Author Archives: abrown186

The Panther Paradox

Posted on by
Reply

Georgia State University is one of the most up and coming universities of our time. Our campus is tremendously diverse, ranging from students who are right here in Atlanta, to overseas. According to Forbes, “America’s Top Colleges”, we have around 40% African Americans , 32% Caucasians, 11%  Asians, and 9% Hispanics enrolled here at Georgia State. The diversity here has been nationally recognized in recent years bringing more popularity to the campus which has encouraged many people to attend our school (Georgia State  University). I’ve personally spoken to people who wanted to attend Georgia State because they know the campus is engulfed with people from all walks of life.

The university, until recent years, was mainly a commuter school and owned no dorms for students. Today we have the University Lofts, University Commons, Piedmont North, Patton Hall, and now a new dorm right across from the University Commons, Piedmont Central. This is quite a rapid expansion for the University as well as the city of Atlanta. According to Wikipedia sources, in 2014 crime in Atlanta caused around 513 robberies and 661 Aggravated Assault cases (Wikipedia). These crimes are not new to downtown, they’ve been going on for quite some time. Young and unaware college students can become an easy target for the next perpetrator lurking through the skyscrapers. The University Library has recently been hit with a few unexpected robberies, the victims being students held at gunpoint. This speaks volumes on our protective security measures here at Georgia State, and how this might just be inevitable because of the location our school is set in. I believe the openness of Georgia State’s campus makes it more prone to crime by the universities location in the downtown area, the expansion of our school in student body visibility around campus, and lack of effective security implemented at our school to secure our safety everywhere around campus.

I believe we are more likely to experience crime at our school because our campus is open to the community and spread out over downtown Atlanta. Georgia State is located around Grady Hospital, Hurt Park, Five Points, Woodruff Park, Peachtree Street, Auburn Ave, Edgewood Ave, and our own Marta Station at the very edge of campus. There is a heavily concentrated homeless population downtown. I’ve witnessed many homeless people sleeping in parks, at the street car stations, on the sidewalk, and many more unusual places. Some of the homeless are very aggressive and tell you to give them money. Others wander all day and night looking for money or resources to help them for that day. The homeless population downtown intermixed with college students, still mostly living off of their parents and the government, could pose a security threat if one decided to mug a student.

At night, it’s not safe to walk around the campus like you would in the daytime. Georgia State provides golf carts to take students where ever they need to go from the hours of 6 pm through 1 am, if they feel unsafe walking or just don’t want to. Georgia State also provides ambassadors who will ride a bike alongside of you and make sure you get where you need to go safely (Georgia State Panther Ambassador). Even with such security measures taken, there still seems to be crimes such as robberies, aggravated assault, and more. The university seemed to think these security measures were enough to safeguard students, however, a lot of the student body seems to think otherwise.

Niche.com, a website allowing students to gain a better overview on certain colleges and universities, state that many students on our campus are afraid to walk around at night. Many students feel they need a buddy when walking after dark, campus buildings like Aderhold, which are isolated from the main campus are not so safe to walk alone to at night. With recent drug busts, robberies, and even car accidents many students are worried about the safety of campus (Niche). Opening the library to a relatively dangerous community around us may not be in the best interest of our students. We should have block offs in important areas or barriers around the campus. I also feel that our library should be open to Georgia State students only to minimize and prevent further violent robberies from happening. In a city as big as Atlanta, we have to take precautions security measures to protect our school from whoever or whatever is hiding in Atlanta’s busiest area.

I also believe the reason why Georgia State is becoming a hot spot for crime is because of it’s gradual transition from a commuter school to a university with an increasing amount of campus life. Working at the Georgia State University Call Center, I had to call alumni and ask about their experiences here at Georgia State. Some people who graduated in the seventies from the university explained how it had relatively no campus life and everyone commuted (Alumni, Georgia State). As time has passed it has grown in size and reputation to become the Georgia State University Panthers in the heart of downtown Atlanta. We are known to be one of the most diverse Universities in the Nation (Georgia State University). Various groups intertwined together: living, working and learning, all here in downtown. However, as students living in this area, we have the greatest chance of running into danger.

