Category Archives: Uncategorized

Article #4 Final

Previous cancellations due to COVID-19 have made Morningside track students nervous about their potential upcoming season.

Payton Boer is a senior at Morningside College and is a member of the track and cross-country teams. The team was able to have a successful cross-country season, where the women’s team made it to nationals. Which due to Covid, will occur in April.  

Boer feels this success was definitely deserved and said, “Our team has been working hard all season long, it’s been a really special one and I’m excited to see what we can do at nationals.”

With the end of cross-country season, indoor track season begins. Or so it was supposed to. The team’s first meet was cancelled, and Boer is hoping it will be the last that is cancelled. “Things are getting really bad in Sioux City again and I really hope that doesn’t affect my final track season. Last year when we got shut down it was really hard, and I really missed it and I don’t want to go through that again” said Boer.

Two roommates of Boer: JoJo McKibben and Emalee Fundermann feel the same way. Fundermann is also a senior and says, “To have my last ever track moments taken away from me will suck so bad, I really hope we can continue on with our season.” Junior, McKibben said, “We worked the hardest we’ve ever worked this off-season and I don’t want to see all of that hard work go to waste. I’ve never felt better about my running abilities and I hope so bad that I get to compete at my best.”

Boer hasn’t been the most traditional student and has taken time off from Morningside here and there. If this season gets cancelled, she has to decide whether she wants to go another whole year to continue her running career. “This will be a very hard decision for me because I am so ready to graduate and continue on with my life. I’m 24 and most traditional college students have been in the workforce for a couple of years by 24. I will really be caught between deciding to continue running or move on with my life, and it might be the hardest decision I’ve ever made.”

Only time will tell whether or not this upcoming track season will occur. All Boer, McKibben, and Fundermann can do now is hope for the best and keep running.

Boer running in a cross-country race.

Media Comparison

The story I decided to cover is about Billie Eilish being body shamed. My print source was entitled ‘Billie Eilish shouldn’t have to keep answering questions about her body’ and was from Mic.com and the broadcast source was entitled ‘Billie Eilish Responds to ‘Wine Mom Body’ Shaming’ and was from Clevver News.

I think both sources were written/spoken well. They both had pretty much the same information and they both took the stance that no one should be judging an 18-year old’s body. Eilish is known to wear baggy clothes. She does this so no one can have an opinion on her body, because they have no clue what it looks like. This changed when paparazzi snapped a picture of her in a fitted tank top. The photo quickly went viral and the internet had several opinions on it.

Both articles quoted tweets and Instagram posts in which people were saying mean things about Eilish. Both articles specifically mentioned the tweet from a 29-year-old man from the U.K. who tweeted “in 10 months Billie Eilish has developed a mid-30’s wine mom body.” Both articles also talk about how Eilish ‘clapped back’ against trolls by sharing a TikTok on Instagram about people starting to normalize real bodies.

Links:

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDmWFdSCnk4

Print: https://www.mic.com/p/billie-eilish-shouldnt-have-to-keep-answering-questions-about-her-body-39049970

Article #2 Final

Both students and professors at Morningside College have found remote learning and hybrid classes challenging.

Courtney Hoogland, a senior psychology major at Morningside College, found remote learning extremely difficult. She says the most difficult part of remote learning was “Almost every class was on a different platform and some ended up having no direction at all.”

As for hybrid classes Hoogland says “Things are better now, as long as clear instruction exists, I can remain motivated.” Hoogland likes having more free time and still feels as though she’s learning a good mount. Although hybrid classes are an upgrade to remote learning, they are still not as good as a pre Covid world.

Most colleges made the shift to remote learning last spring due to the coronavirus. This semester some colleges are still practicing remote learning, and some are utilizing hybrid classes. This shift has had effects on both students and professors.

As for professors, Dr. Jeff Zink, associate professor of economics, thinks the most difficult part of remote learning for him was “The shift to a completely asynchronous mode of teaching and learning. I had to make and edit videos, tweak the essay portion of my exams, and try to be available for students.”

