One of the greatest things about coming to Drake for journalism is that right here in Des Moines we have Meredith Publishing home of publications like Better Homes & Gardens, Midwest Living, Living a Country Life, etc. They have dozens of nationally read magazines. Which is, obviously, great for budding journalist types like me. I'll readily admit that having Meredith in the city was a draw. And it's still great...
But...
It does not - I repeat - does NOT begin and end with Meredith Publishing. I'm serious. Last year all the sophomores were all going crazy because everybody was applying for the Meredith Junior Apprenticeship progam thing that Drake offers. It's an awesome opportunity, you get class credit, real experience at a magazine... but it's insanely selective (only five students are selected). I obviously wasn't selected, but fellow blogger Kayla Porter (although, I guess it's Kayla Craig now) was. And that's awesome for her. But I think journalism students often spend so much time focusing on the Meredith factor that they forget that there are truckloads more opportunities out there.
Sure, apply for Meredith internships, but don't turn away from lesser known magazines or publications. Experience is experience no matter where you can get it. Who knows? You may stumble onto something really cool. Plus, I don't know how Meredith works or anything, but they're a huge corporation with a national reputation and maybe a smaller publication will take more chances on interns and give them more assignments.
Again, I don't know. But there are other options - LOTS of them. You just have to find them and not be so picky.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Audubon Adventure
Over fall break I went with friends Ryan and Naomi to Ryan's hometown of Audubon, Iowa to check out his farm, the town, and all the nerdy touristy stuff along the way. It was great fun and a really nice distraction from the stress of school. Check out the pictures :)
Here's the route we took. We took the long way. The REALLY long way. But we got to see a lot of cool stuff
Me at the site of the very first train robbery. It was Jesse James, of course.
Tree in the middle of the road!!!! A surveyor stuck his walking stick in the ground to mark the section corner in 1850. The stick took root and 157 years later, there's a tree there.
Plow in the oak. Waaaaay back during the Civil War, a farmer was called to war and left his plow out and a tree started to grow over it. There are still pieces of it showing like this one
This windmill was originally in Denmark. Someone paid to have it taken apart, shipped over, and reassembled.
Another view of the windmill. This is one of my favorite pictures of the day.
This little mermaid statue is an homage to the real little mermaid statue in Copenhagen, Denmark. It's a tribute to Hans Christian Andersen's story - before Disney got ahold of it.
ELK! There's an elk enclosure at Nathaniel Hamlin Park. There's like a gazebo overlooking the enclosure and you can drop elk feed down some tubes for them. I love elk. Especially this little one.
Blacksmith shop at Nathaniel Hamlin Park
Large and in charge - Albert the Bull is the world's largest bull. He's 30 feet high and weighs 45 tons.
In Ryan's church
Mr. Audubon himself!
One of Ryan's farm kitties! KITTIES!
The farm!!!
Satchel! I love this dog. :D
Here's the route we took. We took the long way. The REALLY long way. But we got to see a lot of cool stuff
Me at the site of the very first train robbery. It was Jesse James, of course.
Tree in the middle of the road!!!! A surveyor stuck his walking stick in the ground to mark the section corner in 1850. The stick took root and 157 years later, there's a tree there.
Plow in the oak. Waaaaay back during the Civil War, a farmer was called to war and left his plow out and a tree started to grow over it. There are still pieces of it showing like this one
This windmill was originally in Denmark. Someone paid to have it taken apart, shipped over, and reassembled.
Another view of the windmill. This is one of my favorite pictures of the day.
This little mermaid statue is an homage to the real little mermaid statue in Copenhagen, Denmark. It's a tribute to Hans Christian Andersen's story - before Disney got ahold of it.
ELK! There's an elk enclosure at Nathaniel Hamlin Park. There's like a gazebo overlooking the enclosure and you can drop elk feed down some tubes for them. I love elk. Especially this little one.
Blacksmith shop at Nathaniel Hamlin Park
Large and in charge - Albert the Bull is the world's largest bull. He's 30 feet high and weighs 45 tons.
In Ryan's church
Mr. Audubon himself!
One of Ryan's farm kitties! KITTIES!
The farm!!!
Satchel! I love this dog. :D
Saturday, October 25, 2008
High School Musical Madness
Well, he's back. Zac Efron and his popular posse of basketballers and bookworms have finally taken the box office by storm garnering what is expected to be hundreds of millions for Disney - because if there's one company who needs the millions, it's Disney, right? I'm shocked they waited so long to put a High School Musical movie in theaters. But HSM 3 is now playing, so I guess that's what counts. And now hundreds of thousands of Efron-worshipping, "I want to be Hannah Montana for Halloween" seven-year-olds are dragging their parents to the sweet and cheesy flick.
