Blog Week of 3/30/10

New Festivities During Texas Relays Hope to Bring New Attitude

Texas Relays brings track and field athletes from all over the country to Austin. For the past several years, it has also brought controversy throughout the city.

During the 2007 Texas Relays, a fight broke out at Highland Mall, which resulted in some of that controversy. Other crime has been noted during the relays, resulting in some negative thoughts from those in Austin.

Since the fights at the mall, closures by businesses have taken place. Highland Mall was shut down early last year and several clubs on Sixth Street were not open for business. Reactions to and reasoning behind these closures may be seen here.

The Austin American-Statesman did an article on the number of crimes during Texas Relays compared to the weekend of SXSW and Mardi Gras, both festivities that seem to be more welcoming to visitors throughout the city. According to the article, there were less crimes during Texas Relays than during the other two events.

Kevin Benz, news director for News 8 Austin, said "The City of Austin and the police department has just handled the events of Texas Relays very poorly."

He said the fights that happened at Highland Mall that year were nothing unusual for any weekend at a mall.

Trying to disregard all of the controversy that has happened in the past, participants and city officials are trying to move forward with a new outlook for Texas Relays.

The Central Texas Black Cultural and Health Festival will take place during the days of the events, April 1-3. Events that will take place include a parade, a culture and health show, a step competition, and a fashion show.

To see full information on the festival, go to YourRelays.com or see the full schedule of events here.

The 23rd Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays begins Thursday, April 1. See ticket information, a full schedule, and more at The University of Texas at Austin website.

Midterm--Web News Story

Headline: College Women are at Greater Risk for Rape


Women in college are a a greater risk for rape and other sexual assault than women in the general public, according to a study released today by the National Institute of Justice and the Bureau of Justice Assistance.

College campuses have become "hot spots" for criminal activity, including rape and other forms of sexual assault.

The Hidden Facts:
The study states that women at a college that has 10,000 female students could experience more than 35o rapes a year.

According to the study, three percent of women surveyed have experienced a completed or attempted rape during a college year.

About 1.7 percent of female college students were victims of attempted rape, the same percentage of women that reported being forced to have sex. About 13 percent of college women have been stalked since the beginning of the school year.

Almost 60 percent of rapes that took place on campus happened in the victim's residence. Other incidents took place in bars, dance clubs, nightclubs, and work settings.

For completed and attempted rates, the study states that nine in 10 offenders were known to the victim.

The Common Faces of the Offender:
"Most victims knew the person who sexually victimized them," the authors of the study wrote.

"Most often, a boyfriend, ex-boyfriend, classmate, friend acquaintance, or coworker sexually victimized the women."

The study states that college professors were not identified as committing any rapes or sexual coercions, but were cited as the offender in a low percentage of unwanted sexual contact cases.

What This Means for Colleges and Universities:
For every 1,000 women attending universities or colleges, there is expected to be 35 incidents of rape.

The study suggests that mid-size campuses of 10,000 women could be expected to exceed 350 rapes during an academic year.

While the actual number of cases may be high, the number of known cases is essentially lower. Researchers found that many women do not admit their case of sexual victimization for various reasons.

Embarrassment, not understanding the legal definition of rape, or not wanting to define someone they know who victimized them as a rapist may prevent women from admitted their case to others. The study also suggests that women may blame themselves for their sexual assault.

The survey urges universities and colleges to increase education and knowledge about sexual assault.

The Survey
The study results are based on a telephone survey of a national sample of 4,446 made of women attending a two- or four-year college or university. Schools with at least 1,000 students were included.

Questions asked in the survey screen and other details regarding the research is found on the National Institute of Justice Web site.

The study was federally funded and conducted by Bonnie S. Fisher, a professor at the University of Cincinnati, Francis T. Cullen and Michael G. Turner.

