Kelly Lake’s Experience with College Lacrosse

By: Christine Williams ENGL 336.002
Kelly Lake was your average high school senior at North East High in Anne Arundel County. She always excelled in school, was involved in extracurricular activities, and had a strong passion for lacrosse. When applying for colleges, she made it a point to express her love for lacrosse. Not long after applying to universities such as Frostburg State, West Virginia, and Towson, Kelly started to get phone calls from coaches demonstrating their interest in her skills. She was still unsure of the idea of going away to a university. Kelly said, “I was still not sure if I wanted to go to a four year college right out of high school.”
One day, after a game, Kelly was approached by Frostburg State University coach, Ashley Manion. She told Kelly she would love to have her play lacrosse at FSU. Manion then informed her that if she wanted to get to know some of the women on the team, she could come up for a weekend visit and look at the beautiful compus. Kelly felt privileged to be offered a spot on the team and gladly accepted the invite. Kelly described her visit as “unreal, all of the ladies on the team were extremely friendly. They acted like being on the team would be so much fun, I couldn’t wait to go back.” Kelly was able to maintain some of her relationships with the women on the team throughout the summer via Facebook. Kelly decided that Frostburg was the school for her, but she would soon learn that being on the team wasn’t as great as it seemed; most of the women weren’t so nice, and Kelly says, it wasn’t a lot of fun. Only a few days after moving her things into her new dorm and kissing her parents goodbye, she was already being asked to attend a team meeting. Kelly was already frustrated, she stated, “I didn’t even have time to really get situated and get my classes and homework in order, which annoyed me.” she said. During the meeting the coach explained that not everyone would get playing time, but they were still required to attend two practices a day and three mandatory study sessions per week. The older women on the team were not very welcoming; Kelly says, they were territorial about their position on the field.
Soon after classes started, Kelly found it hard to have a social life among her classes, two practices, three hour study hall, and sleeping. Kelly became confused and discouraged. “Why did they ask me to come and play if there wasn’t room on the team for me to see any playing time?” Kelly said angrily. Towards the end of the semester, Kelly’s grades weren’t as good as she would want them. So she decided to go talk to her coach. Kelly explained that her grades were not as good as she wanted them and she didn’t feel welcomed on the team by the other ladies. The coach told Kelly that school comes first but she hoped she would change her mind. A week later she made a final decision and decided to resign from the team. After Kelly resigned the women from the team became very unsympathetic, Kelly says. They did not understand that she had to leave the team in order to keep her grades up.
Manion is at her third year here at FSU. In 2008 she lead the team to an 8-9 record and in 2009 the team record was 7-9. When asked about Kellys experience Manion said, “Academics come first” and “Every team should expect some sort of conflict”. There are just too many personalities for there not to be any clash, Manion said. Manion explained that if anyone on the team feels they have a serious issue they are strongly encouraged to talk with her. Moreover, Although Kelly did not persevere on the team, most of the players that came onto the team the same year as Kelly continue to play for FSU Women’s Lacrosse team.
While Kelly’s experience with the lacrosse team did not work out, she still had seen the beauty in FSU. Kelly decided to stay and continue college at Frostburg State University. Today Kelly is a junior, has plenty of friends, she is involved in a sorority, participates in the volunteer group “Best Buddies” and is continuing to strive for the good grades she wanted.

Students, Teachers Pessimistic About Government Debt

When asked whether or not they believed the government would be able to pull the United States out of debt within this generation, not a single respondent answered positively. “Not unless they get rid of it magically”, said Lydia Schonadel, a junior from La Vale, MD. This attitude reflects a lack of confidence in elected officials to put aside their differences to work for the greater good.

Quintin Wright, a sophomore from Germantown, MD, had a more positive opinion, saying that the government is “taking steps” towards balancing the budget, but he believes that it will take more time to get rid of a deficit of more than $14 trillion.

Nina Forsythe, an adjunct English instructor, had a more concrete reason for her belief that the government would not be able to lift the country out of debt, citing current tensions between the political parties in Washington, D.C. “The Republicans oppose new taxes, and the Democrats oppose cutting social programs”, she said. She added that the average citizen seems to oppose both.

Forsythe also said that the last time the United States ran a surplus was under President Clinton, saying that it seems that there is less will to balance the budget now then there was then, a situation that was made worse by the financial meltdown in 2008.

The Library gets No Love !

If you ever want to get rid of a Frostburg State student, just blind fold them, and leave them in the library, most likely they will not be able to find their way out. It seems that Frostburg students stay away from the conventional place to study, and find other venues to do school work. Students’ attendance in the library has been very low this semester, but for what reason? When Travis Oliver, form Baltimore Maryland was asked how often he attends the library he answered “15 minutes, twice this week, just to check my Facebook.” Travis is sociology major, so he definitely has to find time to do his work. When Derrick Brown, an engineer major, from Baltimore was asked the same question and he answered, “2 times a week, with a total of 10 hours.” Brett Austin biology major, from Baltimore said he never goes to the library. There are other alternatives when choosing places to study on campus for example, Pullen Hall, as well as the 24 hour lab. Some study at home or with friends. The lack of people in the library may not mean that people are not studying, but could be that the library is becoming obsolete in the Frostburg way of studying.

