Script Draft: Arizona State Orientation

(Intro music plays)

Speaker: While most students are asleep on this summer Wednesday morning, these incoming freshmen are getting ready for their college orientation. Freshmen orientation is taking place in the center of campus at Arizona State University inside of the Memorial Union. Orientation is well organized months in advance by staff members and community assistants. Although the event is time consuming, it is filled with various lectures, power points, information and a lunch, which is very enjoyable for students. Many Arizona State students believe that orientation was very beneficial in helping them understand the expectations of the University and the attempts the staff will make to help students succeed. It also motivated students to attend, while making them less worry some about the grand change.

The large amount of students scheduled to arrive at orientation are separated into smaller groups. Looking around there is an array of things for students to do while at orientation. There are students who are being lectured, meeting their advisors for the first time and students enrolling in their fall classes for the semester. The students are being helped by given the support they need to be motivated and are meeting people at the same time.

Student: I thought orientation was going to be a waste of time however I signed up and came and found it to be very comforting. There are many students here who are all at the same stage of entering college as I am and it’s a comfort that I am not alone. There is also much information being shared by advisors and upperclassmen here that I would have not known had I not attended the event.

Speaker: What is the most helpful component of your orientation experience?

Student: I would have to say signing up for classes. It is a difficult process and the advisors do a great job at separating the students and giving them information about the classes they need to be taken and then help students enroll, while also giving them one on one attention. This made it extremely easy for me to sign up for classes using the ASU website.

Speaker: There is much knowledge that is being communicated at orientation that could not be given on a website. It is hours of compiled information regarding the school itself, its’ expectations and classes. At the beginning of orientation students confirm their identification and take a picture for their Sun Card. The staff explains to them what the Sun Card is for and how it gives them access to the library, their dormitories, meal plans, M&G dollars and much more. Students are also given the option to set up a bank account with MidFirst Bank, the bank that is used primarily by ASU. The benefits of using this account is that there are MidFirst ATM’s found all over campus. The orientation also offers various pamphlets to students and parents about books, safety, the ASU police department and clubs. Orientation is not completely informational but is fun as well. Students receive free T-Shirts, water bottles, bracelets, pens, and much more. They are also served a delicious meal at lunchtime with breakfast, lunch and desserts for everyone’s craving. Lunchtime is the break during the orientation however after it is over it is straight to the halls where they continue their orientation.

Speaker: Did you find orientation to be boring after a while?

Student 2: I did get bored of orientation after a while but right when that was happening we had our lunch break so it was refreshing to just sit down and eat for a few minutes. Sparky was at the lunch in, so I took a few pictures with him and that was exciting.

Speaker: Would you recommend going to orientation to other incoming freshmen? If so, why?

Student 3: I would strongly recommend going to orientation because it is important information that is given and honestly you get a lot of free stuff. It also makes it less stressful when really preparing to go to college because you are already more aware and knowledgeable about what is going on.
 
Speaker: One big support in preparing for orientation is the community assistants who have been training and preparing to help students, not only in the dormitories but at orientation as well. They help students find their way at orientation and help them go through the correct steps and find their destination because it is a very long, confusing process. They also help in handing out the free ASU merchandise and help with taking pictures, and giving students pamphlets.

Community Assistant: I enjoy helping out at orientation because it is completely new faces and I remember being a scared, little freshmen and it is that much easier when someone is there to help. I enjoy helping the students and parents find their way and in welcoming the students in order to help them feel at home away from home.

Speaker: Would you say that orientation is beneficial for students?

Community Assistant: Orientation is definitely an essential event to attend. There is so much effort and planning that is put into this and I do not see any reason why someone would not want to. Plus there is free stuff, free food and it gives students a chance to interact with others and become more familiar with the school.

Speaker: People feel very passionate about this event and feel that it is of crucial importance because of the benefits it serves and the overall welcoming feeling it brings to students. It is important for students to feel welcome, and to feel the support the Arizona State environment brings and that is why ASU freshmen and upper-class men feel so strongly about ASU orientation.

ASU Reacts: Loughner Trial

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Jullisa Sanchez, Host:

Jullisa: As most people recall, January 8^th 2011 marked the Tucson shooting tragedy.    Twenty-four year old Jared Lee Loughner was responsible for killing six people and leaving thirteen injured outside of a local grocery store. Congressman Gabriel Giffords miraculously survived a gunshot to the head, but not all were so lucky. He is also responsible for the death of nine year old Christina Greene, Congressional Aid Gabe Zimmerman and Federal Judge John Roll. The trial recently took place and he was said to be mentally incompetent, diagnosed with schizophrenia. He was sentenced to seven life terms, six for murder and one for attempted assassination of a member of Congress, along with fourteen years for the other attempted murders. However, some ASU students disagree with the sentence he was given. Amongst these students is Emily Michelle Robertson, a freshman living on the Tempe Campus.

