Thank God for non-objective blog ranting

There’s nothing like a presidential election to prove exactly how uninformed, unintelligent, and lazy generation Y is. I’ve met far too many people who tout one political opinion or another, based on their own blind following of religion, illegitimate sources, and worst of all, what their parents tell them.

We’re supposed to be a nation of free thinkers, so why does this idea seem so hard to comprehend? I think the problem is laziness. With new forms of media and communication, there are much easier ways to gather news and current events besides print journalism. The problem, however, is that it’s easier to differentiate legitimate print journalism from the bullshit. Being able to recognize what’s bullshit on TV, the radio, or what someone you cares about tells you, is a lot harder.

A couple weeks ago, I got into a political debate with a friend of mine. I asked him where he got his information. “I get my news from a variety of sources,” he said. “Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and Bill O’Reilly.”

I wont get into my opinions on the three talk show hosts, and I even think that it’s important to listen to what they have to say. But a well-rounded, well-informed opinion, comes from a multitude of places. It comes from CNN, MSNBC, FOX, local news, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Huffington Post, NPR, The Daily Show, YouTube, Internet Blogs, the people around you, and much, much more. 

I believe that being informed and paying attention to the news means consuming every source available to you. It requires reading and watching and critical thinking, and filtering dozens of view points through yourself to form one viewpoint of your own. 

I realize that opinions, especially ones that center around morals and politics, generally have to do with how a person is raised. I think that is fine to a degree, but ultimately a person should still strive to make themselves thoroughly informed, and well researched on a subject before they argue it.

Society is to be blamed as well. In this day and age, we live in a world where celebrity gossip is news. A woman goes on trial for allegedly killing her daughter, and because she is beautiful, her exploitation becomes newsworthy. It is to such an extreme that a judge has to order a jury to stay away from media, in order to abide by a fair judicial process. 

People talk about these events, they talk to each other about these “news stories” and feel as though they are informed. They fail to realize what is newsworthy, and what is garbage. 

About six months ago, a video titled KONY 2012 was released on YouTube. It became an internet sensation, and college students all over the nation went crazy reposting it on Facebook, Twitter, and e-mailing it to friends. Not only was the video misleading and nonfactual, but it was about an issue that has existed for 30 years. 30 years that most people refused to pick up a newspaper or learn about the world. It is sad that a YouTube video is becoming a more useful source of information than legitimate journalism.

I think that tough love is the way to change. I’m so tired of hearing “well, at least they’re paying attention,” “At least they care about what’s going on, that’s what’s important,” or even worse, these youth voting campaigns that advocate for everyone to get out and vote, saying that “it is your civic duty.”

No. Promoting news stories that are solely for entertainment and ratings only further encourages our society to be ignorant, and even mean. Just “caring” about what’s going on isn’t as important as knowing how to figure it out. And saying that everyone should exercise their right to vote, in my opinion, is wrong and dangerous. 

You should be required to pass an intelligence test for three things: Getting a license, having a child, and casting a vote.

Aaron Sorkin wrote it best in the script for The Newsroom:

“What does winning look like to you?”

“Reclaiming the fourth estate. Reclaiming journalism as an honorable profession. A nightly newscast that informs a debate worthy of a great nation. Civility, respect, and a return to what's important; the death of bitchiness; the death of gossip and voyeurism; speaking truth to stupid. No demographic sweet spot; a place where we all come together.”

UNH College Democrats Push to Make UNH Leading N.H. School in Number of CTV’s

  With just over 5 weeks until election day, University of New Hampshire’s College Democrats is working hard to meet their goal of commit to votes (CTV’s). Various events planned for the upcoming month may push UNH to lead all the New Hampshire colleges in number of CTV’s.

The Commit To Vote campaign is a nationwide push to register as many voters as possible. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 29 percent of U.S. citizens were not registered to vote in the last presidential election.

“New Hampshire is a different state from most states in that volunteers can’t register voters,” said leader of UNH College Democrats, Tegan O’Neill, “so we want to know who’s voting, and we want to have a way to contact them and make sure they’re registered.”

The members of UNH College Democrats have multiple ways of getting CTV’s. They will be tabling Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

At tabling events, volunteers set up tables around the UNH campus. They provide voter registration information to students, and have them sign CTV forms.

UNH College Democrats provides incentives for students to get more information. During tabling, they often serve grilled cheese sandwiches and hot apple cider.

“So far we’ve gotten thousands of UNH students to commit to vote,” said President of College Democrats, Maria Carrasquillo, “and we’re a couple hundred away from hitting our goal.” Carrasquillo was not allowed to provide specific numbers for CTV’s.

