So I'm at WPNI now, my first day on the internship job. It's a bit different than I imagined. We're in an office converted from a meeting room, walled by glass- you can look out on the entire floor. Not that there's much to see- pods of people here and there leaned over their computers working.
The entire office is dark- no lights turned on anywhere, just natural light. It's strange. I think I chose the computer in the office by the window specifically to combat that darkness- from here I can look down over the buses and cars and buildings stretching into the distance.
Don't have much to do now- I'm kinda bored. My boss basically wants me to work on profiles that another intern left off on, but I don't know where he stopped. Thus, I'm trying to go through them all and see which one is missing information...I haven't been successful so far.
I'm also surfing around trying to find out more about Loudon County- my current knowledge about it is zilch. I figure if I'm going to be working on a site called Loudonextra, I might as well start figuring stuff out. I hate not knowing things- I want to be coming up with story ideas, not trying to figure out the demographics of the city.
bleagh. I better start trying to get some work done- I wish I knew more what I was doing. (not that it's hard, there's just nothing to do right now.)
<3-R
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Sunday, May 4, 2008
things you may not know about me
1. I'm slightly addicted to Bejeweled. It's on my iGoogle and I play it pretty much every day.
2. I adore reading memoirs of almost any type. I'm currently reading through the Diary of Kevin Smith, I just finished Valerie Plame's memoir, and over spring break I read Eat, Pray, Love.
3. I get really really excited about things really quickly. Like, even little things. Gummi Bears for example. Or free pens. If I find a song I love on the radio, I'll go download it and listen to it on repeat ten times in a row so I can try to memorize the lyrics. Stuff like that.
4. I am not a morning person. I used to be okay at getting up when I needed to- but this semester....nuhuh. Not anymore. I get very cranky without sleep and am in love with my pillow.
5. Because of my obsessive reporting on most aspects of Mason over the past year and a half, I know a ridiculous amount of information on the school and the people within it. This leads to me sometimes knowing everything about a person who's important in the news, without them knowing jack about me. This can lead to awkward situations....for example, a dude walked in the office that I knew a ton about because he had been important in past news stories. I recognized him and was like, "Oh hey, you're --- right?" He looked at me really weird. I swear I'm not a stalker, I just keep tabs on most of campus. It's one of those things I should keep a lid on probably....
6. I have a weird fascination with celebrity news. People magazine is my drug.
7. I hate pretzels- I personally think they're only of use for throwing at people. Except the big soft ones. Those are amazing.
8. Musicals make me really really happy.
9. I have this weird thing where I tend to always know who's around me- even if they're far away. Like- I can tell when someone I know walks in the room- from the second they show up. I think it's just an observation thing I've picked up- a combination of being vigilant, seeing well, and being attuned to what I hear. But I usually never surprised by anyone- I always know what's going on around me.
10. When I was little, my brother and I talked about having a guinea pig breeding operation, because we both loved them so much. I still really really want one- every time I'm at a pet store I constantly come up with ways I can keep one hidden at Mason (pets aren't allowed in the dorms). I don't think I'd ever do it though- it'd be too hard to keep from getting caught.
And also, I hate homework and studying and I'm trying to procrastinate from it right now....thus, I should probably stop blogging and try to get back to work. Ugh exams. Can't wait 'til I'm back in Texas!!!
<3-Rach
2. I adore reading memoirs of almost any type. I'm currently reading through the Diary of Kevin Smith, I just finished Valerie Plame's memoir, and over spring break I read Eat, Pray, Love.
3. I get really really excited about things really quickly. Like, even little things. Gummi Bears for example. Or free pens. If I find a song I love on the radio, I'll go download it and listen to it on repeat ten times in a row so I can try to memorize the lyrics. Stuff like that.
4. I am not a morning person. I used to be okay at getting up when I needed to- but this semester....nuhuh. Not anymore. I get very cranky without sleep and am in love with my pillow.
5. Because of my obsessive reporting on most aspects of Mason over the past year and a half, I know a ridiculous amount of information on the school and the people within it. This leads to me sometimes knowing everything about a person who's important in the news, without them knowing jack about me. This can lead to awkward situations....for example, a dude walked in the office that I knew a ton about because he had been important in past news stories. I recognized him and was like, "Oh hey, you're --- right?" He looked at me really weird. I swear I'm not a stalker, I just keep tabs on most of campus. It's one of those things I should keep a lid on probably....
