Yesterday's primaries in Kentucky and Oregon created quick responses from news outlets and bloggers on a world scale.
Following the events on the "hot off the press section" from my blog of choice, it is amazing how quickly the information is received, analyzed and posted. Blogger Steve Thomma wrote nine comments throughout May 20 up until 12.40pm. The wide scope in the narrative between each piece highlights just how effective the press teams working for the presidential candidates can be.
I think the message of the night went to Obama's press team. Clinton won big in Kentucky however as soon as that was announced, channels like CNN were already counting down live footage to Obama's speech. From Ohio, he announced he had a majority of pledged delegates. This was a clever technique. You take the negative press away and focus on the positive.
I like the way Steve Thomma wrote a piece titled "the morning after." I always find this the most interesting time to watch the coverage of a big event as you are able to conclude which press team did the most effective job in filtering their message through to the public.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
The long process of a new recreation center
The project of a new recreation center has been almost a 10-year process. As far back as 1999 the University of Massachusetts surveyed current students to find out if a new recreation center was needed and what type of items they would like to see put in.
According to Capital Projects Manager Cleve Carrens the $50 million and 120,000 square foot recreation center, which is located across from the Mullins Center, will be ready for use by the fall semester 2009.
This is the finalized drawing of the building set to be done by fall 2009.The current recreation centers on campus are Totman gymnasium (48-years-old) and Boyden gymnasium (44-years-old).
“It starts with someone having an idea for a need to be established and fulfilled,” Carrens said. “Eventually that idea gets to the Capital Asset Board and they either agree or don’t agree.”
Once the board agreed the plan was sent back for the pre planning stage. During this stage the planners decide if the project is a true need, where will it be placed, who does it affect, what are fire and plumbing issues, is the soil a problem? These are all issues, but of course the major issue is money.
“I need to emphasize that funding is a major portion of getting any project started and identifying who is paying for it,” Carrens said.
The majority of the funding is coming from the student fees, while the rest is from a combination of alumni and various campus departments. In the school year of 2007-2008 in-state students paid 3,063.50 per semester, while out-of-state students paid 4,241 per semester.
Since the students would be paying for the majority of the recreation center, the Student Affairs Research, Information and Systems sent out a survey during the spring semester of 1999 to find out if a new recreation center is necessary.
“[The survey] came back and said it’s a recreation center with free weights, basketball courts, track, indoor tennis, pools and it had a list of things they answered,” Carrens explained.
Once there was an understanding of what the students needs were, the designers (Sasaki Associates of Boston) went to the drawing board. Carrens explained that the designers gave several options to choose from based on the need of the students and the total cost.
Carrens said that the recreation center originally planned to have seven basketball courts, tennis courts, a weight area, a climbing wall, indoor track and a pool as the main features. Each option came with different price implication and different features.
Drawing of the new basketball courts. Courtesy UMass.edu“Board groups and committee’s meets and define what is that best option,” he said. “Every option in our case wasn’t a full seven courts of basketball, some had a pool some didn’t, some had five basketball courts, some didn’t have any tennis, and there was one with an indoor climbing wall. All these different options were reviewed. We unfortunately had to keep doing engineering reduction and building reduction until we got within the budget limitation.”
The features that will be seen in the new recreation center will be 22,000 square feet of weights and fitness with televisions throughout the area, a three lane indoor running track surrounding three hardwood basketball courts, nine badminton courts (3 games per court), three multi purpose rooms (one large room that can hold three fencing strips and a wrestling mat with a 50 foot radius) and locker rooms and showers.
It will even have a place for students to hang out when they are waiting for another class with a mall section that connects to the east part of the campus to the west part of campus. It contains a juice bar with a lounge area for those people that do not want to work out. It will also hold an administration wing for the recreation department.
It is hard for Carrens to compare this recreation center with nearby colleges like Connecticut, Boston College, New Hampshire and Boston University, however he is satisfied with the result.
“They’re all a little different so it’s not exactly apples to apples, but it’s clearly going to be a premier institution I think,” Carrens said. “It’s a very handsome building, its attractive, its well planned and laid out.”
As Carrens understand it right now, the recreation center will resemble the Boyden gymnasium operation, where students can access the center free by swiping in with their UCard. The 22,000 square foot workout area will be seven times larger than the current one in the Boyden gymnasium.
