Behind The Noose Short Film

I think this documentary was really good. I enjoyed it because it had the reality of what police officers could face in situations like these. Yes I know, these situations don't happen often, but it is a possibility. I thought that the music that was paired with short was very fitting. The music gave the short a little more suspense than it already had. There were a few points that I thought were a little unrealistic about the short I had watched. When he was searching through the buildings there was a body hanging but he somehow missed it, which I don't understand. They could've put the body in a more secluded place where it would've been understandable that he missed the body. The short went from very sunny day to a pitch black night within a matter of two minutes. I think the short was overall very good and entertaining, but it could've been more realistic at a few points.


 Link to Article

Primary Research Survey

For my primary research I decided to do the survey I submitted on blackboard. I handed out the survey to various members in my dorm. I didn’t know what to expect when handing this survey out. I thought I’d receive various different answers about the survey and what students knew about Wildcat Service Dogs. I had 37 participants in this survey The survey questions I asked were:

1. Do you have pets at home?
1. Yes
2. No
2. Do you know anything about wildcat service dogs?
1. Yes
2. No
3. If your answer was yes to question 2, please explain what you know.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Would you like to learn more information about the program?
1. Yes
2. No
5. Would you consider joining the Wildcat Service Dog Program?
1. Yes
2. No
3. Don’t have enough information
6. Do you know anybody who is a part of the program?
1. Yes
2. No

For the 1st question I received 29 “yes” answers and 8 “no” answers. I asked this question to see if it would relate to question number 5 in determining if there is any relation in people that have pets wanting to be a service dog trainer or not.  

The second question I received all “Yes” answers form the 37 participants.

The third question I had a lot of similar answers. The three most common answers were; “They are trained by students here at UK”, “They are dogs that help students with disabilities”, and “Anybody can become a trainer”.

The fourth question I was surprised about. Only 19 of the 37 participants wanted to know more about the Wildcat Service Dog program. I think they said “no” because the figured I’d send them emails about it and be that annoying survey guy nobody likes.

The fifth question was what I had expected. I had 31 students say “yes”. I thought that those who had pets would be more likely to want to become a part of the Wildcat Service Dog program. Of the 29 students who had pets, 25 of them would want to join the program.  There were also 6 students who didn’t have pets that also wanted to join the program. I did not have any students say they “did not have enough information”.

The sixth question I only received one “yes” answer. The girl said she knew somebody from her hometown that was a part of the program. I think many of the “no” answers are because many of the students in my dorm are freshmen and don’t know too many upperclassmen here at UK.

Reflection on the Blog Posts

When we were first assigned the blog posts I was very uninterested in them. I thought they were a waste of time and given to us for busy work. I would write them just for the sake of the grade and not really care what the information I was looking up actually was. It was hard choosing a topic that I actually wanted to learn about, but once we were put into groups I instantly loved the topic. The Wildcat Service Dogs and service dogs in general are so fascinating. I actually enjoy doing the research (to an extent). I have learned so much from the 3 blog posts a week. The blog posts are a great idea. Like I said earlier I didn’t understand what the point of doing them was, but now that we are actually starting to get into writing and directing our documentary, they are a great source and easy reference. I don’t need to keep looking up different items to put into the documentary. Everything I have already researched is summed up into a nice little paragraph or two. If I need more information from a specific source, I know where to find it. I can also use my group member’s blog post to retrieve and look for information I didn’t find. Overall I am pretty happy on how the blog posts have helped in terms of research. What I wasn’t a fan of was how repetitive some blog posts got to be. The information I was finding was very similar to other blog posts I had done. It was tough finding new information that wasn’t completely boring. These blog posts will be a big help to me when doing the documentary in the near future.

Pros and Cons of Service Dogs

The article I’m writing about is titled “Pros and cons of getting a service dog. The article can be found online at doggoestocollege.com. The article was written and published by doggoestocollege.com.