Feature Story--extended blog edited

Title: Anchor, Mentor, Volunteer: The Many Faces of News 8's Paul Brown
Blurb: Join Melinda Valero as she gets to know News 8 Austin's Paul Brown in this web-exclusive behind the scenes footage.

His great knowledge of journalism is just one great quality anchor Paul Brown brings to News 8 Austin. I went behind the scenes in the newsroom to talk to others and Paul himself to find out how else he helps out his fellow coworkers and his community.

Though he is titled "News Guru" by his coworkers at News 8, Brown still feels he has more to learn about the field. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. at The University of Texas at Austin. Another goal of his is to conduct research about the news industry, which could serve as a blueprint for younger journalists.

Along with sharing his wisdom of journalism with fellow coworkers and aspiring journalists, Brown is involved with several nonprofits and other community involvement.

He has served as a chairman of the Texas Associated Press Broadcasters, and has judged several journalism competitions.

Along with that, he is a chairman of Texas Hearing and Service Dogs. This organization trains service dogs that help people with disabilities or may be hard of hearing or wheelchair bound. The dogs are trained to help people to do simple things like help people who drop a pen and are not able pick it up.

His interest in animals is also seen in his weekly segment on News 8, Pet of the Week.

Paul is also involved in the Neighborhood Longhorns Program, which creates incentives for those at lower economic elementary and middle schools to learn. Students from UT who go into lower economic elementary and middle schools in Austin to create incentives for learning. With one-on-one mentoring from the students, there is an incentive program that offers tickets to UT sports games for good grades.

To find out how to help out with any of these causes that Paul is involved with, click on the links above.



PROFILE:
Name: Paul Brown
Age: 47
Family members: Wife Dodie, sons Wade, 21, Emmett, 17, and Joshua, 8.
Current title: Anchor for News 8 Austin
Role model in Journalism: Walter Cronkite
Education: B.S. in Radio-Television-Film, Master's in Journalism, and working towards Ph.D. in Journalism at The University of Texas at Austin
First job in journalism: reporter at the Brownwood Bulletin
Twitter: PBrownNews8
Read Brown's profile on News 8 Austin's website to find out more about him.

Check out the videos below with a one-on-one interview with Paul Brown himself and interviews with his fellow coworkers to get their opinion of Brown.

Blog #3: Financial Options for Future Graduate Students

Four years in college costs students (or parents) thousands of dollars each semester. Yet, more and more students are able to get a college education thanks to a vast amount of scholarship opportunities. Even without scholarships, students with a low-income background are able to apply for loans by filling out a Free Application for Federal Aid (FAFSA).

The process changes some once a Bachelor’s degree is obtained and students want to continue on with their education and get a Master’s. While some are able to get their Master’s for practically free with assistantships and fellowships, not all are lucky enough to get into the school of their dreams and get their education paid for.

Scholarships for graduate students are more limited. Federal loans are not given out with as much ease, as undergraduate freshmen are given priority for funds, then sophomores, juniors, seniors, and then graduate students.

Christian Cabazos, senior at St. Edward’s University, is trying to find funds for graduate school.

“The amount of scholarships once you reach the graduate level is a lot more limited than at the undergraduate level and is a lot more specific to the program that you are in,” Cabazos said.

However, there are some tools college seniors may use to continue on to school for at least another two years.

FastWeb is a useful website that provides information on scholarships, internships, and universities in general. Users can fill out information about the school and program they plan on going to and are matched up with scholarships and internship opportunities that fit. See a screenshot of some of FastWeb’s scholarship matches here.

It is also helpful to go to university’s website to get information on funding for the graduate program. University of Texas at Austin provides help for funding your education and lists financial aid, fellowships and awards, and student employment opportunities.

Although graduate students are not given priority for federal loans, it is still important to fill out the FAFSA. If you are eligible for loans, there are loan calculators to help plan how long it will take to pay them off.

An additional two years of tuition may be an expensive option for some, but with the proper research and planning, it may be less stressful.