The Library gets No Love !

If you ever want to get rid of a Frostburg State student, just blind fold them, and leave them in the library, most likely they will not be able to find their way out. It seems that Frostburg students stay away from the conventional place to study, and find other venues to do school work. Students’ attendance in the library has been very low this semester, but for what reason? When Travis Oliver, form Baltimore Maryland was asked how often he attends the library he answered “15 minutes, twice this week, just to check my Facebook.” Travis is sociology major, so he definitely has to find time to do his work. When Derrick Brown, an engineer major, from Baltimore was asked the same question and he answered, “2 times a week, with a total of 10 hours.” Brett Austin biology major, from Baltimore said he never goes to the library. There are other alternatives when choosing places to study on campus for example, Pullen Hall, as well as the 24 hour lab. Some study at home or with friends. The lack of people in the library may not mean that people are not studying, but could be that the library is becoming obsolete in the Frostburg way of studying.

Getting What We Asked For???

Joe Clingman
10/21/2010

Getting What We Asked For?

It is no secret that being the President of the United States is no easy job. Having to deal with the previous president’s mess and the process of cleaning it all up can be more than overwhelming. It is difficult and almost unfair to even try to make judgment on any president, because the situations and events that occurred before him. Though the job is tough, citizens have expectations that they feel should be met.
President Barak Obama is currently in office and as of right now, there are many mixed feelings on his progress as our leader. He has had to deal with problems like health care issue and Bp oil spill. Neither has greatly pushed America in to believing 100 percent that Obama knows what he is doing. Nonetheless, there are others who believe that under the circumstances, he is doing what he can. Devon Hill, a junior and political science major says, “I didn’t have high expectations of President Obama. He is doing as well as he could have done. He has to deal with Congress to make his changes and that is what’s holding him back. But I’m cynical anyway.” Markese Hayden, also a junior and exercise science major seems to agree. He says, “He’s doing okay for the position that he was placed in. There is a lot of opposition in Congress and it makes it hard for him to try to do anything that he wants.” Leona Atkins says, "he’s doing a good job because he is trying to make good changes.”
President Obama’s changes may not be as fast as everyone wants them, but there are other things that we all need to take into consideration. One can’t have any movement without a spinal cord, and Obama can’t quite make big changes without the approval of Congress. Electing any president into office is a risk, but that’s when faith and hope have to be primary factors.

Social Communication, A Benefit of Technology

Communication is a very important factor to the organization of American society. When asked, “If technology helps or hurts us when it comes to social communication?” everyone said it helps. Communication through technology has made it easier for people to be in touch with large groups. It has also helped with cost, emailing someone cost less than postage for a letter. It also is easy for people to communicate in long distances without paying for extra services on a phone bill. Pam Williams, the Director for Library User Services believes that technology helps social communication. When a family member is sick or there is an emergency, Williams likes updating others multiple times a day. “Technology helps that become possible.” Williams stated. Yolanda Moktoi, a senior here at Frostburg State University, working towards a degree in International Studies, also feels technology helps social communication. Moktoi brought up how keeping in touch with people in the military can be extremely difficult. “People at war don’t have to wait for letters because of email.” Moktoi stated. In addition, Moktoi expressed that social networking sites can hurt people when it comes to career, but people should advertise themselves as a qualified person if they are seeking a professional occupation. Moktoi said, “Social networks, like Facebook and Twitter could really help someone who is looking for a job in the entertainment field, like a comedian.” Internet allows people to keep intouch with one another with very little effort. Charles Courtney, a Library Tech here at FSU confessed, “I keep intouch with more of my friends then I would if I had to write letters.” Although technology has its good and bad, very few would say it hurts us when it comes to communication.

Tea Party Candidates vs Republicans

The Tea Party can cause issues for the Republicans in the upcoming election. When asked do you think the Tea Party candidates are hurting the Republican's chance at winning some seats in the upcoming election, many Frostburg students tried to find the right words to explain their opinion. "No. But I'm not big on elections", said Heather Adcock, a sophmore. Atleast she was honest. "Yes, because they're taking votes from the other political parties", Matt Harper, a freshman, said. "No, Tea Party follows the constitution, they're more like old school republicans, Republicans now are more moderate" said Dylan Hidey, a Junior. Although many students did not know much about the Tea Party, those who answered tried to give a good explanation. But most students felt the same as Heather, they just are not big on elections.