The University of Blog

Journalism is all about communication. No matter the venue or the way of telling the story, reporting is still at the center of the field. Radio is going on the Internet. The Internet is going to phones. Phones are being used to upload stories to the Internet. All of this multimedia convergence is taking over the field. And reporters are tackling the challenges.

At SPJ we put on a convergence program with presenters that have worked in the multimedia field. They were not trained in online media, yet took on the new job descriptions since journalism is all about convergence.

Brent Martin, Managing Editor of MissouriNet discussed the problems of convergence including obscure working hours and increased workload with less funds to support those products. However, telling a story and communicating this is still the center of convergence. Jason Rosenbaum of the Columbia Daily Tribune, is a recent graduate and writes a blog for the newspaper. He spoke to the challenges of being a newspaper reporter as well as being a blogger. He said that once you get into the field, it is possible to learn how to take on the roles of convergence.

Our last speaker was Antionio French, Editor of PubDef, which is a St. Louis based political blog. French mentioned that this is really a product of today by feeling “cool and productive” through measuring the membership.and constant updates to get more readers.

I went to the National Network of Presbyterian College Women (NNPCW) conference (Speak Truth to Power) in Washington, D.C. at American University. We were able to go to the office of the National Presbytery and learn about such issues like the Farm Bill, reproductive rights, immigration, and healthcare. We were then able to discuss these issues and how we felt about them during a “Speak Your Mind” forum.

Every night we had different plenary speakers. One of the most interesting women that spoke to us was Mara Vanderslice at Common Good Strategies, which is a political consulting firm for Democratic candidates. She served the Kerry campaign as the Director for Religious Outreach. It really got me thinking about the connection between religion and politics. And there can be one by using faith as a “moral compass” to drive political thought. Also, by using the power of the vote as well as writing letters to representatives and congressmen, this can really make a difference.
We also learned what we could bring back to our campuses to have successful programs in which people come and care about the issues. The biggest way to accomplish this and get participants is to build relationships. We learned that this is the key to not doing all of the work ourselves.

Touring the city, we visited the National Organization of Women (NOW), which is a feminist organization working toward women’s rights. They were organized originally to help pass the Equal Rights Amendment. The other groups visited the Center for Community Change, to give members of communities tools to change their communities for the better, and the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House. The biggest thing that I took away from this conference was to just be involved and informed. Knowing the issues and writing letters is one of the best things you can do because Washington cares what their constituents think.

I rushed last year. This included moving in a week early and going through the rush process. I originally decided to rush because I wanted to meet people. At the end, I decided that Greek life wasn’t for me, but I am incredibly glad that I decided to rush.
house decorations for homecoming decorated by a frat/sorority team

It is a recruitment/ mutual acceptance process. The first day we went to every house and talked to a girl there and learn about each house. Then the next day we received a list of which houses invited us back. We go to fewer and fewer houses until the end when we are invited to up to three houses where there is a preference ceremony and then we numbered the houses that we wanted.

We finally found out what houses that we were selected for during a ceremony at the quad. Each house sang their respective chant and we opened up all of the envelopes at the same time and ran to our houses. From there we ate in a relaxed atmosphere, got gifts and had a chance to meet all of the girls.

The rush experience was a ton of fun and I’m very glad that I rushed. In the end, once I was selected for house, I decided that I didn’t have enough time to dedicate to my sorority and that I had met a ton of great people already. Mission accomplished.

I was invited to the awards ceremony for the editor’s prizes of the The Missouri Review. The Missouri Review is a literary magazine that is edited by community members, students and professors. The magazine was founded in 1978 and publishes four issues annually. On Saturday night, I got to hear some up and coming authors from the area share their award-winning works chosen to be included in the Missouri Review.

My friend works for them this semester, and for me, it was great to be exposed to some creative writing, poetry, stories and essays. There is a program at Mizzou to take the Missouri Review course instead of an upper level English class. From what I’ve heard, it has been a good experience for the students who have chosen that path. If you’re interested, there is also EMU’s (English at Mizzou) literary Magazine: Epic.

I had a delightful evening at the house of an alumni couple. I ate real food: pork tenderloin, risotto, strawberry salad and peach pie. was able to chat with other students in various areas of interest rather than just other journalism students that I usually interact with. It was so wonderful. In addition, it was an opportunity to get away from my dorm and have good conversation with new people.

