No Looking Back

In my final installment of senior profiles,one students story stuck out in my mind for the sheer courage she had pertaining to her future plans.

Kristin Fulwylie, a 22 year old Public Relations major from Pittsburgh, PA has a master plan that many students strive for but are scared to make the transition. Not Kristen.

"I'm really excited about what's ahead of me" she says, with a brilliant smile.

"I'm concerned about getting a job or finding the perfect job, but not worried".

What's ahead of her is a graduate program in Public Relations at the Utopian-like school of Full Sail University, an innovative school for creative types specializing in exciting programs ranging from Entertainment Business to Game Design.

Another Slippery Rock Alum, Sade Battle, is a close friend of Kristin and a recent graduate of the university. Kristin credits Sade with "encouraging" her to come and visit the school located in Orlando, Florida.


View Kristin's Journey in a larger map

"I love it. I'm excited. I'm ready for a change of scenery"

She credits not having immediate family in the area as a factor in finding it easy to move so far away from her childhood home.

Like the others seniors I did profiles on I asked Kristin why she didn't graduate in the traditional 4 year window.

" I took less credits each semester. I was on academic probation my freshman year so after that I took less credits so I could focus more on my studies. I raised my QPA"

She said as a freshmen she looked at upperclassmen like Jewelle Motley as examples for getting involved on campus in which Kristin was a Vice President on the University Programming Board. She champions getting involved to freshmen and underclassmen.



She says she learned many different things at Slippery Rock primarily taking what she learned in her classes such as Publication Production and PR Writing implementing them into her extracurricular activities.

Graduation can be a bittersweet time for many and Kristin claims she is not exempt from feeling some sadness.

" I definitely do have sadness in my heart. This was my life."



Kristin recalls her fellow classmates she came in with in the fall of 2006 and has fond memories.

"Our class has seen alot of good and bad but we all changed for the better."

"Only half of us made it but the one who made it, MADE IT" she exclaimed with glee.

Kristin has indeed MADE it.

End of the Race. Start of the Marathon

For many graduating seniors each day closer to graduation is a day closer to freedom. Freedom from the monotony of assignments, papers, and professors. This is exciting to some while being a frightening time for others.

One such senior is Kameron Branson, a Business Management major from Pittsburgh, PA.

"I am scared." he says quietly.

"While in school I always knew the next thing I was doing was the next semester." he pauses.

"Now that I am graduating there is no telling what direction my life will go in."

Being my second profile of a graduating senior this seem to be a continuinig theme. The uncertainty of the future and what it has to offer.

Noticing that some seniors have faced obstacles turning the once average four year stay into a 4.5-5 year stay I asked Kameron what was his.

" I declared my minor of Marketing in the second semester of my junior year." he says without a hint of regret.

"I didn't want to rush and plus I think the extra semester helped me out with getting prepared"

It seems like the extra semester has paid off for Kameron regarding his opportunities post-graduation. He has many opportunities lined up.



Branson credits his professional readiness to being in leadership positions such as President of Black Action Society and working with an array of different people.



Overall Kameron seems ready to face the world after graduation but one fear lingered in the back of his mind.

"For some reason in my college career it seems like nothing goes the way it’s supposed to go. I was, and still am, nervous about something going wrong causing me not to graduate. A missed credit, a fee I didn’t pay. Anything that could go wrong. It’s because of this fear, I have been very alert."

Being alert is a good thing.

Light At the End of the Tunnel.

As the semester approaches the end it is a bittersweet time for many seniors that are approaching their graduation. Many are equally excited and scared to start their post graduation life.

This fall graduation will have the remnants of transfer students,non-traditional students ,and students from the freshmen class of 2006.

One such student, Obianuju Anyaogu, is eager to start her ascent in to the professional world.

Known to many on campus as Uju,carries her self with a professionalism that isn't often seen for a student of her age. She credits this with her ability to multi-task.

"Right now I'm currently enrolled in 21 credit hours, work part time at Sheetz, and am the president of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc." said Anyaogu.

but this last semester hasn't been with out some problems.

"I have experienced severe financial hardships this semester due to some personal and family expenses but it has been my richest semester as far as building lasting relationships and learning important lessons".

Uju will be receiving her BSBA in Management and is planning on starting her own business.

"My future aspirations are to open a Beauty Salon either in the suburbs or overseas (Jamaica or Africa)" Uju said.
With her first goal accomplished her next plans are, attaining her Beautician license and lastly a Entrepreneurial Certification or an MBA.

Many students worry about finding employment upon graduation something. Uju is one step ahead of the competition.

"I currently have a job oppotunity as an Insurance Sales Person at American Income Life in Pittsburgh."

"It's a fully commission paid job but I am confident I will be a good employee allowing me to find financial stability."