I would expect no less.
What still surprises me is the number of 20+ year old COLLEGE students who drag their friends along to see it. And the sadder fact is that most of the friends are going rather willingly. Is it just me, or is anybody else baffled by the Disney college takeover? Hannah Montana? The Jonas Brothers? High School Musical? Are you kidding me? I feel like college students have grown way out of the key demographic.
Don't get me wrong, if I see the Lizzie McGuire movie on tv one night, I'll stop and watch it. I will. Let's keep in mind however, I was also in middle school when Lizzie McGuire was popular. And It reminds me of those days when Hilary Duff didn't look like some freakish alien with a huge head, tiny body, and horse teeth.
I'm getting off topic.
What I don't get is why stuff like that appeals to college kis NOW. Is it just because it's all cutesy? Do we crave cutesy? I like cutesy, but I'm not spending nine dollars for it.
If you understand this bizarre obsession, please explain it to me.
I would expect no less.
What still surprises me is the number of 20+ year old COLLEGE students who drag their friends along to see it. And the sadder fact is that most of the friends are going rather willingly. Is it just me, or is anybody else baffled by the Disney college takeover? Hannah Montana? The Jonas Brothers? High School Musical? Are you kidding me? I feel like college students have grown way out of the key demographic.
Don't get me wrong, if I see the Lizzie McGuire movie on tv one night, I'll stop and watch it. I will. Let's keep in mind however, I was also in middle school when Lizzie McGuire was popular. And It reminds me of those days when Hilary Duff didn't look like some freakish alien with a huge head, tiny body, and horse teeth.
I'm getting off topic.
What I don't get is why stuff like that appeals to college kis NOW. Is it just because it's all cutesy? Do we crave cutesy? I like cutesy, but I'm not spending nine dollars for it.
If you understand this bizarre obsession, please explain it to me.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Things to do
People like to ask if there's anything to do around here. Sometimes I think students exhaust the options closest to campus. How many times can you go to Mars Cafe before it gets old? Seriously. The other problem is that other activities aren't within walking distance, leaving those without a car at a disadvantage, or they cost money students can't afford to spend.
One option that I think goes overlooked is volunteering. Stay with me, here.
You don't have to be in some sort of organization to do community service. Independent people do community service all the time. I've met dozens of people who get their family together and volunteer "just because." And I think that's totally cool - maybe it's even better in some ways because it's absolutely not required of you to do it.
You can do and see some seriously cool stuff when you volunteer. Here's one of the best parts - it's free. If you volunteer at a place that would normally charge admission, you're going to get in for free. Who is going to make a volunteer pay? Plus, you can stumble on some pretty awesome stuff you never would have thought of before.
For example, I volunteered at the Drake booth for the Iowa State Fair. I got in for free because I was a volunteer, I parked for free (so far I've saved a total of like 15 bucks), I spend a couple of hours at the Drake booth giving little kids bulldog tattoos and then met up with some friends and spent the rest of the day at the fair.
It's easy enough to find volunteering opportunities. There are massive searching sites like volunteermatch.com that sort opportunities by category so you can find something you'd like to do. You'll probably be able to get a group of friends together to go do it with you, too.
So you're helping give something back to the community, doing something fun, and not spending any money doing it. Sounds like a win-win to me.
One option that I think goes overlooked is volunteering. Stay with me, here.
You don't have to be in some sort of organization to do community service. Independent people do community service all the time. I've met dozens of people who get their family together and volunteer "just because." And I think that's totally cool - maybe it's even better in some ways because it's absolutely not required of you to do it.
You can do and see some seriously cool stuff when you volunteer. Here's one of the best parts - it's free. If you volunteer at a place that would normally charge admission, you're going to get in for free. Who is going to make a volunteer pay? Plus, you can stumble on some pretty awesome stuff you never would have thought of before.
For example, I volunteered at the Drake booth for the Iowa State Fair. I got in for free because I was a volunteer, I parked for free (so far I've saved a total of like 15 bucks), I spend a couple of hours at the Drake booth giving little kids bulldog tattoos and then met up with some friends and spent the rest of the day at the fair.
It's easy enough to find volunteering opportunities. There are massive searching sites like volunteermatch.com that sort opportunities by category so you can find something you'd like to do. You'll probably be able to get a group of friends together to go do it with you, too.
