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Check out my blog post discussing updates in the Adnan Syed murder conviction case. 

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Listen to my unofficial update to the popular podcast series Serial: Season One. My update includes information regarding appeals for a new trial for Adnan Syed convicted of murdering ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee in 1999. Arguments will begin June 1st of this year. Stay tuned for more information.

Serial Season One

Serial Background Music

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Learn how Studying Abroad can change your life!

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Check out my in-depth interview with former Air Force radio technician and current Telecommunications Manager at the College of St. Scholastica.

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Minnesota Wild Rising in Ranks

Despite last night's loss against the Columbus Blue Jackets 1-0, the Minnesota Wild are standing strong holding their position as second in the NHL with 88 points, only five points behind the Washington Capitals with 93. A 41-15-6 record on its own shows the power of the Wild this season. Many strong scorers have carried the team to see this many wins: Mikael Granlund leads the team with 59 points and 21 goals, while Nino Niederreiter and Jason Zucker have each scored 20 goals this season. Clearly strong defense have helped tremendously as well, stomping out a number of worthy competitors. Goaltender Devan Dubnyk has won 34 games, and racked up a whopping 1,364 saves adding up to a .933 save percentage. He had great help from tough defenders on the team including Ryan Suter, Jared Spurgeon, Matt Dumba, Jonas Brodin, and Marco Scandella. The Wild just acquired Centers Ryan White and Martin Hanzal from Arizona while Jason Pominville and Zach Parise are out with the mumps. White and Hanzal have each recorded more than 100 hits, a higher number than any Wild player this season. The Wild hope to maintain momentum with this trade, and make it to the Stanley Cup playoffs beginning on April 12th. Their next game is scheduled for March 5th against the San Jose Sharks (38-18-7) in St. Paul.

Photo taken by me on Hockey Day Minnesota.

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Local Entrepreneurs Organize Hip Hop Show

DULUTH- On February 18th students from the College of Saint Scholastica worked together to put on a Hip Hop festival at the Red Herring Lounge. Semaj Moore, one of the students involved, is also the founder and talent director of the new organization MinniAux. MinniAux is “a multi-media Minnesota-based organization dedicated to up-and-coming artists”, according to their website. The Hip Hop festival featuring seven artists was their first event, open to college students, local Duluthians, and Hip Hop fans alike. 

The featured artists included AMJ Productions, JaysoCreative, Student 1, The Lioness, Why Khaliq, Jay Hollywood, and Destiny Roberts. Each provided distinct artistic styles of Hip Hop, some referencing personal life experiences, others touching on issues that effect the world as a whole. Hip Hop provides a strong empowering discussion of difficult feelings and issues that touch the lives of many people. 

For Duluth this concert was magnificent in its ability to bring varying demographics of concert goers together. MinniAux created a welcoming environment where music consumers of all ages could bond over common interests. 

MinniAux hopes to host more concerts this summer, and are located in the Twin Cities Minneapolis area. Check them out!

Extra: Hear Semaj Moore and Nafissa Osman, the Chief Operations Officer for MinniAux, promote their Hip Hop festival on the CSS Radio show The Storm. Yours truly co-hosted and facilitated the interview. [Interview 0:20-13:00]

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Social Media’s Role in Private Emotional Moments

Social media has many purposes- staying in contact with friends, creating virtual photo albums, and posting about adventures, loved ones, and more. But what happens when social media begins to give you information that used to be provided by a mother or a friend, information that they wouldn’t tell you over the phone. What happens when social media alerts you of the passing of a loved one before a human person can alert you themselves?

Well, this is the reality we live in. More than once someone I know, or myself personally, has learned of the passing of someone who has touched our lives online. Facebook posts were being written and speculation was flying before the police or the news had even released names. 

It seems odd at first, even cold and disconnected, to alert friends and acquaintances on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Although, if social media’s purpose is to inform people quickly, then this would be a grand accomplishment. Now people do not have to find out on Sunday from the obituary that a friend is no longer with them, they can find out the very same day.

It is hard to accept that in today’s day and age robots are responsible for delivering heartbreaking information, but this is the world that we live in. Facebook users will warn you of people’s deaths, Twitter followers will alert you of national tragedies, and you won’t miss any of the news since it is lying in your pocket at all times.

Here’s the real question: Are you okay with Facebook being the cold, blue bearer of bad news? Do we have a choice? Or is it similar to a newspaper, just faster, thus making it better?

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My First Protest

Standing in Solidarity here at CSS

This week I participated in my first protest, right here at St. Scholastica. It was an eye opening and empowering experience, filling me with a great sense of community and hope. 

In varying numbers we gathered in the main hallway in Tower passing in front of the student union blocking access for foot traffic. This forced students, staff and faculty to listen to our voices- protesting, chanting, and singing for equality.

No Ban No Wall- The US is Here for All

The People United will Never be Divided

Say it Loud, Say it Clear, Refugees are Welcome Here

We chanted these mantras beginning haphazardly but growing stronger and more confident with time. I showed up only knowing a few faces, but left feeling I had gained many friends.