Recalling from the beginning of this semester, I remember receiving a Campus Alert to my student email stating, “Two Armed Robberies were reported to Georgia State Police Department on January 28, 2016 at approximately 7:41 a.m. and 7:45 a.m. in Library North. Two Georgia State students stated they were robbed at gunpoint of their computers while in the library. The suspect is described as a black male, wearing black Adidas shorts, black top and grey beanie. A person of interest is in custody.”(Georgia State University “CAMPUS ALERT” Campus Broadcast. 2016. Student email.). This made myself, and many other student all over campus afraid to study in the library. When students are robbed at gunpoint, we have to ask ourselves what contributed to these events. Is it the fact that our campus is so spread out over the chaotic downtown that we are more susceptible to crime than closed-in campuses?  According to the statistical reports on the Georgia State University website, aggravated assault has almost tripled since 2012, robberies and car theft are number two and three on the top crimes committed at Georgia State (GSU Safety).

In our urban area of metropolitan Atlanta there are many diverse groups of people floating through the area on a daily basis. There are business professionals, business owners, college students, and friends of college students, parents, and high school students visiting campus, protesters, guests, homeless people, drug dealers, scam artists, and many more. With all these people in our vicinity daily, it can be hard to avoid being a victim to these crimes. They could happen to anyone. As commuter life of Georgia State continues to disseminate and more dorms are built, an influx of people will attract more criminals. As a university in this area, we as students have to be not only aware but prepared if someone tries to attack us. Our school needs stricter security where these robberies were committed and we need a more effective police force, not just more cops.

I believe one of the most crucial reasons why we have security issues at our school is because of the lack of an EFFECTIVE police force. The Georgia State Police are very abundant on our campus. However, crimes is still happening that could easily be avoided, right under their nose. From CBS46, several incidents involving robbery and threats with guns enabled the Georgia State University Library to close its doors to the public. After these robberies happened, new surfaced that the Georgia State University Library only had cameras in the stairwells. According to a message from President Mark Becker, “He has authorized University police to double the number of police officers on each shift patrolling campus and take steps to secure entrances and exits to the building, including having officers checking university IDs at entrances. They will install additional security cameras at the library and the library will temporarily close to the public while the new security measures are put in place. Police will also hold campus safety forums (CBS46).” If the Library had security cameras in more secluded areas of the library these incidents could have been avoided.  Trying to make up for lost efficiency the President has now decided to close the library to the public and make sure everyone is who they say they are, including using scare tactics such as police officers at the entrance and exit doors. The lack of effective security on campus is what contributes to most of the crime.

 

Georgia State is a campus spread out over downtown Atlanta. Georgia State University’s security measures being as low as they have been in downtown Atlanta is a contradiction against the location we surround ourselves in. We need to be secure around the clock. Our students should always feel safe no matter where they are, because our school is a haven for learning not a hub for crime. The location should have effective security measures to make sure we are all kept safe. Inevitably, many whom are not affiliated with Georgia State at all are in constant contact with students that do attend the university. For us to stay safe on such in such a busy metropolitan area we need to be aware of our surroundings and crimes that usually go on around us. Georgia State also needs to focus more on protecting their students than making money from them.

Map of Georgia State in the downtown area.

Image of suspect to be on the look out for. Perpetrator of one of the Library robberies.

Library Plaza on any given Tuesday or Thursday. This can be a hot spot for crime with such large crowds.

Check-in line for University Commons guest. In recent years we’ve had many issues with people who don’t live here trying to sneak in the dorms with someone else’s access card.

Police force at Georgia State.

Homeless sleep where they can around the downtown area.

 

 

 

 

 

Georgia State University. “Georgia State Sets Record for Diversity and Size of Freshman Class.” Gsu.edu. Georgia State University. 10 Sept 2013. 1 April 2016.