6. I have a weird fascination with celebrity news. People magazine is my drug.
7. I hate pretzels- I personally think they're only of use for throwing at people. Except the big soft ones. Those are amazing.
8. Musicals make me really really happy.
9. I have this weird thing where I tend to always know who's around me- even if they're far away. Like- I can tell when someone I know walks in the room- from the second they show up. I think it's just an observation thing I've picked up- a combination of being vigilant, seeing well, and being attuned to what I hear. But I usually never surprised by anyone- I always know what's going on around me.
10. When I was little, my brother and I talked about having a guinea pig breeding operation, because we both loved them so much. I still really really want one- every time I'm at a pet store I constantly come up with ways I can keep one hidden at Mason (pets aren't allowed in the dorms). I don't think I'd ever do it though- it'd be too hard to keep from getting caught.
And also, I hate homework and studying and I'm trying to procrastinate from it right now....thus, I should probably stop blogging and try to get back to work. Ugh exams. Can't wait 'til I'm back in Texas!!!
<3-Rach
Thursday, May 1, 2008
An Interview with Hanson
I had the great pleasure of interviewing Hanson today. Here's the dish on it.
As I sat in the main hall of the State Theater, waiting to go up to interview the band, I grew more and more nervous as I set up the tripod and checked the video camera. I hadn't ever interviewed a big celebrity like Hanson before- the closest would probably be the politicians I've spoken to. And for a girl whose first CD ever (in fourth grade) was Hanson's major label debut, "Middle of Nowhere," getting to meet them was like, a dream come true.
To be fair, I haven't listened to Hanson's music in many years. The boy band craze started shortly after that and I got caught up in that. Shortly after, I discovered real music (classic and alternative rock are my faves) and never really looked back on what I listened to before *Nsync and Backstreet Boys. The recent music Hanson has released sounds really good though, from what I've listened to. I feel like I should go back and listen to that more now.
Anyways, I'm waiting in the Theater watching the techies set up the stage, totally freaking out (Was I asking the right questions? Would they ask what I thought of their new cd I hadn't listened to yet? What if they were mean or uptight?). It didn't help matters when the tour manager, Tim, came to bring me to the interview, as I had to climb a dark twisty staircase to get to the top.
Tim walked down the hallway and pushed open a door with a sign saying "Hanson" on it. I followed behind.
I thought of a thousand different things that could happen during the interview, but the scene that presented itself before my eyes was definitely not one of them. Two of the Hanson brothers were standing on chairs in front of a window, wielding BB guns, shooting pellets at a trash bin across the parking lot, as another jumped in front to grinningly tell me, "Absolutely nothing illegal is happening in here." As I set up the equipment, the whole band joked with me, introducing me to the backup musicians that walked through the door, most of whom were promptly led to the window to pull off a few rounds of their own at the much maligned trash bin.
It's fair to say that the ice was broken by then. I tried to get a picture of the brothers at play, but they requested that I not, as the BB guns were designed to look fairly real- one an AK-47 and another a handgun.
They shot off a few other rounds, but Taylor, who'd been standing off to the side chatting with me most of the time, got Zac and Isaac to sit down on the couch with him for the interview. The interview itself was great fun, very relaxed. The brothers were incredibly down to earth and very talkative. It was easy to tell that they'd been doing this whole interview thing for quite a while. Every answer one brother gave me, another one would want to chime in right afterwards, leading to a great depth of discussion. The entire conversation really showed me how passionate the band is about what they do. We talked on a variety of different topics relating to their music, their independent music label 3CG, their families, and the charity work they've been doing on the tour to promote concerns about the AIDS epidemic in Africa. I think they would have been totally willing to talk for an hour with me, but after 15 minutes, Tim came in to tell me to wrap it up. As I packed up and left, the brothers began testing out their megaphones in earnest, setting off the siren buttons repeatedly. It was time to take the Walk.
