Completed Portion

For my completed portion, I wanted to display two of the infographics that I plan on using in my project. Because I am discussing diversity, I want to display all of the different statistics regarding the increase of diversity at Elon over the years. I plan on having several infographics similar to the racial breakdown infographic. I have also provided clips from an interview that I conducted with Natalie Garza who is the Director of Diversity Recruitment at Elon University. I included these because I thought that they were some of the best clips from the interview. I haven’t decided whether I will make a package out of the interview or do some form of interactive clips.

Click here to see the diversity at Elon over the past 5 years.

Click here to see the racial breakdown of the 2012-2013 incoming class.

Natalie explains what Elon means by “diversity”

Types of Diversity Elon looks for from Jordan Only on Vimeo.

Natalie discusses the change in diversity over the years.

Statistics from Jordan Only on Vimeo.

Natalie explains why diversity is necessary in the classroom.

Why Diversity is Great from Jordan Only on Vimeo.

Natalie compares Elon’s diversity to other schools.

We have a long way to go from Jordan Only on Vimeo.

Natalie explains the continued goals of diversity at Elon.

Diversity Work Never Ends from Jordan Only on Vimeo.

Natalie explains the road ahead.

Great ending quote from Jordan Only on Vimeo.

Two-Week Reporting Project: Transfer Students at Elon

Click the picture to see the transfer services offered at Elon

When many Elon students think of New Student Orientation, they think of a freshman’s first taste of freedom, icebreaker games, and a mother’s goodbye tears. However many students don’t know about an entirely separate orientation that takes place, an orientation that is solely for transfer students and that is hidden away in the Love School of Business.

For two days, transfers learn about all of the Elon basics. They have already experienced their first taste of freedom at a different university but still need to learn about meal plans, phoenix cards, and all of Elon’s traditions. They have a specialized Orientation Leader and get to meet many other transfer students.

But, what happens after the two-day orientation ends and how do they ensure that they truly belong?

Elon Junior, Xanthia Saganis transferred to Elon in the fall of 2012 from the University of Pittsburg. She visited Elon’s campus

Click the picture listen to Xanthia explain her favorite thing about Elon.

twice during her freshman year and fell in love with the university. She wanted to have a better communications school and enjoyed the community feeling of the campus.

Saganis came to the school with high hopes of a new start and a better community. However, she soon learned that transfer orientation wasn’t the best place to make friends. “It was a good time to have your questions answered but it didn’t help us meet people or build friendships,” Saganis said.  As a transfer student, she was also unable to join an Elon 101 group. As a result, transitioning to Elon wasn’t as smooth as she expected. Additionally, she was placed in Crest Apartments, an apartment complex that is more than 1 mile from the center of campus. As a result, she did not get the “community” that she was originally hoping for.

“It was really tough. Not so much finding housing because they just told me what was available and put me there, but dealing with being off campus in a new place, so far from home, its like a lot to deal with at first,” Saganis said.

At Elon, about one half of transfer students are guaranteed housing, according to Elon University Admissions. As a result, housing is determined based on how early a transfer student can pay their enrollment deposit fee.

Click the picture to listen to Kaitlyn explain her goals for the transfer program.

Kaitlyn Schultz, the Director of Transfer and Special Admissions at Elon hopes that one day, the transfer program will not only orient students with the school, but also help ensure that they belong. Her job is to not only to assist transfer students in the application process, but to ensure that they have a smooth transition to Elon. Shultz transferred to Elon University when she attended and knows firsthand how hard the transition can be.

“I know as a transfer student that making connections with people is the biggest part of being successful here,” Schultz said. “Making that experience better for transfer students was the biggest reason why I wanted to be in this role.”

Recently, transfer students have become more vocal in changes that need to be made to the orientation program. As a result, Shultz created an informal transfer advisory group of staff and faculty members on campus that brainstorm ways to improve the program. So far, they have implemented Elon 101 groups that are solely for transfer students, created a transfer mentor program, and just got approved for a transfer student organization. “By just doing those little things, the difference between me working with the students this year and last year is huge,” Schultz said.