Wikipedia. “Crime in Atlanta.” Wikipedia.com. Wikipedia. 19 March 2016. 1 April 2016.

Georgia State University. “Panther Ambassador.” Gsu.edu. Georgia State University. 1 April 2016.

Niche. “Health and Safety” niche.com.  Niche. 1 April 2016.

Georgia State University. “Statistical Reports.” Georgia State University Safety and Security. 1 April 2016.

CBS46. “GSU increases security after library robberies” 25 Feb. 2016. 1 April 2016.

Digital Built Environment Decription

Posted on by
Reply

The digital built environment that I’m describing is te women’s Atlanta Dream. The layout of the site is very blocked and segmented instead of having a feminine touch to it being that it is a women’s basketball team. I believe the NBA tried to equalize the sites by having a neutral color, those colors being the team colors. The website of the Atlanta Dream is very informative instead of commercialized like the men’s basketball team website. It gives information on college players and their dealings in the WNBA. Unlike the Atlanta Hawks website, the Atlanta Dream has lots of drop down menus that stay at the top. On the Hawks’s website these drop down menus travel as you’re scrolling. The word ticket is significantly bigger on the site for the men’s basketball team than for the women’s. This might shed some light on the popularity of the team. In my opinion, the Hawk’s are by far the more popular team in basketball. The Atlanta Dream plays other WNBA teams but they are more in the background supporting and teaching young women of adolescent age. Their goals are to educate about health and wellness, the benefits of education and insipire young women. By the looks of their site it looks like they do a pretty good job of giving back to their community and inspiring the young women around the city. Comparing the men’s and women’s basketball sites in Atlanta really let me know the lack of national popularity for the team but the local pride that it carries.

Digital Record 5

Posted on by
Reply

189

From this portion on the website I get the feeling that this women’s basketball team gives back to the community in a lot of ways. There are lots of children in groups on the site with descriptions of group tickets and how they also participate in fundraisers. I feel like on a mass scale Atlanta Dream is working in the background by giving back to their community and partnering with schools to change children’s lives and inspire young girls. On a mass scale they aren’t as popular as the Atlanta Hawks but they are noticeable and relevant through these children and all of their fans.

Digital Record 4

Posted on by
Reply

1359

Looking a little closer into the website I see that this team’s main focus is “Health & Wellness, Education & Inspiring Women”. This website does a good job of capturing strong, independent, self-sustaining women.  Atlanta Dream is an excellent example of a basketball team displaying strong educated women who inspire other youth girls aspiring to be in their place or even to just succeed.

Digital Record 3

Posted on by
Reply

1234567

In this portion of the Atlanta Dream’s website I see a lot of women. Not only the players but the fans. I see young girls. This may be to have the website market to young girls who are basketball fans. The website is very block formatted and segmented. Its background is white instead of the regular girly color of pink, in fact it’s blue borders to represent the color of the team not just the gender.  I think the pictures are to show that they have a lot of fans who are young girls with their families.

Digital Record 2

Posted on by
Reply

12345123456

I look at the Atlanta Dream again in comparison to the Atlanta Hawks. Looking at the Atlanta Dream, they have the 3 years they won the conference championships which automatically doesn’t look the best because it only has 3 flags and its 2016 so they haven’t won in 2 years. They’re advertisement to get tickets is labeled in red but it still isn’t super noticeable. They do however have an ad that drops down when you first try to get on the site for single game tickets. However, on the Atlanta Hawks teams’ page there is one man with a basketball and the “Buy yours today” sign and the ad to get Hawks tickets are way bigger. They put a greater emphasis on getting the Hawks tickets.

Digital Record 1

Posted on by
Reply

 

Here is one example of how non-marketed the team of Atlanta is compared to the Atlanta Hawks Mens Basketball Team. You can see here that at the end of the page on the NBA Hawks website (bottom picture) it states who the team and whole association is owned by and the rights they reserve. It also states who it’s owned by. There are various links to affiliated websites. All the Dream has is the very basic of sites. There not much except the basic and bare minimum of information. This sheds some light on how much more popular the NBA team is than the WNBA team. Its two solid colors make it look very boring.

