Common Ground

As more and more people accept the presence of homosexuals in our society, more gay rights groups pop up. IIn recent weeks, there's been a ton of coverage on whether or not Chicago will have a gay high school. The story even made national news when CNN's story made headlines. So how does Common Ground feel about this? There are several GLBT staff/faculty members at DU. Are they involved with Common Ground? I will be following this up with an interview with Common Gound's Vicki Whooper. Stay tuned!!

Photo source: cnn.com/2008/US/10/13/gay.friendly.school

IMPACT....is a "Life-Changing Experience"

http://wguide.uchicago.edu/ch12_image10selfdefense.jpg


Those were the words of Dean of Students Trudi Goggin on the 24-hour self defense class, IMPACT. Students are encouraged to enroll in the class to learn the necessary tools to escape a possible offender. Rob Babcok and Diana Costanzo will be teaching the class this weekend, Oct. 25 and Oct. 26, and next weekend, Nov. 1 and Nov. 2. The self-denfense instruction will take place in the rec room of the residence hall commons. Goggin said every woman should enroll in the class. Goggin herself attended a session a few years back and said it was a "life-changing experience."

Interested? Good, I think all women should enroll in self-defense. I did a self-defense class a couple years back and learned a lot. So if you're considering the class you should keep in mind a minor detail. This detail is the fact that the course costs $800!!!!

That's almost a Chanel bag! BUT would a Chanel bag save your life in a threatening situation? It could...but I don't think the average attacker would want the bag. So, yea, as a former self-defense enrollee, I suggest that all chicks should take some kind of self-defense class.

Blood Drive

According to MyDU there will be a blood drive on October 30 from 11am-4pm. This will take place in Crown 002/003. You can make an appointment but walk ins are also welcome. I know blood drives are for a good cause but a blood drive the day before Halloween...Dracula anyone? Maybe it's just me.

Men's Soccer

The Dominican men's soccer team is kicking their way towards another appearance at the Northern Athletic Conference Championships. The Stars have an overall record of 14-2-0 and a conference record of 10-0-0. If the Stars go all the way this year, they'll be making their SEVENTH consecutive appearance at the Division III National Championships...can you believe it? Hope for the best and cheer the soccer players on as their season is ending soon. The Stars have two home games left. Go to the West Soccer field Oct. 26 at 1 p.m. and Oct. 29 at 3 p.m.

Controversy Last Night?

Last night Stephen Kinzer was part of a panel of journalists leading a discussion about the nature of reporting. I heard in my political science class that some of the journalists (not Kinzer)made some controversial statements about reporting and the government. I would REALLY like to know more about what was said. If anybody was there and knows more about it, please let me know.

Hispanic Heritage Reception

On Friday, October 24, OLA will be hosting their annual Hispanic Heritage Reception.
The reception started 5 years ago. This is organized event to raise money for The Latino Educational Support Grant which is awarded every year to Hispanic undergrad students. Also, this is an opportunity for DU undergrad students to meet professional alumni of Dominican University. All Dominican students and Alumni are welcome! There is no entrance fee, but donations will be accepted at the door. Also we will be selling tickets for a raffle so come prepared.

Into the Woods

The Fall show, Into the Woods is a play about fairy tales but with a twist. Senior Amy Dettman is the Baker's Wife and spilled some secrets about the show.

"My character is the Baker's Wife. Her fairy tale is a little bit different than the other ones. She is a very take charge character. To sum of the show, the underlining meaning is to be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it. It is a commonatary on the human condition. Even after you get what you want, you will always want something else. Essentially, everyone must be careful what they wish for," Dettman said.

The show will be Friday, November 14, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, November 15, 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, November 16, 3:00 p.m. in the Lund Auditorium.

TV...It's Pretty Fun

I just wanted to follow up with what Natalie said about Concordia's TV station. Not only do I agree 100% that Dominican should have its own TV and radio stations, but I also think that any journalism/communication student should really check this out. I think it's really valuable experience and it's also pretty fun. I got to dress up like a REAL TV newscaster and read a sports story in front of the camera (after Natalie showed me how to not look "nervous" on TV of course). So if you're interested at all in this sort of thing, come check it out. There'll be more info to come on when we'll be taping next.

Thank You Letters for Soldiers

According to MyDU "The Adopt A Soldier Letter Writing Party is a bi-partisan event aimed at putting aside our political differences and writing Thank You letters to our soldiers serving overseas." This event is taking place tomorrow from 5-7pm in the Lewis Lounge. I think this event sounds great and I really like the fact that it mentions that this is not a political event. It might be hard to forget about politics right now, and we all know how charged a political discussion can become, but an event like this shows that it is possible to put aside our differences for a good cause. So check out this event if you want to say thank you for the men and women of the military.

