Final Article

African American Undergraduate Rates Are On a Rise at EMU



Throughout the nation, black enrollments in higher education have reached an all-time high. But more importantly, statistical measure of the performance is that of how many black students are completing school and earning a college degree.
At Eastern Michigan University, they’re doing this! There are many black students who graduate with undergraduate and graduate degrees. For the past six consecutive years, Diverse Issues in Higher Education magazine has recognized Eastern Michigan University as one of the top 100 institutions in the nation for the number of African American students who receive an undergraduate degree.

“EMU ranked 82nd, one position ahead of the University of Michigan; Wayne State and Michigan State were the only other Michigan schools in the rankings.” according to the Eastern Press Release.
Out of 17,283 undergraduate students at EMU, approximately 33.4 percent are African Americans. Records show that the retention percentage rate increased from 18.73 from the previous year to 19.59, in the year 2008.

“My major is literature; I came to EMU because of the smaller feel to the campus. I wasn't just a number to professors, but a person. That’s what made me stay until graduation. The diversity that EMU hosts is incredible. I got to learn about myself and the world around me. I love the sense of family I get from EMU. The professors really did care about my success!” says Jalani Jackson, Alumni and graduate student at EMU.

Anne McKee, Assistant Director of Admissions says “I think that Eastern because we are located in a metropolitan area, and we have good recruiters and the diversity of the campus, I think that students of color see other students who look like themselves, I think help us recruit. Eastern has been recognized as a diverse campus.”


Communications, journalism and other related fields are some of the few degrees that top the ranks of African American students at Eastern Michigan University. Others include Business Administration, Public Administration, Visual and Performing Arts, Ethnic, Social Services, Cultural and Gender Studies.

“My major kind of chose me, I wanted to be a sports medicine major but I didn’t have a car freshmen year and couldn’t get off campus, so I went undecided. Then I was just thinking about what I liked and it came to me.” says Nathan Galloway, a senior majoring in Electronic Media & Film Studies.

A total of 177 undergraduate and 47 graduate degrees were given to African American Students in 2008. That was an increase from 2007, were 147 undergraduate and 38 graduate degrees were given.

“I feel as though Eastern has prepared me for the real world because of the tough teaching and the hard curriculum.” says Emmanuel Upshaw, graduating senior.

The economic gains that come from a college degree are transparently obvious. The Department of Education data shows that, as expected, black students who earn a four-year college degree have incomes that are substantially higher than blacks who have only some college experience but have not earned a degree.

“I'm pleased to know that more Africans (whether American or not) are aiming at obtaining a higher education. In this poor economic state were in, it is needed.” says Chukwuma Undegbunam, a junior.
“As a black graduate we still have to work much harder than the regular graduate. Your job is never done as just a graduate.” says Travis Mines, EMU Black Alumni.

The American Council on Education released its 20th annual Minorities in Higher Education Annual Status Report, which revealed that minority college enrollment has surged 122% over the last two decades, "The good news is that, overall, more students of color are enrolling in institutions of higher education, showing the impact of focus and hard work over the past 20 years," says Marc Sapterstein, former president of the GE Foundation, which financed a report on African American Enrollment Rates. However, African Americans must continue on to do better.

Watch/Listen to the video of EMU's Fight Song, played at Graduation

This I Believe about Digital News

This I Believe About Digital News

As the semester comes to a close, I can truly say that I have acquired and obtained knowledge about the subject entitled “digital journalism”. When the semester began, I had no clue as to what I was going to learn. I had no idea that by the end, I would have gained so much knowledge about digital journalism through an online course. Within these past few months, I’ve been truly taught a lot, but the one thing that I do know is that things are ever changing, especially, including journalism. Nothing stays the same for ever and you must always be willing to learn something new.

You see, digital journalism in my opinion is the recreation of journalism itself. It still carries and contains some of the key characteristics of journalism. However, it has new elements. For example, it contains pictures and web pages. It goes beyond the daily paper, but it includes blogs and youtube links. Digital journalism is still evolving so there is no set right or wrong way.

What I believe about digital news is that it allows different individuals to read what they want. There is something for everyone in the world of digital journalism or news. It caters to the niche audience. However, you have to be careful because unlike journalism of the past, various articles may be biased. Which in return, it doesn’t conform to the rule that journalists are supposed to be objective. For this reason alone, I do believe that digital journalism has a growing number of readers. People want to be able to pick and choose their content of reading. Readers want options. It is quite interesting to see how digital news will continue to manifest and grow with the ever growing of technology. What will digital journalism be like in the next five years? Another thing is that digital journalism and news, has allowed for the latest updates of events. Whatever is happening right now can be seen, heard or read not later but as we speak.