So you're helping give something back to the community, doing something fun, and not spending any money doing it. Sounds like a win-win to me.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
JuicyCampus.com
Remember the movie Mean Girls? With Lindsay Lohan and her posse of pink plastics? Remember the book they had where they would trash everybody? Let's take that book and put it online. Let's anonymously post it on a huge public forum like JuicyCampus.com.
Good idea.
Not.
If you haven't heard about JuicyCampus, just know it's a new internet fad where anybody can go online, look up their campus and read defamatory and slanderous rumors about their peers. And it's totally anonymous. TOTALLY. I mean, it's probably easy to track an IP address and figure out exactly who is behind each post. But who has that much patience? Nobody at all.
In the past two weeks, the popularity and use of the site has absolutely skyrocketed. Sororities are slammed, fraternities are defamed, individuals are mercilessly slandered... the list goes on. To be fair, some posts are perfectly innocent - like the ones about which classes to take, which professors are good, what there's to do around campus... that sort of thing.
Apart from that, I find the site entirely deplorable and can cause serious problems on campus.
Even if someone sleeps around, drinks too much, throws up on people at parties, has a crush on a professor or whatever, I think everybody deserves their privacy and a smutty site like JuicyCampus only violates that right. I was appalled by the blatant immaturity exhibited by the students on the site who are, let's face it, adults.
I think everybody needs to grow up or use the bathroom wall like the eighth graders they are.
Good idea.
Not.
If you haven't heard about JuicyCampus, just know it's a new internet fad where anybody can go online, look up their campus and read defamatory and slanderous rumors about their peers. And it's totally anonymous. TOTALLY. I mean, it's probably easy to track an IP address and figure out exactly who is behind each post. But who has that much patience? Nobody at all.
In the past two weeks, the popularity and use of the site has absolutely skyrocketed. Sororities are slammed, fraternities are defamed, individuals are mercilessly slandered... the list goes on. To be fair, some posts are perfectly innocent - like the ones about which classes to take, which professors are good, what there's to do around campus... that sort of thing.
Apart from that, I find the site entirely deplorable and can cause serious problems on campus.
Even if someone sleeps around, drinks too much, throws up on people at parties, has a crush on a professor or whatever, I think everybody deserves their privacy and a smutty site like JuicyCampus only violates that right. I was appalled by the blatant immaturity exhibited by the students on the site who are, let's face it, adults.
I think everybody needs to grow up or use the bathroom wall like the eighth graders they are.
The BIG question
A couple of weeks ago I received an email from an incoming freshman that I think merits a post of it's own. He wrote, "I'm not much of a drinker. Is drinking a big deal on campus?"
First of all, let me start by saying that after almost two and a half years in college I've learned one thing (well more than that, but one REALLY important thing) - college, and life, is all about choices and their consequences. The word "consequences" has a negative connotation, but there can also be good consequences so stay with me here.
To go ahead and answer the question - Drake is college. Drinking happens in college. You can avoid it if you choose to, but it's definitely there.
That being said, it's my choice NOT to drink. I don't like the frat party scene, being around drunk people is both annoying and uncomfortable, the alcohol I've tried has been absolutely disgusting, I like having total control of what i say and do, and I'm underage. I'm also a paranoid, jumpy type of person who would be constantly worried about getting caught with alcohol. I can wait until it's legal, thanks.
However, there are lots of people who DO choose to drink. And that's cool. They can go out and party or stay in and party. They can go from frat house to frat house bumming free booze or do really whatever they want to. It's their life and as long as I don't have to be around it or deal with it, I don't mind it at all.
But, like I said, with choices there are consequences.
For example, not drinking leads to good things like healthy livers and better general health and maybe better grades and likely safer nights out and smarter decisions... ect. It also leads to bad things like peer pressure (get used to it), feeling somewhat removed from the rest of college life, competing with alcohol for time with friends who do drink... ect.
The same thing goes for drinking. There are good things like feeling good and not so stressed and worried and frustrated with life and having a good time and meeting new people and not feeling so inhibited...ect. The bad things, well, the bad things have been shoved down our throats since the eighth grade. So we won't get into those things here.
So there are good and bad consequences for either choice.