On the Dominican home page, there is a link to an article in the Wednesday Journal about Judy Collins' performance. According to the article, many people were extremely excited for her to perform:

"Collins' talent will be on display this Saturday, Oct. 18 in River Forest, when she appears in a much-anticipated concert at Dominican University's Performing Arts Center. Leslie Dominguez, who curates the Performance Center's season, said, "Judy Collins has been on my wish list since I came here. I grew up listening to her music. I think I know every word of every song."
Dominguez and her boss, Dominican President Donna Carroll, both of whom have previously witnessed Collins' virtuosity, are delighted she's coming."

I work phonathon at Dominican, and one alum told me that she was not donating to Dominican this year because Collins is extremely open about being pro-choice. She said she was disappointed in Dominican for inviting Collins to a Catholic institution.

Does anybody have any thoughts about this?

Trick or Treat...Career Center Style

http://stewystuff.blogspot.com/2007/10/blog-post.html


For many students, the Center for Career Development is ready and willing to help prepare resumes and assist with other services in order to prepare students for the real world. For me, Career Development helped me polish my resume when I applied for an internship at NBC. I plan on going back to Career Development to polish my resume again when I begin to apply for jobs in the next month or so.

On Wednesday, Oct. 29, the Center for Career Development will be hosting a session in order to help students build resumes. Students will be able to learns some TRICKS while enjoying some tasty TREATS from 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. in the Caughlin Mulit-Purpose Room. Based on my experiences with the Center for Career Development, I encourage you all to stop by with a first draft of your resume as you will learn a lot!

Midnight Madness

Since I was a Dominican cheerleader for my freshmen and sophomore year, I performed at Midnight Madness every year. This is my first year not performing because Dominican does not have a cheerleading squad anymore.

Midnight Madness promotes school spirit, but in my opinion but it is more stressful than fun. My freshmen year I had to leave night class early in order to make my call time. Last year our squad had to learn a cheer quickly since our tryouts were in mid September. The pep rally is early in the year, so it is hard putting together a cheer or a dance with new members. For cheerleaders, perfecting stunts, a dance and cheer could take months. It is difficult to put a routine like that together in only a month and a half. Also, the rally goes until 1 a.m. I know that if Midnight Madness was on a Friday night there would be less of a turn out, but it was always hard for me waking up for my classes the next day.

However, Wednesday night is the 10th Annual Midnight Madness pep rally. Both the mens and womens basketball team will have a scrimage to kick off the new season.

Think Pink

In my family, my Aunt Angie and my cousin Kim are both breast cancer survivors. Since breast cancer has affected my family, I am very passionate about supporting different causes to find a cure. There is nothing more devestating than seeing someone you love sick and weak. It is also hard to know that many other women are suffering from the same sickness. According to the American Cancer Society, about 182,460 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. And about 40,480 women will die from the disease this year. However, there are now about two-and-a-half million breast cancer survivors in the United States.

On October 22, 2008 Dominican invites you to wear pink to honor those who are fighting or recovering from breast cancer. It is also to support further research and awareness. Information and give-aways will be available at the Lewis Alcove on 10/22 from 10am – 2pm.

Let's wear pink to support a great cause!

DU's POTENTIAL MEDIA CENTER?? ATTN: DU ADMINISTRATION

Tonight, my fellow DU students....Joe Nava and Lisa Wieczorek....and I filmed our first ever WCGR News show. The show was an over all success. I wish DU had or own TV station so that my friends, peers and fellow Dominican students would be able to view our newscasts on a campus TV station. Unfortunately, only Concordia students will see us on their cable network. While DU students will be able to view us via the website...which will come at a later date.. I really hope that the administration at Dominican will seriously CONSIDER adding a MEDIA development program IN THE NEAR FUTURE.

CU's media equipment is SERIOUSLY out of date and I feel that DU should invest money in a news station. Writers for the STAR are not all journalism majors. I believe that many students, irregardless of their declared major, would be interested in a DU News/TV STATION. Please consider this, blog readers, as it is something very dear to me. I feel that this should be taken seriously by the deans as they may have some input as to whether or not DU will have a potential media center.

Thank you.