With every N.H. school trying to reel in as many CTV’s as possible before Nov. 6, UNH has entered into an unofficial, friendly competition with Dartmouth College. Dartmouth’s College Democrats is currently in first place for number of CTV’s, with UNH close behind.

Dartmouth pulled ahead after receiving a recent visit from Vice President Joe Biden. UNH began closing the gap after actor Kal Penn came to UNH to trump for Obama on Sept. 18. UNH’s College Democrats hope to pull ahead in the rivalry with a visit from U.S. cabinet member Kathleen Sebelius on Friday.

UNH College Democrats have been offered a prize from N.H. youth vote director Ben Wessel, if they pull ahead by election day.

“He [Wessel] jokingly at first offered to let us shave his beard in whatever way we want,” said O’Neill, “but then it became legitimate. If we win were shaving ‘WILDCATS’ into his face.”

Despite the humorous motivation, UNH College Democrats are driven by a more serious motto: “At the end of the day,” said Carrasquillo, “we just want students to vote, and to know that it’s important and that it makes a difference in their country.”

UNH College Democrats are also working hard with UNH College Republicans. Even though they have different goals, they share a common belief. 

“We’re all civil,” said Carrasquillo. “We do a lot of stuff together because at the end of the day both of our groups just want people to vote, and we do all that we can together to meet that goal. Working for different campaigns we go about it differently, but we still share the common goal.”

Many students however, feel that both groups need to do more to educate potential voters. 

“I know so many people who vote a certain way because someone else told them to,” said Jess Nichols, UNH senior and registered Democrat. “I feel that people should make a point to get educated on the issues before voting.”

Because N.H. is a swing state, the push for CTV’s becomes most important to political organizations. 

“It is only important to vote when the voter has done their homework,” said Sarah Shannon, a Pennsylvania State University graduate with a degree in political science. “It is the responsibility of each voting citizen to be informed regarding the candidates platforms and records.”

UNH College Democrats recognizes the importance of voters being educated, and they are making a bigger strive to provide information this year than they have in the past. 

The organization will be hosting debate parties, during which students can convene in the student center to watch and discuss the political debates. They will also continue canvassing and holding student discussions in the weeks leading up to election day.

Challenges

This week I wrote an article on the UNH college democrats, also known this years as UNH Students for Barack Obama.

I faced a few challenges trying to figure out how to write and report this particular story. There seemed to be so many angles, and different things going on that it was hard to find a center point for my story.

The biggest point however, seemed to be the push for the organization to reel in a large number of commit to votes--the groups current goal and most important task in the upcoming weeks that lead to election day.

There are various events and activities centered around the commit to vote goal that include grilled cheese sales, canvasing, tabling and clip boarding. UNH democrats is also in an unofficial competition with Dartmouth to get the most commits, and the winner will have the privilege of shaving whatever they want into the beard of the NH youth vote director.

Some of the other issues I faced writing this article, were that I was not allowed to say what the goal is that UNH has for commit to votes, or where they are at now. Also, Secretary of Health and Human services, Kathleen Sebelius is visiting UNH next week to trump for Obama. Because this is her only purpose in visiting UNH, I was also told that I cannot refer to her as the secretary of health and human services.

I am left questioning how to write an article eloquently so it is informative when you can't reveal specific details due to confidentiality. How do you still properly inform the reader? Is the article still worth writing?

Beat reporting on campus

After searching the UNH campus for news, I came up with multiple story ideas. I didn't so much find anything specific, but rather various ideas to work from. Walking around campus searching for stories, made me realize that there is stuff going on everywhere.

The beat we focused on was safety. No matter where you walk to on campus, there is always a different topic of campus safety involved. How to building that are open late and 24 hours, such as Dimond library or Kingsbury remain safe at night? I discovered that homeless people attempting to sleep in places such as these has been and is still an ongoing issue.

This might lead to other questions, such as how safe are the student dorms if these issues are occurring in the library? One idea my group and I came up with was to loiter around student dorms at night, and see how easy it would be to get someone to let us in, and from there report on the issue.

Surprisingly, many other New Hampshire colleges are much stricter when it comes to campus safety, compared to UNH. This brings up the efficiency of UNH's safety regulations. Being a school with it's own police department, as opposed to Keene State where they only have "campus safety," it's surprising the number of campus safety issues UNH is currently facing.

