In the mind of an exercise science major: preparation for finals at SRU

Patterson Hall, located mid-campus at SRU, home to
many exercise science classes.

Now that it is at last the end of the semester, finals week of 2012 is winding down to a close. Before we conclude yet another finals week here at the university, however, we’ll take a look at the week from the perspective of an exercise science student here at SRU. Whereas the finals of communications featured a wide variety of presentations and the finals of music showcased many different forms of performances, finals for the exercise science department focus more on vocabulary, diagrams, and terms.  Because of the nature of these finals, the exercise science department is able to adequately test competency of its students by requiring them to use skills that they'll need later on in their field. A major based off of knowledge of the human body, finals devised to test the extent of this knowledge in the form of terminology-laden exams seems fit.

Robyn discussing finals in the basement study
lounge of Bailey Library.

This week we take a look into the mind of Robyn McNyme, an 18-year old freshman exercise science major from Latrobe, PA. Though Robyn is only a freshman here at SRU, she has already been able to enter a few of her core exercise science classes at SRU.  The reason Robyn can take these classes as early as her freshman year is that she took numerous AP exams during high school,of which she passed and consequently received college credit.


In the following video, Robyn introduces herself and discusses a bit about her preparation for this year's finals week.



Below Robyn discusses her exprience with finals in the exercise science department last semester.



Now that we have seen her past studying techniques, how exactly is Robyn planning to prepare for the current finals week at hand? “Chocolate, energy drinks, and partial all-nighters at the library are getting me through this finals week”, Robyn states, as she points to her stack of books that lie on the floor. As she stated previously, a large part of the finals related to her major involve studying various terms and diagrams. Memorization and reiteration for these exams are therefore key.  As for her statistics final, Robyn can only hope for the best come examination day. “I take that final Friday, it’s my last one. Honestly, statistics is so hard,” she explains, “Every exercise science major must take it and I can say with confidence that at least 90 percent of these students don’t like the class.”

Here Robyn explains the current finals that she has for exercise science, and what she has must do in order to prepare.



Robyn's finals will be complete after she finishes her statistics exam Friday at 3:00. Afterwards, Robyn plans to pack everything up and head back to her home in Latrobe, where she intends to spend some quality time with family and friends.  Until then, she is counting down those concluding days until summer. “I love my field and all, but it’ll be nice to be able to enjoy some free time in the sun without worrying about different muscles of the body, or seeing numbers from my statistics book wherever I ago”, she jokes.

This sentiment remains the same for other students here at SRU, as studying and cramming have definitely taken their tolls. Walking through the campus, it’s difficult to spot a student that does not appear to exhibit the physical signs of finals exhaustion.

Even though some of these students will begin pre-session in just a few weeks, finals week has come to a close, and for the majority of students on campus, this calls for only one thing: celebration. For those of us that will remain in Slippery Rock for tonight and the rest of the weekend, there is no need to further explain, as we will soon not only see, but hear, just exactly what this celebration means.

Until then, congratulations to the class of 2012, and the best of luck to the graduates walking in the ceremony!

Singing their way through finals: preparation for finals week at SRU

Swope Music Hall, home of the music department at SRU.

It's 1:00 the Friday before finals week. Walking into Swope Music Hall, the following scene unfolds: two students are relaxing in the music lounge reviewing their notes, a clarinet player is replenishing his reeds before practice, and a young student is walking into the building humming her warm-up exercises. Now what does this scene represent? It represents preparation for finals week in the music department here at SRU.

Just like any other department within the university, the music department maintains a unique system of finals that demand appropriate skills from its students within the field. A major that is predominantly performance-based, the finals that are demanded of these students require demonstrations of skill via instrument playing, singing, as well as composition pieces. Not so much the informative speeches and presentations of the ET major that we followed last week, finals in this department entail a greater performance aspect than is demanded for contrasting majors. One characteristic that these music finals do maintain in common with the communication finals we explored involves the synthesizing aspect; these tests require students to take the skills that they have been learning throughout the semester and put them together into one effective piece.

