Intro to Journalism Writing

By Alan Marrs

BOWLING GREEN – Recent news of former coaches having inappropriate relationships with their students raises the issue of the professional boundary between faculty members and students at the collegiate level.

Former University of Toledo cross country coach Kevin Hadsell resigned in late January over an investigation into an inappropriate relationship with a runner and other inappropriate behavior with other runners, according to an article in the Toledo Blade.

Fast forward to late February and former Bowling Green State University women’s basketball assistant coach Ali Mann resigned citing “personal reasons.” Mann later admitted to allegations of a relationship with someone involved in the program, according to an article in the BG News.

Students in Bowling Green say these incidents are a lot more common than what many people perceive.

“You hear stories about it all the time. So, I assume it occurs quite frequently,” Elizabeth Bellman, a senior studying communication sciences and disorders from Cincinnati, Ohio, said.

The use of social media in the classroom is on the rise and this gives an added layer of personal communication between instructors and students. The use of such technology is beneficial in giving instructors another way of interacting with their students during the learning process. The increased communication possibilities through social may or may not be needed when many colleges and universities have established avenues of communication between faculty members and students in the form of email, Blackboard, Canvas or other official classroom organizing applications.

Patrick Lisk, a second-year graduate student studying public administration from Waterville, Ohio, said the use of social media as communication is dependent on the preferences of the student.

“Campus updates and Blackboard messages get ignored by some students,” Lisk said. “Facebook and Twitter and other social media sites may be the only way to communicate with them effectively. I think that we shouldn’t restrict channels of communication.”

Lisk also stressed the content of the communication is more important in this situation than the form of communication used.

BGSU established a precedent in 2007 for disciplinary action with the Consensual Amorous Relationship Policy. The policy defines that a faculty member cannot have a professional relationship with a student or employee with whom he or she currently or already had an amorous relationship. The solution of the policy is removing one or both individuals appropriately, eliminating the professional relationship.

The level of disciplinary action deserving of the actions varies among students.

Spencer Coile, a sophomore studying theatre from Bloomington, Ill., believes termination of a faculty member should not occur unless absolutely needed and steps should be taken, as in the case of BGSU policy, to restrict the influences of the professional relationship.

Jamie B., a freshman with an undecided major from Ottawa, Ohio, stresses the responsibility of the instructor in the situation to not involve himself or herself with a student and termination would be the appropriate punishment for the situation.

Ashley Hendricks, a junior studying telecommunications from Canton, Ohio, is firm in the idea of terminating a faculty member that is a part of an inappropriate teacher-student relationship, even if she was in the position of said faculty member.

“I would make sure they have taken the steps to be terminated from their position,” Hendricks said.

by Geoff Roberts

BOWLING GREEN – Ten years ago, the chances of a person losing their job for posting something to the Internet were very slim.  With the explosion of social media however, the chances today are much greater as many companies monitor the social media of employees.

The vice principal at Purcell-Marian in Cincinnati learned how easy it can be to be fired for social media postings.  On Feb. 11, the Catholic school fired V.P. Mike Moroski for creating a post on his personal blog in support of gay marriage.

In the news report of the incident, the Archdiocese of Cincinnati said Moroski showed poor judgment and the blog was in violation of the teachings of the Catholic church.

While students at Bowling Green State University were largely unaware of this specific story, the opinions of students range from understanding to mildly upset about the situation as well as the relationship between social networking and the workplace.

“I don’t agree with [the firing],” said John Rich, a junior special education major.  “It isn’t any of the school’s business what he posts.”

Craig Blasiman, a senior accounting major, said the firing is reasonable.  “It goes against the values of the Catholic church,” he said.

Blasiman thinks some employers should have control over what employees post to social networking sites, depending on the industry.  He said if the post reflects the organization negatively, the organization should have the power to protect its identity.

The Moroski incident may resonate more with college students.  According to “Journal of Technology Research”, 57 percent of social networking users are college-aged at 18-29.

Students also have to consider their own online identities as they get closer to the job search.

“I make everything private,” said senior athletic training major Kaylee Frey.

Frey said she is a regular user of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and logs on about 14 times per week.  “If it’s not something you would show your parents, keep it off there,” she advised.

Frey plans to keep things the same later on in her career as well.  “I will maintain the privacy settings.  I may also delete the [accounts] I don’t use as much,” Frey said.

Junior visual communications technology major Steve Dibble plans to change the way he uses his Facebook and Twitter accounts when he advances far in his career.

“I’m going to use them to market myself positively,” Dibble said.  He added that he will post about things related to the latest developments in graphic design.

Erik Paulson, a junior accounting major, said that he would have to change a few things.  He said he has some pictures that friends have tagged him in that are “not flattering.”

By: Erika Nanez

 BOWLING GREEN- Many Bowling Green State University students agreed on President Barack Obama’s proposal to raise the minimum wage to $9, saying it would help those that are struggling to get by and benefit the economy in the long run.

Sarita Gupta, the executive director of the Huffington Post, said in her blog she agrees with the president’s proposal, that it is well past the time for Congress to raise the minimum wage again. Gupta said this will guarantee that working families can live above the poverty level and contribute to the economic recovery.

Anna Forward, a sophomore from McLean, Va., studying computer science and VCT, said, “Earning more money in minimum paying jobs will make the economy go around.”

She said more people earning more means they have more money in their pockets are more willing to spend it on goods and services, which will eventually boost the economy.

Some economists, like David Neumark of the University of California at Irvine, believe that even though this might benefit the economy, the employment rate could be adversely affected.

Neumark told NewsObserver that he estimated loss of 300,000 jobs the last time the minimum wage was increased in July 2009.

Some students agreed with this assessment saying increasing the minimum wage would increase the unemployment rate.

Breanna Rossen, a freshman from Lakewood, Ohio, studying pre-athletic training, said increasing minimum wage will cause companies to start laying off their unskilled workers and start cutting hours to those who stay. This would be the only way for the company to not lose more money due to the increase in wages, she said.

Zeke Gonzalez, a junior from Stafford, Va., studying American foreign policy, said, “If the minimumwage increases there is going to be more competition in the work field.”

This increased competition could hurt young job seekers.

Brooklyn Martinez, a sophomore from Columbus, Ohio, studying psychology, said fewer jobs is going to make finding a job harder for teenagers and young adults because they are not as experienced as older adults.

Suhaylan Hamzah, a sophomore from Cleveland, Ohio, studying VCT, believes the high competition in minimum paying jobs is going to cause the unemployment rate to increase because finding a job is going to become an even bigger challenge.

Many students said those in the lower income bracket facing today’s high prices on goods can no longer get by with the current minimum wage. As the price of goods continues to increase, they need their income to increase as well.

Michelle Montano, a sophomore from Guadalajara, Mexico, studying journalism and Asian studies, said earning a few extra dollars could make a big difference to those who can barely make ends meet. “With the current minimum wage it makes it hard, especially for college students, to pay for rent and other necessities,” she said.

In his State of the Union address, the president said: “Even with the tax relief we’ve put in place, a family with two kids that earns minimum wage still lives below the poverty line. That’s wrong.”

If the president’s proposal is approved, then citizens could see the minimum wage increase in 2015.