Breast Cancer Awareness

Next Wednesday, October 22, the Dominican Benevolence Committee is encouraging everyone to wear pink to raise breast cancer awareness. Stop by the Lewis Alcove from 10am-2pm that day for information and give-aways. This is a great way to raise awareness and show support.

(Photo courtesy of Blogspot)

Judy Collins?

Sorry if I'm ignorant, but who is Judy Collins? Is this someone that students at Dominican really want to see? I would think that a college campus would want to cater to maybe...the college-aged audience? But then again, I'm sure there's a lot of students who wouldn't know who the Rolling Stones are if they were coming here, so maybe I'm just underestimating Judy Collins' popularity. Anyway, if you're interested check out MyDu for more info.

BULLS TICKETS!

That's right Bulls fans, Student Involvement is selling Bulls tickets for only $10. Tickets will be sold tomorrow from 3:00-6:00pm and Thursday from 9:30am-1:00pm. The tickets are for the November 1 game against the Memphis Grizzlies. So if you're a basketball fan and want to see the Bulls' #1 pick Derrick Rose, get your tickets while you still can.

(Photo courtesy of NBA.com)

Concordia TV

I just wanted to also talk about the TV station at Concordia. I think it's a great opportunity for Dominican students who want experience in broadcasting. This is an especially good opportunity for communication students who hopefully have found our blog. It should be fun putting this newscast together, so come join Natalie and I at Concordia.

Columbus Day Parade

Freshmen Angela Mastromauro walks to the parade.

Ferrari is very famous Italian brand of car!

Giulia Tolitano watches the parade in Columbus attire.

Seniors Mike Ariano and Cristian Alaimo share inside jokes before the parade.

One of the many floats in the parade!

Carla and Claudia Capobianco take a break from playing calcio to smile for the camera.

CIAO members show their pride!

On October 13, 2008, CIAO walked in the Christopher Columbus Day Parade. It is an annual event and everyone is welcomed to participate!

Chicago Fire Game

CIAO (Italian Club) had a very busy weekend! Here are pictures from the Chicago Fire soccer game on Sunday, October 12, 2008 at Toyota Park.

Fire fans show their spirit!

The start of the game!

Dominican students Plamen Pamukov, Rosa Andreuccetti, Mariangela Pezzella, and Paolo Cosentino watch the game.

SGA...Slacking Government Awareness

So, guess what? SGA is still not doing their job effectively. In fact, we're almost half way done with this semester and SGA still has announcements on Campus News stating that they're in dire need for senators. Well, SGA, maybe if you actually got yourslef out there and tried to elevate your presence on campus, people would care.

For the last issue of the paper, I was responsible for taking care of Student Voices. The question was: What do you think SGA is doing for the student body?

Can I just tell you that I asked probably 20 different students that question. 13 of the 20 replied with, "Ummm, what's SGA?" or "I don't know what SGA is." The other seven people laughed at the question and uniquely answered with pretty much, "SGA does nothing!" One student even got very upset and stated that "SGA is a bunch of garbage. It's a bunch of individuals who think they have power but really don't." This anonymous person went on and on and on and some of his statement had to be censored.

I find it sad that in such a small school where everybody pretty much hears a little bit of everything, like it is in high school, no one had anything positive to say about the SGA. My best friend is a member of SGA. I've asked her what's their deal and she doesn't even know. My first post on SGA reflected my concern and frustration. Sadly, I still feel the same way. How about you? What do you think SGA does for the student body? Why do you think they still are in need of 2 Senior Senators, 1 Junior Senator and 2 Sophomore Senators?

Instead of the Student Government Association, I'm redefining SGA on this blog as SLACKING GOVERNMENT AWARENESS.

Thank you.

Concordia University's Television Station

As you may or may not know, I will be working as a television news reporter within the next year...keep your fingers crossed! Over the summer, I worked at NBC5, composed a reporter reel/resume tape and had the best experiences ever. Now, while I'm in my senior year, I feel like I still need to be getting on-camera time so that everything I learned will stay fresh for when I'm out in the real world.

In order to keep getting that practice, I'm involved with Concordia University's television station. I'm in the process of putting a package on students' election reactions but it's a matter of time until it aires because my editor is a busy football player. I am also, along with my blog buddy Joe, setting up a weekly news show which will premiere Thursday....or Friday.

When I attended the meeting last week, I was completely shocked to find that more than half the students were from Dominican. Isn't that a little upsetting to any of you? I mean more of our peers are interested in getting broadcast experience than the students that have it at their fingertips. Susan Ericsson, the advisor for the media group, is a former DU professor and told me she doesn't think that DU is in the process of even thinking about new media opportunities for students.

