Final Blog

I really enjoyed taking this class! It was one of my only classes that I did not mind going to.  I liked how our grades came from the major papers and assignments and did not include tests.  It made me want to try harder on the papers and was also a relief from having to study. 

            My least favorite assignment was the research paper.  This is probably because it took the most time to write and also included looking up a lot of outside information.  Also, I had to go to the library for this paper.  Our library is quite large and I never go there, which made it a scary and traumatic experience.  The first rhetorical paper was not necessarily my favorite, but I was very interested in my picture, which made it easier. 

            My favorite assignment was the multi-media project.  I thought it was such a fun assignment and I loved that we got to pick our groups and topics.  This kept us all interested and we made it easier to work together outside the classroom.  The filming part of this project was also interesting and enjoyable. 

            Overall I thought that this was a great class.  If Mrs. Lamos taught another English class that I had to take I would definitely sign up!

Weekly Update

            Our filming process is now completely finished.  We went to Harcombe on Sunday and filmed people, foods, and the dining hall in general.  On Monday we went to Schlitter and got the rest of our filming finished.  We also interviewed Sammy Watkins on Monday.  It was so lucky that we randomly saw him in Vickery.  He was literally the only person in the hallway and no other students were around.  I think this is just fate telling us that he wanted to be in our video.  Now that we have our videos, we have to edit and put them into one film.  I am going to find statistics about eating habits or obesity rates for college students.  I might also search for more Clemson related statistics, if they have any.  I think these would help further our point in our video.  The only major part of the project that we have left is the paper.  I am going to do the rational.  I think this will be easy for me because I think that eating healthy is very important to college students.  However, if we are not given healthy options then how are we supposed to eat healthy?  This will be one point that I will make in my section of the paper.  After we compile all of the parts to our paper we will be pretty much finished.  I am going to try and help with the video making, but I do not know how to do too much.  I am not very gifted when it comes to technology.  I think overall we have all done an equal amount in the brainstorming and gathering information process.  I am excited to see our final video!

More Brainstorming

Right now we are in the brainstorming process for our media project.  I think that all of us have contributed a fair amount so far.  I brought a poster and construction paper so that we can create our storyboard.  So far we have all pitched great ideas for our project and video.  I might bring my camera on Friday so we can start filming around campus and the dining halls.  I want to film people that would make an impact for out video’s viewers.  This is why I suggested filming Sammy Watkins.  Everybody at Clemson knows who Sammy is and he could grab people’s attention while they watch our video.  I think it would be good to get his suggestion on the dining halls at Clemson because many people might be interested in what he thinks.  I think it is also important to film other people about their opinions on the dining halls. One of our group members is going to film a girl who got E. coli from a hamburger from Harcombe.  I think this will add a lot of pathos on our viewers.  I want to film all of the bad foods in the dining halls and talk about how they are unhealthy for people’s bodies.  After this section I want to give some nutrition facts.  I think it would be interesting to film people walking around the dining halls and watch them pick what foods to eat.  We can see what the majority of Clemson students choose at the dining halls.  I want to include a small portion on how the dining halls clean their dishes.  They always look dirty and I hope that we can get behind the scenes footage on how they actually clean their dishes.  At the end I want to include a section on the healthy options that the dining halls do have to offer.  I think this is a good start for our brainstorming process.  

Brainstorming Process for the Multimedia Project

      Today we brainstormed ideas for our multimedia project.  The first portion of the project was determining our team name.  This is a very important and extensive decision.  We thought of a couple of phenomenal names, but we are still not sure if we have picked a winner.  Some members wanted our team name to be something simple, but we decided it needed to be bold and easily remembered.  We will decide on a final team name sometime in the near future.  The other brainstorming we did was trying to decide what our topic was going to be about.  We wanted to do something that had to do with Clemson University because it could potentially make a greater impact on the students who eventually watch our video.  We thought about doing something that would interest most students on a regular basis.  Then we decided the perfect topic would be sanitation.  This was still a broad topic, so we decided to narrow our research down and focus on one deadly topic, dining halls.  We thought this would be perfect because thousands of students use the dining halls more than once a day.  One of our group members also knows a girl who is hospitalized from eating a meal at one of our dining halls.  We decided that we are going to interview the victim and ask her what she thinks about Clemson’s dining halls.  We will also interview other students, dining hall cooks, and possibly dining hall dish-cleaners.  We are going to videotape action going on in the dining halls, and if possible get behind-the-scenes footage from their kitchens.  We are going to make a video and incorporate interviews into our video.  We also might add images and music into our video so viewers will stay interested.  Our group wants to display Clemson’s dining halls true colors and see what the student body has to say about their meal options. 