Before each of their shows on The Walk tour, Hanson has been taking a mile long walk with their fans barefoot, to raise awareness of the problems in Africa and to encourage concertgoers to purchase a pair of shoes from Toms Shoes, an organization which donates a pair of shoes to children in Africa for every pair of shoes purchased. I didn't get a count of how many people were there for the walk, but it seemed like a good hundred or so. Some people took of their shoes, some didn't, but everyone crowded around the Hanson brothers, eager to talk to them. The group stopped at a playground at one point, where Taylor addressed the crowd from the top of a slide via megaphone. After ten minutes or so, the walk continued, winding through streets and around parking lots, the brothers and the police shepherding the fans through stoplights and trying to keep them on the sidewalks. I raced around with my camera trying to get every possible angle, gaining a bit of a sunburn in the process.
All in all, it was a wonderful day and a great time. The video from the interview and the walk should be up at Connect2mason soon.
: )
Rach
To be fair, I haven't listened to Hanson's music in many years. The boy band craze started shortly after that and I got caught up in that. Shortly after, I discovered real music (classic and alternative rock are my faves) and never really looked back on what I listened to before *Nsync and Backstreet Boys. The recent music Hanson has released sounds really good though, from what I've listened to. I feel like I should go back and listen to that more now.
Anyways, I'm waiting in the Theater watching the techies set up the stage, totally freaking out (Was I asking the right questions? Would they ask what I thought of their new cd I hadn't listened to yet? What if they were mean or uptight?). It didn't help matters when the tour manager, Tim, came to bring me to the interview, as I had to climb a dark twisty staircase to get to the top.
Tim walked down the hallway and pushed open a door with a sign saying "Hanson" on it. I followed behind.
I thought of a thousand different things that could happen during the interview, but the scene that presented itself before my eyes was definitely not one of them. Two of the Hanson brothers were standing on chairs in front of a window, wielding BB guns, shooting pellets at a trash bin across the parking lot, as another jumped in front to grinningly tell me, "Absolutely nothing illegal is happening in here." As I set up the equipment, the whole band joked with me, introducing me to the backup musicians that walked through the door, most of whom were promptly led to the window to pull off a few rounds of their own at the much maligned trash bin.
It's fair to say that the ice was broken by then. I tried to get a picture of the brothers at play, but they requested that I not, as the BB guns were designed to look fairly real- one an AK-47 and another a handgun.
They shot off a few other rounds, but Taylor, who'd been standing off to the side chatting with me most of the time, got Zac and Isaac to sit down on the couch with him for the interview. The interview itself was great fun, very relaxed. The brothers were incredibly down to earth and very talkative. It was easy to tell that they'd been doing this whole interview thing for quite a while. Every answer one brother gave me, another one would want to chime in right afterwards, leading to a great depth of discussion. The entire conversation really showed me how passionate the band is about what they do. We talked on a variety of different topics relating to their music, their independent music label 3CG, their families, and the charity work they've been doing on the tour to promote concerns about the AIDS epidemic in Africa. I think they would have been totally willing to talk for an hour with me, but after 15 minutes, Tim came in to tell me to wrap it up. As I packed up and left, the brothers began testing out their megaphones in earnest, setting off the siren buttons repeatedly. It was time to take the Walk.
Before each of their shows on The Walk tour, Hanson has been taking a mile long walk with their fans barefoot, to raise awareness of the problems in Africa and to encourage concertgoers to purchase a pair of shoes from Toms Shoes, an organization which donates a pair of shoes to children in Africa for every pair of shoes purchased. I didn't get a count of how many people were there for the walk, but it seemed like a good hundred or so. Some people took of their shoes, some didn't, but everyone crowded around the Hanson brothers, eager to talk to them. The group stopped at a playground at one point, where Taylor addressed the crowd from the top of a slide via megaphone. After ten minutes or so, the walk continued, winding through streets and around parking lots, the brothers and the police shepherding the fans through stoplights and trying to keep them on the sidewalks. I raced around with my camera trying to get every possible angle, gaining a bit of a sunburn in the process.
All in all, it was a wonderful day and a great time. The video from the interview and the walk should be up at Connect2mason soon.
: )
Rach
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Herschel Yaakov
It is nice to be loved.
He calls me pretty girl- not from any attempt to charm.
I thought so at first- but after nearly a year, he still calls me it all the time-
during fights, when we're whispering in movies, when he's holding me close-
it's something sweet and wonderful
and I like it, quite a lot.
He smiles whenever he sees me-
like a little boy at his first birthday party
delightedly clapping his hands when he spies
the artfully iced cake.