I find this upsetting and actually somewhat offensive. If they can expand for science majors, why not expand for journalism, communication or even theatre majors? Our careers are just as important as those of other majors. If pre-med students can get HANDS ON experience dissecting a cadaver, then why can't we get HANDS ON experience with media??

Soccer Victory!

This afternoon, the Dominican University men's soccer team won their first conference game. They beat the last undefeated team! Now they have two more conference games until the conference tournament. The score was 3- 0.

"It was a very competitive game," said sophomore Edwin Rodriguez. "It was a good fight. We played good in the first half, then got slow in the second, but picked up at the end."

The next soccer game will be Tuesday, Oct. 14 at 3:00 p.m. against Concordia University Chicago.

Vaccaro is Number One!

On Friday, October 10, 2008 at the Benedictine University Eagle Invitational, junior Megan Vaccaro recieved first place! The race was out of one hundred and five girls. Some of them were from Division 1 schools.

"I have never gotten first before. It was a building block for me. Hopefully now people will recognize me as a competitor instead of just another runner," Vaccaro said. Vaccaro was so used to watching other people win, she was in shock when she came in first place.

Congrats Megan on your victory!

Dominican STAR Demand

I am currently managing editor for the Dominican STAR and have worked on the paper for a while now. This semester, the paper's been successful. The issue's that have come out have received lots of praise and also some criticism, however, we always have a good number of papers left over.

The latest paper came out Wednesday, October 8. Only three days later, two out of the five racks have had to be re-stocked because so many people are picking up papers. This is great for the STAR as circulation's been the best I've seen in the last year and a half! I'm curious to find out why this issue has had a much higher demand than previous ones.

Why were you so interested in this issue?

Drinking Games on Campus

Ok so I'm assuming that most of you have either seen or been a part of popular drinking games such as beer pong, flipy cup, circle of death, the list can go on and on. I was recently talking with some friends who live on campus about the way student play certain games in the residence halls. For example, students living in Power Hall will take the closet doors off the hinges and use two chairs to support the door horizontially in order to create a large enough space (i.e. table) to play a decent game of beer pong.

I laughed when I first heard this but it seems to be a popular thing to do. Why can't they host like a beer pong tournament for anyone 21+ so that closets aren't taken appart?

My house is a frequent location that embraces the game of beer pong. We have a great room that really only serves as a beer pong palace. We are actually planning a beer pong tournament and when my sister and I told our mom, she wasn't too happy. She did , however, point me to Time Magazine. A recent article about beer pong was accompanied by a great beer pong video. Check it out as some of the information is really interesting.

Thanks for the heads up, mom!

Photo courtesy of http://blogs.e-rockford.com/askgeo/files/2008/05/beerpong-2.JPG

Modernization at Dominican: An Ongoing Event

This is my photo essay slide show about modernization at Dominican University.


An ongoing event at Dominican University is the modernization of the campus. According to Senior Vice President for Business Administration Amy McCormack, Dominican has invested $100 million in modernizing the campus. The Lund Auditorium was part of a 1990 renovation to the Fine Arts building. McCormack stated that Dominican University has committed another $25 million to modernizations in the next five years.

Parmer Hall is home to Dominican University’s new science labs. Here an anatomical model of the human body is seen through a window to one of the new labs. According to Senior Vice President for Business Administration Amy McCormack, there are more labs on the way. These new labs include a neuroscience lab.

With the opening of Parmer Hall, students now have an additional place to gather. Juniors Vince Nardiello, Jason Dudek, Nikki Nardi-Milkulski and Marc Daher meet in Parmer Hall between classes. These students talk, eat and study for upcoming exams during their time in Parmer Hall. McCormack stated that Parmer’s growing popularity among students is a sign of the building’s success.

Many science classes are located in Parmer Hall. Because of this fact, many students like to hang out Dominican University’s newest building. This is why junior Jason Dudek meets there with his friends in between classes. “It is one place on campus that for the most part is quiet and for me is close by my science professors just in case I have questions for them,” Dudek said.

Some students still prefer the familiar surroundings of the older buildings and like to work in the Cyber Café. Junior Vince Nardiello is one of those students. “I like working there because I can get my work done because everything I need is right there, [whether] it’s a book, assistance, or food,” Nardiello said.

The older buildings on the Dominican University campus are connected through a series of basement tunnels. The tunnel pictured here leads from Lewis Hall into Power Hall. Power Hall, opened in 1922, is the oldest building on the Dominican Campus. Power Hall has had minor renovations done over the years, but there are no plans as of yet for anything major.

