Photography while dangling 40 feet high may be frowned upons

By Chris Lindsey
While looking in to the Rec Center for my story I decided to visit the rock wall.  I had my camera with me so I thought it might be a good idea to take a couple picture at the top of the wall.  I had asked the Rec Center befor if they allowed photography and they said it was allowed.  So I threw my camera in my back pocket and started my ascent to the top of the wall.  When I reached the top of the 40 foot wall I pulled my camera out.  As I turned the camera on and looked down, I realized I would have to overcome my fear of falling in order to take the pictures--and to find a way to hold my camera.  As I hung on to the rock I used my free hand to start clicking pictures.  I climbed down to the bottom of the rock wall only to be immediately confronted by the staff.  She proceeded to tell me how although photography is allowed in the Rec Center, photography at the top of the wall is "too dangerous."  She told me to turn in my harness and shoes.  Luckily she did not take any of my information so I'm guessing I will be allowed back in the Rec Center.  What I took away from this experience is to always clear with the staff what you are about to do to make sure it is allowed (or do it and play dumb to get the material, depending on what it is.)

School Board Meeting Austin Briggs

By Austin Briggs


Pizza, cookies and nachos, your time is up.

That’s because students in Poudre Valley School District will have a wider selection of healthy, made-from-scratch-meals from which to choose in the near future.

At Tuesday night’s school board meeting parents and board members were shown possible timeline of the district’s plan to improve the quality and nutritional value of the meals that are served to students.

PSD Child Nutrition Director Craig Schneider noted four main areas to focus on to improve upon the 2.2 million meals the district serves every year.

This included increasing the Farm-to-School Program, which brings produce from local farms into the school; increasing the amount of food made from scratch; decreasing the amount of processed food that is served; and improving the nutritional taste and appeal of the food served, he said.

If the plan passes, a food advisory panel this spring would make recommendations to improve the nutritional content of meals that are served in PSD.

One of the major jobs of the panel would be to choose a task force to do an in-depth comprehensive assessment of all aspects of the food program in PSD.  To be decided is whether the task force is brought in from outside the district or whether it’s brought together with professionals from within PSD.

Once assembled the task force would look at what food is being thrown away every day by students, ways to improve efficiency in making meals, setting up a network to procure organic fruits and vegetables from vendors, what the best way to implement change would be and creating a blueprint to improve the nutritional value of the meals being served and to bring all the ideas together.

The school district would begin implementing the recommendations by the 2013 school year.

CanDo Obesity Prevention Coordinator Virginia Clark pointed out during her presentation a huge dialectic in the health of Coloradoans. According to Clark, adults in the state are the leanest in the country, the children are ranked 29^th.

Clark said that PSD already meets or exceeds the minimum USDA requirements for its school lunch program.

“That’s not enough though, we can go above and beyond that,” said Clark.

One of the first things to look at is the entrée. Clark said research has shown that the main entrée is the course that’s finished the most. Even if there are fruits and vegetables as side dishes, they are often times neglected and thrown away.

Clark said one way to improve the health of kids is to schedule recess before lunch.

 She explained that studies have shown having recess before lunch encourages kids to eat healthier, increases concentration and also decreases disciplinary problems later on in the day.

Clark said one of the successes so far has been putting salad bars in every school in the district.

Parent and school nutritionist Patty Dale spoke up before the meeting and said she believes the salad bars have been extremely popular with kids. After listing about 10 different fruits and vegetables that are available every day to students, she said from what she’s seen “kids eat all the vegetables at the bar in the lunch room.”

She contrasted that with what kids often times eat at home and said that PSD has done a great job so far of providing students with healthy meals.

Trisha Kob, a parent of two PSD students, said it’s a “very good idea” to bring in an outside task force to do a comprehensive review of the entire meal program in PSD. Kob said she wasn’t concerned about the costs.

“Greeley went to all scratch foods without extensive costs. I’m confident it can be done as they describe it.”

