Multimedia department preps for NASA launch

HD camera? Check. Boom microphone? Check. Reporter’s notebook? Check. Journalistic objectivity? Check. Jubilant anticipation that will probably make me lose sleep? Check.

In a dynamic journalism career that has had its ups and downs, I’ve had an opportunity to get close and personal with some intriguing and historic subjects, but none can match the Discovery shuttle.

In 2006 I covered the historic sinking of the world’s largest man-made reef, the U.S.S. Oriskany. Later that year I rode along with a stunt plane pilot practicing for the annual Blue Angels exhibition at Pensacola Beach. The next year I interviewed a Blue Angel pilot and rode along with another stunt pilot squadron performing in that year’s show.

Needless to say, I have a taste for adrenaline and an interest in anything aeronautical. As a young Navy brat who grew up visiting the National Naval Aviation and the Smithsonian Air and Space museums, it seems only natural that I would one day get a chance to cover a space shuttle mission. This latest assignment will also peak my curiosity for anything otherworldly, be it interstellar craft or old reruns of the original Star Trek.

In order to capture the flight of the Discovery and all the cutting-edge technology that goes along with it, I am bringing some very specialized equipment. Video equipment includes a Canon XHA1 high definition camera that shoots 1080i at 23 frames per second and a Canon VIXIA HV 30 handheld camcorder. For still photography we are bringing a Nikon D-200 with 200 and 300mm lenses. We plan to live stream the actual launch and related press conferences and we will also produce more complex video stories related to the Kennedy Space center’s tours and facilities. When there is time, team members will also update blogs about what we are seeing and doing. It looks to be a great time and I’m eternally grateful for the chance to go.

They tell me that the planetarium at PJC is looking for things to play on its massive dome. Does anyone else feel a Science Fiction and NASA Launch film festival coming on?

College students look forward to a long spring break

Madelain Tigano- The Corsair

A salty aroma fills the air as the hot rays beat down, tanning exposed flesh. Booze and sun oil lie next to oversized towels of the vacationers who have flocked to the warmth of the shore to release their stress in a week of freedom.

Spring break: it’s what most college students look forward to every year. It offers the ability to hang loose with friends, make new ones, take a trip, acquire extra work hours or just enjoy a break from the books.

Students are already making plans for PJC’s spring break from March 29 to April 4.

“My friend and I might go on a road trip to Orlando and Miami,” said pre-law student Micha Mesuri. “I’ve never been to Miami, so it should be fun.”

Brennan Decker, a pre-pharmacy student, said he is “probably working more hours at Java Junkies in Navarre to make extra money for the summer.” But he also plans to hit one of the local beaches.

Jet skiing in the waters of Perdido Key is criminal justice major Josh Hatten’s plan. Unlike previous spring breaks, he’s not going out of town to experience one of the most popular destinations this time of year.

“Panama City Beach parties harder than we do,” Hatten said.

However, our neighboring beach plans to calm down its 2010 spring break season. It won’t be partnering with MTV like previous years. The music-television network has provided entertainment and televised the partying of Panama City Beach in the past.

“I think mtvU has managed to paint us with a big black brush,” Panama City Beach Mayor Gayle Oberst said in a news article. Oberst also said mtvU events brought in too many unruly spring breakers.

But Cassandra Williams, a criminal psychology major, doesn’t have the beach in mind. The trip she has planned is much more unusual.

“For spring break I am going to find my brother that I’ve never met,” she said. “I will be spending the whole week in Anniston, Ala.”

Williams explains that her older brother is actually her half-brother from her dad’s side.

“I found him on MySpace. My younger brother and I are going to see him,” Williams said. “We are going to spend the week getting to know each other and going out places.”

Pirate baseball player Terry McClinton said he has baseball games throughout the week. Yet he knows what would be the ultimate spring break.

“My ideal spring break would be in Key West, fishing the flats with a few good friends,” McClinton said.

