A Star In The Ascendant: 2013

A RECIPE FOR JOY

11:19 AM
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The Baked Ziti Attempt - No,no, no...The Baked Ziti Triumph

Okay so let's get something straight from the get-go: I attempt to cook. I don't ever just wake up and say "oh I'd like to make a five course meal, today!" No...that never happens. What I do end up saying to myself is "hey, instead of dying of starvation today, let's find some sustenance." More often than not, I heat up some Ramen noodles and a cup of water. (Yeah, it's pretty gourmet cuisine.) If you're an undergraduate student, you know what I mean. For those of you who don't understand, let me explain: we are poor. It may seem like we have money because we go to this gorgeous school and somehow manage to have pretty cool laptops, but it's ALL a lie. We don't cook because we don't have groceries. We don't have groceries because we don't have money. We don't have money because we pay thousands of dollars for tuition, take out numerous loans, and spend it on frivolous things like textbooks and lab manuals.

When you have other things to pay for like rent or the electricity bill, grabbing a month's worth of Ramen noodles seems like the best avenue, right? Well NOT THIS TIME! Today, I've decided to be rebellious, throw caution to the wind, and make that first step...to the kitchen. Today...I've decided to cook baked ziti. And it's gonna be amazing.

I'm sure that I am super far behind the cooking learning curve here so if you've already perfected the art of baked ziti, congratulations. For my fellow undergrads who think that making grilled cheese takes pure talent, then check out the recipe below.

- 1 lb. ground beef

- 1 jar of spaghetti sauce

- a cup of ricotta cheese

- a box of ziti noodles (I don't know how much that is...a lb. maybe?

- a couple handfuls of mozzarella cheese

Preheat the stove to 375 degrees
Fill a big pot with water, sprinkle a little salt in the bottom, add in about 3/4 of the box of noodles, and bring the water to a boil.
As you're waiting for you noodles to boil, brown you ground beef the same way you would if you were making spaghetti (...or have seen it done in the movies). I like to season it with pepper and garlic salt but do what you feel.
Heat up your spaghetti sauce in a smaller pot and...just let it sit there. (You'll know when it starts getting hot because it will pop everywhere...EVERYWHERE.)
Once your ground beef is browned, drain it over the sink and dump the meet into the pot with the sauce. If you're still waiting for the noodles to boil...just chill out somewhere. Go watch the first ten minutes of Walking Dead or Scandal or something.
After the pot starts boiling, using a fork, grab one of the ziti noodles and taste it. If it's still hard, give it a few minutes. If its still firm but edible, then it's time to take the pot off of the stove, and strain the noodles.
Leave them on an unused burner and grab a long pan. Other recipes will tell you to layer the sauce, then layer the noodles, then the ricotta, then layer the sauce, then layer the noodles, then the ricotta, blah blah blah. Forget it. Mix all that stuff together when you feel like it. (FYI for my non-undergrad readers: we really DON'T take direction well.)
Sprinkle all of the mozzarella cheese on top of your creation and throw it in the oven. Ummm I don't really know how long it's in there, I just wait til the top looks a little brown (probably like 30 minutes?) before I take it out.
Once it's crispy to perfection in your eyes, take it out and enjoy!

I'm not gonna lie, this took a lot of effort. How do people do this on a daily basis?? Well I guess that's one reason why I like this dish - it's gonna last me a week! :)

11:39 AM
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Fashion's Best Kept Secret

4:34 PM
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I'M BACKKK!

8:27 PM
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Should Student Involvement Be Key in Choosing a Commencement Speaker?

Year after year, among the complaints about how expensive the tuition is and the grievances about off campus living, there is one objection that outweighs the rest: the commencement speaker. Some students despise the speaker while others admire the orator. “You can’t make everyone happy all of the time, someone’s always going to have something to say,” Student Government representative Jon McClary stated. Regardless of whom the commencement speaker is, one of the main arguments around this time of year is whether students should be more involved in choosing the commencement speaker.

However, most USC students are unaware of the process Student Government goes through when choosing the commencement speaker. Anitra Hall, junior public relations major, says she has “no idea what it is.”

“I just assumed that it was a board of people maybe,” graduating senior Jill Davis said. “I mean, I assume the presidents involved and Student Government is involved too but I don’t know.” Davis also refers to the process being almost “top secret,” as if the student body is not supposed to know until a few weeks before commencement.

Student Body President Chase Mizzell outlined the process they go through when choosing the commencement speaker. “The commencement speaker process consists first of a suggestion period, where all members of the Carolina community are eligible. We receive nominations from faculty, staff, and students. Previously, students had not been as engaged with the process, so former Student Body President Kenny Tracy worked closely with Secretary of the Board of Trustees, Amy Stone, to develop the student commencement committee.”

McClary believes that there should be a certain level of division between those who are in charge of the decision making process and the students. “When you get too many opinions, no one is going to be happy and that just makes things worse than what they are.”

Nevertheless, most students believe that this degree of involvement isn’t representative of the entire student body. “I think students should be able to do some kind of vote on it,” graduating senior Joshua Woods said. “I think that’d be the best way. People on the panel don’t speak for a majority of everybody.”

Although McClary says that, as a member of Student Government, “our goal is to be public servants for the students. So that’s all we do - we serve the students,” he also recognizes that the graduating seniors should have more of a say in the process of choosing a speaker.