Check out this video below that shows what several students in the department think about final week.

Liz works on her composition piece that is due Wednesday of finals week.

This week we followed one particular student, Liz Biggart, during her preaparation. Liz, a 19-year old music therapy major from New Jersey, stated that this is her second time around tackling the intimidation that characterizes the week. "You would think that the second time I'd be more prepared and know what to expect," she states, "but even though I know what to expect, it's just as much daunting and scary as before!" Two major finals that Liz stated that she is preparing for include her music composition piece and her singing performance in front of a jury.

In regards to her musical composition, Liz is currently spending hours in the lab, weaving different layers and instruments of her piece together. Liz discusses the importance of this piece, stating, “This composition is kind of a a representation of everything that we’ve learned throughout the semester. It demonstrates our knowledge of music and our ability to replicate forms of it ourselves."

Check out this following interview with Liz as she works on her final composition piece.



Liz also has a musical performance that she must undertake Wednesday as part of her voice final. She must deliver a well-known piece in front of a musical jury consisting of anywhere between 4-6 faculty from the music department. During this performance, Liz will be graded on the pitch, articulation, rhythm, and tone of her singing.  The majority of voice majors, along with those in music therapy like Liz, must go through similar types of finals in which performance in front of a musical jury is key. Those in instrumentation fields must undergo performances such as these as well, the piano proficiency serving as just one example of these demanding performance-based tests. To hear part of Liz's performance, check out this video where she practices her jury piece.





For those of us students who do not fully understand the music department, a simple look at some of their activities in regards to finals truly serves as an eye-opener to the amount of work demanded in this field.

Finals week, as for the rest of SRU students, will come to a close on Friday of this week.    Stay tuned next week as we follow an exercise science major as he prepares for his tests before we close this series on finals week.

It's a communication student's life: preparation for finals at SRU

Tom Parker discusses final preparation for a senior communications student.

3am visits to the library. 6 pack of energy drinks. 2 hours of sleep. Here we have it, that time of the year is approaching once again: the highly anticipated yet always dread finals week. So what does this week mean for students at SRU? The emergence of finals week for the majority of students involves endless studying and preparation throughout the week. Are all students’ preparation for finals the same here at SRU though? Is there a difference, for example, between the sports management major’s preparation for finals and that of the theater major’s? As displayed in the unique programs at the university, this answer without a doubt remains yes, as the various finals throughout the departments differ based off of which skills those specific majors need to highlight.

This week we follow Thomas Parker, a 22 year old Emerging Technology and Multimedia major from Jamestown, PA as he discusses his experience with finals from a communication student’s perspective. What does a final for the typical communications major entail? Projects and speeches compose the typical format of a final examination for this major based on articulation, communication, and synthesis skills. In particular, a final for a senior communications major entails the deliverance of a senior presentation at the end of the spring semester.

The senior presentation is a speech showcasing the culmination of talents and skills learned throughout the comm major’s career at SRU. It serves as a pass/fail test for comm students in their Senior Seminar class. Senior Seminar is a mandatory one credit class that all communication students must take during their senior year in order to graduate. As Professor Strahler, communications faculty member at SRU describes the class, “Senior Seminar may seem like a 1 credit blow-off course to students at first, but then they realize that the synthesizing skills they learn in the class pull all of their knowledge from their various classes together to use.”

Professor Strahler shared insight into the nature of the communication field in relation to finals and examinations

The senior presentation that falls at the end of Senior Seminar serves as the ultimate final for comm majors, as it forces the student to mold their experiences and skills together in a 10-15 minute speech that explains their experience at SRU. The student delivers the speech after the senior dinner, where he or she discusses their experience in front of a 2-3 judge panel in a classroom located in ESB. The judges include knowledgeable professors, alumni, administration, as well as professionals in the communications-related field. The presentation is intended to serve as a reflection by the student of his or her academic and social development, skills, values, ethics, and knowledge gained during the course of study as a communication major at the university.  For more info on the course, check this class overview sheet out.

Tom shares a tiny portion of his senior presentation speech.         

