Recycling on Campus

When recycling plastic bottles on campus, make sure to remove their caps before tossing them into the recycling bins. Even if one bottle has a cap on it, the entire container is considered contaminated and all of the recyclables will have to be thrown away. Thanks for keeping MSU green! :)

Internship Blog

I just stumbled across this great blog that lists internships for MSU Journalism students--but there are a ton of options that would be great for communications, public relations, English, and professional writing majors. Check it out if you are still on the hunt for an internship!

WTF?: Spartan Marching Band Bussing to Bowl Game

As I write this post, the Spartan Marching Band (SMB) is traveling to Orlando, Florida, on seven buses. The group left last night at 6 p.m. and is expected to get to Orlando around 10 tonight. A twenty-four hour trip. They are scheduled to perform at halftime of the Capital One Bowl on January 1st, among other performances (the bowl parade, Universal Orlando, etc.). The more I find out about everything the band does, the more disappointed I am in the way the university treats the program.

First of all, why is the band traveling to Orlando by bus? An inside source said something about "saving the university money." But why should the university be trying to save money on a bowl game that is making them millions of dollars? Furthermore, do you think the university tried to save money by sending the football players down to Orlando on buses? Of course not! They chartered a plane. Coaches and athletic administrators were flown down by the university, as were their families. I'm not saying that this is a bad thing for the university to do--I just don't understand why the athletic director, who makes $270,000 a year, would be given a free plane ticket over a member of the band.

You may also think that driving down to Florida isn't that bad. Plenty of families in Michigan take that trip every year during spring break. But this isn't your standard family vacation. Take a look at the approximate travel schedule of the SMB:

Saturday, December 27

1:00 p.m.  Registration

4:00 p.m.  Meeting--load buses immediately following

6:00 p.m.  Depart from East Lansing

Sunday, December 28

1:00 a.m.  One of the buses breaks down--caravan pulls to side of road. People on that bus split up and sit in extra seats on other buses.

1:30 a.m.  Second bus breaks down, but is fixed

2:00 a.m.  Caravan is back on the road

8:30 a.m.  First pit stop--up until this point, the band members had to use the single stall bathrooms on the buses and eat snacks that they provided themselves.

10:00 a.m.  Load the bus up again

As of 2:30 p.m. the bus had not stopped for lunch.

OK, this sounds pretty miserable...but at least the band was provided a free ride down to Orlando. Right? This is true. However, when one takes into account all of the other expenses that band members have to pay out of pocket and the time commitment they make to be in the band, it is truly the least they should get. The following list is far from comprehensive.

1. 10-20 hrs/week of practice + a full course load (minimum of 12 credits) = no time for a job
2. Each band member must pay to take MUS 114, a one credit class. No scholarships are awarded for band. Therefore, band members are actually paying to play.
3. $8-$13 to dry clean uniform after each performance
4. $3 for gloves
5. $30 or so for shoes (one time payment--provided they still fit and aren't ruined after a season)
6. Band members must pay for the replacement of certain parts of their instruments when broken (e.g. mouthpiece, around $25).
7. Pre-season rehearsals (the week before fall semester starts) can require over 120 hours of practice time.
8. "Gig" performances that raise money for the band and other funds
9. An annual high school recruiting trip that lasts all day on a Saturday

Remember, these are college students. Plus, they are extremely talented. SMB is considered to be one of the best marching bands in the nation, having been invited to play for five U.S. Presidents. Why should these talented, dedicated students be given so little in return? They are, in fact, expected to pay to be in the band. I understand that the football game itself is what draws the crowd, but I simply cannot justify football players getting full ride scholarships, incredible facilities (including the new $15.5 million Skandalaris Football Center), the use of the Clara Bell Smith Center, free meals at the Kellogg Center, a never-ending supply of uniforms and equipment, and God knows what else, while the band is riding in broken down buses to Orlando and bringing their uniforms to their local dry cleaners themselves, eating Ramen noodles to get by.

Why is athletic ability valued so much more by the university than any other set of skills and talents?

  

Communicating Visually: An Interview with Expert Ben Fry

As a writer, communicating effectively is something I believe to be of the utmost importance—which is why I decided to challenge myself this semester by taking an information graphics course. Communicating visually, using things like charts and illustrations, is just as significant as conveying a message using words. Oftentimes it is more successful. I wanted to be able to strengthen my ability to communicate by using visuals to complement the words that I wrote. I didn’t realize that a whole field of study and work was dedicated to the effort of graphically displaying information until I walked into the classroom of Karl Gude, former director of information graphics at Newsweek. I learned that not only do graphics complement written explanations, sometimes it’s the other way around—and, in certain situations, illustrations can eliminate the need for words altogether.

