HPU Sports Link

HPU Sports Link

Q News 

Reagan Smith 

 

Imagine, while being in the sports media program at High Point University, a student had the opportunity to perform live as a broadcaster for the amazing and practical experience of learning, firsthand, what it’s like in a variety of jobs both in front of as well as behind the camera.  The pragmatic training acquired by a student in that situation would be invaluable in building a resume to launch a career.  Now imagine, as a result of circumstances beyond anyone’s control, the benefits of a program of that caliber are suddenly and entirely taken away.    In the spring of 2020, the world-wide pandemic, as a result of the infectious disease and the ensuing panic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus (Coronavirus), put the lives of everyone on hold.  During the alarming and deadly initial outbreak, schools, jobs, and life in general were shut down for the safety and security of the most vulnerable people in our communities.  For those students in the sport media program who were a part of HPU Sports Link and had dedicated so much time and effort to honing their craft, it felt like all of the hard work they had devoted to start their professional journey was pointless.   

HPU Sports Link is a student organization at High Point University that allows students to broadcast Division-1 college sporting events on radio stations as well as ESPN+ streaming service.  Before the outbreak of the Coronavirus, also referred to as COVID-19, this club was beloved and appreciated by the athletes from all of High Point’s varsity sports teams for the exposure they received as the sports media students covered the games, meets, and events on HPU’s campus.  It was a wonderful opportunity for the athlete’s families, many of whom live out of state and cannot always attend the games, to watch their loved one’s compete. 

HPU Sports Link works directly with the High Point University Athletic Department, the coaches, and staff members to enrich their programs through professional broadcasting.  This is often used as a recruiting tool for many coaches to attract the most outstanding high school talent to High Point.  HPU Sports Link broadcasts more than100 games on the beautiful HPU campus every year. These broadcasts not only display the male and female athletes and coaches from a variety of sports programs such as soccer, basketball, volleyball, baseball, and lacrosse, but also display the beautiful first-class facilities that embody the extraordinary atmosphere for which High Point is known. 

As a result of the pandemic that began in the spring of 2020 and impacted our world in a way that was not imaginable, all of the schools across America were shut down and the students were sent home. Unfortunately for the sports media students at High Point University, who were a part of the HPU Sports Link crew, they lost the chance to continue working with professional broadcast and production equipment for almost a year. However, in spite of this unforeseen setback, Sports Link was not at its end. President of the organization, Wendell Epps said, “there was never a point where I thought Sports Link was going to end. I knew there was a risk of us losing some opportunities or having to make adjustments, but I never thought that Sports Link would go away forever.”  As the pandemic continued and the government lockdown seemed to be unending, frustration began to escalate causing students to doubt if the opportunity to return to campus and continue to learn the skills of sports broadcasting and production would ever become a reality.  Epps went on to say, “It was a total team effort to get everybody on the same page. When we came back in 2021, all of the sports were played in one season after the fall sports were postponed.  We were scrambling as we were forced to do four to five games within 48 hours. It was insane but we had a great crew that made everything easy and fun.” 

Upon returning to campus, the students worked diligently to revitalize their organization.  Despite the complications of the pandemic, the director of creative services, Nicole Frechette, and her staff, worked extremely hard to give the students a semblance of a return to normalcy. Frechette said, “I wanted to help the students get these amazing opportunities back. The opportunities that come with Sports Link are some not every college student can say they had. I had to work extra hard throughout the COVID year to be able to provide the students with the chance to broadcast and produce. These are incredibly talented students and I wanted to make sure that they got as many reps as possible.”  The organization started to flourish again once the COVID year had passed. Student engagement in HPU Sports Link has increased tremendously since the return to campus following the pandemic lockdown.  “Because of the increase in student engagement, the organization has reached new heights as it has continued to grow year after year. We have a new control room for our production staff, our broadcasters have access to new high-quality equipment, and we have added a press room for interviews after basketball games”, according to Piper Sirois, the Sports Link Vice President. 

All in all, HPU Sports Link is an organization that is growing bigger and better than ever since the setback experienced during the Coronavirus pandemic.  It seems as if the opportunities that were lost during the Covid lockdowns serve as motivation to keep the club going strong.  With the realization of how quickly their amazing opportunities can be lost, students seem to no longer take these things for granted and are more willing to take advantage of the extraordinary experience offered to the sports media program through the Sports Link club and High Point University to develop professionally and put them on the path for a successful career. 

 

 

 

EOTO #2 Response: Sherman Antitrust Act

The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 was passed by Congress that prohibited trusts. This Antitrust Act "authorized the federal government to institute proceedings against trusts in order to dissolve them." This act's goal was to promote fairness in the economy while regulating interstate commerce. Ever since this act came into play, it has prohibited combinations that restrain trade between states or foreign nations. In 1920, the Supreme Court creates the Rule of Reason which says that not every contract restraining trade is unlawful. All of these things still come into play today with the internet. The U.S Department of Justice "filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google, alleging that the online giant engaged in anti-competitive conduct to preserve monopolies in search and search advertising."If this would have happened, many small companies would not stand a chance against this competitor. The promotion of economic fairness is strongly advised in the Sherman Antitrust Act. Hypothetically, if Apple started raising their prices on their products and creating a monopoly for them, other competing companies would not be able to compete against Apple. This act has helped all the smaller competitors overcome and achieve their ecumenic goals. However, this at was not very successful because of narrow judicial interpretations of what constitutes trade among states. Overall, monopolies have ben outlawed. This is fantastic for Americans who can't compete with larger companies. Without this act today, the larger companies would have monopolies that no one could take charge of any of the trade that would go on between states. 