Journalism or......Arby's?- Austin B

By Austin Briggs

   Like most everyone else who's getting a degree in journalism I have a healthy fear sometimes about my job prospects after graduating. My writing still has a long way to go before I would say that  I would stand a good chance of actually getting paid to write.

 After taking a few newswriting classes and writing stories for the Collegian this last month I've come to realize that these skills have to be applicable to alot of other jobs. Being able to gather information on the fly, becoming a mini-expert in whatever it is you're writing about in just a few days, finding sources, interviewing people and then writing a story under the stress of deadline has to instill good work qualities and abilities in a person that most employers would appreciate. Or so I hope. If not, I can always blog about what it's like working at Arby's.

What happened to compliancy?

By Chris Lindsey
Through all the stories I have written this semester I have never had trouble interviewing anyone.  I started meeting many of the staff around the Rec Center, which made it even easier to get sources.  With my latest story about the Rec Center everyone seems to have kept to themselves.  So many people I have interviewed and no replies.  I thought at first when I was doing my story about student athletes that it was just the coaches who didn't want to talk.  However, after switching the in-depth story to the Rec Center I thought sources would be much easier to obtain.  I was wrong.  Even the staff of the Rec Center don't want to talk to journalists.  It may just be that everyone around the Rec is tired of me in their business.  Who knows?  I just need to hope someone will talk to me in the next couple days!

On being a sad journalist

Sometimes I get sad about journalism. Sometimes I feel doomed to a life of excessive stress, long hours and tons of cats. I question the work I’m doing in school to obtain a degree in this field that is hard to break into and even harder to make an actual living in. But through all my worries and woes, I do see the gifts pursuing a degree in journalism have given me. Here are things a journalist can do that other people can’t:

-Talk to people (we are very socially apt beings)

-Write above a 10^th grade English level

-Be creative, be serious, be critical, be inspiring (all at once!)

-Learn stuff. All the time. No restrictions to what, from who or how much.

Double yeah!

On trusting a journalist

Trust is something that comes difficult for people when thinking about journalism. There is this skepticism and paranoia that surfaces the minute you ask someone if you can ask them a few questions for a story. As I was approaching sources for my in-depth drug piece, I found I had to be agile and careful of how I presented my story. If my interviewee began to look uncomfortable or nervous after I popped the question, I quickly added “I can keep you anonymous, leave out your last name, make one up…ANYTHING. TALK TO ME ABOUT YOUR DRUGS.” It’s not like this was being published in the Washington Post or something. Eventually when people started letting down their guards and talking to me, I realized how much power I had as a journalist. Suppose the story turns out really well and I want to publish it somewhere, but I promised to keep my sources anonymous? I would have to keep my word, even if it meant forfeiting a story in print. We got the power, people. Let’s not abuse it.

Maintaining a balance

By Natasha Leadem

       I have chosen to write my depth story on the Justice for All anti-abortion display that comes to campus every year, and I’m finding it incredibly difficult to balance both sides without sounding biased either way. While I had never intended for this story to become a battle between “pro-lifers” and “pro-choicers” I’m finding it incredibly difficult to stray from the polarization of the issue. My intention is not to emphasize the debate, rather to discuss where the display comes from and how it is being responded to on campus, however, it is quite the balancing act. Wish me luck!

People like to talk

By Natasha Leadem

  

   I have been a journalist since my sophomore year of high school and it still never ceases to amaze me how willing people are to talk to you, even if you are a complete stranger.  I remember being the editor in chief of my yearbook and having to remind my staffers, “always remember- we’re not stalkers, we’re journalists.” They were always scared to approach sources because they were afraid of getting a bad rap. Anyways the point in this rant of a post is that people are willing to talk, but it’s up to you as a journalist to get them talking. Throughout the semester I have found out that the best way to do this is to not act like a stalker. They like to be looked at and talked to like people, not “subjects” or “sources”. It’s all about being conversational. Sometimes after I’m done interviewing somebody I will just turn off the recorder and keep talking to them. By the end of an interview with a woman named Dawn, a Habitat for Humanity employee, I felt like I had known her for years. Journalism is all about interacting with people and trying to get to know their story, but in order to do this you have to be good at the small talk.