And when he stands behind me as I look in the mirror,
criticizing my flaws and curves and posing to see
if I might look okay, today-
he tells me I am more than a Monet-
the most beautiful thing he's ever seen.
And as we sit together, eating Chinese,
watching Simpsons in his room-
it's lovely just to have his arm around me
and to be able to rest my head on his shoulder-
we have been through so much,
so much together-
-I remember when I was crying for hours and couldn't stop,
and fear was solid in my veins
he picked me up and took me away
and fed me chocolate and TV until I could sleep and
dream and rest-
-And when he feels like everything he does has been
useless, or unappreciated- when he thinks these months
have been a waste- I kiss him and I tell him that
I am proud of him- and that he is good and strong and brave-
I run my fingers through his hair-
and now it's like I can see the world through
a stained glass window-
everything colorful and bright and soft.
Not everyone understands
but it's okay-
Because when I put my head against his chest
and count double time with his heartbeat
I know that the days are ours to hold
and the hours are ours to conquer.
We can do anything- anything.
My Superman and I.
He calls me pretty girl- not from any attempt to charm.
I thought so at first- but after nearly a year, he still calls me it all the time-
during fights, when we're whispering in movies, when he's holding me close-
it's something sweet and wonderful
and I like it, quite a lot.
He smiles whenever he sees me-
like a little boy at his first birthday party
delightedly clapping his hands when he spies
the artfully iced cake.
And when he stands behind me as I look in the mirror,
criticizing my flaws and curves and posing to see
if I might look okay, today-
he tells me I am more than a Monet-
the most beautiful thing he's ever seen.
And as we sit together, eating Chinese,
watching Simpsons in his room-
it's lovely just to have his arm around me
and to be able to rest my head on his shoulder-
we have been through so much,
so much together-
-I remember when I was crying for hours and couldn't stop,
and fear was solid in my veins
he picked me up and took me away
and fed me chocolate and TV until I could sleep and
dream and rest-
-And when he feels like everything he does has been
useless, or unappreciated- when he thinks these months
have been a waste- I kiss him and I tell him that
I am proud of him- and that he is good and strong and brave-
I run my fingers through his hair-
and now it's like I can see the world through
a stained glass window-
everything colorful and bright and soft.
Not everyone understands
but it's okay-
Because when I put my head against his chest
and count double time with his heartbeat
I know that the days are ours to hold
and the hours are ours to conquer.
We can do anything- anything.
My Superman and I.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Random Quote Love
While standing in Giant.
Me-"You're my person!"
Aram-"You're my everything."
Me-(dissolves into happiness and awwws.)
: ) happy times
btw I absolutely LOVE this series of comments on Connect Mason.
The first one infuriated me because I KNEW there were so many things wrong with it- like Nick was never EIC, his grad date was wrong, no one in Connect Mason or Broadside is in SDS, etc. etc.
But I couldn't comment on it because well, I was one of the people accused of writing too many stories about SDS last semester.
So I LOVED it when Nick responded and basically called this guy out for being an idiot. The best part was, "Do you smoke crack and bang your head against concrete?"
Amazing.
People ask me sometimes why stories get written about SDS so much- do I or the other reporters have friends in it? Are we super secret members or sympathizers to their cause?
Here's the secret- SDS does stuff worth reporting about. They're controversial, amusing, and they absolutely love talking to us. SDS kids talk in quotes suitable for print- everything they say is guaranteed to have some effect or piss someone off. Why wouldn't we write about them? They pull the most interesting stunts on and off this campus.
Plus they have a sense of humor about their reps on campus. There's a group on facebook called, "I shower regularly and I'm in SDS." Go look. It's funny.
And that's all I'm saying tonight.
: )
Rach
Me-"You're my person!"
Aram-"You're my everything."
Me-(dissolves into happiness and awwws.)
: ) happy times
btw I absolutely LOVE this series of comments on Connect Mason.
The first one infuriated me because I KNEW there were so many things wrong with it- like Nick was never EIC, his grad date was wrong, no one in Connect Mason or Broadside is in SDS, etc. etc.
But I couldn't comment on it because well, I was one of the people accused of writing too many stories about SDS last semester.
So I LOVED it when Nick responded and basically called this guy out for being an idiot. The best part was, "Do you smoke crack and bang your head against concrete?"
Amazing.