As a result of Schultz’s effort, many transfer students are having a much easier transition than Saganis did. Elon freshman, Jordan

Click the picture to listen to Jordan discuss her plans to join campus organizations

Finizio transferred from the College of William and Mary in January and is enjoying her first few weeks at Elon.

“The main thing I do like is my Elon 101 class. I was kind of surprised that they offered that in the spring which is really good,” Finizio said. “It turned out to be really good for me because its letting me meet a lot of people who are in the same situation as me.”

She is also able to live on campus in West Dormitory. She has made several friends in her hall and hopes to join student organizations to make even more friends.

After over a year on campus, Saganis now has a close group of friends and has fallen in love with Elon again. “I think that once you find your niche at Elon, it’s still really easy to feel like you belong here,” Saganis said. She has joined several clubs, plays intramural sports and even wants to become a transfer mentor.

As for Schultz, she plans on continuing to improve the transfer program. In the future, she hopes that all transfer students will realize that this is the place where they belong.

Update: 2014 Sochi Olympics

The Olympic Games are a 17-day event that hosts winners and losers, camera flashes, gold medals, and eager fans. The Sochi Olympics host all that and more: a looming controversy over what some would call “anti-gay” laws in Russia.

On July 1^st, 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill that banned the “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations to minors.” If the law is violated, fines of up to $30,555 could be administered. The law has made many celebrities, activists, and politicians rethink their involvement in the Olympics and have created a looming controversy for the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

Despite the opposition, Putin says that his laws were not aimed at being discriminatory. He claims that homosexuals are “full-fledged members of our society and are not being discriminated against in any way.” President Obama, however, disagreed. He not only believed that the laws were offensive, but he also included in the U.S delegation to Sochi three openly gay or lesbian members. One of whom is former Olympic athlete, Billie Jean King. Many believe that this is a statement of dissent directed at the Russian government’s new law.

Jan Pagoria, the Director of Internships in Elon’s Love School of Business believes that the politicians opposing views are sending mixed messages: “In Russia, the official statement is, ‘no, we aren’t doing anything wrong.’ But the U.S is calling it ‘anti-gay behaviors.”’ Although she does not agree with the mixed messages, the laws in Russia have affected her Sochi Olympics experience. She plans on watching Olympic events less than she normally would and watching the news more.

The gay propaganda laws have not affected how often Matthew Antonio Bosch, the Director of Elon’s Gender and LGBTQ center watches the Olympic Games.  Though he does believe that international advertisements have done a great job of showing support: “I have definitely appreciated the advertisements that have been out. It’s nice to get the larger companies with power internationally to send out pro-gay messages.”

He believes that companies like Cheerios, Coca-Cola, and Google all have messages that support groups that are still being discriminated against. Most recently, Google’s doodle featured many Olympic sport pictures that were colored by the rainbow. They included a quote under the search bar that was taken from the Olympic charter. It read, “The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.” Many believe that this is Google’s support of gay-rights.

Bosch ultimately believes that the law “creates police brutality situations and police violence.” He also thinks that it is unhealthy because it “forces people back into the closet.” However, he wishes that there was more that American’s could do to show support for those negatively affected by the laws.

Although Bosch doesn’t think that Americans can do a lot to help those negatively affected, he does believe that if students are willing, boycotts can have a profound affect. “I certainly think that things change in terms of boycotts. Sometimes when students begin boycotting things, administrators pay attention to that a lot because of the voice of the university students. And so I can see how, in a lot of places, boycotts can help affect change in a way that being silent won’t.”

Ultimately, it is up to the viewer what issues will affect their Olympics experience and how they will respond. Many are worried about what will happen to the LGBTQ community after the Olympics have ended. One will have to continue watching the games to see the impact of the new laws.

2014 Sochi Olympics- Looming Controversy

The Olympic games- a 17 day event that hosts winners and losers; camera flashes; gold medals; and eager fans. The Sochi Olympics host all that and more- a looming controversy over anti-gay laws in Russia.

 

The laws have many different facets, however, their intention is clear- homosexuality is not to be taught, advocated for, or displayed. If one were to do any of those things they could receive a fine.

