2008 Woodie Awards
VFW FTW
Veterans’ day is not typically one that college students are notorious for celebrating. This is not to say students have no respect for our armed men and women, it says more that students do not really know how to celebrate them. Our grandparents have the VFW, our parents have picnics and we have holiday sales at Khols.
Has our generation run out ways to celebrate Veterans’ day? Although sleeping in and homework seem to have been popular ideas and ways for many students to spend this Tuesday; a few students and teachers gave their input on this special occasion.
Jessica Morgan, a freshman English major, has been selling plastic poppies for the last eight years. These serve as a memorandum for our vets for people to wear as a broach, ring or just to keep to remember loved ones. Michelle Dunton, a sophomore education major, travels to Ft. Campbell to listen to Taps with her father, a Vietnam vet. “Then me, my father and my daughter put flags on other veteran’s graves” all to come home to a giant dinner for her father.
Colonel Samuel Ligo has been an active duty officer since 1987 with two tours in Iraq to add to his resume′. “In the past, I have attended parades in order to show appreciation to those vets who march/ride. And that is still pretty much how I observe Veterans’ Day,” Ligo said. “And, if it is a nice day, my family and I tend to do an outdoor activity such as a hike or a picnic after the parade.”
Whether it may be poppies, parades or picnics, there are several ways to go out and show appreciation for men and women who serve our country. When classes were cancelled this Tuesday, I hope everyone thought of those military servicemen and women. If you have family in the military, it’s never too late to thank them. If you have friends in the military, thank them too. Tuesday was their day to be celebrated for all the hard work they have done.
Thoughts from a lightly seasoned student
In high school, college was a mysterious, intangible thing. College was only real to high schoolers in National Lampoon movies and guidance counselor offices. As a high school student the only thing that was on the brain was that incredibly good looking guy in math or your teacher’s bad breath. Well, that’s what it was for me at least. Teachers always told me horror stories about evil professors and nightmarish term papers. They gave us advice at graduation like “Don’t pick an eight o’clock class if you aren’t a morning person.” It was practical advice, but did we listen?
Now that November has just reared its fiery blustery head, my first semester as a college student is coming to an end. I have accomplished quite a bit for my first few months as an APSU student. For one, I learned that dormitory bathrooms lock from the outside, leaving you stuck in your bathroom at the mercy of whoever hears you. More importantly, I learned how to manage my time. I have noticed one huge difference between high school and college is time. My first week here, I was surprised to learn actual class takes up maybe 10-20 percent of your time! (That is, if you choose to wake up for class.) The other 80-90 percent of the time is allotted to whatever the student desires. Whether devoted to sports, Greek, jobs or maybe even studying, it is important to use this time constructively between sleeping and eating (which I have found are optional).
College really is what you make it. We hear this and other canned slogans at orientation about twenty-four times an hour, but it is actually true. I discovered that although it might seem a professor is full of crock, he or she actually knows what you are going through. They wouldn’t be here were it not for them surviving college too. I’m aware that I cannot give advice like a seasoned student just yet, but maybe someday I will. That is what is so wonderful about higher education — you learn and you change.
At times it seems like I’m the only one who looks forward to The All State’s Monday production nights. While I know this probably isn’t true, I have to say that I genuinely look forward to spending another day with the staff of this publication each week. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, when I’m languishing in a three-hour-long biology class in Sundquist, I find myself longing for the laughter and energy of the office. Every Wednesday, when I work in the Browning building, I catch myself wishing I were sitting in UC room 115, not Browning 12A.
Next semester, as a medical technology major, I’m going to be taking on a lot of upper-level science classes – possibly even organic chemistry. I guess I’m The All State’s resident non-communications/English major. I don’t plan on pursuing a career in journalism, but I do have a background in it. Since I was a sophomore in high school, I’ve spent my breaks and summers working at the local newspaper in my hometown. I suppose I’m good at what I do, or I never would have been hired here.
I occasionally get the impression I’m expected to hate my job at The All State. It’s true, to some extent, that my job is stressful. As chief copy editor, Monday nights are full of proofreading, reworking stories, brainstorming over headlines and generally helping in any way I can (even if that means cleaning up the office, buying cough drops for someone or listening to people vent). But everyone on our staff is so great to work with, I find myself looking forward to late nights in the office, rather than dreading them.
I truly love my job, and I plan on sticking with The All State until I graduate, or until someone kicks me out.
