abroad while he was a student in Spain, and has loved traveling and experiencing other cultures ever since. He has traveled to over fourteen countries so far (Argentina, Cambodia, and Italy, to name a few), and still has many more on his bucket list.

When it comes to discussing travel with students, he has one main piece of advice. “If you can do it, go.” He highlighted that traveling/living abroad will: teach you to be completely and utterly independent, help you become a more well rounded and knowledgeable person, will help strengthen your resume, and will make the idea of living in other countries long-term seem more possible.

This is not to say that living abroad is all fun and games. As he reflected back on his time spent living abroad, he remembered going through a stage of culture shock and unhappiness. “You basically go through the psychological effects of disconnecting from your own culture.” He acknowledges that breaking from your own culture can make you feel incredibly uncomfortable, but he believes that once you make the break you’re more free.

Although living in a different country can have its ups and down, Blaine’s main selling point was this: “Studying abroad gives you independence and teaches you self reliance in a way that nothing else can. It teaches you to kind of be the type of person that can get dropped in the middle of any place in the world and probably find your way out. It can be stressful but the experience is one that changes you forever in a good way.”

What’s the Longest Humans Can Live? 115 Years, New Study Says

Researches have found that the fastest growing group of people are old people. However, researches have noticed that the increase in the age of old people has slowed and gradually stopped since approaching 115. This leads them to believe that it is not likely that people will be able to surpass the age of 115. Even with advancements in medicine and a general turn towards healthier living, there are certain biological factors that prevent humans from living past a certain age. There may be extreme cases that live past the age cap discussed in the article, such as Jeanne Calment who lived to the age of 122, but the prospects of more people living to that age or longer are practically negligible.

The story starts off with an anecdote and goes on to explain how it relates to the rest of the article. I personally didn’t like the use of the anecdote because it left me a little confused for the first few seconds of the article.

I thought it was interesting that in the fourth paragraph the author chose to say that the researches published the “pessimistic prediction” for human life span. It struck me as odd because I don’t think a life span of 115 years should be viewed pessimistically. Who would honestly want to live past that age?

I thought it was smart of the author to mention scientists that believe there is no limit to human life and show how this new study shows that there actually is one. Mentioning dissenting views helped give the article an air of objectivity and credibility.

I believe this story is newsworthy because of human interest and impact. I believe that this story appeals to human interest because it may make some people sad to know that there’s practically no possibility of living forever. This story has impact because the information that the researchers provided applies to all people.

Source

The Infuriating Reason Wells Fargo Got Away With Its Massive Scam For So Long

This article covered the recent Wells Fargo scandal and discussed how the company was able to keep its scamming under wraps for so long. The company has been scamming its customers by opening up banking and credit card accounts in their customers’ names without their consent. Many employees felt the need to do this in order to meet their sales goals. The company wasn’t caught sooner because its customers aren’t able to band together and file class action law suits against the bank (as stated in the fine print on their agreement). This makes it extremely hard to take on the banks and make changes. The article then goes on to discuss what could happen as a result of this multiyear scam and what this means for customers and banks in the future.

The lead is a little bit lengthy but it gains attention and gives background. However, I found it interesting that the article waited until the sixth paragraph to explain the headline and the lead. Instead of explaining the lead in the next paragraph, the author decided to give background on the story instead. I’m not sure which kind of organization would have been best in this case.

I think the author made some unfair assumptions about the education level of her readers. For example, the author used terms such as CFPB, GOP, and arbitration, terms that I don’t know off the top of my head and had to look up. Because of this reason and others, I feel like the author was speaking a little above some peoples’ heads at times.

This article was newsworthy due to proximity and impact. Millions of people were affected by this scandal and there are Wells Fargo companies throughout the country that are impacted.

Source

Alabama high school students be warned: stand for the national anthem or get shot.

Alabama Pastor Allen Joyner delivered a speech at a McKenzie High School football game on September 9^th that many won’t forget. The main message being: stand and show patriotism or face the consequences.

As Joyner said, “If you don’t want to stand for the National Anthem, you can line up over there by the fence and let our military personnel take a few shots AT you since they’re taking shots FOR you.”

His speech was likely in response to Colin Kaepernick’s refusal to stand for the national anthem at the 49ers vs. Green Bay Packers game just two weeks earlier. Kaepernick allegedly remained seated to protest racial injustices as noted by NFL Media reporter Steve Wyche. Ever since, there has been debate over whether what he did was right or wrong and whether or not he deserves to be shot.

Despite the controversy, a reporter from AL.com noted that Joyner’s speech was greeted by cheers from the crowd and was well received on social media. The Facebook post about his speech was shared 4,700 times and received over 50 positive comments before it was removed.

As the Huffington Post reported, the school initially took to Facebook to support the pastor, saying his speech was “taken out of context and misquoted”. Even so, the school later removed their Facebook post.

Butler County Schools Superintendent Amy Bryan later went on to denounce the pastor in a statement to AL.com by saying, “Patriotism should be a part of school events but threats of shooting people who aren’t patriotic, even in jest, have no place at a school.”

Not only can it be considered inappropriate for a high school football announcer to make such a statement at a game, but also, his words disheartened some of the veterans across the U.S.

The article from AL.com included a quote from Mark Bender, a 22 year Air Force veteran from Texas where he weighed in on Joyner’s speech.

Bender’s post on Sweet Home Alabama Baptist Church’s Facebook page said, “We fight so that all Americans retain their rights and freedoms to protest. I would never turn a weapon on my own countryman simply because they protest by remaining seated during the nation anthem, by refusing to recite the pledge of allegiance, refusing to stand or pledge during any act.”

Joyner has yet to comment on his speech and the school board still hasn’t decided how they are going to handle this issue. The board will meet next week to decide on any corrective actions or punishments for Joyner’s actions.

Sources:

Huffington Post

NFL

AL.com