Shrinking Financial Aid

I expirenced the effects of shrinking financial aid when I enrolled for the 2011 fall semester. When I was given my financial aid packet before the semester began, I immediately noticed that my loan amount had decreased. My pell grant was also shorted my by hundreds of dollars.  When I looked at the remaining out-of-pocket balance I wasn’t sure how I was going to pay thousands of dollars that I didn’t have. Nothing in my family has changed in the work aspect. My father is still unemployed and I was recently laid off from my full time job due to the business pulling out of the Saint Louis market area. My mother has managed to find a decent paying job recently but she has no degree. Her small income manages to pay the bills but leaves our family with no spending money. I don’t understand why my loans have decreased when our household’s income hasn’t increased. If anything, it has decreased over the past year.

It’s obvious that my family isn’t the only one affected by the smaller financial aid offered. Unemployment rate has been at one of the highest points in history yet the government decides to lower financial aid. This doesn’t make sense. Education should be one of the top priorities. We’re already behind in the education department compared to many other countries. Shouldn’t we at least keep financial aid as helpful as possible? A school that chooses to accept students who can foot the bill over other students who may struggle is as outrageous as the decrease in aid. Some wealthy applicants don’t have the required grades to gain acceptance to the university but are still picked over other students who have studied hard to achieve great grades hoping to attend a great college.

Whoever makes these decisions should go back to college to learn about the economy. It blows my mind to see financial aid shrinking in a time when it is needed most and colleges denying worthy students. The government can certainly earn the savings from another source. Taking it away from needy students and families is just wrong and will only create bigger problems down the long road of recession.

Good Night and Good Luck

Fear. Terror. Paranoia. These are only a few of the emotions felt back in the 1950’s when Communism was gaining awareness while being promoted by Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin. Good Night and Good Luck involves one of the most well know journalists of all time and host of two CBS programs, See it Now and Person to Person, Edward Murrow. Murrow and his producer, Fred Friendly, investigate a case on one of the most argumentative senators of the time, Joseph McCarthy.

McCarthy  consumes people with his fake attitudes followed up with lies. He’s a governmental terrorist leading the people into despair. His main weapon of choice is his ability to strike fear in people at the topic of communism as well as his corrupt men working alongside him helping complete his plans.

An example of McCarthy’s controversy is Milo Radulovich, an Air Force pilot. He was expelled from the service when McCarthy accused him of being a communist. He was dismissed without a proper hearing and left out to dry. This is where Murrow and Friendly step into action. They investigate Radulovich’s case but soon find out that it’s much deeper than they though.

CBS head, William Paley, supports Murrow’s ideas but remain frugal at some of the controversies that he has developed. Similar to any other news reporting agency, the editors must keep close watch on what news is reported and how it’s reported. Dan Hollenbeck is also a newscaster working for CBS. He is a big fan of the story Murrow is covering and largely supports his efforts. Shirley and Joe Wershba work for CBS as well but have to keep their marriage a secret because of the company policy that prohibits the marriage of co-workers.

The main idea of the story doesn’t focus only on Murrow investigating the McCarthy case, it goes deeper into the ethics of journalism and reporting. The movie produces a great visual of characters dealing with hard ethical situations while trying to remain at a high level of professionalism.

Good Night and Good Luck looks like a promising film with much educational and entertainment value. This will be a great movie to compare to All the Presidents Men because it seems like both movies walk along the same principles of news and reporting.

Ethical Issues

All The President’s Men, directed by Alan J. Pakula, presented numerous ethical issues throughout the film. I am going to focus on the credibility and whether or not to reveal a source whom has asked to remain anonymous as the main ethical issue in this film.

Bernstein and Woodward are stuck in the biggest new story of their life. The Watergate scandal has just penetrated the news and it’s their job to cover it and cover it with the correct facts. The reputation of the Washington Post is at stake and there are no room for errors. Their quest to find information on the case evolves into a deep spiral of dead ends at every turn. Unfortunately, their best sources wish to have their identity withheld which creates an ethical issue for the two reporters.