Even a wonderful opportunity such as this doesn't come without it's share of problems.

"Unfortunately, my employment status with this company is dependent on whether or not I attain my driver's license and purchase a car by the time I am scheduled to work." She continues.

"I planned on driving my mother's car, but because she is behind on her payments, the car had to be refinanced by my older sister. This arrangement was necessary to save the car from being seized, and also to replace my sister's car which has broken down. She lives in Virginia."

Uju doesn't seem to be worried about what many might see as a bleek situation.

"I will still be ok, I won't worry about situations I can't control" she says.

Uju speaks with a glimmering optimism that many graduates seem to have today. They have dreams and aspirations but they know that the road along the way may be rough.

All they can do is be hopeful.

He Took His Talents to Slippery Rock...

In the arena of college basketball, it’s widely understood that when a player decides to give up on the game that they love, rarely do they ever come back and if they do never with same heart and tenacity.

This cannot be said of Maron Brown.



The 6’5 forward from Salisbury, MD known to him as “The Shore” , has been invigorating Slippery Rock fans with a fever for winning upon his arrival in 2008 from junior college, Cecil College, in North East, MD.
Brown however is no stranger to hard work and overcoming adversity.

“Childhood wasn’t normal for me. Both my parents worked and it forced me and my brothers to do everything on our own”, Brown said.

“Made me learn a lot of wrongs and right” he explained.

A wrong of his we discuss, was his decision to drop out of school after his freshmen year at Cecil, where he averaged 15.1 pts and 7.5/rebs per game.

“I quit, I couldn’t take it”, Brown said with a regretful yet humble tone.

“The dumbest thing you can do is mess up your opportunity” he said…

“Makes you think about what you could be doing”.

Ironically it was his one year at Cecil that he says he learned the most from a coach.

“Bill Lewit, basically taught me about the game while teaching me about life”, Brown said retrospectively gazing.

It was also childhood friend and fellow Cecil teammate, Kyle Camper, who influenced his decision to move on to Slippery Rock after a four year hiatus.

“Coach Jareem Dowling brought me, Kyle, and Nell here that year”

Denell “Nell” Stephens and Kyle Camper, have gone on to play basketball overseas Germany and Luxemburg, respectfully.



Many including Brown’s present Head Coach, Kevin Reynolds, believe that he has potential and determination to play overseas.



“He has the statistics, the key thing now is that we need another big season”, Reynolds explained calmly.

Maron mirrors the same sentiments.






“I feel as though I’m good enough. It really depends on this season…” he said. With a grin he said, if I had a season like I did last year I’ll be over.”

Maron spoke of the difficulty in finding time out of his schedule for free time.
“No free days for me”, he laughed.
But when Brown isn’t hooping he’s hitting wheelies on his beloved dirt bike and motorcycle.



Overall, Maron seems to be grateful for a second chance at the game he loves and is very optimistic toward his future.
“I want to come back to college and get my Master‘s degree in either Social Work or Criminology”, he said.
“More than likely I’ll move down south, find a good job, and live a good life… and be comfortable”
I’ll make a toast to that.

AM SLAM Poetry: A force to be reckoned with!

November 4, 2010 -Thursday afternoon I profiled one of Slippery Rock’s newest and most promising student clubs :AM SLAM Poetry club. Being a member of the group as well I was introduced to the group from having a poetry class with it’s creators, Molly Kuhn and Adam T. Wagerman. Their meetings are usually held on Thursdays from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm in Room 201 in Eisenberg. The meeting is often started with small discussions about upcoming projects ,then followed by impromptu poetry readings and group poetry exercises. The group is new so the number of group members waiver between 5 and 15 per week.


The group originally got it’s name from the first letters of the first names of the creators of the group, Adam and Molly. They then decided to have the letter represents Aesthetic Melodies or Awakening Mavericks…depends on who you ask, what day it is, or how creative you can be with the letters A&M.



This particular meeting was blessed with the poetry of Ariel Wall, Lacy Tarr, Adam T. Wagerman, Shasheena Carroll, Molly Kuhn and none other than Grits Capone better known as Corey Carrington. The atmosphere is very loving and the characters that frequent the club are some of the most interesting and diverse people that graced the hallowed halls of this fine institution.





During the meeting Shasheena Carroll discussed possibly starting an AM SLAM radio show on WSRU 88.1 because the interest and need for creativity on the radio is at an all time high. Adam and Molly seemed interested in the venture and the other members were excited to have such an opportunity in the groups infancy.

The groups founders, Adam and Molly,talked about their motivations for starting the group, their goals, and how to get in touch with them.







Overall I believe that the group is headed in the right direction and has a lot to offer the Slippery Rock community in the coming future.