People ask me sometimes why stories get written about SDS so much- do I or the other reporters have friends in it? Are we super secret members or sympathizers to their cause?
Here's the secret- SDS does stuff worth reporting about. They're controversial, amusing, and they absolutely love talking to us. SDS kids talk in quotes suitable for print- everything they say is guaranteed to have some effect or piss someone off. Why wouldn't we write about them? They pull the most interesting stunts on and off this campus.
Plus they have a sense of humor about their reps on campus. There's a group on facebook called, "I shower regularly and I'm in SDS." Go look. It's funny.
And that's all I'm saying tonight.
: )
Rach
Monday, April 21, 2008
Wisdom of Desperate Housewives
I watched a surprisingly profound Desperate Housewives today on my laptop- it originally aired last week.
One of the main plots running through it was that of Lynette, a woman who had never gone to church before, making an attempt to go to the church of one of her friends, Bree, a staunch Presbyterian.
During her visit, Lynette raised her hand to ask the preacher a question after his sermon. I could see the cringes throughout the congregation- Bree felt utterly humiliated. Everyone squirmed as Lynette asked the preacher questions about God's love and why bad things in the world happen.
I smiled a bit at the scene- I can imagine it happening at my own church at home. It would be so awkward for everyone. Bree summed up the view of what everyone thinks but doesn't really say when she talked to Lynette about the incident later.
"Well, last Sunday when you kept raising your hand- we don’t really do that. The church isn’t a place for questions, it’s a place for answers," Bree said.
Another profound moment in the show consisted of Gabriella's discovery that her husband Carlos hid the real extent of his injuries to her until after they were married, for fear that she would leave him once discovering he was permanently blind. She was initially very petty towards him- pushing chairs in front of him and leaving oven doors open in his way, but calmed down once she heard of his reason for not telling her initially.
I love the way she responds to him- it's so very Gabby. He's standing there scared to death, telling her that as a poor, blind man, he has nothing to offer her, and she responds brilliantly.
"To avoid future confusion, I love you. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you." She later added, "Like I said, for better or for worse."
It was such a step for her normally selfish, petty character- the one obsessed with looks, riches, and fashion. She finally realized that there was something that mattered more.
Really, it was such a sweet moment. Makes me realize there is love like that out there- love that sees beyond all flaws and problems and obstacles to the person that you adore and would do anything to stay with.
It's a good thought. : )
So I know, it's kinda a random post- I'm not talking about news events (I've been following the FLDS story like crazy), or happenings in my own life (I got an internship at wpni this summer!) or my feelings (god I can't wait for school to end, I'm going utterly crazy right now)- just a silly little TV show that I'm somehow obsessed with.
But then, it's nice having a blog I can talk about uhm, anything and everything, on. No restrictions means I write in it at least on a semi-regular basis. Lol.
Anyways, I should probably go sleep now.
Over and out.
-Rach
One of the main plots running through it was that of Lynette, a woman who had never gone to church before, making an attempt to go to the church of one of her friends, Bree, a staunch Presbyterian.
During her visit, Lynette raised her hand to ask the preacher a question after his sermon. I could see the cringes throughout the congregation- Bree felt utterly humiliated. Everyone squirmed as Lynette asked the preacher questions about God's love and why bad things in the world happen.
I smiled a bit at the scene- I can imagine it happening at my own church at home. It would be so awkward for everyone. Bree summed up the view of what everyone thinks but doesn't really say when she talked to Lynette about the incident later.
"Well, last Sunday when you kept raising your hand- we don’t really do that. The church isn’t a place for questions, it’s a place for answers," Bree said.
“Yeah, but how do you get the answers if you don’t ask the questions," Lynette innocently asked.
"Well, typically we just sit there and let the preacher preach and eventually our questions are answered and no one is humiliated," Bree answered.
It's funny- hearing the words coming out of her mouth- I knew instantly that they were wrong. Yet at the same time- I understood where she was coming from. People in most churches today aren't active participants in the service. You listen to what you're told- and if you have a problem with it, you maybe grumble about it later with a friend or argue with your family about it over supper (my family's done this before), but you certainly don't stand up and ask the pastor. It's just not the way it's done.
