March 18 Assignments for Online Journalism

The McDonald's Shoes. (Request for an upcoming Logan Herald Journal issue)

The “McDonald’s  Shoes”

By Rhett Wilkinson

It’s funny to think how such a flamboyant show has come from such an overall mild-mannered guy.

                At least, that’s how I’ve always pictured myself to be.

                Maybe that’s what happens when you’re sitting in the corner of a student newspaper room, discussing who is going to cover that upcoming club soccer game.

                Maybe it’s when your interest gets perked in an otherwise typical meeting when your sports editor suddenly asks for a volunteer to be a scout player for the Utah State women’s basketball team.

                Yes, a male volunteer. It’s something that many NCAA women’s basketball programs do these days– recruit guys who love the game and aren’t quite ready to give it up completely. For guys who are looking for the opportunity to somehow display their abilities on some sort of collegiate level. For guys being asked to make life tough in practices for the girls so they can be more prepared for their next opponent.

                Maybe it’s when you’re using the same, worn-down, mud-splattered basketball shoes that you’ve worn since early in high school– mind that you’re 21 now– and one of your fellow scout team players feels some empathy and offers to replace your current kicks with something a bit more shiny; a bit more… unique.

                Come to think if it, that’s exactly how such flamboyance came to be.

                Now, you may wonder why in the world a member of a newspaper staff, under the request of his editor, was seeking to be a part of the basketball team.

Great question. I would ask such a question myself if I wasn’t the one experiencing it.

There’s a bit more to the story behind playing with the Aggie women: the sports staff of the Utah Statesman, the campus newspaper of Utah State University, was interested in having a staff writer write a regular column about what his experience, as a male, on playing on a team who, excepting some of the coaching staff, is comprised entirely of women. The thought was that such an article would make for an interesting read.

Perhaps. But when it comes to playing in style with the ladies, I wasn’t cutting it.

That’s when Will came to the rescue. While apologizing for not knowing his surname, Will was prompt to helping out his teammate. A native of Oregon who lives close to the Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Will had connections– namely, close proximity to the Nike headquarters in Beaverton, where a greater variety of shoes are more available as compared with your typical Foot Locker or even Nike outlet.

Among this variety included a replica line of every single team shoe of every single men’s basketball team from the 2008 Summer Olympics. Herein lies the reason why these flamboyant friends of mine are a striking red, with white and bold yellow trim: those are the official colors of the China and its national team, led over two years ago by NBA superstar and national phenomenon Yao Ming.

Today, I wear such shoes with pride, and not just to practices. I was able to use them in a group project which involved creating a film that analyzed the 2005 George-Clooney directed movie “Good Night and Good Luck.” They went together perfectly with an All-American, stars-and-stripes Jedi robe apparel and the lightsabers that came with it (yes, they looked just like the ones from the movies).

They came with me to the Nelson Fieldhouse and Health, Physical Education and Recreation (HPER) Building on campus to work out, along with any other time I am playing indoor sports, including the recently-completed 1-4 campaign of my five-on-five intramural team. In fact, I recently severed part of my finger while at the Fieldhouse lifting weights, which cut any basketball playing of any kind out of my agenda for a couple of weeks. But I couldn’t let that stop me from showing off such a unique item, walking around with them on-campus along with my gym bag just to show that I do physical activity in style.

I even carried them around campus last week while campaigning for a student government position just to create and encourage conversation so I could more easily engage myself in one-on-one conversations and share some of my campaign platform.

Now, the finger’s nearly back. Once again, I have reason to don what has commonly been called “McDonalds shoes” or “Ronald McDonald shoes” by friends, classmates and passersby on campus.

Now, the question remains: do I want to scuff up these babies for intramural ultimate frisbee? How far am I willing to go to give these fellas some more fame?

Rhett Wilkinson, HASS Senator Campaign Platform

Vote primary elections Tuesday and Wednesday morning, Feb. 22 and 23, and final elections Friday, Feb. 25
www.vote.usu.edu

Further information of Rhett Wilkinson HASS Senator campaign
Facebook: Rhett HASS
Twitter: gotwilksenator

Good day to everyone, and thank you for logging onto this blog! I appreciate your support of my campaign, and in being interested in my campaign platform. I will hereby present my ideas to revolutionize the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

#1- Why are we wasting money?! We are already poor as it is, right?
A quarter of all student fees was either not spent or wasted last semester. This was caused by improper foresight of student events, and simply by students not attending the events. For example, last fall B.J. Novak, one of the writers of "The Office," came to campus. The ASUSU Executive Committee projected a sellout, when the auditorium was in fact less than half-full.
   This is a problem that can be easily fixed as responsible members of ASUSU give greater consideration to what students are interested in attending, and how much the actual costs need to be predicted.

#2- Representation, anyone?
As opposed to every other college at USU, the College of HASS has absolutely zero ambassadors. This means that when USU representatives go to high schools and other locations to recruit, anyone who might be interested in majoring in English, history, sociology, journalism, political science, religious studies, social work, etc., etc., will not have any idea what USU has to offer with regards to these fantastic departments.
   Particularly in light of the Caine College of the Arts having split from Humanities and Social Sciences nearly two years ago, there is a desperate need for HASS to be represented outside of campus and especially Cache Valley. As senator, there will be HASS ambassadors when you return to school in the fall.