Another issue regarding safety concerns The Cottages. What happens when you put approximately 1,000 students in a small, off-campus community? What happens when you take their late-night bus away due to reckless behavior of a few students? Do the safety issues become worse? How do they change? The most current issue regarding The Cottages, is students not being able to have proper transportation to and from campus and night. This creates a problematic situation in which drunk driving may occur, as well as unsafe situations in which students are making the long walk back at night.

More Students Turn to Volunteer-based Frat as Opposed to Typical Greek Life

This fall, University of New Hampshire’s co-ed fraternity, Alpha Phi Omega, nearly doubled its number of pledges from the previous year. The strictly community-service based frat doesn’t turn anyone away, giving everyone the opportunity to get involved.

The national chapter of APO was established in 1925 by the Boy Scouts of America. In 1949, the Theta Zeta chapter of APO at UNH was chartered. 

Not associated with Greek Life, APO has one goal: To provide college students the opportunity to volunteer, get involved with and help out the community.

"In founding Alpha Phi Omega,” says Founder Donald Terwilliger, quoted on the UNH APO website, “not only was a new fraternity formed, but also an entirely new type of fraternity was formed, dedicated to serving others."

The UNH Theta Zeta chapter went through rush last week, recruiting over 50 new pledges. With only 80 active brothers, pairing new members with “bigs” is more difficult than it has been in the past.

A “big” is an active brother who serves as a mentor to a “little,” a first-year member who just went through the pledge process. For the first time, APO currently has more pledges than there are active brothers who don’t have littles.

“We’re probably going to have to double up,” said Membership Chair Julie Phelps, “because a lot of people are already bigs and don’t have the time to take on more pledges.”

Remarkably, this is the first year that APO has done almost no advertising or networking to recruit new members. “We had a really good group of pledges that pledged last spring,” Julie explained, “and they’ve just managed to get all their friends involved.”

But for Katie Sousa, APO’s pledge master, the new number of pledges provides a more difficult challenge.

“This fall we’ve had an interest in over a hundred students and managed to reel in over 50,” said Katie. “My assistant and i are going to have a lot of papers to grade and names to learn.”

As pledge master, Katie’s job is to teach the new pledges about the fraternity and guide them along in the pledging process. She is also responsible for assigning each new member a big.

With events coming up such as UNH’s Astronomy Night this saturday, and the Dover Apple Fest on Oct. 6, APO’s new pledge class will be thrusted into the community-based atmosphere.

“I go to the Dover Apple Fest every year,” Says Darcy Peyser, junior at UNH and Portsmouth native. “APO is always there helping out, and each year there are more of them. They’re always so nice.”

The new members as well as active brothers will log their volunteer hours in a new online system. Each member is required to put in 20 hours of service a semester, and the new system will track those hours more effectively. It is also capable of showing the collective hours from the entire frat.

This year’s large new pledge class will experience an exciting year for APO. In the past, APO has helped out with events such as the Penguin Plunge, Special Olympics, beach clean ups, the Alzheimer's walk, teddy bear drives, food drives, and more.

In addition to the local community service events, there are talks about going to Conclave--a section wide event where members take different workshop to learn more about the fraternity. 

“We are hoping this year to have as many brothers and pledges as possible to show our support to the smaller chapters,” said Katie.

APO is also hoping to send brothers to Anaheim California for nationals this year. Nationals is where all of the chapters in the country come together to vote on fraternity laws.

“Nationals is also where the convention will be held,” Katie explained. “There are also work shops for brothers to strengthen their leadership skills and i hear talk of a Disney trip!” APO will be hosting fundraisers in order to make the trip more affordable.

This year will be busy for APO, and with the large pledge class, challenging as well. But APO’s reputation continues to precede them.

“We don’t cut people, we don’t haze, and we don’t do bids,” said Julie. “We feel that anyone who wants to be involved with community service should have that right”

Although Katie has her work cut out for her, she is optimistic as well. “Overall we are looking forward to the big class,” she said, “it means that our fraternity is growing and becoming stronger.”

The growing fraternity continues to provide a foundation for students who want to get involved without going the traditional Greek Life route. More information can be found on APO’s website: www.unh.edu/alpha-phi-omega

My travel writing/news writing experience abroad

I spent this past summer in Cambridge, England, with the UNH English department's Cambridge Summer Program. Without a doubt one of the best summers of my life, for a multitude of reasons, the program also provided me with the opportunity to gain more experience as a reporter.

I took Sue Hertz's travel writing class, in which I learned the art of advance non-fiction. As a journalism student, however, I kept searching for ways to merge my travel writing with news writing as well. 

For my final paper, I wrote about the Cambridge University Women's Rugby Team, an under appreciated group of women who dominate at the sport, and put the men's team to shame.