Mateen and Lois’ Excellent AdventureI, Mateen Sidiq, had the chance to go to the TSU home game and guess who they were playing: APSU. The idea came about when another photographer from The All State said she really wanted to go to the game, and I said I would drive if she couldn’t find anybody to take her. She was asking everybody and she couldn’t find anybody. Then she batted her eyes and gave me a smile, so I decided to take her and we’d go to the game together. So here I am, being a photographer driving another photographer to shoot a game. Well she did teach me everything about taking a perfect photo shot, so I guess I owe her something.As we got closer to Nashville I was nervous thinking about the slight chance I, too, would be on LP Field taking pictures. Well, I panicked so I wound up going to the box office and paid 15 dollars for an excellent game and amazing halftime show. Instead, I got some good shots from above.I loved taking the photos and thought I did a good job. But there was some point during the game where I didn’t care about taking pictures anymore. I put down the camera and started screaming for our Govs. I really wanted them to win, and I screamed so much I lost my voice. At the end of the game, I left disappointed. We lost by three, but our boys put up a good fight.After the game, Lois and I wound up taking pictures of Nashville’s nightlife. Being from Nashville, I took the role of tour guide and showed Lois a night she won’t ever forget. Who knew she would fall in love with Nashville and the architecture of all the bridges and buildings. She wound up taking an hour’s worth of pictures of the Gateway Bridge and the reflection it projected on the river.Then we took a break from all the photography stuff and grabbed a bite to eat near the end of the night. Lois treated me to cuisine and we went to P.F. Chang’s. By the way, the inside is very nice and the food was fantastic.Lois’s turn;Well I, Lois Jones, am the other photographer that Mateen is talking about. Yes, I got the sideline spot, but I have been at The All State longer and have been shooting sports for three seasons now. Mateen did the driving and I did the narration of what was happening on the way to LP Field. He didn’t scare me when he was driving so I have decided, in the future, I will go on another trip with him when we can.Going to the game was fun and LP Field is amazing-looking, especially from a player’s perspective. We didn’t win and that was depressing, but the halftime show by the TSU band was as great as ever. I ran into other photographers and camera people that I have been at other events with and it was good to see them, especially my friend Don who is a fabulous photographer.The game ended and Mateen and I met in the parking lot. A woman was trying to take pictures of the skyline and we started talking to her. Before long Mateen had her camera in his hand and was helping her and I was trying to get the shot she wanted with my camera also. We found the settings she needed and she got the shot.At the same time I started looking at LP Field and the lights. The patterns of the lights and stands and colors at night were beautiful. I took a bunch of pictures of the stadium and of the skyline. Mateen didn’t know I liked to take photos of architectural things and as we were pulling out of the stadium to go out to eat we saw the bridge. I don’t know Nashville and Mateen and his family are from there so he told me it was the “walking” bridge. I asked if we could stop and take some pictures and he said sure.The lighting at night was beautiful. The bridge reflected in the water along with the lights of the city. I took a bunch of shots of the bridge, its reflections and the sculpture that was there. I zoomed in on sections of the bridge and it was bright against the night and very geometric and linear. I loved the arches of the bridge reflected in the water and got a bunch of shots of that as well. After shooting for an hour I told Mateen I was craving P.F. Chang’s eggplant and would treat, so off we went to dinner.Everything at dinner was fabulous even to the tiny desserts we had. Mine was a tiramisu, yummy, and Mateen had the lemon drop. The glasses were like square shot glasses so I asked the waiter if we could take them because they would be our souvenir of the night. He smiled, and nodded.By the time we were done Starbucks was closed, but we both wanted coffee. Our waiter was great and he told us how to get to a place called Café Coco. We headed out and only got turned around twice but found our way to this very eclectic coffee house. I tease people how when I go someplace I run into someone I know. We both knew people that were there. It was an interesting place made up of small little rooms and a porch and had an even more interesting crowd. It was a kind of artsy crowd mixed in with couples and students so it was a fun blend of different types of people. We got our coffee, a nonfat latte for me and an espresso drink for Mateen, and headed home sipping our coffee in the car.Our adventure ended after midnight and we were both tired but happy. On the way home we decided that we wanted to go adventuring again.We make a good team, Mateen and I, and we have fun working and playing together. I am not sure what people think when they see two people with cameras around their necks taking pictures of all sorts of things smiling all the time. We have fun, and that’s really all that matters. We also found out that we have a blast hanging out together. Our personalities are similar so things that might have bothered some people didn’t bother us at all, like making a few wrong turns along the way.I have a feeling that this is not the last of the Mateen and Lois adventure series as we are already planning our next trip. Chattanooga anyone?
Recently, I had the pleasure visiting Belmont for the second presidential debate. While I wasn’t able to see each presidential nominee in person, I did witness an amazing event. My friend and fellow journalist junkie, Mateen Sidiq, embarked on this journey not knowing what would be in store. What we found shaped our attitudes toward the political process.
Journalists from TAS tried to gain access to the debate, yet the wall of security that kept so many from attending also blocked TAS. This put gloom over us, as we had hoped so dearly to attend.