Thomas Parker, ET major in the comm department, commenced preparation for his senior presentation by first reflecting on his overall experience at SRU – both inside the communication department and out. He stated, “The overall idea for senior presentations is daunting at first. Just to think, you’re putting the entirety of what you’ve learned over the course of 4 years in one little speech, it’s hard to figure out how to fit in all of what you want to say.”






That being said, Parker was excited to begin practicing and rehearsing his speech, of which he stated that he went over about 1-2 times a day the week preceding senior presentations.  The following video provides a brief portion of his speech.



Parker proved to not be reluctant in beginning preparation for this major speech, explaining “I never understand why comm students whine about senior presentations. They’re what a student in this major loves to do – communicate to people in the form of a conversational speech. And what’s more, it’s about yourself! How bad can it really be?” Below Tom discusses in more detail the senior presentation.



Parkers’ statements display the appropriateness of the senior presentation as a final examination for a communications student, as a final should adequately test skills that a student in that field will need in the future. The needs of a communications student involve lots of practice in delivering thoughts, explanations, and stories in a concise written and verbal format, and the senior presentation is intended to test just that. Professor Strahler elaborates on this idea, “I think that the senior presentation is a great way to test comm students. After all, speeches are the nature of their field.”



Senior presentations were held on Thursday April 20th, after the formal dinner. Around 25 students from the Senior Seminar course delivered speeches in front of faculty and judges that night.

Stay tuned for next week’s installment of finals preparations, as we follow music thereapy major Liz Biggart as she begins preparation for her finals the music department way.

Quadruple Threat: Meet Kimberly from SRU

Kim, 20, is a sophomore at Slippery Rock University.

Could you imagine leaving your apartment at 7:30 in the morning and sometimes not returning until at least 11:00 or later at night? Can you envision this as your daily routine 5 days a week, along with additional work on the weekends as well? Well this scenario serves as a reality for one exceptional student here at Slippery Rock University, and her name is Kimberly Arntz. Kim, a sophomore at SRU, currently holds two majors as well as two minors here at the university.  With these different aspects of her degree working together, Kim truly is a quadruple threat. In addition to her academic endeavors, though, Kim participates in a wide array of extracurricular activities both on and off campus.  Through the variety of duties that she has taken on in her college life, Kim has set herself apart  from the pack of even the most exceptional students here at SRU.

Kim, born on March 28th in 1992, decided to attend Slippery Rock University because she heard that the college maintained a great reputation for dance. This aspect appealed to her because dance was her initial area of interest as a concentration for post-secondary education. She expressed her satisfaction in choosing the university, stating, “As soon as I stepped on campus, I knew it was the right school for me”.

As soon as she was initiated with the introductory aspects of college, Kim immediately immersed herself academically, socially, and mentally into her Slippery Rock life. With two declared majors of Management and Spanish, along with minors of Marketing and Dance, Kim certainly set her expectations for college achievement high, as early as her freshman year.

Once on campus, Kim immediately joined AKPsi, the professional business fraternity on campus. After serving a full year, Kim obtained the position of Master of Rituals for the fraternity during her sophomore year. Kim states, “This is definitely my most involved activity on campus.” As a side note, Kim recently discovered that she was accepted to attend the AKPsi Academy this summer, a leadership convention in Indiana. Only 16 people in the USA get chosen to attend this prestigious program, and Kim is the first to be accepted from SRU. If that isn’t a huge accomplishment for a young adult in her third semester of college, I don’t know what is!

Waiting for the start of an AKPSI meeting, Kim socializes with fellow fraternity members.

Kim is also involved with the Office of the Annual Fund, where she serves as a student supervisor, putting in about 20 hours a week. At the office, Kim supervises calling shifts, in addition to helping with mailings and working on extra campaigns to raise money for the university. The following video shows a fellow supervisor, Hannah Lindsey, discussing her relationship at the call center with Kim.



Kim also participates in the dance department, where she has contributed two pieces for the Senior Synthesis concert, as well as a solo piece for 60X60, a concert that took place in the fall. The following two videos are clips from a hip hop dance that Kim took part in.





