opinion, point of view & bias

The 2012 Writer-In-Resident, Maggie Koerth-Baker held a workshop for writing majors.  She told us understanding a scientific journal is difficult for most people.  To make these journals easier to understand, she edits the articles into layman’s terms.

This workshop gave us first-hand experience in taking the important points of a journal and making it easier to comprehend.  Those attending the workshop rewrote a journal into a blog entry format.  Koerth­-Baker had worthy tips on blog writing and how blogging can lead to employment as a writer.

Koerth-Baker also listed important blog writing tips and facts.

  1. Blogs are people’s opinion.  They are all bias.
  2. Use loose, easy to understand vocabulary.
  3. Give your Point of View.  That’s what your blog is for.
  4. Write in short paragraphs.  This keeps readers attention.
  5. Summarize your angle.  Review and restate your opinion.
  6. Use a passive voice.  It sounds better.
  7. Avoid jargon.  If readers don’t understand what you write, they won’t understand your opinion.

Koerth-Baker has the amazing ability to take scientific mumbo-jumbo and write it as an understandable magazine article.  She makes it look easy, but after participating in the workshop, I realize this type of professional writing is difficult and can be very dry.  Koerth-Baker was able to make this workshop fun and interesting.

Spartan article  ~P.

Not upset, just surprised

Would you say York County PA is a conservative area?  What about York College Campus?

Should a campus newspaper worry if an article is too controversal for print?  Is there such a thing as news that is too controversal to share with the public?

I have many questions suddenly, that I had never given thought to before.  When I began researching a sexual fetish involving balloons for a final paper in writing course, I never expected it to be so damn interesting.  I wanted to share with YCP the opportunity to follow along in my research and even become a part of it, if they find balloons stimulating.  The faculty at YCP did not enter my mind because I don’t write for the faculty, I write for my fellow students.

This is my first response from one of the editors concerning the preview article about balloon fetishists:

“I believe I’m talking to Dr. Zerbe tomorrow about a whole bunch of things, so as long as he says it’s okay, the balloon one should be good to go too. I’ll keep you posted.  -Leah”

And the response I received today:

“Dr. Zerbe, Stephen and I, we decided to publish the balloon article online but not in the print version. The only reason I really didn’t want to publish it in the print issue is just because York is a somewhat conservative area, and a small but significant portion of the readers of the print edition are the Deans and administration. I just don’t think it’s appropriate for that audience. However, I think that it is much better suited to the online issue, and you’ll get much more of a response online especially when we can link it directly to your blog.  I hope that’s okay! I think it’s going to give you a much better response, anyway.  -Leah”

This is my response to the email and I CC’d it to the other editor and Dr. Zerbe, the professor who advises us news reporters:

Leah,

When I submitted this random piece for an article, I did so never giving it thought that the content would be a problem.  This is a topic I am researching for a final paper in writing and just thought it would be cool to share in this research.  I did not know if anyone that reads The Spartan would answer the questions, but I think you should keep this in mind, anyone can have a fetish regardless of their profession.  This college does not strike me as conservative because I am also involved with LLAMBDA and know that it is widely accepted by most everyone on campus.  I can honestly say I have never heard of or seen any type of prejudice at YCP.

This has actually turned out to be even more interesting to me that it won’t make the college printed paper because there is suddenly a concern of who might be offended.  If that were really a true concern, then the articles written for the Spartan in the past would not have covered abortion, smoking, gay rights, etc.  I am not against my article going into the online edition.  My only concern is the “online edition” will now be the dumping grounds for anything even slightly controversial, like balloon fetishist.  If we want fellow students to pick up the copies that are printed we have to have content that they want to bother reading.  Otherwise, let’s just skip printing anything and focus all our attention online.

I appreciate the consideration by yourself, Dr. Zerbe, and Stephen but I will voice my disappointment that this is found to be too controversial to print.  My final paper may very well go deeper into this fetish that anyone has ever gone before.  To me that is ground-breaking and news-worthy.

Sincerely,

Pattie Crider

Maggie Koerth-Baker at YCP

Attention Professional Writing Majors

The 2012 Writer-In-Resident is Maggie Koerth-Baker.  Koerth-Baker is the science editor of BoingBoing.net, a science and technology based blogsite.  Her work has been published in print and online by National Geographic, Discover, Reader’s Digest and Scientific American.  Her book, Before the Lights Go Out: Conquering the Energy Crisis Before It Conquers Us, is now available at Amazon.com.