Once the operation is complete Carrens said there is a “phase two work” portion of the project. Carrens hopes to build other features that were not included in the final plan, but are still a high desire for the students.
“I know that there is a movement on campus that is very attractive to some to progress with the phase two,” Carrens said. “It is some day going to exist but it is not on capital plan at this point.”
Students fed up with UMass facilities; looking forward to new Campus Recreation Center
Many students have become frustrated with the limited space and overcrowded nature of both Boyden and Totman gymnasiums. It is no surprise that the University of Massachusetts broke ground on November 2, 2007 to build a new recreation center.
“Totman gym is falling apart,” sophomore Connor Keaveny said. “It’s like a dungeon in there.”
Growing student discontent over the conditions of fitness facilities surfaced when the university surveyed students in 1999 to assess the need for a new gym. Based on the survey, “They [the designers] had an idea of what the student need was,” said Capital Projects Manager, Cleve Carrens.
“I am so relieved that we’re getting a new gym next year,” junior Mark Grappi said. “I never even want to exercise anymore because Boyden is always so crowded that I never get a legitimate work out. It’s just what I was hoping for.”
The entire 120,000 square foot project will cost approximately $50 million, with most of its funding generated from student fees. The new building is being constructed on the east side of Commonwealth Avenue across from the Mullins center.
Construction started back on November 2, 2007 and will open in September 2009.According to the UMass Office of News and Information, President Jack M. Wilson said. “Our students deserve the best facilities, including a modern, multi-purpose campus recreation center. UMass Amherst has been experiencing an unprecedented building boom that includes upgrading existing buildings and the construction of new ones. This facility was designed with considerable interest and planning input from the students themselves, and it is yet another symbol of the University’s commitment to providing an excellent student experience, both inside and outside the classroom.”
Rivaling Boyden’s six basketball courts and Totman’s two, the new recreation center originally planned to boast seven basketball courts, an indoor track and pool, tennis courts, weight room, and a climbing wall, as well as a juice bar and lounge. After some budget crunching, the facility is set to feature weights and cardio with surrounding televisions, a three lane indoor running track, three hardwood basketball courts, nine badminton courts, three multi purpose rooms, locker rooms and showers and a juice bar.Currently, Boyden gymnasium houses intercollegiate athletics as well as campus recreation programs including intramural sports. Once the new recreation center is built, it will serve to separate student recreation from the student-athlete training center, news that pleases many students.
“I always thought it was unfair that we couldn’t use the nicer weight rooms because they were reserved for the lacrosse players or the baseball players,” sophomore Ben Bianchi said. “Just because we’re not on college sports teams doesn’t mean we don’t play and have to train for sports, now we’ll have a nicer space of our own.”However, not every student is as enthusiastic about the soon to be recreation center.
“Personally, I’m not excited,” senior Alex Hughes said. “It’s great for everyone else but I’ve had to deal with the horrible conditions at Boyden the past four years and now they decide to build a fancy new gym right as I graduate.”
For many students and seniors the construction has been more of a purposeless hassle than anything else. For the marching band, the heavy construction on Commonwealth Ave has blocked the path to Boyden fields, the site of their practice.
“Now, it’s going to take longer because we have to go up from the field through that parking lot up past the police station down towards Thompson and back around,” drum line player Lino Amado said. “Little by little our space is being invaded and we’re just being kind of pushed off.” Regardless of student annoyances, the project will continue throughout the summer to ensure the plans for fall opening.
“It should be a really exciting place, and it’s large in its square footage,” Carrens said. Overall, many students are preparing for the convenience and new features that the recreation center will offer.
“I can’t wait,” junior Brad Nowers said. “It’s going to be the coolest building on campus.”
Seeing where the project is at
Credits:
Audio: Tyler Depina
Video: Pamela Lawn
Text: Solmaaz Yazdiha
Text: Steve Games
Video shot by: Steve Games
Pictures shot by: Pamela Lawn
Thursday, May 15, 2008
The earth quakes and the story resonates
When natural tragedies like the recent quake in China occur, the mainstream media begins the counting game. Hourly updates of the death tolls dominate the main site of the major news outlets.
I know I find myself checking regularly to see what the toll is up to now. The tragic number seems to resonate the scale of the disaster.