The are many pros and cons to service dogs. The first pro is the main reason service dogs exist: assistance with one’s disability. The dogs are there to help their owners get through everyday activities in life. Service dogs help their owners achieve greater independence. Without their service dogs many owners couldn’t do regular activities and could feel restricted on what they can and can’t do. Dog’s that can help to detect medical alerts can actually be the difference in if the individual (owner) can get a drivers license or not. Happiness is right in front of the individual at all times. Sometimes people with disabilities can become depressed or unhappy, but it is pretty hard to become unhappy with a loving and caring dog next to the individual. Service dogs give some owners a piece of mind. Knowing that someone or something is there for you at all hours of the day can be really comforting to some people. Although there are many pros of having a service dog, there are also a lot of cons. One problem that a lot of service dog owners run into is the denial of entering some public places. There is a federal law granting all service dogs to be allowed into public areas, but some public place owners still don’t let the dogs in. They question whether the validity of their service dog is true. Another concern that many service dogs owners have is the constant remarks and questions they receive throughout the day. A lot of people are very curious about service dogs and want to know more about them. It isn’t that these people are doing anything wrong, but the owners are asked these questions very often which can get annoying. Many people with disabilities have to learn not to be self conscious about their disability. With a service dog it is obvious that this individual has a disability and can really harm him or her knowing that people are staring at you because of your disability.

It was really interesting to see that there are some cons of owning a service dog. Most people know of the good that service dogs do. They help their owners with many simple tasks throughout the day, that without the service dog they wouldn't be able to do so. What I want to know is, How are some public space owners allowed to not serve those with service dogs? I had read in a previous article I wrote about that they are only allowed to ask two questions, “Is this a service dog?” and “What is this service dog trained for?”. They aren’t allowed to ask any other questions regarding the validity of the service dog. I could further my research on this specific example on looking up what happens to the individuals who don’t grant access to service dogs. Are they fined, or is there a harsher penalty? 


Link to Article

Seizure Alert and Response Dogs

The article I am writing about today is titled “Seizure alert/response dogs” and was written and published by the website servicedogcentral.org. In my earlier blog post titled “Service Dog in the Yearbook” I learned that some service dogs are trained to predict epileptic seizures. I found this very interesting and thought I’d look further into it.

The article starts off by talking about how many dogs are actually able to predict seizures. Only fifteen percent of dogs are able to predict seizures before they occur. Usually these predictions can be made around 10-20 minutes before the seizure happens, giving the dog an opportunity to notify friends or family. This is the seizure alert dog. The seizure response dog helps the individual when a seizure occurs. Some of the tasks these dogs help with are clearing vomit from the individual’s airway (gross I know, but very crucial), operating a K-9 phone, helping the individual balance if needed, and other activities that help the individual survive for some time before help arrives. These two dogs combined are simply called “Seizure Dogs”. Nobody knows how the dogs know when a seizure will occur. There are two theories: “(1) that the dog is able to smell minute changes in the person's biochemistry, possibly in their blood chemistry or (2) that they are able to detect fine motor changes imperceptible to human eyes”. This ability to detect seizures is natural and only occurs in some dogs, but not others. Dogs can be trained to detect seizures, but without knowing when a seizure will happen, there is no way of training. For most seizure alert dogs it takes them close to six months before they can accurately start predicting when their owner will have a seizure.

This to me is beyond amazing. It is unbelievable to think that dogs can predict when an individual will have a seizure of some sort. It’s also crazy to think about how these dogs are trained to respond to an individual having a seizure. How are these dogs taught to help individuals experiencing a seizure? How do you train them to turn the body over so airways aren’t blocked, or to call on the K-9 phone? I could research this using the internet, but talking to a trainer that trains these types of dogs would be much more satisfying.


Link to Article

Guide Dogs Bring More Than Sight

The article I am writing about is titled “ Guide dogs bring more than sight” and was found at the Academic Search Complete database from the University of Kentucky library website at http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.uky.edu. The article was written by Allison Gray and was published as a newspaper article by USA Today.

