An Insider Look: Talks with Ron Jones

Ron Jones Explains to Students
his job at WDET

     On Tuesday October 30^th, Professor Snorgrass introduced a speaker to his Journalism class at 11:00, that speaker was Ron Jones, the Program Director of WDET in Detroit. WDET is an informative news program that is broadcasted over the air and on the internet to the community- it is a locally produced news station and services over 150,000 listeners. What separates WDET from the rest of the news programs in the area is that it is based on something called public insight journalism as Jones says, “We just want to know what you know”. WDET features music from local contemporary artists, while still reporting on local and world news.

     Jones explained to the class that the media realized a while back that journalists weren’t always right, and they couldn’t always get the stories right or get the info out that people were interested in, so WDET decided to use a different approach to journalism. WDET uses what is called a public insight network; he explains “we get information from people and promise not to sell information or lobby people for money- we simply want to know what you know.” One of the ways WDET allows users to become more involved in the news of the day is by posting a Question of the Day blog- where listeners and web surfers can answer the question and provide feedback to the station; Ron Jones said “people are surprisingly eager to tell you what they know!”  Jones sees this as a new approach to journalism and values building trust in the community.

     The website allows users to respond not only to the broadcasts and blogs posted, but it allows people to come in and send their stories and news that they feel is important to them. The WDET explains that “The Public Insight Network is a group of people from all walks of life who inform our news coverage,” which allows WDET to stand out from the other stations in the area. Ron Jones is a lifelong friend of Professor Snorgrass, and it is a rare treat to have him here to speak at Avila University.

Ron Jones speaks to class

The Parking Nightmare

Junior Hayley Keith explains her parking
ticket she received on 10/10/12.

Take a look around the parking lots on campus and you will notice one thing that each has in common. They are all completely full almost all of the time. This new lack of parking is due largely to the fact that there are a whole lot more students at Avila, and a good portion of those students are commuters. With the growing number of commuters there needs to be a growing number of parking spots, however this is not the case. Students often risk parking violations by parking on the streets or in spots marked for faculty or residents. The new resident hall has brought more cars to Avila with no new spaces for them. Campus police are cracking down about the parking violations and getting more serious about handing out tickets.

                Junior Hayley Keith is one of the students who has felt the wrath of the parking lot as she received a parking ticket on Wednesday the 10^th. She stated, “I parked over in Dallavis… they recently made regular parking into employee parking and I didn’t realize they were different since I’m so used to parking there.” Keith is just one of the many students who receive tickets daily for parking infractions. Hayley also went on to say “The parking situation wasn’t thought out well when they built the new dorm. They weren’t planning ahead, a new building should have meant new parking, it just makes sense.” Students who have class times after nine often struggle to find parking, a common trend among those students has been to arrive on campus early just for the sole purpose of finding themselves a decent spot, however this is causing less and less parking earlier and earlier in the day.

                Clearly the parking situation is causing a headache for more than just the students as employees too must struggle to find parking with only a limited number of spaces marked for them. Keith suggests “They should just build a parking garage, I’m sure they’re financially able to do so.” A parking garage would be an excellent problem solver to this growing problem of parking on campus; however it is unlikely that will happen. Whatever the solution the school needs to come up with one in a timely matter and apply it, before the problem gets worse.

Trying Something Different

Students enjoy the culture fair in the cafeteria last Thursday.
(Left to right) Tyler Blattel, Kori Weatherspoon, Morghan Cooper, Kortney Ward.

       This past Thursday September 20^th, was the annual Culture Fair at Avila University. The Culture fair held in the cafeteria offers a chance for students to taste different foods from all over the world for free, an opportunity many students wouldn’t have otherwise. The event was open to all Avila students and faculty for free, allowing the commuter students who usually don’t eat in the cafeteria an opportunity to enjoy different types of food and step out of their comfort zones.

      Juniors Tyler Blattel and Morghan Cooper sat with sophomores Kortney Ward and Kori Weatherspoon in the cafeteria enjoying the different cuisines from all over the world, and even though Ward stated “I think the food was better last year,” she said, “it’s still a neat experience for the students.” Blattel said “It’s such a fun day and the food is so good, I really enjoy it.” “I really enjoyed Avila’s ethnic cultural festival today!” said junior Kaleigh Sheridan as she enjoyed her food in the cafeteria with her other dance team friends, “I was able to experience all kinds of new foods” she said as she took a bite of her tasty Chinese food.

Junior Kaleigh Sheridan shares her culture fair experience.

Mu Sigma Pi Brings Sweet Sweet Music

Mu Sigma Pi is a student organization that encompasses all of the choral groups on campus including Men’s Glee, Avila Singers, The University Singers, and the Women’s Ensemble. Meika Mnwomah is the current president with Erika Imtfen as vice president; they are surrounded by a large board of other choir members.  “WE SING!” said Mnwomah, as well as perform at many of the campus activities such as The Steer Dinner held each year to raise money for the University. At the University Kick off Mass on Thursday morning they acted as the choir and even featured several soloists throughout the mass. This year they are proud to announce that they are performing Handle’s Messiah at their winter concert, which will be held later this year.

Mu Sigma Pi also teams up with the theatre department for many of its theatrical performances. Theatre and choir have always gone hand in hand; at the performing arts department at Avila is no exception.  This April the theatre department will be producing the very entertaining musical “The Producers” which members of both the choral and acting departments will be performing in. Vice President Imtfen said she is “most looking forward to the Messiah and the Steer Dinner,” as those are some of their larger events for the upcoming school year.

Kickin' Off the Year Right

Alongside the fountains on the beautiful Avila
      University campus, students met to eat and enjoy a
      day of relaxing and mingling at the 2012 AU
      Campus Kickoff.

Sophomore Kori Weatherspoon met with freshmen Abbey Rice and Jennifer Quezada to enjoy food and fun between classes at this year’s AU Campus Kickoff on Thursday August 30th 2012.  Students enjoyed a free picnic on the lawn of the Quad with music and lots of activities including, balloon artists and free massages. The weather was perfect as students walked from table to table learning about the different organizations on campus and ways in which they could get involved. Freshman Abbey Rice stated, “I’m really looking forward to making new lifelong friends and becoming a better person through my experiences here at Avila!”

                The kickoff was one of the first opportunities for some to get out and meet their classmates outside of the classroom setting. Student organizations also took this as an opportunity to attract new students by handing out flyers and candy and allowing students who were interested to have more information about their organization. Freshman Jennifer Quezada said that she was “looking for a fun college experience, and a chance to make a difference this year,” after seeing all the different ways in which she could become more involved on campus.