Annotated Bib 7,8,&9

Posted on by
Reply

“Park History.” Centennial Olympic Park. Georgia World Congress Center, n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.

This website was made by the Georgia World Congress Center who has operational responsibility over Centennial Olympic Park. I chose this source because I believed it would be most informative accurate about Centennial Olympic Park. This source is about the history of the park. Centennial Olympic Park opened in 1996. In 1987, Billy Payne, the CEO of the Atlanta Committee for Olympic Games, proposed the idea of having the Olympic Games in the city of Atlanta. He sought out and captured the support of many city leaders in Atlanta, including Mayor Andrew Young. With a little help from the mayor he convinced the International Olympics Committee to let Atlanta host the next Olympic Games, Atlanta was surprisingly chosen in September 1990. Billy Payne looked out his office window which had a view of the “eyesore”, as described by Payne himself of a space that is now the park and it sparked an idea to create something great! Just as he got people on his side for support in getting Atlanta selected for the Olympics, he used that same energy to get private support as well as support from the public to build what is a beautiful symbol of community effort. Centennial Olympic Park is a big tourist attraction in Atlanta and a great place to relax on a hot summer day. I conclude that Centennial is a mecca of social interaction. When visiting just the other day a friend and I sunbathed while relaxing, eating, listening to music and even little studying. I saw many children playing and people talking and walking with families and friends. In the article regarding the history of Centennial on their website, it describes how much of a community effort it was with selling bricks to put in the ground of the park, to charity donations and private donors. The park was done in time for the 1996 Olympics and was a welcoming place for all nations who attended the Olympics. This article states emotional appeals to community and togetherness, stating how many people of Georgia got involved in making this park come to life. Mentioning how the flags represent each country that attended the Olympics shows how the park was designed to welcome all people. This article is like some websites I’ve found in the fact that it’s a sponsored website so it has company bias most likely. However, it is unlike other articles that I’ve researched because it is most likely the closest accurate description of how Centennial Park came to be. Centennial went from a dump to a symbol of commercial development that is spreading over the downtown area especially.

(Children playing in the fountain and people socializing.)

Sams, Douglass, and Amy Wenk. “Post Proposed 400 Apartments by Centennial Olympic Park (SLIDESHOW) – Atlanta Business Chronicle. “Atlanta Business Chronicle. Atlanta Business Chronicle, 23 May 2014. Web 24 Mar. 2016.

In the Atlanta Business Chronicle, writers Douglas Sams and Amy Wenk talk about the new renovations to downtown being put into place in the following years to come. Pleased with the new urban look of Buckhead and Midtown, builders and property companies are looking to transform Atlanta’s downtown to the hip new urban look that is sweeping through our area. Apartments plans have been presented to the Development Review Committee and will soon be in the works of being built. The apartments will serve everyone; multifamily apartments and workforce apartments will be available as well. I believe this built environment that is growing in the heart of Atlanta is a solution to the dividedness we’ve had in the city in the past. Getting everyone together in places like downtown, Midtown, and Buckhead brings everyone in one common area where we can all live, shop an socialize together in the city. Centennial Park creating apartments for families that might work downtown and not want to commute to their job or maybe don’t have transportation. I chose this source based on its credibility, since it is a Business journal I assumed it to be accurate and without much bias. This source, like many of the other sources I’ve come in contact with is very credible and not just a blog post from a random internet user. Any weaknesses of this article would come from it being from a business perspective instead of an environmental, tourist, or even a local standpoint.

(Centennial Olympic Park)

“Atlanta Walking Tour: Centennial Olympic Park – National Geographic’s Ultimate City Guides.” National Geographic. Web 25 Mar. 2016.

