Story 4 First Draft

December 3rd, 2015

Chopa

Chopa Ryskulova made the courageous decision to move from Kyrgztan to America to earn her own living and to be able to worship freely.

At the beginning of 2014, 19 year old Cholponai “Chopa” Ryskulova immigrated to America from Kyrgztan all on her own. She started off her new life in New York City by finding herself a job at a hotel as a housekeeper. However, after six months the New York life style just wasn’t for her. “I don’t like big cities at all. First of all because of danger. Second I don’t like noise. Third of all I don’t like crowds of people around me.”

A friend of hers was living in Sioux City and convinced Chopa to move to Iowa where a job and apartment would be waiting for her. She took the offer and has been living and working in Sioux City ever since.

At a young age Chopa became interested in coming to America. One of her seven older sisters came to America on a mission trip. Her sister thought America was a wonderful, life-changing place and told Chopa all about it when she returned back to Kyrgztan. She also told Chopa of the freedom of Christianity. Kyrgztan is a strict Muslim country and expressing Christianity can be life-threatening. Chopa decided that she too wants to come to America. When she was in 8th Grade she started to learn English as a second language.

Chopa loves her home country but stood out from her friends. “I was feeling that I’m different from my friends. They were all about marrying stuff and girlfriend boyfriend stuff. In my life I was feeling like I don’t want to be like that. Most of them are arranged marriages”. More than ever she wanted to travel.

When she was in college she applied for a Work and Travel program. Out of the 30 students who applied, only 3 would receive Visas. Chopa ended up being one of those 3. Another was her friend.

Presently, Chopa now 21, is living in an apartment close to the Southern Hills Mall where she works at a kiosk. She also has a job as register at Chick-fil-A. Her goals are to save money to purchase a car and to start classes. She hopes to study Hotel Administration.

The biggest change for Chopa has been the ability to worship freely here. “Here you have a chance todo whatever you want. You have freedom here. Here you have opportunity to realize all your desires, all your dreams. In Kyrgztan you don’t have this chance. ”

In Sioux City, Chopa was welcomed into the Sunnybrook Church Community. She has met and touched a lot of people with her story according to Sunnybrook’s Director of Community and College Ministries, Chris Ver Steeg. “What a courageous and brave young lady. I just saw a lady who just could teach college students a lot of things about just trusting in God and her faith, having courage, being brave and really just kind of set an example for a lot of people.”

Kelsey Brenner, a member of Sunnybrook’s College Ministries is amazed with how Chopa literally endured life and death situations. “She’s very brave and the fact that she went and preached the gospel even though she could have gotten arrested. It’s [her story] way more deserving of what you see on TV now days.” comments Brenner.

Chopa’s story teaches us to be thankful for what we have as Americans and to cherish our freedom of religion. Hopefully her story of bravery can encourage others to work hard to accomplish their dreams. “Nobody could be like Chopa,” beams Brenner.

Anecdote

November 30th, 2015

Hard work and faith is what drives this independent 21 year old woman to earn her way into a new life in America.

Don’t complain about your crazy life to Kyrgyztan native Chopa Ryskulova. Ryskulova works as a cashier at Chick-fil-A and as a salesman in the Southern Hills Mall.

She uses her savings to pay rent for her own apartment. She is also saving money with the hopes of buying her own car. She even has aspirations to start college here in Sioux City.

Even with her busy schedule and quest to save money, she also devotes herself to helping others. Especially in the Sunnybrook Church community.  She also has a knack for connecting with people from other countries, and makes them feel welcome here in the U.S. by using her own personal story.

 

Story 3 Final

November 16th, 2015

Air Conditioning is a “cool” addition to Morningside’s Dimmitt Hall. Students are excited about all the recent updates to the Campus’s oldest residence hall.

The beginning of the Fall 2015 semester was the beginning of a new era for Dimmitt Hall. The new renovations include refurnished rooms,  free laundry on every floor, and of course air conditioning.

Dimmitt resident Emily Muyskens is overall pleased with the renovations. She explains some of her favorite things about it.

“I really like the air-conditioning. I think it’s really nice to be able to personalize it for your own room because last year it got really stuffy in the building. I also really like just how it looks in general, it’s much more open and easier to get around in it.” said Muyskens.

Other likes from the students are the new furniture in the rooms and the lounges. Students are also taking advantage of the music practice room with the piano.

The next project for Dimmitt will be more landscaping.

