Blogging a scene

Warm, yellow light floods out through the big windows of the olive green and brick building and spills onto the surrounding grey sidewalk, empty wooden benches and half-filled parking lot. As you approach the door, the familiar black-and-white face of a crowned woman greets you.

As you pass through the first set of windowed doors and walk over the speckled maroon and turquoise linoleum, the faint smell of coffee wafts by you. Overhead, small, black speakers hang on the tan walls a few feet below the brown, flat ceiling and silver-and-orange heat lamps. The lyrics of a song you can’t quite place by an up-and-coming male singer/songwriter intermingle with four students’ discussion of chemical bonds. Students huddle around the five wooden and metal tables and sit side-by-side on the wicker and wood couch with chocolate brown cushions. Worksheets, notebooks, coffee cups, cell phones, iPods and laptops litter the square and circular tables.

As you pass through the second set of doors, the walls brighten a shade as warm air and the scent coffee with floral undertones envelopes you. Country music plays overhead as in front of you, row after row of pumpkin scones, slices of cinnamon coffee cake, oatmeal raisin cookies, and doughnuts beg and plead with you to order them as you approach the black and white marbled counter.

A 20-something brunette greets you with a smile and says, “Welcome to Starbucks. What can I get you?”

You stare at the off-white boards above her head for a few moments, searching among the Caffe Mochas and Cinnamon Dolce Lattes for the holy grail of coffee drinks.

After placing your order, you sink into one of four red-brown, leather chairs as the coffee machine makes a grinding, humming noise to your left. Around you, students sit around big or small mahogany tables, sipping on lattes and iced chais as they read from biology textbooks or scribble down homework in notebooks. To your left, you can hear the click-click of Macbook keys as a scruffy looking man wearing a green and blue flannel types out his essay. A couple sitting in front of you laughs as they reminisce about freshman year.

Suddenly, an upbeat voice announces, “I have an Iced Grande Carmel Macchiato on the bar. Thank you!”

You approach the bar, thank the barista smiling behind the counter, grab your drink, and head for the door. As you step into the cool night and look up, you lose your breath as you take in the snowcapped Flatirons that glisten in front of the setting sun.

Welcome to Boulder.

Story ideas for Rove/Dean debate

1. Story about the actual event. Why is the debate being held in Macky? How many people were there? How many people were in the Glenn Miller Ballroom watching the live broadcast? What questions did students ask? What topics did Rove/Dean cover? What did they say about each topic? What did students attending the debate think about it? Whose position did they agree with more (in relation to each topic or as a whole)? Why? Note any reactions the audience has during the debate (do they gasp? When? Then ask audience members about it afterward). Also, ask professors, Boulder citizens, etc. in the audience what they thought about the debate (see questions for students above).

2. When was the first Rove/Dean debate? Where did it take place? What topics did it cover? Who argued what position? Have any other Rove/Dean debates taken place since then? Where/when etc. If can contact someone who attended those debates in past, do. If not, get student quotes on what they think the CU debate will be like.

3. Interview students to see how they feel about the debate. Are they excited that Rove/Dean are coming to CU, or could they care less? Why or why not? What positions do they think Rove/Dean will take on certain issues? Why? Whose position do they support on each issue? Why?

4. The Battle of Boulder: Why do they think Rove/Dean are coming here in the first place? What makes CU a desirable place to hold a Rove/Dean debate? How long can it go (is there a limit)? What other cities have they done this debate in? Is it part of a series of debates held at colleges? If so, how have they been received on other campuses? Are they getting a kick out of trying to piss each other off? Contact students/student group reps at other colleges, as well as CU’s Distinguished Speakers Board.

5. Story focusing on the difference in Rove/Dean’s political philosophy. What does Rove think about Dean’s/Obama’s position on health care reform? Why does he think it? What does Rove think about the position the middle class is in because of the failing economy and how that translates into the health care sector? What does Dean think about Rove’s/Bush’s position on health care reform? Why does he think it? Does Dean think Rove/Bush are to blame for the death of the middle class? Why? What do students think about Rove/Dean’s position on health care reform?

Basic News Story Assignment

Handedness may affect life span
Study shows that right-handed individuals live longer than lefties
By Mindy Rappoport

Left-handed individuals are four times more likely to die from driving injuries than right-handed people, according to a study featured in Tuesday’s edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.

In the 2009 study, University of British Columbia researcher Stanley Coren and California State University at San Bernadino psychology professor Diane Halpern reviewed more than 900 Southern California death certificates. Coren and Halpern then asked relatives of the deceased about their ancestor’s dominant hand.

Halpern said that fact that only 10 percent of the U.S. population is left-handed didn’t surprise her.

“We knew for years that there weren’t as many old left-handers,” Halpern said. “Researchers thought that was because in the early years of the century, most people born left-handed were forced to change to their right hands.”