The article starts off talking about Deni Elliott, a legally blind woman who wanted not just a service dog, but a best friend. She didn’t care what type of dog it was, what color it was, its gender, or its size, but she did care about its personality. Deni and her dog, Alberta are among 7,000 guide dog pairings. These pairings are more than just a guide dog and their owner, its like a marriage. Alberta went through a lot of training to become a guide dog, and it first started with a year and half program with puppy raisers. These puppies will be trained in crowded areas to see how they handle people, and will be tested on how they react to little distractions like a coin falling to the ground. These dogs can be much more than just guide dogs. A college student was too shy to eat in the cafeteria, but once she received her service dog she was no longer shy. Other service dogs can help owners with peanut allergies smell if there are any traces of peanuts in the food they eat.  Many legally blind people like Deni prefer guide dogs rather than canes. Deni says, “My world now is as big as a guide dog can sense, which is a whole lot bigger than the arc of a cane”.

This article was cool to look at and read. I was fascinated about how dogs are trained to sniff out the slightest bit of peanuts to help their owner. I was curious about the 7,000 pairing number. Is that number just based off of legally blind people, or does it include others that have service dogs as well? If I wanted to pursue this question towards my research I could easily find out how many total service dogs are active today by doing a couple quick google searches. 


Link to Article

Service Dog in the Yearbook

The article I found is titled “Service Dog Gets His Own Photo in the Middle School Yearbook”. I found this article on the online database the UK library provides at http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.uky.edu. The article was written by Samantha Grossman and published by time.com.

The article first talks about the odd new face in the yearbook at Hector Garcia Middle School; a dog! The dog’s name is Taxi and he is a service dog to a young lady Rachel Benke. Rachel has been suffering from epileptic seizures for her whole life and had a corrective brain surgery when she was six. The surgery reduced the amount of seizures she has, but she still experiences them today. The reason Taxi is so important to Rachel is because Taxi can sense when Rachel will have a seizure “up to an hour and a half before it occurs”. Once Taxi senses she will have a seizure, he alerts her teachers and or parents, whoever is around. Taxi is with Rachel every single day at school, and the thought of adding Taxi to the yearbook started as a joke. Taxi has saved Rachel’s life twice already. One time occurred when Rachel was on  trampoline and the other, when she was in a pool.

When I first read the title it automatically caught my interest. What could’ve been so special about this dog that he got a spot in the school yearbook? Its really a cool story. The fact that Taxi can predict when Rachel has a seizure is mind blowing to me. How is Taxi able to predict when this happens? What type of training can allow a dog to be able to do this? I could further my research to look into service dogs that are primarily for seizure patients, instead of service dogs in general.


Link to Article

About Wildcat Service Dogs

The article I’m writing about today can be found at wildcatservicedogsuk.webs.com. The article is titled “About Us” and was written and published by the Wildcat Service Dog Team.

The article starts off saying that the Wildcat Service Dog organization is relatively new to the University. All Wildcat Service Dogs are trained by college students for up to two years. The trainers of Wildcat Service Dogs must attend weekly training sessions.The WSD (Wildcat Service Dogs) program was started in 2011 when Katie Skarvan got a service dog to train. She brought the dog to many classes and she received many questions pertaining to the dog. Another student named Jennifer Hamilton then received a training dog as well and the program took off from there. The service dogs are being trained to help individuals with disabilities accomplish everyday tasks. Service dogs help with many tasks: opening doors, turning off lights, retrieving dropped items, and many more. Puppy raisers at the university receive their dogs when they are 8-12 weeks old and keep them for close to two years. The trainers are responsible for teaching the puppies simple obedience commands such as sit, stay, and other commands. To become a WSD trainer there are many things one must do. Some of them include attending orientation meetings, classes for humans, training classes, as well as many more. For the students that aren’t ready to become a puppy trainer, they can become puppy sitters. The puppy sitters watch the dogs while the trainers are busy with labs that the dogs aren’t allowed in. The Wildcat Service Dogs are only used for the basic training and are then given to a much more advanced training program.

I enjoyed learning more about this organization. I had only known that one could become a puppy trainer, but I had no clue that one could become a puppy sitter. I really want to be involved in the puppy sitting. The article doesn’t specifically say what things will get you selected to become a trainer. What are the attributes or qualities do they look for? Does an individual wanting to become a puppy trainer have to have any prior experience with animals? To further my research I could look at the link provided in the article and find more information about service dogs in general. 


