The Collegian » Laura Cox

Ad Club encourages recycling

Laura Cox — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 17:30:12 +0000

The South Dakota State University Advertising Club, part of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, is in the middle of hosting a five-week campaign aimed at increasing student awareness of the importance of recycling at SDSU. The club’s campaign began the first week of October and concludes on Hobo Day, Nov. 5.

Ad Club developed the campaign “You Decide” to instill the idea that students living on campus greatly influence the overall recycling effort. Throughout the duration of the campaign, a Facebook page titled “SDSU Decides” will relay recycling facts, free giveaways, pledge dates and encourage participation from followers.

The Ad Club is receiving help from various student organizations and teams to further the brigade of recycling advocates. Participants will not only encourage students to recycle their materials after they’re finished eating, but will also solicit student signatures to pledge support to recycle regularly.

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SDSUPD Report: Oct. 16-22

Laura Cox — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 16:33:33 +0000

These are the charges for various offenses that the SDSUPD logged between Oct. 16 and Oct. 11

1	Improper Display of License Plates
1	Driving On Wrong Side
1	Open Container
6	Fire Alarm
6	Petty Theft
2	Motor Vehicle Accident
1	Grand Theft
5	Possession of Marijuana
5	Possession of Drug Paraphernalia
5	Ingesting of Substance
12	Underage Consumption
1	Burglary
3	Stop Sign Violation
1	Zero Tolerance Driver
1	Medical Emergency
1	Expired Registration
1	Emergency Line Call
2	Common Nuisance
1	Eye Protection Required
1	Fleeing
1	False Impersonation

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Facebook privacy growing slimmer

Laura Cox — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 17:00:26 +0000

If you were to see me walking across campus, or anywhere else for that matter, you would see me walking with my head down, cell phone in hand, checking my email, texts and Facebook account. I see people all over the place doing the same thing. It is extremely convenient, this ability to talk, send short messages and photographs all literally within the palms of our hands.
We truly are living in the future with all of this technology around us. It makes me feel like a 30th Century Man.
I remember when it was good to have a smaller cell phone, so it was easier to carry around. That trend quickly morphed back into the larger, flatter, brick-style phones and the people rejoiced for these “smart phones”. ‘We can multi-task now. No longer are we chained to our desks and beehive cubicles.’ And it was good. But the workweek seemed to change and grow from the standard 40-hour week into 60- to 80-hour weeks with this ability to always be available. There is no one, at any one time, that cannot be reached if they own a smart phone.
Vacations are still vacations, with the occasional email. Birthdays are still birthdays, with a Facebook status update. Divorces are still divorces, with the enhancement of text messaging. But if things really got out of hand back at the office, your boss can still reach you and odds are, you will probably pick up. That is the nature of these smart phones, to keep you plugged in to the world around us, both virtually and actually. It is very progressive and efficient. It is also extremely Orwellian.
Facebook, the number one social network in the world, is now under fire for monitoring its users web browsing activities while users are logged off Facebook. My first question is, “How is this possible?” My second question is, “Where is this information going and what are the recipients doing with it?”
To begin, every time you call a webpage from its server on the Internet it stores a “cookie,” or digital signature, on your hard drive. This cookie from Facebook has the ability to track and store what websites the user visits and then uploads it to the Facebook server when the user logs back into the site at a later date.
The explanation for this extreme invasion of privacy was that of “a mistake,” even though the information mined from this is worth billions of dollars.
To whom, you may ask? Well advertisers for one. Marketing on the Internet is an extremely lucrative industry, literally billions of dollars. This information, the sites we visit, the frequency we visit them and how long we stay on them, becomes part of a

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Students honor U.S. Constitution

Laura Cox — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 17:00:06 +0000

The South Dakota State University continues celebration of Constitution Day, the anniversary of the 1787 signing of the nation’s founding document.
SDSU political science students will participate in a mock constitutional convention to propose amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Convention delegates will campaign to persuade students, faculty and staff to vote either “for” or “against” ratification of five proposed amendments narrowed from over 20 student-suggested changes to the Constitution.
A public forum on the amendments will take place from noon to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 11, in the Hilton M. Briggs Library room 105. After the forum, anyone in the campus community can vote on the proposed amendments between Oct. 11 through Oct. 14, online through InsideState or MyState, SDSU faculty and student Internet portals.
Some of the proposed changes to the Constitution include giving the federal government more power to fund and regulate public education, putting restraints on the President’s power to deploy troops without the consent of Congress and abolishing the death penalty.
“The purpose of this project is to provide a mechanism for public discourse on constitutional principles,” said Julie Lane, assistant professor in the history and political science at State. “The project is also intended to enhance citizen engagement in democracy on the part of both students and the broader campus community.”

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Reading Day will miss mark

Laura Cox — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 17:00:04 +0000

Issue: The day before finals week of the fall semester may become Reading Day – a day for studying outside the classroom.