As the authors of “Reconstruction of American Journalism” states, “American journalism is at a transformational moment, in which the era of dominant newspapers and influential network news divisions is rapidly giving way to one in which the gathering and distribution of news is more widely dispersed. As almost everyone knows, the economic foundation of the nation’s newspapers, long supported by advertising, is collapsing, and newspapers themselves, which have been the country’s chief source of independent reporting, are shrinking—literally. Fewer journalists are reporting less news in fewer pages, and the hegemony that near-monopoly metropolitan newspapers enjoyed during the last third of the twentieth century, even as their primary audience eroded, is ending. Commercial television news, which was long the chief rival of printed newspapers, has also been losing its audience, its advertising revenue, and its reporting resources.”
What I do appreciate about digital journalism, is that it gives new comers the opportunity to become a journalist, where once before it was hard business to get into. You see its almost like digital journalism is an art form. I mean it does take a certain type of individual to produce a good article. But, that person is now me. This is What I Believe about Digital News, have you learned about it!

Restaurant Review Andiamo Detroit Riverfront

Andiamo


When I walked into the elegant Andiamos Detroit Riverfront Restaurant for the first time, I didn't really have any expectations. The only thing I expected was to receive superb service. Truth be told, I didn't know what this restaurant was going to be like, since I had never been.
As I entered into the dining room, I noticed the dark earth tones, which sets off the white tablecloths on the tables and black padded chairs. The décor is elegant and innovative with brick-hued columns, earth-toned drapes and large windows overlooking the river. It even has two large fish tanks, filled with all different types of colorful exotic fish.
During the lunch rush, the seating can be crowded. In fact, the large, round tables are used often for business lunches and can easily overwhelm the narrow, two-person tables that are placed just scant inches apart from each other. High-top bar tables in the spacious lounge are sometimes utilized for the lunch seating as well. While the high chairs are somewhat precarious and leave little room to stow a purse or briefcase, there is more breathing room between the tables.
Make no mistake: Andiamo Detroit Riverfront has a prime location along the waterfront of the Detroit River. In the warmer months, it even has an outside patio. The space inside, however, is curiously subdivided with a large section near the entrance devoted to the lounge, which has a dance floor, a tolerance for cigars and pipes, marble floors and a “L”-shaped bar. It is partitioned off from the narrow dining room beyond, making the space confusing to navigate. The odd-shaped space is rivaled only by the odder-shaped, over-head lighting fixtures, set off from the dark ceilings through texture and contrast.
The menu is northern Italian and presented by Chef Edward L. Bailey. In addition to daily specials, the menu consists of salads, Panini, pasta, chicken, veal, seafood and beef dishes. The dinner menu also includes several risotto dishes.
The Italian bread was suitably warm and tasty, and the side Andiamo salad was fresh; but the real highlight leading into the main course was the soup: New England clam chowder. The soup is poured from a cream pitcher into your bowl. It is pleasingly filled with chucks of clams and fresh vegetables with a contrast of thick and creamy goodness. It’s not the everyday New England clam chowder you get a typical restaurants, the flavor of the soup was rich and savory.
The open-faced crab-cake sandwich was served on Challah bread, an interesting and creative twist on the dish. Unfortunately, the crab cake itself crumbled and the bread absorbed the Remoulade sauce, making it impossible to obtain a cohesive sandwich bite.
The daily pasta special was ravioli with shrimp and sausage in a Cajun Alfredo sauce and was served in an enormous bowl. The shrimp were plentiful, large and shelled; the sausage was spicy; and the sauce was rich and nuanced.
Reservations are strongly suggested by the hostess staff, even during off times. While the restaurant itself was busy, we were sat at a high-top in the lounge rather than in the main dining room, just behind the exotic fish tanks.
Unfortunately, we had to wait a few hours before we received our main course. It literally took about 3 hours, before we began to dine into our mouth watering dishes. Even though we waited, the wait staff and the manager were wonderful. They gave us complimentary portions of pasta with marinara sauce, so that we wouldn’t be completely hunger. Both the waiter and manger apologized and asked us, “Would you like a complementary bottle of wine?” and, we ordered a bottle of Moscato.
Despite all the troubles, the food was excellent. The risotto was nice and creamy, the pasta was tender and the wine was smooth and sweet.
Some guests come in jeans or semi-casual, while others wear business suits. You can come for lunch or late-night drinks; order the NY Strip streak or have pasta and don’t forget about a glass or bottle of wine.
It's not the kind of high-end Italian place we've seen in the past. But in an increasingly casual society, it’s good both for the businessman or the young couple.