Being a True Tiger (member of the student alumni association) is a great experience. I am able to attend events and network with both alumni and other students. So far, I have attended the Network Dinner earlier in the year (catered steak meal). Aside from being an opportunity for free food, I was able to meet and get advice from professionals in my future field. A retired broadcast journalist told me that he learned more in his four months in his first job than he did in his four years at Mizzou. But he really valued his well-rounded education because in a career, he focused solely on his job. I really like the advice that college is the time to explore all your interests or you might not have the opportunity to. Thus, take advantage of all of the opportunities that Mizzou offers.

Other events include tailgating events with alumni before football games, trip to a game in a different city, and painting the M by Faurot Field. It is only $20 to sign up True Tigers, and you get a free t-shirt and glass cup (it pays for itself). In addition, you get discounts all over town. Free food, good conversation, discounts and networking opportunities: what more could you want?

The weather is actually nice. Dress and skirt weather. Weather where you can laugh and not feel your lungs freeze together. All in all, good weather.

Have fun in the weather. Go out and do something spectacular. My friends played outside and threw Frisbees around. Other fun activities include walking downtown and window-shopping. Ride a bike. There are many 45 miles of hiking trails around Columbia including the MKT trail, an urban walkway, which connects to the Katy State Park. The Katy Trails were converted from a railway and I read that it is a 227 mile east-west path that goes across most of the state. I’ve heard great things about it. And the Santa Fe Trail starts in Boonville, about 10 miles away.

Also, there are 3000 acres of state parklands 10 miles within the city. I have yet to locate the other parks, but within walking distance is Peace Park. Many community groups use the park. I was walking downtown (after I had just read Don Quixote), and I found a Medieval Reenactment group practicing at Peace Park. I felt a little like Don Quixote and a bit crazy. They let us know that if we were interested in learning more, we were always welcome.

Like to rock climb or spelunk? There are options at Rock Bridge to explore Connor’s Cave. At Mizzou, there is an Outdoor Adventure Club. Also, there is the Venture Out program that has several trips that are intended to introduce people to rock climbing. There is even an Alpline Tower (big climbing course) for another fun challenge.

There is no reason not to go outside. I even saw a rollerblader today. It reminded me of those lazy fourth grade days. There is no reason not to go outside when it is so nice outside. I can’t wait to explore some of those trails.

Yes the school is very large (28,000 students from every state and 100 countries), but still Mizzou is very manageable It is easier to make a big school smaller but it is impossible to make a small school bigger. One way that the school is made smaller is to participate and to get involved. There are TONS of opportunities to get involved.

One way students get involved is participating in clubs. The Missouri Students Association (MSA) is the student governing board of the University. Meetings are held at least once a week. MSA decides upon common ordinances as well as fun things for students to do.

Almost every Friday night from 8-12, MSA hosts all night events. Events include craft night, spa night, and room decorating night. I have been to several of these, but they have been somewhat disappointing with lots of lines and sparse materials. They do include free pizza from Shakespeare’s. This is definitely a highlight of these Events.

The FIG program, which stands for the Freshman Interest Group, is a program at Mizzou where 15-20 students are grouped according to their academic interests. The program has been around for ten years and is thriving to get students acclimated to the school.

For journalism majors alone, there is the Walter William’s Scholars, Journalism Honors and Women in Journalism not to mention the various FIG groups for the other majors as well.

The students that participate are housed in the same dorm, usually within a floor or two of one another and are co-enrolled in three courses. However, it is possible to drop one of the courses when selecting the classes.

The FIG program includes a one-hour “pro-seminar” each week led by a peer advisor. The peer advisor leads the class and decides the curriculum. The subjects vary from helping students get acclimated to Mizzou to various issues around the freshman experience including study habits and partying. The group is paired with “co-facilitator”, a staff member or professor, to gain greater insight about the school as well as a chance to network.

This year, I participated in the Journalism Honor Fig and we had 14 people who were interested in various types of journalism. It was a great experience to be able to meet people right away. Sure not everyone will get along, but it is a nice niche to get acclimated to the school. Living and taking classes with the same people offers a great opportunity to get more out of the learning experience. It makes it an easier transition especially if you go into college with knowing no one or few people.

To get into the dorm or FIG group you want, Apply early. I wanted to find out where I lived and since they are tied to the particular FIG, the information is available online if you are interested. My assessment was that the FIG program really helped and gave me a close group of people to do things with. Our group was particularly close and we did a lot together including going to parties and shopping together.