For the piece, I was able to get in contact with one of the team's head trainers, the team captain, and team president for interviews. Although awkward at first, the interview process taught me a valuable lesson:

No matter where in the world you go, interviewing is easy, because people love to talk about themselves! As an interviewer, I find that I talk substantially less than the people I interview. 

Although an amateur attempt at reporting, and still a fairly rough version, the following is my piece on the women's rugby team that I wrote this summer.

***********************************************

Time for Great Britain’s Title IX

Rachel Follender

Not even a week into my stay in Cambridge, I discovered the Kelsey Kerridge Sports Center. For sixty pounds for six weeks, I had access to free weights, machines, and a wide range of cardio machines that overlook one of the city’s green expanses, Parker’s Piece. My membership came with free personal training at my disposal, use of a hot-tub on an outside deck, and a sauna. It’s the trainers however that I came to appreciate the most. In the last five weeks I mastered some of the most strenuous and muscle-ripping full body work outs. I’ve worked with personal trainers in the past, yet saw no real results, and the reason for that came as quite a surprise.

One day, Neil, the trainer I was working with, commented on my strength. This comment caught be surprise, because I’ve never though of myself as strong. “The workouts I give to you,” he said, “I don’t even teach in my classes. You’d be surprised, I haven’t seen many other women able to go through the workouts you do.” I looked around the gym and noticed there weren’t any other women there. I tried to think if I had ever seen a woman working out in Kelsey Kerridge, and other than the occasional middle-aged women who would walk on a treadmill for 15 minutes then leave, none came to mind.

Without thinking, I blurted out my next question and realized after how stupid it sounded: “Do women in England not exercise?”

“Not really,” he responded. “They think it’s unattractive.  They don’t want to look muscular. They think it’s manly.” Come to think of it, I hadn’t even seen female runners in Cambridge, only men. I couldn’t wrap my head around this. Surely, that couldn’t be entirely true. After all, Cambridge University has multiple women’s sports teams. What about them? I needed to talk to Ramin.

Ramin Pirzard is one of the older trainers at Kelsey Kerridge, and he is infamous among the people in the sports center. He has been training the Cambridge University Rugby teams for the last five years, and I’ve been told that his sessions are intense, leaving you unable to navigate stairs for a day or two afterwards. A week later, I finally succeeded in hunting him down. Expecting to learn nothing more than the day in the life of an athletic trainer, my conversation with Ramin sent me on a quest to discover the truth about Cambridge’s secret woman-warriors.

England’s prestigious Cambridge University consists of 31 colleges, and 19,962 students in total. Twenty-two of these students belong to the Cambridge University women’s rugby team, and are found on the Blue roster, or what American’s typically refer to as “varsity.” Coming to Cambridge from the United States, I traded in my notions of American football and hockey for rowing and cricket. However, when thinking about British athletes, rugby tends to be the one sport everyone overlooks. And when it comes to Cambridge University, the women on the rugby team put the boys to shame.

Ramin has trained both the men’s and the women’s rugby teams at Cambridge University, although more exclusively with the women’s team. “The women are much more dedicated, much harder workers,” he said. Ramin explained that with more determination than the players on the mens team, the female players try harder during the training sessions and therefore gain the most out of Ramin’s workouts. “They train with me two to three times a week during the season. We work on strength and conditioning and skills.” Even though the women’s team trains hard and plays hard, they still lack in support and popularity when compared to the men’s team. “The problem is the fans,” Ramin explained. “There just isn’t as big a fan-base for women’s rugby.”

Walking back from the gym through Parker’s Piece, the conversation with Ramin started to gnaw at me.  If the Cambridge University women’s rugby team really does lack in support when compared to the men’s team, is this really only due to fans not being as interested, or is there another piece to the puzzle? 

I made my way back to the Goville and Caius campus and began researching. After Googling Cambridge University Rugby, the first link I clicked on took me to a professionally designed website titled “CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY RUGBY UNION FOOTBALL CLUB.” Fully equipped with a news scroll, headlines, and professional pictures, it was apparent right away that the page was specifically for the men’s team. A column on the left-hand side of the page displays twelve links offering an abundance of information about the team. The 6th link, titled “RUGBY & FIXTURES,” opens up another sub-column of five more links. The fourth link down reads “WOMEN-CUWRFC.” It is the only link on the website that opens up a new webpage on your computer.