Starting Stories

By TOM MULLEN

I'm not going to lie, I'm a little bit of a procrastinator. Sometimes I wait till the last minute to start a paper or a story. But what i find is that once I get started its hard not to stop because I genially enjoy writing. I guess every time I just find starting a story or a paper to be a somewhat daunting task. Every time I'm unsure about how difficult or how long it will take to finish. Do you guys know what I'm talking about? I don't wanna be the only one here.

So i guess what my ad vice would be is this: Its never as bad as it seems. Once you get started , it usually never takes as long as you think . As long as you put in the effort you might even surprise yourself. Just last week I waited till 7pm the night before to write a 5 page research paper and I was pleasantly surprised by how well it came out. Who'd have known?

The End is near

By Logan Martinez

I have been involved as an editorial intern for Lydia’s Style magazine since November 2011 and have since fallen for the people I work with. Though they are not perfect and often want to rip each other’s heads off, I don’t want to have to leave. It is hard for me to believe the internship is over because I have made such good friends with my co-workers. On Monday Lydia will decide whether she wants to hire me on as an official editorial assistant and I hope she does. If it works out, I will be so excited, but it just doesn’t feel like it will. Ever since my direct boss told her that my internship was ending, she has been dodging my smile or making eye contact. Will I get hired? We will see.

Students Fashion Designs on Display in Gustafson

By Logan Martinez
Originally Written: Jan. 27, 2012

Reading the newspaper, or getting groceries in plastic bags are everyday occurrences for many people, but for a specific group of designers, these everyday items are the materials needed to create entire lines of couture fashion.

Design and Merchandising students were given the objective to create circus-inspired designs or recycled material designs for the fall semester fashion show this past December.

Fifteen of those designs were chosen by esteemed Applied Human Science professors and are now on display in the Gustafson Gallery in Gifford for the Eco-Couture FGI Recycled Fashion 2012 display.

“The designs exhibited in the gallery were chosen because of the creativity, the materials used and the construction details,” explained Ruoh-Nan Yan, an associate professor in the design and merchandising department. “The designs chosen showcase a wide range of usage of recycled materials.”

Materials range from soda pop tabs, trash bags, newspaper and cardboard to window screens and video recording tape from old VCR movies.

Brittany Hughes, junior in Design and Merchandising and member of the CSU Fashion Group International chapter (FGI), has two of her designs in the exhibit.

“I actually helped set up the gallery and after the whole thing was finished and the lighting was on it, it was just a feeling of accomplishment,” Hughes, 20, said. “It was very nice to have everything put up and looking nice.”

Yan explained how upcycling, or creating products out of unwanted materials, is becoming more prevalent in the fashion market, but that these students are beyond the mainstream.

“The designs (of the students) are extremely unique and rare to see on the market today because the student designers put their creative thoughts into making those designs,” Yan said.

Sophomore Verretta Anderson, 19, has four of her designs in the exhibit, using soda pop tabs and trashbags as her theme, enjoys seeing her pieces on display.

“God, it is so exciting, I love it,” exclaims Anderson, Design and Merchandising major, “It is like a totally different experience to see it on the mannequin than walking down the runway and on somebody. Here, where you can see the detail and work the things took.”

Anderson, Hughes and the several other designers featured are honored by the exhibition of their hard work.
“Being recognized for the work that you do is always an honor,” Hughes says. “It is an amazing feeling to see your work on display, knowing that it was selected by faculty that is so respected.”

“I love that we are doing this and it is such an honor to have it in the gallery,” Anderson said. “I hope this is the first of many to come.”

The Gustafson Gallery is open to the public with this exhibit through March 31.