As far as if it's "a big deal," i don't really have the numbers for you or anything. But I will say the percentage of college students who don't drink is higher than you'd think. A lot of people don't admit they don't drink for whatever reason, so sometimes it's easy to feel kind of alone if you're not a drinker. But you're not. Not even close. Plus, not everybody who drinks drinks to get drunk. There's a big difference. Some people won't consider it a good night until they black out on someone's futon. Others want to have a drink or two and just have fun. Not all college students are irresponsible drunkards - some are, but not all.
Bottom line?
If you want to drink, go ahead and drink. It's ok.
If you don't want to drink, don't drink. It's ok.
First of all, let me start by saying that after almost two and a half years in college I've learned one thing (well more than that, but one REALLY important thing) - college, and life, is all about choices and their consequences. The word "consequences" has a negative connotation, but there can also be good consequences so stay with me here.
To go ahead and answer the question - Drake is college. Drinking happens in college. You can avoid it if you choose to, but it's definitely there.
That being said, it's my choice NOT to drink. I don't like the frat party scene, being around drunk people is both annoying and uncomfortable, the alcohol I've tried has been absolutely disgusting, I like having total control of what i say and do, and I'm underage. I'm also a paranoid, jumpy type of person who would be constantly worried about getting caught with alcohol. I can wait until it's legal, thanks.
However, there are lots of people who DO choose to drink. And that's cool. They can go out and party or stay in and party. They can go from frat house to frat house bumming free booze or do really whatever they want to. It's their life and as long as I don't have to be around it or deal with it, I don't mind it at all.
But, like I said, with choices there are consequences.
For example, not drinking leads to good things like healthy livers and better general health and maybe better grades and likely safer nights out and smarter decisions... ect. It also leads to bad things like peer pressure (get used to it), feeling somewhat removed from the rest of college life, competing with alcohol for time with friends who do drink... ect.
The same thing goes for drinking. There are good things like feeling good and not so stressed and worried and frustrated with life and having a good time and meeting new people and not feeling so inhibited...ect. The bad things, well, the bad things have been shoved down our throats since the eighth grade. So we won't get into those things here.
So there are good and bad consequences for either choice.
As far as if it's "a big deal," i don't really have the numbers for you or anything. But I will say the percentage of college students who don't drink is higher than you'd think. A lot of people don't admit they don't drink for whatever reason, so sometimes it's easy to feel kind of alone if you're not a drinker. But you're not. Not even close. Plus, not everybody who drinks drinks to get drunk. There's a big difference. Some people won't consider it a good night until they black out on someone's futon. Others want to have a drink or two and just have fun. Not all college students are irresponsible drunkards - some are, but not all.
Bottom line?
If you want to drink, go ahead and drink. It's ok.
If you don't want to drink, don't drink. It's ok.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Answering your questions...
I've been getting a lot of questions from you prospectives lately via email, so I thought I'd post some of them here so everybody can see the answers.
Is Greek Life a big deal on campus?
Well, based on the numbers, only about 30% of the campus is involved in Greek life - and that includes non-social greek life like professional pharmacy and business fraternities/sororities and things of that nature. But it FEELS like the social greeks are everywhere. I wouldn't say I feel "left out" or "outcast" from Drake society because I'm not involved, but from time to time it feels kind of overwhelming. The social greek thing isn't my cup of tea whatsoever, so I might not be the best person to ask. Just know that social greeks are a particularly strong presence on campus.
What's the food like?
The food is campus food... so... lower your expectations and you'll be happy. I think Drake food kinda gets a bad rap and I don't think it's as bad as people say it is, but it's nothing to be excited about. Except for Hubbell brunch. mmm.. Hubbell brunch. Bonus - you'll REALLY appreciate home cooking when you visit your family.
Are there community service opportunities on campus?
Well... what a wonderful question. There are a lot of service organizations to join, or if you don't want to commit to an organization, there are plenty of opportunities to take advantage of on your own. I'm in Alpha Phi Omega, a co-ed community service fraternity, and, as you can imagine, we do all sorts of community service. There are also organizations like 10,000 Hours Show that reward their volunteers with a concert at the end of the year, Circle K, and others that aren't coming to mind right now. Plus, Drake participates in "Feel Good Fridays" where different service opportunities are offered every Friday. You don't even have to join an organization to participate.
Should I bring a car?
I spent two years without a car. Guess what? I survived. But now that I have a car... well, let's just say it's awesome beyond all reason. The DART city bus system is free for Drake students and it's becoming more and more popular, but sometimes it's confusing and you have to worry about catching the bus at the right time. There are things to do around Drake, but I think students really exhaust those options fairly quickly. It's probably likely you'll find a friend who happens to have a car, but I always felt funny about bumming rides and stuff. If you have a car to bring, I'd recommend it. If not, you won't be miserable.