However, Halpern said that the study revealed that fewer left-handed individuals were alive than right-handed ones. On average, right-handed men live 11 years longer than left-handed men, and right-handed women live six years longer than left-handed women, according to the study.

Cars and other engineering, which is designed for right-handed individuals, may be to blame for the higher rate of accidents that result in left-handed individuals’ injuries, Halpern said.

"There are many more car and other accidents among left-handers because of their environment,” Halpern said.

Danae Belanger, a 20-year-old junior advertising major, agrees with Halpern.

“It’s because the world is designed for right-handed people,” Belanger said.

Despite her findings, Halpern said that parents of left-handed children should not try to teach their son or daughter to use their right hand instead.

“There are many, many old left-handed people,” she said.

Instead, the psychology professor urged those who review her findings to do so with caution.

“It should not, of course, be used to predict the life span of any one individual,” Halpern said.

Research Methods Part 2

Question 1: U.S. Census Statistics
Q: What is the total population for your state based on the most recent census statistics available?
A: According to the 2000 U.S. census, as of April 1 there were 4,301,261 people living in Colorado. However, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that as of July 1, 2009, 5,024,748 people were living in Colorado.
Q: What was the population of Asian and Pacific Islanders in your state in 2000?
A: According to the 2000 U.S. census, the population of Asian and Pacific Islanders in Colorado is 132,810 (demographic breakdown: 128,135 Asian and 4,675 Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander).

Question 2: Crime Story #1
Q. Find a site that lists sex offender registries in the U.S. What is the URL?
A: The United States Department of Justice’s Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Web site: http://www.nsopw.gov/Core/OffenderSearchCriteria.aspx
Colorado Bureau of Investigation Sex Offender Web site: http://sor.state.co.us/index.cfm?SOR=home.caveat
Q: Check the sex offender registry in your state and identify any offenders in your area.
A: There are currently 76 sex offenders registered in Boulder, CO.
Q: Check the Maryland sex offender registry and click on the interactive map to find registered sex offenders near colleges in Maryland. What is the URL? What type of information is available?
A: The Department of Safety and Public Services in Maryland has created an interactive map that anyone can use to find registered sex offenders. The map allows you to search by address, county or place (ex: college, school, library, church, shopping mall, and recreational areas). You can even trace your own parameters on the map and it’ll zoom in on the specified area. Once you’ve picked your area, the map documents child sex offenders, offenders, and sexually violent offenders using a legend made up of different colored shapes.

Question 3: Crime Story #2 

Q: Check the police statistics on your own university’s Web site (if they are listed) and compare them with the ones listed on the education site.
A: It’s interesting to note the differences between CU Police Department’s statistics and those listed on the U.S. Dept. of Education’s Office of Postsecondary Education’s Web site. While the OPE reported four instances of forcible rape in 2006, two in 2007 and seven in 2008, CUPD reported ten in 2006, eight in 2007 and seven in 2008. In fact, when you compare one report to the other, you’ll notice discrepancies in almost every column (in relation to the number of times a specific offense took place each year).

Q: How many forcible sex offenses were reported on your campus (from the latest year available)? How many burglaries?
A: Both CUPD and OPE statistics report that seven forcible sex offenses took place in 2008. The OPE reported 59 burglaries in 2008 while the CUPD only reported 44. (Sources linked in previous question).

Question 4: Political Reporting #1
Q: What are the latest totals for money your two senators received?
A: According to Opensecrets.org, in each of their latest campaigns, Sen. Michael Bennet received $3,661,380 and Sen. Mark Udall received $12,015,829.

Question 5: Political Reporting #2
Q: How much money did your governor receive in campaign contributions in his or her last campaign?
A: Gov. Bill Ritter received $984,026 in campaign contributions in his 2008 campaign.
Q: What was the total amount of contributions the governor received in the last election?
A: Gov. Ritter received $4,365,257 in contributions in the 2006 election.
Q: What is the limit on the amount of money for personal contributions to a campaign in your state?
A: According to a table of contribution amount limits created by the National Conference of State Legislatures, an individual can donate $525 to a governor/another statewide candidate’s campaign and $200 to a legislative candidate’s campaign.

Question 6: Government Statistics #1

Q: Find the latest government figures for tuition costs of college and universities. (Check under fast facts for education).
A: Fast Facts: http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=372
Q: What was the average tuition, fees, room and board at four-year public institutions for the latest year available?
A: At four-year public institutions for the 2007-2008 academic year, tuition and fees amounted to $5,950; room was $4,072 and board cost $3,402.
Q: What was the average tuition, fees, room and board at four-year private colleges and universities?
A: At four-year private colleges and universities for the 2007-2008 academic year, tuition and fees were $21,588; room amounted to $4,812 and board cost $3,993.

Question 7: Government Statistics #2
Q: Find the home page for your state.
A: http://www.colorado.gov/

Question 8: Government Statistics #2
Q: 
Find the home page for your city.
A: http://ci.boulder.co.us/