Reflections on Public Journalism in a Digital Age

After attending this class I can without a doubt tell that it has been one of my favorite classes, if not my favorite class.

This class has been a text book example of learning by doing, which is what I think is the best way to learn and the most fun. There has been some things a regret not doing.

One of the things I was planning on doing around midway during the semester was a survey on how many ODU students use their constitutional right to vote and as a side question how many was satisfied with the laws concerning alcohol in America. Because I wanted to find out if there were more or less people at ODU who voted at the 2008 elections than the country's average. I also have the feeling that most of the people between 18 and 21 in America is unsatisfied with the alcohol laws in their country and if it was in Denmark these people would rally together and try to change this. However almost every American I have talked to says it is impossible to change anything in this country, so maybe this would be on the top of my political agenda (to change the fact that it is hard to change things in this country). I never got around to doing these surveys, as I have had a pretty busy semester trying to get the best out of school and still experience what this country had to offer outside of the university.

All in all I am still satisfied with how this class turned out and I am happy that my school back in Denmark did not accept the first class I choose at the beginning of the semester, because then I would not have joined Public Journalism and would have missed out on a great experience.

Map for international students @ ODU

The map that appears on the right called "Map for international students @ ODU" is dedicated to students who either come to Old Dominion University or are considering coming to the University to study. It focuses on telling people from other countries what they can expect coming here. Preferably through Study Abroad.

The Recreational Center

One of the best things on ODU ground is the Recreational Center.


Here you can do almost all activities as lifting weights, playing soccer, basketball, racquetball, and even claiming the claiming wall.




The only regret I have about this place, is that I did not use it enough. So my advice to a future student is: Use these facilities as much as possible.

Within Dragas Hall

In Dragas Hall the office of Study Abroad and the office of The International Student and Scholar Services lies.

The Study Abroad office helps you with everything if you have come to Old Dominion University through them and if you have any problem they will solve this for you.
This is the office:


And this is me with Micheal Dean, the Associate Director of Study Abroad:


All the people at Study Abroad has been great before and during the semester.

The ISSS is for the more formal information and rules when you study in the United States. They may not seem to be there to help you, but they are. It is a good idea to follow their instructions so you do not end up in trouble with the authorities.

Meal plan at ODU

I myself had the 80 meal and 150 dollars flexpoint meal-plan and that worked quite good with how I planned my everyday. I used my 80 meals in the evening, my flexpoints for lunch and had cereal for breakfast. I ran out of meals and flexpoint when there was a week left, but many of my friends here had to many meals left and were happy to swipe me in. So an advice from me, if you are not planning on eating breakfast, lunch and dinner in either of the cafés, is to get the 80 meal-plan.

Café 1201 in Webb?


Or the café in Whitehurst?


Café 1201 has by far the best selection of the to, but if you do not feel like walking the long way from powhatan to Webb, Whitehurst is a great supplement.

At the Food Court in Webb you can use your flexpoints to purchase real American food such as either burger, pizza, but also my favorite, various wraps.

Reflection: The semester is ending...

Now that the semester is almost over I want to recommend the three best classes I have had here at Old Dominion University. These classes are both relevant for study abroad students, but also, maybe even more so, relevant for American students.

The first one I want to mention is "Social Inequality" (SOC 320) with professor Mona Danner. In this class you learn how wealth and power is divided in the U.S society, but also why this division is accepted. As I am person who grew up in a highly socialistic society it has been difficult for me to see the arguments for the way this country divide its wealth. This course has helped me get closer to an answer, although I still really don't get why people are not angry of the fact that the richest 10 percent own 80 percent of the wealth (see former post 2-D to 3-D). If it was up to me, I would want every American to take this class, to get an idea off how skewed the society is.

The second class I would like to mention is "Perspectives: The American Dream" (Amst 300) with professor Joseph Cosco. This course teaches you how American mindsets developed up through history and who was included in the American dream and who was not. With text such as "A description of New England" by Captain John Smith, all the way up to song lyrics by Bob Dylan, we analyzed how American society changed and how the American Dream changed. The American Dream relates to the social inequality there is in this country, as everybody strives for their own fortune and believes all it takes is hard work and not the right circumstances.

The third and last class i will recommend is "Public Journalism in a Digital age" (Comm 366) with professor Ashley Hall. In this class you learn how to use the new medias that are popping up everywhere on the Internet and how to integrate journalism skills into these medias to make your source more professional and interesting. Through this class I got to reflect upon my discoveries here in America and put them into words. So especially if you are a study abroad student I would recommend this Class, but also to Americans because it is a class where you learn by doing.

The last two classes would just be a waste of time mentioning. A problem with both of them is the use of learning through remembering and not through practical use. This leads to boring classes and less motivation from my own part.

All in all this semester has been a great experience for me, both from an academic perspective, but also from a personal perspective. The general level here is a bit lower than what I am use to in Denmark and there is a lot of the so called "busywork" that serves the only purpose to make a class harder with no reference to college/university learning.

I want to thank Dr. Danner, Dr. Cosco and Dr. Hall for challenging my preconceived ideas about American learning style.

Living in Pawhatan Apartments...

When I first arrived at the apartment I was thinking that this was a really nice apartment and big to. I was so lucky as to arrive a week before classes start and therefore also a week before my roommate and suitemates would arrive. That meant I had the whole apartment to my self (this is when the pictures where taken). It was almost like being home in my own apartment.

However all this changed when my fellow students moved in. I knew from when I got my first information from ODU that I was going to live with them, but I was so comfortable that I had somewhat actively forgotten this. There has not been any problems as such, but when you are use to living in your own apartment and has done so for 3 years, it is a big change in living conditions. As these students are 19-20 years of age (5-6 years younger than me) it is an even bigger change. This fact among other things means that I cannot have any alcohol in the apartment because they all are under 21. I would be lying if I told you it has stopped me from having alcohol, but it is against the rules. The alcohol laws in Denmark are completely different, i.e. I have been able to buy my own alcohol from when I was 16.

I was even more startled when I found out that you have fellow students coming in your apartment and telling you what you are doing wrong. I felt it was a bit demeaning having a fellow student, who by the way is 5 years younger than me, telling me that I need to do the dishes, vacuum and wipe the bath tub. The reasoning, she said, was that she did not want uneven work loads in the apartment and that we would get fined if the apartment was not clean enough. In my mind we are all adults in this apartment and we should be able to handle the situation our selves. I know I am a bit older than the others, but when I was 20 I was living in Austria with 3 other guys and we kept the apartment somewhat clean and when we left it was spotless. I am not saying I like going around the apartment turning off television sets nobody's watching and stopping running water that has not been turned properly off or wiping pee of the toilet seat every now and again (I feel like my own father when me and my brother was 12 and younger), but it should be our own responsibility. Maybe it is because you treat the young adults in this country as kids that they act like it.

In the end I must say that in overall terms I am glad that I have these three fellow students under the same roof as me, because they are good guys and we have had a great time here. I wanted the whole college experience and that I got.

Thank you Andrew for not snoring at night. For Ryan and Rashad for being somewhat quiet at night and not having to many parties on weekdays.