The web page, although less elaborate than the previous website, displays a slide show of team photographs that look like they belong in a yearbook rather than a magazine. It gives the viewer a sense of teamwork and community that the men’s website doesn’t. Above the slideshow, in big blue letters, there is a list of the team’s victories in the last four years: first place in the BUCS Midlands, first place in the RFUW Championship, double victory in the Varsity Match and BUCS semifinalists. Curious as to how these titles compared to the ones the men’s team carry, I contacted team captain Sammy Graham.

About to enter her final year at Cambridge University’s Jesus College, Sammy has spent her entire college career playing for the Blue’s division of the women’s rugby team, and will continue next year as captain. During the season, Sammy and the other women  on the team dedicate almost all of their time to Rugby. They attend practice five days a week, and have matches twice a week with weight training sessions afterwards. In the most recent season, the team won all but one match. “On Wednesdays we play other universities, and on Sundays we play local ladies’ rugby teams,” she explained. The ladies teams consist of local women’s rugby clubs. 

Listening to Sammy talk about the sheer dedication and hard work the members of her team put in during a season was inspiring, but it made the reasons for there being a lack of support for the team more confusing. “From what I hear, you are much better than the men’s team,” I said. “Is this true?” 

She hesitated for a moment before responding, “Well, the men’s team only cares about the varsity match. They’re a good team, but that’s their only aim,” she said. Sammy explained how in addition to the matches against other universities and local clubs, both the men’s and women’s rugby teams compete in five varsity matches a year.  A varsity match win is the most prestigious victory in college rugby, and the one which players are most determined to win. “We end up winning varsity more because we give each match leading up to it our all, so we end up being more prepared,”   

I thought back to my initial discovery of the men’s teams’ website. On the main info page it reads, “The ultimate aim of every rugby player at Cambridge should be to play in a varsity match.” Last year, the women’s team won fifteen of their matches. The men’s team won eight. “And we don’t even get to play at Twickenham,” Sammy told me. She sounded disappointed. 

The Cambridge University men’s rugby team plays at Twickenham Stadium every year – a Middlesex venue that holds approximately 82,000 people. Originally costing over 5,500 British pounds in 1907, it includes the World Rugby Museum and a rugby store. It is the largest rugby stadium in the world and the Cambridge men’s team usually brings in about 40,000 spectators every December for the televised varsity series. Performers such as U2 and Bon Jovi have also performed in this venue, but unless you’re Lady GaGa, if you’re female, you will find that there isn’t much of a place for you in the stadium, other than the stands. The reason behind this is not new, and although it comes as no surprise, it’s hard not to feel incensed at something quite so unfair.

  

As with most women’s sports, the fan-base for women’s rugby just isn’t as big as the men’s. Advertising and promotion of women’s athletics dwindles in comparison to men’s athletics, and general demographics do not work in favor of women’s sports. Statistics show more than 70% of female television audiences would rather watch an alternative programming to sports, and the vast majority of male viewers only watch men’s sports coverage. Unfortunately, the Cambridge University women’s rugby team is no exception.  On average, the team brings in less than half the audience the men’s team does during a season, and as a result, the team brings in less money from a fan-base. Because of this, they lack in both public sponsors and funding from the University of Cambridge. This in turn feeds into a vicious cycle. With no community support, there is no financial support, and with no financial support, there is no publicity or ability to draw in would-be supporters. 

Nevertheless, change is coming. This past April, the women’s rugby team gained a new president who is working effortlessly to get the team the recognition they deserve. Fiona Gillanders, whom I spoke with shortly after my conversation with Sammy, runs the club behind the scenes, and is responsible for overseeing all financial and managerial aspects. Sammy spoke highly of Fiona’s efforts, and was hopeful of the positive changes she would bring.

Fiona was optimistic about the direction the team was heading in. “We’ve dropped our previous sponsors and gained new ones,” she told me. One of their newest and most appreciated sponsors, is Friends of Cambridge, an organization of wealthy alumni who support the women’s rugby team – some of whom actually played during their heyday at Cambridge University. Being that Cambridge is a private university, there is much more funding for the men’s team from the actual school. The local sponsors therefore represent 70% of the teams’ funds, making their support much more critical. With better sponsors, the attitude of the school is changing as well.

Fiona explained to me how in the previous years, the president and managers of the men’s rugby team have shown little to no support for the women’s team. Although both teams are 100% affiliated with Cambridge University, the men’s team has been weary of the women’s team stealing their thunder. But more recently, this is changing as well, due to Fiona’s hard work. She spoke highly of the current management of the men’s club, stating that, “There has been a lot of support from certain people.” Other than the financial aspect, Fiona has a fairly simple goal: spread the word. “The ultimate goal is more publicity, and not letting the women’s team become a side-club to the men’s. There needs to be more promotion; it’s quite simple. This is a very good team that has dedicated a lot of time and energy to their pursuits. 