Link to Article

5 Best Therapy Dog Breeds

The article I’m writing about today is called “5 Best Therapy Dog Breeds”. The article was written and published by Therapy Dog Certification and can be found at Therapydogcertification.com.

This article tells us which breeds of dogs are best for therapy. The first dog breed that is good for therapy is the German Shepherd. The German Shepherds are known for their loyalty and intelligence, as well as their hard working ability. Although German Shepherds are great dogs for training programs, it is very tough to find the ideal German Shepherd. The second dog is the labrador retriever. The labs are very smart dogs and are not aggressive. The dogs are extremely obedient and are very friendly with people and other dogs. Labs are one of the friendliest dogs there is and most people, if not all, love them. The third dog is the greyhound breed. The greyhounds are very obedient and calm to their owners. Greyhounds do not bark for the most part and they love to run. If their owner wants to take them on a run, they will be more than happy to go. The fourth breed of dog is the Beagle. Beagles are fun, small, and loyal which makes for the ideal therapy dog. Beagles look very friendly which helps create friends and doesn’t put people off. The last breed of dog is the Rottweiler. Rottweilers have everything that is needed for a therapy dog. They are smart, strong, calm, and very powerful. The stereotype of rottweilers being mean is true, but it is just because the are protective of their masters. Most all dogs are good candidates for therapy dogs, but these five are your best bet.

I was shocked when I saw Rottweilers in the five best therapy dogs. I wouldn't have guessed that they would be included because they are known as being mean and vicious. They can also be calming to some people. I’m a dog lover and I know that all dogs have a sweet side, but I just didn’t picture the Rottweilers to be in the top 5. I noticed that labradors are number two on the list and not number one. What makes them worse than the German Shepherds? I’ve noticed that most the service dogs on campus are Labrador Retrievers. I could further my research by asking the trainers why the service dogs are labradors and not German Shepherds. Is it because the ideal German Shepherd is hard to find, or is it just the program’s preference or previous experience with the dogs?


Link to Article

Working With Assistance Dogs

Today I’m writing about an online article I found at assistancedogsinternational.org. The title of this article is “Working With Assistance Dogs” and was written and published by Assistance Dogs International.

The first paragraph explains that those interested in training service dogs also have to train the people to use them, which is the toughest part. To become a service dog trainer one must enroll in a program that usually last two to three years. To get a job as a service trainer is very tough. There are a ton of people that would love to have this specific job, and many of those who wish to become a trainer cannot do so. There are positions available at most places that include shoveling snow, picking up poop, and other services that are needed in the process of training a service dog. An individual that hopes to one day become a service dog trainer often starts at this low level position and works his or her way up. Many of the people who want to become service dog trainers do so because of their love for dogs. While this is a good reason to do this, the individual must also be good with people. The dogs are their to help people who need it and if the trainer is unable to teach or communicate with the individual in need, it won/t work out. Trainers have to deal with harsh and rude individuals, but also nice ones. Specific programs have qualities that they look for when trying to hire a service dog trainer. They look for people who are good with dogs, people who are enthusiastic about their work, and people who that want to help others.

This article taught me a lot about what it takes to become a service dog trainer. It is a long road to become a trainer. Starting with cleaning up and caring for the dogs, to the 3 year program one must graduate from shows that this is no short road. Those interested in becoming a service dog trainer must have patience and the drive to help others. There are a few concerns/questions that came up when I was reading this. How many different organizations are there like this in the country? What are the requirements for starting your own service dog organization? These questions may or may not help further my research, but they will give me a better understanding of the overall process of service dogs and the training needed. 


Link to Article

Training Assistance Dogs

I found an online article at cci.org. The article is titled “Training assistance dogs” and was written and published by a member or director of cci.org.

