University Community Orchestra

“University Community Orchestra puts on holidy performance that entertains both laid-back and upbeat crowds”

“University puts on holiday performance for all ages young and old”

Buckley Center Auditorium was to host the evenings events

It was an evening that promised to be full of musical entertainment, and had many memories to be gained for performers and audience members alike. As the performers took the stage, the air of University of Portland’s own, Buckley Auditorium came alive with the many sounds of strings, brass, woodwinds, and drums. Through the many sounds floating through the bustling crowd, upper strings tuned their tiny strings, woodwinds decided whether or not to pull out or push in, and brass players made sure their instruments were warmed up for the music that laid ahead. As I sat listening to the many joyous, and few not so joyous sounds of the excited University of Portland Community Orchestra one voice stood out to me as a particularly individual sound among many. Upon a quick glance to the right side of the orchestra gave it away: in deed I had heard the magical notes of a harp. Although this voice is not always included in an orchestra, tonight its presence was made known by its masters playing before the concert was to begin. Its magical notes filled the air and seemed to lift its listeners off into a dreamland. One could sit back and listen to soft tones floating through the air and be surrounded with them as they lifted a person off of their seat and swept them away to a far off land. Once the orchestra began to come together more and more and they came together as one group and the concert was set to begin. Audience members became quiet and the lights dimmed as all were listening intently as the University of Portland Community Orchestra was set to play their concert: “Music for the Season”.

Buckley Center courtyard and entrance to the auditorium

As the Community Orchestra was winding down their last musical number, and as the lights became bright again, Buckley Auditorium became loud again and many of the members of the orchestra and jazz bands were scurrying about in a hurried blur on the auditorium stage. This hurried blur was an effort to set up for the night’s next musical group, the University Jazz Ensemble. As performers began warming up it was immediately apparent that this performance would not compete with the previous group, but this was because they produced a different sound. A sound far from that of any strings or lighter woodwinds, no, this promised to produce loud, intense brassy notes followed by the rhythmic beating of a drum set. The band got its final touches together, and everyone was set up for their performance of loud notes, and exciting sounds. The jazz ensemble was more upbeat in that their notes carried away into the night like the voices of those at a lively party or ballgame. Much different from the sounds of an orchestra in that they pierce the air with great attitude and leave the audience nothing open to interpretation. Every single note of a jazz number is directed for a special meaning, and leaves its audience with the exact feeling that was meant.

Program for the evenings events

This evening was very promising, and left nothing than for me to want to come back and see more performances in the future. The magical sounds of the University Community Orchestra paired with the University Jazz Ensemble made for an unforgettable evening and satisfied every expectation.

Feature Story

While America is entering its flu season, Swine Flu comes around the corner in full effect as many reported cases are seen all across the country

Swine Flu breaks out in America’s college population as classes drag on during fall and winter months

Be sure to stop by the University Health Center at the first sign of trouble

Swine flu. The virus that’s currently got our nation in a frenzy and crowds of people lining up to get their vaccine. How can we be sure that this new strain of the so-called “swine flu” is going to be prevented among colleges and universities across the country and prevented from becoming something of a larger scale problem than it already is? There are many different ways of knowing first off, what the symptoms of this virus are, and secondly, some possible ways to prevent it from attacking you.
First lets look at how one can be sure that the H1N1 virus is actually what you have? Although there is no positive way to tell that the virus is present in a single patient without careful lab analysis, people with H1N1 typically experience many of the same symptoms as the seasonal flu, but in a much grander scale, some examples include: sore throat, body aches, headaches, and fatigue. According to an online database, some doctors offer a rapid test to determine whether or not the flu is present in your body, but it depends on the quality of the manufacturer’s test as to how trustworthy the results are. Just because a negative result comes back, the virus still may not be present.  Secondly, lets have a look at some of the possible ways that one can keep from getting this virus in the first place. WebMD suggests that people

Be sure to use your upper sleeve or a tissue when sneezing or coughing to help prevent the spread of germs

“Wash your hands regularly with soap and water, avoid close contact, and avoid touching your mouth, nose, or eyes”. If people are experiencing flu-like symptoms, suggestions have also been made that you stay home for at least 7 days, or until you’ve been symptom free for a 24 hour period, whichever is longer.

Lots of sleep helps to both prevent and fight off the virus

As college students, we can be and are among the list of people to be at a higher risk for contracting the virus. “Personally I’m not worried about the virus”, Says Zac Primley, a Portland State University student, “I’m in good enough shape, and typically eat well enough to not worry about getting sick. Plus I don’t have time to be sick right now so why worry about it?” In going along with being college aged students living on college campuses all across the country, University of Portland Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Life, John Goldrick encourages students and “high-risk adults from 25 to 64 years old” to be among those who should seriously consider being vaccinated for H1N1. Another college student, John Deatherage comments, “I’ve already been vaccinated for the virus; I feel that it’s important that everybody at least take heed to the warning that anybody could get sick from this thing.” Whether they be college aged students or older adults, everyone is susceptible to contracting the flu, but it becomes more of a risk among people who have prior health problems and/or pre-existing health conditions. Grandmother of 9 Elaine Brauckmiller feels that it is of utmost importance that we consider the possible dangers to our community with this virus. “If something were to happen to me because of the virus, who would be there to take care of the family? How would everybody react to me being hospitalized? I feel that the best route is to be vaccinated and try to stay healthy by eating right and sleeping enough.” Husband Bob couldn’t agree more in saying that he “is glad that we got immunized right away. Now we can sleep at night in hopes that everything will turn out okay.”