This is another one of those issues good in theory, but probably not in practice.
The university is considering ending all classes a day early, giving students a day of no class and the greater availability to study.
Think of the possibilities.
The likelihood that this final Friday will be a day filled with reading and studying seems small. However, the bars may have much better chances at increasing their business.
And as far as studying and preparation go, it’s common for instructors to use that last day for class review sessions. These are typically just as – if not more – helpful than independent studying. Also, spending a couple hours in class does not drastically detract from students’ time studying.
Another purpose of Reading Day is to provide more time for one-on-one appointments between instructors and students. Faculty Senate President Paul Johnson said it best: “We all readily accept student visitation.” Having a day set aside for this seems a little unnecessarily.
Ultimately, it seems clear that the main purpose of this new study day is being considered to meet the minimum number of days for a semester. After all, why is the day not considered for the spring semester?
Students are not likely to read on Reading Day. They’re likely to do whatever they do on days off.

Stance: The Board of Regents should not approve the implementation of Reading Day.

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Brookings incomplete without true donut shop

Laura Cox — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 17:00:59 +0000

The feeling will usually strike on some idle Tuesday afternoon.
I’ll be sitting there and all of the sudden the urge to eat a doughnut strikes me with such ferocity that I want to cry.
Why do I want to cry, you may ask?
Because there are no legitimate doughnut shops in Brookings.
Despite our substantial college population and high number of police, we don’t have a single doughnut shop. The only two places you can buy doughnuts are Walmart or Hy-Vee, and they are no substitute for the sweet deliciousness that is Kripsy Kreme or Dunkin’ Donuts.
The doughnut has a disputed history, but it is believed that they have their origins from Dutch immigrants in the United States (who are also responsible for cookies, apple and cream pies as well as cobbler. Thank you Dutch people). The doughnut, if some of our readers are unaware (which I highly doubt) is essentially deep-fried dough smothered in some kind of sugary substance. If this does

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Spending and campaiging will not create job growth – Job Plan, From the Right

Laura Cox — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 16:52:49 +0000

The President’s latest “jobs plan” is not the answer to the nation’s economic woes. Much like the President’s other job creation and economic plans. they are well-intended and hopelessly flawed.

The supposed plan is nothing more than another stimulus bill like the one passed in 2009. The first stimulus bill failed to improve the economy and stop it from hemorrhaging jobs. Most of the money from the first stimulus has been paid out already and unemployment is still on the rise. The job report for August was just as disappointing with zero new jobs created.

Just like the first stimulus, this new one will fail to create jobs and improve the economy. The administration fails to recognize one single fact: the government cannot directly create jobs and stimulate growth. The government

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SDSUPD Report: Sept. 18 – Sept. 24

Laura Cox — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 16:45:07 +0000

These are the charges for various offenses that the SDSUPD logged between Sept. 18 and Sept. 24.

16: Underage Consumption

4: Open Container

3: Speeding

2: Fleeing

1: DUI

1: Wide Turn Violation

1: Criminal Entry into Motor Vehicle

1: Motor Vehicle Accident Hit & Run

5: Petty Theft

2: Fire Alarm

1: Emergency Line Call

1: Ingesting Substance

1: Possession of Marijuana

1: Possession of Drug Paraphernalia

1: Motor Vehicle Accident

5: Common Nuisance

2: Littering

1: Furnishing Alcohol

1: Security Alarm

1: Public Urination

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Navy director to discuss sailing green

Laura Cox — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 16:26:51 +0000

Chris Tindal, director for operational energy for the deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for energy, will discuss the Navy’s initiative to “sail the green fleet” at a 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 5, talk at the Performing Arts Center at South Dakota State University. Admission is free.

His talk is sponsored by the North Central Regional Sun Grant Center at SDSU, directed by Jim Doolittle.

Tindal said the Navy wants to reduce petroleum use in its commercial fleet by 50 percent by 2015. By 2020, the Navy wants 50 percent of its total energy consumption to come from alternative sources.

The challenge for fuel developers is that the alternative must be invisible to the operator, meaning that it:

•Meets fuel performance requirements,

•Can be mixed or alternated with petroleum fuel, and

•Requires no change to the aircraft or ship, or the delivery system infrastructure.

University researchers are now in the second year of what is proposed as a four-year, $16-million effort to convert feedstocks into alternative jet fuel in a cost-effective way.

Doolittle is project director for the study, which involves three principal investigators from three SDSU colleges — Engineering, Agriculture and Biological Sciences and Arts and Sciences.

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SDSUPD Report: Sept. 11 to Sept. 17

Laura Cox — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 16:57:04 +0000

These are the charges for various offenses that the SDSUPD logged between Sept. 13 and Sept. 17.

4: Underage Consumption

1: Underage Possession

1: Failure to Yield to Pedestrian

1: Open Container

3: Fire Alarm

2: Eye Protection Required

3: Stop Sign Violation

1: Driver’s License Not in Possession

1: Harassing Phone Calls

1: Driving Wrong Side

2: Medical Emergency

4: Petty Theft

1: Motor Vehicle Accident

1: Fleeing

1: Grand Theft

1: Civil Disturbance

1: Open Container in Motor Vehicle

2: Financial Responsibility

1: Turn From Wrong Side

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