Kim is also currently awaiting approval to be inducted into the Spanish National Honor Society. Outside of SRU, Kim works at Hershey Park in her hometown as a Guest Relations Clerk and Sweet Access Concierge, where she works in the customer service department and gives personalized tours to high-end guest when they visit the park. Reflecting on her ambition with all of these activities, Kim states “I am happiest when I am busy and working toward a lot of different goals. I also really like helping and meeting new people so I love being a part of so many different organizations.”

Kim with fellow annual fund supervisors Hannah, Amanda, and Zach.

With all of this persistence and dedication, what exactly does Kim plan to do after she graduates? She states that her primary goal is gaining experience in the business field. She plans on either working for Hershey Entertainment and Resorts or for a university in their advancement department. Eventually, Kim states that her ultimate goal is to open up her own dance studio. She explains, “I have had the dream of owning the dance studio since before I was 10 years old. I even drew a little dancer that I want to be the logo for my business and now I have a tattoo of it on my ankle.” Perhaps the tattoo serves as more than just a catalyst for her aspirations, but as a constant symbol of her determination and persistence as well. Watch Kim discuss her work at the annual fund as well as provide some advice to fellow students in the following video.

Kim puts her dance skills to use by becoming certified to teach Zumba at SRU.

If you’re still not convinced of Kim’s unique nature as an exceptional SRU student, here’s just a few other facts that may peek your interest. On top of her current endeavors, Kim has also helped build a house for Extreme Home Makeover, participated in a marathon last fall, become a certified Zumba instructor, as well as taken dance classes with a dancer from the royal ballet in Paris.  If you think that Kim has given back to the university through her dedication and talents enough, she embarks on a new activity where she becomes even more involved than before. Kim truly serves as an inspiration for many students not just throughout the campus, but in her everyday life as well. Wherever Kim goes, she inspires people, and she does so with a friendly and modest demeanor that you just can’t simply find in students of such high merit as her these days.

So what’s next for Kim? She states that she wants to focus on finishing her classes as soon as possible, as she’s aiming for completion of her degrees within the next 3 years. Until then, Kim is off on her next endeavor, where she will be studying abroad in Costa Rica for the summer. Classes taken here will provide Kim with credit for the Spanish aspect of her degree.

Opening day - Custard Crossing opened for its spring 2012 season on Saturday.

Home to the only frozen custard ice cream in the Pittsburgh area, Custard Crossing opened for its spring season this Saturday, April 7th. In its third season and still going strong, Custard Crossing offers a selection of unique dairy treats that satisfies the crowd of the heavily-populated Waterfront area in Homestead, PA. Opening day for Custard Crossing not only marked the relaunching of another successful season, but an introduction to a new element of the store as well.

For the first time, customers of Custard Crossing could purchase their treats at the inside service bar. Buyers were no longer forced to stand outside to wait for their ice cream; they now had the option of walking inside to watch their ice cream being made, or to simply utilize the traditional outside service area and take their ice cream on the go.
Julia Carlson, a 24 year-old entering her second season of service at the Custard Crossing discussed her experience of the day. She stated that she loves when it's the beginning of spring, because so many people become excited when they see that an ice cream shop is finally open for business. "So far, it's been kind of interesting. I didn't think many people would know that we're open now because we don't get out there advertising-wise too much." She continued on, "You'd be surprised though, our store is starting to attract a crowd." Carlson admitted that the 10 specialty ice cream flavors of the store seemed to be the hit of the day - the most requests she received came from customers desiring a diversion from their traditional flavors. In the prior two seasons, Custard Crossing did not sell traditional ice cream; it simply focused on custard, non-fat yogurt, and sorbet selections. With the 2012 season came the decision to include an ice cream bar featuring 10 specialty flavors that without a doubt will generate a larger crowd. Dave Porter, a regular customer at the Custard Crossing was excited to see Custard Crossing back for another season as well. Frozen custard is an old-fashioned dessert created in 1919 on Coney Island, New York. It is served at a warmer temperature than ice cream and has very little air whipped in, making it both denser and smoother than traditional ice cream. Custard Crossing's special recipe is made daily and mixed into a controlled temperature barrel to bring out the taste in the frozen custard. Its custard is both gluten-free and lower in calories than competing stores' ice cream treats. Their frozen custard is made fresh the old fashioned way, right on the scene, churned slowly and with no added preservatives. Offerings of the store include a great variety of treats from sundaes, shakes, cones, and whistlers as well. The store is also tackling a new hurdle this year in incorporating smoothies into its list of dairy treats - so far this healthier desert comes in three flavors: strawberry, banana, and mango.
View Custard Crossing at the Waterfront in a larger map
Custard Crossing is open Tues thru Sat from noon to 9pm, Sunday noon to 7pm. The store is located in the heart of the town center at 142 West Bridge St in Homestead PA, right next to Linton's.

