Kazan State University Professor Meets With UAlbany Students

Meeting someone from a different culture can alter one’s outlook on life. Some UAlbany students got the opportunity to do that this past Wednesday. Dr. Julia Ziyatdinova of Kazan State University gave a presentation to students, followed by a question and answer session. Kazan is located in the republic of Tatarstan in the central European part of Russia. This is her first time in America, and she will be in the country for about a month visiting various universities in the state.
Ziyatdinova’s presentation gave students a short presentation about the Tatar Republic, a place that many Americans know little about. Ziyatdinova gave a brief introduction to the history and culture of the Tatar Republic, and how it became Tatarstan. Today, the country’s population consists of a fairly even mix of Tatars and Russians.
After the presentation, UAlbany journalism students had the opportunity to ask Ziyatdinova more personal questions, and to learn more about her culture. Ziyatdinova is a 31 year old English professor at Kazan State Univeristy in Russia. She chose to be an English professor after studying the English language. Ziyatdinova is fluent in four languages: Russian, Tatar, Turkish, and English. This was her first time in an English speaking environment, although it was difficult to tell just by speaking with her.
Ziyatdinova spoke a lot about the cultural differences she’s noticed between Tatarstan and America. One difference was the abundance of fast food in our country. People in Kazan tend to eat lots of soups, vegetables, chicken, and potatoes. Also, there are not many Chinese restaurants in Kazan while there are several in most American cities. One shocking cultural difference is the way divorce is handled. Although it is becoming more common in Kazan, divorce is still a topic that is not openly discussed in their culture. Another cultural difference is that it is considered impolite to consume a beverage in public, something that millions of Americans do on a daily basis.
When asked about Kazan students, Ziyatdinova replied “I think students are the same.” One difference she did point out was the way that students dress for class. Students in Kazan would never come to class in pajamas, while that is not out of the ordinary for American students. Another thing Ziyatdinova noticed about our culture is the number of people that smile. “That is an American tradition,” she believes. Ziyatdinova also commented on America’s reliance on the automobile. She stated that “there is no way for pedestrians to walk.” This is different from Kazan’s culture, which is more accepting of pedestrians. Ziyatdinova said that there is a lot more diversity in America than there is in Kazan. “It’s good that people show their culture here,” said Ziyatdinova. She has learned a lot about American culture during the first few days of her visit, and hopes to experience more throughout her visit. “I learned things here that no textbook can teach me.”

Spitzer Scandal

Two days after apologizing at a press conference for making undisclosed poor decisions, Governor Eliot Spitzer announced his resignation today. "I cannot allow my private failings to disrupt the people's work," said Spitzer. This resignation does not come as a shock to many, considering the strong response from the public after the information was released. Talks of possible impeachment is probably what led Spitzer to make the final decision to resign. It will be interesting to see if Washington D.C. will prosecute Spitzer for prostitution, which is a crime there, as it is in many states. He will be replaced by Lieutenant Governor David Paterson on Monday. Paterson will make history by being the state's first black governor who is also legally blind. He will be the second disabled governor since Franklin D. Roosevelt. Scandals like these make me wonder what the politicians are thinking when they make poor decisions. They rarely don't get caught, so why take the risk?

The Bill of Rights

The first amendment of the Bill of Rights protects Americans from five things. The first amendment gives citizens the freedom of speech, religion, and press. It also gives Americans the right to assembly, and the right to petition for the passage of laws. The other nine amendments are as follows:
2nd- right to bear arms, and the right to a milita
3rd- soldier's right to stay at any citizen's house during time of war
4th- Supreme Court has power of judicial review
5th- right to not self-incriminate
6th- right to a speedy and public trial
7th- right to a trial by jury
8th- bail, fines, and punishments must be reasonable
9th- rights shall not be construed to deny certain people
10th- any powers not delegated to the federal government or prohibited to the states rely in the hands of the people

Site: http://www.cyberlearning-world.com/nhhs/compapps/workshop/billofrights/explain.htm

Prince Harry and The Media

I believe that the British Press was right for keeping Prince Harry's military enrollment a secret. Keeping this a secret protected him from the danger he would be in if people knew that he was serving in Afghanistan. If the British Press withheld this information from the public for other reasons, like Prince Harry's self-gain, then I do not agree with their decision. The role of the press is to inform the public, no matter what. After a story like this is uncovered, people begin to wonder what other things the media is choosing not to tell them, breaking down the trust between the public and the media. This can cause many problems in the future.

Budgets

Like most college students, Kristan spends a majority of her money on partying and buying clothes. Going out two nights a week costs her about $200 a month. She spends another $200 on clothes, mainly from the store she works at, Rhuel. Most of her revenue comes from her parents, who give her about $1280 a month. This money goes to various things like paying for her Toyota 4-Runner, and an $80 cell phone bill.
The rest of the money spent goes to miscellaneous things, like partying, taxis, cosmetics, and clothes. She also charges some purchases on her credit card. Some of Kristan's revenue comes from her summer jobs, one at Rhuel, and another job waitressing. After seeing Kristan's budget, it is quite apparent what is important to her: living the college life.