Privacy on and offline

 Technology is a wonderful thing. It has been advancing throughout the centuries and continued to provide society with news, entertainment, and media. Many people around the world use social media networks to get new information and connect with others online. However, there are negative aspects of technology. There have been many cases where big online companies have violates people's privacy. A big mistake people make is letting technology turn against you (aka letting it violate your privacy). By this I mean, letting the computer learn more things about you than normal. We voluntarily put personal information about ourselves online, thinking that no one will have access to it but us. As careless at that is, the companies who's websites we put our information on has direct access to the information we put on the website. According to FTC "Facebook violated the law by failing to protect data from third parties, serving ads through the use of phone numbers provided for security, and lying to users that its facial recognition software was turned off by default." This affects me by companies like Facebook can take my information and post it for everyone to see along with my friends and families. In order to protect ourselves from this danger is to keep our personal information like our phone number to ourselves, not posting the online. The government should be protecting us, by protecting out 4th amendment, which justifies the protection of private information, more strictly online. If this violation keeps up, the big internet companies will use our information and sell it like Facebook did and there will be no way we can get it back. The government should play a big part on the internet to help protect us and our information. 

Final Post: Option #1

 I have been using technology all of my life. From the computers at my elementary school I used to learn to type to my cell phone I have today.  Social media became a part of my life when I was in the 5th grade. I downloaded Instagram for the first time and ever since then I have used instagram everyday. I have other social media networks such as TikTok, Snapchat, and Facebook but Instagram was the platform I use the most. Today, I use snapchat more. I was very exposed to things on the internet at a young age because of Instagram. I got to keep up with new songs that came out, new artists presenting new music, and a new platform because of social media. My time in middle school and high school was a time of growth and realization. I was a very quiet girl during this time. I never spoke in class, kept to myself, and got scared whenever I was called on. Whenever I had to presentation assignment, I would do the minimal vocal parts as possible out of fear of failure and being wrong. However, behind the screen I had all the confidence in the world. Posting filtered pictures of myself on my Instagram feed brought in likes, which boosted my confidence. Getting that type of satisfaction behind the screen was bad for my mental health. I became increasingly more lonely. When the pandemic hit, my "digital footprint" expanded from Instagram to Snapchat and TikTok. These two platforms expanded my exposure to media and communication. TikTok gave me the entertainment I enjoyed during my day-to-day routine and Snapchat let me see what my friends were doing rather then taking their word for it on a text. Despite all the connections I received from social media, it decreased my mental health, lack in confidence, and lose the social aspects of my life. When I got to college I slowly learned that I do not have to be perfect in order to be liked. The reality is, everyone has their flaws and you don't have to be "picture perfect" in order to be liked. I stopped going on social media as much as I used to because I want to go out and be with my friends more and I want to experience the world without looking on a screen. 

Despite all my exposure to technology, I have experienced the horrors of the internet. Some days I will be on my phone talking to my friends about the Corgi I want to get after I graduate. I will go on my social media platforms and ads for Corgis/dog products will pop up out of no where. This Artificial Intelligence is scary because it is listening to what I say while my phone is completely off, violating my privacy. The most A.I. tech is Alexa. My parents got an Alexa for Christmas about 3 years ago. The device knows my parents voices just by them saying "Alexa." Once they tell Alexa their command, the device will follow their command by recording what is being said and searching the internet and telling them what they want to hear. With the Alexa being connected to their phones, "she" goes everywhere with them, learning about them; where they go, what they do, what they like to eat, what music they listen to, etc. This is a violation of privacy by recording conversations. The biggest danger is intruders can access Alexa through your window. The location of the window "could potentially give anyone from the outside access to your other smart home devices." If a hacker potentially gets connected with the Alexa, they have access to everything that you said in the house when you think no one was listening. I think this issue will be presented more in the future. The countries who have access to AI tech are quickly advancing it. In the video, "In The Age of AI" it mentions how China uses AI tech to watch all of the society and "give people a 'social credit' score, punishing some for certain behavior and rewarding other for what the government considers good citizenship." If China can violate their own residents privacy, nothing will stop them from compromising America's technology. If this issue doesn't get presented and stopped soon, then I believe that China will find ways to slowly take over/destroy America from the inside out. 