#3- Scholastic Style
   Let's face it, the Ray B. West building-- you know, the most-south building on campus, just below Old Main and across the quad from the Animal Science building-- is quite old.
   After surveying members of the College of HASS, there has been an overwhelming favor to renovate the building-- you know, keep the heaters from cranking in the summer and the air conditioning to let up in the winter. By making the oft-drafty facility more up to date with that nice, big 'ol College of Agriculture building that is getting constructed just east of the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business Building.

#4- The Few. The Proud. The Minorities.
   With all of the great media we have on campus-- the Utah Statesman and Aggie Radio in particular-- it provides a great voice for many on campus. However, I would like to see the minority groups here at USU have a greater voice through these media. This will encourage a more diverse student body and opinions to allow each of us to learn and grow; we all have so much to learn from each other. I want to know more about other traditions, cultures and beliefs, and the media can provide that for any group whom is willing to express as much.

#5- Don't Stop the Presses!
   Because of state-mandated budget cuts to higher education in Utah, USU included, the administration here in Logan is currently debating what faculty and majors they can cut in order to save money but still maximize the learning experience here. The journalism department is in these discussions. I am motivated to seeing that the freedom of the press continues on this campus. A society without expression and media suffers from ignorance, and we cannot have that. Think about how you found out about 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, or the earthquakes in Haiti just last year.

Since I Can't Say Anything... vote.usu.edu

Facebook: Rhett HASS

Twitter: gotwilksenator

An interesting dilemma to this whole ASUSU elections is that there are very specific, yet permissible rules, to this whole thing.

Until Feb. 22, this coming Tuesday, no one can flat-out state to a large body of individuals that they are running for an ASUSU position. But have candidates been able to state on a private, one-on-one basis that they are running for a specific position?
Absolutely.
Since V-Day, have candidates been able to encourage others to vote on social media networks?
You better believe it.
So, with this in mind, let me just say that I REALLY... ENCOURAGE... YOU... TO... VOTE... FOR... ASUSU CANDIDATES at the primaries Feb. 22 and the final elections Feb. 25. Also, MAKE... SURE... TO... VOTE... FOR... YOUR... COLLEGE... SENATOR... while you're nominating the president and all his vices.
Lastly, IF... YOU... ARE... IN... THE COLLEGE OF HASS, VOTE FOR A SENATOR.
There it is. My totally anonymous, rule-abiding post.

Comments about Reading 3- JCOM 2160

I sure knew much about what search engines were and weren't able to do, but it's news to me to learn that there may soon be amended federal laws which require search engines to delete personal information over a certain period of time. Hopefully, I'm not living my life to the point that I need to be worried about what a potential employer might find online either way.
It's good to see Congress seriously mulling over updating and rewriting the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Obviously, much has changed in the media landscape in the past 15 years, and I'm sure that vehicle could use some serious remodeling. In that same wave, I likewise would not be surprised to see changes in the way we approach certain search engines if they will be somewhat privy to telephone lines and the like. Sure, it may be odd to see myself drawing away from oh-so-wonderful Google, but so be it.
I am striving to develop my own personal brand right now in being involved in student politics, athletics and religious leadership organizations on top of being employed by two different types of USU media, but my online excursions could certainly use some work. This third article provided a lot of encouragement for how to do so, with great ideas as to how to be both individual and authentic.
Now for that domain name...

Since I Can't Say Anything... vote.usu.edu

An interesting dilemma to this whole ASUSU elections is that there are very specific, yet permissible rules, to this whole thing.
Until Feb. 22, this coming Tuesday, no one can flat-out state to a large body of individuals that they are running for an ASUSU position. But have candidates been able to state on a private, one-on-one basis that they are running for a specific position?
Absolutely.
Since V-Day, have candidates been able to encourage others to vote on social media networks?
You better believe it.
So, with this in mind, let me just say that I REALLY... ENCOURAGE... YOU... TO... VOTE... FOR... ASUSU CANDIDATES at the primaries Feb. 22 and the final elections Feb. 25. Also, MAKE... SURE... TO... VOTE... FOR... YOUR... COLLEGE... SENATOR... while you're nominating the president and all his vices.
Lastly, IF... YOU... ARE... IN... THE COLLEGE OF HASS, VOTE FOR A SENATOR.
There it is. My totally anonymous, rule-abiding post.

Comments about JCOM 2160 Reading #2

The reading provided quality tips.
I especially liked the points related to the current trend of the cover letter. These points included, but were not limited to, "no sirs or madams," "show you're real," "show humor," and "traditional cover letters don't work with all companies." It certainly is important to remember that cover letters ought to have evolved over the past century, let alone over the course of my lifetime.
It was fun for me to see the different designs of various cover letters as well. I can see why businesses would be attracted to the uniquely designed cover letters, especially if it's an organization that embraces and encourages creativity.
The fact is, due to the popular entrepenuership trend, many business are more original and innovative than perhaps they have been in the past, and they are looking for a reflection of that in their potential employees. It makes sense, and only further reason why we should adapt our cover letters to fit the mold.