But it made me think. What has happened to the curiosity of religion? What has happened to its openness and acceptance? Everyone is so caught up in propriety and rightness and tradition that they lose sight of what the real picture is. I've sat in church services without knowing what's going on before- the ones where all the attendees have the prayers and hymns memorized and there's no guidance for an outsider. It's a very isolating experience- very embarrassing. How refreshing it would be for someone to take me through and let me know what's going on at different points of the service, or for me to be able to simply raise my hand and ask for help.
"Faith shouldn’t be blind- you don’t threaten it by asking questions- you make it stronger. I lost sight of that."
This is exactly what I think about religion- I believe if you go your entire life believing everything you hear without asking about it, there's an entire part missing. Of course you have to make a leap of faith at times, but it shouldn't all be like that. A little curiosity and intellectualism can pay off big and help you grow both religiously and as a person- in every part of your life.Another profound moment in the show consisted of Gabriella's discovery that her husband Carlos hid the real extent of his injuries to her until after they were married, for fear that she would leave him once discovering he was permanently blind. She was initially very petty towards him- pushing chairs in front of him and leaving oven doors open in his way, but calmed down once she heard of his reason for not telling her initially.
I love the way she responds to him- it's so very Gabby. He's standing there scared to death, telling her that as a poor, blind man, he has nothing to offer her, and she responds brilliantly.
"To avoid future confusion, I love you. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you." She later added, "Like I said, for better or for worse."
It was such a step for her normally selfish, petty character- the one obsessed with looks, riches, and fashion. She finally realized that there was something that mattered more.
Really, it was such a sweet moment. Makes me realize there is love like that out there- love that sees beyond all flaws and problems and obstacles to the person that you adore and would do anything to stay with.
It's a good thought. : )
So I know, it's kinda a random post- I'm not talking about news events (I've been following the FLDS story like crazy), or happenings in my own life (I got an internship at wpni this summer!) or my feelings (god I can't wait for school to end, I'm going utterly crazy right now)- just a silly little TV show that I'm somehow obsessed with.
But then, it's nice having a blog I can talk about uhm, anything and everything, on. No restrictions means I write in it at least on a semi-regular basis. Lol.
Anyways, I should probably go sleep now.
Over and out.
-Rach
Sunday, April 13, 2008
No Endorsement for President from Me- And Why
I've had a lot of fun this last week (no joke) writing and putting together videos around the Student Body Presidential elections. I live for this kind-of coverage- I mean, it's a race with 6 candidate pairs in it, all with different backgrounds, views, and ideas of how to be a good advocate for students. Sure, they all talk about the basic things- parking, dining, transportation, etc.- but they each have a separate viewpoint that sets them apart from the others.
It's been really interesting especially since Thursday's debate- which I went to for two reasons- to find more stories to write about and to try to get a better idea of who I would vote for.
I succeeded in one aim definitely. I've had a ball writing stories investigating the different allegations that were made that night. It was such a cat fight, and I'm sure some people were terribly distressed by it- but I loved it. It was so good journalistically- one of the more interesting debates I've seen ever- I guess because it's so close to home and I understood the underlying drama behind all of it (and anything I didn't understand I had someone running over talking to me about it in the next second). It was great fun. And getting to be the person looking behind the drama and saying, "Ok, this was said- is it true? What's the context?" and finding out the real story behind it- way cool.
I love doing such coverage on one topic. It lets you look in at it so much. Mm! Plus being the person spearheading all the coverage- I have pretty much full control of what I do, when I do it, and what's written about next. It's a joy!
I know. I'm a nerd. I talk about covering stories and issues the same way a wine connoisseur talks about Pinot Noir or a movie buff talks about a new foreign film they found. It's just the way I am. I'm completely passionate about what I do- this is completely, utterly, what I want to be doing for the rest of my life, come what may. It's cool to think that I'll probably still get this involved in a story when I'm 45 and talking about my job around the dinner table- probably boring whatever kids I have to pieces.
Anyways. People have continually asked me if I've decided who I'm going to vote for, who that person is, and if I'm going to endorse someone for the position.
The answer is no to all counts.
The debate certainly helped me expand my ideas on who might and might not be best for the presidency. The interviews and research I've done since then have helped even more in some ways, by clearing up questions that I myself had about the veracity of certain statements. Yet I still have not decided who I am voting for.
