Max Calzada Muñoz and WXOU participate in Dollar Days at Oakland University to help fund relief for hurricane survivors.
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It's not easy to be an 18-year-old manager at Mod Pizza. My sister is often understaffed with a line out the door. On top of this, her co-workers, who are mostly ex-convicts, don't have much motivation. She complains about this to me everyday. It gives me a headache. "Why don't you just quit?" I ask. She just shakes her head and leaves the room. I guess at the end of the day, she just likes money. But is it really worth it to work a job we don't like?
Four Oakland University trombone students of Kenneth Kroesche performed in the Trombone Studio Recital at Varner Recital Hall on November 6, 2017. In order of appearance during the recital, the student trombonists included Austin DeDalis, Joshua Tobias, Tristan Hughes, and Scott Voytush. Each of the trombonists performed separately along with piano accompaniment by Dr. I-Chen Yeh. After each trombonist performed individually, they then combined into a quartet to finish out the night. Voytush performed Trombone Concerto, Op. 114 by Derek Bourgeois. This selection included a series of musical runs at a fast tempo, that of which is almost unheard of in most trombone music. Voytush's arm raced back and forth as his instrument produced a melody which mimicked that of Yeh's rapid piano playing. Out of the four trombonists, Tobias was the only one whose instrument differed from the rest. Tobias played a bass trombone which allowed him to reach a lower register that rest of his fellow classmates. The low notes became particularly noticeable during the quartet performance where the power of his bass tone stood out in the selected piece. The acoustics in Varner Recital Hall helped showcase the range these students exhibited. Audience members sitting in the back row had no problem hearing the softest of notes, which helped draw them in as the music began to crescendo. As far as hearing the performance goes, there wasn't a bad seat in the house. For the finale, the trombone quartet performed three movements from Myths and Legends by Eric Ewazen. Within those final moments there was something of an odd spectacle that occurred. Tobias, the bass trombonist, got up from his seat and ran backstage, leaving his fellow trombonists holding a note and awaiting his return. Tobias hurried back with a piece of sheet music that he had presumably been missing. Once in place, they played their final bars for the song and for the night. While it can be speculated that the stint by Tobias might have been pre-planned, nothing can be said for sure. Regardless, it was surely a memorable way to round out the night.
According to an article by CNN, a 10-year-old girl from India was raped by two of her uncles. She gave birth in August to a child who's DNA did not match the first uncle accused. Further forensic tests revealed that the child's DNA was a match to the 2nd uncle, who was then arrested.
Giving birth as a 10-year-old is nearly unheard of, as it should be. The reason why the girl had to go through with giving birth at such a young age is that she was actually denied an abortion.
India's Supreme Court rejected the plea for the girl to have an abortion. Abortions in India are not allowed after the first 20 weeks of pregnancy, and the parents did not approach authorities until she was already at least 26 weeks pregnant. While there's always an option for the courts to grant special permission for an abortion after 20 weeks, it actually came down to what was best for the child in terms of her health. After hearing the advice of 8 doctors, the court decided it was for the best to carry out the pregnancy. She gave birth to her daughter via cesarean section. As it turns out, through all of these troubles the girl was never made aware of the fact that she was actually pregnant. Even during the birth, she thought she was having surgery related to a kidney stone problem.
While this story is bizarre, it is not rare. Coincidentally, another 10-year-old girl from India had an abortion after being raped earlier this same year. In 2015, India had 20,000 reports of rape or sexual assaults, and reports of rape has risen by 50% since 2011. India has tried to make harsher penalties for sexual assault cases, but despite this they only seem to become more frequent.