SRU Illusions displays their school pride by earning top awards today

The SRU Illusions showed their school pride today, sweeping the competition away with top baton, dance, and guard team scores. The competition took place in Sharon, PA, at the local high school, and was sponsored by the TOB circuit. First off to represent SRU was the dance team, performing a jazz/hip-hop routine to a medley of Ciara's "Turn It Up" and Usher's "Yeah". Featuring group stunts as well as individual showmanship, the dance team's routine swept the judges away and allowed the girls to take first place in the Senior Jazz Group division. Next up to entertain the crowd was the Illusion's Baton Team. With their group tossing stunts and acrobatic skills, the baton team gave the winning school a run for their money by placing second overall in the Senior Baton Group division, behind Clarion University. Lastly, the guard team took a shot and shocked the judges with their crowd-pleasing routine to Maroon Five's "Moves Like Jagger", placing second in their division as well.

Overall, the girls participating, not just from SRU, but from the surrounding schools as well, appeared to have a great experience, as the atmosphere of the competition was friendly and light. Being as that I experienced this event firsthand by performing with the dance team today, I can say personally that there really is no other feeling better for some than dancing in front of a audience; it truly gives you a thrill like none other.

The SRU Illusions, Competitive Dance, Baton, and Twirl Association is an organization designed for anyone at Slippery Rock Universtiy who wants to continue twirling, dancing, or spinning competitively while in college. They compete at various competitions in the Spring and perform at the halftime shows of boys and girls basketball games. If you are more interested in this group, check them out at Knoch HS on April 21st, which is when their next competition will be held.

2012 Mr. and Ms. SRU Competition: tradition and athleticism in one

Five miles worth of laps around the track, three hours a day of grueling abdominal work, as well as a strict diet that completely eliminates alcohol and sweets…sounds like a pretty demanding exercise/diet plan, does it not? Well imagine that this scenario depicted your everyday regime for not just a brief week or two, but for months. A similar schedule to the one described does indeed serve as normal for the 65 students that invested months of preparation to compete in the 2012 Mr. and Ms. SRU Competition.

Held at the ARC from 2-5 on March 25, 2012, a total of 65 participants in the local area packed in front of a crowd full of 1,500 spectators in the ARC to display the long-anticipated results of their grueling work. Sponsored by the SRU Bodybuilding and Fitness Club, the competition gathered 48 SRU students, 36 men and 12 women, as well as an additional 17 competitors from other institutions, together for the ultimate test of muscle sculpting and overall fitness. Competitors took titles from various classifications including male lightweight, middleweight, and heavyweight, as well as women’s bikini competition titles. The Mr. and Mrs. SRU pageant provided much more than simple entertainment to the SRU community this Sunday, though; it directed its proceeds to the campus' Body Building and Fitness Club, giving back and displaying its SRU pride.