There are two events scheduled during Koerth-Baker’s visit.  On Thursday March 29, at 7:30 PM in the DeMeester Recital Hall (in Wolf Hall) there will be a public reading and a question and answer session.  Her book will also be available for purchase and signing following the session.

The second event is the annual Writer’s Workshop with the Writer-in-Resident.  Eighteen participants will be accepted for the workshop on Saturday, March 31, from 8:00 AM to 1:30 PM, breakfast and lunch are included.  To register for this workshop with Koerth-Baker, see Ms. Deb Staley in Humanities room 161.  A deposit of $10 is required, but will be reimbursed when you attend the workshop.

To Write Love on Her Arms

Jamie Tworkowski

Choose not to be alone.

Jamie Tworkowski spoke on campus about his non-profit movement known as “To Write Love on Her Arms” (TWLOHA) and just for kicks, he brought along his friend and musician Anthony Raneri of Bayside.  The tickets were a twofer; something you get two at once, Jamie and Anthony appearing on one stage.

If you went to the presentation, you know exactly what TWLOHA is and if you didn’t go, read the previous issue of The Spartan.  What I want to write about is Mr. Tworkowski as an individual.

If I had to describe Tworkowski with one word it would be “cool.” He is so cool you want to know him.  He came in and spilled his guts about his life. Carefree, surfer dude type of guy. He had a nice job with a big racing company and he quit to raise awareness of depression, suicide, self injury, addiction, and all the “stuff” people are afraid to talk about. Twork (my nickname for him) said, “People need other people to help us carry the weight of life.”

Twork was a guy that made the audience think “slacker.”  He admitted he was a slacker and was amazed himself when he landed a dream job with Quicksilver followed by Hurley.   He experienced two life changing events.  A friend, Renee needed support while she came down from drug use.  Twork recorded five days with her in written form.  Following her admittance to rehab, Twork shared his story about just being there for her as a friend.  He also had an associate at work commit suicide and this prompted him to make a difference in people’s lives.  Twork is one hell of a guy and brutally honest.  He said, “People are afraid of what response we are met with when we talk about stuff.  Suicide prevention is in knowing others are out there that care.”

These were wise words for a college drop-out, surfer dude.  He dressed to blend in on campus and I estimate he is in his early thirties now.  While he didn’t encourage dropping out of college, he did open my eyes at how much of an impact this dorky guy had through the internet.  I don’t think Twork would mind if I called him dorky.  He seemed to know he is goofy and it is a very charming trait for someone who has taken up public speaking.  Twork made the sound-system squeal, he didn’t pay much attention to his surroundings and I noticed his habit of taking the lid off his water and putting it back on without taking a sip.  A nervous reaction I suppose.  He also would go off on a tangent and forget what he was talking about.  I’m not sure how he manages to squeeze so much humor into such a sad topic but dude pulled it off.  Twork is just an average joe who was there for a friend in need and kicked off what has become a world-wide support system.  He believes, “you are born to be known and your uniqueness is priceless.”  His message is of hope and that help is real and I believed in his message.  Everyone in the room believed in his message and that is why he is successful as what he does.

Rape, Aggression, Defense

Ready to kick ass

Ever get that gut feeling you are being watched?

How can you lower your chances of being attacked?

Do you know what to do if you are attacked?

York College of PA is offering a free self-defense course to all female students. The Rape Aggression Defense System is a program of realistic self-defense tactics and techniques for women. This system is a comprehensive, women-only course that begins with awareness, prevention, risk reduction and risk avoidance, while progressing on to the basics of hands-on defense training.

The class includes self-defense techniques including defensive stances, punches, elbow and knee strikes, kicks, breaking chokes and holds and ground defense. The final day includes simulation scenarios where you can test your new skills on campus safety officers playing the part of aggressors. This is a perfect opportunity to vent any anger over parking tickets.

The courses are taught by nationally certified R.A.D. instructors and provide each student with a workbook/reference manual. This manual outlines the entire Physical Defense Program for reference and continuous personal growth, and is the key to our free lifetime return and practice policy for R.A.D.

Thursday, February 16th 6-9 PM

Friday, February 17th 6-9 PM

Saturday, February 18th 12-3 PM

Sunday, February 19th 12-3 PM

Once the course is completed each female student gets a R.A.D. t-shirt to wear around campus!