This article tells us how service dogs are trained and prepared to be used by those who need them. The first step of raising a service dog is to go through the puppy raisers. These people raise the puppies and teach them basic skills like sitting, laying down, and overall obedience.  Once this stage of the training is completed, the dogs are sent to Canine Companions where they undergo a six-nine month training course. The first few weeks are the easiest for the dogs. They undergo a few tests and x-rays to make sure they are in good health. The first three months the dogs are reintroduced to the basic obedience commands they learned from their puppy raisers. The Canine Companions then build off of these basic obedience commands. The puppies who are able to pass their first part of training then get to move onto the second part. The second part of the training lasts close to three months. During these three months the dogs are taught over forty different commands. The dogs are screened to see if they are really capable of being service dogs and those dogs who are capable of being service dogs are then paired with the recipient and they are both trained together. This session last two weeks and the dog and companion are taught proper care. Once this is completed the dogs graduate into service dogs and receive their official Canine Companion certificate. The service dogs always have follow up sessions to make sure that they are performing to what they are expected to. The Canine Companions also want to make sure that the owner is satisfied and that the dog is not being harmed.

This article was very interesting. I understood that the dogs went through extensive training, but I had no clue that it took upwards of 8 months. The Puppy trainers are just like what the Wildcat service dogs are here. A program that trains puppies to have basic obedience skills and such. What happens if the dogs aren’t fit for being service dogs? Are they giving up for adoption, or are they put into a shelter? To help further my research I can look more into detail at what exactly a puppy trainer does and how they go about doing it. 


Link to Article

Pets for Depression and Health

The article I chose to write about is titled “Pets for Depression and Health” and can be found on webmd.com. It was written by Kathleen Doheny and reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD. The article was published by WebMD.

The article explains how pets can help people with depression, and how pets may not be good for some with depression. The research that I will use is how pets can help people with depression. Studies have shown that pets can help improve one’s mood and can help some people with mild or moderate depression. Pets give you a sense of uncomplicated love and companionship. Depression can isolate you from many people, but if you have a pet you’re never alone. Having physical contact with animals can really help people feel better about themselves. People with depression often have a rough time of taking care of themselves, so naturally having to take on more responsibility doesn’t sound like a good thing. This can be the case for some, but for many others it can be the opposite. Adding a little responsibility by taking care of a pet can help add a little positive focus to your life. Knowing that a pet depends on you for basic needs and knowing that you can give those needs to them makes many people feel much better. Like I said earlier, owning a pet doesn’t always help people with their depression. There are four main questions to decide whether or not owning a pet is good for you and your depression. “Are you comfortable with animals?”, “Will having a pet make you worry?”, “Is your depression too intense right now?”, and “Can you afford a pet”. Having a negative answer to any of these questions is a good sign that you should not be owning an animal at this time.

I really enjoyed reading about the positive ways animals can help those with depression. I found it interesting that adding a little more responsibility to your life, like taking care of a pet, can really help with one’s depression and that a little responsibility can be beneficial. I would like to know more about the studies they do to get this information. What kind studies are they and how do they go about doing these studies? If I wanted to find the answer to these questions I could look up different case studies by different psychologists that help people with depression.


Link to Article

Reflection of Shark Tank Presentation and Written Proposal

The writing process I had for my formal proposal was a little of what I had learned this year and a little of my previous knowledge. I had tried to use the process of asking questions while I was writing and researching my topic. I wanted to use this process because I had seen the success that other writers have had while using this method. It was harder than I thought it would be and it will take a lot of practice to get used to. The way I turned my formal proposal into a shark tank presentation was that I took the three main points I had and explained them. I went on to explain the involvement side, the social side, and the mental side of intramural sports and physical activity. I wanted to inform my peers on these three very beneficial aspects to intramural sports. I think my strengths in both my presentation and written portion of the project were in the way I explained the benefits. I thought I did a good job in the way I presented the information in both the presentation and the written part. I believe I answered the questions at the end of my presentation with great detail. I was able to tell my peers where I got my information and how that information affects us as students. The weaknesses I had were very noticeable. I got stuck up on a few words here and there, but I believe that comes with practice in front of a group of people. With the written portion I think I could’ve done a better job with the organization. I had a few overlapping themes with the involvement and social aspect of the written part and pitch. I think I could’ve prevented this by finding more information.

Making Friends Through Sports

I have decided to further my research of Intramural sports. The article I’m writing about is “Making Friends Through Sports” and is found at friendship.about.com. The article was written by Cherie Burbach.