Progressive Era

 The Progressive Era started in 1880's. Women started their own magazines about women specifically and talking about their right to vote. However, the Progressive was fired up by WW1, specifically with the antiwar protesters who did not want America to get involved. Hundreds of them were throw into jail just for voicing their opinions. Today, many antiwar voices are not seen in the media/main stream news. Examples of this are ANTIWAR.COM and The American Conservative.   The writers of these websites have very strong antiwar voices, yet are never seen on mainstream media. The American Conservative website has a lot of talk about the war between Russia and Ukraine. Many people in America think that America should get involved in this war and help give aid, supplies, and troops to Ukraine who is suffering a drastic amount because of this war. Others disagree. They think that America should not get into the war because it does not involve America. Since Ukraine is not apart of NATO, American should not have to get involved in this war. America is in deep debt, decreasing economy, and under a horrible presidency. The Biden Administration announced that the United States will provide more than 1 billion dollars for those affected by the war in Ukraine. "This funding will provide food, shelter, clean water, medical supplies, and other forms of assistance." As humane and generous as this sounds, this will not do well for America. After going through a global pandemic, this amazing country is not in the proper condition to give countries that absurd amount of money. America needs to be focusing on her own basic needs to be able to function properly. Because of these strong antiwar options people want to spread the word to get others on the antiwar side. However, since the democrats practically run the media, you will not see such antiwar opinions anywhere (unless searched on the internet) because the far left is keeping people from seeing these opinions to prevent others from having their own opinions on the war. If it is not pro war/pro Ukraine then that opinion is wrong. The pro war supporters (aka democrats) keep this off of the media to make sure that only their word gets to the people in order to ensure that it is only their opinion that is correct. 

EOTO #1 Response: Bluetooth

Bluetooth was introduced in 1994 and was named after King Harald Bluetooth, king of Denmark and Norway. Bluetooth was named after Harold "united Scandinavia and Bluetooth wanted to unite mobile PCs and cellphones to communicate. But Harold reportedly got his 'Bluetooth' nickname from a dark, dead tooth not from eating an extreme amount of blueberries." With this technology it can communicate using low power radio waves. This allows the phone to connect to a speaker, wirelessly to play music and answer phone calls. Because it is wireless, this technology got put into cars, stores, and other facilities to play music and other uses. Bluetooth is affordable for all people and is very easy to access and use. To connect to Bluetooth, one has to go to the settings on their phone, click the Bluetooth icon, and click the device you want your phone to connect too. Some devices ask for a password in order to connect with the phone but that is very rare. Bluetooth also avoids interferences with other wireless devices. Meaning, that if a device is connected to it another device can not can not connect to the same bluetooth product while it is being used. The problems with Bluetooth is that there are distance limitations to it. Depending on the Bluetooth device, Bluetooth devices can stay connected within ten meters to one hundred meters. Bluetooth also has very poor security. When paired with a Bluetooth device, smartphones pair for data transfer  however, this makes it easier for hackers to pounce at the opportunity. It is easy for someone to lose data if your Bluetooth gets paired with the wrong device. Bluetooth has horrible battery power. If connected, one's phone battery and Bluetooth device battery will drain at a drastic speed, leaving one to constantly charge both devices. With a Bluetooth device connected to another, it can have an effect on the data transfer. Bluetooth is much slower at transferring data than WiFi. Because of this, one will have to constantly reconnect the devices together. The transmission can also be affected by too many applications being opened and running at the same time. 

Diffusion theory

Why do so many people use instagram? Why is it relevant in society? Instagram is a social media platform that people around the world use to spread information, spread content, and post about day to day lives. The diffusion theory, described by Everett Rogers is that "diffusion is the process by which an innovation is communicated over the among the participants in a social system." This franchise has grown in the last decade with users joining online every day. With the last decade, Instagram has be used for the promotion of the self image online. People (especially young users) will post pictures of themselves online and get hundreds of likes. Because of this, Instagram has spread all over the world. The idea of getting satisfaction of the self image on the internet promotes the idea of posting more and more. The early adopters of this app have gotten the idea of how to make themselves look better and better on the internet so they can become a popular content creator. This app can also lead to toxicity and horrible mental health. Because image is everything on the internet, lacking in likes on this app can lead to a low self esteem. Many people online use the anonymous ability behind the screen to cyberbully others. This is an incredible downside to this platform because many people have taken their own lives because of the cyberbullying and lack of confidence one gets from seeing prettier people on the internet. Users will do anything to "look the part" in order to get the amount of likes to satisfy their confidence. With girls especially, many decrease is self love because of how society perceives women to look/act. However, despite this idea, many women have chosen to ignore what society asks of women and have chosen to be themselves on the internet to spread a more positive vibe to show how women do not have to be picture perfect in order to be liked on the internet. I do have instagram despite all of negative impacts social media has on people. I use social media to keep in contact with people I do not see in day-to-day life, post pictures of me and my friends, see promotions on news/movies/media/fashion, and promote the university I go to. I benefit greatly from this platform because of the friendships I have kept over the years of being apart from all the people I went to high school with. For me, this positive outweighs the negative outcomes of social media. I have learned to not care about what people think about my looks on social media. With the careless attitude towards what people think, I have gained confidence and love for myself while spending positive reinforcements to others.