Every Monday, The All State creates the newspaper and schedules upcoming content. During one budget meeting several weeks before the debate, our editor in chief asked for volunteers to venture to Belmont in a final attempt to gain any story or photographs from it. I, being the ever volunteer, offered to go.
That historical Tuesday eventually came and Mateen and I loaded his car and traveled to Belmont, camera batteries charged and ink pens wet. When we arrived, we had little idea of which direction to head. Luck would bless us, as a biker pointed us in the correct direction and walked us to the first of many eye-opening experiences.
In front of us, on an island of concrete with cars whizzing by, were a hundred or so Obama supporters. They were cheering and chanting, doing anything in their power to get cars to honk. This would be our first group to photograph and interview. The group left us hopeful we would find many more excited individuals.
As darkness crept upon the city of Nashville, Mateen and I walked to Belmont campus. Here we met loads of excited supporters, NBC news officials, police, and yellow tape. We captured the event in words and photographs. Now all that was left was to watch the actual debate.
At first, we planned to travel to a bookstore and watch the debate on a computer. However, this plan failed. As we prepared to leave, we learned the road in front of the bookstore was blocked to allow McCain to pass through on his way to the debate. As we eagerly waited, his vehicles drove by one by one, and sure enough we caught a glimpse of him.
After finally leaving, we made our way to Mateen’s house and watched the debate. It was the first one I had ever watched, and I found it exciting. As the candidates spoke on various concerns, I typed the story. Once it was over, I e-mailed it to my editor in chief to look over. Afterwards, all that was left was to head back to Clarksville and gain a few hours of sleep.
Bring your dancing shoes and join Barry Jones and Kell Black for a night of booty-shakin jams and visuals.
Monday October 6
8:30 to Midnight
Upstairs at the Frontpage Deli
Downtown Clarksville
So, I was watching this show on GAC called “The Hitmen of Music Row.” Bob DiPiero, Tony Mullins, Jeffrey Steele, and Craig Wiseman make up the Hitmen. These guys are major songwriters in the Nashville Music/Recording Industry. Together they have written 39 #1 hits… These guys are amazing.
Jeff was talking about a particular song that he co-wrote with Steve Robson, “What Hurts The Most” which was recorded by Rascal Flatts. All the guys talked about how a song can spill out on a piece of paper and be great, but you have no idea what it is about. That was the case with this song. For those who have not heard this song, it’s one of those songs of “loss” that hits everyone at home. It was after Jeff’s 13 year old son died this past year when this song developed a meaning, or different meaning, to Jeff. Naturally, he had a hard time being able to perform this song without breaking down.
The beauty of music is the fact that it fits into each individuals schema; a psychology term that refers to the way an individual perceives the world. Everyone applies the song to their experience. This gives a song diversity.
This got me thinking because of what a friend and songwriter from work said to me. He told me, in so may words, that musicians are fickle and emotional. Duh! So when they write a song like “What Hurts The Most,” “Stay” by Sugarland, “Hurt” by Nine Inch Nails or any other song on a personal level, they relive that moment that is addressed in the song. And when they play it over and over… No wonder why these people have substance abuse problems! Especially when these songs become hits. They’re trapped. They can’t escape their past.
Now, I am not saying all musicians have substance abuse problems, and I’m sure there is more to it, but I have a better understanding of why they get and stay depressed.
Everyone has an answer to the question, “Who is Jesus Christ?” The question is who do you say he is? As Pastor Mark Driscoll points out, many people, religious or not, would quote a philosopher, a T-shirt, a bumper sticker, or another religious leader before they would quote Jesus. It is peculiar that everyone would have a different view about man who lived some 2000 years ago. How does that work?
I have been studying this topic in order to present the question, “Is Jesus the only God?” in my predications next week here in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. I am putting it together as part of a twelve part series inspired by the book and sermon series, “Vintage Jesus,” as written and delivered by Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle.
The series really caught my attention when Pastor Mark referenced the theological points made by people all the way from the Dalai Lama to actress Pamela Anderson. But it was his in depth research into twelve ways that Jesus said he was God that helped encourage me to teach on this subject.
As a missionary that speaks little Spanish, it is difficult to interview the people here and get their opinions. I decided to ask the APSU campus, with more degrees than a Port-A-Potty in Iraq, what you think about who Jesus Christ is.
So here is the deal. This should be fun. Below online version of this article, there is a section to leave comments. This is how I want you to participate. No matter if you are a Christian, or Muslim, Atheist philosopher, or New Ager, I want you as students and faculty to respond. If you would like to leave your spiritual background or religious affiliation, that is fine.
Please be fair and respectful to all who participate. We reserve the right to delete comments that are negative, vulgar, or offensive.
Look forward to further material as I review the answers that come in and share them with you in a future article. Thank you for your participation.
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