Regularly washing your hands helps to prevent the spread of germs among those most at risk

People with prior health conditions and college-aged students are among the group or considered “higher risk”, but it is still up to the individual as to what will ultimately be done to prevent the possibility of a contraction. As was stated, one should always consider avoiding close contact with other people, and should always wash/sanitize hand regularly to help in preventing H1N1. It is up to you, will you be able to fend of the mighty H1N1?

Libel

Some things I’ve learned about Libel:

-Libel is the difference between “defamatory material that is justified and that which is not”

-One way to defend yourself is to be able to prove the truth. This can be accomplished through “documentary evidence” that includes

-Another thing that a journalist can use is whats caled “qualified privilege”. This is information that comes from some sort of public agency.

-Something to watch out for is protecting confidential sources and that there is no written shield law that protects journalists from being compelled to testify in court to reveal their sources.

-An ethical issue that journalists can run into is that of using anonymous sources. A journalist should always be able to be a credible enough source in and of themself to protect themself from being questioned beyond their sources.

-Another thing that journalists run into is that of advertiser pressure. Advertisers pressure their newspapers or other media outlets to cover stories that provide or shed a good light apon those companies.

Assignment for 12/9/2009

When public should remain private:

This case study is commenting on how journalists when reporting on crime stories, should or should not include in depth details about the victim or the accused. They comment on the fact that as a politician or some other type of public official one cannot expect to be able to hide anything from the people that they represent, but as an ordinary citizen there is no reason why the public needs to know such things as who their high school sweetheart was or what kind of car they drive if they have been involved in some sort of domestic crime. Personally, i feel that this sort of information is not important in cases involving ordinary citizens unless it pertains to the actual crime itself. Yeah, we do get more information on public officials reguarding their personal lives, but is that informations really needed? It may be needed in order to form an opinion about them and better help us decide who we’re going to vote for, but there is no reason why the same details should be published in a report about a crime if they have no direct connection with what happened.

Guest Speaker 12/4/2009

I found that Cornelius Swart was very informative and was well worth attending. I thought it very interesting how he and his staff do so much work on a tight budget and yet still publish a paper for our community. When he was talking about how he and his staff operate I found it important to hear that a reporter shoud write something, leave their own bias and opinion out of it, then criticize or analyze what they wrote. as sort of a double check for themselves that all the acts are straight and that things make sense before turning it into an editor or publisher. i feel that looking at things with this point of view when reporting on something will definatley help my writing in that it will make me step back and look at things through the eyes of someone who would be reading the story for the first time and has no prior knowledge or assumptions about things related to the story. I like how he said to ALWAYS ask questions and to not assume anything. We should always be anaysing everything, every little detail, every little piece of any story that we might be covering.

Assignment for 12/2/2009

THIS IS NOT A TRUE ACCOUNT

Story to appear on December 5th, 2009.

“UPS supervisor dies in head-on collision with UPS semi”

Stenberg 2007 Senior Photo

Pete Stenberg loved his cars; whether it be driving them, working on them, or just strolling around at an auto show, Pete was always fascinated with automobiles.

“Pete was always eager and ready to help with any project I had going,” said Kyle Keenan, one of Pete’s good friends whom he met in High school. “He was very good at focusing on the smallest of details, and had a very good eye for minute problems.”

A quiet individual born on August 17, 1988, Pete died as the result of a head-on collision while on his way home from work Tuesday night December 1st. Pete had just gotten done working an 8-hour shift at UPS and was eager to get home to rest when his car suddenly swerved into oncoming traffic and collided with, coincidentally, a UPS semi truck.

“It was a horrific sight,” said Steve Krugg, Pete’s immediate supervisor at UPS. “We all loved him, and this is really going to be hard for many people to deal with.”

Pete had been employed with the company for nearly 2 years and was hoping to continue working there after graduating college with a degree from the University of Portland. According to him, UPS was “One of the best places to work. I love the respect that is demanded, and the excellent hard work put forth by every employee,” says Krugg. Whether UPS was going to be turned into a career, or simply just a job to help get through college, Pete seemed to love most of his nights spent working there, and made the most of even the most trying of situations.

Pete grew up on the eastern edge of Vancouver, Washington and is survived by his parents: Steve (50), and Tami Stenberg (49), along with 17 year-old sister Rachel. It was in this part of Vancouver where Pete spent most of his time growing up. He enjoyed many a warm summer night playing soccer and baseball at the park cross the street from his childhood home, and continued his sports career up through the high school days he spent at Mountain View. It was also at this high school that Pete found a love for music, as he excelled as a Trumpet and Baritone player in the school band. Pete continued his love for music after high school as he enjoyed regularly attending performances by both the Southwest Washington, and Oregon Symphonies.

