Feeling the Pinch

Money issues have been bombarding me lately and it is really stressing me out. I usually don't type personal little thoughts on my blog, but I feel I need to get some stuff off my chest. Money is important to me, that is to the extent that I have a roof over my head and the essentials to provide. As some of you might know I am getting married in August and I could not be more excited, but I am already dealing with things that only married couples should deal with. My fiance lives in Iowa and needs to find an apartment in May. This new apartment will be our home next year and it is stressing us both out. The reason I am stressed is due to the fact that I have no stinking clue what my job will be in Iowa, so it is hard to determine how much we should spend on rent if we don't even know our income. This weekend I am making a quick trip (no such thing) down to Iowa to look at apartments. I don't know what this will accomplish, but it seems that it must be done. I'm in desperate need of a vacation from all this stress. If you read this, sorry for the amount of complaining, but I might feel better. If this trip does not go well you will hear about it.

Watch the cranes, but don’t be a pain

The Sandhill Cranes flock to central Nebraska every spring but the cranes are not the only living beings that flock to this area every year. These other living beings come with big suburbans, giant binoculars, and thick dark sunglasses. They come from all over to view the graceful cranes that eat and nest near the Platte River. I think it is fascinating that so many people are interested in watching these birds for long periods of time, but it is more amazing that these watchers are more preoccupied with the birds than driving or pulling off to the side of the road.

I have lived out near Ft. Kearny for most of my life and every spring I deal with the song of the cranes at early hours in the morning, but their wake up calls are not the most annoying thing that I have to deal with every spring. The most annoying thing is dodging the crane watchers wondering on the country roads and their parked suburbans taking up most of the street. I have nothing against cranes and I understand that it is necessary for them to come to this area to nest and do what they do, but is it necessary to make such a big deal about these birds? I have encountered few people from Kearney that go out and watch the cranes. This might be due to the crowd that I am around, but most people I have observed watching cranes are from other states or from other parts of Nebraska.

Over the break I happened to talk with a crane watcher from Ann Arbor, Mich. I was reporting for the Kearney Hub by getting video footage of the wild grass fire that occurred on Monday, March 23. Her name was Julie and I was talking to her because she was walking on the hike and bike trail at the Ft. Kearny Park, which was near the scene of the fire. I asked her what her thoughts were about the blazing fire?

“Well, it is really unfortunate,” she said. “I just hope these firemen can get it under control so I can come back later and view the cranes nesting in there habitat.”

My initial reaction was shock. Instead of worrying about human life and the habitat of the other animals that live in the area year round, she wants to worry about her chance of viewing the cranes nest on the Platte River. This has brought me to put together a little poem that summarizes my feelings toward the crane watchers and their actions.


Watch out crane watchers

Every year they come in groups
From all over the nation they travel in troops
I am not talking about the beautiful cranes
I am talking about the people who drive me insane

The people that park on the side of the road
And stare out into cornfields like a bunch of toads
It is fine with me if they want to sit and watch
But it seems to me that these people don't drive much

While they drive they stare out at the birds
And don't pay attention to the road and its curves
They take up the entire road when they drive and park
Luckily most of them go home after dark

The birds probably feel like big deals
I am surprised these people don't serve them meals
The crane watchers seem to think the birds are so precious
But others say when you cook them they are delicious

If you’re going to watch birds make sure you are out of the way
If you do that the locals can deal with you until the beginning of May
Like the courtesy you show cranes, show courtesy to humans
Cause if you don't my head will be fumin'

Watch yourself crane watchers

Every year they come in groups
From all over the nation they travel in troops
I am not talking about the beautiful cranes
I am talking about the people who drive me insane

The people that park on the side of the road
And stare out into cornfields like a bunch of toads
It is fine with me if they want to sit and watch
But it seems to me that these people don't drive much

While they drive they stare out at the birds
And don't pay attention to the road and its curves
They take up the entire road when they drive and park
Luckily most of them go home after dark

The birds probably feel like big deals
I am surprised these people don't serve them meals
The crane watchers seem to think the birds are so precious
But others say when you cook them they are delicious

If your going to watch birds make sure you are out of the way
If you do that the locals can deal with you until the beginning of May
Like the courtesy you show cranes, show courtesy to humans
Cause if you don't my head will be fumin'

Reporting on Suffering

As I sat and listened to Kevin Sites, reporter for The Hot Zone on Yahoo, I found myself very impressed and jealous of his world travels. In my head I thought about how awesome it would be to travel the world and see beautiful landscapes all while taking pictures, writing stories and shooting video. I know it would be a difficult job to do, but what a great opportunity. Then one image from his documentary hit me very hard and I found myself realizing that I could probably never do the job that Sites has done.