Both Fiona and Sammy invited me to come to the team’s opening practices in September and meet the other players. I regrettably had to decline, as I will be back in the United States by the end of August. However, I decided to help them out in what little way I could before I left Cambridge.

The week after my conversation with Sammy, I made my way to the local athletic stores on a warm afternoon. First, I walked into Up And Running, a shoe store that specializes in fitting customers to the perfect sneaker. The three employees working that day were all men.

“Do you ever get any university athletes in here?” I asked them.

“Yes, quite a bit actually,” the tallest one responded. “We do personalized shoe fitting and sell shoes for sports other than running, so they come here to get custom fitted.”

“Any rugby players?”

“A few have come in here.” The question launched the three of them into a conversation about the men’s rugby team, and the infamous varsity games at Twickenham. 

“What about the women’s rugby team?” I asked.

“I wasn’t even aware there was one.”

“You should check them out. They’re actually much better than the men’s team,” I replied, leaving them in a state of shock before I slipped out.

I then made my way to Sweaty Betty, an athletic store that specializes in high-end gear for women. The cashier was a petite women from Canada, who had little to no knowledge of Cambridge University sports. After going on a five minute tangent about the women’s rugby team, how good they were, and the lack of support in return, she reached under the counter and handed me a piece of paper. “We organize a running club that meets once a week. It’s all about promoting physical fitness for women in Cambridge. You should come! And I’ll spread the word about the rugby team; they’d be interested in that.”

My faith in the Cambridge community had been restored. It wasn’t that people didn’t care, it was just that they were unaware. With Fiona Gillanders as the new team president, Sammy Graham as captain, and the continuation of the hard work and dedication of the Cambridge University women’s rugby team, that unawareness is bound to change in the near future. “One thing I want to do as captain this year is make the team friendlier and more welcoming for all girls,” Sammy told me. The team’s values are not about winning varsity and gaining titles, but rather leadership, teamwork, and respect. The outcome of these values has earned them numerous victories, which in turn will earn them the support and recognition they deserve. 

The underlying issues of women’s rugby at Cambridge University is a trending theme throughout the UK, and Britain needs to step its game up. According to the Women’s Sports Foundation and Sport England, 40% of girls give up athletics before they turn eighteen. The amount of men between the ages of sixteen and twenty-four who participate in sports is twice the number of women in the same age group, and half of the female population in the UK don’t even exercise on their own. In addition, 74% of UK sports committee board members are men, and only 5% of all UK media sports coverage is of female sports and athletics. 

This summer, London hosts the 2012 Olympics, and with that there seems to be a greater awareness for women athletes in the UK. So far, Great Britain’s female Olympians have won ten gold medals, outranking France, Spain and Australia. Women’s football brought in a new record number of viewers this year and with over 80,000 in attendance at the final, the event how holds the new record for number of spectators at a women’s match in europe. This is attracting a substantial amount of media attention, bringing more hype to the ladies who excel in sports. 

This year’s Olympics also marks the United States’ 40th anniversary of Title IX, the 1972 law mandating that “no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under an education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.” These thirty-seven words have had a drastic revolutionary impact on millions of young women. Before Title IX, one in twenty-seven high school girls participated in organized sports. That number has since risen to five in twenty-seven. The percentage of women who continue to be athletic after high school is increasing every year as well. 

Great Britain has it’s own equality laws generally outlying discrimination against age, sex, disability, race or religion in any environment. “The Equality Act sets out the different ways in which it is unlawful to treat someone, such as direct and indirect discrimination, harassment, victimization and failing to make a reasonable adjustment for a disabled person.” The act was revised in 2010, but has no specific guidelines for women athletes. The only place that the Equality Act mentions anything about funding, is in the workplace.

It’s time that Great Britain adopt a similar attitude when it comes to women in sports.  “We are working hard for equality. It’s quite slow, but change is coming soon. We have to be hopeful,” Sammy insisted. It’s time for the Cambridge University women’s rugby team to shine.

Finding the perfect story

Finding news stories in or around campus is difficult. In a place like Durham, New Hampshire, it is hard to find something that is newsworthy, interesting, and hasn't already been covered.

I know that there are plenty of stories out there, and although I stumble upon many of them, I find myself questioning how important they are.

Since I am inexperienced, I am constantly searching for news stories that center around an event as opposed to an idea. If I am writing about an on-campus organization, for example, I feel that writing about what that organization does doesn't qualify as news, as opposed to what that organization is doing right now.

