Grady Blunder Disadvantages Students

Journalism students struggle to independently meet industry standards. 

By Chris DeSantis

Like most students, Gina Borg, senior journalism student at Grady College, has a hard road ahead of her when she graduates this May. Unlike other students, however, her college education might be part of the problem, not the solution.

"I'm confident I’ll find a job somewhere, but it might not be the one I really want," Borg said.

In fact, including Borg, about 25 journalism students will be graduating this May less prepared than their peers.

Due to a disproportionate number of faculty to students, Kent Middleton, the head of the journalism department in Grady College, decided to waive the visual course usually required to graduate with a journalism degree.

“Because we had more students than we had seats in the visual required courses, we had to make a decision,” said journalism advisor Maria Cooper Adams. “Some of the seniors could graduate early, and we didn’t want to hold them back.”

According to Adams, the journalism department had been down one faculty member and was forced to hire a few adjunct faculty to pick up the slack, but that wasn’t enough to prevent exceptions from being made to get seniors out the door.

Dana Balch, a junior public relations student, was accepted into one of the visual classes a year in advance, but she recognizes that there were others who did not have that good fortune.

“It is a terrible decision,” said Balch. “I am shocked that this class isn't required for journalism majors, considering things are moving online these days."

To satisfy their visual requirement, Grady students are usually required to complete only one of four classes; options include photo journalism, graphic communications, new media production and digital media production.

These classes offer a wide variety of skill sets, such as experience in important software applications like InDesign, Photoshop, Adobe and competency in HTML and digital photography. Such skills are becoming increasingly more important in the journalism industry every year - a fact Borg is all too aware of as she prepares to venture out into the industry under-qualified.

“I will definitely be at a disadvantage,” Borg said. “One of the first things employers look to a lot of the time are your graphic skills. If another applicant has writing experience that is similar to mine but also has design knowledge, they will probably be chosen for employment over me.”

Like Borg, Mariah Weathersby is also graduating this spring with a degree in journalism, but her experience in graphic software applications is extensive for a student yet to venture full-time into the professional world. Unlike the typical student, however, Weathersby takes a do-it-yourself attitude toward education - an attitude which sets her resumé apart.

“I do think it was unfair to waive the visual requirement on Kent Middleton’s part,” Weathersby said. “It is vital in this day and age, but he doesn't owe anyone anything. People who take initiative will receive the benefits - guaranteed.”

Seniors to have their visual requirement waived the following semester were given the option to stay an extra semester and take the visual course or accept the waive and graduate on time or earlier.

“After we sent out the notification email, only two students seemed concerned vocally,” Adams said. “I don’t think Dr. Middleton would have waived the requirement if he had thought that in doing so he was sending students out unprepared.”

None of the other 25 students voiced their concerns to the department head, however that doesn’t mean they weren’t concerned as well.

“While I'm disappointed about not taking the class, I would've been more disappointed about putting my life on hold for another semester when all of my other requirements are already in order," Borg said. "The changes felt so last minute. I wonder why the school didn't foresee this enough to make a better plan."

Though the decision to make these curriculum changes was Grady’s, Weathersby believes that education should be more of an independent pursuit.

“Maybe instead of blaming the system, some independent responsibility should be placed here. So what if Grady waived the visual requirement. Take a class outside of Grady,” Weatherby suggested.

Future students have nothing to worry about at this point, according to Adams, because the department has hired a new permanent faculty member to begin in the fall as well as more adjunct faculty.

Currently, this situation appears to have been a one-time phenomenon in Grady history. However, students are wondering if taking one required visual class is even enough for journalism students these days.

“I definitely think familiarity with digital media gives me an edge over other Grady students,” Balch said. “It's the little things; I designed my own business card, and my personal website has my resume on it. I think it helps set me apart in the job market...Journalism majors aren't as much competition to me because my experiences sets me ahead of them anyway. But they are definitely at a disadvantage in their own fields.”

Increased Housing Prices

Housing Prices Increasing

By: Nicole Galonczyk

Bethany Humphrey is one of 4,970 freshmen students who will be moving out of her dorm and into a new house or apartment. Over the years, housing in Athens is slowly increasing, a problem that Humphrey is experiencing firsthand.

This year, many apartment complexes in prime locations are raising their rent prices due to a number of factors while other apartment complexes further from campus are keeping rent prices constant or slowly increasing them.