During his time spent at Mountain View, Pete met a kid named Kyle Keenan. The two became good friends, and enjoyed spending lots of time together working on their cars, or helping out at the local racetrack. Pete became a crew chief for a local racing team shortly thereafter, and spent many a hot summer afternoon changing tires, and fueling up the Porsche 911 for his team. “Working on the cars always kept him happy,” said Kim Taylor, driver of the Porsche. “You could always get him to cheer up by putting a wrench in his hand and setting him to work.”

The Stenberg family commented that they would have only a small service for his friends and family. There has not yet been a date set.

Assignment for 11/30/2009

What I noticed while reading the obituaries that is different from other newsworthy stories is that they tend to focus mainly on one person and the events that happened all throughout their life. The story typically includes things from all the way back to their childhood up through what they were doing in life right before death. Other types of news stories include details of one or maybe two particular events not a whole range of things. Sometimes news stories talk about things from different years, but they’re usually related to one topic. From what I’ve read in these two obituaries, they include things that are only specific to what that person has done in their life. I like how the writing in the obituaries focus mainly on happy events that happened in that person’s life, and seem to leave out things that are questionable, or would draw negative attention.

The New York Times obituary seemed to focus more on what that person had accomplished in his life rather than building him up as a happy person or something like that. They still were able to keep out negative images, and keep from making him seem like a bad person, but it seemed that the author was more focused on life acheivements rather than the person himself.

In the Oregonian, I saw that the author focused on how good of a person Mr. Gomez was and how he helped so many people through the actions in his life. This was different from the Times obituary because it shyed away from life achievements and focused more on how he lived and how he was a help to his family and community.

Assignment 11/17/2009

Sources:

Sean Moriarty: state advisory panel

Teresa Miller: Oregon insurance division administrator

Company spokesman for Kaiser

Larry Kirsch: health economist

Pat Hutchins and sister Mary Anne Huseby

Michael Becker: director of legislative and regulatory affairs for Regence BlueCross BlueShield

Deana Strunk: LifeWise Spokeswoman

This type of story is particularly important to me because I am employed here in Oregon and choosing a benefits plan is getting increasingly stressful as benefits cost more.

Assignment 11/11/2009

Spources:

Company Officials

American and Iraqi investigators

4 former execs mentioned

Stacy DeLuke, a spokeswoman

Mr. jackson

Senior State department official

State Department

Federal Grand Jury in NC

Officials in the US attorney’s office

Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki

Deputy Cheif of mission at the American Embassy in Baghdad

Mr. Richer

Ms. Butenis

Susan Burke, a lawyer for the victims of the Nisour square shootings

Raed Jarrar, Iraq consultant to the American Friends Service Committee

“Held by the Taliban”

“Held by the Taliban” Published October, 2009

An amazing Journey of hope and faith, as American reporter David Rhode spent 7 months and 10 days in captivity.

David Rhode, and American reporter for the New York Times, captured by who he though to be members of the Taliban, recounts his story of enduring hope and faith during the time spent as their prisoner. Taking a trip to Afghanistan to a meeting with a Taliban leader, Rhode had no idea what was in store for him, and how this trip would forever change his life.  I feel like this story won the Pulitzer Prize simply because it is so moving for a person on the outside to read and know that he made it through alive. Knowing the Taliban government and how they deal with their prisoners, it would have made no surprises if Mr. Rhode and the two men accompanying him had not made it out alive and had just become another sacrifice from the American people. Because of the fact that Rhode did make it out alive, and that he did report on it simply from memory with immense detail, I feel that this story was worthy of the Pulitzer Prize.
One thing that I liked the most about this story is hoe Rhode comments on how the Afghan people acted around him, whether they be captors, members of the Taliban, or ordinary citizens, he talks about how everyone in that area acted very strangely when they saw that the Taliban had captured yet another prisoner. I also found it very interesting to read about how Rhode and the men kidnapped with him had been treated. Of course they were prisoners and they were not treated amazingly well, but I feel that things could have gone in a complete different direction and they could have been killed instantly. The fact that Rhode made it out of that whole situation alive is surprising and that he recounted his time spent as a prisoner with such great detail adds to the interest.
I feel that it is possible that this report could have been shorter and still gotten the whole story across to the audience. I know that the great attention to detail helps make the story better and more interesting in some cases, but personally I feel that the story was a little long just to be published as a news story. So long in fact that one may think of turning it into a book for print. Also, Rhode did not use a huge variety of sources. Mainly he stuck to his own memories and accounted most of the experience from what had happened to him and what was going on around him. The outside sources that he did end up using were mainly for producing numbers and recalling information to help have factual evidence for things in the story.
I can see that through this report, the great attention to detail, and addition of comments made by people directly involved in the situation has a large effect on how the story is addressed by its audience. I feel that had this story had not included so much exact detail about where Rhode was and what was happening to him then it would not have had the same effect on his audience. Through his methods of writing, Rhode did an excellent job of reporting about his experiences and his prize is absolutely justified.