Many see the law as a violation of basic human rights. Celebrities, like Cher, have even boycotted the Olympic games altogether and refused to perform.

However, on Elon’s campus there are mixed views. Jan Pagoria, the Director of Internships in the Love School of Business believes that she is receiving mixed messages: “In Russia, the official statement is ‘No, we aren’t doing anything wrong.’ But the U.S is calling it ‘anti-gay behaviors.”’ However regardless of her confusion, the controversy has negatively affected her views of the games- she plans on watching the events less and tuning into the news more.

In contrast, Elon sophomore, Kellen Darmody has also been following the controversy: “from what it sounds like [the laws] are pretty rough and pretty unfair.” However, although he has been following the controversy, he is still excited for the games and will be watching them as much as possible.

Although there are mixed opinions on Elon’s campus, Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin has made it clear that gays will be safe at the Sochi Olympics as long as they “leave kids alone.” With mixed opinions and a looming controversy, one will have to watch the Olympic games to see the full impact of the anti-gay laws. 

Storytelling

I listened to a very interesting story where the whole story was documented in voicemail messages. The story used a lot of sound effects. Some of them were background noises and the voicemail tones. The story was interesting. I don’t know if I quite enjoyed it, however. Because the story was comprised entirely of voicemail messages, it was a little bit hard to follow what was going on. You didn’t really know who each of the characters were and how they related to the main character. The only reason why I understood what was actually going on was because I read the description of the story prior to listening. Although the idea of using voicemail messages was good, the story shape was lost because of it. The story reminded me of the video that we watched in class that was entirely composed of overheard cell phone conversations. However, I actually liked that story because I could tell that it was real people talking about real conflict. In this voicemail story, the messages seemed very forced and overacted which made me less inclined to believe the main characters. All in all, the concept was good, however, the story was not.

http://www.thirdcoastfestival.org/library/734-baggage

Berlin Urban Core

  This photo is done by Frank Waechter and I found it at 1X.com. http://1x.com/photo/39356/portfolio/33377/latest-additions

 

This photo really jumped out at my from the beginning. I think that the most important part of composition that he used was playing the angles and patterns. In this picture, there are so many angles to play off of. The main ones of course are all of the different lines. Whether those are vertical, slanted, or horizontal; they all draw you up to the main geometric shape which is the triangle at the top. It is said that the triangle is the strongest shape in composition. By having all of the lines draw you up to the triangle, I believe that it draws the viewers eyes up to the most important part of the picture which is the ominous clouds.

 

I think that another thing that makes the photo successful is the colors that he uses in the picture. He really plays with lights and darks. This shows the reflections of the buildings which makes it seem like an unending spiral which in the end, again, draws your eyes to the top of the picture. By playing with lights and darks and dynamic lighting, I believe that he also gives a sense of ominousness to the picture.

All in all, I believe that this is a very successful picture. There are no points in this picture where I am bored and I want to keep on looking at the picture to find more and more details.

 

 

First Time Shooting

To be honest, using the camera in manual for the first time seemed to be a really daunting task. My only day to take pictures was right after it poured rain. This was confusing because it seemed much darker to me then to the camera. In other words, I thought that my shutter speed needed to be way longer than it actually did which is why when looking through some of my photos there are a lot of white pictures. The hardest part of taking pictures was figuring out where to start in terms of the aperture and shutter speed. I didn’t really know what shutter speeds I should have used with certain f-stops so when looking at my photos you will see a lot pictures that are the same thing just with either a different aperture, shutter speed or both.

aperture

                  

aperture and shutter speed

In the picture with the arch, I focused on switching the f-stops from high to low until the picture seemed to be at the right exposure.

In the flower picture, I worked mainly on the shutter speed. When looking at the progression of photos taken of this picture, you can see that I first started with a very quick shutter speed which ended up making this picture too dark. I gradually moved upwards until the exposure was correct.

In the branches picture, I was trying to find the perfect combination of aperture and shutter speed that would create a good balance and show off the water on the leaves and foliage on the ground. When looking at all my pictures, you will see that at first I started with an f-stop that was too large for the picture. Towards the end of the pictures, you see that I tried having a longer shutter speed. In the middle is where I found a good exposure.

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