News Scoops

America’s Thanksgiving Parade thrills parade goers

It's been a tough year for many Americans, especially for Metro Detroiters going through hard times but, that didn’t stop them from coming out to the 83rd Annual America’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
They were many volunteers. From the big-headed elves, to the drivers on the floats, to the special celebrity guests, high school marching bands, clowns and more.
And they all gave a thrill to a huge crowd of people, as they walked down Woodward Avenue. One big-headed elf volunteer received an early unexpected Christmas gift in front of the Fox Theatre, as her soon to be fiancée held out a diamond ring, and proposed to her as parade marchers carried a banner that read: "Will you marry me Julie?"
Santa Claus himself, who was riding in the last float that was accompanied by the elves, announced the result to the cheering crowd: "She said yes."
"I was totally flabbergasted," Badaczewski said. "I started crying. He put the ring on my finger but I couldn't see it because of the big head I was wearing."
DeMaggio said later he was nervous, but confident. "I wanted to do something big for her," he said.
Many visitors come from all around to partake in the extravaganza; some come to visit Detroit relatives and others come to visit friends. Officials said all 6,000 grandstand seats were sold out.

EMU Enrollment is up


Michael Belanger, a senior, chose Eastern Michigan University because of cost. He thinks that the cost is affordable and that Financial Aid is helpful. He thinks at Financial Aid is helpful. He thinks that enrollment is up due to the economy. “People are going back to school to get an education because of the jobs,” says Michael.

Eastern Michigan University’s overall enrollment has surged 4.26 percent for the 2009-10 school year. As of Sept. 22, 22,859 students are enrolled for fall 2009 compared to 21,926 at the same time last year, an increase of 933 students. Enrollment is up at both the undergraduate and graduate levels according to EMU.

Outlining Final Paper

Idea of Story

-My idea is to write a story that focuses on life after graduation. It would be interesting to find out how many college graduates actually find jobs in their field within the 1st year.

Steps

-Research
• Trends within the past 2-5 years of college grads getting jobs
• What careers are seeing a hiring trends
• Sources including search engines, career services on campus

-Interviews
• Graduate students across campus
• Career Service Workers
• Advisors and Professors

-Possible Lead Styles
• 1st began with a Prediction Lead
• Descriptive
• Delayed

Answering Questions

What does a hybrid newspaper look like? To me a hybrid newspaper would be both print and online. It contains both elements. How do you strike a balance between editorial control and citizen expression? This question seems to be quite intriguing. I'm not exactly sure how you could balance between editorial control and citizen expression. The only thing that comes to mind is being able to allow the same space for feedback or just allowing feedback on editorials that way its equal opportunity. I'm not sure, what do you think?

Americas Change In Journalism

"We need the established press to not just aid this effort but to lead it. The marriage of all this connectivity with an activist mission of public-service journalism could cut through the layers of banality that clog not just the mainstream media but also the rest of our sprawling information environment. Such a marriage could organize and lead the kind of critical culture that Berman and Carey sought. It could begin to establish a public agenda that reflects the struggle over how America should live—over what America means—in this new century." says Brent Cunningham.

You see, I'm not actally sure if I agree or disagree with Brent 100%. However, I do understand some of his viewpoints. I agree that we are in time where things are changing and that journalism could help add in this change for the better.

Brent Cunningham stated in his article, "In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, as the press faced criticism for failing to use the catastrophe to initiate a national conversation about race (or class, or infrastructure, etc.), Jonathan Klein, the president of CNN/U.S., defended his network’s coverage to Eric Deggans, the press critic at the St. Petersburg Times: “We go in looking for stories,” he said, “not issues which need to be raised."

Now I would have to raise the question, "Why in the hell not?" Why would we not care to address issues of the people. Is it because we have become so greedy to make money, or is it the fact we don't care about things that really affect the people. It's sad that media outlets can do the exact opposite of what there are suppose to be built on. When are we going to take a stand and address these issues. We are the journalists and its our job, we can address it if no one else will.

WE COULD AND SHOULD BE THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE...HELP MAKE THE CHANGE!!!!