Flu Shot a Scam to College Kids

Winthrop University college students offer opinions on this year’s flu season.  The Controversy behind whether or not the flu shot is an effective vaccination carries into campus life.

According to the Center for Disease Control, the flu shot is the biggest step in protecting one’s self from catching the influenza virus, though many people don’t buy it.  In fact, a portion of American citizens are convinced that the flu shot causes flu rather than prevents it.  Dakota Fitzgerald, a freshman Broadcasting major at Winthrop University states that she had fallen ill with the flu after getting the flu shot for the first time and because of the mishap, she hasn’t had one since.  

It may be that the younger generation at college is coming to terms with their direct opinion as opposed to a doctor’s.  Repercussions, according to the CDC, involve community outbreak and increase of death amongst citizens with weak immune systems.  

However, the testimonials against vaccination increase with Winthrop students.  Kate, a senior Science Communication major, recalls her household being hounded by the illness at a young age.  Since then, her mother had no intention of vaccinating her children for the flu season again.

Choosing not to listen to an authority figure such as the CDC is a brave gesture made by many college students, especially after reading some of the webpage’s statistics; flu associated deaths ranged from 3,000 to 49,000 each season from 1976 to 2007.  

Writing Basic News Leads

1) Lead: A man was killed this morning upon striking a fire truck with his van at a Rock Hill intersection.

   Nut Graph: At 7:10am, Charles R. Lydon died at the intersection of Post Road and Rollins Avenue after colliding with a fire engine reportedly responding to an emergency call.  Lydon was driving north on Post Road at an estimated 40 mph before the crash concerning two firemen.  The condition of the firemen as well as who was at fault has yet to be determined.
2) Lead:  Bigger cars may mean a safer drive according to the Highway Loss Data Institute.
  
   Nut Graph: The Highway Loss Data Institute, a company branch of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, released studies today to D.C. concerning the safety advantages in driving a station wagon or van.  According to the report, small, two-door model vehicles earn injury repair frequencies and repair losses at a 30% higher rate than large cars, receiving 40 to 50% better claims.

3)  Lead:  Is an all-American food too dangerous for your children?
  
   Nut Graph:  The Journal of the American Medical Association featured an article today on why hot dogs are a choking hazard to children under the age of four.  According to the article, an American chokes to death from a bite of this old-standby every five days.  

4)  Lead:  Family holds funeral for the wrong body after a morgue mix-up

  Nut Graph:  51-year-old Kristine Belcuore died last week to a heart attack.  Her family hosted a funeral on Saturday with over 100 friends/ family members without the understanding that the morgue proposed a month-dead, unclaimed corpse in place of Mrs. Belcuore.  Employees, in apology claim that someone must have misread a tag.  

Class Interview: Travis Hawkins

I recently had the pleasure of exchanging a series of interview questions with a class peer  shortly after introducing one another.  To recollect my first impression of this gentleman, the following is my conjecture of his human character:
            Travis Hawkins is no “average Joe” college student.  From Hartsvill, SC, a “boring and small” town according to Travis himself, he spent his pre-university years seeing movies for $2.25, improving at ping pong and developing a creative mindset to interpret for a college major---specifically, visual creativity.  As a surprise, he even tells me about his religious adventures, originally following a “Wicken” religion and eventually settling down to this day with Baptist Christian views.  “I absorb it all for the full story/ truth,” a characteristic that makes him a decisive person amongst his most passionate perspectives.

To combine this knack for visuals with his technologic savvy, he decided upon a “Digital Information Design” major after conflicting with his potential submission to a “Criminal Investigation” major.  “I spend a lot of time in front of a screen” Travis tells me.  While most may say this is a poor habit, it seems to benefit the steadiness of his educational direction.  After years of playing games such as “Minecraft,” and “Halo,” Travis has learned to appreciate the creativity behind the production.  In addition to video games, he is also strongly opinionated on movies (especially after seeing them cheap in Hartsville).  His favorite movies come from one of his greatest interests:  Christopher Nolan’s “Batman” series.  Travis claims to be a “HUGE” Batman fan, mentioning his collection of comic book memorabilia and other collectables. 

            Amidst his lesser passions, Travis occasionally enjoys the music of The Monkees and Simon and Garfunkle.  Shortly after discussing a mutual taste for the two artists, he tells me that he could be, unfortunately, an insomniac.  However, I personally see this as the tragic flaw of a creative mind---with the mind at an electric flurry during the night’s late hours, it could spark an artistic idea that will be world famous one day. 
            There you have it!  Travis Hawkins:  The name of an all-American, eighteen-year-old student, but there’s a superhero behind that everyday name just waiting for society’s distress call for creativity.