Emily Robertson: I think Loughner should have got a worse sentence than what he did. He killed an innocent nine-year-old girl, along with so many other people who did absolutely nothing to him to deserve that. Being mentally incompetent is no excuse to just go off and kill random people because you feel like it.

Jullisa Sanchez: What do you think would have been a reasonable sentence for Lougner?

Robertson: I think he should have gotten the death penalty for sure. For taxpayers to pay for him to live his life watching TV and getting free meals is ridiculous. Might as well just pay for him to die; he deserves it after all the tragedy he has caused.

Jullisa Sanchez: Arizona State students feel very strongly about the lack of justice in this case, one can only hope that something like this never happens again.

Genre Analysis: "Tucson Shooter, Loughner, To Spend Life In Prison"

I listened to the podcast “Tucson Shooter, Loughner, To Spend Life In Prison” which is mostly informative, however consists of various opinions as well since it is such a sensitive topic. It starts with an introduction that includes facts about Jared Loughner and his trial; it does not include a thesis. It then gives background information on who Loughner is and the crime he committed. The podcast goes on to describe how many people he killed and injured, including Gabrielle Giffords (congresswoman), and further gives information about his mental disorder and his medications.
        The article then turns from being very factual to more opinionated because it begins to quote family members of the people who lost their loved ones on that day. It also contains clips of people who knew Loughner at a news conference. It then transfers from talking about Loughner, to talking about gun safety. Gabrielle Gifford’s husband, Mark Kelly states, "We have a political class that is afraid to do something as simple as have a meaningful debate about our gun laws and how they're being enforced." The article goes on to describe previous gun laws and how much damage the current gun laws have caused our society today all over America.
       At the conclusion of the article, they go on to sum up everything that had been stated in the first sentence of the intro but in detail. Rather than just saying Loughner will be locked up for the rest of his life, they say, “ Jared Loughner was sentenced to seven life terms - six for murder and one for the attempted assassination of a member of Congress - plus 140 years for the other attempted murders.”
        Distinct from an academic essay, an audio essay needs to get to the point quickly. Since it is being heard by the audience it cannot take a long time to explain. It should be brief and not very broad to keep the audience interested. The essay I read had a lot of opinions and quotations from people who were affected by this tragic event which made it much more interesting. It makes the listener feel more engaged and more sympathetic than they might feel while just reading an essay. I think this audio essay was more similar to the annotated map because it branched out to other areas in detail, specifically the gun safety topic that was mentioned.

For my Project 3 audio essay I am thinking about discussing the ASU Orientation or perhaps the community assistants found at the dormitories.

Project 2 Reflection: Progress

                                                           [source: Arizona State University]
        Although some students believe that this map project was more difficult than the first one, I strongly disagree. I felt more confident with this project because I knew more of what was expected of me than the last one. I think I did a good job at deciding what to focus my project on. I also think I did a good job at describing the main points in my argument. Asking questions sooner than later was very beneficial for me to gain a better understanding of this project, unlike the last project where I waited until the last minute to ask questions. That was probably my best improvement with this assignment because it really helped me know what I was doing.
One of my biggest struggles was separating pieces of information and deciding where to put it. I had a bit of confusion with separating my thoughts from my four annotations and the synopsis. Last minute I also decided to change my project from the Student Recreation Complex to the North Campus, which was also a struggle because of the lack of time. I had already checked out books pertaining to the SRC and I had to go back and restart my project by gathering new information and choosing a whole new topic.
        My evaluation of North Campus and the resources it provides to residents was good, in my opinion. I did a lot better than I thought I would and I did try to ultimately answer the “so what” question at the end of my conclusion in order to find out why my argument would matter to people. I am hoping that I did a good job with that aspect but I did try my best to answer it. My project included detailed resources found all over the North Campus which really helped my project out in trying to send my message across, which explained that living on campus is very beneficial to students because of its resources. Although I do think my evaluation was strong, I still believe there is always room for improvement. If I had to improve my project in anyway I would have established my topic from the start so that, in my case, I could have spent more time evaluating the resources and criteria for my paper instead of switching topics.
        Making a map will probably never be on my agenda outside from schoolwork at the university however I think much of this work can be applied to the outside world. Regardless of the topic or project, it is always a challenge in some way or another and always offers something new. This project has helped me as a writer and helped me with brainstorming ideas, coming up with topics to write about and pushing myself with my writing techniques and all of those qualities will help me in various tasks outside from the university.