The Rebecca Crown Library and Lewis Hall, as seen from a third floor Parmer Hall window. Older buildings such as those have received minor renovations over the years. New this year in Lewis Hall is central air conditioning, new windows and new classroom furniture. These are examples of the minor modernizations that take place every year at Dominican University.

While modernizations large and small take place every year at Dominican University, some things remain unchanged. This ivy-covered stairwell window in the Fine Arts building has not been replaced, along with much of that building. According to McCormack, many of the smaller rooms in the Fine Arts building have been converted to office space instead of classrooms.

An event that took place recently at Dominican University was International Week. The flags of different nations are draped across the Rebecca Crown Library’s spiral staircase. The spiral staircase leads into the Cyber Café, which is one of the more modern parts of the campus and a popular student hangout.


This pathway between Lewis Hall, the Library and the Fine Arts building leads to Parmer Hall. Students walking along this pathway witness the ongoing modernizations taking place at Dominican University. This pathway will also lead students to an even more modernized campus in the future. According to McCormack, Dominican plans to commit about $1 million to modernizations each year. The modernization of Dominican University continues.

Soccer Team Photo Essay

Photo 1: Edwin Lagunas of Waukegan studies for one of his business classes. Lagunas plans on majoring in business and marketing. He enjoys his classes but sometimes finds it hard balancing practice and academics. He tries to accomplish this by managing his time and making charts for different projects and assignments.

Photo 2: Kyle Boekeloo of Woodridge plans on becoming a math teacher. Right now he is taking plenty of math, education, and general education classes. He gets a lot of math home work every night. In this photo, Boekeloo takes a break to get his mind off of the stresses of school work.

Photo 3: Before one of Boekeloo's education classes, he stops and talks with friend Alonzo Banks. They discuss homework, weekend plans, and of course sports. Banks and Boekeloo support each other due to the fact that they are both on sports teams.

Photo 4: Kyle Boekeloo smiles for the camera with his teammates. Being with friends is one of his favorite hobbies. Boekeloo also likes listening to music, playing video games and obviously playing soccer. He says he treasures being at practice because he gets to be with all of his best friends; his teammates!

Photo 5: Boekeloo stretches before practice. "I have to stretch before practice because they are usually long and strenuous. We practice probably 2-3 hours a day," Boekeloo said. The men's soccer team usually works on passing and scoring goals.

Photo 6: "I decided to attend Dominican because I really enjoyed the soccer program. When I first visited Dominican, I was captivated by the close bonds of the team. I wanted to make those same bonds and create life long friendships," Lagunas said. Since soccer is his passion, he really wanted to attend Dominican.

Photo 7: One of Lagunas’ favorite hobbies is playing video games. The brand that Lagunas owns is Play Station 3. Usually after a long day of practice, work, and class, he enjoys relaxing in his dorm and playing with friends. His favorite games usually consist of football and baseball. Once an athlete, always an athlete!

Photo 8: Food is a huge factor for an athlete. What you consume is important! Boekeloo eats Chex Mix and Goldfish packages since he is always on the go. He loves salty snacks but still manages to consume protein, carbohydrates and fruit at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Photo 9: Keeping up with school work and grades is a must to play college soccer! Both Lagunas and Boekeloo spend about fifteen hours a week practicing for soccer. That is a huge amount of time and a lot of dedication. Both of the boys study for tests and quizzes about two to three hours a night on top of homework.

Photo 10: After a long practice, Edwin Lagunas finishes homework in his dorm. It is important that all of the men get good grades in order to participate in soccer. Lagunas does probably 2-3 hours of homework a night in order to stay a member on the team. He usually will finish his homework in the library or in his dorm.

INTRAMURAL BOWLING PHOTO ESSAY

Here is the photo essay I've been working on. I was able to capture some interesting photos. Below the video are the captions that correspond to each photo. Check it out and leave me some feedback. Enjoy!


INTRAMURAL BOWLING PHOTO ESSAY

For the past seven years, Dominican University students have geared up for a night of bowling at Forest Park’s Circle Lanes. This semester, Student Involvement is sponsoring a competitive intramural league as well as open bowl for all DU students every Monday. The intramural teams play from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.; open bowlers play from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m.

This year’s intramural league has four teams of two to three players. Student Involvement Coordinator Rachel Costello created a new, flexible arrangement for tournaments so more students will participate. “In the past, the league played an eight- to six-week tournament,” she said. “This year, we have two four-week tournaments. It’s easier for students to commit to four weeks rather than eight.”