Outline

Brianna Blanton

English 103

Mrs. Lamos

Research Paper—Outline

I. Introduction

            1.  Hook: Include a statistic on the number of athletes that have admitted to trying steroids, or have been charged with steroid offenses.  Also, might include a well-known athlete and a quote about his/her reflection on his/her own steroid scandal.

            2. Thesis: The use of steroids in sports is not only illegal and unfair, but also detrimental to the health of a training athlete.  This paper will discuss how steroids are not beneficial to an athlete and how steroids can damage their career, and ultimately their own body. 

            3.  Implications: What are the life-long effects of steroids? Is there more harm in taking the steroids than actual benefits?  What legality issues do athletes potentially face when they tamper with steroids?

-Source:  Marion Jones article

II. Background information on the science of steroids

-Discuss the different types of steroids that athletes can take and how they may take them.

-Include information on the positive effects and why many athletes feel the need to partake in using steroids.

-Introduce the harmful, lasting effects that steroids can have on an athlete. 

-Source: Anabolic Steroids and “Are Steroids Worth the Risk?”

III. Legality Issues facing Abusers

-Introduce the topic by facts and articles about well-known athletes that were busted for taking steroids.

-Talk about the legal issues athletes can face if they are charged with steroid abuse, and what is taken away from them if this happens.

-Source: ESPN article

IV. Steroid in Sport and the Unfairness it Bulks up

-Include how steroids are incorporated into the Olympics and other sports that are known for steroid use.  The reasons why many athletes take steroids could be a good data point to include for these statistics.

-Talk about how it is unfair for some athletes to be taking steroids and face competition that is only using natural talent and hard work.

-Include information on the number of drug tests done on collegiate and professional athletes.

-Source: Rob Beamish’s book includes reasons why an athlete might feel obligated to take steroids and also includes information on steroids in the Olympics. 

V. Stopping the Scandal of Steroids

-Summarize the major points in the paper.

-Talk about how the media addresses the issue and how people can become more aware of the issue.  

-Address how the negative effects steroids have outweigh the temporary, if any, benefits steroids produce. 

Extra Credit Walk to the Silo

On Tuesday afternoon I decided to go to the silo and take my pictures.  I went and took the picture with the Silo after I ate diner in the dining hall.  I brought a peanut butter cookie with me, which made the walk more pleasant. Once I had that cookie, I knew it was going to be a good start to my picture-taking extravaganza.  The only downside to the walk was that it started to rain a little and I did not have my rain jacket.  I went with my boyfriend Cole after he got out of football practice because I needed someone to take the picture.  I did not want to be a loner and use self-timer.  He took the picture of me in the silo and then I made him take one too because I did not want him to feel left out.  Then we walked to the library and started the search for the P211.T45 book.  We walked around the reference area searching for this book, but could not find it anywhere.  Then I had the brilliant idea to ask the librarian if she knew where the book was.  Thankfully librarians know everything when it comes to libraries, and said the book was at her desk.  Unfortunately, the book was checked out.  This was very upsetting news.  I went back a couple more times that day, and it was checked out every single time.  I was quite devastated.     The next morning after practice then breakfast, I went with my friend James to see if the book was back.  Thankfully, the librarian said she had it and I got to take my picture with the book.  It was a pretty cool book and had so many signatures inside of it.  Overall I would say that this was a pretty neat extra credit assignment. 

Trip to the Library

I went to the library on Tuesday afternoon for about an hour and searched the library for information and books on steroids.  In complete honesty, that was my first time in the library this entire school year.  I was not exactly sure how, or even where, to begin my research.  I talked to the librarian for a couple minutes and she explained how to find books in the library and how to figure out where I was in the first place.   She also reminded me about the online catalog that the Clemson website offers for the library.  This was extremely helpful for finding the sources I needed to get. 

            The first thing I did in the library was go to the fifth floor and get on my laptop.  I opened up the Clemson website and got onto the library catalog portion of the site.  I went to the search bar and typed in steroids in sports.  Several results came popping up, showing me that there were available books on steroids in the library.  Several of the books that were visible were electronic resources.  I opened up a few of these sources and read about them to see if I could use any of the information for my paper.  Many of the electronic books that I opened were very essential to my topic and I was able to use this information for brainstorming body paragraph topics.  After getting information from a couple of these electronic resources, I made a list of the topics I want to discuss in my research paper.  I used this list to narrow down my sources that I continued to look for.

            I found a hard copy of a book that I think will be useful when writing my research paper.  I had to go to the federal documents section of the library and search for a document that was a hearing before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the House of Representatives.  I skimmed through the book and saw some good information that would help me when trying to validate a point I make in my paper.  I decided that the smartest decision would be for me to check the book out, so I brought it the front desk and did so.  After I checked the book out I looked around some more for other books on steroids, but most of the other books were not as beneficial to my paper as the ones that I already saw.  My trip to the library was quite successful and I am glad that I finally know how to maneuver around and find books on my own.