What I liked about the May 12 and May 14 blog on "China Rises" blog is that it told the story from a different angle. The pictures offered more variety than the current national narrative US networks have been following. It didn't just show the injured being taken away by paramedics but instead showed Premier Wen Jiabao visiting the injured and recovery crews working through the night to find people.
The two articles also swayed away from the body count type article and looked at the effects the people were having on the ground. This is a key aspect of this blogging site and I think it is their unique selling point. They report from the ground and share with the reader what is really happening.
The first line of the May 12 blog "After quake, mobile networks burdened" begins:
"A disaster strikes, and everyone reaches for the phone to call loved ones."
This anecdotal lead pulls the reader in, creates a point of common interest and understanding and brings the scale of the disaster into perspective. People wanted to know their families were safe.
The May 14th blog "Keep an eye on the Sichuan dams" was also insightful as it brought up an issue I had not come across in the mainstream media.
The problem being discussed; the danger of the Sichuan dams.
The blogger Tim Johnson predicted some of the coverage we are going to be looking at over the next couple of weeks. I thought this was a useful piece of analysis to get from a journalist who has been following these issues and can offer the reader context.
Will the dam infrastructure hold and what is the long-term damage?
Will there be inquiries into the poor infrastructure of the public school buildings?
I also liked the way this blog offered a link to a Reuter’s story and then has an update on May 15 offering an alternative view written by Reuter’s staff.
There is also a link to an eyewitness account. This is always a nice feature to include in a natural tragedy like this. It offers the reader a human angle to focus on and sums up the damage of the quake effectively.
I know I find myself checking regularly to see what the toll is up to now. The tragic number seems to resonate the scale of the disaster.
What I liked about the May 12 and May 14 blog on "China Rises" blog is that it told the story from a different angle. The pictures offered more variety than the current national narrative US networks have been following. It didn't just show the injured being taken away by paramedics but instead showed Premier Wen Jiabao visiting the injured and recovery crews working through the night to find people.
The two articles also swayed away from the body count type article and looked at the effects the people were having on the ground. This is a key aspect of this blogging site and I think it is their unique selling point. They report from the ground and share with the reader what is really happening.
The first line of the May 12 blog "After quake, mobile networks burdened" begins:
"A disaster strikes, and everyone reaches for the phone to call loved ones."
This anecdotal lead pulls the reader in, creates a point of common interest and understanding and brings the scale of the disaster into perspective. People wanted to know their families were safe.
The May 14th blog "Keep an eye on the Sichuan dams" was also insightful as it brought up an issue I had not come across in the mainstream media.
The problem being discussed; the danger of the Sichuan dams.
The blogger Tim Johnson predicted some of the coverage we are going to be looking at over the next couple of weeks. I thought this was a useful piece of analysis to get from a journalist who has been following these issues and can offer the reader context.
Will the dam infrastructure hold and what is the long-term damage?
Will there be inquiries into the poor infrastructure of the public school buildings?
I also liked the way this blog offered a link to a Reuter’s story and then has an update on May 15 offering an alternative view written by Reuter’s staff.
There is also a link to an eyewitness account. This is always a nice feature to include in a natural tragedy like this. It offers the reader a human angle to focus on and sums up the damage of the quake effectively.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
What is being done about E-waste?
Today, we are surrounded by electronic equipment. It is an essential tool for our day to day living.
Currently, the average lifespan of a computer is two to four years. So what happens when our computer breaks or our cell phone contract expires? For most of us, it is quite simple. Once we find the funds, we replace them.
The Massachusetts department of environmental protection states that electronic waste (e-waste) is now the fastest growing category of waste in Massachusetts.
E-waste is growing two to three times faster than any other waste stream in the US according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
UMass student Josh Stoffel, environmental studies major and the founder and president of the Students for Environmental Awareness and Action is worried about the growing trend of e-waste.
“The home computer has because commonplace and individual laptops in a household are also becoming a trend,” he said. “What this all means is that the amount of e-waste coming from the US has only skyrocketed in the past 15 years.”
When electronic waste is put in landfills, the toxic substances are released onto the air, soil, and water.
Lead poisoning has been linked with learning disabilities, behavioral problems and, at very high levels, seizures, coma, and death.
Recycling on the average creates 1000 times more jobs per ton than mining or disposal even death so the importance of recycling e-waste is clearly evident.
Lorenzo Macaluso, the Special Projects coordinator at the UMass office of waste management explains the current laws in place in Massachusetts.