The article starts off by telling a few reasons why sports teams are a great place to meet and connect to new people. One good reason is that sports help create friendships because you have to trust your teammates. Your teammates have your back on the field and can carry over in your everyday lives. Joining a sports team automatically connects you with your teammates because you share a point of interest in that certain point. Sports provide a very beneficial social boost to those who have a hard time creating friends. Being a new student can be really tough, but Cherie says that joining a sports team can provide that immediate sense of belonging that many new students don’t experience for awhile. The article then goes on to talk about sports for adults, but because of my research only focusing on young adults and college intramurals, I’ll leave that section for you to read about if you wish.

The article does a pretty good job of telling how easy it is to make friends within sports and how you can create a trust with these friends. I like how the article has different examples of how friends are made through sports. I want to know how it is that sports help students who aren't very social to make friends. Is the lone factor that you’re on the team enough, or is there more to it? To further my research on this topic I could interview people who play intramural sports and ask them what kind of relationships they have with their teammates.


Link to Article

Commonwealth Stadium

I decided to do a little research on Commonwealth Stadium here on Campus. The article I’m using is found at www.ukathletics.com and is run by the UK athletic department.

The article starts by giving information about the recent updates the stadium has had in the past few years. In 2005 a new grass playing surface was installed and in 1999 the end zones were enclosed which added 40 suites. This renovation increased the total capacity of the stadium from 55,453 seats to 67,606 seats. The article then goes into detail talking about the fans, the football team, and their winning record during their time at Commonwealth Stadium: 107 wins, 95 losses, and 4 ties. Over 12 million people have watched and cheered on the University of Kentucky during the Commonwealth Stadium era and it keeps increasing.

The website does a great job on showing the impact that Commonwealth stadium has had on our football team and their success, as well as the amount of fans we’ve been able to draw in. What I don’t think the article does a good job with is describing the renovations. I was really interested in seeing how long the renovations took from start to finish, but it wasn't available in this article. I could do more research on the stadium and find out the exact dates if needed. I was also very curious on what the renovations that are happening now, but the article doesn't delve into that. What exactly is the University of Kentucky doing with Commonwealth Stadium? Are they increasing/decreasing the amount of seats, or are they just updating the facilities inside the stadium? The amount of information about Commonwealth Stadium online will allow me to expand on my research of it, and will allow me to answer these questions.


Link to Article

The History of Rupp Arena

I found an article online telling me a little about Rupp Arena and the history behind it. The location of the article is www.rupparena.com and was written by an employee who was not named.

The idea of having a civic center in Lexington was created in the 1920’s, but it wouldn't be put into effect until 1971 when the Lexington-Fayette County Recreational, Tourist, and Convention Commission was formed. The economic impact of Rupp arena was very large. It was predicted to produce $9.2 million in payrolls, creating jobs for many Lexington natives. The opening of the convention center was held in 1976. The convention center was named Rupp Arena after a former UK basketball coach, Adolph Rupp. Rupp arena provides seating for more than 23,000 guests. The arena is most known for UK basketball and the success they’ve had in their time there, winning 4 national titles. The first game the Wildcats played in Rupp was on November 27, 1976 against the Wisconsin Badgers, a game they later won 72-64. Rupp arena held the 1985 mens basketball final four for the first time in its history, as well as the men’s Southeastern Conference Tournament and the women's final four in 1986. The PNC/KHSAA high school boys basketball tournament is held at Rupp arena every year and draws close to 100,000 fans during the 4 day tournament. Although Rupp Arena is mostly known for the great basketball environment, it also has other activities that take place. Rupp has hosted many different events that include circuses, hockey games, concerts, and other family oriented activities.

I don’t think the people that had the idea of creating Rupp in 1971 would’ve thought it would be as successful as it is today. The article says that they had the idea of creating a convention center in the 1920’s but they didn't create it till almost 50 years later. Why is that? I’m not sure how I would go about finding this information out. I could do some research on the financial situation of Lexington in the 1920’s and beyond to see if that can help. Maybe the Great depression put a hold on this great idea.