In order to get honors credit in Karl’s class, I decided to learn a little about the subject area as a whole. The field of information graphics has been defined in large part by Edward Tufte’s opinions and expertise, as conveyed in his lectures and books (e.g. Visual Explanations). However, Tufte’s books are quickly becoming classics (read: antiquated) as the way we communicate expands to encompass our utilization of and access to new forms of technology. To try and understand how information graphics is evolving, I talked to Ben Fry, a designer who is at the forefront of the field, pushing the boundaries of how we communicate. On top of his fascinating insights, Fry’s responses were interesting for me as a student trying to figure out what to do for a career. His passion for his work is evident, and the way he has been able to combine all of his interests into a satisfying, flourishing career is something for me to aspire to.

Q: In your book Visualizing Data you discuss the problem of what you refer to as “the separation of fields?” What made you first think about combining different fields of study and different approaches? Why is it important to do so?

A: I think the importance comes from the fact that there are too many unsolved problems in how we understand data. We're pretty good at understanding static things of a certain size or level of complexity (the sort of thing that Tufte likes to cover) but there's still much to be done with very large data sets, and information that's continually undergoing change.

Q: Your work ranges from mapping out the human genome to making a comparison between baseball teams’ standings and how much money they spend. How do you decide which projects to do?

 A: One thing about pursuing design as a career, even while studying graphic design as an undergrad, is that it's always been a way to pursue subjects that I was curious about. The interest in genetics comes from the many layers to the problem—ranging from the fact that it's a complicated data set to the fact that it has a significant societal or cultural impact. On the other hand, the baseball piece came about because I was watching too much baseball, and thinking about the numbers behind it, and wanted to tie it in with my work a little.

Q: In a similar vein, what has been your favorite project and why?

 A: Always the next project. There's always something more interesting out there...
 

Q: Who have been your influences in the field of information graphics? From where do you draw inspiration?

A: I'm most influenced and inspired by things outside of information graphics, things like drawing, movies, books, typography, motion graphics, and music. Or non-computational approaches to understanding complicated data. And people whose careers touch on similar themes but in a completely different manner. For instance, the way that political cartoonists and comedians can convey the essence of a complicated idea while hiding its complexity, while also reaching a wider audience than we ever do with data graphics.
 

Q: What effect do you see continued advancements in technology having on the process of communicating data? For example, do you see things moving in the direction of interactivity?

A: I think we're just at the leading edge of doing anything useful with interactivity, and have a long way to go. Many of the technological advancements are in place, it's really the human component—our understanding of data—that needs to evolve and change.

The First Post

 To clear things up, the current header picture is not a picture of MSU's campus, as may be expected. It is a picture that I took on a study abroad in Ireland, in Killarney National Park. I figured it works because it's mostly green, my school's official color. It's temporary. Here is a pretty picture that I took on campus, but that didn't work as a header because of its orientation and colors:

I took it in the fall of 2007, near Beaumont Tower.

Moving on. What's the point of this blog?

Well, I have a number of reasons for wanting to write a blog, including the many things that I hope to accomplish with it. My goals are always far too lofty and all-encompassing, so I'm sure they will be tamed down once I get the hang of this. However, here are some of my reasons/goals for this blog:

1. Start a discussion on less well-known campus news, stories, events, etc. The types of things not covered in The State News. More along the lines of pieces featured in The Big Green, but updated more often. This could include the following: social commentary, injustices at MSU, advice for freshman, nightlife, academics, the sports scene, etc.
2. Stemming from the above: old-fashioned journalism is boring and newspapers are dying. Blogs are the place to be. Plus, I find the word "journalism" to be restricting.
3. As one of my mentors at MSU told me, my problem is not that I'm not interested in anything, it's that I'm interested in everything. My curiosity is never-ending. So I will write about things that interest me. To this end, I'm excited by the possiblity of learning from the interactive community of the blogosphere.
4. I am inspired by people who are doing something meaningful with their lives, and those who are passionate. About anything. I am hoping to use my good fortune of being part of a huge university to profile some of those people, so that you can be inspired by them as well. So many people are doing such incredible things and we could all benefit from their stories.
5. I like to make lists and keep track of my thoughts. What better way than this?
6. MSU is a great place to be and not enough people know about all the cool things that happen on campus and in the East Lansing area.

I am open to suggestions for stories and am excited to get your feedback!