“There are laws in place called ‘waste bans’ that prohibit most e-waste from being disposed of in the trash,” Macaluso explained.
“On May first of this year, there was a ban put in place for any electronic device that has back lighting (flat screens and monitors, cell phones etc) because the lamp used to backlight contains mercury,” she said.
This is a big step forward considering the EPA’s statistic that fewer than 20 percent of cell phones are recycled each year.
The EPA explains the difference recycling cell phones could make to the envrionment.
“If all of the 100 million cell phones ready for end of life management in the U.S. are recycled, we could save enough energy to power more than 194,000 U.S. households with electricity for one year.”
Macaluso explained the e-waste program in place at UMass.
“Unwanted computers from academic and administrative areas are first removed from the university property management system and brought to the recycling facility at Tillson farm.”
Macaluso understands the importance of keeping the carbon footprint of UMass to a minimum
“We take great care to make sure our recycling vendors are not shipping materials overseas and therefore causing envrionmental damage to other countries,” Macaluso said. “In FY07, the UMass campus recycled about 90 tons of electronics from campus.”
On a wider scale, Stoffel thinks it is important for society to pressure big companies to take back their old electronic products for recycling.
“If a company produces a product and sells it to Joe Average, then that company must take back the product when Mr. Average is done with it and safely dispose of it,” Stoffel explains. “If such a program was mandatory and fines were in place for anyone who did not comply, the amount of e-waste would be greatly reduced.”
Students who wish to recycle are allowed to bring one full computer set up or one TV per year for free. The computer set up includes a printer, a key-board, a CPU, a monitor and other accessories. The facility is open Monday to Friday, 7am-2pm.
Currently, the average lifespan of a computer is two to four years. So what happens when our computer breaks or our cell phone contract expires? For most of us, it is quite simple. Once we find the funds, we replace them.
The Massachusetts department of environmental protection states that electronic waste (e-waste) is now the fastest growing category of waste in Massachusetts.
E-waste is growing two to three times faster than any other waste stream in the US according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
UMass student Josh Stoffel, environmental studies major and the founder and president of the Students for Environmental Awareness and Action is worried about the growing trend of e-waste.
“The home computer has because commonplace and individual laptops in a household are also becoming a trend,” he said. “What this all means is that the amount of e-waste coming from the US has only skyrocketed in the past 15 years.”
When electronic waste is put in landfills, the toxic substances are released onto the air, soil, and water.
Lead poisoning has been linked with learning disabilities, behavioral problems and, at very high levels, seizures, coma, and death.
Recycling on the average creates 1000 times more jobs per ton than mining or disposal even death so the importance of recycling e-waste is clearly evident.
Lorenzo Macaluso, the Special Projects coordinator at the UMass office of waste management explains the current laws in place in Massachusetts.
“There are laws in place called ‘waste bans’ that prohibit most e-waste from being disposed of in the trash,” Macaluso explained.
“On May first of this year, there was a ban put in place for any electronic device that has back lighting (flat screens and monitors, cell phones etc) because the lamp used to backlight contains mercury,” she said.
This is a big step forward considering the EPA’s statistic that fewer than 20 percent of cell phones are recycled each year.
The EPA explains the difference recycling cell phones could make to the envrionment.
“If all of the 100 million cell phones ready for end of life management in the U.S. are recycled, we could save enough energy to power more than 194,000 U.S. households with electricity for one year.”
Macaluso explained the e-waste program in place at UMass.
“Unwanted computers from academic and administrative areas are first removed from the university property management system and brought to the recycling facility at Tillson farm.”
Macaluso understands the importance of keeping the carbon footprint of UMass to a minimum
“We take great care to make sure our recycling vendors are not shipping materials overseas and therefore causing envrionmental damage to other countries,” Macaluso said. “In FY07, the UMass campus recycled about 90 tons of electronics from campus.”
On a wider scale, Stoffel thinks it is important for society to pressure big companies to take back their old electronic products for recycling.
“If a company produces a product and sells it to Joe Average, then that company must take back the product when Mr. Average is done with it and safely dispose of it,” Stoffel explains. “If such a program was mandatory and fines were in place for anyone who did not comply, the amount of e-waste would be greatly reduced.”