The purpose of the protest was to raise awareness of President Trump’s executive order banning travel for residents and refugees from seven predominantly Muslim countries into the United States. Also, our chants were protesting the proposed wall between Mexico and the United States, proposed by President Trump as well. 

We hope to spread a message that St. Scholastica is an accepting and safe campus for all. We will not stand for hatred, discrimination, or a country lead with fear. We are in solidarity, together we are strong, and in the end we are all Saints.

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Snowden’s NSA File Leaks

NSA Files: Decoded-What the Revelations Mean for You

Of all my research of Edward Snowden and his actions in leaking top secret NSA documents back in 2013, this is my favorite source. The Guardian, the original source exposing Snowden’s leaks, compiled interviews from valuable and respectable sources. Links to leaked documents and words/ embedded audio videos from CEOs, Senators, and experts representing both sides of the debate over whether Snowden is a hero or traitor are present. The Guardian provides a long, and extremely interesting informative media article regarding what Snowden has done, how his actions will affect the future, what companies were involved, and what the NSA’s next moves are.

This is, in  my opinion the best article on Edward Snowden. Read the entire thing, and you will be exposed to facts and opinions about Snowden’s leaks. Some provide expert opinions condemning him, while other’s expertly protect him. This article, while containing bias leaning towards honoring Snowden’s actions, contains much of the information needed to make your own decision on whether to call him a traitor or a hero.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/interactive/2013/nov/01/snowden-nsa-files-surveillance-revelations-decoded#section/1

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A Study in Real News vs Fake News: Can you tell the difference?

Headline: Minnesota State Representative Faced With Possible Deportation

Ilhan Omar, the first Somali-American Muslim woman legislator, is facing a difficult future under President Donald Trump’s newest and most provocative executive order. Having signed more executive orders than days spent in office, President Trump has not seen a day in the White House free of protests. Some of these executive orders included giving the go ahead to construction companies handling the Keystone XL Pipeline and the Dakota Access Pipeline, waving portions of Obama Care, and pulling out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. 

Of these executive orders includes one banning refugees and residents from seven Muslim countries, including Omar’s home country Somalia. Ilhan Omar will be required to testify for her citizenship in a Congressional hearing where members will vote on her right to stay in the United States. The hearing is set for the Fall of 2017. If her citizenship is revoked she will be forcefully removed from office and deported to Somalia. 

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Documentary or Reality TV?

A student’s opinion on the truth of ‘true’ crime shows.

When searching through the endless choices of movie or show titles some are drawn to those that offer substantial real world information. What sets these shows or movies apart from the rest is that they can be classified as documentaries. While not often discussed, they generally receive due attention from classrooms, the Oscars and Golden Globes, and those of us who watch them just for fun (guilty!).

Documentaries have a factual style to their presentation, often offering a high concentration of facts with a minimal amount of story line. Recently I have begun to question the relationship between television shows shows with a high factual content of information and films specifically labeled as documentaries. 

In particular I am referring to crime shows featured on the channel Investigation Discovery. These shows, including Homicide Hunters, Scorned: Love Kills,  Murder Comes to Town, and countless others have strikingly similar aspects to documentary films. Despite the different subtitles each show follows a cookie-cutter outline: 

 setting the scene- date of murder, place, victim or victims’ names

family or friends’ stories of lost loved one

 investigators/ police sharing their investigation process

suspects and alibis 

plot twist- investigation takes on a new light

catch the killer- trial and sentencing

These murders are real, and the testimonies from friends, family, and police officers/ investigators should, in theory, not require any further discussion of the classification of these episodes as documentary. Where the debate arises is during the show itself, and the audience reaction at home. Investigation Discovery’s content alongside the official police reports, takes on a sense of dramatized reality television.

The network creates a audience involvement which could be compared to HGTV’s House Hunters. Although in this case, the family on the couch is yelling at the officers on the screen telling them who to arrest, rather than yelling at the couple over which house to choose. This, with the overly dramatic narrators, and asides with significant others, parents, best friends, and officers of the law, resembling shows such as Real Housewives, make me question what exactly I am watching. Let alone the addictive pull of reality TV shows! I could leave ID run all day and night and still be entertained!

Regardless, when referring back to my internal debate over whether or not these murder shows should be considered Realty TV or Documentaries, I think I have come upon a conclusion. A new genre of television: Reality Documentaries (seems redundant, but in the case of TV, I feel that it’s extraordinarily fitting).  

So there you are. Next time you turn on ID to indulge your guilty pleasures, you can inform your friend online that you are “Watching ID! #RealityDocumentaries”.

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El Sereno, CA

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That to me is strong writing for women. (insp.)

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Watch: Nicki Minaj reciting Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise” is the most empowering video you’ll see today 

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Stop victim blaming. Stop telling women they are at fault for the actions of their attackers. Take charge

TRUTH.

Stop victim blaming and start teaching men not to rape. #yesallwomen #feminist #feminism #equalrights #equaltreatment #rapeculture #notaskingforit #neveraskingforit

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#WomenBetrayed is trending, so I thought I’d post this in response.