Interested in taking the R.A.D. System self-defense class, contact the campus safety office at 815-1403 or stop by in person in Manor Northeast.

Be prepared,

~P.

Chips & Salsa $1.70

Jarrito's Mexican soda

Move over big bagels, burritos are in town!  The Azteca Mexican Grill opened on Grantley Street four months ago, taking the place of Big Apple Bagels.  I stopped at Azteca for dinner and to chat with Ayala, a full time employee of the grill.

Ayala said he enjoys working at the Mexican grill and the rush of student customers keeps him busy.  During the busiest parts of the day, he has one or two employees join him in making Mexican meals quick and easy.  The restaurant décor is southwestern with colorful sculptures and pictures on the walls.  There are seats at a bar area as well as individual tables.  A unique display advertises Mexican soda called “Jarrito’s” and is available in multiple flavors.

Pork quesadilla

The menu is simple: burrito, taco, quesadilla, fajita or salad.  Decide if you would like vegetarian, chicken, steak, ground beef or pork.  I had the pork quesadilla with fresh Pico de Gallo salsa.  It seemed a bit dry to me and I immediately began eyeing up my boyfriend’s chicken burrito.  He graciously shared it with me and my taste buds did a little happy dance when I bit into the juicy, bean and rice loaded burrito.  The burrito blew the quesadilla right off my plate.

Ayala told me the salsa and chips are made fresh so I asked him for a few to sample.  The tortilla chips are kept in a toaster and came out warm and crunchy.  The homemade salsa was mild, chunky and obviously fresh.  A handwritten sign on the counter informed me of many future lunches.  “Chips & Salsa $1.70.”  A second sign advertised a large coffee for $1.00.

My conclusions of Azteca Mexican Grill; the menu is reasonably priced for college students, the serving portions are large and overall the food tasted good.  The Flex card is accepted for payment and the college WiFi signal is available while dining.

I’ve already been back once since my first meal at Azteca, just for the chips and salsa.

“Chau!”

~P.

Writing a Recommendations Report

York College course Writing in Professional Cultures requires preparing and submitting a recommendation report.  The first step was to choose a topic of concern that interested me.  I chose The Spartan newspaper to determine why the campus newspaper is not circulating and every week there are copies remaining from the previous edition.

The most important part of research is to have an adequate sample of the people affected by chosen topic.  My first attempt was disappointing.  I emailed students with a questionnaire and had a dismal 17 responses.  Because I did not have enough responses to be a sample of the students at York College, I failed.  See how important a fellow students input is when it comes to creating a rec. report?

My second attempt to survey people was successful.  I set up a table outside the student union building one day and another day I set up in the commuter parking lot.  With candy as a reward for filling taking my survey and the possibility of winning a prize of Nestle cocoa, Folgers coffee or a giant margarita glass filled with snacks and a Spartapalooza t-shirt I had 360 responses.  Conclusion:  Bribery works!

Winner of the margarita glass/t-shirt was Sasha Vanegas. 

Freshman Sasha Vanegas

 

 

Freshman Ryan Manger

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

York College Spartapalooza 2011

Frank T. Aquilino ~Class of 97

At York College of Pennsylvania, alumnus Frank T. Aquilino ’97 was remembered with a memorial scholarship. He was a bond trader at Cantor Fitzgerald and perished on 9/11/2001.  The 2011 Spartapalooza festival was dedicated in memory of Mr. Aquilino.

This year the Spartapalooza theme was class spirit.  The freshman, sophomores, juniors and seniors competed against each other for points to win “Best Class Spirit” award.  The contests varied through-out Grumbaucher Stadium.  Fieldhouse held a bounce house, dizzy bats races, velcro bounce wall, inflatable obstacle race,  thunder stick decorating, $1 black and green festival t-shirts, a scavenger hunt, and much more.

At the swimming pool, the cardboard boat races excited the crowd of spectators.  It didn’t matter who won and who lost….it was all about the boat.  The boat that put on the best show.  Float or sink, the crowd cheered in a frenzy.  A personal favorite was Team “Diddy Dong Racing.” They were the winners of The Titanic Award for their dramatic cardboard vessel sinking to the bottom of the pool.  This YCP team was all juniors: John Meyer, Ryan Hershey, Tom Powell and Mike Shaffer sacrificed their boat to take this win.