Link to Article

Memorial Hall and It's History

I found an article online about the history of Memorial Hall at explorehistory.ky.gov. This article was written by Becky Riddle.

The article starts out explaining what the hall is and why it is called Memorial Hall. It was built in 1929 and was given the name Memorial Hall because it is a memorial for all Kentuckians that died during World War 1.  The building was given to the University of Kentucky by the class of 2002.  The building has a large fresco painting in the entrance that was created by Ann Rice O’Hanlon in 1934. The fresco was painted for a public works art project showing the different historical events in Kentucky’s past. The article then goes into detail about the life of Ann Rice O’Hanlon. Ann was born in Ashland, Kentucky and attended the University of Kentucky where she majored in Art. After Ann finished her time in Lexington she moved to Georgetown and taught for one year. She moved to San Francisco, California where she continued her art education after her one year at Georgetown. The UK Senior Challenge Historical Marker Project was created in 1994 and allows the graduating class to leave a memorial to the university.

The article made me wonder why some buildings are named what they are. Do buildings with names like “Memorial” all deal with a certain war, or are they named after something else? How many buildings in the USA have the word “Memorial” in their name? This article has helped me realize that most buildings have a story behind them which really interests me.


Link to Article

Benefits of Exercise

I found an article online at greatist.com. The title of the article is “13 Unexpected Benefits of Exercise” written by Sophia Breene.

This article shows a few ways on how exercise can help people not only physically, but mentally. Stress relief is one of the largest benefits one receives when an individual exercises. People with anxiety can be calmed down with a simple workout.  Alzheimers can be slowed down or prevented by eating healthy and exercising. Different studies on mice and men have shown that working out and exercising, specifically cardiovascular, can help create new brain cells and improve the overall performance of one’s brain and mental functions. Daily physical activity can increase the production of cells that are used for memory and learning. Sprinting can increase one’s vocabulary. Breene states that “Research shows that workers who take time for exercise on a regular basis are more productive and have more energy than their more sedentary peers”, which is hard to believe.

I think this article was really helpful to understand the benefits of eating well and exercising. Most people think that exercising only helps your physical appearance when in reality it helps a lot more than that. It amazes me that something as simple as running sprints can improve your vocabulary comprehension, or that any cardiovascular activity can reduce your chances of developing alzheimers at a later date. A question I’d like to ask the author is, What makes different activities beneficial to different things? Why aren’t all types of exercises beneficial to your mind and only a few are? Understanding that physical activity and healthy eating can improve the basic functions of one’s brain, as well as the more complex functions, can help an individual for his or her future.


Link to Article

Intramural Recreation on College Campuses

I found an article online at collegeview.com that relates to intramural sports. The title is "Intramurals on a College Campus" and is written by the author Bob Kring, the director of campus recreation at Olivet Nazarene University.

Kring’s article explains why college intramurals are beneficial to the students and to the institution itself. A study done by the National Intramural Recreational Sports Association shows that students who balance their recreation and their classes have a more enjoyable college experience than students who aren’t involved. The same study showed the these students paid more attention in classes as well. Intramurals help many students get their minds off of their class work and creates a great environment for making friends. Students looking to get involved on campus often want to find leadership opportunities; intramurals give them just that. Kring says “There are opportunities for students at some schools to work in the intramural program, giving those students leadership experience and an opportunity to develop their people skills”. Schools are also benefiting from intramurals. The study I mentioned earlier by the National Intramural Recreational Sports Association showed the students were often attracted to campuses and universities that have good recreational activities and fitness. Kring is a believer in intramurals on campus and how it helps those students that are involved create friendships and develop leadership skills throughout their journey through college.

This article showed me different ideas about intramural sports that I hadn't thought of before. I thought that intramurals were just something that people did to relieve stress or to play for the love of the game, but its much more than that. Intramurals offer leadership opportunities that people can become involved in. What I don’t understand is what are these specific opportunities? Is a team captain for a certain sport considered leadership or do you have to become involved with the intramural organization? I had always planned on joining an intramural team, but now that I am aware of the leadership opportunities they offer, it seems much more satisfying to join.

Link to Article