When I do decide, I'm probably not going to tell anyone what that decision is. Since I've been the main reporter covering all these candidates, it'd be a good idea for me to stay as neutral as possible on the issue, so that I still get interviews in the future without any awkward, "uh, so I heard you didn't vote for me," moments. In addition, I think it's just plain unprofessional to show bias in a race you're covering. I'm a little annoyed at myself for showing the preferences I have in the national presidential election already- my passion for getting my opinion on the best candidate out there overshot my reporter sense- it would have been much better for me to keep quiet on the issue and keep a more neutral appearance. But there's nothing I can do about that now.
Here's what I will say though- here are the traits I'm looking for when I vote on a Student Body President or Vice President.
I'm looking for someone who takes the job seriously- who is honest to everyone, but most particularly themselves. I'd like to have someone with experience and an understanding of how the system works, but who still thinks creatively and outside the box, and listens to the input of others. I think a President really needs to be able to get along with the majority of students and administration, in and out of student government, to be able to accomplish anything. Ethics and morality are at the top of the must list as well- if you don't have that, you don't have anything.
Those are my views I can reveal- to say much more would lead me to reveal which ways I'm leaning. I haven't decided who to vote for yet but I can say that I've narrowed it down to about half the candidates.
Anyways, those are just the ideas I'm getting out.
Read Connect2Mason.com!
And have a good one,
Rach
It's been really interesting especially since Thursday's debate- which I went to for two reasons- to find more stories to write about and to try to get a better idea of who I would vote for.
I succeeded in one aim definitely. I've had a ball writing stories investigating the different allegations that were made that night. It was such a cat fight, and I'm sure some people were terribly distressed by it- but I loved it. It was so good journalistically- one of the more interesting debates I've seen ever- I guess because it's so close to home and I understood the underlying drama behind all of it (and anything I didn't understand I had someone running over talking to me about it in the next second). It was great fun. And getting to be the person looking behind the drama and saying, "Ok, this was said- is it true? What's the context?" and finding out the real story behind it- way cool.
I love doing such coverage on one topic. It lets you look in at it so much. Mm! Plus being the person spearheading all the coverage- I have pretty much full control of what I do, when I do it, and what's written about next. It's a joy!
I know. I'm a nerd. I talk about covering stories and issues the same way a wine connoisseur talks about Pinot Noir or a movie buff talks about a new foreign film they found. It's just the way I am. I'm completely passionate about what I do- this is completely, utterly, what I want to be doing for the rest of my life, come what may. It's cool to think that I'll probably still get this involved in a story when I'm 45 and talking about my job around the dinner table- probably boring whatever kids I have to pieces.
Anyways. People have continually asked me if I've decided who I'm going to vote for, who that person is, and if I'm going to endorse someone for the position.
The answer is no to all counts.
The debate certainly helped me expand my ideas on who might and might not be best for the presidency. The interviews and research I've done since then have helped even more in some ways, by clearing up questions that I myself had about the veracity of certain statements. Yet I still have not decided who I am voting for.
When I do decide, I'm probably not going to tell anyone what that decision is. Since I've been the main reporter covering all these candidates, it'd be a good idea for me to stay as neutral as possible on the issue, so that I still get interviews in the future without any awkward, "uh, so I heard you didn't vote for me," moments. In addition, I think it's just plain unprofessional to show bias in a race you're covering. I'm a little annoyed at myself for showing the preferences I have in the national presidential election already- my passion for getting my opinion on the best candidate out there overshot my reporter sense- it would have been much better for me to keep quiet on the issue and keep a more neutral appearance. But there's nothing I can do about that now.
Here's what I will say though- here are the traits I'm looking for when I vote on a Student Body President or Vice President.
I'm looking for someone who takes the job seriously- who is honest to everyone, but most particularly themselves. I'd like to have someone with experience and an understanding of how the system works, but who still thinks creatively and outside the box, and listens to the input of others. I think a President really needs to be able to get along with the majority of students and administration, in and out of student government, to be able to accomplish anything. Ethics and morality are at the top of the must list as well- if you don't have that, you don't have anything.
Those are my views I can reveal- to say much more would lead me to reveal which ways I'm leaning. I haven't decided who to vote for yet but I can say that I've narrowed it down to about half the candidates.
Anyways, those are just the ideas I'm getting out.
Read Connect2Mason.com!
And have a good one,
Rach
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