Dr. Zink also had to deal with public schools in the district making the same shift, meaning he had kids at home while trying to teach. “My wife and I had to home school in shifts. She had the morning shift while I worked, and I had the afternoon shift while she worked.”

Although last semester was a struggle because professors had little time to prepare, Dr. Zink thinks with a little help remote learning could be improved. “For some of the things I need to do, some additional software would be good. An art program with a sketch pad would be very helpful for me. And although I have not used it, the ability to record portions of lectures is a good thing.”

As for hybrid classes Dr. Zink likes that there is a little more flexibility. Students and professors have the ability to work when they have time. On the other hand, Zink said “Additional tech investment are required up front to make hybrid classes work well. IF this is not available, both fully online and hybrid classes really work against students that do not have access to the necessary technology. Shifting from one format to another is not easy.”

Dr. Zink is right, students all over Morningside campus feel stressed. They feel like all the odds are against them and they are not getting the best education they can. Senior accounting major Morgan Todd said “I feel like I’m not grasping the concepts in my fully online classes and learning from home during hybrid classes is difficult.”

Another senior, Grace Russman said “The hardest part about remote learning is keeping myself on task and remembering to do my homework. I feel like I’m more attentive in class than online, so I really don’t like having half of my week online. It’s just an excuse for me to not go to class or not pay attention since it’s hard to be involved when you’re staring at a screen for up to two hours.”

Although professors and administration are trying, Morningside students feel they are being robbed of the level of education they deserve. Students don’t blame Morningside- it’s not their fault we’re in a global pandemic, but they are frustrated, nonetheless.

article #2 Draft

Both students and professors at Morningside College have found remote learning and hybrid classes challenging.

The coronavirus pandemic has affected many businesses and industries and higher education is no exception. Most colleges made the shift to remote learning last spring due to the coronavirus. This semester some colleges are still practicing remote learning, but some are utilizing hybrid classes. This shift has had effects on both students and professors.

Courtney Hoogland, a senior psychology major at Morningside College, found remote learning extremely difficult. She says the most difficult part of remote learning was “Almost every class was on a different platform and some ended up having no direction at all.”

As for hybrid classes Hoogland says “Things are better now, as long as clear instruction exists, I can remain motivated.” Hoogland likes having more free time and still feels as though she’s learning a good mount. Although hybrid classes are an upgrade to remote learning, they are still not as good as a pre covid world.

As for professors, Dr. Jeff Zink, associate professor of economics at Morningside, thinks the most difficult part of remote learning for him was “The shift to a completely asynchronous mode of teaching and learning. I had to make and edit videos, tweak the essay portion of my exams, and try to be available for students.” Dr. Zink also had to deal with public schools in the district making the same shift, meaning he had kids at home while trying to teach. “My wife and I had to home school in shifts. She had the morning shift while I worked, and I had the afternoon shift while she worked.”

Although last semester was a struggle because professors had little time to prepare, Dr. Zink thinks with a little help remote learning could be improved. “For some of the things I need to do, some additional software would be good. An art program with a sketch pad would be very helpful for me. And although I have not used it, the ability to record portions of lectures is a good thing.”

As for hybrid classes Dr. Zink likes that there is a little more flexibility. Students and professors have the ability to work when they have time. On the other hand, Zink says “Additional tech investment are required up front to make hybrid classes work well. IF this is not available, both fully online and hybrid classes really work against students that do not have access to the necessary technology. Shifting from one format to another is not easy.”

Dr. Zink is right, students all over Morningside campus feel stressed. They feel like all the odds are against them and they are not getting the best education they can. Senior accounting major Morgan Todd feels like she is not grasping the concepts in her fully online classes and learning from home during hybrid classes in difficult.

Although professors and administration are trying, Morningside students feel they are being robbed of the level of education they deserve. Students don’t blame Morningside- it’s not their fault we’re in a global pandemic, but they are frustrated nonetheless.