SRU Homecoming 2010...The never ending cycle of madness

View SRU Homecoming 2010 in a larger map

First Job Fair of the Year

To Clone or Not to Clone that is the ?

In dealing with controversial topics such as, human cloning, there will always be juxtaposition of opinions regarding the ethical sense of the matter, the legality,and the safety among other things.It is for this reason that I did some research on the matter and wrote a small backgrounder to supplement the readers knowledge about human cloning.

First, in order to understand both arguments one must understand what human cloning is. According to various sources, human cloning is but not limited to the cloning of human beings, genes,biologically engineered organs, and stem cells. However the actual cloning of a human is what I believe is most controversial facet of this topic. In my research I learned that there are many benefits and uses of human cloning. Some of these benefits include, engineering new organs for people who need transplants,replacing damaged brain and nerve cells via stem cell research, and creating human life when/if life is endangered.

However, in doing my research I also learned of the cons regarding cloning.Many people feel that this is a matter of ethics and feel that by implementing/allowing human cloning to happen that scientists are "playing God" thus making this a question of faith/belief because some people believe that only "God" can create life. Many opponents of human cloning are againist it because they believe that the process is unsafe. When replicating is done with such fragile subjects such as human life, the opportunity for an epic fail are more than likely to occur. Some of these fails include deformaties/mutations, deaths, rejection of foreign cells.

Overall, I beleive the topic is a very worthwhile subject to cover and so controversial that readers will be intrigued enough to make their own cognitive decision/opinion based on what the learned about human cloning.

http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/cloning.shtml

http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/medical-science/genetics-molecular-medicine/related-policy-topics/stem-cell-research/human-cloning.shtml

http://www.geneticsandsociety.org/article.php?id=282

http://www.activatedministries.org/activated/2003-07/playing-god-facts-and-thoughts-on-human-cloning

http://www.genome.gov/10004765

http://www.clonesafety.org/cloning/facts/timeline/

Salon.com...it's the bomb.

Let me start off by saying that I am a novice when dealing with web magazines. I believe it is definitely an interesting concept but hard to execute successfully. With that being said I believe salon.com fulfills the criteria of what a good web magazine should be.

First, I think the design of the website is very intriguing. The color catches the reader’s attention and the layout is easy to navigate through. The sections of the magazine remind me more of a newspaper but Salon gives me the feeling that it is the web magazine for newspaper readers, yet still hip enough to attract young readers.

Something that I really like about the site is that they utilize visuals very well being that there are many pictures on the opening web page. The categories are well labeled and many of the different articles are posted below for easy reading.
There are many different categories of articles but I think my favorite would have to be the life section. It features human interest stories that include celebrities to the everyday average joe. The article about the rise and fall of Tiger Woods is impeccably written although short. It does a good job of including viral videos within the article and another interesting fact is that when there is an article written about a specific person the other articles written about that same person appear in chronological order, giving more detail to story that was previously read. http://www.salon.com/life/tiger_woods/index.html?story=/mwt/feature/2009/12/02/tiger_woods_in_trouble

Something else that I like is that option of having the most read articles and “hot topics” buttons to get the best news the fastest. Some readers don’t like the option of sifting through the magazine to find what they want to read about so I applaud this option.

The widgets are pretty cool being able to broadcast the stories through blogger and Twitter making the stories more accessible through social networking and readers who want to respond/blog have that option as well.

The site also has a store as well where readers can buy books that were/are critiqued in the magazine which is something I never seen before.

Overall I really like Salon.com, and can’t say too many bad things about it. However I feel like the site is geared toward a certain demographic and while that’s ok I feel like everyone stories should be included in this innovative web magazine.

A Peek inside The Only Girl(In the World) kinda...