Junior Jim McQuillan has participated in DU’s intramural bowling for the past three years. “It’s different and definitely better than last year. Last year, competitive play started at 10:00 at night. People that wanted to play couldn’t because of night class and other obligations.” McQuillan, who bowled in a previous league for six years, arrived with his own bowling equipment, including the bowling shoes you see here.

For the first time, DU’s intramural league and open bowl take place on the same night. The average night of Dominican bowling costs about $180.00, according to Costello. “Last spring semester’s intramural and open bowling cost a total of about $3,000,” she said. “This semester the total cost will range from $1,500 to $2,000.” This cost covers three hours of bowling and shoe rental.

Freshman Brian Lukasiewicz commutes from Chicago every Monday to bowl with his team. “I played on my high school’s varsity bowling team,” he said. “This is one of my hobbies that I enjoy the most. We have a lot of fun out here but it can get pretty cutthroat at times.”

Freshman Alonzo Banks brings his “A-game to the lanes.” “Even though we joke around a lot of the time, my team and I are in this to win,” he said. “We get better every week. Our team is pretty competitive, and I think we’ll be the champions.”

Even DU graduate students participate in the intramurals. Mary Jo Chrabasz, 28, of Norridge, spends her Monday nights at Circle Lanes. “I was excited to join a bowling team. Bowling with my team has been a lot of fun. I’ve also improved my bowling skills dramatically since the league started two weeks ago,” she said.

Junior Joe Merkel has bowled with DU for three years. “I have no bowling skills at all,” he said. “I live in Chicago but like to come here to spend time with my friends.” Junior Liz Droel also comes for the fun. “I’ve been with the intramural league on and off for the last three years,” she said. “I’m still as bad of a bowler I was freshman year, but I come to have fun with my friends.”

“It’s fun to chat and see the students off-campus, out of their normal environment,” Costello said. “I’m really surprised by this year’s talent. We’ve got some really good bowlers!” Freshman Alfonso Mevilles (center) said, “I’ve been bowling all my life and I’ve always loved it. It’s finally nice to have some good competition out on the lanes.”

When each tournament is finished, Costello tallies up the scores. “We keep track as every game goes,” she said. “The intramural bowlers will be judged on their team’s score as well as their individual performance.” Student Involvement will award the winning teammates a Student Involvement t-shirt. The individual winner will receive a $20 Border’s gift card. “The bowlers play for love of the game and to hang out with friends,” Costello said. “A little incentive is always nice, though.”

State Department Career Opportunity

Tomorrow diplomat Brian Flora will be here to discuss career and internship opportunities with the U.S. Department of State. The presentation will start at 2:15 in Crown 002 and last about 2:45. According to MyDU the State Department offers internships and careers in Washington DC and in consulates and embassies around the world. So if you interested, check it out tomorrow.

LAST NIGHT: The Debates, My Photographer and your Response

Just a little FYI, but I help run Concordia University's student-governed television station.

Last night, my photographer, Drew, and I set out to cover a NON-PARTISAN, NON-BIASED story regarding how students feel about the up-coming election. Unfortunately we were unable to find a large group of students watching the debate because no one decided to organize a collective viewing on either campus. However we were on a mission. Shoot as much as sound as possible and worry about getting B-roll later (it was dark and rainy outside so wouldn't want to use it anyway). With no large group to interview, we headed for the res halls.

Once we got there, and yes! we had to properly check-in and give our id's, we did a little investigative reporting. I commute and don't hang out in the res halls so I don't really know who lives where. Drew and I went to each floor of Centennial listening for the debate. We were able to speak with everyone watching and they all let us into their rooms/suites for on-camera interviews. I was actually surprised to find out that students were actually watching the debates. Same thing at Concordia. We invaded the res halls and everyone was willing to go on-camera with their political views.

I was surprised at the reaction from students. A little more than half have very strong opinions and know who they're voting for next month. However, I was surprised to find out that a little less than half were still uncertain of who to vote for.

Once my story airs, I'll definetly provide a link for you to access. Thanks for your patience!

Dolores Hureta

Yesterday, Dolores Huerta gave a speech in the Lund Auditorium. I spoke to junior Vince Nardiello, who attended the event. "Dolores Huerta's talk was very insightful and offered much in terms of knowing about race and gender," Nardiello said. Did anyone reading also attend the speech? If so, comment about it. I'd really like to know what people thought about this important figure in farm worker's rights.

