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.

Article and Photo by: Daniel Gross

How certain students handle their living options throughout their college experience

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Students entering college are also faced with the question of how to spend their four years and where they should live to get the best experience. Many options are presented to each student.

Towson U for You will soon be posting a feature article, focusing on one student and how they plan to carry out their college experience in terms of their living arrangements.

Each student's experience is unique and hearing from a personal trail of housing in one's college life an provide insight as to what students are doing to enjoy their time spent at Towson.

Next week, Towson U for You will have picked a resident student to feature in this special Blog post.

Post by: Daniel Gross

Photo by: Barbara Haddock Taylor /Baltimore Sun

In today's issue of the Baltimore Sun, an article was published on Towson President Robert Caret. This was a traditional feature article that touched on his goals for the University and what he has done to pave the way for the University to prosper within the community.

This article is a perfect example of a Wall Street Journal formula. The article starts out using a specific example of Caret and explains something specific about his life.

It continues by writing into the nut graph where general background is noted about the Towson president. This way, readers understand who the subject is. The body of the story certainly gives a slew of information regarding Caret and his current endeavours with the University and why he might be newsworthy at a time like this.

This would be a great article to read if you are looking for a well-formed feature article.

Click here to see the story on the Baltimore Sun's Web site: Robert Caret

University Hosts 72-hour film festival

Photo: Courtesy of Towson.edu

Starting February 27 at 5 p.m., students across campus will write, film, edit and submit an original short film in only 72 hours. The rules are simple: create the best film using three specific elements.

The first-ever Towson hosted film fest is sponsored by the Unviersity Residence Government and Lambda Kappa Tau social media fraternity chapter. 12 groups have signed up as of Tuesday.

A major component to this promoted event is the viewer's choice award. This will be one of the two grand prize awards given to the winning team. This will be given to the team with the most votes during the premiere in Stephens Hall Auditorium on March 6.

"We just thought it would be a cool niche for students to take part in on campus," URG director of resident advocacy Ben Steinberg said. "It is an event that hasn't been explored on an undergraduate level at Towson."

This event plans to expose the Towson community to video producing opportunities as well as creativity endeveurs.

"The amount of students making YouTube videos now just shows there's a creative niche within visual media."

Some students have registered because they are glad to see a film festival being done somewhere as local as Towson.

"I've always wnated to get involved with a type of film fest that gives you peramiters in which to work with," senior electronic media and film major Lance Duvall said. "And having it here at Towson makes it that much more intreguing for me."

URG will continue to take registrations until February 26.

Here is a link to a recent article published in The Towerlight about the film festival: Three days of film making