 

 

 

Newspapers use new technology to stay alive

Kimberly Sweetman-The Corsair

From the days of the town crier to development of modern printing presses, journalism has always been in some stage of transformation. Today, as the Internet helps spread news and information quicker and easier than many believed possible, what is the future of newspapers and other printed media? That is the question many journalists are trying to answer.

Nearly 67 percent of U.S. homes have an Internet connection, according to USAToday.com. And that doesn’t take into account the people who use Internet at restaurants, schools and businesses. That competition has had a profound effect on newspapers’ advertising revenue and circulation. Will newspapers be able to change to attract future generations of readers?

Mike Suchcicki, multimedia editor for the Pensacola News Journal, said the local daily newspaper began offering news on the Web in 1996, but a real focus on the benefits of online was not made until Sept. 16, 2004.

“It wasn’t until (Hurricane) Ivan struck in 2004 that the full power of the Web site as a news-delivering medium was realized,” he said. “When Ivan struck, all of a sudden we had millions of eyes from around the world on our Web site. We realized that the Web site needed to be more than just a side entity.”

With the advent of online news, journalists are using new forms of technology to get news to readers.

“We are looking at a lot more social media-type things,” said Chris Drain, advisor for PJC’s The Corsair. “We have a Twitter account online and are putting a lot of information on that. As we grow as a Corsair staff, we will be able to use Twitter for a lot more. We may even get people that tweet back to us with news items through Twitter.

“We are also doing Pulse, and that is just a wonderful five-minute Webcast about what’s happening on campus. We have Livestream; we also have Cover it Live, a live blogging we have been using at sporting events. We were actually the first ones to use it at the state baseball tournament three years ago and now everyone is using it. We’ve got a lot of tools on the site, and it is just a matter of having the manpower to use them,” Drain said.

The Corsair is specifically geared to target students in college. That generation has grown up with computers and uses them every day. So where do college students get their news?

Andrew Payne, a PJC journalism student, said, “Normally I go to Yahoo.com or MSN just because it’s free, and I think it is probably the best news source. Every now and then if my dad has a newspaper sitting out I will pick it up.”

“I read the print news every once in a blue moon,” said Amanda Nelson, another journalism student at PJC.

Some may wonder why the younger generation seeks its news online. What are the benefits?

“I think that news online is more reliable because they give you different resources,” Payne said.

“It is easier for me to get access online because of my zoom text, a device for the visually impaired which enlarges my screen up to three times,” Nelson said.

“The most immediate advantage is that you reach more people faster. The News Journal has a circulation of 60,000 daily and 80,000 Sunday, but when you post something online you have the potential of reaching hundreds of thousands,” Suchcicki said.

Because of the many benefits of online communication, some are deciding to put down their newspapers and start picking up their computers.

“I think there is always going to be a place for something printed. It is just the method of being able to get the information out to you that is changing,” Drain said.

Same court, different sport

Robert Klawitter-The Corsair

 

I’ve always heard buried treasure is found where “X” marks the spot, but finding a head basketball coach on a volleyball court sounds a bit more farfetched.

However, PJC athletic director Bill Hamilton did just that, filling the men’s basketball head coaching vacancy with current Pirate volleyball coach Pete Pena.

Now, if you know nothing about Pena, your first response will probably be similar to mine. Questioning why Hamilton would end the searching process so swiftly just to fill the vacancy with a coach of another sport.

Hamilton is athletic director for a reason though, and let’s not forget he’s also a Hall of Fame baseball coach. So, he knows the attributes of a great coach, and obviously he saw those in Pena.

Pena does bring basketball experience having served as an assistant coach twice here at PJC from 1979-82 and 1987-89, and head coach at Catholic High from 1989-99. So he’s not exactly a volleyball coach thrown into the basketball world.

Pena is also currently serving as an assistant on the Lady Pirates softball staff, but despite the full schedule he’s not walking away from his players on the diamond yet. So his passion and love for the game of basketball will have to fuel his first recruitment process. Pena’s eager to get to work, as he looks to restore relationships with local high school basketball programs.