One last homecoming thought

I wanted to say one more thing about homecoming, this time from the sports aspect of things. Would people feel different about homecoming if the dance and game were tied into a different sport? I'm sure almost everyone knows what a big deal the football homecoming game was in high school. Would people be more excited for homecoming if we had a football team? I'll be the first one to admit that I would be. But I'm sure there are some people who prefer the soccer homecoming. Either way, I want to hear about it.

Our blogs...the next big thing?

I just thought I would let everyone know that our blogs will soon be finding a wider audience. The Star is planning on doing a story about this class, as well as our blogs. Now students and faculty that pick up a newspaper will know about our blogs. I hope that this is a step forward for all of our blogs. Who knows, maybe we'll start the trend of students and faculty all having their own blogs.

Megan Vaccaro, An Athlete You Should Know

Megan Vaccaro has been making a name for herself on the Women’s Cross Country team. Now she is close to putting her name in the conference record books.
Vaccaro, a 4’11” junior from Oswego, was recently named NAC Student Athlete of the week for women’s cross country in two consecutive weeks. Vaccaro stated that she was surprised to learn about winning the awards. She didn’t find out about them from a call from a coach or an official, but from visiting Dominican’s athletics website. “That was really cool,” Vaccaro said of her awards.
Vaccaro also has a shot at breaking an NAC record. She has been coming very close to the best time in a 6k race. In a recent race, she posted the second best time of any runner in the NAC’s three year history. “I would love to break that [record],” Vaccaro said. As for the runner who currently holds the record, Vaccaro says, “I’ve got my eyes on her.”
Vaccaro has become quite an accomplished runner. However, that was not always her goal. In high school she wanted to play other sports. When she did try out for cross country, she was not sure if it would work out. “I was the only freshman girl but I stuck with it…I like challenging myself,” she said. Vaccaro is grateful for sticking with cross country, stating that her teams have been like a second family to her. “Most of my friends I met through running,” she said. However, Vaccaro does wish that the cross country team had more support on campus. “People don’t really know we exist,” she said. She also stated that it’s sometimes hard to compete with larger teams because the Dominican team doesn’t have as many runners. Still, Vaccaro feels that with her dedication, these obstacles can be overcome. “Hard work always pays off,” she said. “It’s not luck, it’s hard work.”

(Photo courtesy of Dominican Athletics Page

New Media Follow Up

So after I posted last night on the new video on Dominican's website, I contacted Krissy Peterson, coordinator for public relations. She went on to explain that the site is brand new. The website was put together about a month ago.

"I have been doing most of the filming and all of the editing so far, Peterson said.
"It will be updated every week or every other week, depending on what is going on around campus."

I'm interested in contributing to the website and have already contacted her as I'm a journalism student and also work at Concordia University's TV station. If you're interested in contributing I'm sure Peterson would enjoy a few extra helping hands.

Photo from http://usinfo.state.gov/infousa/images/Media_ctr.jpg

Study Abroad Open House!

Ever dream of wandering the romantic streets of Paris, galavanting in London, and sip vino in Milan? Now here is your chance!

There will be a study abroad open house on Tuesday, October 7, from 9:30- 3:00 in Parmer Atrium and Wednesday, October 8 at the same time in the Lewis Alcove.

Other cities/ countries include Nantes, Florence, Salzburg, Ireland, Salamanca, Buenos Aires, South Africa and service learning in El Salvador and Mexico.

Sounds like an amazing experience to me!

NEW MEDIA COMES TO DOMINICAN....finally

To go along with my colleague's post, I'm excited that Dominican is finally stepping it up. They've created a site dedicated to showing Dominican footage. The videos range from DU Fest to various speeches from Lund-Gill Chair Stephen Kinzer. If you watch the first video, "A Week in the Life of DU," footage includes pretty much everything: guest performers, DU's theatre, Kinzer's speech and even a tailgating party near the soccer field. Make sure you check some of the DU videos out...you may be in them! Pretty cool, huh?

As a media student, I love the fact that there's new multimedia featured on DU's website. Watch some videos, at least the first and last ones, and give me feedback. Do you think they are a good addition? Are you pleased with the available selection? What's your stance on the new videos?

Photo from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Video_Camera.JPG

homecoming dance

Last night Natalie and I went to the homecoming dance to interview people and their reactions. To my surprise, the dance was not as bad I thought it was going to be. When we first arrived, there were five people there and two of them were with the newspaper. The dance was empty until about 11:00 p.m. After that, several Dominican students were out on the dance floor. The DJ played many songs from 50 Cent, Rihanna, and my all time favorite, Justin Timberlake. Although my first impression of the dance was going to be negative, it was not at all!