This source written by the National Geographic Society describes Centennial Olympic park, tells why it was built, uncovers a microscopic view of its past and illustrates what the park has to offer. Centennial Olympic Park was built to welcome to host countries of the Olympic Games in 1996. Before it’s building, it was not a very safe place to be but today it serves as a tourist attraction to see history, artifacts, play, enjoy, and relax in the nice weather Atlanta sometimes has to offer. The park represents a gathering place for all in the city of Atlanta and even state of Georgia. The park is described as a legacy and honor by so many sources. This shows that Centennial is a park that is a symbol of a reminder that Atlanta once hosted the Olympic Games and welcomed everyone to our lovely city and continues to serve as a welcoming fore to every person in Atlanta. I believe all the sources that I have researched on Centennial Olympic Park describe it as one of the city’s greatest landmarks. I chose this article from the National Geographic because the National Geographic society studies landmarks and various spaces in the world. I believed it to be one of the most credible sources.

<p>Map: Centennial Olympic Park, Atlanta</p>

(Map of Park)

Reading Summary 6

Posted on by
Reply

This article was about spam and add blockers on the internet. It basically told us how the majority of people think if you’re blocking content, you’re overly sensitive and can’t take certain content which makes you weak in some way. However, many people suffer from PTSD and many people can not see certain images or they will have anxiety and maybe some other bad reaction to it. People are bombarded with millions of unwanted pop ups daily and some can not escape it because they are literally everywhere. For example, when I try watching free moves online there is always this horrible picture of open pores under ones skin and it makes me and the friends that I am with cringe inside. Images can shape our thought process and actions and in order. This article also mentioned cyber bullying and how it affects teens, children and even some women in the workplace that ay be dominated by men. People are harassed through the internet because it’s a mask to who you really are and what you are actually capable of doing. It gives the idea that there is a lot of abuse going on online, not only within ads, pictures, content pop ups and more but also through people and certain apps. The temporary solution to this problem may be to block sites and people however, it’s not going to fix the underlying problem of the free internet being a channel of abuse for many people. It is also said in this article that the millennials have a certain immune to this sort of abuse since they were the first young people exposed to this kind of internet and are used to the ads, pop ups and content that may randomly jump out at you. The older generations are more likely to be feel harassment over certain things like this because they aren’t used to it. Older generations are not used lots of things jumping out at you when you did not permit it to. They are used to things coming more slowly. Many older adults also have PTSD because of wars they might have fought in and such things of that nature. I believe one reason for the conflict is because they were used to a slower society and in recent years, America alone has  drastically changed te way we live through technology. Throughout the world, things re getting faster and more of the world is interconnected through the medium of the internet. Many of the older generation are struggling to keep up or they oppose it all in general. We have to find a common balance to fit the need of all the people that now live in this digital age so everyone can participate in our growing and advancing society.

Reading Summary 5

Posted on by
Reply

In this article, written by Phia Bennin and Brendan McMullan, talks about how focusing a certain color can help us focus more. When we pick a color to focus on, we start to see it everywhere and in everything. The reason for this is because were focusing on one specific type of color alerting our brain to keep a look out for that certain color or shade. Our brain works in mysterious ways, and one mysterious thing it does is carry out the commands our thoughts give it. He explained how he went on a color walk, picked a color, then the color he chose started to pop out at him. This is no coincidence, if I think about the color pink I’m all of a sudden going to start seeing it and when I am noticing it my brain is sending out alerts that that something is what I’m looking for. Just like looking for something with your eyes, your brain has a task to find it so you’re not just looking at everything but concentrating one a particular object. The goal of the experiment was to think creatively and without barrier, helping students unwind and relax. The person responsible for creating this experiment was William Burroughs. He intended for it to take one’s mind on an adventure to help them relax. They also explained that after the experiment, students saw the world as a more vibrant place through looking at the world via different colors. Anyone who is interested in trying this experiment is advised to get some free time where you have nothing to do or any obligations to fill. Pick a color and focus on one that makes you feel really happy, most likely your favorite color or a bright color that will most likely brighten your mood. Not only did they notice the colors and how they related to the environment around them but the world came together through the colors, they were better able to connect things and relate them together. This experiment is great for getting lost in relaxation and forgetting about all the complicated things that may be going on in your life.