Journalism Day

A panel of media experts gathered during Journalism day at CSULB on Wednesday to discuss new online innovations that have been changing the way reporters produce their stories and stay in contact with their readers.

All four members of the panel agreed that innovative social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, are quickly restructuring the way in which news stories are produced and distributed.

"Online is how you publish for print now," said Chris Jennewein, president of U.S. Local News Network.

Over the past few years, readers have been searching for their news online at a very accelerated rate and that change has prompted Journalists to adopt blogging and online reporting into their repertoire.

"You need to have your content where ever your readers are," said Eric Richardson, founder of Blogdowntown.

In addition to providing reporters with a new means of distribution, social networking sites also allow Journalists to connect with their readers in a way that was previoulsy impossible. "This is the first time I've gotten so much feedback in a 20 year career," said Nancy Luna, reporter for the Orange County Register.

A Collection of Competitive Minds

A group CSULB students traveled north to CSU San Jose to compete in the 24th annual Student Research Competition on Friday and Saturday, April 30-May 1, according to the CSULB website. The group was made up of 12 students,both graduates and undergraduates, who competed in the competition created for students who have obtained outstanding accomplishments in research and creative activities of different academic disciplines.

Students had 10 minutes to orally present their work to jurors who then awarded cash prizes to the first and second place winners in both the undergraduate and graduate divisions of each category.

Some of the categories included were: behavioral and social sciences; biological and agricultural sciences; business, economics and public administration; and creative arts and design.

Students earned their place in one of the 10 categories by competing in the campus’ 2010 Student Research Competition earlier this spring and earned either first-place, second-place or honorable-mention honors. Campus officials then chose the best 10 overall research presentations to move on to the statewide event.

Who Wants to go to Saturday School?

CSULB's College of Business Administraion (CBA) will be starting a master of business administration (MBA) degree program on Saturdays this fall semester, according to the CSULB website. This innovative approach will strive to teach students more then the usual MBA curriculum entails.

“There was a time when just learning about business concepts and mastering a single functional specialty was adequate for personal success," said David A. Horne, College of Business Administration MBA director and marketing professor. A majority of MBA programs teach students a fundamental set of business skills and then concentrate on advancing knowledge in a single field, such as accounting or marketing.

"However, business leaders now tell us, that for managers and recent graduates to differentiate themselves, they must develop a broad perspective to effectively solve organization-wide business problems,” said Horne.

This accelerated program will meet once a week for two classes a day during the 14-week semester. In addition to being provided with free textbooks and materials, students of this new program will have access to a writing resource center that is exclusively for MBA students.

This 21-month program is accredited by the AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International).

Students Have Mixed Feelings About the SWRC

With the completion of the Student Recreation and Wellness Center(SRWC) steadily approaching, some students are left wondering if the $116 increase per semester in tuition is worth it.

Students voted to have the rec. center built in 2005 with 74.7 percent voting in favor of the new building. “The student’s voice was heard,” said Monterey Powell, USU BoT Vice Chair. Even after the SRWC vote passed though, not all students were seeing the benefits of the SRWC .

“A lot of people can’t afford the tuition increase,” said Taline Smith, a second year English major. “With all this furlough nonsense, you would think people could do a better job allocating money.”

The SRWC, which is scheduled to open in late August, will be two stories tall and include a four-court gym, 30–foot rock climbing wall, in-door jogging track, pool, spa and 20 thousand square feet of weights and cardio equipment.

“I’m gonna use it, but for the people who don’t it’s gonna suck,” said Jason Chang, a third year Engineering major. The ASI estimated that a majority of students spend about $33 a month on gym memberships outside of school and the idea is that the $116 cost to use the SRWC each semester will save students money and improve the overall health of the campus.

“People who don’t work out now, will not work out when a new gym appears,” said Smith. Some students worry that with there already being gyms on campus, such as Frogs and the Gold Mine, the SRWC will just be a waste of money.

Lights, Camera, Action

In a new approach to student involvement in commercials, several select groups from the CSULB Film and Electronic Arts Department(FEA) were chosen in May 2008 to compete for a 30 second commercial spot advertising the Ford Focus and sponsored by the Southern California Ford Dealers.

The winning commercial came from production students Luke Richmond and Mantas Zvinas. Along with earning recognition, the two students were awarded a $2,500 cash prize for being selected as the winners out of nine teams from CSULB.

A few other local schools, including Chapman University and Cal State Northridge, were involved in the competition and "There was an open call to film schools through Ford," said Rob Riddle, co- director of one of the other CSULB teams.

Teams were given a deadline to submit their finished spot and Riddle's group spent about 10 days working on the production. "We spent a week in pre-production, choosing a location,setting up shots and then we filmed it in a day," said Riddle. "We shot it at a hangar down near the Long Beach airport and we used crane shots and dollies to give it a professional look."

Ford employed Dailey & Associates Advertising to judge the commercials and choose the winning group. The FEA has been had competitions before, but when it comes to being involved in a competition with a major company like Ford, "We were the first ones to do it," said Riddle.

Time to get Creative

The CSULB Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship(SIE) has just ended their yearly innovation challenge, according to the CSULB website. The challenge took place from February 26 to March 4 and consisted of teams made up of Long Beach State students.

Students were given three random objects that they had to turn into something of monetary and social value.

Judging will be done March 17 during the innovation showcase at the USU ballroom from 3-5 p.m. Students will be graded on creativity, innovation, efficiency, reachability and collaboration. First, second and third place will receive $500, $300 and $200 respectively.

This competition was started in 2003 by Idea Crossing, a company specializing in idea contests. Since then, Idea Crossing has become the largest business innovation competition for students.

Previous winners include last years "Team Innovative Inertia" from the College of Business Administration(CBA) who created shoes out of 100 percent recycled plastic using an iron to melt plastic bags. The shoes were created for two reasons: to help children in developing countries without any footwear and to reduce the amount of plastic bags in overflow land fills.

The team credits their advisor, Legal Studies in Business Professor Tom Rhoads. “Don’t just think outside of the box, invent a completely new box,” said Rhoads.

Make Yourself at Home

Long Beach State officials announced in the Summer of 2007 that a new dormitory would be purchased off-campus to help provide housing for an already overcrowded university. The new dormitory is different from the other on-campus dorms however, this dorm will be filled with students and faculty. According to the LBpost, many Long Beach State faculty do not even refer to the Residential Learning College(RLC) as a dormitory, but rather a learning community.

Students will be living and learning alongside faculty in the RLC and studies have shown that innovations like this help to raise GPA's and graduation rates on college campuses. "Increasing student living and learning opportunities is an important priority for our campus," said CSULB President F. King Alexander.

The RLC is located one mile away from campus where Brooks College used to hold classes. This new living arrangement is meant to accommodate 134 Long Beach State students and includes a dining area, study rooms and a pool. The purchase of this property cost $11.1 million with another $15 million in renovations expected.

Other ideas are in the works about opening up more off-campus housing as well, according to CSULB Vice President for Administration and Finance Mary Stephens. "Discussions are ongoing but no such project has been identified,” said Stephens.