In his documentary there was a clip of a Red Cross worker opening a van that was filled with dead children. Then the worker proceeded to pick up a child to show to the camera. It is probably one of the most shocking things I have seen. The body of the boy laid in the workers arms like a heavy blanket, draping down and lifeless. Now I have seen many murders and dead bodies in movies and television shows but this was different. Kevin Sites has done an excellent job at bringing a face to these conflict zones and when I saw this lifeless boy I felt the reality of war in one single frame.

I asked Sites if he has ever felt the need to drop the camera and dive in to help these innocent people that have suffered in the midst of these wars. He told me there have been a couple instances where he has felt that need. One instance, he told me, was in Iran when a group of elderly people were in need and he decided to take action and help instead of reporting their struggles. He said it was like he was helping his grandparents survive. The other instance was in Iraq when he wanted to help a dying man, but passed him by. According to Sites that decision still haunts him today.

These instances that Sites explained to me are the main reasons why I do not think I could perform his job. Personally, I think I would get too attached and feel the need to drop my camera every time to help these suffering people. I remember a story about a photojournalist, Kevin Carter, who committed suicide after winning a Pulitzer for taking a photo of a little South African girl crawling to a food center while being stalked by a vulture. Being in these situations would really take a toll on a reporter and in the example of Carter, he could he lost hope. If I was just reporting and not physically helping in these areas of the world I would feel sick and almost lose some hope as well, but you cannot help others if you take your own life.

I commend Kevin Sites on his excellence in reporting the back stories to these wars. He may not be jumping in to save lives in every war zone, but that is not his job and that is not the best way he can help these people. His main goal is to put a face to these conflicts and make these people who suffer on a daily basis relatable to people around the world.

While, I am probably not going to be a future Kevin Sites, his words and reporting have touched me deeply. It has touched me to the point that I almost need to take a step back and look at the important things in my life. I realize that I am lucky to live in this country where I have freedom to make my own decisions, and I hope that most of my decisions will benefit others more than myself.

I want to personally thank Kevin Sites for coming to UNK to speak and share his story.

Pranks v. Friendship

I recently watched a video of a prank at a Maryland basketball game, and I thought it was hilarious. My only question is how far can a prank go before it permanently damages a friendship? This video is a second part to another prank that involved a guy and his girlfriend. I will let you guys interpret the video for yourself, but I would be majorly ticked at my friend if he would ever do this to me. The first video is of the Maryland game and the second is the initial prank at a New York Yankees game. Enjoy!

Watch Prank War 7: The Half Million Dollar Shot and more funny videos on CollegeHumor

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Great Column

Since we are now discussing columns in class I decided to read some, so I can become an expert. Well, I still do not feel like an expert, but I happened to come across a very good column. I read an article that was very encouraging, considering our current economic situation in the U.S. All this news about people losing jobs and the falling stock market is very depressing. These hard times have even hit my pockets. Recently, I had to take a 5% pay cut at work. Now it is a bummer to take a cut in pay, but I am still happy that I have a job and 5% is better than 6%. If you all are going through some tough times right now I hope that this column by Lori Potter at the Kearney Hub will offer you some encouragement.

Give us a solution

Imagine waking up and going to your job, that you have worked at for 20 years, only to find out that your position has been terminated. How gut wrenching would that be to find out that your livelihood is no longer need after all those years?

That is exactly what happened to Shahla Alavi, a professor in the department of computer science and information systems. Her position was eliminated due to budget cuts and the lack in students majoring in computer science and information systems at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

Recently, faculty at UNK has offered to take pay cuts to ease the strain of these hard economic times. Although it might not be possible for teachers to take pay cuts due to union rules that govern faculty pay, it is very admirable these teachers at the university are willing to reduce their income for the betterment of the college. The teachers at UNK have seemed to come to the realization that it is better to keep their jobs and lose a little money than to be terminated from their positions indefinately.

Pay cuts could also be made in other areas of the university. Higher administrative jobs could help by taking reduced pay, but no suggestion of this sort has been made. According to Chancellor Doug Christensen, UNK needs to prepare to do some things to reach the budget shortfalls, but at this point in time they do not know the full scope of what this budget cut will do.

J.B. Miliken, the University of Nebraska president, also stated that it is too early to settle on a solution to this current economic challenge.

It seems that there is a lot of talk about how much money is not available to the university, but there is no talk of a solution. The only solution that has been voiced clearly is the pay cuts proposed by UNK’s own faculty. It might be too early to panic according to Christensen and Miliken, but there must be some solution to ease the worry of faculty and others employed by the college.

If faculty are released from their positions they will obviously be disheartened and have to find other means of employment, but it will also be damaging to the university. It will lower the morale of those that are still employed with the college and it will also cause a decrease in the classes that are offered, making it more difficult for students to graduate.

The solution being proposed by the UNK faculty is praiseworthy. No one wants to see people lose their jobs. Just ask Shahla Alavi if she would have rather taken a pay cut or loser her job?

It is important the university officials come up with a solution soon so that no more faculty have to join Alavi in the unemployment line.