So I am left with the question, how relevant does news have to be? Does a story need to be centered around a specific current event, or can it be centered around a specific current idea, using sources and local opinions to add to the relevancy of it?

Writing the article about President Barack Obama's acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention proved to be more challenging for me for these reasons. I found that it was hard to write the article creatively, or from a fresh perspective given the fact that the speech had been covered so many times by so many sources. It was hard to find sources that offered an interesting point of view as well, since they all seemed to fit the generic democrat/republican mold.

What I am most interested in learning how to do, is find fascinating stories that I am the first person to break. How does a journalist do this? How do you become investigative enough to break important stories?

I think the most interesting journalism is the kind that not only breaks a big story first, but stories that wouldn't be made known to the public if it weren't for the reporters who investigated them.

I know that this takes a lot of time, research, and talking to people, but I think the hardest part is figuring out where to start. Especially in a place as boring as Durham, where do you begin searching for the groundbreaking news story?

Do I feel like a Journalist? In theory, yes.

I love the news. I love politics. I love arguing about currents events, and explaining what's going on in the world to my friends.

I believe that the news is the most important form of media. It is more important than literature, it is more important than movies, it is more important than gossip headlines and entertainment. It is more important than what's going on in our personal lives. It is the one thing that impacts all of us on a large scale, therefor making the presentation of it so important.

I would rather talk about what is going on in the world than what I just read in my literature class. I'm an English major, and I love the English department. I love to read, and I love to write. But I think that the truth is one of the most important things, and getting it out to the general public is crucial. I also feel that news writing is the only type of writing that is practiced in order to inform people of what's important. Not to tell a biased story, or create a new lens of perspective for which the reader to look through (at least that's how it how it should be).

I like to investigate and find out what's going on. I like to be the first person to figure something out. I like to figure out how many sides there are in a story, and what exactly those sides are, and I like talking to people.

So, in theory, do I think I'm a journalist? Yes. I believe that I think like a journalist, and I have the fundamentals to become one. I think that I am passionate about journalism, and realize how important it is.

In practice, I have a lot of work to do. I have been conditioned over the last few years to write "eloquently," to string together long beautiful sentences filled with big words and metaphors. One of the biggest aspects of being an English major is learning not only how to analyze and dissect layers of meaning, but how to create it as well.

Getting back to basics, and writing only what's necessary in the most clear-cut, straight-forward and articulated way possible, is turning out to be a bigger challenge than I expected. However, after years of confusion, I have finally discovered that journalism is the path I want to pursue, not matter how difficult it is, and I am determined to work hard to reach that goal.

Two females injured in car accident Tuesday night, excessive speeding, alcohol, may have been factors

Two female passengers were severely injured after the car they were in flipped on Mile Hill Road. The driver climbed out of the crumpled vehicle unharmed.

                Seventeen-year-old Jamie Peterson lost control of his Mustang Tuesday evening, causing the car to serve off the road, hit an embankment and flip over. Police say excessive speed and alcohol may have been factors.

The accident was reported around 9 p.m. by Josie Crandall, a resident of Mile Hill road who witnessed the crash.

“I’ve never seen a car going so fast on this road,” she said. “It’s a dirt road, and it’s really easy to lose control.”

Seventeen-year-old Tom Carroll also witnessed the accident. He was driving behind the Mustang when it suddenly sped around the curve that caused it to flip.

“I’ve never seen a car going so fast on this road,” he said. “It’s a dirt road, and it’s really easy to lose control.”

The two female passengers were taken to Memorial Hospital in Belmont. One is in stable condition, and the other has been airlifted to Mass. General Hospital in Boston to be treated for brain injuries, according to a hospital spokesperson.

The names of the two female passengers have not yet been disclosed, according to Lieutenant Judith Barkus of the Belmont Police Department.

Jamie Peterson was driving the vehicle when it flipped, and was able to pull himself out of the wreckage with minor injuries.

Obama accepts party's nomination Tuesday at DNC, addresses economy and education

Thursday night in Charlotte, N.C., at the Democratic National Convention, President Barack Obama formally accepted his party’s nomination for a second term. He wrapped up the final night of the DNC with his acceptance speech, touching on a wide variety of topics, namely the economy.

The president rallied the crowd with talk of common effort and shared responsibility. He advocated for the middle class and small businesses, criticizing his opponent’s plan to cut taxes for the wealthy and roll back financial regulations on wall street.

“We’ve been there, we’ve tried that, and we’re not going back,” he said. “We’re moving forward.” 