His philosophy, to find good players that play great, and have pride for the name across their jersey hints toward the type of players we should become accustomed to watching at Hartsell Arena in upcoming years. Mix that with Pena’s coaching ability which Hamilton speaks highly of, and we may come to realize the Pirates found a hidden treasure right here at home. Hopefully championships will soon follow.

Award-winning author comes to PJC

Kay Forrest - The Corsair

Rheta Grimsley Johnson has a simple piece of advice to offer aspiring journalists. “Learn to write a short declarative sentence, learn the basics, and all the rest is just gravy,” she said. “You cannot name a great American writer who was not first a newspaper person, with the exception of Faulkner… But he never learned to write the short, declarative sentence,” she added with a laugh.

Johnson is a writer, a “newspaper person” and a true southern girl. She has spent her life residing all over the deep-south: she was born in Colquitt, Ga., grew up mostly in Montgomery, Ala., and currently lives on 100 acres “out in the boonies” in Iuka, Miss. with her three dogs. As a small child, she even spent five years in Pensacola; she has fond memories of this “magical place” and the pink, concrete home her family lived in.

On April 14, Johnson will come back to Pensacola once again as part of the tour for her latest book, “Enchanted Evening Barbie and the Second Coming: A Memoir.” Pensacola is just one of the many southern stops on her anticipated yearlong tour.

“It’s an uneven book, but that’s because life is uneven,” she said. She began the memoir in January 2009 as a light, comedic look at pivotal Christmases throughout her life, because as she said, “A lot of things happen to me around Christmas.” However, her writing came to a standstill when her husband suddenly passed away from heart complications that March. She finally went on to continue the book, but with a sometimes darker, more emotional tone. Her writing was a form of therapy to her. “Work always saves me; writing always helps me,” she said.

Though Johnson is an accomplished book author, with “Enchanted Evening Barbie” being her fourth published book, she is above all a newspaper journalist. She began her journalism career in the 8th grade, writing for her school newspaper in 1960s Alabama. She then went on to obtain a journalism degree from Auburn University in 1977. She has worked as a reporter for many different newspapers over the years, including 14 years at the “Memphis Commercial Appeal” in Tennessee. A compendium of her columns from this publication make up her first published book, “American Faces.”

Johnson has won several awards for her writing, including the National Pacemaker Award in college, and the Headliner Award for commentary two years in a row. She was even inducted into the Scripps Howard Newspaper’s Editorial hall of fame in 1985, and was one of three finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 1991.

“I wouldn’t trade my profession for anything,” Johnson said. Her favorite thing about her work has been writing about normal, everyday people. “I find it fascinating that everyone has a story. But, they’re usually not ‘splashy’ enough for most people to want to write about,” she said. “I devote my time to ordinary people.”

However, she does admit that one highlight of her career was writing the biography of one “ordinary person” who happened to be famous: Charles Schulz, the creator of the hugely famous comic strip, “Peanuts.” For “Good Grief: The Story of Charles M. Schulz” she spent time on and off with Schulz in Santa Rosa, Calif., interviewing him and getting to know the “kind, gracious man” that he was. She said that each character in “Peanuts” represents an aspect of Schulz, but as a whole he truly was Charlie Brown.

Apart from taking time to write her books, Johnson is still a newspaper journalist through and through. She currently works for King Features Syndicate of New York, with her column running in about 50 different newspapers throughout the country. Though she has had bumps in the road, Johnson has always kept writing. Once, when she felt discouraged over a particular article, her friend encouraged her to “just make sure to make it beautiful.” And, with that she heartily agrees, “That’s what our goal [as writers] should be: to make it beautiful.”

Pensacola campus offers motorcycle safety course

Register now for the Pensacola Junior College Motorcycle Safety Foundation Basic Rider course that provides complete instruction to develop safe, street-riding skills and obtain a motorcycle endorsement.