Humphrey, a freshman majoring in pre-journalism from Carrolton, Ga., feels the effects of the market as she searches for her first college apartment.

“My older sister is a junior and lives in Steeplechase and her apartment was $290 before utilities,” Humphrey said. “The one I was looking at downtown was $500 without utilities – that’s so much.”

The pre-journalism major currently resides in Russell Hall which costs $4,904 for the academic school year and around $545 per month. Comparing her rent in the dorms to the downtown apartment she was looking at without utilities, the cost of on-campus housing is about the same price as living in an apartment near downtown.

Russell Hall and the freshmen residence halls nearby on west campus are dorms where the cost of living is comparable to an apartment downtown. However, the residence halls on east campus are the most expensive for the freshmen and upperclassmen that live there. These dorms cost $7,796 for an academic year and summer, roughly around 11.5 months. Rent on this side of campus is $678 per month, exceeding the cost of rent at many apartment complexes and rental houses.

Realtor Melinda McCausland of Benny Payne Realty has been in the real estate business for 20 years and has watched different market trends in the Athens-Clarke county area. She says that housing prices are no longer decreasing, but are slowly increasing.

“There are still a lot of foreclosures on the market since people are more willing to give up investment properties rather than their homes,” McCausland said. “We still see a lot of condos in foreclosure [in Athens], but the market isn’t as down as it used to be.”

McCausland says that for some individuals it’s hard to receive financing in order to put money down on a rental property. She also says that apartment complexes struggle to obtain financing because properties must have 51 percent owner occupancy in order to be eligible.

“Lenders are tight on financing and are more worried about the housing market coming back than the market for condos,” McCausland said.

The realtor says that apartment complexes are simply raising rental prices “because they can” and since students must have housing, the prices aren’t stopping them or their parents from renting.

She attributes the increased rental costs to apartment complexes that are in popular locations such as downtown and locations within walking distance to campus.

McCausland has noted a trend in student housing and says that ever since the financial downturn more students are renting foreclosures because they’re cheaper and easier to rent.

Brandy Duckworth, property manager of Towneclub Condominiums located off of Milledge Avenue, credits increased rental prices to the market value of apartments in the area.

“Not every student can fork out a lot of money to spend on an apartment and we don’t increase prices every year, but when we have to we have reasons and have to keep up with the market value,” Duckworth said.

Duckworth said she receives calls from market researchers and building developers who plan to add more housing nearby.

Because the recently released market survey showed that Towneclub was actually one of the properties that was below market value, Duckworth said that Club properties had to increase its rent.

In a New York Times article from September 2012, Patrick Newport of IHS Global Insight, a private research firm, says that lower-priced homes and rentals are rising slightly faster in market value as opposed to homes in the middle and upper tiers.

Newport’s findings can be recognized in the local housing market, especially in popular locations.

The researcher found that a lower-priced home rose at an annual rate of 1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, while the upper tier homes increased only by .01 percent.

Long Range Planner for Athens-Clarke County Gavin Hassemer partly credits the price of gas and transportation for the rise of luxury apartments downtown, like the newly constructed Flats at Carrs Mill.

 “Even though downtown apartments are closer and more expensive than those on the outside of town, when you factor in gas mileage to get from downtown Athens to the perimeter versus being able to walk from downtown, it [housing prices] may actually balance itself out,” Hassemer said.

Apartment complexes further from campus have also increased slowly in their rental prices. The U Apartments, located past the Athens perimeter, has noted the market value of other locations nearby and adjusted its prices to match competitors.

Last year, a 4 bedroom apartment cost $395 and a 2 bedroom suite was $455. Now, the rent is $10 extra per month because of new appliances and amenities in the apartment community.

A leasing consultant with the apartment complex said that they've increased their rent in order to stay competitive with other apartments near the Athens perimeter. They've also increased their rent to make sure they're receiving the same price per square footage as other apartments.

The long range planner also attributes trends to being part of the increased housing prices. Hassemer said that 20 years ago there used to be more apartments downtown, but then “shinier, nicer ones popped up on the east and west side.” He believes that trend is gone, since now students want to be closer to downtown.

Hassemer said students can expect price increases at complexes near streets and locations that have access to transportation.

“Milledge is very popular because it has a bus route and sidewalks for good portions of the road,” he said. “It’s also a main thoroughfare that everyone knows due to its restaurants, office and medical locations.”

