Photos by: Nicole Galonczyk
Monday, March 18, 2013
Test Photo Shoot
Medium Shot: Tabitha Yeakle struts it in the mist.
Profile: Joanna Sullivan grins while taking pictures for class.
Long Shot: Joanna captures long shots of her classmates.
Close-Up: Buds appear on trees signaling spring.
Taken By: Chris DeSantis
Alex's Pictures
A student laughs uncomfortably as her amateur photographer classmates snap away.
A lone bike chained up outside the journalism building.
This bike's gears may need a "de-leafing".... (I'm trying here)
A man takes in some tunes and a cigarette on a break from his classes outside the journalism building.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
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 |
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