The three-day course is held 6 to 8:30 p.m. Thursdays and 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays on the Pensacola campus. Starting dates for upcoming courses are April 8, 15, 22 and 29. This course will also be available in the summer.
Cost is $180 per student.
Classroom instruction is combined with motorcycle riding activities on an approved training range. Motorcycles are provided by Southern Motorsports Safety.

Students must be at least 15 years-old and hold a valid Florida learner’s permit for six months to take the course. All students must successfully complete the skills-riding evaluation and written exam to receive a motorcycle endorsement.

PJC provides the student handbook, insurance, helmet and motorcycle; students can use their own DOT/Snell Foundation-approved helmet. Students must wear a long-sleeve shirt or jacket, full-fingered gloves, long pants and sturdy shoes that cover the ankles.

Register and pay the course fee prior to class meeting to ensure a position in class. Class size is limited to 10 students per week. Register at any PJC campus in the Registrar’s Office or go to www.pjc.edu/ContinuingEducation.

For more information, call 484-1797.

The Corsair is covering NASA: Alan Poindexter

Commander Alan Poindexter is a 1983 PJC graduate who will lead the STS-131 mission to the International Space Station aboard space shuttle Discovery.

Poindexter earned his wings at NAS Pensacola in 1988. He is married to former Lisa A. Pfeiffer of Gulf Breeze and has two children.

Selected by NASA in June 1998, He reported for training in August 1998. Initially Poindexter served in the Astronaut Office Shuttle Operations Branch performing duties as the lead support astronaut at Kennedy Space Center.

It wasn’t until the STS-122 Atlantis (February 7-20, 2008) for Poindexters first flight, where he logged over 306 hours in space.

He carried on flight a PJC medallion, which was returned to PJC after the mission. Poindexter also recieved a second medallion from PJC for his accomplishment.

Poindexter served as the Pilot for STS-122. Although the STS-131 is his second flight to space, he is now serving as Commander.

“I’ll manually fly the rendezvous with the space station and do the docking and also land the vehicle at the end of the mission,” he said.

AWARDS: NASA Aviation Safety Award, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with Combat V, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, various other service awards.

SPECIAL HONORS Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division Test Pilot of the Year 1996; Top Ten Carrier Aviator, Carrier Airwing Nine.

More credits mean more fees

Madelain Tigano-The Corsair

Thinking about changing your major?  You might be penalized for that decision under a new state law that went into effect this school year.

The Florida Legislature passed a 2009 state law (FS 1009.286) stating that students who enter a community college or state university for the first time in the 2009-2010 academic year, and thereafter, will be required to pay an excess hour surcharge if they go over their set limit of credits.

“Our job at the college is to advise students that they may get excess credit charges when entering a university,” PJC’s Director of Admissions and Registrar, Martha Caughey said.

 PJC students will not experience these charges while enrolled with the college, but could after they transfer to a university.

FS 1009.286 explains that students seeking a bachelor’s degree will be required to complete the credits needed for their degree times 120 percent for leeway: bachelor degrees total to be 120 credit hours, multiply that by 120 percent, and students will have 144 credit hours to reach their degree before getting charged an extra 50 percent of university tuition for each excess credit hour taken.

“We would take all of the things you need into consideration and ‘set your clock’,” University of West Florida’s Registrar, Ann Dziadon said.

Dziadon explains that universities will only take PJC’s transferred credits that are needed for a student’s baccalaureate degree program. Once a student transfers credits, the university will then determine what additional credits are needed for his or her degree and multiply by 120 percent.

However, a general studies associate degree could generate excess charges once enrolling into a university.

“If a student came in with 60 hours of undecided credit from PJC, just a General A.A, and then decided to go into, let’s say, Electrical Engineering, which is a very tight program with a lot of required prerequisites….the student might still need an additional 80-100 credits,” Dziadon said.