At this point, it's hard to tell whether or not the growing problem of sexual assault in India can be solved. This is why it's important not to shy away from this topic. Before a problem can be solved, it must be addressed head on. Talking about it and getting the word out there so people know about is an important step in bringing people together to stop it. After reviewing the official website for the city of Royal Oak, MI, the following assessments can be made. When first navigating to the website, the visitor is presented with a slideshow of photos which showcases various events and other information related to the city. The content of these photos range from promoting a veterans day fun run to exploring art in the city. Depending on the photo in the slideshow, people can be seen in both an action and static state. Some photos however, do not have any people in them and do not have any indicators linking the photo itself to the city. While these photos do not relate to Royal Oak at face value, there is a hyperlink attached to each photo that takes you to a page where you can learn more in relation to it. With all of these photos on the home page, there is still very little image wise that relates to the scenery of the actual city. If one wants to see a picture of city hall, then they must navigate to the government category and proceed to the city administration page. The website itself is seemingly easy to navigate. While there is no shortage of links to help you find what you are looking for, some of the categories can appear to be a bit overloaded. At the top of the website, visitors can also find links to the city's various social media pages. When analyzing the Facebook page, there is again a lack of photos showcasing the city's scenery. The profile picture is a logo with the letters R and O, meanwhile the cover photo is a group of young women holding hands in front of the same logo. When looking through the rest of the photos on the Facebook page, there is certainly a broader range which offers more scenery. Some of which include photos of the Star Dream Fountain, which is something of a landmark in Royal Oak. There were no photos of his fountain found on the website at first glance. Using more photos such as the ones above can help people identify more with the website and the city it promotes. This is especially the case with online visitors who do not actually live in the city. More landmark photos can assist in creating a more personable visual, and help people see what the city actually looks like. After all, cities are often made up of various buildings and structures, so it might be nice to see more of them.
Aside from the photos, the website is clean and well put together. In addition to various quick links to media and online payment resources, the homepage includes a calendar with upcoming events held in the city. Another thing that could be added would be a video somewhere on the homepage. A quick video can have lots of visuals and information, and web-goers could easily utilize the video to learn more about the city in no time flat. It's definitely something to keep in mind as we continue to strive through this age of convergence.
A new study conducted by journalism students at Oakland University has revealed the opinions that their fellow classmates have about President Donald Trump’s first eight months in office.
29 students were asked if they voted for President Trump, if they would vote for him today, and if they would have voted for Bernie Sanders if he were the Democratic nominee. The study revealed that approximately 76% of students surveyed did not vote for President Trump in the 2016 general election. In addition, approximately 79% said that they would not vote for him if the election were held today.
First-generation college students face many challenges that often go unnoticed by their peers. This short film posted by The New York Times showcases some of these students in their daily lives at an ivy league school. Stanley Stewart, one of the first students interviewed in depth, made note of some key differences between his more privileged classmates and himself.
Stanley views himself as being not as rich as most of his peers. That difference alone is intimidating enough to cause worry about not being able to fit in. At top tier schools, various assumptions are made about students such as having pre-acquired knowledge on how to effectively communicate with professors and utilize office hours. Among these differences, Stanley reveals that his column isn't exclusively filled with cons. He admits that having a background with a less than privileged lifestyle has taught him more responsibility. Stanley knows how to take care of himself, and he has his family to thank for that. It seems that there are some things one simply can't learn inside of a classroom, no matter how prestigious a school may be. Other students also touched on these subjects throughout the video. Word choice and context exhibit two contrasting worlds for some. Depending on the user's context, the use of the word work can mean either holding a position as a food server or updating a résumé. While there is a work ethic attached to both of the previous examples, this particularly speaks to the privilege of some students who don't have to worry about having a paying job while also taking classes in order to survive. Perceptions about life vary from student to student and school to school. However, the stark contrast in perceptions between first-generation students and students who's grandparent's grandparents attended school can be seen clear as day. Some first-generation students will even go as far as to conceal their identity as a first-generation student out of fear for potentially being pitied. Not wanting to seem like a burden and being viewed on par with other students is considered more desirable. Again, the absence of privilege has resulted in first-generation students not taking any shortcuts. Where others might try anything to take the easy way out, these trailblazers who were never handed anything in life are more willing to take the road less traveled on and prepare for whatever challenges they may face. While this trait is certainly admirable, it is also not necessarily fair to be automatically placed at a disadvantage compared to other students. After all, how can one be expected to finish the race in the same amount of time when they have more ground to cover? One of the most notable surprises was the 1vyG Conference that many ivy league schools have embraced. This conference encourages first-generation students to interact with each other and realize that they are not alone. This conference arguably serves as a key factor in helping these students feel like they fit in. The biggest takeaway here is that even though every student's situation may be different, there is always a common thread that can and will bring people together. |
AuthorThomas Butcher is an Oakland University Student interested in any and all things media related. Archives
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