The president discussed the path to repairing the economy, touching on the theme of “Made in America.” A plan for the future that includes more American exports and less oil imports. Less outsourcing of jobs and rewards for companies that create jobs in the United States.

But for some, the speech was big on promises and small on details. Douglas Tendgdin, a registered republican from Hanover, N.H., found little value in what the president had to say. 

“I don't think his comments reflected an adequate understanding of the economy,” Douglas said, “but I did not expect him to show that.”

What did show was the support the president had among the audience in the arena. Throughout his speech, TV viewers saw continuous shots of the audience. Head nods, chants and tears were a general response to what the president had to say.

This was especially true when the president discussed education. “And now you have a choice,” he began. “We can gut education, or we can decide that in the United States of America, no child should have her dreams deferred because of a crowded classroom or a crumbling school.”

The president’s statements on education inspired hope for voters such as Tom Duff, a 21-year-old college student and registered democrat from Nashua, N.H. 

“If he could get the University System of New Hampshire to go one year without raising tuition, I’d be satisfied,” Tom said. “But in all seriousness, I like how he didn’t just focus on educating the next generation. He has a plan to help the current generation continue their education. As a college student, that’s important to me.”

President Obama promised, if re-elected, to make America the number one country in education. His plan includes recruiting thousands of new math and science teachers, and reducing college and university tuition rates.

The president briefly touched on topics such as the military, immigration and women’s rights before wrapping up his speech. In all of his remarks, he effectively stressed the importance of the middle class.

“I was pleased that the president tied education to the strength of the economy, and I think overall he had the correct strategy,” said Sarah Shannon, a graduate of Pennsylvania State University with a degree in political science. “He attacked his opponent indirectly by focusing on his own vision for the country.”

Throughout the speech, the president critiqued Mitt Romney’s policies without addressing his opponent directly. This proved an effective strategy, according to Sarah, allowing viewers to focus on his policies rather than his attacks.

“Many analysts have pointed out that Paul Ryan's speech at the Republican National Convention was comprised of several inaccuracies and falsehoods,” Sarah added. “The truth seemed to be a minor detail for the candidates at the RNC. On the contrary, at the DNC, Clinton made a point to detail the policies as they were, rather than slant them to appeal to voters.”

The president concluded his speech in a poetic fashion, rousing the audience with his final statements: “America, I never said this journey would be easy, and I won't promise that now. Yes, our path is harder--but it leads to a better place. Yes, our road is longer--but we travel it together,” he said.

“We don't turn back. We leave no one behind. We pull each other up. We draw strength from our victories, and we learn from our mistakes, but we keep our eyes fixed on that distant horizon, knowing that Providence is with us, and that we are surely blessed to be citizens of the greatest nation on Earth.”

President Obama gained a four-percent lead on Romney after the DNC, according to several polls. Whether or not he will hold that lead remains to be seen in the final weeks of the campaign.

Young girl and grandmother eaten by wolf, rescued later by passing hunter.

A young girl and her grandmother were eaten whole by a wolf Tuesday morning roughly 1.5 miles into the woods outside The Village. Both the girl and her grandmother were rescued later in the day by a hunter passing by the house in which the incident occurred.

Elisabeth, also known as Little Red Riding Hood, ventured into the woods early Tuesday as instructed by her mother. “I gave her a basket of fresh bread, butter and wine to bring to her sick grandmother,” said Elisabeth’s mother. “I told her come straight home.”

Fifteen minutes into the 30 minute walk, Elisabeth was pursued by a hungry wolf. “He asked me what was in my basket and where I was going,” she explained to police officers Tuesday afternoon.

Elisabeth had described the location of her grandmother’s cottage to the wolf before wandering off the path to pick flowers. The wolf then went to the cottage and claimed to be Elisabeth after knocking on the door. Once Elisabeth’s grandmother opened the door, the wolf promptly entered the residence and ate her whole.

Shortly after, Elisabeth went to the cottage to find the front door wide open. She entered the home, finding the wolf dressed in her grandmother’s clothes and in the woman’s bed. After mistaking him for her grandmother, the wolf ate her whole as well.

Later in the day, a local hunter passed by the cottage and heard heavy snoring. “It didn’t seem normal,” the hunter remarked, “so I decided to go check on the woman. I knew she was sick.”

The hunter entered the home and found the wolf asleep in the woman’s bed.

 

What is "The News"?

"The News" is a category of information that is current, truthful and informative. The news presents all side of a story, topic or issue, whether there be one side or five. The news should consist of things that are important for a general population to be aware and informed of, not of things that solely entertain or boost ratings. The news should be controlled by freedom of the press, not by its audience, the government, corporations or what's popular.