Now in political news-

Iowans are still upset with Trump’s recent corny insult on them. Trump retaliates that it was his intern’s words.

Trump sent out an insulting tweet last month about Iowa because he is slipping in the polls behind Carson.

“Too much Monsanto in the corn creates issues in the brain” was tweeted under Trump’s name.

Morningside student Kelsey Brenner explains her initial reaction to the tweet.

“My initial reaction is not appropriate to say, but I mean I just think he’s dumb and shouldn’t be running for president.” said Brenner.

According to TIME magazine Trump claims that it was a young intern who sent out the tweet and later apologized.

Regardless of who actually sent out the tweet, Brenner along with other Iowan’s believe the damage is already done. Brenner explains that she can still imagine Trump being the one behind the tweet due to lack of evidence.

“It wouldn’t surprise if he did say it, with everything else he’s said. It’s hard to believe or not believe because you don’t really have like physical proof to show otherwise.” commented Brenner.

Trump has yet to gain back Iowa.

Now in national news-

Recent school shootings have led to a boost of awareness and action plans for schools around the U.S.

October 1, 2015 Umpqua Community College in Oregon was devastated by a shooter on campus. There has been 142 school shootings since the Sandy Hook shooting back in December of 2012.

Joelle Kruger is an RA on Morningside Campus. Here are her initial thoughts of the recent shooting in Oregon.

“It makes me a little bit concerned, but at the same time doesn’t surprise me. So I mean it’s not something new. I guess it’s scary that it’s happening more recently” said Kruger.

Kruger agrees that students and faculty on Morningside Campus should be kept up to date on how to respond in the presence of a shooter. She gives some tips from her RA training.

“The best step to do is to keep moving. Do not hide under a table because then you’re just  a target thats by like itself.” said Kruger.

Staying informed and up to do date is something all students and faculty can do.

 

Story #3 Rough Draft

November 11th, 2015

Dimmitt

Air Conditioning is a “cool” addition to Morningside’s Dimmitt Hall. Students are excited about all the recent updates to the Campus’s oldest residence hall.

The beginning of the Fall 2015 semester was the beginning of a new era for Dimmitt Hall. The new renovations include refurnished rooms,  free laundry on every floor, and of course air conditioning.

Dimmitt resident Emily Muyskens is overall pleased with the renovations. “Quote from Emily ”

Other likes are (whatever she doesn’t list).

Trump’s Tweet

Iowans are still upset with Trump’s recent corny insult on them. Trump retaliates that it was his intern’s words.

Trump sent out an insulting tweet last month about Iowa. He is slipping in the polls behind Carson. According to TIME magazine Trump claims that it was a young intern who sent out the tweet and apologized.

“Too much Monsanto in the corn creates issues in the brain” was tweeted under Trump’s name.

Morningside student Kelsey Brenner explains her initial reaction to the tweet.

“My initial reaction is not appropriate to say, but I mean I just think he’s dumb and shouldn’t be running for president.” said Brenner.

Reaction to recent shootings at colleges.

“I didn’t think it would ever happen to me” is a phrase that we hear too often in reference to school shootings.

October 1, 2015 Umpqua Community College in Oregon was devastated by a shooter on campus.

Will talk to RA Joelle Kruger about her initial reaction. Will ask her how Morningside is supposed to react if a shooter is on campus. Do you think that since we’re just a private school in Iowa, we don’t have anything to worry about?

Science Scavenger Hunt

November 5th, 2015

No I’m Not Egging You On

When dog’s became domesticated, they were deemed as man’s best friend, but at one time it was chickens.

Chickens are often overlooked when people think of domesticating animals or livestock.  That is why the domestication of chickens seems like a mystery to most. Humans were able to breed these birds into performing a lot of tasks.

“But no domestic animal has been moulded and recommended by humans as extensively as chickens,” said evolutionary geneticist Gregor Larson.

Chickens were very useful. They were bred to produce eggs and meat. Along with that they were trained to yell. The more vocal breeds would be trained to yell to act as foghorns by being strapped to a mast.

 

No Happily Ever After

November 4th, 2015

Groom Richard Brunson’s whereabouts are still unknown after shooting his bride last night in their Sioux City home.

Sgt. Mann was on the scene.

“Richard Brunson, 50, shot his  wife, Laurette Kenny Brunson, 38, with a .22- calibre handgun at 5pm. It happened after she threw a plate of wedding reception macaroni salad at him. His whereabouts are still unknown,” said Mann.