1. http://www.rihannadaily.com/
Rihanna Daily is a fan based website that is devoted to Rihanna and her giant network of fans. The site gives access to knowledge about Rihanna regarding her career/personal life, music, pictures, and fashion among other things. It also features various forums where fans can communicate with each other discussing all things Rihanna. The website also boasts a collection of video vault and has an established twitter account. The reason this website is so informative/reliable is because it offers so much information that usually could not be found on regular sites instituted by her record label or Wikipedia. Rihanna Daily’s specialty is that they publish the rather mundane information that many of fans inquiry about such as her pets’ names, various tattoos, and her family life. I would say if someone wants to find out anything about Rihanna this is the place to go first.
2. http://www.rihannanow.com
Rihanna Now is a site that I believe was developed with her fans in mind who want to up to date information about the superstar and what she is doing regarding concerts/appearances. It is filled with merchandise such as t-shirts and boy shorts that fans can buy as well as her music by way of Itunes. This site is based on the commercialization of her music/image based upon the idea of branding/ brand loyalty. It only offers up to date images of her on most pages making it more of a promotion based website rather than a site where the fans can connect with the Rihanna THEY love.
3. http://www.tmz.com/person/rihanna/
Sensationalism? Yes, this is the site to find out all the “dirt” on Rihanna regarding her past /current relationships, scandalous/provocative pictures, and overall her life through the lens of the paparazzi. Not really a website that a fan would go to but someone who wants to know the totality of this superstar this would be a good place to visit. In our generation, being a celebrity often means being vulnerable and being non perfect. It makes us respect the celebrity more and TMZ exposes this trend perfectly.
4. http://twitter.com/RIHANNA
The only site that Rihanna has complete control over this is her twitter page. Her account isn’t really used for important information here but if you’re a fan that wants to know what she’s doing in her spare time or what she’s thinking this is the place to go. Through her twitter page Rihanna also releases info she is excited about and that hasn’t been ran through her publicist first such as, collaborations, chart positions, and release dates. It can be very informative yet very informal.
5. http://www.ultimate-rihanna.com/
This site is interesting because it is very viral and blog based. People who have spoken Rihanna’s name are quoted as if to an appearance of Rihanna being not only a celebrity more so an icon or a lifestyle. Any videos of Rihanna doing interviews or performances are often uploaded with the utmost urgency. If blogs are how a fan digests their news, this site might be their best choice.

They Raping Everybody...and It's Not Funny.

Hey everybody. I haven't really been writing too much since I came back to school.

I've really just been chilling, having fun, getting back into the groove of everything.

For the most part things have been going well.

But, something has seriously bothering me that I don't think has been bothering enough people.

The question is...



What The Fuck is up with all these reported Rapes/Sexual Assaults in Western PA?



It's bugging me because while the media has reporting the crimes (sensationally or otherwise) the attacks continue to happen. 4 incidents at SRU,1 at the University of Pittsburgh, and 1 at IUP within the first month of the fall semester.



Now some people will say that rape/sexual assaults will happen on college campuses but, why is that even an acceptable statistic?

Rape should NEVER be acceptable. I think the fact that most of these crimes are "faceless" we don't understand the pain and suffering the victims go through.



Now earlier this summer there was a viral video spread on the internet about a man who fought off an intruder who attempted to rape his sister. It generated thousands of views, liked, tweeted, and laughed at all summer.



Now don't feel guilty if you have participated because you are probably not a bad person

but, I ask:



Have we been so desensitized that we can find humor in rape?



Would it be fair to say that we don't care about these "faceless" victims until we recognize the face?



What has happened over the last month is not only disturbing because it happened but disturbing because in a time when everyone likes to broadcast their opinions in various ways nobody seems disturbed enough to say anything.



Well I am.



I don't know exactly what or if I can do anything to alleviate these situations or stop them from happening but I can always offer my ears, shoulders, and lips if needed.

This Is Me...Why Would I Ever Change?

With the recent budget cuts at Slippery Rock University it does not feel a good time to go to school here but, home is home regardless of what's on the inside. The students will make do and flourish because SRU students are naturally resilient. Oh you didn't know?

I'm not too hard of a person to contact but in the world of online journalism and blogging it's always good to make yourself available. Any questions, comments , and criticisms can be left here and at my email address.

This is the place I trust the most for my hard news. No proclamation of "fair and balanced" just unbiased reporting.

This is where I get my "Alternative" news. Everything from new music, clothing, blogs, movies and pretty much all updates on entertainment. Colorful and different to say the least.

It wouldn't be a true blog without links to my Facebook and Twitter accounts would it? Friend and Follow me as I update periodically with blogs, poems, videos, and pictures detailing the journey of Grits Capone.

Why You Need Grits!

Writing under the pseudonym, Grits Capone, Corey J. Carrington will be revealing himself to the world like never before taking his readers on a interesting trip down the rabbit hole of social media and online journalism rarely seen or expressed in this nature.

Grits is a professional studies major, concentrating in Communication, while expressing his interest in Creative Writing and Film Studies. He is a senior anticipating graduation in the spring of 2011. Coming from Pittsburgh, PA he is on pace to become one of the city's most beloved and talented sons. Coming from the "Steel City" and being a member of the greatest of all fraternal organizations, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. certain experiences have shaped him into a solid individual while remaining a champion for humanity, peace, and love.

Being inspired by the ever changing landscape of journalism, upon seeing the New Media Journalism class, he knew that the class would be a catalyst for helping his writing grow while giving him more insight into the world of social networking based blogging/journalism.

With a poetic flair and offbeat personality the reader can expect a plethora of stories, that will tingle the imagination as well as inform the reader on subjects less covered. I hope your ready for Grits!