The Boston University Women’s Figure Skating Team just came off their 2nd consecutive, and 4th overall National Intercollegiate Title. The team has attended the event consistently for the last 10 years in a row by qualifying in the three regional competitions leading up to the tournament. Anyone can join this inclusive club and partake in any of their four weekly skates in Walter Brown Arena, but only some members are selected to compete in competitions.
With four weekly practices plus a conditioning session, not to mention all the success the team has achieved over the past decade, you may be wondering why the squad isn’t competing at the varsity level. Well, thats because the National Figure Skating League took over college figure skating from the NCAA, so almost all teams nationwide are now considered club sports. BU’s team receives funding through Boston University Club Sports as well as by paying semesterly dues to be a member. The team is always looking ahead, and they even recruit for the competitive team by inviting high school seniors to come to practice and meet with their coach in order to see if they can crack a roster spot.
Elise Borkan is a Junior on the team and has attended Nationals all three of her years here at BU. Borkan helped her team to the national title claiming a gold medal in her personal event this year. Borkan says the team is already planning for next season and she says, “winning Nationals again, if we could do it for the third year in a row, that would be pretty amazing. We definitely have that in the back of our minds already.”
Prior to the internet, smartphones, and social media, there was a limited number of ways to find out the biggest local, national, and international headlines. These new outlets allow people to receive their news in far more broad terms. As a college student studying broadcast journalism, it is really important for me to stay up to date on news and to get it from trusted professional sources, which is why I turn to CNN’s online platform.
CNN is constantly putting up articles and releasing the newest information and details. Their website is extremely easy to maneuver, as you can find stories by clicking the category of your choice, or just by searching the topic in the search bar. Plus, many of the top stories are displayed right on the websites’ homepage.
CNN is very active on Twitter, which definitely adds to viewership, as it has become a popular news source. Scrolling through Twitter, there are constant updates from CNN, usually one every couple of minutes. They also have different Twitter accounts for different subjects. For example, they have a breaking news account, international news account, politics account, and their broad CNN account. The different accounts allow one to narrow down what type of news they want to focus on, or it allows for in-depth coverage on all subjects.
Their online platform takes the best aspects of TV, while making the process faster and more accessible. This online news source is perfect for anyone on the go, especially college students and people in the workforce. CNN online has the quality video that people want, while not restricting them to their living room. These multimedia components are very important because the way news is consumed can impact how it is processed.
CNN should be a model for other online news sources to
follow due to their use of multimedia, social media/marketing, and the number of quality stories that they cover.
In the past decade, Boston University has been increasingly interested in becoming a completely self-sustainable institution. This past September, the Trustees of Boston University, approved an expansive Climate Action Plan. The plan aims to reduce carbon emissions on campus to zero by 2040. BU Dining Services is one area where Boston University has already begun to find success in reaching their sustainability goals. BU Dining’s food service company, Aramarc, “considers BU to be its flagship client,” says BU Dining Services Sustainability Manager, David Frank. He went on to say that “10 years ago we were the first to compost within Aramark and then other institutions followed suit. I really enjoy how progressive BU is as an institution.”
BU Dining Services 2014 Sustainability Report first announced their commitment to obtaining 20% of their food from sustainable sources. To be considered a sustainable source, the food must meet one of 2 standards. First, it must either be local and community based, or third party certified: fair, ecologically sound, and/or humane. BU Dining actually achieved their goal three years early, surpassing that 20% mark by 2015. BU Dining Services 2017 Sustainability Report announced that this year they exceeded their expectations once again by obtaining 23.5% of their food and beverages from sustainable sources approved by AASHE STARS*. BU Engineering student Mike Matos ‘18 says, “it is always good to be sustainable. In a world where we are always looking to improve and change, it’s always good to take a step forward.”
All of BU’s beef came from 100% grass-fed cows in Maine to account for 19 tons of sustainable beef in
2017. BU also bought 21 tons of sustainable tuna, 49 tons of American Humane Certified Turkey, and 26 tons of Certified Humane Chicken, from family farms in Pennsylvania and New York. BU also served 9 tons of tofu, which came from Vermont Soy, where they only use certified organic soybeans that are grown in Vermont.
In the future, BU Dining Services will look to continue making advances in sustainability by purchasing 100% sustainable seafood by 2018, replacing their conventional pork with certified humane pork from Maine, and exploring the potential of growing produce and herbs on campus. Boston University Dining Services updated goal is to be purchasing 25% of its food from sustainable sources by 2020.
In the past decade, Boston University has been increasingly interested in becoming a completely self-sustainable institution. This past September, the Trustees of Boston University, approved an expansive Climate Action Plan. The plan aims to reduce carbon emissions on campus to zero by 2040. BU Dining Services is one area where Boston University has already begun to find success in reaching their sustainability goals. BU Dining’s food service company, Aramarc, “considers BU to be its flagship client,” says BU Dining Services Sustainability Manager, David Frank. He went on to say that “10 years ago we were the first to compost within Aramark and then other institutions followed suit. I really enjoy how progressive BU is as an institution.”
All of BU’s beef came from 100% grass-fed cows in Maine to account for 19 tons of sustainable beef in