UAlbany Students Get Behind The Scenes Look At A Newsroom

Hundreds of Journalism students gathered in the PAC’s Recital Hall last Wednesday afternoon for a showing of Aaron Matthew’s “The Paper.” “The Paper” is a documentary about The Daily Collegian, Penn State University’s newspaper during the 2004-2005 school year. Matthew’s documentary gives the audience insight into what it is like to work in a college newsroom.
“The Paper” follows the lives of student journalists Laura Baker, Kayur Patel, Bridget Smith, Jenny Vrentas, and James Young. The group faces many problems during this year, including a few controversies and a lack of circulation. The Daily Collegian previously had a circulation of around 20,000 copies, but only had a circulation between 14,000 and 15,000 at the time the documentary was filmed. At the beginning of “The Paper,” the journalists struggled to raise interest and circulation of The Daily Collegian.
Rookie journalist Kayur Patel faced a lot of difficulty with his first beat. He had a hard time meeting deadlines, and balancing his newspaper responsibilities with his schoolwork. Student journalist Jenny Ventras faced a lot of discrimination for being a female in sports journalism. She received limited access to the athletes from the coaches, making it hard to cover the stories that she wanted. Eventually, she went around the coaches to interview the players, and finally got the story she wanted. Ventras was reprimanded for her actions, but that did not stop her from covering her beat.
The Daily Collegian faced a lot of criticism from its peers. One of its ongoing complaints was the lack of black representation in The Daily Collegian. Black students were expressing the invisibility they felt at Penn State University on a daily basis. Members of the Black Caucus met with editor James Young numerous times to discuss the limited coverage of issues that affected black students. The Black Caucus held a press conference on campus to address this issue, and became highly upset when The Daily Collegian identified it as a rally.
Another issue that caused major controversy was a letter to the editor that The Daily Collegian decided to publish. The newspaper wrote a front page article that featured two homosexual couples kissing. One displeased student wrote a letter calling homosexuals as queer, and not considered real people. Despite the disagreements of some of the editors, the letter was published in the newspaper. The Penn State student community was outraged, and The Daily Collegian became swamped with letters of disgust. Surprisingly, this caused a sudden jump in circulation, which is what The Daily Collegian aimed to do. By the end of the movie, the editors learned what sells newspapers.
After the showing of the movie, there was a question and answer session with filmmaker Aaron Matthews. Students had the opportunity to ask Matthews various questions to learn more about his film making process. “The Paper” is not Matthew’s first documentary, he has done a few in the past about diverse subjects. Matthews became interested in media columns after September 11th, leading to his interest in The Daily Collegian. When asked why he chose Penn State, his answer was simple: “I live there.” Matthew’s wife works at the university, and it was close enough that he could walk there. The filmmaking process is complicated, and Matthews put in a great deal of time and effort into making “The Paper.” ITBS.org and the Sundance Institute gave him $235,000 to make the documentary. Matthews was also paid a $100,000 salary over a two and a half year period. There is no profit made from documentaries. Matthews recorded about 350 hours of footage, 75 percent of which taken Matthews took by himself. He then spent the next four months reviewing it. The editing process was difficult, since it was impossible to use all of the footage he recorded. When asked if he questioned showing certain material, Matthews claimed that everything he thought was important was in the film. He also stated that one of the students asked that a tragic personal story be left out of the documentary. Matthews ‘presence in the newsroom was not hindering to the students, but hindering to his typical filmmaking process. Matthews does not like taking the fly-on-the-wall approach. Instead he would rather talk and interact with his subjects. Although this was a long and intricate process, Matthews enjoyed the time he spent at The Daily Collegian. “Overall, I was amazed with the activity and business of the newsroom,” stated Matthews.

Interview Analysis

The interview I chose to watch was an ABC News interview done a couple of months ago. Alisha Davis interviewed recording artist Will. I. Am and director Jesse Dylan about a music video the two made based off of Barack Obama's "Yes We Can" speech made in January 2008. I think the best question that Davis asked was "What inspired you guys to make 'Yes We Can'?" This question led to a very detailed, personal answer that gave insight to Will.I.Am's personality and his intentions for making the song and music video. Another important question that was asked was "Are you apart of the campaign?" This is an important question because many people would assume that Will. I. Am and Jesse Dylan made this video because they are apart of the campaign, or that they had some ulterior motive behind making the song and video. Alisha Davis seemed enthusiastic about the interview. However, she asked a lot of questions about their inspiration and involvement in the campaign, making me wonder if she or ABC News assumed that they were making the video for other reasons. Both Will. I. Am and Jesse Dylan seemed calm throughout the interview and provided personal, in-depth answers to the questions. I did not witness any errors in this interview, I think that Davis got the answers she wanted out of her interview, and all of the questions the general public would want answered were answered.

Interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBn7FEtn0E8