Students who wish to recycle are allowed to bring one full computer set up or one TV per year for free. The computer set up includes a printer, a key-board, a CPU, a monitor and other accessories. The facility is open Monday to Friday, 7am-2pm.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Founders Day
Union Members Make Appearance at Founders Day
The band was playing, the crowd was rocking, there was plenty of food and various performance groups were providing entertainment. The Chancellor, the Governor and the
President of UMass were all in attendance. It was a grand celebration as the founding of the University of Massachusetts Amherst was recognized at the Fine Arts Center on the 29th of April.
However, being somewhat hidden within all the celebration was an underlying issue that has been ongoing between union members, who were also in attendance, and school leaders.
According to Bob Paynter, a professor in the Anthropology department and a member of the Massachusetts Society of Professors, there are two major issues that need to be dealt with.
“The issues at hand are fair compensation for faculty, staff and all other members on campus and the need to increase faculty to a reasonable level so students have a shot of graduating in four years because the right classes are available,” he said.
According to their flier, most of the unions on campus have been bargaining for several months, with virtually no movement from President Wilson’s office. In the flier, it stated that over the past four years, faculty
and staff have taken low but steady cuts in pay, as the cost of living has been rising. This puts UMass faculty and staff behind competitors and various public research universities across the country.
Early on in his tenure as Governor, Deval Patrick promised to be a “champion for public higher education.” He has taken the heat for proposing an increase in the cost of health insurance premiums, however Paynter has confidence in Patrick.
“The governor is going to have a say but he hasn’t had his say yet,” Paynter said, “He’s the best governor we have had
in my past 30 years on campus. I’m very optimistic.”
Patrick admitted that more work needs to be done.
“We have worked to do to reduce the burden of mandatory fees for all of you who are students,” he said to a crowd of high school students, UMass students and faculty. “We have work to do
to increase number and compensation of full time faculty. I don’t have all those answers yet, but we do intend to work in partnership because I know, you know, the world knows that education transforms us.”
Painter hopes their presence at the Founders Day event will have a positive effect on future negotiations.
“We want to let people know what the issues are,” he said. “The President of the union shook the governors hand and they said they needed to keep working on this.”
Lets just hope this handshake is a foreshadowing of what is to come.
Credits:
Text: Tyler Depina
Video: Steve Games
Audio Slideshow: Pamela Lawn
Audio: Solmaaz Yazdiha
The band was playing, the crowd was rocking, there was plenty of food and various performance groups were providing entertainment. The Chancellor, the Governor and the
President of UMass were all in attendance. It was a grand celebration as the founding of the University of Massachusetts Amherst was recognized at the Fine Arts Center on the 29th of April.
However, being somewhat hidden within all the celebration was an underlying issue that has been ongoing between union members, who were also in attendance, and school leaders.
According to Bob Paynter, a professor in the Anthropology department and a member of the Massachusetts Society of Professors, there are two major issues that need to be dealt with.
“The issues at hand are fair compensation for faculty, staff and all other members on campus and the need to increase faculty to a reasonable level so students have a shot of graduating in four years because the right classes are available,” he said.
According to their flier, most of the unions on campus have been bargaining for several months, with virtually no movement from President Wilson’s office. In the flier, it stated that over the past four years, faculty
and staff have taken low but steady cuts in pay, as the cost of living has been rising. This puts UMass faculty and staff behind competitors and various public research universities across the country.
Early on in his tenure as Governor, Deval Patrick promised to be a “champion for public higher education.” He has taken the heat for proposing an increase in the cost of health insurance premiums, however Paynter has confidence in Patrick.
“The governor is going to have a say but he hasn’t had his say yet,” Paynter said, “He’s the best governor we have had
in my past 30 years on campus. I’m very optimistic.”
Patrick admitted that more work needs to be done.
“We have worked to do to reduce the burden of mandatory fees for all of you who are students,” he said to a crowd of high school students, UMass students and faculty. “We have work to do
to increase number and compensation of full time faculty. I don’t have all those answers yet, but we do intend to work in partnership because I know, you know, the world knows that education transforms us.”
Painter hopes their presence at the Founders Day event will have a positive effect on future negotiations.
“We want to let people know what the issues are,” he said. “The President of the union shook the governors hand and they said they needed to keep working on this.”
Lets just hope this handshake is a foreshadowing of what is to come.
Credits:
Text: Tyler Depina
Video: Steve Games
Audio Slideshow: Pamela Lawn
Audio: Solmaaz Yazdiha
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