University’s tuitions are all different, but UWF averages about $80 per credit hour. If students were to go over their “set clock” of credits, then they are looking at an additional $40 on top of each credit hour.

“The people who are going to get caught and have a problem are people who, once they enroll here, change their major frequently, change their major to something totaly different, withdraw from a lot of classes, have to repeat a lot of classes for whatever reason, or just decided they want to take courses just for fun,” Dziadon said.

PJC sent a Pirate e-mail titled “Excess Hours Advisory Statement” on March 16 that stated “all students whose educational plans may include earning the bachelor’s degree should make every effort to enroll in and successfully complete those courses that are required for their intended majors.”

The Florida Legislature passed this act to provide “incentives for efficient baccalaureate degree completion,” the statute said.

However, there are exemptions from excess charges: college credits earned through an articulated accelerated mechanism; credit hours that are earned through internship programs; credit hours required for certification, recertification, or certificate programs; credit hours in courses of which a student must withdraw due to medical or personal hardship; credit hours taken by active-duty personnel; credit hours required to achieve a dual major taken while pursuing a baccalaureate degree; remedial and English as second language credit hours; credit hours earned in military science that are a part of Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) programs.

All colleges and universities in the state are required to notify students about the new bill upon enrollment in the institutions and later, for a second time, when students have earned their required credits before excess.  

“UWF hasn’t had anyone hit [surplus],” Dziadon said. “I would imagine the first person to hit will be maybe next year sometime.”

Burton delivers a 3-D ‘Alice’

Jeremy Torres - The Corsair

Tim Burton’s new 3-D version of “Alice in Wonderland” is absolutely visually dazzling. This is the sequel to the 1951 Disney film of the same name that featured characters whose purpose was to tease, puzzle, and torment a young girl named Alice.

“What a child’s film,” I thought of the Disney version. However, Burton’s new addition has made me realize that “Alice in Wonderland” has never been a child’s story. Alice’s role, portrayed by Mia Wasikowska, is much more compelling as an adult, which is how Burton presents her. In the new film, Alice must revisit a world that has remained much the same, as most fantasy worlds do.

Unlike the juvenile familiar cartoon images that we all know, Burton does a wonderful job presenting all of the characters as they were meant to be presented. They are grotesque. When we meet Alice again at the beginning of this film, she does not remember much of her original trip to Wonderland. She once again follows the white rabbit in the suit to a small hole, only to slip and fall into that hole.

Once Alice is back in Wonderland, she discovers that the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) is trying to conquer Wonderland and do away with her sister, the White Queen (Anne Hathaway). Now Alice must set out on a long adventure to save Wonderland. She runs into numerous familiar characters along the way.

Wonderland is filled with many different species that range from a caffeine addicted hare to a seemingly mentally insane Mad Hatter. The Mad Hatter, deftly portrayed by Johnny Depp, delivers a silly shtick, breaking into a jig or brogue at the drop of a hat. However, he also displays an emotional side in this film. The Mad Hatter has a few scenes where he takes on the role of a father-like figure for Alice. In the midst of chaos it’s the Mad Hatter who brings life, joy, and heart into the film.

This film is enchanting. Featuring some of Hollywood’s biggest names, dazzling 3-D effects, and Burton’s trademark quirkiness, it’s a must see for everyone.

Find your career at Medical Expo

Check out exciting health career choices at Pensacola Junior College’s Medical Career Expo.The event is 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 23, in Student Affairs, Building 3600, on the Warrington campus, 5555 W. Highway 98.

PJC’s Medical Career Expo features more than 20 health careers including Surgical Technology, Medical

Assisting, Health Information Management, Dental Hygiene, Health Services Management, Nursing, EMT/Paramedic and Massage Therapy.

Students of all ages are invited to explore the possibilities. Come meet faculty and students and learn first-hand about PJC’s medical programs, financial aid, testing, student job services and student affairs.

For more Expo information, call Brenda Brantley at 484-2250 or Tracy Hunter at 484-2308.

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