Deadlines are the most stress inducing goals that a reporter can face. Getting closer to the deadline can cause a reporter to make an unethical decision thus resulting in a long time of trouble. On many occasions people would either slam the door in their face or just say “no” to questioning. To counterattack this common response, Woodward and Bernstein would often tell the interviewees that their identity would not be revealed in the post. Have used this response many times, the reporters ended up with loads of information but no credible resources.

“Please, listen, now, if you’re going to refer to that alleged conversation with Sally Aiken, you can’t print that it took place in her apartment. I have a wife and a family and a dog and a cat.” — Ken Clawson

To provide credible sources to a news post is one of the top priorities of a journalist. Closer to deadline, the reporters started using mind games and tactics to obtain if the information they has received from their sources. Techniques such as asking someone to remain on the telephone after the count of 10 in order to have them confirm information isn’t a professional way to conduct business. I don’t agree with their shifty ways of obtaining information, though I can envision myself covering a story as big as this and needing to reenact several of the reporters actions.

In the end, Woodward and Bernstein were able to obtain the story they needed though did not have solid direct sources. It’s the reporters job to provide the public with no bias truth and despite some unethical practices, I believe that the reporters did a sucessful job.

All about me

Alrighty… where to begin? Let us start with the basics, shall we?

My name is Brandon Sturges and I live about fifteen minutes from the lovely Lindenwood campus. I was born in San Jose, California and wish I was there right now as a matter of fact though I do love the St. Charles suburban life. It’s pretty chill here. I moved from cali when I was two years old to the terrible, rainy, and cold state of Michigan. My parents separated when I was six so my mother and I jetted here to the Lou when I was seven. I’ve lived here ever since and I love it.

I started work at the age of sixteen for the O’Fallon Family YMCA as lifeguard. It was the perfect job at the time. Plenty of hours and a flexible schedule carried me through high school and my first few years of college. I worked at the Y for five years on the dot but needed a different job that provided full time hours with benefits along with a bigger paycheck. At the beginning of this summer I was hired by American Electronics and Furniture down in Earth City. Forty hours a week plus fifteen credit hours a semester makes for a pretty busy life but hey… only one year left of college then I’M FREE!! My job rocks and it keeps food in the pantry so it’s a pretty good deal.

Okay… enough about the past and onto what I’m actually like.
I’m a very active person and I love to play sports. I can’t say that I’m necessarily the best at them but I’m definitely not the loser that gets picked last in gym class either. I’m very competitive and I like to win. Soccer is my favorite sport and I wish the U.S. would get more into it. It may be boring but it’s possibly one of the hardest to play and the game itself is simply beautiful. I live for music and can’t get enough of every genre. I’m a very real person – which is hard to come by these days. I enjoy the simple things in life but also have a materialistic party side as well – what else are the weekends for anyways? Media literacy is my highlight and I’m pretty good at it. Wow… I definitely feel like I just wrote an entry for eharmony.com or something…that’s terrible. Onto what annoys me about Lindenwood U.

TINY SIDEWALKS! Are you kidding me? I feel like I’m in high school all over again walking through the constricted halls. There is NEVER a day where I don’t get held up by someone who decides it’s a good idea to stop in the middle of the already too small sidewalk to chat with their friends. Did I mention it’s while everyone else is trying to get to their classes!? Sure there’s a street to walk in but it’s very likely you’ll get mowed over by some idiot racing through campus in their lame hot rod trying to impress all the bettys going to class. Ladies, you do it too so you’re not off the hook.

AIR CONDITIONING! Every semester I sweat my face off in Romer Hall. Seriously Lindenwood? You have the money to build new dorms, sports fields, and a fat house for the president but you can’t find a small budget to put air conditioning in Romer? Give me a break…

One last thing on the hate list. I wish campus activities were better communicated to the commuter students. I don’t feel like I receive enough insight on special events and promotions from Lindenwood.

What do I like about Lindenwood? The communications program here is awesome. The professors are awesome. The campus is beautiful and well maintained and it’s cheap. I like this school very much and enjoy it’s good reputation. 89.1 The Wood rocks too.

That’s all about me for the most part and now I’m going to bed. Goodnight.