Mrs. Brunson and her 3 kids had been living with Richard for the last five months. One of the sons had run out screaming saying that his mother had been shot. A neighbor called the police. When the police showed up, the groom had already fled.

According to neighbor Michael Martin there were no actions from the couple that could have led to this.

“I’ve never seen him violent. Never heard them yelling. It blows me away” said Martin.

Mrs. Brunson, who was shot in the abdomen, is now in St. Luke’s Hospital, in satisfactory condition.

Chuck Todd

October 22nd, 2015

In TV political icon Chuck Todd’s speech to Morningside on Tuesday, he admitted he has no idea who the Republican candidate will be, despite Trump’s growing support.

Chuck Todd came to Morningside’s Eppley Auditorium as the guest speaker for this year’s Waitt Lecture. Todd is NBC’s Political Director and Chief White House Correspondent. A large crowd was in attendance. Half were students, the other half were Senior Citizens.

The audience applauded when Todd said his father was from Waterloo, so he can relate to Iowa.

“Trump is entertaining,” smiled Todd “Even though he slams me.” According to Todd, we are enjoying the “flare and pageantry” in the Republican Party.

“We’ve all predicted the demise of Trump,” said Todd. However, Trump is not fading. Todd said that there is growing support for Trump and that people are at least accepting who he is. After this statement, Todd mentioned, “Trumps not doing the little things to win Iowa.”

As for the other candidates, Ben Carson is up there in the polls with Trump. Even though those two are ahead, Todd believes that Marco Rubio has the best chance of bringing the parties together.

As for Republican candidate Jeb Bush, in the words of Todd, “Jeb Bush doesn’t understand the Republican party.”

Overall, Todd has no idea who the Republican candidate will be. He believes it will come down between Trump and Carson, even though he thinks Rubio has a good shot.

 

 

 

 

 

Revised Story 2 (Second Draft)

October 22nd, 2015

Extreme Makeover

By Rachael Arnts

Dimmit Hall received an extreme makeover during the summer. Students who live in newly re-modeled Dimmitt Hall see benefits, where RA’s see new challenges.

The start of the Fall 2015 semester was the start of a new era for Dimmitt Hall. The new renovations include refurnished rooms, formal lounge and informal lounge. Also, there is a new kitchen with an exercise room and music practice rooms next door. On top of all that there is now air conditioning and free laundry on every floor.

According to Dimmitt’s Head RA, Sarah Yankowski, students are very excited about the renovations and especially how the rooms look. “It’s a lot to take in and some are having trouble being able to wrap their brains around it,” she commented.

Morningside junior, Emily Muyskens is living in Dimmitt for the third year. The renovations were a contributing factor in her decision to stay in Dimmitt this year.

For Morningside sophomore, Nichole Townsend, she chose to stay in Dimmitt because she just didn’t want to change places.

Yankowski has noticed that “people really gravitate towards” the Informal now that it has the big projector screen. To her, the general consensus is the air conditioning is the highlight.

Muyskens and Townsend are both satisfied with the renovations, and say that the air conditioning is by far their favorite part. Townsend pointed out that she really liked the new furniture and wood floors in the rooms. She also comments that it just looks a lot nicer to live in and she likes the size of the halls.

When asked if there were any disappointments Yankowski said, “I think students expected more oomph. Students were expecting more big changes”. She then went on to say that students need to realize that they only had a limited number of days to complete this task. Then when things like automatic doors and the air conditioning are not working students are upset.

Muyskens’s least favorite part of the renovatoin is the automatic lights because they get stuck, and go off when she isn’t moving. Townsend expressed that she is very annoyed when the heat automatically kicks on. She also doesn’t care for the white walls.

As an RA, Yankowski see’s some of the renovations as both good and bad. A big pro is that all of the halls are connected. However, she feels like residents lose a sense of community on each hall. As for the kitchen she says it is wonderful; however, RA’s get stuck having to clean it. Also, the Informal can get rowdy with more students hanging out in it. Her room branches of the main lobby and it echoes, so it gets annoying when she is trying to study or sleep.

Each interviewee was asked if Dimmitt’s new look would attract more incoming Freshmen. “Definitely, before I thought they [the rooms] were really depressing,” commented Muyskens. Townsend added, “Oh yeah, it’s a lot nicer. It doesn’t feel like a dungeon.” Yankowski believes that new students will want to help break-in the newness.