What are the dorms like?
THEY'RE AWESOME, thanks for asking. All the freshmen residence halls were renovated over the summer or the previous summer so they're pretty brand-spankin' new. They're gorgeous and have air conditioning and giant white boards by every door and new furniture with real mattresses and all sorts of awesome things. So... yeah. Halls are awesome. And they're a nice size, too.
Should I loft my bed?
Yes. The end.
What is Drake West Village? Is it nice?
Drake West Village is an on-campus-but-off-campus apartment complex for upperclassmen. I'm living there because this year's freshmen class didn't fit in just the freshmen halls and the extra freshmen were put in the upperclassmen hall I was supposed to live in and I was booted to Drake West Village. I live in a 4-bedroom apartment with a full kitchen and two bathrooms and all that good stuff. The apartments are totally furnished and everything so it's nice to not have to worry about buying furniture. Because I was supposed to live in the dorms, I'm just paying room and board. If you sign a lease, you have to pay a monthly rent which, honestly, runs rather high considering a college students' budget. The gym they talk about in DWV is nice, but tiny. The laundry room is nice and smells good. And there are study rooms which are nice when you have to get out of the apartment...
Ok, keep your questions coming, kids!!!!
Is Greek Life a big deal on campus?
Well, based on the numbers, only about 30% of the campus is involved in Greek life - and that includes non-social greek life like professional pharmacy and business fraternities/sororities and things of that nature. But it FEELS like the social greeks are everywhere. I wouldn't say I feel "left out" or "outcast" from Drake society because I'm not involved, but from time to time it feels kind of overwhelming. The social greek thing isn't my cup of tea whatsoever, so I might not be the best person to ask. Just know that social greeks are a particularly strong presence on campus.
What's the food like?
The food is campus food... so... lower your expectations and you'll be happy. I think Drake food kinda gets a bad rap and I don't think it's as bad as people say it is, but it's nothing to be excited about. Except for Hubbell brunch. mmm.. Hubbell brunch. Bonus - you'll REALLY appreciate home cooking when you visit your family.
Are there community service opportunities on campus?
Well... what a wonderful question. There are a lot of service organizations to join, or if you don't want to commit to an organization, there are plenty of opportunities to take advantage of on your own. I'm in Alpha Phi Omega, a co-ed community service fraternity, and, as you can imagine, we do all sorts of community service. There are also organizations like 10,000 Hours Show that reward their volunteers with a concert at the end of the year, Circle K, and others that aren't coming to mind right now. Plus, Drake participates in "Feel Good Fridays" where different service opportunities are offered every Friday. You don't even have to join an organization to participate.
Should I bring a car?
I spent two years without a car. Guess what? I survived. But now that I have a car... well, let's just say it's awesome beyond all reason. The DART city bus system is free for Drake students and it's becoming more and more popular, but sometimes it's confusing and you have to worry about catching the bus at the right time. There are things to do around Drake, but I think students really exhaust those options fairly quickly. It's probably likely you'll find a friend who happens to have a car, but I always felt funny about bumming rides and stuff. If you have a car to bring, I'd recommend it. If not, you won't be miserable.
What are the dorms like?
THEY'RE AWESOME, thanks for asking. All the freshmen residence halls were renovated over the summer or the previous summer so they're pretty brand-spankin' new. They're gorgeous and have air conditioning and giant white boards by every door and new furniture with real mattresses and all sorts of awesome things. So... yeah. Halls are awesome. And they're a nice size, too.
Should I loft my bed?
Yes. The end.
What is Drake West Village? Is it nice?
Drake West Village is an on-campus-but-off-campus apartment complex for upperclassmen. I'm living there because this year's freshmen class didn't fit in just the freshmen halls and the extra freshmen were put in the upperclassmen hall I was supposed to live in and I was booted to Drake West Village. I live in a 4-bedroom apartment with a full kitchen and two bathrooms and all that good stuff. The apartments are totally furnished and everything so it's nice to not have to worry about buying furniture. Because I was supposed to live in the dorms, I'm just paying room and board. If you sign a lease, you have to pay a monthly rent which, honestly, runs rather high considering a college students' budget. The gym they talk about in DWV is nice, but tiny. The laundry room is nice and smells good. And there are study rooms which are nice when you have to get out of the apartment...
Ok, keep your questions coming, kids!!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