From Professor Glenda Alvarado’s perspective, the commencement speaker is far from the most important part of the ceremony. “Let's face it, you and your family really only came to see one person on stage – you. And that takes all of 10 seconds for most people… I'm glad I don't have to choose anyone to speak at commencement; I have no idea who I would pick,” Alvarado said. “I've been to three USC commencements and three for my own degrees and I couldn't name all the speakers, let alone remember any of what was said.”

Regardless of whether student involvement was increased this year or should be increased in the future, a majority of the graduating seniors this year have more positive feelings regarding the orator for this May. In regards to Darius Rucker, this year’s commencement speaker for the College of Arts and Sciences, Mizzell has only heard great things. “He will undoubtedly bring a hometown success story connection and a huge passion for the Gamecocks that will resonate well with the crowd.”

1:33 PM
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Bridging the Generation Gap or Whatever It's Called

“So, when did you stop adapting to new technology?”

“Well, I never actually started,” she said with a laugh.

On Wednesday night, I was sitting in my bed, eating popcorn with the TV on mute (please don’t ask me why I didn't just turn it off), listening to my granny. In all honesty, this is something that happens on a weekly basis, but this time our conversation involved some thought. Instead of our normal chatter about what I've been doing and how one of her multiple doctor’s visits went, we talked about technology.

Looking at the technology in her house, what you would see is a computer in the den that she had never once tried to use, four land line phones scattered strategically around the house, and a cell phone tucked away in her purse halfway across the house…turned off. Had it not been for my late grandfather, I’m sure she would never have even bothered buying one.

I know that a lot of people have grandparents who are super technologically savvy and have iPads and text, but that’s definitely not mine. My granny, a 64-year old woman with gorgeous gray hair and cheekbones as high as the ceiling is not afraid to tell it like it is…which is exactly what she did that night. I could tell from her hesitant “okay?” when I told her what exactly my assignment was about that she had no idea what she was getting herself into.

Looking back, she remembers sitting around the dinner table watching the news, not the isolated way we obtain news now. “We didn’t get the newspaper, so we had television and radio. Word of mouth too, like ‘oh did you hear about this?’ and things like that.” I was really surprised when she told me that she didn’t get the newspaper. I was under the impression that that’s how she got all of her news. When we started talking about big news stories that she remembered, everything came from local TV.

“The biggest news story, I would say, would be the assassination of JFK. And then Martin Luther King. Both of those were on the TV news,” she said with a slight twinge of sadness. All that emotion however, went away when talk of the quality of news came up.

“Oh, it’s worse now.” From the tone of her voice, I could tell she was scrunching her nose up like she smelled something foul. “…The first fifteen minutes are about whose killing who!” I broke into a fit of giggles that lasted about five minutes. Her girlish laugh accompanied mine and we both just sat there amused at each other for a moment.

Once we were able to get ahold of ourselves, she said “we had constructive news and they got to the point. There’s no news. That’s why a lot of people really don’t like to bother with the news because there’s no news anymore.” She goes on for a few more minutes about how news is going downhill and, basically, how it’s all technology’s fault. So, when I asked her if she felt like she was missing out on using technology, you can guess her response -

“NOT AT ALL.” I’m pretty sure she spoke in all capital letters. “Because, with the new technology, like the computer,” she explains wholeheartedly, “it’s good, but it can be so bad. What I don’t like about it is it takes the human out of things and that’s not cool to me. I like things hands on. I’m a people person, I like people.”

As my granny went on about greeting Mary the teller at the bank and mentioning how, although she liked people, the ATM has been quite convenient, I wondered, not only about how we got on the topic of banking, but about her previous statements – “it takes the human out of things.” With such an emphasis on “there’s an app for that!” and “free Wi-Fi available here!” the thought of technology taking over doesn’t seem so far off. This iRobot-esque scene hits a lot closer to home then we may realize at the moment. With all of this new technology, what society is really missing, and really needs, is a culture shock - a Back to the Future double feature, maybe.

According to my granny, “it’s the easy way out. It’s fast. Sometimes it can be a little too fast.” Then, as if giving me instructions, she carefully spelled out her morning routine. “I get my hot tea, my newspaper, and I look at it from beginning to end. I highlight each article, I don’t read every article but I highlight each of them.” I’m pretty sure that just about every woman in her 60’s has this same routine and I think I know why: it’s one of the most relaxing things I’ve ever heard. Between RSS feeds and Twitter updates and USA Today notifications every 7 hours, it makes it hard to believe that there is any way to be disconnected from society.

Now, my grandma is not naïve. She knows that things are changing and that, at some point, today's digital media will be the new standard of traditional. “I think [the media] probably will change drastically because that’s all they focus on now. They’re all trying to outdo each other so it will change drastically yes because that’s what they’re aiming for” However, what she made clear was that there was no room for any more technology in her house.

Looking at the differences between generations before us and today, it’s very easy to see that technology has come a long way. To us, it may be better but to others it has taken a turn for the worse. This is where we come into play – taking traditional values and applying them to our digital world. Maybe this way, we’ll be able to bridge the gap or whatever you call it...I'll just google it.

12:01 AM
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First Post! (Yay me!)

6:11 PM
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A RECIPE FOR JOY

The Baked Ziti Attempt - No,no, no...The Baked Ziti Triumph

Fashion's Best Kept Secret

I'M BACKKK!

Should Student Involvement Be Key in Choosing a Commencement Speaker?

Bridging the Generation Gap or Whatever It's Called

First Post! (Yay me!)

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