Relief from on-campus dining: good food for the transportation-challenged SRU student

View Nice Eats You Can Walk To - A Map of Some of the Best Restaurants Close to SRU in a larger map

Giving back: what lies behind the success of SRU's Annual Fund

Meagan Reed, director of the Annual Fund at Slippery Rock University, provides an overview of what exactly her title entails, as well as a description of the office's overall goals for the university.
Working hard - Coaching, checking tally sheets, listening in on student calls...these are just a few of the duties student supervisor Zach takes care of in a typical night.
What does a student call entail? Morgan, a sophomore phonathon ambassador, demonstrates her communication skills in talking with an alumnus.
Taking it back to our childhood days...an oldie yet goodie game of chutes and ladders provides incentives for students to stay motivated on the phones. Student callers Jade and Kelly head up for their turn.

Shh...we're in a library: a tour of Bailey at SRU

Cell Phones:  Enablers of efficient communication...or tools silently harming our health?

That phone call where your mother keeps telling you to make sure you’re still being safe, that 3 hour fight on the line with your soon-to-be ex, that hour long wait of being put on hold by your cable company…we’ve all experienced some, well less than satisfactory telephone calls.  Being in the digital age, the majority of these calls naturally occur via a cell phone.  So yes, while I think we can all agree to some extent that certain cell phone calls are less than beneficial, can we agree at the same time that these very calls are risking our health?

Thus where the debate begins.  Is cell phone radiation harmful or not?  Well the FCC's job is to evaluate the effect of emissions from FCC-regulated transmitters on the quality of the human environment.  In doing so, they have established the NEPA Act of 1969, which promises to prevent or eliminate damage to the environment and biosphere, and stimulate the health and welfare of man.  Osceola Medical Center's case-control studies have found no conclusive evidence linking brain damage to cell phone usage, ensuring that regulations on cell phone radiation have been kept in check. 

Despite these findings, though, contrasting evidence displaying brain damage from cell phone usage leaves thousands of Americans yet to be swayed.  The Huffington Post, for example, states that cell phone usage disrupts the natural metabolism of critical areas in the brain.  Life Extension's studies have suggested that the FCC’s preventative measures regarding cell phone radiation are failing.  They state that cell phones reach the market without proper safety testing, and as a result emit levels of radiation that cause brain dysfunction, brain tumors, and other conditions such as sleep disorders and headaches.  Additionally, PSRAST stresses that the root cause of these damages can be attributed to the fact that present safety norms allow the use of mobile phones that emit far too strong  radiation to be deemed safe.  The organization’s studies have manifested the need for further buildup of the mobile phone net to be stopped.

So who is right?  Does cell phone usage indeed lead to brain damage and dysfunction?  As with all controversies, the answer remains yet to be seen.  Unlike all controversies, though, this one's impact may not, at first glance, be easily seen.  Failing to look into the research as a result could make an enormous impact on our health.  So the next time that you pick up your cell phone to make a call, ask yourself if you are simply opening up a channel of communication, or if you are in fact opening up a channel of uncertainty as well that could be making a negative impact on your health.

Get in the Game:  You better hope you're on this guy's team...

A formidable yet talented force in the sports realm, Frank Haith, born November 3, 1965 in Queens, New York, is currently serving as the men’s head basketball coach at the University of Missouri.  Haith accepted his head coach job for MSU in April of 2011, after coach Mike Anderson left the Tigers to return to Arkansas, where he had been an assistant for 17 years.  Prior to his job at Miami, Haith served as assistant coach for over 15 years at such programs as Texas, Texas A&M, and Penn State.  In his first of seven seasons as the head coach, Haith glided the Hurricanes through victory lane with seven ACC victories.

Now amidst all of this success, of course there has to lie within some scandal too! The controversial aspect of Haith's life emerged in his implication with the Nevin Shapiro recruiting scandal at Miami.  It was stated that Haith had knowledge that Miami assistant basketball coach Jake Morton had received $10,000 from Shapiro to recruit Dequan Jones.  Upon discovery of this implication, Haith was put on administrative leave prior to the start of the season. 

On a more personal level, Haith is the proud father of two children with his wife Pam.  He has one son named Cory, and a daughter Brianna from both he receives great joy.  A description of Haith’s life would not be complete without one last aspect of controversy, though, this time emerging in the contents of his personal life:  Haith's nephew, Sean Bell, was reported slain by New York City police in a controversial November 25, 2006 shooting incident.  This man unfortunately seems to be exhibiting a theme, isn't he?