For older apartments, it’s going to take remodeling or some type of amenity that isn’t offered downtown. Hassemer said that older complexes should remodel or else they won’t be able to retain their renters and they’ll be forced to shut down.

"Students focus more on housing downtown because it's shinier and new. I don't blame them; I'd want to live downtown too."

Edited by: Taylor Knowles

Brandy Duckworth, leasing manager of Towneclub Condominiums attributes increased rental prices to the market value of other apartment complexes in Athens

Jobs Slowly Increase for Grady Grads

Taylor Knowles 

Lindsey Derrick graduated from University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication in 2011 in hopes of becoming a sports reporter. Two years later, she is still trying to find the perfect job to jumpstart her career.

The journalism industry took a massive hit along with most of the job market in 2007, but recent studies show that graduates leaving college are becoming more successful in finding work.

Each year surveys are sent out to graduates who are asked to disclose their employment status. Questions may include whether or not the graduate is employed, if the job is full-time or part-time, how much it pays or if their job correlates to their field of study. Findings from the Annual Survey of Journalism and Mass Communication Graduates, from the James M. Cox Jr. Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research were released on Aug. 9, 2012.

Director of the Cox Center, Dr. Lee B. Becker, associate director, Dr. Tudor Vlad and graduate research assistant, Konrad Kalpen reported that from 2010 to 2011, bachelor’s degree recipient’s full-time employment status was up from 58.2 percent to 62.2 percent. Research also showed that there was a slight increase in the salary compared to the year before. This change doesn’t seem like a large increase, but researchers are confident that this number will continue to rise.

Despite the research, some students are still struggling to find full-time, high-paying jobs. Derrick says the full-time job search has been anything but easy. 

Derrick said that she was fortunate enough to have a job waiting for her after graduation and has had three jobs since graduating. Initially, she was employed as a freelance sports writer and is currently a public relations contract writer for Dalton Public Schools.

“Both of these are part-time, and I'm finding it difficult to find that big job- the one with the big magazine or company. It's just really difficult and discouraging sometimes.”

Job experience is one of the factors Derrick believes is holding her back from getting the paid position she wants.

“I'm seeing the same things with job requirements- they want someone with a master’s or someone with years of experience or both. It's really frustrating sometimes because I just feel like recent college grads aren't getting an opportunity to get job experience.”

Graduates need experience, but some employers don’t pay their interns, making the hunt for that perfect job even harder.

Dr. Leara Rhodes, associate professor of journalism at the University of Georgia, agrees that some businesses are taking advantage of the job market. However, Rhodes says this shouldn’t deter students from getting the experience they need.

Rhodes advises her students to become familiar with working on different types of platforms.

“Find one or two things that you can really be good at, but introduce yourself to everything else to kind of get familiar,” Rhodes said.

Cecil Bentley, director of Grady College External Relations, says unpaid internships for college grads are nothing new. Many students recognize Bentley by his job and internship listserv emails that are sent nearly every week to help students gain the work experience they need to be competitive in the job market.

“A lot of internships are unpaid,” Bentley said, “but the key things you want to make sure in there is that you are getting professional experience- you are working with someone who can be a mentor or supervisor.”

Cecil Bentley, director of Grady College External Relations

Kayla Allen, a senior double majoring in English and publication management graduating in May, says she will begin her job search in March. Like many other students, Allen plans to use the Career Center to begin her job search.

“I definitely am going to check out Dawglink and the Grady Career Fair,” Allen said. “There are a lot of opportunities through UGA as a school that can lead to jobs or interesting ventures after graduation.”

Don’t know where to start in the job search? The Career Center has plenty of resources. Career Consultants can help edit resumes and cover letters, go over job search strategies and conduct mock interviews so the real thing doesn’t seem as scary.

Many students use the University’s resources to find jobs. Keith Roper graduated in December of 2012 and has already signed a contract to begin working as an evaluation analyst. He found the job listing on Dawglink, but says the key to finding the job was networking.

“Take every opportunity while you’re still in school to go to networking events,” Roper said.

With the University resources to help students find jobs and the slight increase in employment, it’s important to stay active in the job search and consider every option that becomes available.

“I think if a student is flexible and determined and focused, they will find a job,” Rhodes said. “I think the landscape is open for those types of people.”

Edited by: Nicole Galonczyk