The Students Opinion

After sending out a survey and talking to many students on campus, there was a split decision on whether Michigan State should go smoke free.  A slight majority sides with MSU not going smoke free because students said that it would be too hard to control, and it's a personal right and why should we try to change it.  This podcast talks to two MSU students who have slightly different opinions about the situation.  Smoke Free Podcast.  Also, after talking to a student who attends the University of Michigan, I was able to get a little more information about what effects that going smoke free has made on their campus.  She said there definitely has been a decrease in smokers on campus, but she hardly recognized having them around in the first place (before they went smoke free).  Also, she said that since it is hard to regulate this new rule, many students just sneak it and get away with it easily.  For students who are still confused on why a campus would go smoke free, this article explains more in depth the reasons behind the initiative.  smoke free article

College Campuses and Smoking

While walking around different parts of Michigan State University's campus, it's easy to see that there isn't a "No-Smoking" policy.  Majority of students will see at least one person smoking while on the way to class or see them sitting outside of the dorms.  Also, the 25-feet from the building rule is not effective.  People are always sitting right on the stoop of the dorms smoking and socializing.  Recently different college's are starting to make their campuses "smoke-free".  The University of Michigan is one of these schools who just this past year made their campus "smoke-free."  U of M's smoke free initiative.  Dr.  Robert Winfield, who is an advocate for this initiative, said via email, "We are trying to improve the health of everyone on campus," for one of the reasons why they went smoke-free.  MSU's smoking policy was put into effect in '93 but only includes no smoking inside buildings or close to buildings. MSU smoke-free policy.  Follow my twitter to learn more about this issue.  Twitter  #smokefreeMSU

Signing a Lease

Signing a lease is probably one of the most excited/frustrating parts of the off-campus housing process. They are so wordy and legal, it's just hard to understand what there are saying. Also, many students don't know what they're getting themselves into. Here is a website that I found useful before signing a lease. what to ask  Another thing that often happens to college students is that they don't read the lease in full so they miss out on important factors that it includes, like if they are allowed to paint or if they can have pets.  Missing out on these minor details can be very detrimental to how good your experience is with the house or apartment that you are going to live in.  If you ask a lot of questions, and you make sure your leasing company goes through every detail of the lease with you, you are going to have a more pleasant experience and it will definitely be less stressful.  WATCH THIS video about signing a lease to answer more of your questions.

College Housing

Housing is a major part of a students college experience and whether they choose the right place to live impacts a persons life exponentially.  Many different students I've talked to have had major conflicts with the decision making process.  Whether it be deciding to live on-or-off campus, to deciding who to live with.  A great source I've used while living on campus is the housing website that Michigan State University provides for their students. LiveOn You get a basic overview of the cost of living, the locations, and different testimonies from students about their personal experiences.  Also, this website is a great tool to figure out where to live or if you should live off-campus.  CollegeLifeEL  This video that is on the website is a great tool for students to watch and help them decide if they want to live off-campus before they make any rash decision. WATCH THIS!  There are many more tools for students to use, its just a matter of searching and finding the BEST tools.  Follow my twitter account for more information on this issue.My Twitter and search #collegehousing

Guest Speaker

Class today was interesting with guest speaker Bob Albers visiting class.  Talked about many different things revolving around film, documentaries and music.  One clip he showed us was about a film director and his "mystery box"  JJ Abrams-mystery box.  Also he talked a lot about different resources for students that are interested in film or television.  MSU filmmakers MSU Telecasters are two examples of clubs that student can get involved them that will evolve their filming career.  Another aspect that Albers included in his talk was music.  He said that music is involved with anything!...and everything.  He concluded with talking about some different photographs that really caught his attention and even though they were still images, there was a sense of life that was in them.  That was about all on his speech but he can be contacted through the Media Sandbox I talked about in my earlier post.

Going live in 5,4,3,2......

I'm in my CAS 111 class right now and I think a lot of the stuff we're learning right now is great for people interested in journalism.  One website that my professor uses to promote the class is  Media Sandbox and it is a great tool for students that are involved with design or anything com. arts.  We focus on design, photography, layouts, typography, and much more in this class.  Its a great class to take as an introduction on media arts, and much more.  Today we have a guest speaker in class whose name is Bob Albers the director of media sandbox and he works with Doc and fiction film, and television.  I'll be tweeting throughout his presentation so feel free to follow, or look back at what he was lecturing about.  look for #seewhatimeancas111 on Twitter