Team YCP USA  participated in the cardboard boat races.

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The tug of war between classes was fun but also a bit dangerous as the four classes snapped the rubber bands holding the ropes together.  Determining who won was a challenge itself as the band broke, the sophomore class found themselves on the ground.  The points didn’t really matter, having fun did.

I participated in the scavenger hunt which allowed me to meet new people on campus, outside of my scheduled classes.  The game was to take pictures of what was on the list and I managed to find all the items.  The most challenging was the Spartan Helmet which I learned was made by sophomore, Taylor Lapierre.

Lapierre was also in charge of the class spirit games.  I participated in the games with my friend Phil Rearich.  Phil and I had a great time attempting the sack race.  I fell on my face trying to jump in a burlap sack but got right back up.  The freshman team stole our bandana when we reached the three-legged race but we managed to get to the next leg of the race.  With one shoe on and one off, I attempted leap frog with Phil and failed miserably.  I needed a much shorter partner!

The event drew a large number of students, faculty and children to York Campus.  It was a great day to show student spirit and remember a former student lost to terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centers.

There was an endless buffet of food and sweet and drinks to keep everyone’s energy up for the afternoon through the evening.  The festival ended around midnight with everyone exhausted!

Great times at YCP,

~P.

Monkey Survey

Monkey what?q123qq1qqeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese2eaaaeaaeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee2qqqqqqqqqqqqq22www

Wow…sorry about that.  My W had a piece of dried rice stuck underneath it.

I sent out my survey for The Spartan five days ago.  I never heard of Monkey Survey.

I missed out on it being that easy.  Damn!

I don’t even like monkeys.

Monkey Bash,

~P.

Spartan Staff Questioned

The staff of The Spartan newspaper at York College of PA has been requested, by me, to answer some serious questions concerning the campus news.  This is a writing assignment for my Writing in Professional Cultures class.  I will eventually write a recommendation report to the college administration.

 

Spartan Staff Questionnaire

  1. Should The Spartan discontinue the entire print process and focus on The Spartan website http://www.spartan.ycp.edu? (Please state your reason for Yes or No.)

 

IF YOU CHOSE YES, SKIP TO QUESTION: 9.

IF YOU CHOSE NO, PLEASE ANSWER THE
FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

  1. Would having more newspaper racks on campus improve circulation?
  2. If all the dining locations on campus had copies of the newspaper available, would this improve circulation?
  3. Should newspaper be delivered to all teaching staff with mailboxes?
  4. Should the Spartan subscribe to the Associated Press news releases?
  5. Should cost of advertising in the Spartan be adjusted to increase ad sales?
  6. Should local businesses receive a discount to
    place ads?
  7. How can we get more articles submitted?

ANSWER IF YOU KNOW or HAVE AN OPINION:

  1. What does it cost YCP to print The Spartan?
  2. Has anyone who wrote for The Spartan and
    graduated become “famous” for their writing career?
  3. Would you be more likely to read The Spartan online if the information was current? (Currently the website has stories from 2009 with upcoming articles for 2010. All pages appear to be from 2009 and ends there.)
  4. Were you aware the website was last updated in 2009?
  5. Would making The Spartan one hundred percent virtual in 2012 have benefits?
  6. If so, what would they be?
  7. What would the negatives be?
  8. How would you feel participating in making 2012 the year York College of PA stopped printing the “hard copy” of The Spartan and focused on reaching out
    to other online college papers, online advertising, and endless opportunities
    that are now available since 2009?

 

PLEASE GIVE SERIOUS INPUT WHY YOU WOULD OR WOULD NOT WANT TO CONTINUE OR DISCONTINUE THE “HARD COPY’ ISSUE OF THE SPARTAN.  MY RECOMMENDATION REPORT WILL BE VIEWED BY THE ADMINISTRATION AND BE BASED ON WHAT THE STAFF OF THE SPARTAN DECIDES.

 

Thank you for answering my questionnaire.

Sincerely,

Pattie Crider

This is the questions The Spartan staff were emailed.  I’ll keep you posted on what I find out.  I think focusing on the website should be the priority of the campus paper, we will see what responses I get.

Feel free to comment your thoughts and ideas concerning this issue.  I can’t use it in my report but I’m curious to hear your thoughts!

Paper vs web,

~P.