Another new thing in Dimmitt is instead of having one wing strictly for girls and one strictly for boys, the third floors on each wing flip-flopped. Is this a good thing?

According to Muyskens, so far it hasn’t affected her and it doesn’t bother her that boys now live above her. The only drawback that she can think of is the fact that the bathroom doors are required to be locked now. Bringing keys into the bathroom seems unsanitary. Townsend believes that this is a good thing. To her dorms seem to have more problems if they are not co-ed. “At single-sex colleges there seem to be more troublemakers,” Townsend commented.

News Comment 9

October 19th, 2015

I read an article from the New York Times written by Mireya Navarro called, “Tenants in New York Press the Record Button in a Dispute With the Landlord. It was about how tenants would record conversations they had with the Landlord who tried to scare them into leaving.

Yes, this is newsworthy because what the Landlord was doing was illegal. It is now a court case.

The audience could be any apartment renter/owner and Landlord. In this case the tenants seemed to be Hispanic.

The heading and the first sentence so differ from each other. The heading talks about the tenants and the lead talks about what the Landlord’s agent was doing. The first sentence does get me intrigued though.

The author talked to various tenants and explained the threats the Landlord’s agent was making along with harassment.

I found this article to be interesting.  I liked how the author included the recordings in the article. I liked the story if the Bello’s and how the author explained how they secretly set up recording devices.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/19/nyregion/in-clash-with-landlord-apartment-tenants-in-new-york-use-covert-recordings.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=second-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

Story 2

October 14th, 2015

Extreme Makeover

By Rachael Arnts

 

Students who live in newly re-modeled Dimmitt Hall see benefits, where RA’s see new challenges.

According to Dimmitt’s Head RA, Sarah Yankowski students are very excited about the renovations and especially how the rooms look. It’s a lot to take in and some are having trouble being able to “wrap their brains around it”.

The start of the Fall 2015 semester was the start of a new era for Dimmitt Hall. The new renovations include refurnished rooms, formal lounge and informal lounge. Also, there is a new kitchen with an exercise room and music practice rooms next door. On top of all that there is now air conditioning and free laundry on every floor.

Morningside junior, Emily Muyskens is living in Dimmitt for the third year in a row. The new renovations were a contributing factor in her decision to stay in Dimmitt this year, yet it wasn’t the sole reason. For Morningside sophomore, Nichole Townsend, she chose to stay in Dimmitt because she just didn’t want to change places.

Yankowski has noticed that “people really gravitate towards” the Informal now that it has the big projector screen. To her, the general consensus is the air conditioning is the highlight. Muyskens and Townsend are both satisfied with the renovations, and say that the air conditioning is by far their favorite part. Townsend pointed out that she really liked the new furniture and wood floors in the rooms. She also comments that it just looks a lot nicer to live in and she likes the size of the halls.

When asked if there were any disappoints Yankowski said, “I think students expected more oomph”. She then went on to say that students need to realize that they only had a limited number of days to complete this task. Then when things like automatic doors and the air conditioning are not working students are upset. Muyskens’s least favorite part is the automatic lights because they get stuck, and go off when she isn’t moving. Townsend expressed that she is very annoyed when the heat automatically kicks on. She also doesn’t care for the white walls.

As an RA, Sarah Yankowski see’s some of the renovations as both good and bad. A big pro is that all of the halls are connected. However, she feels like you lose a sense of community on each hall. As for the kitchen she says it is wonderful; however, RA’s get stuck having to clean it. Also, the Informal can get rowdy with more students hanging out in it. Her room branches of the main lobby and it echoes, so it gets annoying when she is trying to study or sleep.

Each girl was asked if Dimmitt’s new look would attract more incoming Freshmen. “Definitely, before I thought they [the rooms] were really depressing,” commented Muyskens. Townsend added, “Oh yeah, it’s a lot nicer. It doesn’t feel like a dungeon.” Yankowski believes that new students will want to help break-in the newness.

Another new thing in Dimmitt is instead of having one wing strictly for girls and one strictly for boys, the third floors on each wing flip-flopped. Is this a good thing?

According to Muyskens so far it hasn’t affected her and it doesn’t bother her that boys now live above her. The only drawback that she can think of is the fact that the bathroom doors are required to be locked now. Bringing keys into the bathroom seems unsanitary. Townsend believes that this is a good thing. To her dorms seem to have more problems if they are not co-ed. “At single-sex colleges there seem to be more troublemakers,” Townsend commented.

 

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