Overall, I was able to gather some insightful information on Haith through a variety of knowledgeable sources, including those from the following list.  Each of the 5 sites featured the authors of which contributed to the articles that I looked through, as well as an "about us" section that outlined the author's (or organization's) credentials and experience.  In addition, a few sites that I gathered information from were reputable, well-known online newspapers, such as the Washington Times and USA Today.

Upon Further Review - analytical commentary and insight on Kansas City Sports

Hurricane Sports - member of the CBS family, CBSSports.com College Network

Washington Times - reputable online news reporter for topics including sports

Mutigers - official team website offering bios on coaches and players

USA Today - well known national American daily newspaper

So the question is - proud father, award-winning basketball coach, or simply a laid-back man of which you'd love to sit down and have a beer with...which profile exactly is Frank Haith?  Well, the reality is that there does not prove a simple answer for this question, for Haith exhibits a wide array of personal characteristics that allow him to exhibit all of these duties.  Taking into account that I knew nothing of this individual's life prior to my research, combined with the low base of sports knowledge/information I personally maintain, Frank Haith sure seems like one heck of a cool guy, and that's all I can really ask for in the end.

Hmm, so first serious interview question I'd ask him for a story... I think it would have to be : Mr. Haith, do you have time to breath?  This, by the way, is an entirely serious question, with all joking put aside.

Extra, Extra...Blog All About it!

And today was a day just like any other...

Alright, so you're probably sitting there thinking to yourself, hmm, this girl must certainly hold a cynical outlook about her life, judging by the name of this blog.  Why did I come here??  Well I really don't see life in this manner at all;  this is actually just a song lyric from a band that I greatly enjoy.  In addition to that, I think that this lyric communicates an era of mystery and intrigue that I find really engaging.  So is this title then completely irrelevant from the content of this blog?  No, because it serves an additional purpose -  it encapsulates, through irony of course, the craziness of the emerging technology and changes of today.

That being said, I can already see the second question mark currently forming in your head.  Okay, this is all interesting, but who are you, and why should I read your blog?  Well, my name is Lauren Porter, and I am a twenty year old senior studying Communications at Slippery Rock University.  Ahah, and here we have a hit a jackpot.  Communications major?  Of course she's going to establish a blog!  It all now makes perfect sense.  Causation of emerging blog discovered.  Oh, and maybe the fact that this girl's first assignment for her New-Media Journalism class involves the creation of said blog, but that's besides the point!  All joking aside, I truly find the manner in which emerging technology is paving the landscape of not only the art of journalism, but communication methods worldwide, is a fascinating thing.  The capabilities of such tools both excites and  terrifies me.  Either way, I know that I need to know more.  Of course, this means delving into the new media tools myself.  Facebook account?  Check.  Twitter account? Check.  Blog? In the process right now!

Don't get me wrong, I fully appreciate the simplicity and accuracy of traditional media outlets.  I still check numerous of these outlets regularly today.  CBS News, for example, is a great example of such a source.  It provides neat categories with simple and direct, yet efficient news on whichever area you discover of the most interest.  It features the archaic yet essential print stories on its site, as well as links to videos of featured stories.  Even so, something is being said for the newer forms of media, as traditional sites such as CBS are beginning to delve into a little of the new media journalism trend.  Such a site that has fully made this transition is NPR.  It contains a continually evolving blog with breaking news, pictures, videos, and links to collaborating sites or articles.  It fully utilizes the benefits of new media journalism in that it breaks the news to its readers as it happens, and it provides them with a rich array of mediums through which they can both receive news and offer comments.  This blog, along with others, are paving a new path for the journalists of today.  These sites are making apparent that we as journalists cannot fulfill our duty simply by telling a story;  we must first take in our audience's wants before crafting our stories, and most importantly, we now need to listen.

And so I begin my analysis of new media journalism within seconds.  After I hit publish, I am embarking on a journey of citizen journalism of which I expect the value and benefits to be great.  I hope that you read along and join me for the ride.