Alternative Homecoming

Here are some pictures of my friends and I Friday night. We got dressed up and went out to dinner instead of going to the dance. What did the rest of you guys do? If you have any pictures upload them!

Security on a Thursday night

This Thursday I was actually at school hanging out with some friends. It was around 1:00 in the morning and we decided to run an arrand. When we returned to the residence halls, we went to another friend's room on the 4th floor of Power Hall. Instead of walking all through the dorms, we had our friend come meet us out back to open the door...there's a back door which students can exit but can't enter, at least they're not supposed to. We took the short cut and a security guard happened to be right there. My friend said that we were just going to go in and security, smoking his cigarette, was cool with it.

I'm a commuter and don't spend a lot of time hanging out on campus. The security guard wasn't familiar with my face and I have never seen him before. What if I was a terrorist or psycho or something other than normal? I didn't go through any kind of i.d. check and entered illegally through a non-accessible door. How safe is the campus when the security guard could care less about who's coming and going without the proper identification process through a door no one's supposed to enter?

Photo from http://www.comicshq.net/cartoon-view.php?id=37&by=mitch

SGA still doesn't get it

As some of you may know, I am managing editor for the newspaper on campus. I've clearly voiced my opinions on the lack of involvement or governing that SGA does to many staff writer, interviewees, friends and on this blog. Today, a Saturday, SGA submitted a blurb to campus news saying that all are welcome to attend their meeting on Monday. However, if you look on their myDU page, there calender is not to date, no meetings are listed and they haven't even posted the "minutes" from this school year. Depending on how my Monday goes, I would like to stop by and observe the meeting. If I wasn't so busy and didn't have a social life, I would seriously consider investing my time to form a petition to impeach the current president. HaHa.

A new issue of the paper comes out on Wednesday. SGA will be covered twice: an article that was thrown together last minute and a student voices section. Check the student voices out. You'd be surprised that so many DU students agree with my opinion on SGA.

I asked like 10 people on what the thought SGA is doing for students. Nine replied with, "What's SGA?" Obviously I had to talk with more people and when I found the ones that at least knew what SGA was, all said they're not doing a damn thing.

Hopefully when this goes public, I'll still be covering extracirriculars and SGA members can fess up to their lack of interest for the student body.

I would like to follow up on Charlotte's follow up comment.

I think that experience really does play a huge factor. First of all, say you were having open heart surgery. Who would you want to operate on you? Someone who has been doing surgeries for twenty five years or someone who has been doing it for two? I think I would trust the one who has been doing surgeries for twenty five years.

I have never seen a man who loved his country so much as John McCain. A good friend of mine who has returned from Iraq and has seen the action there commented. "It is not the fact the that McCain was a POW for five years, but he understands the plight of the military. He understands the blood, sweat and tears that they go through to make sure everyone in the United States is able to live freely. Obama has never seen that blood, sweat and tears. He will not concieve that they are doing a lot of good in Iraq and let us reach our victory. They are better trained, equipped, and motivated to get this done!"

McCain loves his country so much that he cannot raise his arms because he was a POW for five years. Is a president's speech actually supposed to be exciting in the first place? I want someone who I know will fight for my ability to be free and who has PROVED it.

Bueller? Bueller?

If you are interested in Homecoming events, there's one tomorrow that I find particularly interesting. Ferris Bueller's Day Off is being shown in the Quad tomorrow at dusk. If it rains, the movie will be shown in the Social Hall. So if you want to relive the days of ditching high school, check out Ferris Bueller tomorrow.

Homecoming Spirit?

I think by now we all know that this is Homecoming Week. This is the week for all the students to show their school spirit. But does any one really care? I haven't noticed too many students that do. I didn't see anyone really wearing black and blue besides athletes who wear their team warm ups pretty much no matter what. Fellow blogger Megan Moriarity commented on the Volleyball post and suggested that this whole Homecoming idea is just a little too high school. I happen to agree with that. But maybe some people disagree and do love all the Dominican homecoming events. Well either way, let us know what you think.

Volleyball Tournament

To reply to Natalie's post, junior Michael Roder was in the tournament.

"It was a good idea and a lot of fun, but could have used more organization," Roder said. "Nobody knew who they were playing and what time. There also was not any refs." Roder said he will probably do it again next year.

How was everyone elses experience? Let me know or post pictures!