Interviewing People within a Trade

By Logan Martinez

 

Today and yesterday I interviewed two people that are experts for my story on the Annual trial Garden in Fort Collins. Yesterday I interviewed a professor in charge of organizing the garden and today someone who is is charge of the Master Gardening program through CSU Extension. It is funny to interview people of the same trade, because they talk to each other in between the interviews. Today my interviewee said, “Oh, did you talk to Dr. Klett? I asked him about the garden to make sure I had my facts right! He said you had interviewed him.” It is just fun facts to see how people interact. Oh, by the way, horticulturalists are so nice to interview because they love using big words and know everything there is to know about what they do.

CSU students angered by unnecessary roughness

By Austin Briggs, Natasha Leadem, James Reyes, Chris Lindsey, Jonathan Pait

FORT COLLINS, COLO.-Emotions are running high after recent allegations surrounding several CSU football players made news across America. From Facebook to national media outlets, pictures of Donny Gocha’s bruised and battered face have gone viral.

“It’s definitely attracted negative national attention,” an unidentified senior finance major said. “My dad called me and said that it was reported on Alabama radio.”

First reported Saturday, April 7, four CSU freshman have accused football players Mike Orakpo, Nordly Capi and Colton Paulhus of assaulting them as they walked near the intersection of Shields and Laporte. Gocha was one of two victims taken to the hospital for his injuries-sustaining lacerations to the head, swollen black eyes, chipped teeth and a severe concussion. 

Days after the reported conflict, CSU students are still adamantly voicing their frustrations surrounding the incident. CSU journalism students conducted an informal survey on campus Tuesday, April 10, in an attempt to gauge the student body’s sentiments.

In the survey, 96 students were asked to comment on the alleged assault. While news of the incident reached several national publications, survey results showed a majority of students received the news by other means. Sixty percent were informed via Facebook or word of mouth, 26 percent through campus media such as the Collegian and CTV and only 14 percent heard through other media outlets.

Of the 81 with knowledge of the incident, 84 percent believed it would negatively affect the university’s image, however, 83 percent stated that it would not affect their participation at football games 

Students are calling on the university to exact swift justice on the team members. Head coach Jim McElwain has indefinitely suspended the players from the team; however, some students surveyed said suspension is not enough. 

“I feel this punishment has not been sufficient,” said junior art major Conrad Pomrenke. “Suspension from football isn’t enough. Expulsion or suspension from all campus activities including classes is more appropriate.

Over 4,000 students have joined an online Facebook petition demanding the expulsion of the three players. “What they did is sickening,” Samantha Burnett posted on the page. “College athlete or not, what kind of person do you have to be to do something like that? They’ve lost their right to be here.”

In response to the campus uproar Tony Frank, president of CSU, attempted to calm the fevered masses via email to the student body and faculty. “When disturbing news is reported, most of us will, at least at first, react instinctively demanding immediate action, retribution or punishment for those involved,” Frank said. “But we still live in a nation where all people are innocent until proven guilty, and getting at the full truth of any incident can be complex and can take some time to be done right.”

The Fort Collins police department expects to file charges within the next few days, pending witness testimony and physical evidence. The charges could range from mutual disorderly conduct to felony assault. Although suspended from the team, the players continue to attend classes until the university receives a report from Fort Collins Police Services.

Afterwards, the Conflict Resolution and Student Council Services will hold a hearing for the players to determine further consequences including expulsion from the university.

The Perks of Attending Super Boring Meetings

By Logan Martinez

You get assigned stories. As many as were talked about. I attended the Board of Education meeting for class and wrote on the change in the middle schools to standards-based grading. I told my editor at Style Media about it and she asked what else went down. Nutrition changes. Sweet, write about that too. It was great, not that I get paid, but I am getting both stories published that I wrote, one for class and the other because I attended that meeting for class. So, next time you are forced to go to a super boring meeting, take notes and expect to have to write about it for some publication or other.