http://www.cdc.gov/flu/keyfacts.htm

This link from the CDC Web site shows key facts that discuss statistics of the regular seasonal influenza. According to the site, about 36,000 people in the United States die of from flu-related causes. These are all deaths from the everyday flu. So far this year, the death toll for H1N1, or Swine Flu, is less than 200. For me, I would need much greater statistics to know that getting a vaccine would indeed benefit my health. As of now, I'm not so sure.

Also, it's important to remember the time before when Swine Flu was around. So many vaccinations were given out and so many deaths, complications, etc. occurred due to the vaccine. Each affected person was able to file a lawsuit against the leaders behind the vaccine. This time around, with the new "wave" of swine flu, vaccine makers were granted legal immunity so that when complications arise from this vaccine, nothing can be done about it.

http://tinyurl.com/m4gnqa

An article explaining this is from the Associated Press.

Towson junior Kevin Hess has already made several accomplishments toward his aspiring career in jounralism. He is The Towerlight's associate sports editor He has interned with his community newspaper. He is interning with Press Box Magazine. He has made strides to achieve all of these positions and has done this without letting difficulties come in his way.

Listen and watch as Hess tells his story.

For my audio slideshow, I am currently deciding between a number of people that are both interesting subjects. One idea is to create a project about the current SGA president-elect. This goes well with my beat blog and can be a great subject to use, considering the height of the position.

My other idea that I am actually now leaning towards is to do a feature slideshow on a Towson student and associate sports editor for The Towerlight. For this one, I would dig deep into his thoughts to understand why he chose to go into the field of journalism and where he hopes to go in life. I would need to pull in personal questions as well to make the story much more interesting. I believe he has a remarkable story of how he entered to field of sports journalism and believe his story should be told.

Photo taken from travelmuse.com
Student protesters at New York New School rushed inside an academic building to demand the resignation of their school's president. Five hours later, police officers in riot gear entered the building and arrested 19 of these protesting students.

This event happened on Friday when a protester's blog mentions the officers' use of pepper spray and tear gas. NYPD denied this accusation. Administrators of the New School issued a statement that called for the infiltration of police officers to remove the students. The school also suspended each student involved in the protest - there were over 30.

In the article examined, the author writes, "Using a bullhorn, students on the roof told more than 30 people protesting outside the building to ignore police orders, saying, 'These our our streets, this is our school.'"

To read the full story, click here.

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This article certainly explains what happens but does it fail to mention what the students are upset with? No where in the article did I read what this University President has done wrong, nor did I read what the students think he has done wrong. If this were my assignment, I would've sought to include these valuable details.

Apart from that, the reporting in this story was very on point and they seemed to gather quotations from all of the right sources.

This story is important because it examines the issues of free speech and our nation's right to protest. Here, there is obviously a fine line that protesters can walk. They can easily hop over this fence and break laws instead of keeping within their given rights. I believe these students took things much too far by going into an academic building to protest, the very place where students are intended to be - getting a quality education.

Over the past few days, I've spent a lot of time watching TV news and analyzing how each network and news station has used their footage. Each news package is developed in a way that "snaps" and draws the reader in, keeping the tempo of the story. 

I spent significant time watching ABC 2 Baltimore. I can easily notice much less quality of video, computer graphics and editing as other national network stations. Even so, they still broadcast a great news channel. Their edits are fast and informative. 

Each shot seen obviously corresponds to the voice over of the package. There is also a great variation between tight shots and wide shots. I was able to clearly notice the movement in video as opposed to still visuals. I remember watching a short piece on journalism and the way the industry is going and the package contained many shots of moving newspapers and company signs amongst the public.  

Since I'm covering a residence life/student concerns style beat on this blog, it's time to contemplate some audio coverage. My goal is to cover an issue that is current and accurate to the student body. So.. the question at hand, "what are students concerned about?"

• The Student Government Association is currently in "election season" and will soon begin campaigning on multiple levels. Chalking, posters, Web sites, and verbal communication will take place by the end of the month. This may be a great topic to cover considering the importance of the next SGA executive board and how much ability they have to influence on campus.
  
• Another issue to dive into would be the ever growing popularity or social media and the digital age we are living in. I'm finding more and more that our lives - personal and professional- are being converted to digital means of communication and living. Are others realizing this? Perhaps this is something the student body might be concerned with.
• Towson is a growing campus. My goal here would be to explore different issues related to this matter. How is the community affected? Will there be enough residence halls? Will classroom sizes get bigger? Will courses have limited availability? Are students already seeing some of these impacts with a growing campus and limited budget?

Feel free to comment on this post if you feel there is anything of high importance on Towson's campus. What do students care about?

I came across a very interesting article published in the University of Minneapolis's daily newspaper. The article focused on many students having to make the decision when coming to school about whether to live on or off campus. A number of interesting sources were talked to and quoted that weigh the benefits of each option for students.

The story begins in a very interesting way, focusing in on one student and their journey with college housing. This is similar to how I plan to construct my story lead.

The story also gains validity by speaking to a faculty member in the department of residence life.

"They've lived on campus, they realize the convenience of access to their classrooms, access to all the activities and events happening on campus and just being able to keep living in the vibrant core of the University," she said. This was quoted from the assistant director of Housing and Residential Life, Susan Stubblefield.

The story also provides details of different housing availability options. each residence hall has its pros and cons and each apartment is in the same position. Everyone has their own opinion on what is best and most of the decision making is due to a case by case basis. Coming Wednesday, a full feature will be posted on this specific story topic. It is very prevalent at this time because so many students on campus are having to make this decision before there are no more available options for next year.

Here is a link to the story mentioned. Click Here to learn about housing at other colleges

"Living on campus is one of the best ways for students to make the most of their college experience."

This sentence is taken from the housing and residence life main page on www.towson.edu

Many say that the on-campus living experience is best for students and students should do all they can to stay on campus throughout college.

For others, there are many factors that play into making the best choice of where to live. On campus or off, that is the question.

Coming soon on Towson U for You, a student profile will be done to understand what some students go through to make sure they are enjoying college and finding the right experiences.

As of now, the right person to feature is still being decided but it will most likely be a second semester sophomore that is having decide what to do for their following year at Towson. It will be important to see what an individual decides to do during this pressing time for those considering moving off campus.